Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Working for Yourself

If you do, make sure you partner with an enemy. Because he will be one before it's over.

Worked for myself for so long it's pretty hard to work for other people.

This! Ugh.

Same, except, my customers would cause me to show up, I'd go take a good look at them and then go back home.

And Good Luck LT, hope you're out guiding so much you have to wear jojo oil to bed every night because of the salt spray sunburn.

Pat, there's some good advice on here, but I'll add the following....

1. Hire a good accountant, and listen to him. If you don't have one already, talk to the best business-people you know and get a recommendation. I found my accountant by asking my bank manager, who was and is a very sharp guy. Once you have your accountant, tell him EVERYTHING. He can't help you if you don't tell him where all your money comes from and goes to. And keep your books the way he wants them kept.

2. Pay the IRS first. Every time a check comes in, put away the percentage your accountant says to put away to pay the IRS and don't touch that account except to pay the IRS. Make your IRS installments in full and on time.

3. Trust everyone you do business with, as in trust them to screw you first chance they get. Believe the worst of people, and you'll rarely be disappointed.

4. Deliver full value and tell the whole truth to your customers and your accountant. Lie to everyone else, except maybe your wife.

5. Learn how to guard your time away from work. When you're off, be OFF. Be present with your wife/kids/friends/dogs when you're with them. Turn off the damn phone and/or computer and let it go to voicemail, and then be sure to set aside time at the beginning of each work day to answer those voicemails and emails. Too many people let work take over every waking minute of their lives. No job, no career, is worth that. When you're on your deathbed, you won't be regretting the voicemails you didn't get around to answering.

Sometimes you don't have a choice when customers string you out for your money for months. You become their partner or finacinal institution when they tell you I will pay you when I get paid.

That one is YUGE.

Accounts receivable is a hard thing to deal with sometimes.

When I was in the surveying business, pretty much at any given time, my AR were over $30k... Mostly due to real estate surveys that were slow to close due to a hangup, or didn't close at all.

The title company is ultimately liable, since they ordered the work. But if you go after them, they will send the work to someone else.

I would add one more:
NEVER blow smoke up some ones butt.
If you can`t do something, SAY you can`t do it.

You mean you don't get that feeling of satisfaction that you helped some of the dead beets pay their mortgages or equipment payments with your money interest free? LOL. By not paying that's basically what they're doing. Getting 6-8 month loans.

Start with a good plan, a real market, and know how to use a calculator. Success doesn’t happen by accident. I see business after business fail and when you talk to them you realized they were doomed before they started.

ltppowell: The VarmintWife and I owned a very successful business for just over 25 years.
I was happy when we sold it but slowly began to realize "we" had lost a LOT of tax advantages that came with that business!
A long time and VERY successful friend of mine who owns several types of businesses once relayed to me if he had to start over again he would "stick with laundromats and car washes"!
I asked him why.
His answer "because I get to count the quarters before the government does"!
Consider the tax advantages of ANY business you might be considering starting.
Hold into the wind
VarrmintGuy

Partnerships are not for everyone. That said, I’m in two partnerships businesses, one for over 20 years. You have to make them work, just like a marriage.......without the puzzy.

Its a pretty good life.


Some trade offs for sure, but I think they balance out in the end.

Finding a good CPA is like looking for hen's teeth. I know because I was one before I retired. My niche was tax planning and research. in addition to solving tax problems for clients, I reviewed returns for clients of other CPAs for planning purposes or for those with sophisticated tax situations that their CPAs were not able to handle. I reviewed a lot of returns prepared by other CPAs. There are a lot of CPAs out there and very few are worth their salt. They get away with it for years because the IRS is almost non-functional in so many situations.

Be sure your health is good enough to carry you through this. If you think you might be heading for health issues think twice before taking on their work. This can be devastating to a client. His needs must be timely met. Do not promise what you cannot deliver.

Finally took that leap of faith about a year and a half ago. Had side gigs my whole working life but hit me in the face one day after all these years that I had the skills and drive to do it full time. Been rough here and there but it's finally starting to pick up enough to where hopefully wife can quit her job in the next few months and help with the business. It's a one man show right now and I love it that way. My reason was to create a job for myself and do what I love in the process. Put up with way too many ahole bosses and co-workers, now I have a little more choice in who I want to do business with. Best of luck to you God bless

As mentioned above, the best advertising is a happy customer.

By far one of the hardest lessons is learning to say no to work if it cannot or will not be done quickly, correctly, and with excellent service fairly priced.

I now always keep my workload just a bit below capacity so that there is ability to handle the unexpected.

Couple other suggestions, family depends on the work, but remember family is why we work and be there for them physically, mentally, and emotionally and they will be there for you.

ALWAYS keep up with all tax liabilities and set that money aside and pay on time. Understand taxes now are due quarterly. Hire a good CPA, you cannot afford not to, and a good general purpose lawyer for advice is invaluable.

Keep a cash cushion to run the business to avoid borrowing.

Debt is the devil’s salary.