Leaving our Jobs

[pepper]

We are in our second season in this business. We have 26 accounts. Me and my Partner both also have full time jobs with great benefits. Right now it is very hard to find enough hours in the day to get our work done. Besides mowing we also have 3 landscape jobs resodding one yard and two cedar fences to build. We are working after 5pm during the week and dawn to dark Sat and Sun. We usually have 2 guys to help us on the weekends. It seems that pretty soon we will not be able to do it all without giving up our day jobs and we are both uncomfortable with doing that until we are sure we can make it financially. My partner is single but I am married with 3 kids and my wife stays at home. Since you guys are more experienced is there a better way to go about this or are we on the right track. Also our jobs will not allow us to go part time unless we take a 50% cut in hourly wage. Hence the reason we like working for ourselves. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Pepper

[jrebeiro]

Pepper,

I too will find myself in the same situation very soon. We have 3 divisions Lawn Care, Irrigation, and Construction. There are 3 partners and the construction is a seperate company with its own workers. We are about to sign a huge contract to sub-contract commercial irrigation jobs for condominiums. The other 2 partners are irrigation guys by trade and are going to have to leave the lawn care division to me. I work 40+ hours as a computer technician and will be forced to leave my job and do lawn care fulltime. However if we sign this contract I will be able to pay the bills and then some :) Only thing is what to do in the off-season.

[Charles]

Keep your job. We just did a post about this so search for it. But man with three kids you need lots of insurance including dental and the other benefits a job offers. I havent figured out how i am going to pay for health insurance in ten year at 50. The price jumped 40$ a month just when I reached forty. Some people think they can depend on their spouses jobs to pay for their health insurance. What if she dies or loses her job? This self employed stuff is for the birds sometimes.

[Grateful11]

I'm trying to grow very slowly. This is my second season and I don't want to get more than I can handle. So far this spring I've had somewhere to go and work almost every evening and Sat. in the past three weeks. I too have a good full-time job making about 40K a year with excellent benefits and it would be hard to leave there after 13 years service. My job is pretty laid back I do CNC programming of a very large milling machine. I tell people I go to work to rest. I like my job but the idea of being on my own sounds nice but I don't think I could afford the insurance as I have one child that has MD. It always going to boil down to your own decision. My Dad made it being self employed for 33 years in heating and air conditioning and we never went hungry but times have changed. My brother in law tried too start an outdoor power equipment company a few years back and failed but turned right around and landed an 80k per year job. So you never know what lies down the road. It would definitely be a tough decision to make.

[65hoss]

Since your partner is not married, maybe he could go fulltime first to help grow more and then when the time is right, you can move into fulltime also.

[Toad]

Pepper
Don't be greedy, do what you can and give up some of them jobs that are to time consuming.

[Toad]

"I am married with 3 kid's."
Time is of the essence

[lawnman_scott]

I was in that position about 4 years ago, i was scared to quit my job, and finally did. Its the best thing i ever did.

[jasonp]

Im with hoss on this one try and see if your partner will go full time since he is single. You have to think about the kids first. But not to get off the topic but Im fully against partnerships especially with friends.

[Skookum]

I agree with Hoss also. Get your single partner to go full time first. Pay him for it though. Then build to where you need a employee to help him until it gets to the point where you can then replace the employee or keep the employee and grow more.

I also agree with JasonP partnerships are a tough row to hoe sometimes down the road. This is when it would show too! Your partner quits his job, and builds your business by working fulltime at your all business venture. He might get to thinking that he has done all the work and you just rode along. This is why I said pay him for it.

A freind of mine just bought into a chain resturaunt franchise with two other guys. My friend quit his job and will run the store for two years before the other two join him after opening two more stores. They have a contract that pays him very well for this sacrifice on his part which will pay off for the other two later.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[Paradise Yard Service]

Sounds like your neck of the woods has plenty of work in the industry. If you went PT would you still have the health care for the fam? If so, you can keep the job PT still have health coverage and grow the biz. Then maybe you can go fulltime,providing your own coverage once the work comes together.

One thing I've learned is that you can't possibly cover all bases. Something will inevitably hit you. Remember ol' Murphy? But many people take these leaps of faith with good success. I'm not you though, and I rely on my wifes health coverage.

Hope this helps

Aloha,
P.Y.S.

[TJLC]

"Don't sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied, choose to chance the rapids,and dare to dance the tide".

[thelawnguy]

In my market it takes the revenue from 5 mowing accounts to pay for medical insurance for a family. After that (say 10:30 am Monday morning) you can begin working for yourself.

If you are happy picking flyspecks out of pepper shakers for "the man" then by all means stay where you are, but if you wish to be your own person and have the opportunity to take 12 week vacations in the winter then quit your job and go for it.

Thats what I did 9 years ago and never looked back.

Whats the worse case scenario? You go get another job?

I also discovered that, whether you make 30k or 100k a year you always seem to have the same amount of $$$ left over when its all done, 'cept maybe the kids go to a name-brand university vs. community college and you get a house with a basement vs. axles.

"Only thing is what to do in the off-season."

If you learn how to properly manage your finances you wont "have" to do anything, but what ever you decide to do will be the gravy.




[Edited by thelawnguy on 04-12-2001 at 06:24 AM]

[Grapevine]

I'm in my 13th season being totally self employed. Am 40 years old have 2 kids and a stay at home wife. I make a good living and can provide for my family comfortably, but it's expensive being self employed. If you want your business to be successful, a lot of your profits need to be put back in to buy equipment, trucks, repairs etc..
If you were a single guy with no one relying on you to foot the bill, I'd say go for it. But you need to give this some serious thought before you give up those benefits and security. Health insurance alone is over $800.00 a month for my family and 1 employee. Oh, in my opinion partnerships are doomed to failure, I learned that from experience.
Don't get me wrong I'd never work for somebody else, but it won't be easy.

[Greenkeepers]

I would see if your single partner could have a go at it.... If not then you need to worry about crossing that bridge... Is there enough business to grown enough to support your family and yourself?

Good Luck

[KD'sLawns]

One of my favorite motto's is: "Work to live, not Live to Work".
How does your wife and kids feel about it? You can take advice from anyone on here, but you do not have to go home to them evey night. Sounds to me that you are working too much and not getting to spend any quality time with your family. I am afraid that your children will resent that down the road. You can make millions of dollars a year, buy them whatever they want and I think they will start seeing you as a money tree and not their dad. You only have one life, so make sure that you enjoy it. Alright, enough said. Does your wife work? If so, does she have any benefits at work? I understand that the benefits are your main concern, as they should be with children. I would disagree with letting your partner go full time while you stay on at your job pt. Because if he is out there picking up accounts while you are working, he is going to feel that they are his accounts. When time comes for you to quit your job and go full time, I think your partner will feel that it is his company as he is the one that has been doing it full time. If you are happy whenever you are doing this kind of work and numb when you are in the office then I think you have already told yourself what you want. If you are serious about going full time, I would jump right off into it at the same time your partner does. Sounds like you already have a pretty good start. Your partner and you should use some of your vacation time from work and pick up as many new accounts as you can. That way you can get a feel for the market without sacrificing a sure thing. Good luck in whatever you decide, and I apologize for this being so lengthy. I quit my job last Feb. and started this business with 2 lawns. Sure there are hard times, but I would do it again in a second.

[MOW ED]

I have 25 accounts plus extras, working alone and I have another job also. 56 hours a week on the fire department. I work 24 hour days, (no I don't always sleep at night). If you are young enough and have the desire, consider the fire service. Good benefits, decent pay, good time off. Lots of members on this site are in the same boat. Beats the heck out of workin 9-5 and coming home to mow at 5:30. Just my advise. Good Luck.

[pepper]

TJLC,
You guys are right. It's time to Dance. Thanks for all the advice. I've never had a job that I absolutely loved until I started this business. Never hotter, never happier.

[65hoss]

Good attitude if you plan to make it.

[jcoat]

I'm in the same boat. 40+ hours/week @ very good paying job, benefits out the wazoo, BUT what do I do?
One thing I have going for me is the company I work for is very cool about accepting change. If you've been @ the company awhile and are a valuable asset, you might consider flex-time, part-time w/ benefits or a consultancy for them. Talk to them and see what can be arranged. 4x10s? Earlier hours? Part-time? Throw it out there... Good luck!