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I need some advice. I’ve been doing Guitar and stringed instrument repair for about 8 years now. I’m trained and “certified” through a vocational school, and certified for warranty repairs through a few large instrument companies. I’m in the SoCal region and I’ve been working out of a big box store for 3 years. I do ok here, decent benefits, but I only make about 35k. With the pandemic being especially bad in my region, it’s got me really stressed out every day at work. I also rent a room from an elderly friend and I’m terrified of bringing COVID home and exposing him. So it got me thinking about my options, and I’ve wanted for awhile to strike out on my own and go independent but I really don’t know much about starting my own business. I have about: $4,000 savings $1,000 checking And $1,800 credit card debt. $450 a mo rent $110 phone bill $45 car insurance I don’t think the operating costs would be much for running the business, but I haven’t worked that out yet. I would need a website, and I would see customers on an appointment basis. I would need to purchase about $1000 worth of large tools, but I already have basically all the hand tools I need. I can’t very well start it as a side business either because the company would likely see it as a conflict of interest... Would it be stupid to quit and strike out on my own right now?
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Jul 23, 2020 23:48
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 09:09 |
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Does your employment contract actually have a noncompete clause? If you were to open up shop under a different name, how likely is it that they would find out? How upset would you be if you were blacklisted in that industry if they found out? Either way, get rid of that credit card debt. How far in advance are repairs booked? I'm guessing you can't try something like trying to book a month out before you actually quit to see if it'seven viable. But get your poo poo in place before you quit anyway. Get the site up, get your first month marketing strategy ready to go. Have you tried to switch jobs to get a better paycheck? What other avenues are open for you for employment? I would be nervous to quit without more in savings, or another backup plan in place.
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Jul 24, 2020 05:25
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Also, if you live in a big metro area, I would narrow your niche down to a few specific expensive instruments or brands, possibly making websites for each specialty if they are sufficiently different. To use an analogy from my own experience, if you're doing "book cover design", you won't be able to charge much and you'll be competing with a broad field. If you do "shifter erotic romance design for kindle and createspace", your clients will know you specialize in their area and be willing to pay more for your expertise. If I had to guess, harp repair is likely more lucrative than guitar repair. Harpists are rich and they want to hire a harp specialist. Can you think of a way to move your skills in that kind of direction? Something specific and targeted towards the wealthy?
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Jul 24, 2020 05:33
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