career changing ?

[spasm]

I too am a self employed builder, I'm looking to change my job for the same reasons, I don't want to be a cripple by the time I retire, anyone who does a hard manual job will have similar wear and tear on their joints etc, so I want something less physical.

I'm also getting tired of customers, it seems since the recession hit, everybody wants more for less, it's getting harder and harder to make a decent living.
It might be a regional thing and I only work on domestic stuff now, but up until October this year I've had a real busy year, but don't have the rewards I should for the amount of work done, that could have something to do with working for so called mates I guess.
My new year resolution is to stop being a charity and start earning a wage relative to my efforts.

Good luck anyway, whatever you choose.



Phil

thanks for your opinions fellas, it all helps, and phil your situation sounds so much like mine, shit customers that want blood for pennies, ive got pain everywhere due to years of plastering and general building. i just want to be more relaxed in my work rather than rushing and tearing flat out, im a big worrier anyway. im not even really sure wot i want to do, i like bikes, but buying and selling anything these days is so hard, especially finding good profits in it. ive got a small nest egg to get me started, and i really want to use it wisely to make a few quid. and yes do a bit of building here and there.
i hope ive bought the winning ticket for the euromillions tomorrow night. 80 million might help a bit lol.
100k would even do. at least it would give a bit of breathing space.
there will never be big money in building again those days are long gone

[-Ralph-]

You don't say if you're a self employed builder or not. If you are the answer is an easy one as your in control of your time vs your earnings. Buy an old bike (private sale), do it up in your spare time, or just arrange your jobs around it, clock how much time and money you spent on it versus how much profit you make selling it (private sale again) and calculate what your hourly or daily rate was for doing that work. If it made you as much money as building work, then buy two old bikes next time. Don't forget to take into account that if you do it regular to earn a living you'll need to declare it to the tax man, and if you do go into business on it its no longer a private sale, you are a trader, and you need to allow spare cash for customers returning bikes with any faults.

I don't think it'll be easy to make the same money TBH as the value of an old bike tends to be the value of a good one, less the cost of parts to put it right, so not too much scope for getting paid for your time, unless you are picking up stuff for hundreds of pounds that you can sell for thousands. Don't forget a set of brake discs can cost you £300, or something like a knackered CDI unit can cost even more.

Even if not self employed you coud do your first few as private sales in your spare time. Bite the bullet and buy smart, understanding what yoy are buying (ie: have a good idea of the work needed and the cost of the parts required before you start), is the way forward.

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[-Ralph-]

PS: a motorbike in restored condition has a value which is pretty much pre determined by the market. Its when you BUY that you'll give yourself scope to make money, not when you sell. Your selling cost is pretty much a fixed ceiling, its your purchase price, parts, tools, and labour that will be variable and will determine how much profit you can make. To be successful you'll spend as much time buying as you will restoring, and time and running costs for your van need to be taken into accout too.

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[Elle]

I changed careers about 15 yrs ago. Went from nursing to working in IT. But the bit in between involved 5 yrs of living off student loans whilst being a single parent. It was a struggle but we got through.

They say, do what you know best.
So if your love of bikes and mechanical experience is just as good as your building skills, then you're sure to be a success. The difficulty will be gaining customers.
Is there a big biking community where you live?
Who are your competitors? Are they over or under-worked?
Ask them how long you need to wait for a service
Ask what their hourly rate is
Can you provide a service that no one else in the area does?

Alternatively, can you project manage building work instead thereby avoiding most of the manual work? I'd pay extra for someone to organise other tradesmen & take responsibility for the full job as I can't always take annual leave to supervise the work. When I have left them to it, it's always resulted in poor results :whistle:

[Nigel]

As Elle said project managing is a good idea if you have experience of building, it`s not such an easy job as people think and I have seen a few cock ups because it wasn`t done properly.

Spent all my life from a nipper until the age of 40 working on Poultry farms and it`s a very physical job, at the age of 40 I was recovering from breaking my leg badly (twice!)and then received the good news that the farm was shutting and I was redundant hmy: so thought bugger it I have nothing to lose and got a job as an assistant caretaker, 15 years and three jobs later I am a site manager of two schools

[Sprockette]

If you're feeling you need to it's probably best to give it a go. I've changed careers four times so far (and am currently doing so again, easily bored me), doing something completely different each time. A couple of times it was easy but deciding to go back to university again as a mature student to do nursing was a hideous slog, but worth it in the long run and I wouldn't put anyone off doing anything like it. As has been mentioned, life is too short for "what ifs" and regrets.

Maybe start small as has already been said but don't burn any bridges and you can always go back to what you were doing before, even if it's only for a while. If things start looking a bit thin in you're new venture or you reach a hurdle then you can fall back on it. When you've found a way over the hurdle, you can carry on with the new thing again. Eventually it's going to work if you want it to, maybe not completely at first and maybe you'll change something part way through or find yourself a niche you never thought about.

I hope you make the best decision for yourself. Nevermind what naysayers think, if it's the right decision for you then only you will know it. And only you can do something about it.

[Willandkate]

Have you done a few 'back of fag packet' sums?

You know how much you currently earn or want to earn. Take that figure per month and divide it by say 4 guessing you might sell a bike a week if you're lucky. That gives an average amount each bike needs to earn. Then add in costs of collecting bikes, advertising, fixing up etc and see if it comes anywhere close to adding up. Do it a few times withvariations between a positive and negative spin. Get anywhere near the earnings you need? If so, take a leap of faith, if not, have another cuppa and a Re think. Don't forget that the grass is always greener....

Good luck!

[chrisinflight]

If you have a hard-manual job that you have been doing for 20-25 years you should be by now doing less of the physical. Experience levels are high and skills should be being passed on to younger people. Have you considered a training role in your industry?

[johnnyboxer]

I was PAYE for 25-30 years and went self employed 4 years ago

Similar professions though

A complete life changer as goes money, going from a regular paypacket each month to variable money coming in

It has been a steep learning curve, budgeting and the like and some toys have had to go

However life has a better quality now that i'm the Boss

No corporate rubbish and meetings that are a waste of time and emails etc

I enjoy it more now, but in reality don't forget about how much you really need to earn each month

I would start at that figure and work backwards to see how you're going to achieve earning that much each month

[bull]

I did it a one or two times, so I did, but I waited too long to get out of building trade,

I worked in the construction game all my life, I start in building trade with me father when I was 12, so I did

In America I worked for many years as an Ironworker, and then I started my own construction business,

but I always hated construction, but I didn't know how to do anything else, i never got an education, you see,

so one day I made a change, I bought a truck and went into haulage business, i didn't know much about the haulage game when I started, but I made a few contacts, I did haulage for years, but I got sick of that too, so I did, and sold the lot

so now I am a farmer, not much money in it, but its not always about the money,

anyway, if a fool like me can change his career, anyone can

if something don't work out, you can always fall back on the building trade.

you don't need to have collage degrees in this world to make a change, all you need is balls (thumbs)