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Why I Just Quit A "Dream Job"

Ronr3914

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Hey everyone,

So I just quit a highly coveted job in my field... The pay is $38/hr at full rate and a full pension after 30 years. Sounds like a pretty good gig right? The problem with that is, about $80k/year isn't Ferrari money and I am not willing to give away 30 years of my life for basically indentured servitude. It took me a LONG time to get to this point... about 5 years and half of my twenties.

So how am I going to pay my mortgage along with an additional $2k per month in bills? I plan on expanding my father's auto glass business (satisfies CENTS) to achieve financial freedom. It is not going to be easy, I am unsure of how to expand and I won't have a steady income for a while but I am finally ready to start my journey. I would love to hear some pointers on cold calling and getting some new customers. All advice is welcomed and appreciated. Anyway, thanks for reading.
 
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Ronr3914

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It is not exactly unique but it has a definite niche and it can be scaled. The business is auto glass replacement (think Safelite Auto Glass). It is a mobile business and it has about 60 commercial customers (collision repair and auto repair) and many other retail customers (your average Joe that needs his windshield replaced).
 

MJ DeMarco

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I would love to hear some pointers on cold calling and getting some new customers.

Checkout @IceCreamKid 's post with respect to carpet cleaning. I imagine the techniques could translate over to your pop's business.

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So I just quit a highly coveted job in my field...

It's a dream job because other people say it's a dream job? Or you truly felt that way? If it was the latter, I would have stuck around and tried to build something in my off hours.

Welcome to the forum.
 
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Ronr3914

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Checkout @IceCreamKid 's post with respect to carpet cleaning. I imagine the techniques could translate over to your pop's business.

GOLD - Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)



It's a dream job because other people say it's a dream job? Or you truly felt that way? If it was the latter, I would have stuck around and tried to build something in my off hours.

Welcome to the forum.



Thank you for responding, and I will definitely check that post out. It surely was not a dream job for me but many in my field would consider it just that. It was a slowlane job, not necessarily terrible but I think I have just had enough of making big companies money and living paycheck to paycheck.
 

JWelch

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Kudos to you for doing what is probably the single hardest part of the journey, the first step. Most people never even get that far.
Hopefully your venture turns out to be everything you're expecting. You've got a distinct advantage right of the bat by having the fastlane forum at your disposal. A lot of great people with great advice here.
So welcome.
 

Ronr3914

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Kudos to you for doing what is probably the single hardest part of the journey, the first step. Most people never even get that far.
Hopefully your venture turns out to be everything you're expecting. You've got a distinct advantage right of the bat by having the fastlane forum at your disposal. A lot of great people with great advice here.
So welcome.

Thanks, it is certainly nerve-wracking not having an income but I believe is just part of the process.
 
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ChrisM

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It sounds like its time to learn marketing.

Reading between the lines, you have a 'technician'. Someone who can solve the problem and deliver the service well. Someone who knows the process, and should write said process down in an 'employee handbook' on how to deliver the service.

Then you need more customers to deliver the service to. I.e. marketing. To do this, I suggest listening to the first 7 or so episodes of the I Love Marketing podcast.

Good luck.
 

Joe Cassandra

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It is not exactly unique but it has a definite niche and it can be scaled. The business is auto glass replacement (think Safelite Auto Glass). It is a mobile business and it has about 60 commercial customers (collision repair and auto repair) and many other retail customers (your average Joe that needs his windshield replaced).

I would think your best chance to scale faster is focus solely on the commercial side. Trying to ambulance chase after car crashes would be a tough nut to crack unless you have a massive ad budget.

Perhaps, start with construction companies with all their big machines and such. Put together a list of construction companies and start calling/emailing. Position yourself as a 'construction company glass repair specialist.'

You could even go a step further and see which companies get government contracts to fix up the town. They could be quite lucrative.

You said 'auto', but I would think construction glass would be more lucrative and more frequent (?). I don't know enough about auto glass repair to distinguish where the line is.

----------------
If you wanted to do B2C repair instead of letting it run on auto-pilot, perhaps team up with insurance agents in your area and work out a commission deal for each collision client they send your way.

----------------

Congrats on quitting the 'dream job.' For years I worked in accounting...a 'great job'...as all my friends, family said. Now, I work for myself and no one asks "how's work going?"
 

Ronr3914

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It sounds like its time to learn marketing.

Reading between the lines, you have a 'technician'. Someone who can solve the problem and deliver the service well. Someone who knows the process, and should write said process down in an 'employee handbook' on how to deliver the service.

Then you need more customers to deliver the service to. I.e. marketing. To do this, I suggest listening to the first 7 or so episodes of the I Love Marketing podcast.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice, seems like a good place to start.
 
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Ronr3914

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May 4, 2014
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32
I would think your best chance to scale faster is focus solely on the commercial side. Trying to ambulance chase after car crashes would be a tough nut to crack unless you have a massive ad budget.

Perhaps, start with construction companies with all their big machines and such. Put together a list of construction companies and start calling/emailing. Position yourself as a 'construction company glass repair specialist.'

You could even go a step further and see which companies get government contracts to fix up the town. They could be quite lucrative.

You said 'auto', but I would think construction glass would be more lucrative and more frequent (?). I don't know enough about auto glass repair to distinguish where the line is.

----------------
If you wanted to do B2C repair instead of letting it run on auto-pilot, perhaps team up with insurance agents in your area and work out a commission deal for each collision client they send your way.

----------------

Congrats on quitting the 'dream job.' For years I worked in accounting...a 'great job'...as all my friends, family said. Now, I work for myself and no one asks "how's work going?"



Thanks for the insights. Working for yourself must be an awesome feeling. I'm striving to get there... Congrats on your successes.
 

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