I started a business and now I'm doubting it

[Kak]

I started a business because I spent too much time thinking about starting a business and just said f*ck it I'll start a power washing business. 2 months in and some mornings I dread the thought of waking up and doing the work thats ahead of me for the day. I'm making more money that I ever made in my life but I'm finding it a struggle to keep going. I know having a passion for your business is bullshit but shouldn't there be some bit of interest in what you do? Shouldn't I be waking up in the morning feeling happy that I'm in business? Is this normal to feel like this? I feel a bit lost and would love some advice on the matter.

This is probably because you didn't actually start a business... You built a job...

If you have enough work, why not hire some hourly employees to do the labor? Then focus on getting more work... And then hire someone that can focus on getting more work...

 

[YoungBroward]

hire someone

 

[Kak]

Either hire people, or work on a product-based business.

Product based business is such a canned answer... Is this a pay the bills with a somewhat passive income forum or a millionaire entrepreneur forum?

 

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[Real Deal Denver]

Been there, done that. That's why I'm here.

You need a plan. I work hard in my job, but go round in circles. I go fast but get nowhere.

So I have a couple of things I'm working on. I have a new horizon that I'm moving towards. Now, my job is a vehicle that is going to get me there - instead of being just a job. That opens up new doors of opportunity, and life is interesting again.

Look deep inside, and ask yourself what you would do if you could pick the career you wanted. I can see why power washing sucks the energy out of you. There could be so much more in your life. But there isn't because you're trying to make a dull go nowhere job go somewhere meaningful. Ain't gonna happen. It is what it is. Sorry. But use it to get to that place that you would really like to be. It's bringing in the money, so you have most of the battle already won.

I went from being drudging through the mud every day to now - I have so many projects that I have to limit myself to focus on one at a time. Life is certainly much more fun now! And I'm still doing the same old crap - but now, with a purpose. Now, life is good.

"Change your thoughts, change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale

 

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[Kak]

I'd love to hire people. Thats the vision in my head. I want crews working for me and a few trucks on the road but I'm losing interest fast. It doesn't serve enough purpose for me. Plus I don't have the cash or supplies to hire people right now.

This is entrepreneurship... The answer is to figure it out. I thought you said you were making more money than ever before... Where is that money going? Beer?

 

[Kak]

I am not stable in my business. I have no idea what winter time will be like. My work is week by week at the moment. I have 2 months experience in business and I am being told to take loan. I know that I would buy some very stupid things with that money as I don't have the know how yet.

Then quit.

You have been given advice by intelligent business folks here. You have shit on all of it. Quite frankly @Scot should bill you for his time.

 

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[jon.a]

hire someone

Hire 2 someones. Make more money.

 

[Scot]

Not sure about the loan. I think that's pretty sh*t advice to give someone new in business.

Why?

A lot of us have taken loans for the business. Myself included. This whole “don’t touch debt because it’s the devil” is poor advice.

If your business is stable and you’re making money, why would taking a $50k loan for a new truck and washer be a risk?

Bad advice: Take out a $500k loan for your unproven concept, I’m sure it’ll be great!

Not bad advice: Your business is already generating good cash flow and the only thing holding you back from more is that you don’t have enough man hours to do more work. $50k for a new truck, power washer, and some payroll to get a second truck will only increase your business. Low risk.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

From a Fastlane perspective, your business is a human resource system.

And with Ireland's rainy weather, I'm guessing it would be filled with repeat business.

If you aren't willing to HIRE and automate the processes, you've built yourself a job. If the margins can't accommodate staff, it will be no better than a job and a time-trade.

Question...

What do you customers say about your work?

Do they repeat as customers?

If they repeat and you have something unique about your service, this is where you will find revenue growth to potentially offset labor costs.

 

[Kak]

Kak comes across as one of those grumpy old men sitting on his porch with a shotgun waiting for a kid to hit a ball into his garden so he can shout at him

Sometimes the truth is blunt. I'm here to help, not for myself. I take no pleasure in your disatisifaction with your business.

 

[Scot]

I am not stable in my business. I have no idea what winter time will be like. My work is week by week at the moment. I have 2 months experience in business and I am being told to take loan. I know that I would buy some very stupid things with that money as I don't have the know how yet.

I think that goes back to your feelings about your business.

If this was me in your shoes and someone told me to take a loan, it would be “a loan can grow this thing faster and bigger? Where do I sign?!” I have a deep passion for my business.

In the OP you said you just started a pressure washing business because why not.

So I think there’s a mindset disparity here. You aren’t truly invested in the concept of this business. That’s something you have to answer and discover for yourself first.

Because we can sit here and give you solid business advice on how to grow it, but if you don’t feel like this is your baby, then it will fall on deaf ears.

 

[Kak]

So if the poor equipment is making it take 8-10 hours, how much time would better equipment cut off? And how much is the better equipment?

This is extremely true.. My neighbor has a high end pressure washer with the thing that looks like a push mower... I borrowed it once and did my big circle driveway in less than an hour.

Assuming you hire the labor at some point... The right equipment makes the labor cheaper... It's the best investment you can make. WAY cheaper than letting expensive labor blast away all day with shitty equipment and if you buy it right you can always get your money back out of it.

 

[momomaurice]

I started a business because I spent too much time thinking about starting a business and just said F*ck it I'll start a power washing business. 2 months in and some mornings I dread the thought of waking up and doing the work thats ahead of me for the day. I'm making more money that I ever made in my life but I'm finding it a struggle to keep going. I know having a passion for your business is bullshit but shouldn't there be some bit of interest in what you do? Shouldn't I be waking up in the morning feeling happy that I'm in business? Is this normal to feel like this? I feel a bit lost and would love some advice on the matter.

 

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[Scot]

I'd love to hire people. Thats the vision in my head. I want crews working for me and a few trucks on the road but I'm losing interest fast. It doesn't serve enough purpose for me. Plus I don't have the cash or supplies to hire people right now.

Get an SBA Loan

 

[Andy Black]

Kudos for escaping analysis-paralysis and taking action.

Encountering new problems is a sign you’re making progress.

Problems are just stepping stones in disguise. Solve this current problem and you’ll be further ahead.

This is probably because you didn't actually start a business... You built a job...

If you have enough work, why not hire some hourly employees to do the labor? Then focus on getting more work... And then hire someone that can focus on getting more work...

^^^ This.

A couple of years ago it dawned on that my job was no longer to DO the work. My job was to GET the work.

Now my job is to setup the business to get the work and do the work, so that I’m no longer needed.


Here’s one of the sliding scales I think of:

1. Learn a skill.
2. Sell the skill.
3. Scale the skill.

Where are you on that scale?


Also... as the business owner you’re NOT selling power washing. This thread might help:

• You're selling the wrong product (4 mins)

 

[AllenCrawley]

Kak comes across as one of those grumpy old men sitting on his porch with a shotgun waiting for a kid to hit a ball into his garden so he can shout at him

Nailed it. He is the youngest grumpy old man I know.

He is deliberately brash and sometimes offensive.

BUT.

Don't discount his words because he may ruffle your feathers.

 

[The-J]

Kak comes across as one of those grumpy old men sitting on his porch with a shotgun waiting for a kid to hit a ball into his garden so he can shout at him

@Kak doesn't see this as an insult lmao he's actually like that

Also... you make (on a high day in high season) $1500/week. $72k/yr is a job, man. A decent paying one, but still a job. How can you get more billable work? Figure that out.

You say you work Mon-Sat. How many hours of billable work do you do per month? If that number is low, and your time is filled with 'biz stuff', then you need to hire out the cheapest of that 'biz stuff' to work more billable hours. Then, once you've filled your time with billable hours + high-return 'biz stuff' (strategy, marketing, partnerships, etc), hire someone to take that billable hour load off of you. Use debt to do it if you have to.

Seasonality isn't that big of a problem if your margins are big enough. Low season is perfect for high value 'biz stuff' to help you prepare for high season. Go into next high season having taken over so much of the market share in your local area. The following high season, you should be in multiple local areas.

Building this business is going to take years, and for the next few months you're gonna be grinding it out. It'll never be 'fully automated' like your vision but it'll certainly get to the point where you can put in 10 hours a week of 'high value' work that pays dividends in later years.

And maybe you stumble along the way. Maybe you burn out. Maybe your competition is just so much better than you that they beat you on service quality alone. Maybe there isn't enough work for you out there. Maybe your margins can't support growth. Whatever happens, you've done more than most of the people reading this thread right now + you'll leave with the satisfaction that you really did do your best to make it work.

 

[Kak]

what's your problem

I have a problem with people that act like or think they know what they're talking about while dishing out shitty or incomplete advice like "start a product based business".

 

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[Dunkafelics]

It seems like you got tired of thinking about business opportunities and threw your hat at one you felt could be a fit for your current lifestyle.

You've hit a crossroad quite quickly and you really only have two choices to make going forward:

1. Scale this business model by hiring employees and start treating it as a business instead of working within the business. Be the CEO of the company, not the owner-operator.
2. Scrap the business and move on to something else.

You are providing a lot of reasons as to why you can't do something - I can't hire employees due to lack of funds, the mindset in the mornings, lack of purpose, etc.

There definitely needs to be a mindset shift here quickly or your customer service is going to suffer as well.

I get a feeling that there are bigger and more meaningful things out there that you would like to do. What are they?

 

[PersistentlyHungry]

I'm surprised no one had mentioned the E-Myth. The book will point you in the right direction as it fits your story very well.

Sent from my BND-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[minivanman]

Sounds as though you can't afford to NOT hire an employee. So you're making more money than ever, cut that back by 1/3 (live like you lived before), hire someone and then within a few months you will go through the growing pain all over again.... until you are where you want to be. Or else you might wake up next Thursday morning and decide to not make any money at all. Hire before it's too late. If nothing else, get excited about hiring someone and then once you get it built up a little, sell it and move on. Find SOMETHING to get excited about in this business before you just drop it. Use this business as the business you learn from.

 

[jon.a]

Thank you for this. This is what I needed to hear. I was thinking of using my job and the money I'm making now to go towards selling online.

If you can make it more passive, you'll get where you want to be faster.

 

[biophase]

If I had the correct equipment I reckon I could nearly half that time. Decent equipment would cost me another 2 to 3 thousand.

I would get a loan and purchase the new equipment and save half of your time. Your equipment will pay for itself in less than one week.

You may have different thoughts on this business if your labor time was cut in half.

 

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[biophase]

Waking up for work this morning and I can't stop thinking that I created a job for myself and not a business.

If you could snap your fingers I would own Spotify Or Netflix ha...Monthly subscription businesses like that are a brilliant way to make money.

Do you actually think that you would work less hours if you owned Spotify or Netflix? Why do you think that? It's different work, but alot of work.

This just tells me that your mindset is wrong.

 

[Scot]

Boom... REP

No excuses man. There’s money to be had. And for buying equipment, SBA throws money at that.

 

[Kak]

No excuses man. There’s money to be had. And for buying equipment, SBA throws money at that.

Alternatively...
-He could get a traditional loan.
-He could buy the equipment on a store payment plan.
-Sub the jobs out for a profit.
-Rent the equipment.

There are so many things he could do .

 

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[ZeroTo100]

What's your plan with the business in 2 years? You selling it, you keeping?

I think you need to find interest within your business. Hire the people to do the shitty things you don't want to do and focus on the fun things you do want to do. Focus on the branding, the marketing side - that's always fun for me.

You think garbage men love their job? No but they get paid A LOT. What about the owners of waste removal companies? You think they love garbage? What about college hunks?

Seems like they made the job fun. Make it fun bro! Build mantra, build culture!

 

[biophase]

Dude it’s been 2 months and you don’t like the work. What do you charge a little more so it becomes worth your time. How is all the money you are making going back into the business. What are you spending it on? We all have to grind at the beginning. Is what you do better than getting a job? You don’t sound like you work everyday.

 

[jon.a]

Nailed it. He is the youngest grumpy old man I know.

He is deliberately brash and sometimes offensive.

BUT.

Don't discount his words because he may ruffle your feathers.

@Kak is one of the handful of members that I read every post. Maybe 2 handfuls.

 

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[Raoul Duke]

https://kopywritingkourse.com/powerwashing-flyers-copywriting-case-study/