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I've had the same sort of thoughts, but I've been sitting at a desk for almost 20 years. I've often considered landscaping / lawnmowing, especially when my lan

by ja27 16y ago

I've had the same sort of thoughts, but I've been sitting at a desk for almost 20 years. I've often considered landscaping / lawnmowing, especially when my landscaper took off for a two-week vacation to Europe that I can't afford. A few of my firefighter friends have landscaping businesses on the side. My father-in-law works in environmental permitting. He spends about 4 days a week in the office (home or corporate) and about 1 day a week out in the field, surveying plant and animal life. It's not the most physically demanding work, but it is outside. I had a friend in the Army Reserve that spent a year in Afghanistan, doing IT work for the Army. Sucked, but he was very close to going right back as a civilian contractor and making 5x as much doing a similar job. Afghanistan probably isn't the best place to go, but with bases all over the world, there are probably some more desirable locations. You could get involved with FEMA or even someone like the Red Cross. I wouldn't call it high-paying, but they employ IT guys in disaster areas.

enjo 16y ago
My startup works with small businesses. I've been amazed at the amount of income that good service professionals can bring in. Landscapers, air-duct cleaners, carpet cleaners... we have a couple of clients that have owners pocketing 7 figures yearly. What I find really interesting is how much the process these really successful owners use mirrors what we do in technology companies. They try different pitches. They test different call-answering tactics. They hone in on the words, phrases, and ideas that resonate with customers. They test different advertising metrics and are obsessed with tracking and analytics. Once they understand how to close deals and what the best sources of leads are... they scale. For instance, one of our air-duct cleaning partners (that clears 7 figures in profit) has grown to four crews and a full time booking agent. The booking agent is extensively trained and closes 60-70% of all leads. The owner spends her time focused on quality control of the actual crews for the most part. The point being: There is PLENTY of room for small business owners to make a lot of money with manageable levels of scale. You still have to have a keen business sense... but outcome based decision making works no matter what business you run.

by ja27 16y ago

enjo 16y ago

My startup works with small businesses. I've been amazed at the amount of income that good service professionals can bring in. Landscapers, air-duct cleaners, carpet cleaners... we have a couple of clients that have owners pocketing 7 figures yearly. What I find really interesting is how much the process these really successful owners use mirrors what we do in technology companies. They try different pitches. They test different call-answering tactics. They hone in on the words, phrases, and ideas that resonate with customers. They test different advertising metrics and are obsessed with tracking and analytics. Once they understand how to close deals and what the best sources of leads are... they scale. For instance, one of our air-duct cleaning partners (that clears 7 figures in profit) has grown to four crews and a full time booking agent. The booking agent is extensively trained and closes 60-70% of all leads. The owner spends her time focused on quality control of the actual crews for the most part. The point being: There is PLENTY of room for small business owners to make a lot of money with manageable levels of scale. You still have to have a keen business sense... but outcome based decision making works no matter what business you run.