Start a business to hunt more?

[Ben Lamb]

I’ll just add that it’s worth your while to invest some time upfront determining how to structure the business (ie. LLC vs. sole proprietorship, etc) and don’t commingle your personal and business finances. It may seem easier upfront to avoid all that, but as your business grows it becomes more and more difficult to unwind that which can create unforeseen tax, accounting and liability issues down the road. Time/money spent upfront with a local accountant specializing in small business is well worth it.

Yep. Our other golden rule is: Be sure you have a good accountant.

 

[Oqualmer]

So I have been self employed pretty much my whole life except for the short while I was in college. I am a farmer and a business owner there are pros and cons to being your own boss one of the best pros is that I make my own schedule and if I need to help my wife with the kids or help a friend I don't have to ask anyone if I can take the time off. one of the biggest cons is that you don't have set hrs. if something needs done you will be the one having to do it even if that means staying out in the field till 3am on a Saturday. over all I say go for it man if you have the work ethic and the want to make it happen you will!

 

[Hunt&FishCO]

I’ve done both; given your niche and expertise I would say go for it.

Running your own business is challenging and complicated; about 50% of your time is going to be on Admin (Sales, Accounting, Legal, Marketing). Yes, you may have more flexibility for hunting and personal pursuits but you’ll also have the financial stress of being financially accountable for a business and a family.

As has been said - entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It’s possible, but talk to others you know personally that have taken the “plunge.” (And not just successful business owners)

 

[SO7mm]

Build in a labor force...Don't make your income depend on you being there. Talk to local FFA programs with students who have completed a welding class and make them your apprentices. Yes you will have a lot of turnover. But when you find the one or more that you can rely on you can leave for a few days and not worry about missing opportunities.

By doing this you create a value in the business.
Not just you and your rig.

I think this is critical if you want to achieve your goal of having more time to hunt. I've been on my own for 24 years and have a lot of friends that own businesses as well and the ones that have trained and trusted good employees have way more freedom to do what they want along with actually having value in the business like @2rocky pointed out. What happens when one of your top client has an emergency right when your getting ready for a trip and your trying to get the business off the ground? It's really hard to say no when your building your business and it will inevitably cut into some hunting and family time if you don't have help. Not saying don't do it, it's been great for me, but be aware it will most likely eat up your time if not setup correctly.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I think this is critical if you want to achieve your goal of having more time to hunt. I've been on my own for 24 years and have a lot of friends that own businesses as well and the ones that have trained and trusted good employees have way more freedom to do what they want along with actually having value in the business like @2rocky pointed out. What happens when one of your top client has an emergency right when your getting ready for a trip and your trying to get the business off the ground? It's really hard to say no when your building your business and it will inevitably cut into some hunting and family time if you don't have help. Not saying don't do it, it's been great for me, but be aware it will most likely eat up your time if not setup correctly.

I had a 700 elk permit in 19. Did a great 10 day hunt with @Schaaf but came up short. Had another 5 days planned solo. As I pulled into the area I was going to camp, a client called freaking out.

I turned around and came home to deal with it.

 

[SO7mm]

I had a 700 elk permit in 19. Did a great 10 day hunt with @Schaaf but came up short. Had another 5 days planned solo. As I pulled into the area I was going to camp, a client called freaking out.

I turned around and came home to deal with it.

I never had to leave a trip but I had to scramble to make it by opening day on a couple and definitely didn't even attempt to fit in additional trips some years.

 

[kiwi hunter]

i feel for you brother,i havent read all the posts but if i may,talk to your present boss and come to an agreement on hours and holidays otherwise go set up and have clear goals re your hours and time off for family and hunting(or combine family time with hunting)

 

[KB_]

I'm probably going to put together a welding trailer instead of a truck. It's a little harder to get around on worksites but it's a cheaper way to start and if your truck is down all your tools and welder isn't stuck in a shop while it's being repaired.

thats not a bad idea, I think a lot of people utlize their trucks to power they equipment. Not 100% on that, maybe someone here can answer that question. But utlizing a powerful generator on the trailer would do the trick tho I would think.

The other benefit is when your not working you have just a regular truck and you can park your trailer at home. Good idea.

 

[Brandon270]

i feel for you brother,i havent read all the posts but if i may,talk to your present boss and come to an agreement on hours and holidays otherwise go set up and have clear goals re your hours and time off for family and hunting(or combine family time with hunting)

Working for a farm especially the dairy industry is a 24/7 business. I've mentioned cutting back on work but the boss won't give it to me. There's so much work to be done I barely get it all done with the hours I work now. This is why with a business once it's off the ground might have a bit more flexibility and opportunity for family time and hobby time.

 

[Brandon270]

thats not a bad idea, I think a lot of people utlize their trucks to power they equipment. Not 100% on that, maybe someone here can answer that question. But utlizing a powerful generator on the trailer would do the trick tho I would think.

The other benefit is when your not working you have just a regular truck and you can park your trailer at home. Good idea.

Most welding rigs will have a generator welder for the majority of the welding work and you run all of your corded tools off of that power source.

 

[2rocky]

Working for a farm especially the dairy industry is a 24/7 business. I've mentioned cutting back on work but the boss won't give it to me. There's so much work to be done I barely get it all done with the hours I work now. This is why with a business once it's off the ground might have a bit more flexibility and opportunity for family time and hobby time.

In Reality you have to work 2x as hard to get your own thing started while still holding down the day job with benefits, and payroll taxes accounted for. That way you can roll into your business with projects in progress and some cash flow.

 

[Nick87]

In Reality you have to work 2x as hard to get your own thing started while still holding down the day job with benefits, and payroll taxes accounted for. That way you can roll into your business with projects in progress and some cash flow.

This, if you want the business to make it and grow your gonna have less time on your hands. At least for the foreseeable future, imho. Owning your own business prospers from being passionate about your work not wanting to recreate more.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Disclaimer: I have never been self-employed.

My suggestion is to quit your current job and start your own business, as long as you have a desire to be a business owner. If you don’t have a desire to be a business owner, take the fabrication job and the pay cut. This is for an improvement in your overall lifestyle rather than the goal of hunting more. With your wife pulling a good income for your family the pressure is off for your business to pull most of the financial weight for your family, especially starting out. Worst case scenario you don’t get as many jobs as you want, but you can use that time for marketing, promotion, and networking, and you may eventually build up to a higher volume of jobs. Another possibility is you find you don’t like self-employment, at which point you could pick up the 40-hour-a-week job.

Keep accurate and timely records of your expenses and income. This does not need to be over-complicated. It will show you what kind of profit you are making over time, and can help guide your business decisions moving forward. My wife self-funded a business venture starting last October, which lasted until May, when it blew up. She had a lot of expenses and a lot of income, but didn’t keep track of anything. There are many consequences from that, not the least of which is not knowing if there was ever a profit made, or a starting point of what to change in order to be more profitable.

My in-laws are a 2-person company working 70+ hours a week and they don’t have hobbies. After many years of slogging they have built a very successful business, and have finally started taking a 1-week annual vacation. If they hadn’t put in all those hard hours for 20 years or so they wouldn’t be in the solid position they are in now.

On the other end of the spectrum I have friends (married couple) who both worked 30-hour-a-week jobs and hunted all the time. She was a part-time physician and he started a variety of casual businesses that never took off, but at the end of the day their bills were paid and they enjoyed the hunting lifestyle they wanted.

TLDR: If you want to hunt more, get a 40 hr/wk job. If you want to build a successful business, plan to work your tail off for a LONG time!

 

[Nick87]

TLDR: If you want to hunt more, get a 40 hr/wk job. If you want to build a successful business, plan to work your tail off for a LONG time!

Pretty much sums it up

 

[2rocky]

I will add: If you are a one man operation and your income stops when you are not on the job, you don't own a business. You own a job.

 

[davinski]

Decide how much free time you want, and when to expect it, as a goal/vision among the others you need to set. I mean, the first year or two you may not get much free time as you build the foundation. But maybe on year three expect some free time, then more in the outyears. Then stick to it, don't get to year 5 or 10 and say "next year I'll do that." When you are your own business, it can become all-consuming when you think that any time spent not working in or on the business is taking money away from your family and your future. It's easy to do. Some guys are ok with that being their life but most will burn out or get resentful sooner or later. Just set a plan and be intentional about sticking to it and revising it. People always talk about loving their work and my hat's off to those who do. But most of us have hobbies that are a money suck rather than a money maker.

I bought/worked into my main gig at a consulting firm and finally got to a spot where I started having a decent amount of free time in my mid 40's. Don't get me wrong, we all bust ass when we're working and expect everyone to do the same. But our next generation of ownership purposely established a generous PTO program. My wife and I started a small retail shop a couple years that is mainly her gig and we both fight that work/life balance still.

I'd say go for it, just have a plan you can change rather than no plan. And no matter what vocation, you cannot overcommunicate with clients. When we lose work, it's always a communication issue rather than anything we screwed up.

 

[stevejfarms]

It’s highly dependent on the area you are in, but if you have ag equipment repair skills, that’s where I would stay. In my area equipment dealers are charging $125 to $150 an hour. With new ftc regulations likely that will require private access to proprietary diagnostic software, opportunities for private mechanics will increase exponentially. We have a few local ag mechanics who are thriving in my area, and have to turn down work. I agree with @Ben Lamb though, don’t assume there will be automatically scheduled time off when you own your own business. I think you’ll find that you’ll be the toughest boss you ever worked for.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I’ll just add that it’s worth your while to invest some time upfront determining how to structure the business (ie. LLC vs. sole proprietorship, etc) and don’t commingle your personal and business finances. It may seem easier upfront to avoid all that, but as your business grows it becomes more and more difficult to unwind that which can create unforeseen tax, accounting and liability issues down the road. Time/money spent upfront with a local accountant specializing in small business is well worth it.

That’s all stuff BigFin would know about. He’s still an accountant, no?

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I'm probably going to put together a welding trailer instead of a truck. It's a little harder to get around on worksites but it's a cheaper way to start and if your truck is down all your tools and welder isn't stuck in a shop while it's being repaired.

I’m thinking you may find great prices with government surplus auctions for some of the equipment you’ve mentioned. A lot of agencies now put up their surplus inventory online. Some stuff is beat all to hell or of unknown origin (seized). Other stuff has been used carefully by one agency, meticulously maintained and is now for sale because they got new equipment. A useable trailer just may be out there for cheap!

 

[HandgunHunter]

Owned my own shop for 11 years now…..I structure my work and turn around times in a way to give me 1 1/2 months off during hunting season…..I don’t think you could go to that extreme doing service work tho. But you can defiantly set your work days.

You will have a different boss with each job…the customer

You may have 10 years experience but your company name has zero….it takes time.

In my eyes there are 3 tracks in running your own shop.

1. Run it into the ground by not performing.

2. Strive for constant growth and push to always make more money.

3. Grow to the point where the work is stable and you are comfortable and ride the wave.

I started going path number 2…..working 7 days a week….hiring a bunch of people….then some life events happened that made me cut it back to number 3. Couldn’t be happier….and the work just finds me at this point.