Welding Tips and Tricks

Im a combo welder with 9years exp. The jobs in my area arent willing to pày me what im worth they all say "this is our starting pay for everyone." Im starting a family my first child is on the way i have a mortgage and im sole income. Ive wanted to start a small shop myself for years but it always comes down to the same old questions what will i build who will buy how will i stand out from other welding companies how will i afford materials and consumables... bottome line im tired of being payed less than im worth so i want to stop making money for someone else and go in to buisness for myself. Anybody got ideas or answers to my many many questions?

Congrats on the baby!

It's true in any circumstance, you're only worth what someone is willing to pay. What they pay, is determined many times by your experience, certifications, and presence.

If you hang out your own shingle (and you certainly can) you NEED a business license, and business insurance (sole income, mortgage and new baby). These items will cost you a bit upfront, but SAVE you everything in the event of a claim or accident. Move your vehicle title into that business name. Keep every receipt associated with materials, tools, consumables, etc. EVERY ONE. Track your mileage. All these things can be deducted from your side business.

Meanwhile, take a job. Get benefits. Increase the number of certifications you have. This will allow you to qualify for higher pay work, subcontract, or independently contract yourself out. Steady pay is nice, but you can use it to keep afloat while you endeavor to start and build your own business.

You don't mention your location, so its hard to point you towards work and jobs available. There's lots of infrastructure jobs around. There's tons of Contract work around. There should be lots of Maintenance work around. Many times, you need only knock on doors of plants, factories, or industrial facilities and present yourself, certificates, and a business card. They may call you for planned down-time and service work.

Another option is: find a local steel supply house. Give them your card. Lots of folks buy steel, but can't/don't have a welder on staff and need small projects done. Side money paid in cash goes pretty dang far. Or boatyards. Aluminum and stainless and cast iron welding, especially if you can be mobile are great paying jobs.

Summary: you gotta hustle your butt off to get started. The harder you try, the more you earn. Nothing that makes you rich will fall into your lap. Be the role model of self-starter and hard worker that you'd raise your coming child to be!

Welcome to the forum.

Keep working for someone else while building your side business.

Everyone has a low starting wage at first to figure out if they should keep you.

Main question is - what is the wage progression after the trial period is over?

I've had side business money for 25 years or so.
Helped me pay my bills on time more times than I can count.
But full time at home shop was only a few years - couldn't find work for a while due to injuries.

Business and medical insurance are killers when starting out.

If you've got bills to pay, starting out as a side business is the way to go. It's tempting to strike out on your own and hope for the best, but if your family is depending on a steady paycheck best to take it a step at a time. It'll be extra busy for a while working 1.5-2 jobs, but you'll at least be pulling in extra income during that time.

As far as a business side of things, depending on where you are there could be a lot of hassle and paperwork involved. It'd be better to start in a garage and just go from there, build up your clients until you're ready to take the jump. Depending on where you are rent can easily run $1000+ for a small space and random permitting stuff can ruin your week and also cost a couple hundred dollars a pop.

Our shop recently moved into the next town over with a more aggressive fire department, next thing we knew we needed to buy new extinguishers (the fancy inspected and tagged kind that are way more than something you buy at Costco) and had to get a permit for our potentially hazardous "gases". Turns out CO2 and Argon which are basically inert, require a permit if you have like two large bottles worth unless you fall under an exemption which only applies to restaurants and some other business with better lobbying groups. It was a couple hundred dollars and some paperwork. We're lucky enough to have an office manager deal with that part, but if I had to do it would have completely tanked my productivity for the day.

I think the welding tips and tricks podcast has a lot of stories about people starting out and striking out on their own. I've only started listening, but I think it's a good place to get some ideas if you really want to pursue this. Best wishes.