"Way of Life" or back to job hunting?

[aob9]

Two years after starting my own business( due to unemployment) I now realize that being self employed has it's positives and negatives.

 

Positive; I love working for myself. I love my job. I get an immense sense of satisfaction out of what I do. 99% of my customers give me repeat business so I must be doing something right....and much more.

 

Negative; Very long hours, many of which are unpaid ( looking at jobs, repairing machines, pricing stuff). Getting pricing wrong on occasions and not making decent profit. No steady income. Competing with bluffers. Wife fretting about irregular income. Weather stopping some types of work (Lawns etc)

 

I'm 42 now and although I'd rather work for myself.There is no doubt that a "proper" job gives a more secure income but I would be trading uncertainty for much less satisfaction.

 

Anyone got any words of wisdom??????

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

stick at it mate, working for the man sucks, and takes a lot of "personel adjustments" to get back to being a wage slave and somebodies bitch. I know!

[easy-lift guy]

In life as with work you will make or break your own destiny. Working for yourself will be like nothing else you will ever know for your working life. I suspect that as long as you continue to enjoy what you are doing to earn a living you will do fine. If in the future you determine that being self employed is no longer your cup of Tea, sit down with your wife and discuss what options you have and what reasons you had in the first place for starting your own business. "No one can pimp your self better then you", and your wife. All the best.

easy-lift guy

[likeitorlumpit]

i would say stick with it but self employment isnt for everyone

if you came to it by default then it is likely you are not that type

if you always wanted it then you will make a go of it regardless

[Taupotreeman]

Was in exactly the same position and at nearly 41 almost the same age too. Loved the lifestyle but was starting to struggle with working at the required speed to compete with the other outfits. Along with fuel price rises and more tree outfits starting up and the resulting competition I took a job with the local council as their arborist. I've had the chance to check out the prices that the other guys have been putting in for work I had also been quoting on as I am now in a position to approve some of those quotes and to be perfectly honest it's pretty bloody scary seeing how low they have gone in order to win the work. It kind of made be realize I'd made the right decision as I would never be able to compete at those prices. Now I get to spend a couple of days trimming trees and then a couple more driving around looking at the work for the council and trying to improve their maintenance plans. In addition I still work on saturdays and holidays doing my own stuff which brings in a little more income. The bonus of having a set regular income means I can plan a few things like holidays etc plus I don't have the constant wear and tear on the machinery and the ever increasing repair bills. As a small time outfit I have to admit I'm probably a little old for the full time self employed thing. Much easier if you have at least one crew or a climber that can at least give you a break from the heavy work occasionally. Plus I don't have to be polite to those really annoying people that ring at 9 at night thinking that you don't have a life and you should be at their beck and call. What ever you do I wish you good luck but don't be too down on yourself if you go down the employed route. At our age we deserve a little security don't we?

[log dog]

hi mate realise how tough it can be . if it was easy everybody would be doing it ! stick at it think of ways to give yourself winter work have a project to fall back on when slack think on about jobs and customers ! may the road rise up to meet you !

[janey]

I don't think it's something that any of us can really advise you on.

 

There are so many variables that are dependant on you:your skills, your likes, your situation, your goals, the work you do... You get the idea

 

A lot would also depend on the particular job that you would take instead of working for yourself. You may find you love it and wonder why you haven't gone for it before or you may loathe it and go back to what you know. Do you have a job lined up? You could always carry on with the SE stuff until something near perfect turns up (or chase) rather than leap into something far from ideal, and then do 'your' tree work at the weekend, perhaps?

[Andy Collins]

I think being s/e is the only "proper job", you reap what you sow to a certain extent. Of course adverse conditions affect how things progress, a long dry period means trees, hedges, garden plants and even lawns suffer. I probably consider jacking it all in about once a month, but the other 30ish days i love it, which is far better ratio than when I was employed.

If I were in your shoes, I would be holding a talk with local gardening groups at village halls, build a rapport with people that gets your name around a few new people, also re-kindling your enthusiasm for your job.

As far as your wife goes, instead of her moaning about the irregular income, is there something that she can do to support you instead of criticising, marriage is about teamwork.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

[quote name=Andy Collins;487025 I probably consider jacking it all in about once a month' date=' but the other 30ish days i love it, which is far better ratio than when I was employed.

[/quote]

 

about sums it up for me, I loved it, and long to be back there, but like another here feel maybe I wont be able to compete efficiency wise for long enough now to make it viable.

 

Its a difficult time in my life this stage, where do i go, what do I do, I get this guys dilema bigtime:thumbup:

[Wolfie]

Its a difficult time in my life this stage, where do i go, what do I do

 

I've often wondered why your not a consultant. The amount you know about the subject we should be calling you Dr. Hamadryad.

Saying that, after recently doing a few surveys myself, it is a much duller side of arboriculture. If it wasn't for my hip getting worse I would be more than happy swinging in the trees for a long time to come.