3 ms·

I know a few people in construction, they started working for someone by fixing doors, do painting etc. until they learned enough to find their own clients. It'

I know a few people in construction, they started working for someone by fixing doors, do painting etc. until they learned enough to find their own clients. It's easier than you think to find a friend who needs something to get fixed and get more clients from there by doing local advertising or even door to door knocking to check if people need some fixes. These people I know now hire their own workers (and still work themselves too) and make more than many college graduates I know. Not saying anyone who gets into construction makes millions but there definitely is a path for growth and good pay is possible. It is however not a glamorous job, you need to get your hand dirty and work with some unhealthy products you need to protect yourself from (as much as you can at least...). It's a tough job but it does pay well. I personally wouldn't do it because of the physical aspect but financially it is definitely interesting.

lowercased 8y ago
> It's easier than you think to find a friend who needs something to get fixed and get more clients from there by doing local advertising or even door to door knocking to check if people need some fixes. And... treat it like a business. Show up on time. Answer your phone/text/emails. If you need to cancel, give notice. I'm continually flummoxed at how generally bad service industries are in many areas. We had one guy cutting our lawn. BEST EVER. Younger kid - showed up on time, notified ahead when he was coming, would notify if he couldn't make it re: weather delays, then would give us updated time/date. Even more "professional" than professional services we've used. We had one good year, then "I'm going to college, and can't do this any more". He could probably earn more expanding out his operation than he will from whatever college degree he will get. :(
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  At what cost might he earn more money? He loses socioeconomic status by being a landscaper, so his value in the dating market drops. He sacrifices health by being out in the sun all the time, inhaling fuel, increased risk of injury from driving around everywhere. Maybe he can have his own business someday, and have others do the work, but is he wise to play those odds if he also has a decent chance at becoming a doctor/lawyer/engineer/trader/banker?
  - lowercased 8y ago
    Nothing saying he couldn't hire more people now. There's (imo) an unmet need for quality service providers. Maybe it's just local to my area, and everyone else is doing great(?)
CydeWeys 8y ago
That requires entrepreneurship though, which is a whole collection of semi-related skills that most people don't have. "Just start your own business" works for some, but not for most. HN is biased more towards those types of folk by its nature, but we aren't a representative sampling of the population at large in this respect.
nickthemagicman 8y ago
It bothers me immensely when people say `if you don't like it just open your own business`. There's only so much demand to go around for a service and a huge amount of demand is taken up by already established businesses in that space. So now these businesses need people to do the work but are unwilling to pay the people a fair portion of the profit. It's fair to make a profit but when you have mostly captured a regional market and you're not willing to pay wages to spread the opportunity to people who could also fill the demand that you captured then that's not right. A successful business is largely a part of having good connections, luck, or some sort of exceptional product/service beyond something a provider with a million dollars can offer. Like 80% or more (I dont know the exact numbers)in ofmall business fail due to these reasons.

lowercased 8y ago

> It's easier than you think to find a friend who needs something to get fixed and get more clients from there by doing local advertising or even door to door knocking to check if people need some fixes. And... treat it like a business. Show up on time. Answer your phone/text/emails. If you need to cancel, give notice. I'm continually flummoxed at how generally bad service industries are in many areas. We had one guy cutting our lawn. BEST EVER. Younger kid - showed up on time, notified ahead when he was coming, would notify if he couldn't make it re: weather delays, then would give us updated time/date. Even more "professional" than professional services we've used. We had one good year, then "I'm going to college, and can't do this any more". He could probably earn more expanding out his operation than he will from whatever college degree he will get. :(

lotsofpulp 8y ago
At what cost might he earn more money? He loses socioeconomic status by being a landscaper, so his value in the dating market drops. He sacrifices health by being out in the sun all the time, inhaling fuel, increased risk of injury from driving around everywhere. Maybe he can have his own business someday, and have others do the work, but is he wise to play those odds if he also has a decent chance at becoming a doctor/lawyer/engineer/trader/banker?
- lowercased 8y ago
  Nothing saying he couldn't hire more people now. There's (imo) an unmet need for quality service providers. Maybe it's just local to my area, and everyone else is doing great(?)

CydeWeys 8y ago

That requires entrepreneurship though, which is a whole collection of semi-related skills that most people don't have. "Just start your own business" works for some, but not for most. HN is biased more towards those types of folk by its nature, but we aren't a representative sampling of the population at large in this respect.

nickthemagicman 8y ago

It bothers me immensely when people say `if you don't like it just open your own business`. There's only so much demand to go around for a service and a huge amount of demand is taken up by already established businesses in that space. So now these businesses need people to do the work but are unwilling to pay the people a fair portion of the profit. It's fair to make a profit but when you have mostly captured a regional market and you're not willing to pay wages to spread the opportunity to people who could also fill the demand that you captured then that's not right. A successful business is largely a part of having good connections, luck, or some sort of exceptional product/service beyond something a provider with a million dollars can offer. Like 80% or more (I dont know the exact numbers)in ofmall business fail due to these reasons.