I've been self-employed for 34 years. My greatest pet peeve are the people who tell me how "lucky" I am to have my own successful business. Yeah, I'm lucky. The harder I work, the luckier I get.
I too am amazed at all the folks who think 'being the man' is better than 'working for the man' and that 'being the man' means a life of liesure and riches. My wife and I run a small business and I work full time as well. I also have a military retirement.
I was offered an eating establishment at one time. The owner wanted a partner so he could open another one. I looked at his 12hr days, 7 days a week and said no thanks, even at huge profits. FYI, that was his 'second' career as a business owner.
I have also known some higher level CEOs in my career (one is CEO of a multi-billion dollar company). Most have been hardworking folks who started out as engineers or budget analysts or other 'entry' level jobs in a company and worked their way to the top. In my book they deserve every million they make, including perks. I would not trade places with any of them. As to those who are actual crooks (Enron comes to mind), they should rot in jail forever.
For the question on pricing 'breaking point'. There is not really a break point, unless you define as when you go bankrupt. There is a maximum profit point. When you charge above that sales will drop and your profits will fall. Charge less than that and your number of sales might go up but won't be enough to give a higher profit. How do you find that point? Difficult. Since this year it may be one value and next year it will be different. Also depends on quality of your product vs your competitors and their pricing. If you really want max profits you continually change the pricing with the market. Increase price til profits drop, then reduce price slightly til profits bo back up.
We set our prices based on the going market rate. Our market is very small and our competitors are people we know. Some of them are trying to make a living at their business. Right now our profit margin is between 10% and 20%.
If I were a shark I'd undersell them by a huge margin and take huge losses for a few years til all of them were out of business, then jack prices up to the max profit point. Am glad I am not that kind of person.
I am also lucky that my wife likes the paperwork side of the business and doing all the hard work, like book keeping, customer calls, packaging and shipping. I can stay with the 'fun' stuff like R&D and acquiring new products.
charlie
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Hi: Sea Dog puts it very well. When you run your own business and have other peoples' welfare depending upon your success, it is an awesome responsibility. In my opinion, most people, by and large,seem to want life to take the path of lease resistance and therefore don't have a clue as to what it takes to satisfy their unthinking wants. Bill
Keep in mind that some people choose poorly when it comes to owning their own businesses. I know plenty of small business owners who are tied to their workplace and could make more and work less if they were an employee instead of an owner.
That sort of business is no fun and I wouldn't want to touch it. I also couldn't imagine owning a business that didn't operate and make money when I wasn't there.
Mike
* This post was
edited 05/02/08 10:09am by Mike Schriber *
Got to love those coments,,,, "you's guys charge way to much",,,,,,"you must be rolling in doe",,,,,,,, "are you trying to get rich of of me",,,,,,," $60/hour!!!!holy******you make a killing at this",,,,,,,"you want how much to do the job?? I can buy the stuff from home depot for half that price and do it myself",,,,,,,
Hmmmmmmmm lets see
business insurance,,,,,, business vehicles & insurance,,,,, various government licences (that have to be renewed each year),,,,, permits on every job,,,,, running around giving the expected free estimates,,,,, FUEL,,,,, spending time chasing customers for money,,,,,,carrying an inventory,,,,,,dealing with inspectors,,,,,, complying with labour and safety regulations,,,,,,, and the list goes on,, and on,,, and on. the only people who make a ton of money for little or nothing is the government, insurance companies, and banks. Been self emmployed for 12 years, and I sure am not getting rich from it, I am not poor but I work alot more hours than someone in a place like GM or someone working in a gov related job,,,and in the end have about the same income as a 40 hour a week GM job,,,,,,, Why do I do it???? hmmmmm good question,,,,,,,,,,, I am somewhat happier than I would be in any other job, and "I" am the boss
Relaxin, hikin, canoin, enjoyin life
headin down the road with a 25 foot starcraft, canoe, camera & fishing rod,'86 gmc 1 ton crew cab 454 "Sheila" a few pics from 2004
pbalentine wrote: I've been self-employed for 34 years. My greatest pet peeve are the people who tell me how "lucky" I am to have my own successful business. Yeah, I'm lucky. The harder I work, the luckier I get.
I love it when people say: "You can take off all the time you want for vacation!".... Yep, and I don't get paid one penny for when I am not working.
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2008 F-250 CrewCab 5.4L,
2004 21' Forest River Surveyor
portablevcb wrote: I have also known some higher level CEOs in my career (one is CEO of a multi-billion dollar company). Most have been hardworking folks who started out as engineers or budget analysts or other 'entry' level jobs in a company and worked their way to the top. In my book they deserve every million they make, including perks. I would not trade places with any of them.
Actually the owner of our company previously was a Senior VP at a huge manufacturing firm. People would be envious of his position, but they had no idea what he went through to get there. Worked his way to pay for college himself up through a Masters degree, started at an entry level position, and worked himself into the ground from there.
He told me that one day he realized his kids were going to be off to college in a few years and that they had literally grown up while he was always traveling. He had a membership and an exclusive country club, but had only played once the previous year because he was always gone. Ended up buying our company, took a huge pay cut, and never looked back.
He is really well off, but I would have never traded places with him.
John, the lovely wife, plus the 3 kids. 2007 Jayco Jay Flight 31BHS - Parked at the Seasonal Site Previous setups...
2002 Ford Explorer V6 pulling 2000 Trail-Lite Bantam B19
1997 Chevy Blazer pulling small Coleman popup
As I mentioned in a prior post I ran a small corporation (President and CEO) for nearly twenty years, had 11 employees plus my self, owned and still own the business property.
What helped me decide enough was enough was on one normal work day I got home around 10pm, I arrived to a dark home which was typical, wife and kids in bed, with dinner still in the oven. I sat down at the breakfast bar in the dark eating and looking down the hall that leads to the bedrooms. I heard a bedroom door open and my three year old came out of his room, he looked right at me and started running towards my bedroom, as he was running he was crying and screaming "Mommy, Mommy there's a strange man in our house!'
The next morning I had a meeting with my attorney and accountant and within 60 day's I was free of being a business owner. Soon after I went back into education, I now spend so much time with my kids they both scream " Mommy, Mommy when is Daddy going back to work?"
I have no regrets about working for someone else, I have no regrets about seeing my kids grow up, and I certainly have no regrets about not having the 16 hour work days. My only regret is to having to have my three year old make me realize that life was more than about a positive balance sheet and keeping customers satisfied NO MATTER WHAT THE COST!
Good Luck and Happy Trails
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Nascar24 A lengend in my own mind, A Scary thought in someone else's!
I owned and ran a small business with my brother for about five years. We never made any profit over those years beyond small salaries. I think my salary was $400 a month for the first year or two. I usually wasn't at the office more than eight hours, but I went right back to work when I got home.
My brother and I finally sold the business while it was still worth something as the industry was consolidating. Pretty much every small business in the industry has sold to a larger company by now. I did make enough in the sale to make a nice down payment on a new house and to pay for all the furniture, window coverings, and such for the house.
When I went out and got a regular job I was making almost doouble what I was making at my small business at the end. I don't miss worrying about making payroll and such.
Wow,after reading all these post,I found out how fortunate I have been. I'm a Union Electrician. I went into Electrical Contracting business 22 years ago. I have enjoyed helping people with there electrical needs. I rarely worked on weekends,Hollydays or after 3pm. I usually start about 9 am monday thru friday. I have taken off when ever the accasion arrose. I have had customers that didn't pay,but I didn't worry about it. I figured,what goes around,comes around. I've seen that happen many times. Now,I'm 65 ,and still work about 20 hours a week. I'll have to keep working untill I find a buyer for this property. Then I will retire to my motorhome and travel.
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