Hey All! Well today unfortunately I got caught by layoffs with no notice and no longer work for Chasco. I have been thinking about starting my own business so I guess here we go. If anyone has any advice on starting your own business i’d really appreciate it! I know I can count on my Emlid peeps for wisdom!
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Damn, I’m sorry Michael. From my understanding from all you do in your posts, I thought you where pretty high up in the company infrastructure.
I wish you luck ! Being a business owner myself (continuing the family business), make sure you have someone do all the payroll. We have used PAYCHEX for at least 10 years. No worries about filing quarterly taxes/reports. They do it all. Make sure you get a good accountant. I was burned by an ex-employee with a college degree in accounting. Still paying the IRS for that mistake !!
We have 3 employees (excluding me) and everyone knows what to do every day. Good employees are your best asset. We pretty much run smoothly every day.
There’s downsides to being self-employed, you have a boss if you don’t realize it, it’s your customers You can’t really take-off whenever… you’ll have too much to think about. Just realize that God put you in this world for a purpose. And it seems He gave you the knowledge in what you do.
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This was great but at the end of the day my only boss was the owner and when you don’t see eye-to-eye it can be a pretty knee-jerk reaction. I guess I did my job too well by building departments and training people to take my place. I was the 3rd person to get the chop and one of the others was our excavation supervisor so some pretty effective lay-offs.
God does have a plan and He’s been in my ear for about two months so I am not 100% surprised. Thanks for the great advice!
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Sorry to hear that Michael, you are still a pillar of community and helped me with some good tips regarding my surveying workflow.
I’m not saying you should try to get in touch with some of your former customers to build up your customer base - that would be not nice. 
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For now I am just putting feelers out to unrelated parties while we are finishing the business plan and my past relationships are coming to me. I am meeting with the RPLS that trained me 20+ years ago that Chasco has mapped a couple of County roadways for so the job that just came up is ours. He wants me to get my PLS license and is ready to buy an RTK drone now. Those types of relationships just don’t come back around as a coincidence.
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Man, sorry to hear the bad news Michael, but hopefully another door will open that is even better than the one you left! You definitely have been an asset to this forum and to myself. My first thought when I read the news, before reading your comment, was that maybe you had done too good of job setting up the program and training them! 
I wish you the best for your future and may God bless you! Mark
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Thanks Mark. That seems to be what happens when you leave things better than you found them and then hit a ceiling. I had no intention of becoming a Director or Executive so I was done at some point regardless. Now it’s all about paperwork and planning so here I am in that position anyhow… but it’s mine.
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Wow, so sorry to hear that!
We haven’t interacted here but I know you from multiple forums and can say it’s definitely their loss- you know you $h1t and are good at sharing your knowledge to bring others up to speed.
Wish I could offer advice on spinning bup your own thing, but I’m confident you’ll be able to do so.
Ganbatteyo!
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Thanks Pat, I’ve got a couple of small projects lined up but just got a good County road job today with a local Surveyor which should be pretty sweet. Got a Mavic 3E RTK on the way so i’m super excited about that!
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Nice, I have a colleague that is getting one and has asked me for some flight training, so I’m looking forward to checking the platform out myself. Glad to hear you have some good prospects!
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Sorry to hear of this turn of events.
I hope you have no regrets of your contribution to building the company the right way. Strong leadership would acknowledge this as an asset and encourage this type of mindset.
No doubt, as you alluded in your earlier post, your past contacts will recognize your character and assist you either in building your own business or seeking alternative employment. There are benefits and disadvantages to either.
The encouragement to get your PLS qualification is sound. This would afford you wider options.
The wealth of knowledge you have contributed to this forum testifies to your generosity, esteem and knowledge.
I am certain this sentiment is appreciated in your locality and will be put to great use.
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Thanks so much Adrian. Work is coming so we just need to take the next right step and trust that we did our best. I am super excited and i’m an introvert, lol!
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