Starting a Business
Hello,
I’m making this post hoping to get some advice or guidance from people who have experience starting a business in the concrete industry. For some background, I’m 19 years old and have been working in concrete since I was 14. I’ve been with the same company for the past 5 years and have gotten pretty close with the owner. Because of that, I’ve been given more responsibilities over time, like coordinating trucks and workers, dealing with customers, and helping manage job sites.
I feel like I have a solid amount of knowledge and experience when it comes to concrete work and how sites operate, but I also know running a business is a completely different field. I’m mainly trying to avoid getting blindsided by things I’m not prepared for. I know mistakes are part of learning, but I’d still rather learn from people who’ve already been through it.
Over the last year I’ve also started experimenting a bit with doing small jobs on my own while still working for the company. So far I’ve done a few 11x11 greenhouse pads and some stair jobs through word of mouth and local posts from people looking for concrete work. Everything went well, customers were happy, and the jobs turned out good. Nothing huge yet, mostly solo work but it’s definitely motivated me more.
I’ve also been saving money since I started working, so I do have enough put away to start small. I’ve always wanted to work for myself, and I’m pretty ambitious about it. At the same time, I know I’m still young and probably have a lot left to learn.
I’m really just looking for feedback from people who’ve started businesses, currently own one, or have been in the concrete industry for a long time. What should I expect? What should I prepare for? Any advice, lessons, should I wait before trying anything, or things you wish you knew earlier would be appreciated.
Thank you.