Sam Ferrenburg
New Member
Hey everybody! Fairly new here on the forums and making my first thread to get some opinions from some of the guys that have been in this game longer than I have.
For some context, my family on my mom's side has been farming cattle since the late 1800s so that is the environment I grew up in, working around old tractors that broke down every other day and finally buying our first cab tractor just this year from our local Case IH dealer. My dad is also a retired fire chief who bought his dad's body shop and has expanded into putting lights, sirens, and radios in police cars, as well as recently purchasing an auto glass company. Wrenching is just part of my daily life even before I entered the workforce. I started working for a concrete cutting company doing preventative maintenance on diesel saws, small engines, and light and medium-duty trucks at 16. Eventually decided there was no upward progression possible there so I moved on to my local John Deere dealer as an ag service intern, doing anything from predelivery inspections on lawnmowers to complete engine overhauls out of 8 series Deere tractors. This came with the incentive of being sent to college to earn an Associate's Degree in Diesel Tech with an Ag-Tech concentration. I'm currently a freshman in college in my first semester.
My question lies in my want to work for myself. I have a pickup truck, tools, and an awfully lot of free time while I'm at school. I'm interested in offering mobile repair services to local farmers, homeowners, and construction companies around the area of my college as well as at home. (It's important to note that after this semester I will be at school for two months at a time and then work at my dealer for two months as it's kind of a work-study program.) Does anyone that has some more experience in the field have any recommendations on how I should go about going out on my own?
Sorry for the long read, and thanks for any advice you can provide!
For some context, my family on my mom's side has been farming cattle since the late 1800s so that is the environment I grew up in, working around old tractors that broke down every other day and finally buying our first cab tractor just this year from our local Case IH dealer. My dad is also a retired fire chief who bought his dad's body shop and has expanded into putting lights, sirens, and radios in police cars, as well as recently purchasing an auto glass company. Wrenching is just part of my daily life even before I entered the workforce. I started working for a concrete cutting company doing preventative maintenance on diesel saws, small engines, and light and medium-duty trucks at 16. Eventually decided there was no upward progression possible there so I moved on to my local John Deere dealer as an ag service intern, doing anything from predelivery inspections on lawnmowers to complete engine overhauls out of 8 series Deere tractors. This came with the incentive of being sent to college to earn an Associate's Degree in Diesel Tech with an Ag-Tech concentration. I'm currently a freshman in college in my first semester.
My question lies in my want to work for myself. I have a pickup truck, tools, and an awfully lot of free time while I'm at school. I'm interested in offering mobile repair services to local farmers, homeowners, and construction companies around the area of my college as well as at home. (It's important to note that after this semester I will be at school for two months at a time and then work at my dealer for two months as it's kind of a work-study program.) Does anyone that has some more experience in the field have any recommendations on how I should go about going out on my own?
Sorry for the long read, and thanks for any advice you can provide!