Career Change?

[joemac]

I was in a similar position earlier this year, except I decided it was time for me to leave where I was at. I have decided to start my own small business. This was mentioned above and is what I recommend. Now I do have a woman that has decided to stick with me until I get on my feet. It takes time to replace your income and is very much like starting over at the bottom but is much more rewarding and I am pleased with my decision.

Also I will note that my area has seen little effect from the economic downturn before you say are you crazy to walk away from a job in this economy? We have a navy base very close and the government contractors are many. I also believe the economy is what you make of it, make some hard decisions now so when we turn this thing around you are in a much better position.

[GregWeld]

There are more business's started during downturns - than at any other time... People are finally "forced" to do something they always only dreamed about..

What do you dream about doing....

[Vegas69]

Always keep in mind that somebody is making money and taking advantage of a downturn in the economy. I said it in your last thread, attitude is everything. If you mope around whining about how bad the economy sucks all the time, you will believe it yourself. I have a really good friend that has said the Real Estate market sucks every year I've known him! We've been friends for 8 years! He was wrong atleast a few times. You seem like a positive guy to me, but don't let the news beat you down. Make it happen while your young. This may very well be one of the best opportunites in your young life to do just that.

[joemac]

These are all great pieces of advice that I wish someone told me when I was starting out.

1. What do you want to do, this will help get you motivated
2. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, there are people that have it worse than you, be grateful for everything you have
3. Figure out how to do what you want, life is so much more than just working a job, but something you have to do to live in today's fast paced society, why not do something you enjoy

I hope this helps

[tones2SS]

Thanks for all the positive comments/posts guys. I really appreciate it. I am a positive guy and want to move forward.
I would really like to work in an automotive shop like COMP-SPEC or something similar to that. I would need training of course. (Pete and Brian @ Comp-Spec show me some stuff when I am there, which is very cool.)
Health care is another avenue that I am looking into. So, some possibilities, just gotta go for the gusto! And unemployment may pay for some of the schooling as well, which will help out a lot!
Again, thanks guys. I appreciate the comments/positive reinforcement.

[cowboybob]

Originally Posted by joemac

I have decided to start my own small business. This was mentioned above and is what I recommend.

Joe...I'm thinking about doing the same thing and have been looking at several different types of small businesses.

I'm sure that it's frightening to take that first step. What kind of business did you start?

[youthpastor]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

There are more business's started during downturns - than at any other time... People are finally "forced" to do something they always only dreamed about..

What do you dream about doing....

hmmm. I wanna build hot rods!!!

I am just nervous on when to jump and leave a good job

[fletcherscustoms]

Hell I wanna build cars for a living!! having a full time job and running the shop on nights and weekends takes a toll on you. But I just can't justify leaving a 6 figure job to do what I love. Even though there would be less heartache and more enjoyment even with less money. Seems like if the hsop does continue to grow, I'll be hiring folks and micro managing!!

AS fas as the original concern, I was talking to a friend of mine who is head of personel at local small hospital. She said they can't get enough help in radiology!! And that the field is growing across the country, and aren't enough people to fill the positions. yahoo also rated it a top paying job the other day

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by youthpastor

hmmm. I wanna build hot rods!!!

I am just nervous on when to jump and leave a good job

You don't "jump" until the opportunity is right... timing is everything... and you do have to live and eat while you're watching for the correct moment to make your move.

It's like what I said earlier - albeit a bit differently... but sometimes you have to work 2 or 3 jobs until you get noticed and can make a move.. which means in your case - you work full time - and build hot rods in your other full time... It takes longer and you won't have a life...

A quick story about a friend of mine. They owned a restaurant - worked FRIDAY and SATURDAY nights etc... made homemade soups - she has hilarious stories about chopping carrots etc. They bought a rental house - and in between tenants etc - did their own painting and cleaning. With this modest amount of success - they bought another... then bought a duplex... all of this over a 4 year period... but now they're running the restaurant AND still doing their own painting and clean up etc... which was becoming too much work. So they sold all of the rentals and bought a small apartment complex with about 20 units in it. They gave a "deal" on one of the units to a guy that worked full time - but doubled as their handyman. They continued with the restaurant and acquiring a couple more small apartment complexes. This was about 25 years ago... at some point they started to buy larger properties with the tried and true "LLC" investment style. They sold the restaurant and invested in their first "larger" complex with about 200 units. The LLC (limited liability Co) model is where they find the property - put up the earnest money (tie up the property) - then sell "shares" in the investment with a 'return' percentage (the ones I own with them pay 7%)... they raise 35 or 40% of the price from their investors and use this for the downpayment and improvements - they maintain 51% ownership and their company runs and manages the property for a percentage. They now control or own 100O's of units... and bought the house across from me (my old house on Yarrow Point) for 6 million dollars...

Did this happen overnight... oh hell no! It took YEARS of hard work... but I can tell you now that they're certainly enjoying the fruits of their labor.

[GregWeld]

Okay -- sorry -- had an appointment so couldn't finish out my train of thought... and I don't want to hijack this thread taking it from "help one guy - to helping someone else".. but some of these principles can be applied to other types of businesses or variations of it to help people get started.

SO --

Let's apply this "LLC" model to building a car (hot rod)... If you are an honest, hard working, do as you say type guy... then if you have a BUSINESS PLAN stating what you are going to do - how you plan to accomplish this - pre-plan for various pit falls etc... A guy building a car could go to 10 people with this plan - and sell shares in the plan for lets just say $4,000 per share. Half shares could be split if the half share purchaser finds someone to take the other half share... NOW you have $40,000 in capital to work with... and you've got to promise a return on the capital... with some known time frame etc.

So you buy the "car" and some of the parts etc with your own money - then CAPITALIZE the construction with the investors money.. upon sale of the completed project - you return the investors capital along with the prearranged 'return' (called interest) PLUS any growth on their capital investment.

For example - you buy a project for 25K - and you have 40K in capital investment - the project cost 75K to finish... you own 51% of the project - and the investors own 49%... if you sell the project for 120K -- then you have to calculate the return promised - and their share of the capital gain.

I don't want to do the math for this - but lets just say they invested 4K - and you promised 7% annual return and the project took one year to complete - so they get back their 4K plus $280 of interest - PLUS the gain on one share which was $1,000. So for their investment of 4K - for one year - they got back $5,280. And you made a gain as well... so you have more to work with for the next project. Now -- all those investors were quite happy with their investment - so are more likely to invest in the next project and so on.

You could use these shares - to buy portions of the project... You might give 2 shares (worth 8K) to the painter who will do the job for a bargain price to start with as an "investor" - so he also has some ownership which will make him do a bit better job since he stands to gain from this.... and maybe Jason takes a share for putting up wheels and tires... and someone else puts up a motor.

The difference in this way of doing the car - is that some cars get built out of "advertising budgets" for companies willing to help with parts... and my way - would be that - plus - investors providing CAPITAL - and suppliers (now investors) trading their skills or parts for a RETURN on investment.

In order to get the work done right - and on time - you might have to "partner" with someone that is willing to provide space and tools/work... for shares...

The key is - to get started - you under promise and over deliver. When you do this a few times - each time you can gather investors easier.. and build on your own capital investment... and build better projects.

This is all a simplified version - I don't want to write a friggin book here... but you get the drift.