Well, out of nowhere, I had the owner of the largest company(150 pieces, give or take) I do work for call me last Friday seeking to employ me fulltime. Come to find out, the lead man (employed there 14 years) has left the company abruptly and naturally...……...it has them panicking.
I am currently listing pro's and con's of making such a move. Money is a BIG deal as I have numerous people I take care of and have for years. I talked with him in his office a bit today to get an idea of what he expects which is pretty much what I expected. I run the show with ALL the heavy equipment, shop and field, am allowed whatever personnel I feel I need, and the freedom to do repairs as I see fit.
The problem is I have been self-employed for 29 years which is a good majority of my working life. I don't know if I can even have a boss again. Another big issue is ALL the other customers I have that would have NO other option other than myself, or the equipment dealers. How I would handle that isn't an easy fix, as the potential new boss does not want me moonlighting. I could make other customer repairs on my own time, but do I want to have 2 jobs at 55 yrs. old? Not really.
It is not that I doubt myself doing the job, its more of not having the freedom I have now...…...maybe the fear of losing it. 35+ years of experience, all my contacts over the years for reasonably priced parts and tech info...…………..how do you go about placing a value on that? Is it possible to even do that?
The pros are a steady paycheck (whatever that may be), health insurance (which I don't have now), my familiarity with the owner and the company ….. and his willingness to purchase the service truck I just bought new last year ( not sure about the tooling as that wasn't discussed yet.)
I have a lot of thinking to do to decide if it would be worth it. I'm afraid what I would have to get money wise would have to be astronomical with the losses I would incur from not having my other customers. Any advise out there???? LOL
I am currently listing pro's and con's of making such a move. Money is a BIG deal as I have numerous people I take care of and have for years. I talked with him in his office a bit today to get an idea of what he expects which is pretty much what I expected. I run the show with ALL the heavy equipment, shop and field, am allowed whatever personnel I feel I need, and the freedom to do repairs as I see fit.
The problem is I have been self-employed for 29 years which is a good majority of my working life. I don't know if I can even have a boss again. Another big issue is ALL the other customers I have that would have NO other option other than myself, or the equipment dealers. How I would handle that isn't an easy fix, as the potential new boss does not want me moonlighting. I could make other customer repairs on my own time, but do I want to have 2 jobs at 55 yrs. old? Not really.
It is not that I doubt myself doing the job, its more of not having the freedom I have now...…...maybe the fear of losing it. 35+ years of experience, all my contacts over the years for reasonably priced parts and tech info...…………..how do you go about placing a value on that? Is it possible to even do that?
The pros are a steady paycheck (whatever that may be), health insurance (which I don't have now), my familiarity with the owner and the company ….. and his willingness to purchase the service truck I just bought new last year ( not sure about the tooling as that wasn't discussed yet.)
I have a lot of thinking to do to decide if it would be worth it. I'm afraid what I would have to get money wise would have to be astronomical with the losses I would incur from not having my other customers. Any advise out there???? LOL