What to do? 5 years in tech

[skwebber]

Hey guys, first time poster here. I am a software engineer in my late 20s and I wanted to be an entrepreneur my whole life. I don’t care if I own a laundromat or vending machines or if God willing I could actually use some of my technology knowledge for a business. I do want something that makes more than 150,000 a year. I have considered things like buying a duplex and renting out, doing a phone repair store, doing an IT repair store. what do you guys think is the best path forward for me?

 

[zachariahs]

@skwebber We're w2 employees for 20 years. Both of us have professional degrees. Engineer and CPA. We started our landscaping business 9 years ago and it's the best decision we ever made. The best path forward is just do it. Don't over analyze.

 

[skwebber]

@zachariahs Wow, that puts it into perspective. Thanks

 

[zachariahs]

@skwebber We wrote a post about starting our business some time ago. Feel free to check it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/gvlqrn/landscaping_business_from_0_to_23k_service

 

[lordismyshepard]

@zachariahs Are you OK if I reach out to you with specific questions?

 

[zachariahs]

@lordismyshepard go for it.

 

[zachariahs]

@haianhjumi We couldn't find a landscaper who would pick up our call, let alone come see the yard or do the work. My husband has a technical background and came up with a way to sign up new lawn care clients using address search and instant quote. Instant lawn care quote isn't a new thing but ours is quite unique. Also built the whole crm system to manage our business. We got quite successful over the years and even made a SaaS out of it for other landscapers https://app.houseofyards.com

 

[l2e]

@zachariahs Hey I’ve been reading your posts and have several questions if you don’t mind. I appreciate your posts!

1) When you started, how did you keep your labor busy enough to stay with you? Like did you get a crew together and say “hey I have jobs coming up if you hang around?”

1.5) if I win one deal in a week, did you just tell your one guy, “hey cut this one lawn, more will come?” This is the tricky part for me to wrap my head around.

2) I have trouble finding labor that is insured and has their own equipment. Any tips?

3) Did you pay labor by the hour or by the job at the start and did you ever transition?

4) Are the crews all contracted or w2?

5) Do you provide equipment and did you provide it off that start?

6) Another post you said you don’t need thousands of $$ to start but the app you created is definitely valued in the thousands.

7) I would be interested in using your app, but does it include a crm? Do we own any data If we stop subscribing? What happens when support ends for your app?

8) there’s a lot of competition where I am and it scares me. How did you overcome this?

 

[zachariahs]

@l2e We hired our first crew who service our own yard. He has his own clients and crew.

Yes, we told the crew we will get new clients, and send jobs over to you. We collect payments, deal with all client complains, and requests. They just need to focus on working the yard.

We have our own insurance.

We pay by the job. For example, we charge say $60, we pay the crew $50. We made $10 gross. The guys like it cos they don't need to worry about chasing down payments.

Not all are 1099, some are w2.

For 1099, they have their trucks, tools, and equipment.

The app took us much more than thousands to make but we made an app for others that's inline with other CRM tools costs.

It's a full suite CRM tool end to end solutions. You own the data. The support is ongoing cos it's a saas. We push out updates regularly. https://app.houseofyards.com

We're told 10 years ago there was too much competition and won't succeed, 10 years later, we did over 60k services without thousands of clients. Just practice good business ethics, and do good work. Communicate well with clients and crews, business will come.

 

[l2e]

@zachariahs Thank you so much for your response! I will stay in touch and might be using your app soon. If I have more questions I can ask here or just PM you if you don’t mind?

Thanks again!

 

[kmar123]

@zachariahs Almost thought I was the only one. I was in IT 8 years then started my landscaping business. It was also the best thing I ever did. I’m on year 5 and now I’m starting a GC to build homes.

 

[zachariahs]

@kmar123 Awesome, keep grinding

 

[kmar123]

@zachariahs Same

 

[stacy86]

@kmar123 How did you learn all the aspects of landscaping? What would you say your biggest hurdles were when starting out to becoming profitable? What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time right before you started?

 

[zachariahs]

@stacy86

We wrote a post about starting our business some time ago. Feel free to check it out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/gvlqrn/landscaping_business_from_0_to_23k_service

 

[blackz911]

@zachariahs W2 employee for 15+ years and now own a vending route for 2 years. Best decision I ever made as well. I completely agree that you just have to do it. I over analyzed for 2 years to start a business. In the end, I just picked up my phone and started making calls. You will make mistakes, which are ultimately learning opportunities, but you have to get the ball rolling and take a chance. It will take a ton of work, but can be worth it in the end.

It may be a good idea to start a "simple" business such as vending to learn what it takes to run a business. Then, maybe graduate to a more complex business that involves the specific skills that you have acquired through your profession now.

You likely have a leg up now with software development experience and can save by building your own website, etc.

 

[bellpepper]

@skwebber I was a software engineer for 7 years. I run a pool service company now. 10x more fulfilled than when working for someone else. That said this is my 5th year in business and I only just now started making ok money, but still nothing like the peak of my coding career. Ill probably get there next year though.

Id say it kind of depends what you want. For me I was absolutely miserable in the corporate world. Making less money for a while wasnt too big of a deal for me, because to me being poor and free was better than rich and miserable.

If you want to use your skills, you could go spend some time in a sweaty industry until you find a problem you can solve, then spin up a saas. Rinse and repeat until something sticks.

But really at the end of the day, if going into business for yourself is something you want to do, you just gotta start doing it. Know you will fail and probably lose money a bunch until you figure it out. But you will figure it out as long as you dont stop trying.

 

[marissa23]

@skwebber I was a molecular biologist for 15 years and now I run a party rental company! It’s definitely more physical than mental, and I love every second of it!

 

[brian1970]

@marissa23 I've thought of this buisness when my friend ordered a bounce house for her kids' party and they never even showed up. There's obviously a bigger demand and I coulf grow int aduly party rentals like margarita machines tables and chairs.

 

[marissa23]

@brian1970 Wow! That’s crazy! When I was requesting competitor quotes I couldn’t believe how many companies ghosted me! That’s how I know we’ll win business and get great reviews!