Do we run our Business

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bitshird

bitshird

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
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10,236
Location
Adamsville, TN, USA.
My question is do we run our business's or do they run us??
Pretty simple question isn't it?
sorry I didn't want to do a pole on this, just some friendly conversation!
 
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As I'm checking out the forum, I have a couple CNC's running in the background on a Friday night. Right now it's running me a bit, but the Christmas rush will soon be over.
 
Haynie said:
Unfortunately our business runs me. Might be different if I like what it was.
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Mark. I like what I do, it's just getting harder as I get closer to the 70 year old mark, and the Doctors, but I'm about ready to throw the reigns to Anime fan"Andrew"

btboone said:
As I'm checking out the forum, I have a couple CNC's running in the background on a Friday night. Right now it's running me a bit, but the Christmas rush will soon be over.
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Bruce I had my CNC mill going and running my metal lathe and truing to finish a pen on my little wood lathe, Thank heavens for a real slow feed on my Jet.
We're still getting orders, and I have to see my DR. every other day Even tomorrow, and work at the shop.
BUT man I have a Job and I have my Son In Law so I have a good bit to be happy about, it's been a good Christmas.
 
Our customers run our business. Their orders are what keeps food on our table and the lights on. If we did not want to do this or felt that we could not provide what our customers need and want then we would simply shut down. So when you see notification of your order completed and tracking information at 1am you know that we are at work for you and are happy to do so.
 
Well Ken I'm not self employed, but my business runs me. I've quite a few vacation days the last few weeks due to medical issues as well. And yet I still have to deal with my work. Sometimes Corporate America doesn't understand my medical situation, they just want to know why we're not turning the big numbers??
 
I tend to work based on the orders. When orders are out the door, I'll simply work longer hours in order to keep the turnaround time down to a single day or maybe two. Others are content to let things back up, and while that's good for predictable labor costs, it causes headaches when people are calling to find out about their order or things have to be shifted in priority to accommodate some orders over others, etc. For me, it's easier to just take care of the orders more quickly and get the added customer satisfaction of getting their custom order that much more quickly. We are tending to get a lot of the tougher tension set designs and other hard ones in the crunch time, and everyone would prefer to get them by Christmas if possible, so keeping on top of orders also allows us to be agile enough to keep those customers that might otherwise have to get a store bought premade option.
 
My business definitely runs my life, my family works around it's schedule, and it's profit is what we base our life style on. Having said that I enjoy what I do, but it definitely dictates many aspects of our lives.
 
I also work for "The Man" and at my present level I can have a life but it may be interrupted at any time of the day or night. When you move up the food chain a step or 2 you are told that if you take the position you will be working 60 to 70 hours a week And if you are on vacation you still need to be checking your email 2 to 3 times a day. Those people do it because they like the lifestyle that that level gets paid.
My younger brother thinks that work should revolve around his personal life and he lives with a friend and has been fired a few times to prove it. I let my job have a measure of control and I can support me and my wife and have some money to make some pens. I think it is a balance. The vendors I work with have it tough because poor planning from their customers can put them in a bind. They get a call and the customer wants a carpet installed that day for a move in the next morning and they are threatening to take all their work to someone else if they don't do it.
 
I'm very lucky, my business funds "fun hunts" And my snowmobiling addiction. I also make a lot more than just one product so I dont really get bored with the work. In fact a great deal of my winter work is done from a sled in the woods on a trap line
 
Depends

If you depend on your business for support - it runs you. If you can get along just fine without the income - you run it.

Actually being the owner operator of a business can be a 24 hour a day job without weekends, holidays or vacations if you let it. Sometimes you have to step back and take a long look and see what is important to you. If running the business is a source of pleasure as well as money, you're lucky because a person who loves their job never works a day in their life.

I think that I am like most people who have their own business. I tend to do a lot more "work" than is needed to meet the needs of the business. I enjoy doing it so choose "work", over weekend football and evening sports, movies and general idiot tube fare.
 
The reason I started this thread was two friends of ours are complaining about their jobs, They think that owning your own Business is SOOOOO easy, and you can take time off and play when ever you want.
I possibly could get by with my Social Security, and selling a few pens now and then, but I enjoy dealing with 99.9875% of my customers.
And if I were younger, I would be putting in more equipment and hours to pay for said new equipment (toys) to us men folk!!
This year has been great I did miss not being able to do more shows, but maybe the coming year will bring back some spring and spunk to my step.
Ernie, I hope your still getting better, I know it has been rough on you, and Corporate America is a Soulless Monster, but like Smitty and Bruce, I chose my way, and love/hate nearly every hour of it. I just wish some one here on the IAP sold time. I'd sure buy some, Heck I'd buy all I could afford.
 
Self employment is so good that I have a full time snack route that finances the startup of my wood turning business/hobby. Am trying to build it up to the point that it will be a solid supplement to SS &401(k). Climbing in and out of a 16' box truck 10-15 times a day is taking its toll on this old man.
 
I am one of those extremely lucky fools that love their work. I have tried working for myself and hate it. I even tried a regular job working for 'the Man' until 'the Man' thought he owned me. I had to explain to him that my time outside the fence was as important to me as my time inside the fence was to him. Shortly after that, I had much more time outside the fence! Now, at age 67, I am back at what I love, construction electrician. My time is my own, work when there is work if I want, fish when I want. The man owes me nothing and I owe him nothing. My turning is for pleasure. If a pen occasionally sells, great, but the table will not suffer if it lays in the shop forever.
Charles
 
I haven't worked a day since 2005. But I spend most days (when it's warm enough) in my shop turning big pieces of wood into smaller pieces... I do shows to try and make the turning pay for itself and if it adds anything to the household, sure helps out, but if I never turned another thing, I think we would be okay... meager, but okay. If what I do is a business, I like to think I run it... we (I) opted out of some winter shows this year... it's going to make for a less than stellar Christmas, but we'll still be okay... next year I'll probably do the winter shows.
 
"The reason I started this thread was two friends of ours are complaining about their jobs, They think that owning your own Business is SOOOOO easy, and you can take time off and play when ever you want."

Even I have to make deadlines and my biz frequantly keeps me from doing what I want when I want........and when my biz was more of our income I worked 60 hour weeks. Your friends are being unrealistic.......and a bit whinny.
 
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