Who here owns their own business? And what do you do?

[Zebo]

Building contractor.

So you're unemployed.

j./k I used to build homes in boom. Lost my shorts on last couple of specs.

 

[xanis]

Nothing at the moment, but I really, really want to start my own design firm after I'm done with college. I know a few people that would be interested and they have a good range of talents.

 

[Sea Moose]

Hvac Mechanic.... now a contractor


I love being my own boss!

 

[Miramonti]

Cool.

 

[highland145]

highland145, can you elaborate a bit on your biz? what kind of finance do you do? loans? money management? stock portfolio management? thanks - chipy

$100.00 to $1000.00 at 35% simple interest. Average length-8 month installment contract. At present, 505 accounts with $330K outstanding. Before the uneducated blast me for my rate, I'll throw out some facts about the industry.

30%+ past due at any given time and has been this way since I have been in it. Makes the mortgage crisis look like a petty cash problem.
10% charge off/loss each and every year. Keep in mind this is my $$ not a large corporation. I tried for some tarp funds but....
Average customer fico score is 500.

I do make good $$ but some times I think penny stocks would be better.

 

[440sixpack]

Co-owner of a consumer products testing laboratory. Five years and still growing. As we're still a small company i wear many hats (Finance, IT, Technical and Regulatory Specialist, Chemist, Administration, etc.).

 

[LookingGlass]

LookingGlass, this looks really fun. is this your main line of work? if not, how did you get into it? where did you learn to restore antiques?

thanks - chipy

Hi chipy, it is fun and rewarding. This job isn't for everyone, you need patience, dexterity, art back ground helps. Don't expect to make money over night. You do this job because you love it, you can make money later, once you've got your skill level down pat, and you'll always be learning. You become very resourceful sometimes.

Yes, you can go to school, get your BA and masters in various degrees in this field. You can specialize in paintings, metals, paper, and objects. I'm a private conservator, thats my title. You can check out the AIC, American Institute for Conservation for more information, if you are interested.

I've been in the business 20 years now, I've owned BrokenArts for 16.
Always had an art background, I landed a job and had on the job training for 2.5 years. Better than taking any class.

This year was interesting, we had a lot of cool projects to do, its never boring, always something new to work on. Some projects I feel privileged to have been able to restore them.

We had our biggest and most expensive project to date so far, a statue, two kids on the granite chair. Major overhaul, 75+ hours worth of work, it turned our fabulous. Owners were thrilled, they invited us over, broke out the champagne, and I got a bonus, first time ever for me. They *got* what I did to the piece, it wasn't so much the bonus, its the fact they were so thrilled and happy, with the work, it was a career moment for me.