Heavy needs advice....

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Heavy

Heavy

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Apr 6, 2005
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LOOOOOOOONG painful story. I'll do my best to keep it short.

When I was 16 I dropped out of high school. Was to slow for me...got my ged. Four years in one hour....now that's my speed.

Worked at my family business....Construction is in my blood.

After 2 years or so my friend said that the video game magazine where he worked was looking for editors....perfect job.

10 years go by. Two companies and many job titles and I am production director...Good money. Super man at all the pre-press and production procedures. MAC GOD I AM. :D Big deal all he way around.

Big company kills my division. No Job.

Family business is booming. They need my help. Three years later business is failing.....no work.

Now what?
 
Forgot to mention that in the meantime I got married and had 5 kids....
 
I graduated from university with a degree in English literature. My only work experience was security. I had a little volunteer work experience too. My mother suggested that I write up a list of transferable skills that I had aquired, and then see how they match up with other jobs.

Maybe you could start by writing up an inventory of all the good things that you've got going for you.

BTW, I live an work in Alberta, Canada. The economy is booming. Construction is especially prosperous. You're always welcome.
 
One other thing I forgot to mention...I really hate the idea of going back to an "office".

Cube hell....

In the city of Chicago I can find many jobs that would pay well...but at what cost? Suit....tie....I hate that stuff....

Hard to know what to do...

I need to have a job in the knife world I think...It's the only industry I am interested in.....
 
UGH!!! Dang bro...that sucks. "Now what" is the question I fear the most lately. I got all my eggs in one basket currently. Work for a great company but not sure about my department. Can't physically go back to my previous trade and don't have any other options....I start back to school this fall. Going to take some classes at the local JC. Only problem...it'll take me 4 years to get my AA maybe longer.

I know...how the hell does that help you??? Wow Paul, 5 kids bro and the wife...family! You do what you got to do I guess, I know if I had to I'd pull two jobs until something better came along. Starbucks and Home Depot if I had to. Whatever happens bro, wish you and the family the best! :thumbup:
 
been a carpenter for 18+ years. construction is a boom or bust industry. a positive though is that you can move anywhere in the world and practice this trade. pay is decent (middle class). also the trump card is that jesus was a carpenter! stay motivated! hawaii is slowing down too, but hopefully it will pick up in the future. i may have move to canada eh?
 
open your own knife shop?

make your own knives?

sit on the busse shop doorstep until jerry gets tired of seeing you and gives you a job sweeping the floors. promote to mailroom, then to shipping, all the while secretly learning to grind in the middle of the night.

ultimate goal: take over busse combat knife company when jerry retires a billionaire.
 
There are three important things that every person should follow:
Family
Happiness
Money

In that order.

If you're religious, go ahead and add a 4th, by putting God in front of family.

Good luck with whatever you do, but I've usually found that when a tough decision must be made, if you pay close attention to your feelings you already know what you should do.

The answer:
Sell me the rest of your knifes. ;)
 
Heavy said:
One other thing I forgot to mention...I really hate the idea of going back to an "office".

Cube hell....

In the city of Chicago I can find many jobs that would pay well...but at what cost? Suit....tie....I hate that stuff....

Hard to know what to do...

I need to have a job in the knife world I think...It's the only industry I am interested in.....
Click to expand...

Heavy my brother, you and I are in similar boats, except you have a few more hands on deck than I do. :) I have been slowly and half heartedly looking for work. Thank goodness the wife makes good money. Knives are about all I find interest in these days as well, but there isn't much going on down here in that area these days. So I make my sheaths slowly while I take care of the kids. Who knows where to go from here. I do think the skills inventory is a darned good idea. I might have to do the same thing. I pray you find something that fits for you.
 
Any thoughts about relocating the business? Isn't construction booming in a lot of areas? Sometimes you have to move for the work.

3 years ago I ended up moving about 5000 miles to the work, no regrets!
 
Become the not so heavy heavy and hook up with the Fire Dept!!! I'm working on it! Only 100 more lbs to go :p....
 
Heavy,

I'm sure that you will succeed at whatever you choose to do.
If there is anything that I can do to help please let me know.

dave
 
Heavy, I feel it too. My stories of woe seem endless some days. I've been very accomplished (Illustrator, Photographer, Mechanic, Furniture maker, just to name a few.) , and had it yanked out from under me. I'm finding that praying and working on faith really helps in these times. I'm not trying to get all preachy, and yes, as we know, I'm a little off kilter.:eek: But, introspection, having a positive attitude and laying this on the big guy upstairs won't hurt.
I wish you the best, and you are in my prayers.;):thumbup:
 
Sorry to hear that.
The building business is booming in many parts of the country. Texas is really BOOMING. One of the fastest growing economies in the country. So many houses, apartments, stores, etc: going up everywhere you look. You cant believe it!

Monster.com, put your resume in and see what your production skills bring about.

Just gotta get your name and skills out there and see what comes up. Unfortunately if you can't find anything locally, you may have to relocate.

Best wishes.
 
Sorry to hear about your predicament. That's gotta be rough. Something similar happened to a member of my family.

My cousin's husband was a commodities broker/trader? something? Making really nice money living in Chicago. Anyway after a major medical problem and the related expenses they were broke.

They packed up and moved to the Gulf Coast of Alabama where my Grandparents live. Luckily for both of them they had experience as finish carpenters a job both of them actually enjoy doing and doing together. It was slow at first but now that they are established, they have work lined up as far out as they can.

They are really happy now, they miss Chicago a little bit but now they live on the Gulf Coast near family( my little cousin goes to the same elementary school her great Grandmother went to :) ), low cost of living, white sandy beaches, warm water, great weather, and my little cousin gets to spend time every day with her Grandfather and Great grandparents.

Construction there is moving at a brisk pace, still trying to recover from the hurricanes. So finding work is no problem now. Oh yeah once construction jobs begin to run out on the coast.......another hurricane will come along to wipe out the nasty beach condos and the cycle begins again.

Don't know if that helps any but I thought I'd share.

Sometimes things happen like this and turn out for the better. I hope this is the case for you. I wish you the best.

Good Luck,

Nick
 
Heavy,

You need to make a list of all the possible options and go over the pros and cons of each one, maybe your significant other can give you some feedback as to what options work best for the family, and if the kids are big enough to make a contribution include them.

There are probably dozens of options, and the only limitation are your own creativity and aptitude for change. I would add things to the list like going through trainging for a new field of work, moving to another part of the country, taking two low paying jobs( as has been mentioned) and going to cube hell for a while until something better comes along or you dust of your list and change your mind. If you don't want to move the family, and it looks like the job market may come around where you live you may look into a job in construction somewhere else and communting on weekends(this would be more viable if you can find a project that works 8 ten hour shifts and takes six days off or something along those lines). You may also be intersted in a wholesale change, going into something like wildland firefighting, or conservation work. The point is to come up with all of the off the wall ideas that you can and then look into the numbers behind each one and see if you can get away with doing something that you really like or if you have to take a job that you dislike for the sake of the family. Maybe a few courses at the nearest community college or tech school would make the difference and get you into something that you would enjoy. In my opinion you should be able to turn this into an oportunity to find a job that you really love to do, and turn it into something that you can afford to do also.

Now my pitch, you should check with the family and see if moving to a remote area would work for them. There are lots of outside jobs in the Department of Forestry, the NPS , and even with private firms that do contract work that would get you light years away from cube hell, and you family may even enjoy the peace and quiet. Another thing, the cost of living will go down a lot once you start looking outside of the city limits. If you have the money(or the credit) you may even look into buying a small business, like a convenience story or construction company somewhere that you can afford to live on small business profits.

That's my two cents.
 
Hmmm, sounds like you could run a crew doing just about anything you're remotely good at. Might have to start out very small, with a lot of vision in the biginning, but if you hit the right market and grow it smartly it could work itself out well. A friend of mine started a pot-hole filling business, for example. Not very glamorous, but a 40% profit and consistent work. I'm sure you can come up with something more enjoyable than that, but unfortunately my experience has been that the guys who go to work for their families often do a bit better than the guys who go to work for themselves. You'd think a guy like me would have heros like Audy Murphey and Shuggart and Gordon, but while I do idolize those guys my greatest real world hero is a guy who took a job slinging garbage to feed his family, and stuck with it to become a regional manager for a mid-western state. That man is an example of both humility and the American Dream. Hopefully you can get into something more exciting, custom choppers or 1/2 scale WWII fighter planes or something...

Easy for me to say... I hope you get back on your feet soon.
 
Heavy

For me, planning and preparation have been the best insurance.

Know where you want to go and begin building a path there now.

These words might not make any difference in the short run.

But I promise they will pay out for you in the future.
 
Heavy,
Believe it or not, your biggest problem is narrowing down your choices. If you need to and want to, you are going to succeed in what you put your mind to. That said, here are some ideas:

1. Teaching. No office, no suits. Not the best pay, but you can have a hand in providing something positive to today's youth. Life experiences, common sense, social skills, etc. will be important, and possibly more so than a higher education.

2. Start some type of business utilizing your MAC skill set. Perhaps teaching MAC, repairing MACs, etc. Hell, see if Apple will use you as some type of sales rep. You can hang out at the Apple store or Circuit City and sell MACs to prospective customers. If you really are good with a MAC, you probably have them flying out the doors.

3. Start some type of business that has a low start-up cost. A co-worker of mine got fired (yes, fired!!) and he started his own janatorial service. He is making more money three years later than he ever did working as GS-13 for the fed govt. Another friend of mine started her own ... I guess... maid service is what you'd call it. When somebody vacates an apt., it has to be clean or the tenant will lose their security deposit. Well, she found that tenants almost always leave apt.s in crappy shape, so she sends in her little crew and in a matter of a few short hours, those apt.s are as good as new. She has made a ton of $$$ with this business.

These are just a few ideas. You know your strengths best though. Take a good hard look at things, do NOT feel pressure to do something just because you feel like you need to jump right away. Do something you know, something you care about, and something you can have fun with, and success is just about guaranteed. Good luck!!!:thumbup:
 
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