I have owned my own business in construction for the last 8 years.   Doing very well but I am to the point I almost cannot get myself up and get back in the grind anymore.  The 70 to 80 hour weeks are finally taking their toll.  The daily  fun-o-meter is pegged out near zero.  I do service work and am always under extreme stress from employees, vendors,  collecting money  etc.....


What suggestions do you guys have about new careers?



I do not want to go back to school for more than one year.

The food/restaurant business does not interest me.

I am open to franchise businesses.


Thanks

try becoming a certified chimney sweep pays pretty well and there is not alot of them around .you just cant be afriad of hights

Depending on your education level and "personal history" you may want to consider becoming a JBT.   Really.  Lots of folks get into Law Enforcement mid-life.  Your lookin at great bennies, good solid retirement plans, not to mention more excitement than most people can handle.

Drug dealer...excellent pay, world travel...a great lifestyle!

Quoted: Drug dealer...excellent pay, world travel...a great lifestyle!

I agree.  Motivated go-getters only need apply.

Quoted: Quoted: Drug dealer...excellent pay, world travel...a great lifestyle! I agree.  Motivated go-getters only need apply.

[boss from "The Mexican"] Hey, do you like sex and travel???[/short guy with bad haircut]

If I had to do it again, I would get something in the porno industry. Hours are long, but you meet some interesting people.

Who would believe it but a Farrier makes good money these days. I know one that had to quit because of a bad back but he was making over $100,000 per year and most of it was cash. He worked four days a week and shod 10-12 horses a day. The way he would do it was to tell a stable owner to have all the horses that they wanted to be shod there at the same time and he would get busy.  You could work at your own pace and be your own boss. No employees to bother with.Check it out.

How about teaching. You don't want to go to school as a student but you might try the other side of the desk at a trade school.

Why would he want to look at horses asses all day, then chat with them here all night?

Quoted: Why would he want to look at horses asses all day, then chat with them here all night?

Because at $60 a pop, times ten a day, times four days a week, times fourty eight weeks a year......... fuckin ehhh.

I'm personally thinking "shimp boat captain" or maybe doing some crabbin' or professional beach bum.

My wife keeps telling me no. And, you know what they say about momma not being happy.

Good luck in whatever you do.

sgt_seti

I feel the same way as you, I am a heavy equipment operator, and am very burnt out. I work in the union and I am tired of waiting for the call. I dred having to go back.  I have a job offer from a machine shop, and am very excited about getting into that for the training. Someday I hope to be able to do my own machining/ gunsmithing. I hope that you are able to find something that interests you and go with it.

It's kind of disheartening to hear that you aren't happy owning your own business.  I hope to own my own construction business one day.  Is it at least a business you can sell and make soe money from it?

I have to agree with Nationwide on this one, I can't think of anything else you can do with only one year of training other than LE.  And it may vary as to how much training that requires depending on your state.  I'd also suggest trying to get on with a state agency rather than a local one.  In Florida that would require you to have a college degree if you wanted to go with the Highway Patrol.  At one time I toyed with the idea of joining the FHP but I realized that I really love what I do and it pays significantly more.

With all of that said, if I was to change carreers today, I'd take out a loan, buy a bunch of shop equipment, rent a warehouse, and start designing & building furniture fulltime.

I'm personally thinking "shimp boat captain" or maybe doing some crabbin' or professional beach bum. My wife keeps telling me no. And, you know what they say about momma not being happy. Good luck in whatever you do. sgt_set

Shrimp boat capt is not that easy!  First you start as an apprentice baiter and after six months you can become a master baiter.  after that capt is easy  

There is no better job than being paid to violate civil rights on a daily basis.
Relax, it's a joke people

I also own my own business in construction.  There are weeks where I will spend a 100 hrs plus working, and others where I spend 40-60.
With the hours you ae sticking in , it sounds as though you need to bring someone in who can hel0p you carry the load.  Someone knowledgable, who can help you delegat.
I feel the same way you do, so I have decide to go from fifty men down to twenty, I am already starting to see some of the benefits.  Heck at this rate I don't even care if we go down to ten guys, it is quite peaceful.  You can email me if you would like to share notes.
Thanks,

Sean

Quoted: Quoted: Why would he want to look at horses asses all day, then chat with them here all night? Because at $60 a poop, times ten a day, times four days a week, times fourty eight weeks a year......... fuckin ehhh.

Sorry... couldn't help myself!!!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why would he want to look at horses asses all day, then chat with them here all night? Because at $60 a poop, times ten a day, times four days a week, times fourty eight weeks a year......... fuckin ehhh. Sorry... couldn't help myself!!!

Hey, when you gotta poop, you gotta poop!

Quoted: I have owned my own business in construction for the last 8 years.   Doing very well but I am to the point I almost cannot get myself up and get back in the grind anymore.  The 70 to 80 hour weeks are finally taking their toll.  The daily  fun-o-meter is pegged out near zero.  I do service work and am always under extreme stress from employees, vendors,  collecting money  etc..... What suggestions do you guys have about new careers? I do not want to go back to school for more than one year. The food/restaurant business does not interest me. I am open to franchise businesses. Thanks

I asked this SAME question like 2 months ago. I still havent changed my mind. Your brain goes into atrophy just doing the same shit day after day after day.... BORRRRRRRRRRRING!!!!!

I dont know what yet.... but there is SOMETHING better.... somewhere.

Quoted: I asked this SAME question like 2 months ago. I still havent changed my mind. Your brain goes into atrophy just doing the same shit day after day after day.... BORRRRRRRRRRRING!!!!! I dont know what yet.... but there is SOMETHING better.... somewhere.

Does that make this thread a big fat DUPE????

Quoted: I have owned my own business in construction for the last 8 years.   Doing very well but I am to the point I almost cannot get myself up and get back in the grind anymore.  The 70 to 80 hour weeks are finally taking their toll.  The daily  fun-o-meter is pegged out near zero.  I do service work and am always under extreme stress from employees, vendors,  collecting money  etc..... What suggestions do you guys have about new careers?

You have to do some soul searching. You need to figure out what your skills are and where you feel they can provide the best benefit to others in business. This isn't something that anyone can answer for you, it will be something that only you can figure out for yourself.

I can only suggest that you sit down with a piece of paper and a pen then write everything out. Where your strengths are, what you have skills/benefits in, what can you provide to customers, etc. Anything that you have experience you want to put on this list. Once you've started working on the list, you may very well come up with more items to add onto it. The list doesn't have to be done in one sitting, you can work on it over the course of a few days if you'd like. Things like this should be fermented like fine wine until they are ready to be used. You may want to break up these items into seperate areas (categories) while you're doing this.

Review the list of skills, accomplishments, etc and use the number system for categorizing. 5 for very important 0 for not important. When you've finished look at your numbers of 4s and 5s, they are your very strong points for focus, strength, and skill. Now review the lower numbers and decide if it would be beneficial to add those into the equation. Once you've made it this far now you can decide what profession is it that you want to persue and use your strong points in. What do you get the most satisfaction out of when it comes to doing a job. It sounds like a lot of work to put together a business plan. Actually, it really isn't if you consider that you're making a transition from one thing to another.

I talk to ladies every day who want to start working at home with their own business. I get quite used to explaining to those that are inexperienced, it gets difficult having to switch modes at times. Forgive me if I said something that you are already aware of.  Hope that this could help in some way. Best of luck to you.

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Pimp.

Keep you day job working for your own business if you can. If you think it's bad working for youself try working for a boss thats a real a-hole. I am talking about the type that times your lunch and breaks down to the second and times your bathroom breaks. Let me tell you there is a lot of these control freaks out there and you never know if you will get one. They worry more about stupid rules then the product we are building. I have had some great bosses and I have had ones even worse then I mentioned above.

If you can keep your business you will be better off in the long run. I have learned real quick in life that not to many people get wealthy working for someone else.  Try to look at some new ways to make your job easier and more productive for you if you can.

I am starting my own business and I am doing it for the reasons above. I am tired of working for other people. I work for a large defense contractor and it's always do or die.  We are always with in 3 to 6 months of being laid off due to governmet contracts problems and funding. It's hard to make plans or buy big tickect items or even go on vacation knowing you may be out of a job every 6 months or less. I have worked for almost ever major defense contractor out there for over 10 years and I am just fed up. The benifits keep getting worse and the pay is not what it use to be.

The main advantage of working for these big companies was the medical and for the most part that is almost gone. Our premiums are so high that with in a few years it would be cheaper to just go and get it yourself privately. So if you figure that the only really good reason to work for these big companies is the benifits. These benifits will be gone or not really worth a damn in a few years so then what is the real advantage at that point?

I wish you much luck in your business. God Bless

Take Care

Eric

What kind of construction? You could become an inspector, and dish out a little payback.

Bob