i was lucky enough to have a friend who owned a small plumbing service. i worked for him for 5 years until he took sick and had to close the buisness. i have since moved and lost the maintenance job i had which came with a free apartment (TRAP). when i lost my job i lost my roof too. im lucky to have a few friends and have since found a niche. i am now servicing elderly and low income folks who cannot afford a 70.00 an hour plumbing company to fix their plumbing. i also barter and trade my services for people who have no money to pay. i found that too many people go without basic plumbing because they cant find anyone with the proper skills and the willingness to help a fellow human being. if you are going to start a REAL business you need to cater to more than just the hippy community to make it work in the real world. and to any of my well to do customers i stick it to 'em. im not looking to get rich, just even. im also willing to teach anyone who is willing to learn how to plumb for themselves. its not clean work but i work 30-40 hours a week and make more than my old 11.00 hr job working 25-30 hours less. i have my freedom back. i work for who i want and when i want. its all about having freedom in your life and you cant be free when you have to wait in line for food
Man, I wish 7river was still around! He used to post on the forums a few years ago. He has an earth-friendly plumbing and electrical business near Woodstock, NY. Drives a big, blue biodiesel van which I have to admit I covet. He could really contribute to this thread. It's true that a successful business doesn't narrow it's market too much, but there are others here who are festival vendors like myself or who cater to a "niche" market. Targeting a niche doesn't mean ignoring the rest.
I have hung around this group now for a couple of week and I like what I see. Nice people who help each other. We hold classes in watch repair and produce books and videos, Give me a call at 888-750-3330 if you are interested in learning a trade that you can do at home and make nice money ( great way to stay out of the system) Dan aka dadude
PS I forgot to mention if you call we have a watch repair tool kit for free for just hearing about it. Dan
Plumberjohn, I'll call you if I need plumbing. I hate to do plumbing. Electrical, OK. Other handyman stuff, OK. But not plumbing - anything but that!
Learning a trade is one of the most underrated skills most people skip on. I am teaching myself everything I possibly can about cars, and my uncle (contractor) is showing me the ropes of carpentry.
i am teaching myself (bonsai and tree) horticulture and guitar repair. hopefully one of those might make me some money one day. i also learned to craft when i was younger and i've made quite a bit of money from doing that regularly. and also carpentry. i know enough to do basic stuff, and that's enough to make a little money if i need it. i would like to learn more, but i don't work in construction any more.
i am in london, UK - and if any of you builders and plumbers can do the following - give me a pm - I need a wall building made glass partition bricks - 4 bricks wide by 10 high - also need 2 radiators changed and a corridor that is about 10 meters long needs to be skimmed with plaster - also a couple of rooms need skimming and we need a decorator to finish some windows and walls with a few layers of paint - we will only consider skilled tradesmen who take a pride in their work and who will make a good job of it If you are in the london area - pm me
I learned stone masonry from my grandfather. I mean real stone masonry not the manufactured fake stone you see everywhere these days. i love doing it. The compliments are nice too. Anyone can give it a try. Make yourself a little planter or something and work your way up. Its becoming a lost art.