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I’m a mid-career guy leaving the 9-5 world for a new life “in the trades” and have a question for you folks with more (alot more) experience. I have a situation/opportunity where the owner did most of his own remodel work but is now too busy to finish up (some maintenance items, some trim, a roof that wasn’t vented, leaking valley, etc.). The final permits were never issued so I’ll need to complete the work and get it signed off.
It’s such a mish-mash mishmash if I was comfortable quoting this would be a hard job to set a price on. The owner realizes this and doesn’t expect a hard bid, so I think he’s being fair.
The problem is that he wants to pay by the week, not by the hour; expecting me to put in whatever time is necessary to meet a schedule we agree on first. He’s also got some new additions planned for after so there is a carrot dangling in that if I perform well I would get the more desirable work, good references, maybe even some future deals, etc.
Up till now I’ve mostly been doing repairs and handyman stuff with no idea how to break into some bigger projects so this could be a good stepping stone.
I know that hustle is good in this industry, but the main appeal of self-employment is schedule flexibility and being in control of what and when I work on. I’m not sure I like the idea of going on salary instead of straight hourly. He’s worried I’ll milk the hours, and I’m worried he’ll expect 60 hour weeks for 40 hours pay.
Maybe my questions aren’t well formed, but any feedback on this “opportunity” would be great!
Thanks
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I'm a mid-career guy leaving the 9-5 world for a new life "in the trades" and have a question for you folks with more (alot more) experience. I have a situation/opportunity where the owner did most of his own remodel work but is now too busy to finish up (some maintenance items, some trim, a roof that wasn't vented, leaking valley, etc.). The final permits were never issued so I'll need to complete the work and get it signed off.
It's such a mish-mash mishmash if I was comfortable quoting this would be a hard job to set a price on. The owner realizes this and doesn't expect a hard bid, so I think he's being fair.
The problem is that he wants to pay by the week, not by the hour; expecting me to put in whatever time is necessary to meet a schedule we agree on first. He's also got some new additions planned for after so there is a carrot dangling in that if I perform well I would get the more desirable work, good references, maybe even some future deals, etc.
Up till now I've mostly been doing repairs and handyman stuff with no idea how to break into some bigger projects so this could be a good stepping stone.
I know that hustle is good in this industry, but the main appeal of self-employment is schedule flexibility and being in control of what and when I work on. I'm not sure I like the idea of going on salary instead of straight hourly. He's worried I'll milk the hours, and I'm worried he'll expect 60 hour weeks for 40 hours pay.
Maybe my questions aren't well formed, but any feedback on this "opportunity" would be great!
Thanks