Give me 5 reasons why you're an Owner Operator..

[Jim Williams]

I'm too nice to be a boss.
I have no desire to grow my business. One day I'll cut my phone off and just ride off into the sunset.
I enjoy the work and the customers.
I've crunched the numbers and it would take a whole lot of trucks to make what I make now unless I was on a truck myself.
I enjoy a stress free lifestyle as a one man show.

 

[icleancarpetz]

1) on the slowest days I’m home by noon to finish loose ends or begin new ones
2) on the busiest days nice to come home with more then the average hourly stiff and sometimes salary snob
3) no boss or coworker ( or wife) to want to light a fire cracker up their nose
4) different atmosphere everyday...can’t stand being in one place all day year after year...don’t like office work and the politic
5) I like the trust some clients give to you and interacting with genuine people...not all but most.

 

[hogjowl]

The question wasn’t what do you like about being a LOOZER

 

[Old Coastie]

^^^^^^
Then there are the drawbacks.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

There WILL come a day when you can’t, or won’t want to grind like you use to.

 

[icleancarpetz]

 

[ruff]

Lets hear it Chavez etc.
How much did you make selling your share of the business to your brother?

My guess here: Not enough to solely retire on.

Point is: If you prefer to have employees and the headache of running such business, mentally suited for it and have the talent required to manage, go for it. You'll be able to make a living not depending on your physical condition. That's great. Again-Go for it you capitalist pig. Though, be forewarned- it comes bundled with other headaches, of which loss of soul being the least

A good O/O, beside not wanting (or able) to work for others (various reasons) that is smart enough to save and invest in real estate, stocks, etc. can do quite well.

Personally?

WGAS

 

[Desk Jockey]

Lets hear it Chavez etc.
How much did you make selling your share of the business to your brother?

My guess here: Not enough to solely retire on.

Point is: If you prefer to have employees and the headache of running such business, mentally suited for it and have the talent required to manage, go for it. You'll be able to make a living not depending on your physical condition. That's great. Again-Go for it you capitalist pig. Though, be forewarned- it comes bundled with other headaches, of which loss of soul being the least

A good O/O, beside not wanting (or able) to work for others (various reasons) that is smart enough to invest in real estate, stocks, savings can do quite well.

Personally?

WGAS

Yes and no. Its not about how much I'll get but more about how I agreed to extend payments so as not to burden them. There are proviso's for specific incidents but could I? Yes.

However right now it would require lifestyle changes that I don't care to make. Maybe in 7-10 years???

I have a wedding to pay off, wife bought a new car and twins are still in school. Besides I don't know what I'd do if I did retired. Idle hands an all...

 

[Dolly Llama]

WGAS

why??

cause it's more interesting than merry-go-wands , acid rinse and how not to shake someone's hand that's "not your type"

..L.T.A.

 

[sassyotto]

I started as an O/O. But the "American Dream" is to grow a company so you can sell it when its time to retire. So I added a couple trucks and employees. Came to a point where either I expanded vertically (same service area but added more services) or horizontally (same services but larger service area). With a ton of research my wife and I decided to join Service Team of Professionals and added Restoration services.

Just after we joined STOP, we lost a full term baby. It was really devastating but we pushed on. STOP really helped with both the Management and Technical parts of the business. l was working a ton of hours so we (along with STOP) decided to hire a Production Manager. The gal we picked seemed like the perfect match since she was working at a large Janitorial company in a similar position. We flew her to STOP headquarters in Kansas City for a week of training and then to a STOP franchise in Wausaw for another week of "on the job" training. We sent her to Wausau because they were an established Franchise. We paid for all of her training, air fare, hotel, meals while setting up her office. A week after she came back she quit, with no notice. She found a job at a local technical college.

Shortly after, we lost another full term baby. This really put this all into perspective. I was just spending too much time trying to build this business and not enough time at home. The one daughter we had I seldom saw. A couple years later we had a son who I spent a ton of time with.

Going back to being an O/O was one of the best decisions I ever made.

So to answer your question...
1. Can run it from your house (low overhead)
2. Can TRUELY work when you want
3. Management hastles are minimized
4. Looking back, I found that Im a better technician than I am a Manager
5. Less stress

 

[sassyotto]

There WILL come a day when you can’t, or won’t want to grind like you use to.

this is a very labor intensive vocation. I have a guy that does concrete work that I have help me with commercial work during the year and in winter helps me on large jobs. He wants out of concrete work so my plan is when I cant do the work all by myself I can add him full time.

I could never just do nothing.

 

[hogjowl]

I can’t get my nap in with more than two vans

 

[Mark Saiger]

Well... I am in experiment mode adding the third truck but also eventually passing the business to the family.

He might end up an owner operator if him and our daughter don't work on the business.

I came back to the business so I wouldn't end up in jail like the recent band director brawl with a student in CA.

I had great students for the most part but things and times were changing and I struggled with the lack of discipline and respect as I got older. Now as we add people I'm sure we will have other challenges.

People ask me if I miss teaching and band directing... Then I see this and say....
.Nope.... I got tired....

 

[Mark Saiger]

Whut I'm not Elvis?

Wait the thin Elvis or the fat Elvis?

Be kind and pass the masked potatoes and gravy if you would

 

[Desk Jockey]

 

[Jimmy L]

One of my son's got out of control years ago. A lesson was learned by the both of us and he eventually recovered from his injuries.

 

[ruff]

In other words- You made him a partner when he agreed to drop the aggravated assault charges?

 

[Jimmy L]

This isn't Kalifornica

 

[ruff]

I know.
So.....it's a yes.

 

[Jimmy L]

It wasn't that bad more about respect. He had to learn that my house wasn't a democracy but a dictatorship. Going away to college filled his mind with a " Me" attitude. Demands on what he wanted and what he wanted to do in MY house. He's okay now in fact he's building a house right down the street from me.

 

[SamIam]

I was aweful in school, a school counselor said I would end up being a janitor!

My Dad and his brothers started a carpet cleaning business, and I’am not rock star material!

It took me along time to want to clean instead of be in management.

But wanting to responsible for the end result, plus 4-5 techs that worked for me, went off successfully and did well.

I saw my Dads business model dwindle and knew I needed to do something else.

Wife and three kids made success a must!

 

[SamIam]

I ran solo for years fearing anybody I would hire would put Me out of business.

I also didn’t charge enough to really pay a helper.

 

[Loren Egland]

Some of my reasons are discussed in this June 2006 Cleanfax issue page 48 article I wrote.

http://www.cleanprosonline.com/JuneCleanfax/Cleanfax magazine.pdf

 

[icleancarpetz]

I started as an O/O. But the "American Dream" is to grow a company so you can sell it when its time to retire. So I added a couple trucks and employees. Came to a point where either I expanded vertically (same service area but added more services) or horizontally (same services but larger service area). With a ton of research my wife and I decided to join Service Team of Professionals and added Restoration services.

Just after we joined STOP, we lost a full term baby. It was really devastating but we pushed on. STOP really helped with both the Management and Technical parts of the business. l was working a ton of hours so we (along with STOP) decided to hire a Production Manager. The gal we picked seemed like the perfect match since she was working at a large Janitorial company in a similar position. We flew her to STOP headquarters in Kansas City for a week of training and then to a STOP franchise in Wausaw for another week of "on the job" training. We sent her to Wausau because they were an established Franchise. We paid for all of her training, air fare, hotel, meals while setting up her office. A week after she came back she quit, with no notice. She found a job at a local technical college.

Shortly after, we lost another full term baby. This really put this all into perspective. I was just spending too much time trying to build this business and not enough time at home. The one daughter we had I seldom saw. A couple years later we had a son who I spent a ton of time with.

Going back to being an O/O was one of the best decisions I ever made.

So to answer your question...
1. Can run it from your house (low overhead)
2. Can TRUELY work when you want
3. Management hastles are minimized
4. Looking back, I found that Im a better technician than I am a Manager
5. Less stress

That happen to me but without the child lost or the hired that quit.
Coming home one early morning about 3am Friday/Saturday morning....my kid 7 yrs old at the time was asleep on my wife’s lap and tv blasting. I was suppose to be home mush much earlier like 7pm. The moment I walked in, wife woke up and said, ‘She’s been waiting for you all night long’. My heart just wrenched in two! At that moment I decided to let go almost all my accounts and bring it back down to basics. Or else risk the chance of losing kids due to chasing a dollar.
Today, miss the money but wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dollar can be had anytime, time missed with kids is forever lost.

 

[Acp]

I got my license the day after I turned 16. Its been valid maybe three or four years ever since. Cant pay the tickets because you cant go make money to pay the tickets. I get pulled over every three or four years and call someone to come drive my truck. Should have them all paid by spring and actually have a license. At least I can get insurance with no license.. I just turned 45 by the way. Way too long not to deal with this.

deeammnn. Around here you get thrown in the back of the cop car for driving on suspended.. if your really really lucky they will issue a warning, like if it got suspended that day and you legit didnt know but then after the warning you get pulled over again your definitely going for the ride.

 

[Acp]

I think a lot of O/O dont realize that learning how to manage a business successfully is a skill that takes a long time to master. They dive into it with no systems in place and it immediately becomes a nightmare... then they forever talk about how its impossible and not worth it etc etc

Imagine a brand new carpet cleaner that dives into cleaning after dumping some money who has no clue what they are doing... how many hours does it take them before they master it? 10,000 hours is usually the standard for truly mastering a skill in life some things take 30,000+

I also think of this business differently.. Im not super emotionally attached to it so say theoretically it was so terrible I was only making $50-100/day profit all said and done..... but I literally dont have to do anything at all 100% hands off, that is still a win in my book because I can then build the next business that will net me X amount per day.

hard to accept that when your easily getting $500+/day doing all the labor though.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

Good article Loren. I probably read it in 06 too. Carpet cleaning happens to be the #addonservice for me, but it has allowed me to be a preferred vendor in my jani biz. You might say I’m semi-retired, but still buying and selling. For the most part, I let others do it now. It’s actually fun.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I had a bunch of employees when most of my business was janitorial.

I worked for them.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

You can. Just like everything else, some days your the bird, some days you’re the statue.

 

[FB7777]

I was aweful in school, a school counselor said I would end up being a janitor
!

He was right