[matthewj152]

I am in my early years of welding/fabbing and i want to eventually have my own shop after i aquire more experience which is long away. I want to hear your story and any suggestions if you have he time. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Matt

[Otto Nobedder]

This should make for an interesting topic, Matt,

I'll put a copy of it in "general shop talk", where more folks will see it. There's several people who can answer that.

Steve S

[Bulldog2010]

Starting our owen shop is a goodthing. I started my sop three yeasr ago. Istarted out just welding mufler and now I am fabing my owen stuff. Uts cool for cuz I like to weld and do fab work. So if u injoy this work go for it

[AKmud]

I started my shop as a side business a little over a year ago. It has grown steadily and I've learned a lot about the business side of things. I've actually got more business now than I really want for a "side" job. Best advise I try to adhere to...give more than promised and deliver sooner than expected. Word of mouth has been huge for me and that will only happen if your customers are happy with what they had done at your shop. Little "extra" touches for free go a long way and will pay benefits tenfold when that customer drops your name and phone number to all of their friends.

Also, hand out lots of business cards. 500 cards from Vistaprint are cheap and actually are pretty good quality.

[Superiorwelding]

Matt,
A book could be written on this topic and never cover it all. You will hear a lot of advise and different ways to do things and they all might be correct but maybe not for you.
As for starting advise I would say first learn all the processes and basic metallurgy about the metals. Decide what you like doing and stick with that. You will get into trouble when you try to do things you have no business doing or knowledge of.
Start small and on the side, like most of us, and as money and time allow, gradually upgrade your equipment. Remember even if a gadget looks cool, if it is not making you cold hard cash, don't buy it (although this is one of my weaknesses).
I agree word of mouth will get you the most bang for your buck at first, however as you grow your networking will be your best friend. Go to marketing events, trade shows etc. and get your "Brand" out in front of everyone.
One thing I would really watch out for, and advise against, is to do jobs for free. This is how it will start, your buddy will want you to fix mower deck and you tell him "no charge" or "well I normally charge $50 a hr. but since we are friends I will take $25." You will be amazed at how quickly this free or lesser amount will get around. I am not saying to not have a heart, but one of the things that hurt me was doing things for friends and they expect me to do it for free.
Do your research and see what is needed in your market and set up your business to fill in that void.

I remember my first year on the side I think I made a few thousand dollars and was overjoyed at that! You may not make a killing at first but if you make it past your second year and push into your fifth, you should be set.

I, and others I am sure, will be more than happy to share better details, just ask. One thing I wish is when I was starting I had someone to really talk to to ask those questions. I had to learn most everything on my own. One of my best strengths was actually observing others weaknesses. I observed how other companies handles situations and what they did. This allowed me to do things differently and better.

Find a mentor, someone who will be willing to help you out. I have several, and most are not even in the welding field. This gives me a unbiased point of view.

I better stop, this can go on for ever. I want to hear other business owners perspective as well.
-Jonathan

[MCE]

I started my business in 1999 as a sideline. I worked as a software engineer for a very large (now defunct)
Canadian telecom company. I was there for over 20 years making great money but I knew it couldn't go on
forever and sure enough, they folded and I was on the street.

Being over 50 and no one wanting to hire an old man made me realize that I was going to have to make it
on my own. So I've been doing my own thing since 2000. The money isn't great but doing what I really like
and being my own boss makes it worth while.

I mostly do cylinder head porting and machine work, but I'm trying to branch out into more welding. I got
my first TIG when I started in 1999, its an old Miller 320 and it's a beast. I've since added a Millermatic 210
and a Thermal Arc 186 inverter.

Working for yourself is really gratifying, and at times challenging. You can do anything you set your mind
to. Aim high!

[mcoe]

I am in the beginning phases of starting a shop right now. My wife and I weld horseshoes and make plasma cut metal art. We are using the horseshoe art and metal art as good practice for fabricating and to pay for machines and equipment. Right now we are only working on weekends since we are in college 2 hours from home so we spend all week advertising our products and welding on weekends. We are making things from horseshoe art all the way up to tractor implements like 3 point trailer hitches and bale spears. We hope that by the time we graduate from college we will have enough machines and equipment to go into it full time.
If you want the best practice and experience get close to a very accident prone person. My father in law is the hardest person on equipment. I am constantly welding stuff back together in all positions.
I am like you, I want to open my own shop someday but I want more experience.

[delraydella]

I've co-owned a shop for over 20 years. We do custom work on exhibits, concerts and museum displays so our work covers many fields...carpentry, painting, welding, machine work, electrics. My advice to all would be shop owners is to go for it. It'll be the best and the worst decision you've ever made!

I won't give you advice on equipment selection, but I can let you know some of what to expect and maybe help steer clear of problems....

Keep some cash on hand for living expenses, at least 6 months to a years supply. As you're starting out there will be plenty of lean times with no paycheck.

When you have money, your vendors and employees are first to get paid. You get what's leftover, if any.

Get a good accountant.

Telemarketers....when telemarketers find out that you're basically contractors, they will hound you ceaselessly to buy their crap. And it's always the same crap...extension cords, saw blades and first aid kits. Telling them you're not interested won't stop them. Hanging up on them won't stop them. I got tired of it after 5 years of trying to get rid of them. I finally lied and told them we weren't contractors, that we sewed curtains. The guy called me a pussy and hung up, but so what? I haven't had to deal with those pricks ever since!

Someone will call and tell you that if you give them a good price on this job, there'll be plenty of work to follow. Don't believe it for a minute! Your standard response should be...pay the regular rate this time and when the plenty of work follows, then we'll talk good price.

Hope that helps! If I think of more, I'll pass it on.

Other Steve

[mbowers]

Someone will call and tell you that if you give them a good price on this job, there'll be plenty of work to follow. Don't believe it for a minute! Your standard response should be...pay the regular rate this time and when the plenty of work follows, then we'll talk good price.

This is probably the best advice I've heard in years.