Taking the leap to self-employment.....Eventually

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
7,913
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Signed the approval on the final plans to my new 30x40 shop building this afternoon, Lot's of emotions going on.....Excited with a side of Anxious is probably the best way I can describe it.


I own a "Rent" House adjacent to my Homestead that's been leased on a yearly basis to the same family for the last 13 years, The last lease was up @ 7 months ago & I declined to renew it......I'm now leasing just the physical domicile with just enough renters rights to keep it legal.
I literally advised them to move before the last Lot+Domicile lease agreement was reached!
They have 5 months left & have reminded them more than once about the impending GTFO notice.

The property sits half in Residential zoning & Half in a Industrial zoning, But the Address IS zoned solely Residential at the moment. Have all the Zoning petition stuff filled out along with getting the lot Re-Platted once I tear the house down.


Lots 9,10,11 are my Homestead. Lot 12 is where I'm building.
Yellow square is the new building.
Purple square X is the rent house that's going away.
Black square X is my house.
Red square X is my existing 25x25 garage.
Red rectangle is my 40' ocean container.....Storage for shop related stuff.
Thick black outline is the driveway to my existing garage.
Grey Line is where my tenants built a fence & the adjacent property owner thinks that's the property line?? This will get sorted out with the Platting.....It's just funny that one owns a piece of property for a month & knows nothing of the Surveys.....Thought the wooden stakes with flags were for decoration I guess?

[Linked Image]
 
Forms, Vapor barrier, Ditches, Re-Bar........Ready for concrete AFTER I spent 13 hours Tying, Spacing & Resetting the Re-bar properly!

[Linked Image]


[Linked Image]
 
Congrat's, Self employment is not for everyone, it is difficult, I sure hope your successful because there is nothing more gratifying than building your own successful business. You will find it very financially rewarding. I wish you nothing but the best!
 
As a former master tech, that took the leap into starting my own business and eventually built it into a success, I wish you the best. You'll never work harder than you will for yourself. But the potential rewards if you have a strong work ethic, (which I feel you do from reading some of your posts) make it worthwhile.

Good luck.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Looks good. My only recommendation is to put the mill and lathe in a different spot. I see you have a heavy curtain, which will help. Not sure if you'd be using coolant or oil on the lathe, some metals cut beautifully dry, but they can sling things pretty far and pretty high! The curtain will contain pretty much everything from the mill though.

May have clipped a jaw with a file once when I was an apprentice... blew it into 3 pieces, one piece put a nice dent in the wall about 15ft up
shocked2.gif
 
Best of luck in your new spot! Nothing better than keeping the rewards of your own hard work!

I know the feeling and I greatly respect the courage it takes to move forward!
 
If I was to do it again, it would be as you are doing - own the site and building. It's a hard road when the opposition cuts prices, your workers want a raise....and then the landlord bumps the rent up 40%.
 
Congratulations and really wishing you all the best.

You deserve, and will earn great success IMO.
 
Best wishes to you! At this stage of my life I'm looking to unwind the business and work for friends in their businesses. After 40+ years it's time.
 
When I went into business for myself I found that there were many positives, and a few negatives.
I'm not trying to "rain on your parade", but you should know about some of the negatives before you jump in with both feet.
A few of the negatives (to me) were...
1. The paperwork. I loved doing the work, I liked interacting with the customers, but the mountain of paperwork was a never-ending pain, and it HAS to be done.
2. The lack of freedom. Many people think that owning your own business gives you the ultimate in freedom, but the opposite is actually the case. You can't just "walk away" when/if you get fed-up with it, you are trapped! You can't just take a vacation whenever you want (and when you really need one), and when you do take one, your business is constantly on your mind preventing you from full enjoyment/rest/relaxation. You can't decide to just "take a day off" (until your business has been established for many years and you have a few very trustworthy employees).
3. The employees. Hiring, maintaining, monitoring, disciplining, and firing employees is a constant headache (and not a fun/rewarding experience). To get one good one you will go through 3-4 bad ones. One bad employee can cause your business irreparable harm if you are not paying close enough attention. Watch out for the thieves. Then there are the malcontents, they can damage your relationship with the other employees and each other. You will need to come to grips with the fact that most of them just don't give a [censored] about your business, your customers, or you. The low unemployment rate presents an additional challenge.
4. Your schedule. Your daily personal schedule is totally controlled by your business' hours of operation. When your business is busy you will put in WAY more hours than it says on the door. The long hours you are putting in can cause you to be isolated from family and friends.
5. The stress. Owning your own business can be VERY stressful at times, which can have a negative impact on your health, and your relationships. Most people believe the when you own your own business that YOU are in control, but you will soon find out that you are NOT in control and numerous outside factors that you can't control are actually in control, and you are having to react to them. This lack of control is VERY stressful, trust me.
6. The pay. Everyone else gets their money (including numerous governmental entities) before you get yours. You are going to be surprised at how many bills there are.
 
Last edited:
Good luck! My wife and I opened our business 10 years ago. Best decision we ever made, it is hard work but very rewarding. We now employ 18 people and we have only "lost" 1 person.
 
Ata boy cline, I am proud of you and glad to see you moving up in the world.
Originally Posted by wag123
When I went into business for myself I found that there were many positives, and a few negatives.
I'm not trying to "rain on your parade", but you should know about some of the negatives before you jump in with both feet.
A few of the negatives (to me) were...
1. The paperwork. I loved doing the work, I liked interacting with the customers, but the mountain of paperwork was a never-ending pain, and it HAS to be done.
2. The lack of freedom. Many people think that owning your own business gives you the ultimate in freedom, but the opposite is actually the case. You can't just "walk away" when/if you get fed-up with it, you are trapped! You can't just take a vacation whenever you want (and when you really need one), and when you do take one, your business is constantly on your mind preventing you from full enjoyment/rest/relaxation. You can't decide to just "take a day off" (until your business has been established for many years and you have a few very trustworthy employees).
3. The employees. Hiring, maintaining, monitoring, disciplining, and firing employees is a constant headache (and not a fun/rewarding experience). To get one good one you will go through 3-4 bad ones. One bad employee can cause your business irreparable harm if you are not paying close enough attention. Watch out for the thieves. Then there are the malcontents, they can damage your relationship with the other employees and each other. You will need to come to grips with the fact that most of them just don't give a [censored] about your business, your customers, or you. The low unemployment rate presents an additional challenge.
4. Your schedule. Your daily personal schedule is totally controlled by your business' hours of operation. When your business is busy you will put in WAY more hours than it says on the door. The long hours you are putting in can cause you to be isolated from family and friends.
5. The stress. Owning your own business can be VERY stressful at times, which can have a negative impact on your health, and your relationships. Most people believe the when you own your own business that YOU are in control, but you will soon find out that you are NOT in control and numerous outside factors that you can't control are actually in control, and you are having to react to them. This lack of control is VERY stressful, trust me.
6. The pay. Everyone else gets their money (including numerous governmental entities) before you get yours. You are going to be surprised at how many bills there are.
It's worth it, there's no feeling quite like being "the man". Also, cline can walk to work!
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Congratulations !

PS: what's in the tanks behind there ?


Gasoline & Diesel storage tanks, The Terminal is being decommissioned as we speak.....Probably to make way for more 4 story apartment buildings that are going-up in Fort Worth Proper!

With all the gentrification going on.....I should have bought more property when it was dirt cheap! I bought lot #11 for $600 in 1993.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top