Changing Capital Investment in Surveying
😀 Funny, but I think I will stick with surveying.
Changing Capital Investment in Surveying
> > >
> > > There are much easier and more fun ways to make money.
> >
> > Care to share any of these?
>
> - Study wealth.
> - Find a good mentor.
> - Invest in education and appreciating assets.
> - Hold high ethics, keep a high standard of integrity.
> - Keep your ego in check and serve others.
> - Always go the extra mile.
> - Always consider ROT (return on time)
>
> Set wealth as your goal.
Okay, That's a good list that can be applied to many kinds of businesses, including surveying. A wise man once told me that there are only three ways to gain monetary WEALTH:
- Solve problems: Big problems = big money or many small problems = big money.
(This could be the surveyor/engineer/doctor solving a big problem or McDonald's feeding millions of small hungry problems)
- Add value via time and talents. (The repairman, carpenter, surveyor and such)
- Buy low, sell high. (real-estate, gold, stock-market, ect..) Could be a surveying business that you started and sold at retirement.
Surveying can fit into all three and be fun! IMO
Scott
Changing Capital Investment in Surveying
Sounds like you are all set, good luck.
Changing Capital Investment in Surveying
> Probably right, Kent. Not including a vehicle, what would you consider the cost in 1985 to outfit a crew (in 1985 dollars)? I'd guess $15k - theodolite, edm, level, tripod(s), poles, prism(s), plumb bobs, machetes, saws, hammers, shovel, schonstedt, tapes, etc.
Well, you could buy a nice Zeiss RSM-3 for about $9,000 in 1985. That was a self-reducing instrument with a micrometer-reading circle. An excellent quality Zeiss S-23 tripod was about $300. An Ni-2 level could probably have been had for around $1000. Add $1200 to cover all the rest of the pieces and the total would have been under $12,000, I'd think.
If you wanted to get fancy and buy two more Zeiss tripods, and a traverse kit of prisms and targets, add maybe $1500. It would have been worth it at the time for city surveying. For rural work, buying SECO prism pole tripods when they came out about then would have been smarter and cheaper.
Changing Capital Investment in Surveying
After asking Dad about it I think, as you suggest. 15k was probably high. He.bought a theodolite and edm for about 4500 in 85. Inflation would put that at around 10 today. Which is probably about what a comparable ts would run today.