go into business for oneself - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 31, 2013, 12:30:45 pm
content: Hi,I'm impressed from Dave's step from employment status to his own lab. And there are also some other people in this forum who had done such a step, aren't they?Do you have any conclusions? Are you happy now? Does your live changed? Would you go back to be a normal employee in a company (for more money)? Are there implications for your family you never expected? Was your own business planned or happened it like a bolt from the blue?Are in this forum also some people, the business for oneself doesn't worked? I'm also interested in non-success stories.Please tell a little bit about it.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2013, 02:08:54 pm
content: Forced to retire three years ago from the government (four and a half years early) when they began outsourcing my department. Took my pension and took my part time home based business full time and never looked back. I still work about the same hours but it's for myself, I'm home, and I'm my own boss. If I have an idea, I do it and don't half to listen to a bunch of politicians that have no idea what they are talking about.I was sick of the politicians taking credit for what the employees did anyway and always looking for someone else to blame things on when they made stupid decisions that did not work. The stories I could tell...Between my retirement, other sources of income, and my home based business, I can make it. If I had to depend on just the home based business income though I would have had to make some serious lifestyle changes (like live under a rock). My recommendation would be to try to plan ahead and never put all your retirement eggs in one basket if you can help it. I have a year and a half before I can also start collecting social security. At that point I hope that my wife who is a few years younger than I am can retire or at least cut her hours way back also. She likes working but works way to many hours. I tried but she really has no interest in helping me full time in my business. She likes working with other people and working on the computer all day would drive her nuts.

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 31, 2013, 10:52:30 pm
content: Quote from: SLJ on January 31, 2013, 02:08:54 pmThanks! Do your own business feel "safe"? Do you have dark thoughts about the future? Or is it more the way "yes, in the beginning it was quite hard but with some month time the things starts rolling and the business runs now fine". More a "I must get comfortable with the new unfamilar situation"?I wonder if it is more an mental thing to start your own business. After years in a big company I think always about the so called "safety". But a big company can kick you out and give no thought about it. It seems to me it is more important to get happy with your own business, and no more such "woohoooo, the management took over!"-situations.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 12:51:44 am
content: QuoteI've had four different career employment statuses:1) 9-5 big company full time employee2) 9-5 big company on-site independent contractor3) Self employed job or hourly based "designer for hire"4) Self employed video blogger (or for someone else, that would be anything that doesn't involve design work essentially)1 and 2 are pretty much the same, just a slightly different smell.3 and 4 are like chalk and cheese.4 is by far the best, most flexible and family friendly, and I would never want to go back to any of the others.They each have their pros and cons of course depending upon you and your circumstances.I wasn't a big fan of #3, it was either long hours, or a drought, and you had to be very careful not to get screwed over, and big pressure on you to deliver. Murphy would usually screw you over anyway if the customer didn'tI would never go back to #3 where I had to design whole systems, or some such, too much risk and stress. Or even just general design, as there is often too many unknowns. I'd only do it if I could get the easy work like laying out a board or small parts of a job with very defined goals where almost everything is known.For design work I'd rather do #1 or #2.Don't think you are going to get rich with #3. You only have X hours in the day, and you can only charge so much per hour. Do the math.And "working for yourself" and "being your own boss" is not all it's cracked up to be, as it can be worse than having a 9-5 job. You either get threatened with your job for not performing, or threatened with not being paid for work done - take your pickA 9-5 job can be very cushy, and there is a lot to like about a steady income, paid holidays and sick days, and some protections under law.If the pay was similar between #1 and #3, I'd pick #1, all things being equal.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 12:56:55 am
content: Quote from: hammy on January 31, 2013, 10:52:30 pmMy video blogging business isn't safe. I could in theory lose all my advertising overnight.It depends on what your "own business" is.I'd say most contractor designers would not feel that safe, as you never know when the next job will come along.A retail business turning over lots of product to lots of customers would be a lot safer than contracting your services.QuoteYes, that's why you must have "screw you" money!There is always another job out there.Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 01:36:13 am
content: #3 can work but is very dependent on getting the right selection of customers and/or finding a nice niche in which you can become known as the 'go-to' person.Another issue here when you get involved in 'whole product' designs is that ongoing support, updates etc. can continue for years - although this can provide ongoing income, it can also get to be a PITA when you get really bored with it. or you suddenly need to remember details of something you did a couple of years ago.Probably the ideal self-employed situation is designing and selling high-margin products into a niche market (preferably business rather than consumer). Niche markets are nice as you can have the market to yourself, and be small enough that no big companies are interested. Finding such niches is the hard part, and mostly down to luck and spotting opportunities.If you need security then starting off doing stuff 'on the side' from a regular job is probably the way to go.As regards earning a living off blogs etc., you probably want to look at something more mainstream than electronics.

author: ptricks
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 01:47:57 am
content: Working for yourself is the way to go , IF, you don't have others depending on you. If you have a situation where you do not think the work will be steady you might want to hold off on it till you are sure that the other people in the family can cope if something goes wrong.Make sure you are going into business for yourself for the right reasons too, not just because the current place you work at sucks, or the boss is a jerk. Do it because it will allow you to achieve something you couldn't before.I took a different approach to working than most. I didn't look for work as a means to keep up with the lifestyle that I wanted, instead I chose the work I wanted to do and made the lifestyle fit whatever it provided. Look at it this way, most people spend more time at work than at home , especially in engineering, why do something you hate most of the time ? I found if you like your work then having the money to afford the rest of the stuff like rent /food/ clothes is still required but those other things don't need to be as expensive as before because they just fill a basic need, you don't need those things to take the stress away , or make you feel better. Materialism is a big problem in the modern world, people work themselves to death for the possessions they have and never get to enjoy them . I rather be happy and live in a shack than be stressed out, losing my hair, and living in a mansion.If I could choose one reason for someone to work for themselves it is to spend more time with the family, those are years you never get back and you can't just make up for them later. No matter how much money you make at the job, it will not be good enough regardless of how many dance classes you pay for , sports they play, or toys you buy the kids. I see a lot of dads saying how they hate their job but then say they do it so their kids can go to college some day or so they can send them to whatever school, such a waste of precious years.

author: UPI
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 02:37:52 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 01, 2013, 01:36:13 amThat describes my company very well. It is in a niche of the semiconductor manufacturing industry on a particular piece of equipment serving large corporations and with significant profit margin.I worked for the OEM for 9 years and was the "go to guy" for the local customers as well as others around the US. I left them mainly because they were going down hill fast and I could see the writing on the wall. So, I started my own 1 man service company on the same piece of equipment and it has grown to 7 employees over the last 8 years. We have morphed from "service only" to a service/parts/repair/design company.I was very fortunate to recognize this opportunity, as well as others along the path, but I have done a very good job taking care of my customers so they stick with me and allow me to take on new areas of support.It would be very hard to get me to go back to work for someone else. If things got really slow, I might consider another Field Service job with a remote boss and plenty of freedom to make decisions.* Private health insurance is very expensive* You must have a helpful, stable, understanding and committed spouse* It is much easier to make the jump when your spouse has a steady income and insurance to cover the family* You must be frugal even when times are good* Being honest and sincerely concerned with your customers is key* You should be able to work 18 hour days for weeks on end when necessary* It will probably be stressful even after things are going well* Starting a business when your kids are between ~7-18 is not the best time because the family really needs your attention then* Managing others sometimes really sucksI really loved my remote Field Service job with the OEM until the company started going south. I love this business even more.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 02:42:56 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 01, 2013, 01:36:13 amYou hit the nail on the head there Mike. You don't always have to resort to being the cheapest either. Service and support are still valued by a lot of niche market customers.Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 01, 2013, 01:36:13 amWe do a lot of custom work and it's vital to document what you did in some way (photos are easy these days). Treat the job as though you will be building another one at some stage. Thinking that you'll never build this again will see Murphy kick you.

author: UPI
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 02:56:58 am
content: Quote from: David_AVD on February 01, 2013, 02:42:56 amAmen!Knowing how to plant hints for your future self is very helpful especially as you age.I have 15 years of emails and have kept all related software religiously backed up. I often send myself emails with keywords added so I can easily search for important info.Also, never throw anything away.

author: jeroen74
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 11:58:56 am
content: I think Dave got quite lucky on being able to make a living doing #4, only one of a handful of people in the world I guess. Another videoblogger success story is saabkyle04 but it worked out differently for him (he does not have an income from adverts on a site IIRC).

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 12:15:46 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 01, 2013, 01:36:13 amThat's how almost everyone I know does it. Start out as the "midnight engineer" in your garage and then only quit your day job when it gets too big. Bootstrapping the cash of course.My tips:- Never borrow money to start your business, ever.- Never get a shop front, ever.- If you have to bet on your business working, you're doing it wrong. Most that start out from scratch fail. Be smart and ensure the business is workingbeforeyou go at it full time.Off hand, I don't think I personally know anyone that had a business idea, sat down, wrote a forum business plan, borrowed money if needed, quit their day job, did the leg work, and made their (engineering) business work.Yeah, I know that's not what the business books tell you.QuoteUmm, yeah. AFAIK, I'm the only one able to make a full time go of it in our industry. Based on the stats, your odds are actually probably less with more mainstream stuff, with so many other players. Bit of a catch-22. More chance to become #1 in niche field, but less numbers to make a living from it.I'll actually be giving a talk on this at the Ignite Sydney conference in April.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 12:36:08 pm
content: Quote from: jeroen74 on February 01, 2013, 11:58:56 amThere are actually a lot of video bloggers around the world doing it full time. Certainly in the many thousands, at least.In Oz, maybe a few dozen.If you just want to talk Youtube, anyone who gets on average 100K views per day is definitely making a full time living from it.http://socialblade.com/youtube/user/saabkyle04He's getting 224K/day, so is making a very decent living from it.I could not not make a full time living from just 22K views per day on Youtube living in this country. Maybe if I was young, single, shared a place, ate cold pizza, and didn't get a haircut, just.Yes, I'm very lucky. I didn't have a plan, and still don't have a plan. I started out doing it for fun, people liked it, I kept doing it, slogged away making continuous content every week for a few years in 45deg heat in the garage, and then a few cards went my way, and I still do it for fun. But it's not something you can luck upon without doing the hard work. The (enjoyable) hard work put me in a position to eventually get lucky.But actually, the funny thing about blogging is that usually your audience continues to grow at a linear rate. And this seems to be true of most bloggers. So if you keep at it long enough, and that curve is growth steep enough, it's almost inevitable that you'll make it full time.Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 01:00:23 pm
content: Quote from: David_AVD on February 01, 2013, 02:42:56 amBy far the best marketing is word of mouth. People will remember the guy who did a great job. They won't remember the one who was cheapest.QuoteA problem is when the customer won't pay for the time to document everything properly. or decides to do it themselves and inevitably doesn't do it properly, or at all.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 01:14:31 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 01, 2013, 12:15:46 pmI'm going to disagree with you there Dave. I started renting a commercial unit within a couple of years of going full time for myself. These days I'm paying off a commercial unit and employ a few people full time.It depends on what you mean by "shop front". We're in a commercial estate and there's no way we could work from home. Maybe you meant a full retail location?

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 01:53:27 pm
content: Quote from: David_AVD on February 01, 2013, 01:14:31 pmI'm sure he just meant avoiding having to deal with random walk-in customers.

author: jerry507
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 03:32:22 pm
content: I am working as a full time employee for a contract design firm. It's just my boss who now mostly "runs the business" and two engineers. I feel the heat just as bad as he does because we're mostly going customer to customer. He's been in the business for a decade or two now and he's still never broken out. He tries to snag products that he can not just design but do some manufacturing for, even if it's just programming. It's all for the cash flow.My own "midnight engineering" business is going the same way. A contract design job and some small run manufacturing to fund the development of a product that can generate cash flow.Just doing design is a terrible business model. There are certainly a number of big design firms, I know of at least three >=100 employee ones in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and there are no doubt a dozen or so smaller ones. But life is pretty terrible at all of them because, as Dave said, lots of stress and someone is always going to F you over.I have done engineering services (employee for rent essentially) for a large company that did manufacturing, it was great. Doing the same contract style work for this job is significantly worse because there isn't the backstop of the cash flow. I'm already sick of this job and I'll be moving to FTE design sometime this year.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 03:58:41 pm
content: The biggest problem with being in business for yourself is keeping the pipeline full enough to generate the income you need.Not only do you need to be working on the current project, you need to be looking for the next client. And, unless you're financially well off, there's an overriding tendency to take on more work than you might like in anticipation of the inevitable lean times when you don't have any.Other downsides: you can't curse your boss, you can't drink coffee on other people's dime, there will be less social interaction with coworkers, particularly if you work out of your house. Also, lawyers, accountants, insurance, taxes ...Upsides: you make your own schedule (more or less), a client is just a client - if they're insufferable, you can find another one. You're in control. You can buy toys with pretax dollars.I've been independent for more than 20 years. I wouldn't go back.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 08:03:54 pm
content: This is my experiment in progress, I'll get back to you in a few years if it workedSo far my overhead is low enough I can afford to pick what to work on.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 10:24:21 pm
content: Anyone looking to self employment for "security" should look somewhere else.And Dave, I will go ahead and be your first person who quit their job, borrowed money, started a business and made a go of itI used to do software contract work, but I had an idea for a product, so I took all the money I had saved, as well as sold all my toys (cars, motorcycles) and jumped in with both feet. It was very hard going, but 13 years later, things are going well. I have a decent sized manufacturing facility with three pick and place machines, two CNC milling machines, a CNC lathe, various test equipment and several employees. We design and manufacture a variety of 'stuff'. The trick, IMO, is to take a lot of shots. Most of them will miss. Out of 10 products, maybe three or four will be a waste of time and you won't get enough sales to make it work. Then, three or four will be sorta OK where you make some money, but not a lot. Then maybe you get one or two that make you decent money - if you're lucky, you make enough to live on. Add them all together and you can scratch out a living doing it. And once in a while, you get a hit that earns you quite a bit of money. If you're super lucky, you might even get a home-run and earn lots of money.But there is no security in it at all. I've been hit with patent infringement claims that shut down profitable products overnight. I've had distributors cancel purchases and drop our products because a Chinese company jumped in and started knocking us off for 1/10th the price. I've had manufacturers change their products and my stuff is no longer compatible. And I've had home-shop hobbyists knock off my stuff without the overhead of having employees and a real business (that pays taxes, etc).It takes a lot of courage to make the switch, and you have to have the right personality for it. You need to be a good salesman (we all are salesman, whether we realize it or not). You must be good at your core business, whatever that is. In my case, I have to be good at recognizing opportunities to make profitable products, and having the equipment and skills to R&D them very quickly and get them to market fast and for a reasonable price.But it can all go away in an instant. I am not making millions a year doing this... not even close. But the freedom and flexibility is nice. On the other hand, once you grow your business to an appreciable size, you get a whole other host of problems. Managing employees, spending money on "marketing and branding", dealing with difficult customers and customers who don't pay (or who go out of business owning you thousands of dollars). Those problems can add up to an infinitely bigger amount of stress than dealing with an asshole boss or a job that isn't perfectly what you want.In general, I would never go back to being employed ever again, if I could avoid it. But it's definitely not a utopia and fun in the sun every day - it's work, a lot of stress, a lot of uncertainty, and sometimes small paychecks (or no paycheck sometimes).

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 10:53:57 pm
content: It is very interesting to hear all this variations and how the development to self employment had take its course.Nobody said he would go back into a company with a normal salary. Some say it would be easier and less stressful, but you all won't go back.

author: jeroen74
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2013, 11:08:11 pm
content: Probably it's difficult to adapt back to someone having authority over you; though whether it's customers or a boss... you're never 'free'. But so far we've only heard the (midly) positive stories. Where are the negatives ones, with people that went bankrupt once or twice and lost everything?Also, employers seem not to be that enthusiastic about hiring people that have been self-employed for years, making a return more difficult.

author: cwalex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 03:12:33 am
content: My Dad had several businesses over the years, none of them worked out for him in the end. He ended up becoming bankrupt, lost the house and his marriage! He is now nearly at retirement age and he is working as a manager in a large retailer and has no retirement money.About 8 years ago I started working for a computer shop doing repairs mostly. My brother was already working there (manager). About 2 years ago the company owner decided to reduce his stress a bit by offloading one of his businesses and offered my brother and I to buy the business from him. So we borrowed a little bit of money and took the plunge, the risk was really small and we were really lucky that we had a great relationship with the owner and he didn't want anything above and beyond the depreciated value of stock and fixtures and fittings, tools etc. He even reduced the price of a lot of the fixtures to kind of make the end price fit how much we could afford to pay him.Even though we had been running the shop for about 6 years already it was a massive shock to the system how much extra work and stress was involved in owning a business. I can only imagine how much harder it would be if you were starting from scratch without all the luck and good will I have had. I don't think I would be able to do it. I don't think I could go back to working for someone else though and managing others does really suck sometimes.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 03:13:48 am
content: Quote from: David_AVD on February 01, 2013, 01:14:31 pmYes, retail shop front, it's for mugs.Dave.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 03:45:43 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 02, 2013, 03:13:48 amYeah, full retail ("passing trade") locations usually come at a massive financial cost. No wonder there's such a turnover of businesses in some shopping centres.The trick for us was to find somewhere that was accessible for visiting customers, has reasonable parking, enough room, etc without being in a prime (big $$) retail location.Working from home can be ok if you don't have a lot of visitors or require warehouse space and it doesn't upset the neighbours or local council.One thing about working from home can be the lack of distinction between work time and family time. I was quite happy to move it all out of home once the business grew.

author: cwalex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 03:51:03 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 02, 2013, 03:13:48 amYep, retail shop front sucks a lot of money from your bank account. Also customer's coming in and phoning drain a lot of your valuable time! But the business model works and the customers that are interrupting you by phoning and walking in are also giving you money. Definitely a mug's game and I'm just lucky that I'm a mug that got a lucky start in the game. %-B

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:28:15 am
content: Hello,I think it's not a change that you go to ... it's a change that at some point knocks on your door saying "hey, I'm there, why not ?".Started as a "midnight engineer" (didn't know the term) for 2 years on top of my regular job (software developer), was hard, no evenings, no week-ends, no holidays, etc.But at some point the customer asked if I could work on the project full time ... I wasn't even thinking of it, but it was viable, so I said why not. Quit my job, that was one year ago.I have mainly one customer - in Italia, I live in France -, but for about 2 months I'm working on another project with another - local - customer. The thing I lost is everyday social interactions with other engineers ... sometimes feeling a bit lonelyWould I go back to a salary job ? If my business stops generating sufficient income, yes, sure ...Would I accept the same kind of job I was doing previously or the same kind of boss ? Nahhhhh.I see it - like I was seeing my previous jobs - as an experience ... if it works on the long run, great, if it doesn't, then at the end I'd be a better engineer, a better manager, etc (and have a lot more toys to play with). I just turned 31, I still need to learn tons of things, I'm not already thinking about my last job.I really enjoy having multiple customers, working on multiple projects, having responsibilities, being given the opportunity to follow a product from the initial idea, to customer service and maintenance, via production, marketing, etc.And the relationship with customers is a lot different than relationship with a boss.With a boss when things go well, thanks to them, and when the shit hits the fan, it's always pointed in your direction.With a customer if things go bad, you really are in big trouble, but when things go well, you drink champagne too.Thomas.PS : this year I earned about twice compared to my previous salary job in Luxembourg ... but I know it won't be the case every year.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:36:42 am
content: Having one or two major clients can be a very risky strategy. Most of the time it's better to have many smaller clients. Then when one goes bust or has no work for you, it's not the end of the world.Another thing to remember that in some countries having just one client means you're deemed to be their employee. This could be good or bad depending on your situation. It can certainly make discussions with your accountant and the tax office interesting.

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:39:02 am
content: Hello,I know having only a few clients is risky ... but when you are working alone, how is it possible to have 10 clients at the same time ?With 2 I'm already having to delay some projects of one because of the projects of the other one, and vice versa ...I'd like 4/5 clients, but alone, don't know how it is possible.Thomas.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:41:07 am
content: Quote from: Otatiaro on February 02, 2013, 04:39:02 amOf course it depends on the exact nature of your work. You do have to have the right mix of projects too.You can have many (repeat) clients over the long term and only be working on a few projects at the same time.Sometimes that works out great because you're waiting on boards or parts to come in, etc.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:42:49 am
content: Quote from: David_AVD on February 02, 2013, 03:45:43 amThe best thing I ever did was move the lab out of the garage and into my own space. Not just for the much needed space, but the feeling of having it separate, it just feels so much more professional and like it's a "real" business.It also means I now have two property assets instead of one.Rent can also be a mugs game, unless you really absolutely can't get the money. Interest repayments on the loan were practically the same as renting.But I can see for some people how renting is a viable option.I did pay a premium to be very close to home though, for family lifestyle reasons obviously. I could have got maybe 3x the space for much less if I was willing to drive for 15min each way into a cheaper part of Sydney.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 04:52:20 am
content: Quote from: Otatiaro on February 02, 2013, 04:28:15 amYep. I sit in my lab all day on my own, just the forum to keep me companyHaving a 9-5 job and being able to slack off* on someone else's dime with colleagues is actually worth quite a bit.Dave.*there are many reason to "slack off" at work, which may not involve you actually being a slack arse!

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 05:04:35 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 02, 2013, 04:52:20 amWas starting to write "hey, why don't you come in France ..." but - except it was already a joke - I doubt it would be a good idea ... we would spend 99% of the time talking and doing experimental stuff instead of actually working.Bills need to be paidAnyway my second client is an embedded software development company ... I'm "just" doing hardware design for them, but it's nice to speak with software developpers. Forums are ... well, forums ... nice, but will never replace human interaction.Still want to do some video blog, but each time there is something interesting to shoot, I don't have time, or there is something I can't show (NDA), etc ...I'd like to make a video of the EuroCircuits ec-Stencil Fix which is very nice to use ...Thomas.

author: UPI
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 06:25:29 am
content: It really helps to have a protégé to pass on all of your knowledge to. For me, that comes in the form of an 27 year old untrained ex-felon who is damn sharp and funny as hell too. It took about 15 minutes to impart all of my knowledge and now we just figure it all out together. Poor guy (sucker) took the job thinking I knew what the hell I was doing. Little did he know that it was up to him to figure out a whole lot of stuff on his own with little more than a sharp rock and a paperclip. I guess he is a glutton because he has been with me for 6 years.In between real repair work, we have a lot of fun experimenting with electronic and mechanical stuff of all kinds. Other than a slight loss of hearing from over pressurizing a plastic coke bottle, there have only been minor injuries.It is very rewarding to teach someone cool new skills especially when everybody gets paid for it too. It has been the best $5/hr I have ever spent.It would be a whole lot less fun without him there.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 07:02:05 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 02, 2013, 04:42:49 amI rented a commercial unit until about 7 years ago. By then the business had expanded and I needed to start thinking about another asset for retirement - not that I'm close to retirement age!Rent is probably a good option when you're starting out and aren't sure how things will go, especially if you can find some place cheap. A 12 month lease with options for 2nd and 3rd year is what we did from memory.How fast you ramp the business up is somewhat up to you. Just remember that fast expansion can also bring with it very high demands to perform and much higher risk of going bust.

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 08:44:03 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 01, 2013, 12:15:46 pmColin Mitchell's Talking Electronics books taught you more than just the electronics

author: Precisiontools
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 09:19:17 am
content: That's what I thought too!

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 10:44:19 am
content: A couple of years ago I went from being a full time employed engineer to doing 3 days/week, and spending my remaining time as a freelance contractor.I was apprehensive at first, but word quickly spread amongst my network of contacts, and although my first summer was a bit quiet, right now I have as much work as I can possibly handle. I'm working evenings and weekends on a regular basis, and although that's not something I particularly want to do for the rest of my career, I'm hardly going to turn work down while there's meant to be a recession on.Clearly there's some truth to the cynical maxim that it's not so much what you know, as who you know, that matters. Most of my customers have been through word of mouth recommendations.Arguably working this way is the best of all worlds. 3 days/week I go into the office as usual, and I know I'll be spending 8 hours there before coming home again. It's not so much the (apparent) job security that's key here, it's the predictability.The rest of the week - and this varies from 0 to 4 days with no special significance attached to the fact that two of them are 'conventional' working days - I could be doing anything. Sometimes it's life sucking admin, like phoning around for insurance or replenishing consumable items in my lab. Sometimes I plan to spend the day working on a project only to find that I don't have all the necessary information, or I'll get a call from another customer who needs something doing *right now! now! now!* and my plans go in the bin. Sometimes I'll spend a productive day where it's just me and the cat sitting on the sofa with music on in the background and a decent chunk of work to get on with.It's that lack of predictability that I wasn't fully prepared for, and which caught me by surprise at first - but I don't regret giving up 5 days/week in the same place at all. I'd miss human interaction if I were working for myself all the time, but to break up the monotony of a whole week doing the same thing, it's wonderful.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 12:12:29 pm
content: QuoteThese customers need training. Some useful phrases are :"Do you want it done quickly or right?""Please explain how exactly your lack if planning is my problem""Well if you'd [told me/given me all the information/answered my queries/confirmed the budget] when you knew about it, maybe it [would have been done by now/wouldn't be costing you so much/ be possible to do on that timescale]...."Also, if you actually do get something done way ahead of when you promised, just sit on it until nearer the delivery date. If you regularly deliver early, people will come to expect it as standard.

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 01:41:22 pm
content: Hello,My answer for that kind of request is that everything can be done, but time is money, you want to be first item on priority list ? that has a price.Then suddenly they realize maybe it can wait just a bit ... or sometimes they just start a big bank transfer and you don't sleep for a couple of daysFor the CAN logger I went from "don't even know who they are" to "here is the prototype in its box" in about a month and a half ... and now I'm waiting for the power supply to validate overvoltage protections for approx 2 weeks.Won't disclose my daily price, but for 2 weeks of work I can buy more than 12 of these power supplies (yes of course I did something else in the meantime, but my delivery delay goes from 1.5 month to at least 2 month, and that has a real cost).I don't already have the money to go full agilent (or other high end brands) for everything in my lab (just bought an Agilent scope), but this cheap power supply and atten.eu cost me probably more than a good equivalent Agilent power supply. Yep ... this would have cost me less at the end :http://fr.farnell.com/agilent-technologies/u8031a/alimentation-dc-triple-sortie-90w/dp/2064076and it's agilent reliability ...Thomas.

author: jancumps
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 01:56:54 pm
content: Did you know a month and a half ago that you needed a supply?

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2013, 02:03:19 pm
content: Hello,One month ago yes, that's why I ordered the PS ... one month ago ...Thomas.