Dan Gonzales
Member
- Messages
- 511
- Location
- Whittier, CA, USA
Hello Family Woodworkers,
Well I have given up finding a job in my IT profession that lets me spend a reasonable amount of time with my family. I have officially started my own business, a glorified handyman service.
I have worked in the Data Processing → Information Services → Information Technology field since I was 21. As I became more knowledgeable in my career the more hours I spent at the office. When I was laid off from BEHR Paint's corporate office I was spending about 12 hours of the day away from home during normal work stuff and days away when the nasty stuff hit the fan.
My network of friends and acquaintances included some real estate people. Some were the normal buy and sell realtors and others were residential rental property managers. Shooting the breeze I would often overhear how they often couldn't find reliable service providers for their properties. Well one of my responsibilities over the years in IT outside of the technology has been managing data center physical construction, maintenance and expansion - electricians, painters, HVAC, roofers, cleaners...
I got to thinking. I found out that some of my friends had a good painter, another a good electrician, another a flooring guy and so on. So I have opened a property repair and maintenance company targeting realtors and property management companies. I have started out small doing the little stuff myself (within California's regulations) and have farmed the licensed stuff to the pros I have put together as needed. I have a cousin who is a general contractor and is appreciative of the work I have found for him. He and other contractor friends are helping me get my paperwork in order to get my own general contractor license.
It's going well for the fourth week. It's a bit jittery but I am learning and giving thanks to the big Guy upstairs. So far I have tapped 2 businesses and am having to schedule jobs 2, 3 and 4 weeks out and other unemployed friends are asking me when I am going to start hiring. The number of unemployed Californians is more than the population of 16 states.
The best part is I get to work from home and I set the schedule. I also had to replace/upgrade some of my tools in order to get my jobs done. I'll be posting those gloats/reviews soon.
Cheers all!
Well I have given up finding a job in my IT profession that lets me spend a reasonable amount of time with my family. I have officially started my own business, a glorified handyman service.
I have worked in the Data Processing → Information Services → Information Technology field since I was 21. As I became more knowledgeable in my career the more hours I spent at the office. When I was laid off from BEHR Paint's corporate office I was spending about 12 hours of the day away from home during normal work stuff and days away when the nasty stuff hit the fan.
My network of friends and acquaintances included some real estate people. Some were the normal buy and sell realtors and others were residential rental property managers. Shooting the breeze I would often overhear how they often couldn't find reliable service providers for their properties. Well one of my responsibilities over the years in IT outside of the technology has been managing data center physical construction, maintenance and expansion - electricians, painters, HVAC, roofers, cleaners...
I got to thinking. I found out that some of my friends had a good painter, another a good electrician, another a flooring guy and so on. So I have opened a property repair and maintenance company targeting realtors and property management companies. I have started out small doing the little stuff myself (within California's regulations) and have farmed the licensed stuff to the pros I have put together as needed. I have a cousin who is a general contractor and is appreciative of the work I have found for him. He and other contractor friends are helping me get my paperwork in order to get my own general contractor license.
It's going well for the fourth week. It's a bit jittery but I am learning and giving thanks to the big Guy upstairs. So far I have tapped 2 businesses and am having to schedule jobs 2, 3 and 4 weeks out and other unemployed friends are asking me when I am going to start hiring. The number of unemployed Californians is more than the population of 16 states.
The best part is I get to work from home and I set the schedule. I also had to replace/upgrade some of my tools in order to get my jobs done. I'll be posting those gloats/reviews soon.
Cheers all!
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