Welding Tips and Tricks

great site guys
i'm keith and i'm thinking about going on my own. I have about 15,000 to start with. Is this enough to get me going?

Get you going in what??? Opening a shop, going mobile, both ???? Need some info. Location, part of the market you wanna hit, experience (know how) ???? The more info the better. There's a whole lot more to it than just having the money, but that definitely helps.

i'm interested in opening shop. not mobile. i'm in a good area and i will be going out to check out whats out there as far as custumers. i think i have what it take to run my own bussiness i just need to learn the steps to take. i'm very good at tool & die welding so i think i will start with some machinist shops in the area. i'm good in all processes but i love to tig weld

15 grand can go pretty fast when you're looking at....

....a commercial building zoned for what you want to do with enough space and power requirements to do it.
....any alterations to said building
....any permits you might need
....commercial gas, power and water accounts can sometimes require hefty cash deposits.
....insurance on the building, plus liability, workers comp and theft of your equipment, plus work in progress.
....the cost of your equipment to start out and to maintain it.
....commercial trash service.
....buying or leasing delivery vehicle(s) plus fuel accounts

There's always more and I'm not trying to disuade you from going out on your own, but there are a lot of things to look into before you put out the "Open " sign.

Hi there,

Do a check on google or similar, for small business grants in your area (regardless of your country). In Australia, there are some pretty good schemes set up to help small operators.

Mick

Thank you
All the info i can get is helpful. I hope that i can startout small and grow from there. I can't deal with teaching 16 and 17 year olds how to weld anymore. I tried this for 7 years and became very good at it but it's time to move on. It's not just the kids, but the state of michigan is cracking down on us instructors. It's starting to cost alot of out of pocket to stay there.

Don't quit your day job just yet. During the first few years of getting your business established, a regular paycheck can be a nice thing to have.

keisa102288 wrote:Thank you
All the info i can get is helpful. I hope that i can startout small and grow from there. I can't deal with teaching 16 and 17 year olds how to weld anymore. I tried this for 7 years and became very good at it but it's time to move on. It's not just the kids, but the state of michigan is cracking down on us instructors. It's starting to cost alot of out of pocket to stay there.

Where are you from in michigan???????????????? I know what you are saying about the state cracking down and cutting all kinds of things, my oldest Girl Teaches in Davidson near flint.

As far as start up for a small company 15 grand will go a lot faster than you might think. Do you have any equipment to start with????????????????

Mike S

Yes you can. I did it for my side line now and for my upcomming retirement side line. Here is a quick run down of equipment and investment. Keep in mind, most of my equipment is vgc used, some recently new and some I've had for many years. Nice 3/4 utility truck 1 owner 1990 $ 3000
Miller 225 bobcat 70 hours from friend-$600,med tanks and torches for truck $175, Small 5hp comp.for tk-$35,grinders misc hand tools, airarc, vice
portaband saw-$2000 Total to get mobile $5800-$6000 Plus in my at home garage/workshop Linc. 250 ac/dc idealarc welder $300 bought 35years ago used and like new, tanks and torches Lg.$200 250Ex Everlast tig New $1400, Everlast cooler new $325, Everlast powerplasma 50 New $450,Linc Sp135mig new-$500 15yrs ago, century 180 mig like new used $75, Lg. 80 gal. compressor rebuilt used from friend-$400. Complete upgrade for shop elec with 3 220v 50amp outlets and 8 120v quad outlets, heater and lights $1400, and many hand and power tools, misc benches,vices and consumables and misc material- a consevative $3000 Totals for me Mobile $6000 In shop $8050 TOTAL=$14,050. This is an honest estimate what it cost me and a good start if you were to start making money doing quality work and build on it. Good Luck, Ed

I like Eds response. Don't go deep into debt to do it. Period. You have enough savings to get going at least part time. I'd start out part time and as you establish the business and let it pay for itself the you can make the leap. Buy some used stuff; garage sales, auctions, flea markets etc... Just be knowledgeable on what you are buying and make sure your not getting junk. If your an instructor you should have a good feel of the market place when buying tools.

The other side of the coin... Get to know as many people as you can as fast as you can. Invest some money in some cookie dough and drop cookies and business cards off anywhere you might be able to get some work. Perdy soon the people will put the business card and cookies together and say "well we need this done, maybe we should give the cookie guy a shot..." and make sure you answer the phone when they call.

Don't be nervous just treat your customers with the same respect as you would want from a welder that you are hiring. All the other stuff will fall into place in time. You may have to do some on site welding until you have the cash flow to afford a building unless you have a garage or out-building to work in but for sure you will make it. Just don't go into debt to do it especially if you have cash to start with anyway.