Self-Employment VS Working a Job

I spent just about the last 10 years working construction for other people. Different trades but mostly carpentry. I was working the last year for a timber framing crew. So last this last December right before Christmas I just dipped, with the full support of my wife who is a stay at home mom, and decided to work for myself. Started advertising around town and got some jobs. Then I decided I was done doing anything but carpentry and woodworking. So I started turning down any job that wasn't just working with wood. Now things have taken off. I'm becoming known as the woodworker. A specialist and I'm getting jobs left and right. My point is you don't always need to be scared. Sometimes you just need to believe and get after it. We have three kids and about $200 to our name when I made this decision. I never let myself doubt that we wouldn't be provided for. You are always provided for if you do what God is telling you to. You are living in the land of abundance. Let it pour on in.

43 year ..I was an eager beaver in the beginning . Work hard and it will come ,Study hard , Become the best you can and learn as much as you can .My career has gone from the penniless pits to standing atop mountains then back down to the pits and wondering what happened . Back to the top and seemingly learned from my mistakes and back on top of the mountain , Then penniless once again , My last surge . I finally arrived and had my chess pieces in place , Then life came along and weakened me with stage 4 cancer and the only way I knew to fight it , Was go hard and climb again ,Can't climb anymore . The best advice I can give ..Fall in love with the work , Don't seek it for the money solely , Make it your love and build with love , Always give thanks for the talent you have been given . Build as if you are building for God . Glory to God

I would really suggest anyone that wants to be a general contractor/superintendent.. first,, actually build something. Actually wear the same tool belt and experience life in the shoes of the people you want to boss around. As a carpenter, I can’t tell you how many project managers I’ve come in contact with that have the glimmer of big money and building someone’s dream home with the false catharsis that they’re building something special .. meanwhile you shake their hand and can instantly tell they’ve never swung a hammer in their life. Those are always the most nightmarish builds for everyone involved.

"People don't quit jobs, they quit bosses" This is worth repeating! But I suppose also, just because you don't like your boss, doesn't mean you want to be your own boss, I've seen many people make that mistake, when all they really wanted was a job with a better boss.

I've been in construction 40 years, a master plumber for 30 years. Self-employed 21 years. Gave it all up 5 years ago to become a city inspector. Best move I ever made. Holidays, vacation, retirement, good pay, and great health insurance. Every weekend off, less stress, its been great.

age 73-45 years in business and still counting. with a ladder rack and a 72 F-150. from hanging gutters and roofing to stadiums, art centers to GC. it's a hard road and not for everyone. a few people a long the way were a huge help. find those ppl. pick what you do best and hoan that skill or biz model. minimize your mistakes-support your community. ALWAYS-be honest-Chief

Even the WORST day I've had while self employed as a mason was still a trillion times better than my best day working for someone else. I might have to give up being self employed someday, but for now, I am happier than any person I have ever met or even heard of.

well. This video is pretty helpful. Im starting my own little welding repair LLC. I don't like getting yelled at for doing 2 shifts of work in 2 hours because there isn't enough to do. I don't much care for co workers threatening to try and get me fired because I recommended a 10/24 thread screw. Shooowee. So Lord willing I will have my little LLC up and running in about a month. I applied Monday. I can afford all my tools in cash so no loans and no overhead crap. Just consumables. I called around and not many folks actually want what I am trying to bring. Im 23 and got nothing to lose. I am keeping my currant job so I will always have income. It all started when I wanted a project truck so I would have something to do on the weekdends or after work because I dont do very much. I then found a old welding rig, then my dad was like "how about a trailer?" and now I can get my portable shop (thanks to all the tools I already own) for like 8k. My current truck has the gusto to pull it. Im not really sure what else to do with my time. Might as well learn and make money. I have no bride nor gf just time and wanting to make some money.

I've been on both sides of the fence. Worked for people who didn't have a clue what side was up. And I've also started or bought 35 different businesses. And managed to get 2 engineering degrees in my spare time. And I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up. I retired at 55 but haven't stopped working on things I enjoy doing. I hope I can continue for another 30 years at least. I still have a lot of things I need to do!

I ve done that..quit my job in sales..borring as hell..10 years having to deal with alot of people that would ruin your day...so i left to UK..and realised i m like a wish in the water there..stayed 9 years..learned a few trades..such as painter and decorator, plumber, electrician,carpenter, builder ..and then came.back to Romania and build myself a nice house , and i thank every day to those 30 famillies plus or minus..that always kept me.busy and apreciated me..cant wait to go on a holliday and have a cup of tea with them😊

The "ship" analogy is certainly the wisest way to proceed; I also brought myself to "shore" that way. It took months and months and months of reminding myself to wait until the ship was fully moored and the tide was calm to finally jump off and start my journey inland...it's proven to be a winner almost 8 years later!

When people say "I wish I knew then what I know now" this is the information that they are talking about. I am not a craftsman, nor am I in the trades. I started watching this channel because I was renovating my home. I don't care if the videos are about roofing or lumber, if you listen closely and analyze what is being said, you will find valuable life lessons in every video. This is one of the best channels on Youtube.

I started as a framer right out of high school for 2 yrs, worked 18yrs for another contractor doing all phases of remodeling then going on my own 8yrs ago. Starting my own business was the best decision I ever made, better money, choosing jobs I want to do, flexibility, and overall happiness. Anyone out there thinking about it I say go for it you won't regret it.

I have been blessed enough to get into the Boston Carpenters Union at 25. By 28 I was promoted to foreman and have been happily employed with 1 company for 8 years now. Working FOR someone, the most important factor is WHO you're working for, and I hit the jackpot in that department. However, my employer knows that I know what I'm worth and will take off at the slightest hint of bs. Competent employees have the power these days, you just need to take control of it.

Im 3rd generation carpenter, i became a contractor after the military for the freedom as well. At 28 years old. Im 62 now and ive slowed down considerably. I did mainly roofing and framing for the first 25 years. Transitioning into finsh and tile work as my body wore out. Retired this year and work a little when i feel like it.

A great topic. My younger days were a long slow, low paying process that had adventure and carefreeness and also a poor way to learn everything the hard way. After reaching around 30yrs of age, I was fed up with that kind of uncertainty and was ready to return to school, and get a degree and enter the workforce indoors in an office environment. After about 3 years of that I was getting very sick of the routine and started feeling like something had to change. It took another 3-4 years, primarily because I had no real idea what I should do next. One day I found another job, designing kitchen and bath type CAD work. I got all my ducks in a row, spent the next 4-5 weeks transitioning out of a job I hated, a company that wasn’t going to fire me, and joined one that seemed like a great place. On day 10, the boss told me that it wasn’t working out. My second child was born a few weeks earlier, this employer knew this when he encouraged me to make the move. Yet after literally 80hrs into the job he complained that because my hair was too long (I’d actually had very long hair before I met him, I cut it short, like insanely short, the weekend before actually meeting him) but it was not long. It had grown (my hair can take a year to reach my collar when it’s an inch above, it grows insanely slowly) barely 1/4” probably in the month since I’d first met this guy. Anyway. The next 5-6 years, this was 2005-2011ish, I struggled to find anything. Working at sandwich shops, grocery stores, even doing road survey work for the WisDOT for a year. Stress caused my marriage to suffer. Our first child was discovered to have severe developmental difficulties and epilepsy. This furthered the difficulties finding a job. No employer was interested in a new employee that told them his infant daughter was in the hospital 4-6 times a year, for a week at a stretch. My wife was a high school teacher, a masters in education, so her job was the bread and butter and insurance etc. I was a stay home dad. I never wanted to be a parent. I loved my children, but having kids was never anything I’d dreamed of. Having a disabled child was everything I ever feared about having kids! One day our marriage counselor suggested, after my wife had informed him that I was mechanically capable and could repair nearly anything, I’d also learned construction skills to some extent, particularly electrical. He suggested I merely advertise my skills, handyman. $25/hr. I scoffed. I’d been begging for $12-14/hr for so long, less than I’d made at the job I stupidly quit, and to imagine anyone giving me $25hr was unthinkable. But after a few months of denial I wrote an ad and posted it on Craigslist. 30min later I was called. I replied a storage shed door at a small used car dealership. I made $150 for a 5-6 hour job. That was 2012. The first couple years were tough. I didn’t know how to represent myself, but I persisted. These days, I charge (I don’t work hourly, ever) per job, set fees generally, but everything is always negotiable. Most days I’m working for well over 100/hr and I turn away more work than I can accept. Hundreds of repeat customers, many of whom kept me reasonably busy through the pandemic! I do pro bono work when the situation seems it a good thing. My daughter’s now an adult, still disabled and epileptic. My wife has divorced me, primarily because the stresses of everything involved in our collective lives having a child who is extremely difficult to handle, but her teaching career was diminished by the GOP, the pandemic, the hatred of being an educated woman who was perceived to be a rich white lady, by the people whom were in her classrooms who could say anything, and the administration would not step up in support of their teachers. Kristin was the most dedicated advocate for the children she cared enough to teach, yet them and their trash parents made her ultimately have a couple nervous breakdowns in the classroom shortly following the return to in classroom teaching. This topic today, at least today for me, speaks volumes about the importance of finding yourself and your place in a better place in the working environment. Thanks for this as well as every single one of your other videos.

The storms can be very rough and frightening being self-employed, but I can't let go of the sheer freedom that comes with it.

I started out in high school as a glazier’s helper, then worked for a remodeling company for almost 4 years after college. I spent 2 years in management at the remodeling company before going out on my own three months ago. I got kicked out the door when my employer found out that I was preparing to do side projects on the weekend. My plan was to do the side hustle thing until I had enough business to leave. My employer didn’t like that notion. He kicked me out the door. And that was a gift. I quickly built a client list and I have more work than I can personally handle, I’m making more than twice the money I was making, and I just got back from camping with my family last weekend. I thank God that I can say this, but it was honestly easier than I expected. Once I got kicked out the door, it all came together quickly because I had all the skills to acquire clients and complete projects. Last week I got a very large job under contract. In five weeks, I will make a third of what I made last year as a W2 employee. Thank you, Jesus!

Find a niche few or no others do. I have reinvented myself as needed from locksmith to carpenter to contractor. I started learning locksmithing in high school which has been amazing. I worked for others learning what I needed along the way. I ended up at the top of the food chain in my 100,000 population city. I now do about anything with doors installing mortise, multipoint locks, hinging you name it. I regularly work for the millworks here repairing, reversing door swings, whatever they can't do and they treat me like gold. No advertising needed, folks call me every day for work now. I am the only person in the state that works on some locks so I can charge whatever I want, but I am not exploitive. I am 68 and happy as can be with no intention of quitting at this point. This could be good or bad but do what everyone else does, get what everyone else gets. This is hard work and takes more than a 40 hour week, thoroughness and self motivation required. The unambitious need not apply

Working for yourself will be the hardest thing you ever do, if you can pull it off you are extremely talented. Working for someone else is the easiest thing possible, just realize it's not yours, and you will be cut loose with no notice when you are used up.