How do you know when it's time to fly on your own?

July 18, 2004

You are what you think!

As TW touch upon... visualize, visualize, visualize until it is so... and continue.

Devil said it straight up...

It's also about NOT being an order taker... do NOT sit and wait for them to come to you... bring yourself to them. Educate them. Don't sell on a canned speech, be social and look for an 'ice breaker' in their environment...

Spy a building that looks to be in need of film... stop and seek the one who would sign the check when the jobs complete... sell them on film.

Network with those people that can get you there quicker, Gen. contractor, real estate agents, glass co., building engineer, building mgr., property management firms, energy management firms, etc.

All the best... :lol

RICHat22 · July 19, 2004

TW and metint are exactly right. I love knowing that I control my days off, happiness of others, and best of all my own paycheck. A VERY simple way of looking at it is every morning when you wake up, you are unemployed. When you don't have any jobs scheduled, go generate income. Make your customer excited about what you are selling them in your own personal way. Don't be a telemarketer. People want to deal with people like them. Be their friend, and they will bring their friends to you as well. This is every bit as much about people skills and relationships as it is knowing your product, being the best, and taking care of your customers.

Good luck :thumb

Oh and ALWAYS be confident, not cocky. Make sure they feel you know you're the best without being a prick about it :bingo

Roach · July 19, 2004

I wonder how you are doing Roach, hope everything worked out fine and your enjoying summer work.

Ah.. so-so. May was very good.. June - slow.. July is turning out to be decent. It's odd.. I'll have nothing for a while and then all the sudden I have a bunch of jobs book. :lol

The only thing I would add at this time t oANYONE who is thinking of making the leap to self employment is make sure you have the mentality of empowering creativity of generating your own paycheck

I couldn't agree more - and that has been my biggest challenge.

Spy a building that looks to be in need of film... stop and seek the one who would sign the check when the jobs complete... sell them on film.

Good idea! There is this huge house they are just finishing up down the shore that I pass a few times a week... I think I'm going to see if I can find out who owns it and see if they are interested. :lol (Normally I would wait until they are moved and send them a mailing)

Another challenge I have found is being able to keep my priorites in order. I tend to focus on one thing and just do that exclusively (sp?), which is NOT a good thing since in life there is normally more then one thing that needs to be done. But, it can *all* be done if you keep on a schedule. :thumb

RoAcH

Image Tint · July 19, 2004

Roach, in a couple of years you will be so busy you probably won't have time to even talk w/ us. :lol

It sounds like you have made a good choice going on your own. :dunno

Roach · July 20, 2004

in a couple of years you will be so busy you probably won't have time to even talk w/ us

Pfft.. never. :lol6 This place has been such a support in my venture... Even though I'm on my 'own', I don't really feel that way. I have everyone here I can either get help from or vent to, as well as other local tinters that I talk with from time to time.

Hmm.. I do hope I'm busy though. :lol6 :lol6 :lol6

RoAcH

Roach · November 24, 2004

My question to everyone is how did you know when it was time to cut the cords and, sink or swim, just do it?!?!

Welp, I gave the guy I work for part time my notice.... Although I'm not totally quiting, but I'm going to go part-part time. :lol

March 30, 2005 will be my last day with the schedule I have now. That will free up a ton more time for tintint.. right as the warm season approaches.

I talked to him about it a couple weeks ago so he'd have plenty of time to find someone to take over what I was doing....

Very, very mixed feelings about it. Doing so will pretty much leave me with just enough - barely - to make my bills each month. Which means I'll have to rely on the tinting to a very great degree. When I think about it too much I get very nervous..... But on the other hand, being in that position - do or die - will motivate me to reach my goals. :lol

Four months... the count-down begins.

RoAcH

Image Tint · December 4, 2004

You'll always be nervous about it until you finally do it Roach, then you'll be so busy trying to stay busy you won't really think about it to much. Not kidding about that... :DD

TINTDESIGNZ · December 4, 2004

CALL DR.PHIL!!!! :spit

Roach · February 23, 2005

Just a little update.. few weeks to go until my 2nd job is cut in half.. if not more. :thumb w00t!!

So far, I am at 25% of my target sales for March.. which is pretty good, IMO. My overall goal is to be totally dependant on the tinting business by Oct 05. :lol6 And I have a really good feeling about it all.

When I was talking to the guy I work for doing the office cleaning, he asked me how much $$ I need to make in order to pay my bills each month.... and I told him that it's a thin line between wanting to make what I need from working for him, and not screwing myself over by not making enough with the cleaning. But in the end, I can NOT rely on the office cleaning to pay my bills... That would just give me a excuse not to do well with the tinting. So the bottom line is that the office cleaning, as of March 1st, will not pay my bills and I will have no choice but to make the tinting a success. :thumb :lol2

There's no other way to balance it out... and I don't want to just quit the cleaning since then I will be shooting myself in the foot. (Actually, I would like to just quit the cleaning.... and I *think* it would all workout, but I feel a little too sheepish to take that step)

So that's the latest.. I'm very, very excited and I can't wait until it gets warm again.

-RoAcH

February 23, 2005

Whats your schedule like roach? Do you work 5 days a week and weekends off or are your days off are spread out and what kind of hours are you cleaning? Night or days? You can schedule the tinting work on your days off, and better yet if its on the weekend, customers dont have to take a day off and you still can do the cleaning. :lol6 Keep it like this until you get more than enough work with the tinting work then go full time. Getting alot of phone calls doesnt mean youre going to get the job. :thumb But in whatever you do goodluck! :thumb