Business owners

[Brontosaurus]

I subcontract and replace doors and windows through various outlets. Just a sole proprietorship thing. Did my first roof this year (69 sq solo. never again) also install cabinets for a local countertop company. I'm 23 and going to finish a bachelor's in business organizational management in the spring. Maybe I'll keep contracting maybe not. Either way being my own boss is King. I don't think I'll be able to work a 9-5.

 

[woods89]

Typically that is what a GC is, I just dont know what I should call myself when people ask what I do. Lately I've been saying "I build Custom homes.

I do tile, dry wall and paint. But usually we sub all that out to the pros who do it better and faster.

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We self perform drywall, tile, etc on bathrooms and kitchens because it's generally smaller sizes and scheduling is enough of a hassle that it's better to just take care of it ourselves to keep the project moving. There are size thresholds that mean we look to subs, though, and it's absolutely the way to go on a decent sized new construction project.

 

[grfox92]

I forgot to add I also own an Ice Cream food truck. It is s 1980 Chevy School bus. We have 8 flavors of hard ice cream in cones or cups. We make brownie Sundaes with a real baked brownie and Waffle Sundaes with authentic Belgian waffles.

We operate in Cody WY May-August.


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[ReddingArcher]

I’m a drywall contractor.

 

[Elk97]

My last business before selling it and retiring started as a handyman. Did anything someone would pay me to do. Mostly worked for property managers doing repairs: paint, drywall, carpentry, electrical, welding, concrete, asphalt. Really small stuff. One of my customers asked if I could do parking lot sweeping. Didn't know what that was. Bought an old vacuum parking lot sweeper truck. That led to larger street sweepers, water trucks, vacuum trucks, snow plows, etc. If you start small (low investment and are willing to take some risks) and look for opportunities to get bigger you never know where you'll end up

 

[Cameron.25]

Im a general contractor as well. We build/remodel floating homes and do dock work, bit of a niche

 

[307]

For those that own your own business and are your own boss.

What do you do?
What type of business do you own/operate?

Owning your own job is not the same thing as owning a business.

Lots of replies thus far are the former rather than the later.

The difference is huge.

 

[Redwing]

Owning your own job is not the same thing as owning a business.

Lots of replies thus far are the former rather than the later.

The difference is huge.

Talk down to us like that when you're on the Fortune 500 list, bud. Until then, slow your roll, or start your own thread.

I own my own business. It's not huge, but I'm licensed, I'm incorporated, I pay taxes, I help other people live, I make a living. It's a business. I own it. Am I missing something?

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[307]

Am I missing something?

Yes

 

[Boarmaster]

I’m a warehousing and industrial income property sales and leasing broker.

 

[HuntHarder]

Please enlighten us peasants @307

 

[Brontosaurus]

307 sees people making an honest living...

 

[Brontosaurus]

Owning your own job is not the same thing as owning a business.

Lots of replies thus far are the former rather than the later.

The difference is huge.

But in all seriousness I do agree that the two are wildly different. Totally different responsibilities and work involved. I hope to build my work up to a point where I could have employees some day. Sole proprietorship is just a stepping stone.

 

[roadrunner]

Owning your own job is not the same thing as owning a business.

Lots of replies thus far are the former rather than the later.

The difference is huge.

Absolutely.

Talk down to us like that when you're on the Fortune 500 list, bud. Until then, slow your roll, or start your own thread.

I own my own business. It's not huge, but I'm licensed, I'm incorporated, I pay taxes, I help other people live, I make a living. It's a business. I own it. Am I missing something?

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Nobody's talking down to anyone and nobody said anyone "self employed" is dishonest at what they do or that they don't make [earn] a living

If you physically perform the tasks your business provides service to, you own your job.

If your job is to manage the business so that other people physically do the service your business does, then you're an entrepreneur, aka, a business owner.

The difference is night and day...

 

[307]

Please enlighten us peasants @307

Nah, too much Dunning Krueger to wade through for me. Y’all already know it all.

However, to correct the alleged elitism, it has nothing to do with the amount of money produced. You can own a job that produces 1M or a business that produces 100K and they’re still very different things.

 

[woods89]

Nah, too much Dunning Krueger to wade through for me. Y’all already know it all.

However, to correct the alleged elitism, it has nothing to do with the amount of money produced. You can own a job that produces 1M or a business that produces 100K and they’re still very different things.

Certainly something to this, although where exactly the line is drawn could likely be debated. I'd be curious what the OP was intending, though, as to the vast majority of people I talk to, I am considered a business owner, whether it's technically or semantically correct.
No argument whatsoever that if an organization is self sustaining without the inputs of the owner, that is a completely different animal than one where the owner is involved daily in the technical aspects.

 

[PlumberED]

I retired January 1, 2023. My wife and I owned a small plumbing business that employed 27-30 people that we sold to our two sons. My dad started out as a one man shop in 1977 and when I came back to work for him full time in the late 80s we were a two man shop. Our work was 60% service and 40% underground work. We did commercial and residential jobs, no new work (we could never make any money on new work, we just didn’t have the production level). We liked to do jobs nobody else wanted. I will say we were much more successful in business once my wife and I began to manage our business instead of just working in our business.

 

[RockAndSage]

We were talking about guys like you yesterday. To me, you are a "Carpenter". A lot of people who call themselves Carpenters are just guys who know how to build stuff.

We were wondering what we should call ourselves and just came up with general contractors. We build customnhomes, barns, shop houses, ect. Start to finish, frame, dry in, side, interior finish, windows, doors and trim.

We also remodel things.

The complexity of some carpentry tasks would be above us. We can do them, we just don't know exactly how to start and will have to figure it out along the way, lots of trial and error and lots of mis cuts and wasted material. For anything very complex like what you are describing, we bring in an experienced finish carpenter.

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This part of the conversation reminds me a lot of the differences between gunsmiths, and people who build guns and make minor modifications. The difference is night and day, but until you've seen what a genuine gunsmith can do, most people are just unaware there's much difference at all. A huge part of that difference - in addition to technical skills - is the "figuring it out" part you guys are mentioning here, when they encounter problems or challenges that aren't textbook, or plug-n-play part swaps.

 

[Swamp Fox]

If you're the man in charge of doing the work, overseeing the work, doing the taxes, making the payroll (for yourself or anyone else), finding the clients, getting the clients, keeping the clients etc. ---

You absolutely own your business and are not "just owning your job."

 

[307]

That’s actually a very accurate description of owning your job, aka being “self employed”.

Council Post: Do You Own A Business Or Have A Job?

If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business—you have a job.

www.forbes.com