If you could get out of what you do now and start a different business

[tistan]

I've gotten to the point where being a GC is just miserable. Between quality supply issues, overpriced shitty labor, complexity, and clients inspecting every nook and cranny, it has become impossible to want to keep doing this shit much longer. I often think what I would like to do. I don't have kids or bills, so it isn't about the money as much as it about getting my quality of life back to something normal. Most of what I want in life means dealing with less people and less employees.

I used to want to run a Jersey Mikes until Covid hit and I saw what service industry went through.
Build and run a self storage unit.
Build a carwash and run it.
Be a construction consultant and make other contractors lives hell. Lol, this is what my wife suggest, but I don't think I could live with myself knowing they are going through the same shit.

What kind of businesses are you all into that you actually like?

 

[BLOWN PONY]

Couple things I've always thought would be fun to own/run.

Large campground
Drive thru carwash
Home inspector
Chick-fil-a (Just cause I'm pretty sure you make bank)

 

[Crimson2v]

Self storage unit would be my out if I could. The way houses are built today and many live in apartments. There is no room to store everyone’s stuff they accumulate over time so I feel like they are needed. You also don’t have to worry about hiring a bunch of staff to run the place.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

i know the feeling... at this point I think I'd rather go be a cog in the machine somewhere... when I walk out the door it's not my ****ing problem anymore.

 

[Rb0891]

I've gotten to the point where being a GC is just miserable. Between quality supply issues, overpriced shitty labor, complexity, and clients inspecting every nook and cranny, it has become impossible to want to keep doing this shit much longer. I often think what I would like to do. I don't have kids or bills, so it isn't about the money as much as it about getting my quality of life back to something normal. Most of what I want in life means dealing with less people and less employees.

I used to want to run a Jersey Mikes until Covid hit and I saw what service industry went through.
Build and run a self storage unit.
Build a carwash and run it.
Be a construction consultant and make other contractors lives hell. Lol, this is what my wife suggest, but I don't think I could live with myself knowing they are going through the same shit.

What kind of businesses are you all into that you actually like?

This question hits home for me. I am sort of in a similar situation. Spent the first short part of my career doing automotive stuff. Been in construction and development the last 25 years. I actually had to bail (haha) from a national developer when 2008 hit. Basically have just done my own thing for the last 15 years. I am a consultant for a small family developer with very very deep pockets. It has been great with a flexible work schedule and things have come up to enable me to earn much more than just my retainer. Bad side is they have now started a sister construction group. They asked me to run it, but at the time (and even still now) I really don't want to give up the flexibility of work time. So now the downside is I really only work one day a week at most, but still get a decent amount for the time. Wife makes real good money, so I just do all the kid stuff. A few comments:

1. The consultant stuff is much more fun imo than being the GC. Funny thing is that I am sometimes a proponent for the GC's given that I know how things work on that side and when someone is truly hurting. I also know how to call out their BS.

2. Ever thought on getting in on the development side? Not talking big necessarily. I like doing (some) the manual work and am currently thinking of finding a lake house or something to fix up. I would never want to be a landlord, so I have shied away from any rental house type stuff. IMO not huge money in this, but something to keep me occupied.

 

[03cobra#694]

Nothing now, I'm retiring in 6 months. I would've liked to be an engineer, but my parents never pushed me hard enough in school. I got a taste of money during high school working construction after school. I then flipped over to big trucks as my dad owned a oil company and I started haul gas for them. Then got hired by a big local common carrier hauling petroleum products.

 

[FleeMan]

Nothing now, I'm retiring in 6 months. I would've liked to be an engineer, but my parents never pushed me hard enough in school. I got a taste of money during high school working construction after school. I then flipped over to big trucks as my dad owned a oil company and I started haul gas for them. Then got hired by a big local common carrier hauling petroleum products.

I think we might be living parallel lives minus the actual career choice.

Same thing for me, I feel now later in life (38), if my parents had actually pushed me, I would've enjoyed some type of legal profession. Understood its up to the kid at the end of the day but yeah sometimes a nudge in the right direction makes a huge difference.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

I've never owned my own business. I served in the military for 22 years and that brought on it's own challenges. I retired in 07 and now I have a source of income for the rest of my life.

After I retired from the military I went to work for the government on the civilian side. Been doing this since 07 and I make a pretty good living. Hell, look at my list of cars in my signature block LOL and my wife does not work.

I cannot say what business would be good or "fun" to be in (Maybe a fun zone with mini golf and go karts?). Some people mentioned owning a fast food chain or a car wash or storage unit. I understand some things are worse than others, but my point of view is any business you're in is going to have S#!T heads to deal with in one form or another.

- People are paying BIG money now to have GC work completed so of course they are going to go over it with a fine tooth comb.

- If you are in the fast food market people will eat almost everything and then go complain looking for a free meal.

- If you own a car wash you know someone is going to say your car wash caused damage to their car.

- Not sure about a storage unit, but pretty sure someone will complain there stuff got stolen or something.

So, my advice is just find something you enjoy doing 80 to 90% of the time and deal with the headaches that will inherently come along with the job.

 

[03cobra#694]

I think we might be living parallel lives minus the actual career choice.

Same thing for me, I feel now later in life (38), if my parents had actually pushed me, I would've enjoyed some type of legal profession. Understood its up to the kid at the end of the day but yeah sometimes a nudge in the right direction makes a huge difference.

I was brilliant in math in high school, so it made sense. I'm not complaining, as I've done very, very well. FYI, I have a couple of kids older than you.

 

[MICHAELPAUL]

I wold start a mobil Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) reset and calabration business.

​

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Don't lie to yourself... People problems are everywhere, in every business. Same ****ing people, different ****ing problems.

In general, people suck. Embrace the suck.

I'm an engineer/program manager developing rotating equipment that's never been done before and my biggest problems are always people.

 

[MassCobra]

You don't have to love your job, but it you hate it, change careers or eventually it can impact your health. Both mentally and physically. That's the only advice I have.

 

[bosscj]

Im looking into opening a pizzeria. I know my body wont let me hang sheetrock forever. Some days my check engine light flickers a bit so i know the time is coming one day

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[HEMIHUNTER]

I've gotten to the point where being a GC is just miserable. Between quality supply issues, overpriced shitty labor, complexity, and clients inspecting every nook and cranny, it has become impossible to want to keep doing this shit much longer. I often think what I would like to do. I don't have kids or bills, so it isn't about the money as much as it about getting my quality of life back to something normal. Most of what I want in life means dealing with less people and less employees.

I used to want to run a Jersey Mikes until Covid hit and I saw what service industry went through.
Build and run a self storage unit.
Build a carwash and run it.
Be a construction consultant and make other contractors lives hell. Lol, this is what my wife suggest, but I don't think I could live with myself knowing they are going through the same shit.

What kind of businesses are you all into that you actually like?

I’m a Superintendent for a GC that does around
$200m a year.I wore the Owners Rep hat on the last job for one half of the project. Superintendent on the other half.
I would go the Owners Rep route if it was me.
You can be polite and professional when you give them shit.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[tistan]

Don't lie to yourself... People problems are everywhere, in every business. Same ****ing people, different ****ing problems.

In general, people suck. Embrace the suck.

I'm an engineer/program manager developing rotating equipment that's never been done before and my biggest problems are always people.

I understand that, I'm looking to eliminate my 100+ people I deal with and simplify it to a more manageable 5-10 people.

 

[sleek98]

Buy land and build rental duplexes.

I should have started doing that years ago. My neighbor is up to 300 or 400 doors. He now buys stuff that has been started and other builders gave up on for pennies on the dollar. His monthly ACH from rent now is something 500,000. He is in the just nice enough space that he gets decent rent but not so nice that the tenants complain about everything.

 

[365 Saleen]

At 34 I quit working at a Ford Dealership and opened my Ford Mustang Performance shop. This was in 1994 and the Foxbody craze was really taking off. I did really well for 7 years and then 9/11 hit and the DOT com bubble burst. People quickly quit spending money on toys. Throw in a divorce at the same time and everything went to hell. If I had been smart, I would have been building a customer base of doing general repairs, but I had turned down all of that work. After all, why would I want to put a P/S pump on a F-series when I have Superchargers to install? Had to go back to Dealership/Independent repair shop life. I don't regret a min of it. In retirement I will still be tinkering on cars, primarily my own race car.

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

I understand that, I'm looking to eliminate my 100+ people I deal with and simplify it to a more manageable 5-10 people.

Can you hire someone to deal with the parts of the job you don't like (customer interaction during construction, perhaps), while allowing you to focus on the parts you do like (design, build, project management), narrowing your focus and potentially expanding your reach and cash flow?

 

[jessie_sanders]

If I never saw another mother ****ing heat pump again it'd be too soon. I hate HVAC with every fiber of my being but it's a bottomless pit of money.

I wanted to join the military and regret not doing so everyday. The feeling of not doing something that matters day in and day out weighs on me more and more everyday.

Sent from my motorola razr plus 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

I wold start a mobil Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) reset and calabration business.

​

definitely interesting. One thing I consider a lot more these days are regulations and potential liability in a business - if you calibrate someone's hand's free driving stuff and they end up in a wreck what kinda shit are you gonna get drug through?

Don't lie to yourself... People problems are everywhere, in every business. Same ****ing people, different ****ing problems.

In general, people suck. Embrace the suck.

I'm an engineer/program manager developing rotating equipment that's never been done before and my biggest problems are always people.

to paraphrase from the subtle art of not giving a **** - there's always gonna be 10 tons of shit to shovel, it's about finding the shit you want to shovel.