Property Maintenance and Home Improvements Business (debt, owner, degree, visa)

[CelticViking]

My dad and myself own a small property maintenance and home improvement business...we are in our 3rd year of being legit...funny i have a bachelors and he has a doctorate. None the less im about to get married and im thinking of my future...im still living at home and make enough to survive there, but want to increase my business. Anyway, my dad is a very skilled carpenter and i dont have his skills or knowledge in carpentry...we offer full service property maint. and home improvement, so we do lawns as well, powerwashing, handyman, painting, repairs, clean ups, etc...i can handle a lot of that but couldnt handle the carpentry by myself, and we make a lot of money on the carpentry/repair work, but he is much more skilled like i said...the problem is he is in his late 60s...and im sure wont want to do this forever. How could i make this business last? Would it be advisable to once my dad wants to retire from this to look for someone else? Thoughts of any kinds? Thanks a lot.

[annerk]

Start by looking to grow your business now. Hire on an apprentice who shows talent in carpentry. Go after bigger and bigger jobs. Set yourself up so that you have people working under you and you manage the business side (getting your hands dirty as needed) and have people with skills in things you aren't able to do work for you.

I STRONGLY suggest you get in touch with www.score.org to develop a business plan and grow the company. Their services are free, and they will be invaluable to you.

[Houston3]

Get Dad to pass on his talents to you... That way in slow times (when work is slow) after Dad retires you can do the work.. There is nothing better than a good teacher...

[CelticViking]

thanks for the info...
anyone else offer any insight?

[dick1973]

pick up that saw, it's not that hard, plus lots of how to books to learn from. woodworking is fun. Remember to measure twice and cut once. the local comunity college may have a course on framing.

The owner of a small business must be able to perform every function of the business, from keeping the books to cleaning the shop.

[CelticViking]

yea im a good helper...can do the work, but he has the brains behind the outfit when it comes to planning on how to do the project...thanks for the info!

[dick1973]

Originally Posted by CelticViking

yea im a good helper...can do the work, but he has the brains behind the outfit when it comes to planning on how to do the project...thanks for the info!

That skill will come with time. It's called Experience

[CelticViking]

You are exactly right...what would you do if 5 years from now it was just myself, and i still didnt feel comfortable tackling a bigger carpentry job ...but i still wanted to keep the carpentry side of my property maint./home improvement business...and pops had retired?

thanks a lot.

[zz4guy]

Consider yourself lucky, guy. Like a lot of people, you could have $40k in school loan debt, a worthless Bachelor of Arts degree, no experience and no job prospects.

You'll do just find if you enjoy the field and can make some money at it.

[dnc19694339]

I say concentrate on the property maintenance side of the business if that is where your strong skills are. You will do better and be more successful if you do one thing and do it better than anybody else, rather than try to do many things and not master any of them. People want somebody who is an expert at exactly the job they need done, not a jack of all trades.

I speak from experience, because I made the decision to drop the carpentry side of my business and concentrated on just the landscaping side. That was about 8 years ago and it was the best thing i ever did.