Is working for yourself (solo business) basically 24/7 work indeifnetly?

[juliussneezer]

I have been considering starting my own business for a while now. School/trades aren’t for me. I really just enjoy doing things like cleaning/mowing/painting. Problem is most of these jobs don’t really pay a comfortable wage, so the only way I’d be able to make a comfortable wage would be to work for myself:

What I hear though is the work never stops. You are always marketing, calling up clients, trying to get them to pay, making estimates, dealing with complaints etc. 24/7

Has this been your alls experience?

I wouldn’t mind dealing with that for a year or two but I think it would wear me down too much eventually. I want to have plenty of time to myself to not worry about work stuff.

 

[turboizak]

@juliussneezer I think working for yourself brings freedom. Freedom to decide when and how long you would like to work. Except for taking calls, texts, or emails from customers. In that situation, you need to act immediately. Sometimes people hire you because you're the one that answered the phone. I wouldn't stress. Just start.

 

[abigailwealth_1]

@turboizak This is great advice. I only recently started my business and I’ve only done about 10 jobs. 6 of which I got because I was the only guy that responded. It’s actually hilarious to me how many businesses out there manage to stay open but you can never get ahold of anyone.

 

[gossippk10]

@juliussneezer I just went on "vacation " yesterday, it always happens some job that pays too good to be true was thrown at me at 10p.m. last night. Even for it being a A-list customer, I had to pass as I'm tired and my bones hurt. Took 5 years to learn how to turn work down.

 

[orangetabbycat]

@gossippk10 God I feel this so much. I've reached the maximum we can do and it hurts to turn people away.

 

[muyale]

@orangetabbycat Sameeeee

 

[juliussneezer]

@gossippk10 I think I would have no problem turning down jobs if I didn’t need the money lol. How often do you need to work more than 8-10 hours a day? And do you work solo or have you hired people?

 

[gossippk10]

@juliussneezer Usually 10hrs a day 5 days a week but if we got down to brass tacks it's probably closer 14hr a day when accounting for mental real-estate . I usually work alone but have Independent contractors I can use if need be.

 

[muyale]

@gossippk10 Big facts^ Happens allllll the time

 

[newmove]

@juliussneezer Depends what you do. It's rare that I work a full 40 hour week.

Also, most businesses are intended to grow to where you can hire people, so you can work less. And eventually hire a manager for those people so you can step away and everything still works like a machine.

 

[juliussneezer]

@newmove What do you do and do you work solo or have you hired people?

 

[newmove]

@juliussneezer I install kitchen cabinets. I have a helper on most jobs, but not quite to the point where I can send people out to jobs without me.

 

[juliussneezer]

@newmove How long have you been doing that for?

 

[newmove]

@juliussneezer Started in 2007. Worked for a couple different shops, building, installing cabinets and other carpentry. Been independent since 2017.

 

[juliussneezer]

@newmove So you do your own marketing, estimating, customer complaints etc I’m assuming? When you say you usually work 40 a week does that include all that or are you talking about just the servicing?

 

[newmove]

@juliussneezer Nope, none of that. I'm just a subcontractor for the folks that do that. They find the work, do the design, order the materials, deliver to the site. I show up and only have to deal with the cabinets. Yeah, I could do all the other stuff and make more money. But more money, more headaches, and more risk. I think I got a pretty sweet gig the way I got it set up.

I rarely work 40 hours in a week. Last year, I averaged maybe 20-25 hours a week.

 

[pastorpontibus]

@juliussneezer TLDR; Yes.

You can solve this buy building an business that can run without you. That takes time and is also a grind. You'll work when you're sick, miss family events, skip vacations and even not pay yourself sometimes. Eventually, with that sacrifice and some luck, you'll have built something with a life of it's own that allows you the flexibility to do what you want and a nice income.

 

[leeh300]

@juliussneezer You never stop. Truly. If you don’t have discipline to do the same thing over and over and not get results then don’t do it.

The so called freedom comes with a price. You have to be broke for a while, then maybe you see the result. Being free is not necessary a good thing for a business owner. And if by any chance you have kids or dependents and you are the default keep in mind you will work around their schedule limiting your availability to profit.

I’m a business owner. Been at it for 3 years. I would do it again. But with less capital and less debt. I liked the freedom but I spiraled out of control. All the time management skills I had went out the window, and then you catch me drinking on a Tuesday at 3:30. And waking up at 8:30 on a Wednesday. Which yeah that’s cool but other guys in the business were up since 5:00 and working until 7-8pm. I, unfortunately need the pressure of a 9-5. And then the reminder of time is used a lot more proactively and efficiently on the business. I wouldn’t be a full time business owner for a while.

 

[orangetabbycat]

@juliussneezer You can earn a decent living as long as you price correctly and are good at what you do. People will definitely pay more for a quality service, you don't want to be on a race to the bottom.

You're definitely always doing a bit of everything but that keeps it fun and interesting in a way. It really depends what you want out of it, how smart you work. You could build up a portfolio of your own clients, work for them and not worry about taking on employees or the business side, that's fine and it will be easy to get to sleep at night and not worry about things. But you could also leverage other people's time to help you out, which is more stress but also has potential for a big reward.

 

[juliussneezer]

@orangetabbycat Which do you do?