Hi everyone,
My name is Alex and I am new to this forum.?ÿ I currently work with my old man (who is close to retiring) and we have a family business that my brother and I will be taking over once we decide to push him out (joking!).?ÿ I feel like there is a lot, still, for me to learn about Land Surveying, but it excites me to know that it's an ever-evolving field.?ÿ?ÿ
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We've owned our business since 2007 (of course we would start our business right before the great recession!), and we were able to weather the storm and keep on course with our business development.?ÿ We learned a lot during those years, but there's so much more that we (especially me) need to learn when it comes to the business side of things.?ÿ?ÿ
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We're a small firm, currently have 2 crews and 2 dedicated CAD operators.?ÿ Thankfully, we've been able to maintain a steady revolving door of clients who keep using us for all of their construction related projects (we primarily focus on Construction Surveying) and we are looking to expand on that.
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I am currently in the process of obtaining my license from the State of Florida.?ÿ I hope to sit for my first series of exams in the coming months.?ÿ The plan is to begin the process of transferring ownership/management of the company over to my brother and me once I get my license so that my father can begin to take a back seat and enjoy retirement.?ÿ I don't personally believe he will COMPLETELY step away from the business (he loves his work and his business too much), and that's completely fine with us.?ÿ He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Land Surveying, and I know I will need to lean on him in those first years in order to build on what he built.?ÿ?ÿ
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The plan is to expand our business (eventually) and try to pick up more work throughout the state.?ÿ Hopefully, within ten years, we can have operations from the Florida panhandle down to the Florida Keys.
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Anyways....that's me in a nutshell...I'll shut up now since I've taken a lot of your time!
Welcome aboard.?ÿ Sounds like you've got a good solid background.?ÿ I hope you paid attention.
I too was a legacy.?ÿ When I quit HS in 1969 I went to work at the company where my father was employed as a surveyor.?ÿ I moved on through many different outfits and really didn't get a chance to work with my father again until 1984 after I was licensed.?ÿ We did well but his failing health took its toll and he retired in 1987.?ÿ I would pay a million bucks just to survey one more day with him.
If there is anything that surveyors have in common I would have to say it's our lack of good business sense.?ÿ I have known the best surveyors to fail when it comes to running their own show.?ÿ Read up and absorb all you can about the business end of things.?ÿ It will only help you.
You mentioned growth.?ÿ Be careful.?ÿ In my opinion a firm will grow naturally if it's in the correct environment with the right management.?ÿ Getting big just to be big is usually an exercise in indebtedness.?ÿ Avoid that when you can.
I'm going to make an assumption you have some ideas how to change things after the old man has retired.?ÿ Do yourself a favor and discuss those things with him.?ÿ Even though he may not agree with some of your ideas his input would be worth a lot.
Remember, nobody knows a business better than the one that built it.
Good luck and again, welcome.?ÿ Keep in touch.
Welcome.?ÿ You will find this to be a very good way to spend any free time you have available.?ÿ I'm a geezer and I still learn things here nearly every day.?ÿ That's one thing about surveying: You never know all you need to know.
Welcome, Alex. You can keep that Florida Humidity and I'll trade it for the rainy Pacific Northwest. Cheers to the future. Jered in Oregon
Welcome Alex from a Central/East Central FL. old surveyor. I live in Sanford. ?????ÿ
Welcome....?ÿ but I have to say that putting PSM in your name when you aren't licensed seems a bit strange.?ÿ I know out of state people wouldn't likely notice that.?ÿ ?ÿ
Good luck in your work toward your license.
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andy
