Owner Operators

  • Thread starter Levi
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The ability to take off when you want and the down time is why I like trees. Sure, some times are busy, but that's part of it.

Unlike (seemingly) most tree guys, we don't schedule the vast majority of our work, and I have no employees or requirements to work aside from keeping customers happy (get the work done in a month or so, depending on their requirements at the bid) and keep money in the bank.
 
Burnham that's a valid point from an outsiders perspective. Its a double edged sword where you have competing demands: "freedom" and "responsibility". Take too much freedom and it will kill your business, take on too much responsibility and it will kill your lifestyle, it's all manageable and that's the beauty of this thread.
 
Fair enough, Chris. But perhaps the inverse, as set against this "outsiders" perspective, bears consideration.

As a federal employee who managed budgets that would beggar the mind of some private tree company owner/operators, I enjoyed the very same need to balance responsibility against freedom. For me, I was lucky/smart/hard-working/skilled enough to find a place in a very large organization where I had many of the options that successful tree company entrepreneurs enjoy. Sure, there were times when it was no bed of roses, and at the end it sucked the hairy moose lips, though I think won that battle too. But I doubt any of y'all on the "other side" can say much different.

Most of the time over those 32 years, in almost every essence, I was as much my own boss as any of you.

The up side for my situation could be counted in good benefits, good paid vacation time off, good paid sick/family leave, a comfortable retirement...and above all, I never had to chase work, as there was always more that needed doing than any three or four people could reasonably accomplish. But in my situation as an hourly wage slave, far more often than not, after my hours for the day rolled around, be they 8 or 10 depending on my planned schedule, I got to go home, be with my wife, enjoy our home and property, eat and drink well, get a good night's sleep.

From what I've observed here on the 'House over these many years, not so very many in your boat can say the same.

I'm still not criticizing any of y'all. Quite the opposite, you have my greatest respect. But you sure work harder to get not much different in terms of freedom of choice and financial rewards than I did, imo.
 
People like to moan B.

I wouldn't swap being my own man for anything, it's not about the time off, or the money, or other benefits listed (although that helps of course)
It's the buzz of doing the whole thing from beginning to end, I've loved it from the day I told my boss that I'm going to give it a go on my own, it's a journey, no safety net, Youre a salesman, mechanic, tree guy, social worker, accountant.
It's no hassle for me, I enjoy it. I reckon most of us do.
Not for one second have I ever wanted to do it for another person.
 
Sounds good, Mick. I'm glad for you and every one else who finds contentment in that situation...maybe I'm just a lazy sob down to the bones, but it looks like misery to me, the "outsider" :D.

Maybe that's it, people do like to moan...'cause there isn't any shortage of moaning from the owner/operators here...nor from me on more than a few occasions as well :).
 
There's also that owner operators have no one to moan to.

Wife, not interested

Competitors, happy to hear of your problems.

Guys in the bar, mostly builders and don't understand/care about your job.

Guys that work for you, think you're lying to keep wages down.

Guys on the Internet, now you're talking, anonymous tree guys (at least I don't REALLY know them) From the other side of the world who you can help or be helped by me with no consequence.
Works for me!


Right, off to load the trucks.
 
Your's was a valid point, Burnham.

It is a balance for sure.

The great thing about running your own show IMO is that you can alter that balance to fit whatever your lifestyle may be at a given moment.

Remember the Danish guy who used to take a full month off every second year and travel half way around the world to climb trees and visit people.
He weighted adventure and fun higher than getting well off.
Then enter a divorce and a Swiss mail order bride, my situation changed and so I simply shifted the balance towards earning more money for a while.
Once everything settles, I expect to go back to my old modus operandum and start looking for fun again.

I don't need to have long talks with my boss about this, because I am my boss.

Wouldn't trade that for anything.
 
That's it, I've a friend that's self employed doing new construction water proofing. He works 7 days a week but spends at least half each year overseas wandering the globe, totally off the beaten track (remote & undeveloped type places) and all over, he only returns when funds run dry.
 
I guess being your own boss affords you the freedoms YOU want, not the ones decided by a union in a collective bargaining agrrement. I don't have to go through all the hoops of seneority to get my vacations or the job I really want or that training course I fell like taking!

Short of having a secretary, Jobber does help in keeping your head clear of all the little stuff. It's hard to only work 40 hours a week and keep up a quality customer service. Some people are only home in the evenings and some people have weekend places, so that makes it hard to get estimates done during regular business hours. I try to make up for it when I can by taking a slower day during the week and going out for breakfast or lunch with my girlfriend. Or taking a nap on a random afternoon, I love naps!

Two things have helped me in not going completly balistic in this business stuff:

1- Having alot of work! Getting large municipal contracts guarantees me work, so I don't feel the stress of having to win all my bids to keep everyone busy. I know that even if shit hits the fan, I can send out 5-6 guys with a one-ton truck and a six-inch chipper and make 7-11 K per week, without hardly any management. That is huge for me! Frees me up and I can pick and choose what we do any given day. I don't schedule much either, so I can change everything up in a moments notice!

2- My girl has a good job. She could pretty much pay for everything with her salary, whatever I bring in is extra for home improvements, vacations, outings.
 
My biggest piss off being self employed is a customer who would rather pay more, for less service and in a longer time frame than I can offer.
 
Not specifically tree work, but the biggest complaint that I hear from people that aren't self employed, are the problems they face from their association with other workers. Recently I was speaking with a friend of mine that has a long career as a psychiatric nurse. She said the other employees dilemma is why a lot of people seek help for their mental condition. Things must be pretty bad if you get depressed or whatever to that extent. I get a tad lonely working by myself all the time when in the shop, but I don't need a psychiatrist yet. Also, i have the radio and cd player. :headbang:
 
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  • #65
Radio=best coworker ever! (Besides my brother, of course)
 
Jay, I was reading in the paper that we have work place anti bullying laws, it seems bullying is entrenched in certain workplaces both large and small (weak and incompetent supervisors imo) and it can be linked to suicides.

Levi how do you listen to music with a saw running?
 
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  • #67
Chris, sometimes we get the Bluetooth speaker going when we are pruning or cleaning up. We work without a chipper, so that helps too.

When I worked as a carpenter it was almost mandatory to have a radio on site, quite the opposite for the tree workers around here though. Now that we're self employed we listen often!
 
Chris, when standing at a counter, I saw bullying of a mentally impaired person that works in the city office. I was only in there for a few minutes, can only imagine that it happens all the time. Sad to see. People taking out their stress....
 
There's also that owner operators have no one to moan to.

Wife, not interested

Competitors, happy to hear of your problems.

Guys in the bar, mostly builders and don't understand/care about your job.

Guys that work for you, think you're lying to keep wages down.

Guys on the Internet, now you're talking, anonymous tree guys (at least I don't REALLY know them) From the other side of the world who you can help or be helped by me with no consequence.
Works for me!


Right, off to load the trucks.

Awesome post :thumbup:
 
Chris, when standing at a counter, I saw bullying of a mentally impaired person that works in the city office. I was only in there for a few minutes, can only imagine that it happens all the time. Sad to see. People taking out their stress....

Sadly you're right as a genuine bully prefers the most vulnerable victim possible...

Levi that's cool that you have the opportunity to work with tunes, I'm a tad jealous
 
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  • #71
It can be a big distraction as well, we only do it when the work is mellow. I'm not a fan of headphones on the job, my bro has some fancy Bluetooth ones, maybe I'm just jealous.
 
It can be a big distraction as well, we only do it when the work is mellow. I'm not a fan of headphones on the job, my bro has some fancy Bluetooth ones, maybe I'm just jealous.

you don't want to get too "caught in groove" and overlook clipping in properly or something similar, happens easily when relaxed/buzzin

Yeah it did cross my mind that the comm units likely have blue tooth-my current outfit is too irregular to justify. Will have to wait for shop time to groove on 8)
 
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