No big stretch, since I am a plumber, but I'm also a plumbing contractor. Things got a little slow earlier this year, and my two guys quit. So, when things started picking up again, I figured, why not do it myself. Now I've hired a helper, and it's been like a vacation working with my hands again, doing stuff I know how to do, instead of spending most of my time telling people what to do, ordering material, and beating my head against a wall doing paperwork.
I've been doing residential and light commercial new construction for quite a while, as well as TI work and remodel stuff. I've had as many as seven employees, and as few as zero. Currently, I'm finishing a spec house, starting another one, doing a commercial maintenance building, and working on a suspended heater retrofit. Sometimes scheduling is a bit rough, but so far, so good.
The disadvantage with being so small is that you have to work with small general contractors, and most of them are boneheads. Wouldn't know a Gantt chart if you smacked them upside the head with one (and I've been sorely tempted). Fortunately, I have a couple of guys I work with who know what they're doing, and currently only one uninformed arrogant condescending boob. The arrogant boob pays pretty well, though, and I don't take much [censored] from him anyway. Guys like him are a dime a dozen, so if he gets mad and fires me, I can move on to the next one.
With a (good) helper, the work isn't so hard. I can lay out holes to drill, and follow him up running the pipe. Because of the aneurysm, I'm not supposed to do any heavy lifting, but I bet the decreased stress level is a lot more important than whether or not I lift 50 lbs. The helper I have now seems teachable, and can follow instructions that have more than one step. Those are surprisingly unusual qualities.
We'll see how it goes.
I've been doing residential and light commercial new construction for quite a while, as well as TI work and remodel stuff. I've had as many as seven employees, and as few as zero. Currently, I'm finishing a spec house, starting another one, doing a commercial maintenance building, and working on a suspended heater retrofit. Sometimes scheduling is a bit rough, but so far, so good.
The disadvantage with being so small is that you have to work with small general contractors, and most of them are boneheads. Wouldn't know a Gantt chart if you smacked them upside the head with one (and I've been sorely tempted). Fortunately, I have a couple of guys I work with who know what they're doing, and currently only one uninformed arrogant condescending boob. The arrogant boob pays pretty well, though, and I don't take much [censored] from him anyway. Guys like him are a dime a dozen, so if he gets mad and fires me, I can move on to the next one.
With a (good) helper, the work isn't so hard. I can lay out holes to drill, and follow him up running the pipe. Because of the aneurysm, I'm not supposed to do any heavy lifting, but I bet the decreased stress level is a lot more important than whether or not I lift 50 lbs. The helper I have now seems teachable, and can follow instructions that have more than one step. Those are surprisingly unusual qualities.
We'll see how it goes.
