This post by @Matthew should be a sticky that every new member is referred to.
When we bust our tail building someone else’s business all we end up with is a busted tail.
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Except for that part. Hahaha.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that my paycheck is hardly steady as it is. Work fluctuates so much that we are prevented from making an effective budget.
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Like I mentioned earlier, being a business owner your income will have dramatic fluctuation the first couple years until you get a constant customer base.
Sales should be your focus.
Sales can solve 90% of the pain you will feel the first couple years.
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First, as an “old guy (58)” here is a quick thought based on all my “learning experiences” in relationships. Women thrive on safety. They expect “their man” to provide that safety. In this case financial stability. Take that into account so that you don’t cause your wife unnecessary worry with the choices you make. As the saying goes, if the wife’s not happy, nobody’s happy
Secondly, something else I’ve learned over the years is that, for most people, Starting a new business from scratch takes longer and is harder than expected. If it were me I would take that into account in my decision making.
A short book that you might want to read is “The Dip” by Seth Godin. It explains that when starting a new business you will almost always hit a time at the beginning where something goes really wrong and income is usually very negatively affected. For example, four weeks after starting my new window cleaning business it started raining twice a week for about six weeks here. Few if any residential clients want their windows cleaned when they expect it to rain in a day or two. So for six weeks I went with almost no income. Because of the book and what I have experienced in starting other businesses I wasn’t at all surprised by the “Dip”. What I did do was make lemonade out of lemons by using the “free” time to work on finding out what would work in marketing my business. I also had the backup income of the pizza delivery job (see post above).
Unfortunately I suspect that my thoughts will be rejected. That’s ok too. Every choice made is the right choice. Some choices just give you a little more learning than others. Been there, done that.
I wish you all the best. I’ve worked for myself nearly all of my life. You’re making the right decision starting your own business. It might be rockier than expected at the start, but worth it.
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Good for you! Good luck to you and your family, you can do it if you really focus!
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23k/ year is less than 500$/ week. Obviously there’s expenses when running your own business but you can do 500/ week with one or two houses a week.
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As the saying goes, if the wife’s not happy, nobody’s happy
Oy, if there’s one thing of value I’ve learned in my mere 2.3 decades of existence, it’s that!
Starting a new business from scratch takes longer and is harder than expected.
I guess that’s one advantage I have. It’s not from scratch (depending on how you define “Scratch.”) I’ve been working on it part-time for a year, and have my customer base researched to a working degree, although refinement is always possible.
A short book that you might want to read is “The Dip” by Seth Godin. It explains that when starting a new business you will almost always hit a time at the beginning where something goes really wrong and income is usually very negatively affected.
Interesting. I didn’t know that. Thanks for the advise! My philosophy when a risk is taken is to always have numerous “escape hatches” out of danger. In this case, I have several side-ventures not related to my business that each make a significant contribution to our income and could be ramped up if necessary. So, I guess there’s that. Thanks though, like I said, I will look into it and do some more thinking.
Unfortunately I suspect that my thoughts will be rejected.
Not at all! Like I said before, I am absolutely taking the advise of those older and wiser than me into account. I’m not dead-set on any particular option, so it’s not as if I have any kind of [beyond the ordinary] bias telling me to ignore advise like yours. Thank you!
Like I mentioned earlier, being a business owner your income will have dramatic fluctuation the first couple years until you get a constant customer base.
That particular comment of mine was in regards to my income from FiSH, not my business (although it obviously applies to the latter as well.) Some weeks I can make $675 in pay from FiSH, other weeks it is $400. Very rough on budgeting.
Sales should be your focus.
Sales can solve 90% of the pain you will feel the first couple years.
Say no more! You don’t have to tell me twice, haha. We are really hammering out the flyers right now, putting out at least 150 on days when we have other stuff to do, and 300 minimum on days we have no work scheduled. If they don’t start generating business before my last day at FiSH (April 20) we will have to reconsider.
My wife is really loving this whole “her getting a job” thing. She just went out a nailed two part-time waitress jobs. So, we’re pretty much good to go. Haha.
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You are right. Women do thrive on safety but I HATE this quote. I see so many husbands bend over just to “make the wife happy.” I have seen so many not do what they want to do, because they do what the wife wants them to do. Man says “i want this video game.” Wife says “no, we dont have money for that”. Man backs down. Wife says “i want this new dress”, man says “sure babe, what ever you want”. So, you lose what you want cause there is no money but there’s money for what she wants. Or, the amount of times a homeowner hates their newly renovated house/bathroom but deals with it because that’s what she wanted(and they always use the classic happy wife quote)…come on. You both live there-not just her. Sorry, but no. I watch my friends go through this all the time. I’m not saying it should be what the MAN wants but it should be 100% equal. She wants something, you get something. You want something, she gets something. Shes not happy so you make yourself unhappy to make them feel happy. I see my buddies doing stuff like this all the time. “Happy wife, happy life”. Bs. Happy wife and happy husband. Making your girl have everything she wants, having things her way, is just sad. I respect my fiance, but she doesn’t sit on a pedestal higher than mine.
That being said, I like the rest of your post 
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@GlassMD
Mike clean up the language in your post, thanks.
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Apologies
(Grabs MIC) -clears throat-
Option One
(Drops MIC)
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Not a fan of FISH. Have a few in the area. Constantly coming back to the stores 3x a month to drop off brochures. Customers have told them they are happy with current window cleaner (Me) and please don’t come back here again. (One of them asked my customer “So uh…what if you know, HE DIES TOMORROW?”)…yikes.
That being said, not sure what your hours are there-- can you work for FISH during the week and dedicate the weekend to building your business? I am doing this, work Mon-Fri and have the weekends off to do my jobs. I couldn’t take the leap, as my expenses are more than you are listing and I am single. I am in no position to quit my window cleaning gig, but with 2-4 years time that will be a different story.
Do what you feel is best for you and your FAMILY. Go with your gut, I think you will be just fine my friend! Squeegees up!
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You are right, GlassMD. Men are also supposed to be leaders (this is not open for any SJW debate, it is a fact. Inherent in nature and in physiology.) and doing whatever makes your wife happy is not leadership.
That being said, not sure what your hours are there-- can you work for FISH during the week and dedicate the weekend to building your business?
I’ve been trying to do that, but in practice in hasn’t worked out very well. I work at FiSH 30 hours a week, but between the commute and other responsibilities it doesn’t leave enough meaningful time to devote to the business. Option 1 or 2 are both more effective/efficient than staying at FiSH.
Self employment is more work in the begining, especially if you need the revenue to support your families lifestyle.
30 hours a week currently not having other time means you are likely going to have to give a little to make time to build your business for first years
Like I said, it’s not actually 30 hours. In practice, it is way more than that, when you take into account driving and other things related to Fish. The place I am “giving” in, is Fish. Hence why I am leaving it. Haha.
I started my business after working for FISH. I have two things to note on. 1- I had to sign a 1 year no compete contract when I worked there… Idk if you had to do this… something to think about. 2- You can make so much more than you made from fish. The positive from coming from fish, is you already know how to clean windows, so you wont have growing pains from having to learn how to do it.
I always had it in my head that I would just get a part time job if I wasn’t making enough, but I never needed to (similar financial situation as you) But like other people have said, don’t forget about saving for winter, That was my only growing pain.
Good luck you got this.
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I did have to sign the no-compete, but the agreement is only valid within 20 miles of any FiSH office. I am far, far outside that zone.
It’s good to know it worked out for you that way, hopefully I will have a similar story!
