Who has their own welding/fab shop?

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Would you do it again?What exactly do you do? Repair work? Custom fabrication? Both?Like to hear some stories from people who went out on their own in this business..Had the idea in my head for a while now. I have never welded for a living. I have most all the tools I would need to get started and grow from there. I think there would be a market for it, town of ~12000 people. Not a single welding shop in town.
Reply:I work out of the house myself.....I do whatever i can...whenever I can. Within reason, if something is way beyond my capabilities then I leave it to the guys that are setup for it. It sounds like you may have a golden opportunity to setup a little repair/custom fab shop. Go for it and good luck!
Reply:I do the same as Brian above ^, as well as mobile repair and fabrication.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I kind of do the same as the other 2 guys. I do some work on various equipment on tractors, brush-hogs, box blades, etc. Do some work on trailers every now & then. Just general welding jobs.Right now I am in the process of building a body for a dirt sprint car. Its a new body for the car on my website. I am changing the hood design some & hopefully it will warrant more to be made!I don't have anything mobile, just an enclosed (on 3 sides) carport, 26' X 15'.Last edited by The Flash; 11-10-2009 at 07:11 PM.Reason: mis spelling!Flashhttp://flashracecarbodies.com
Reply:I ran a full time shop from a 30x40 building in my backyard.  Mainly fab/general welding worked on anything from race cars to rolloff dumpsters.  I pretty much put myself out of business.  I got married to a woman with kids so my little house got cramped fast, I was at a point where I needed to upgrade equipment then the ever rising cost of insurance on the business and needing medical insurance on my family I shut it down and got "regular" job.  I made good money but was scared to death of taking the next step in securing a business load, finding a building and dropping a pile of cash on new equipment.  I still do work out of the basement at my new house and have all intentions of putting up a building in the next few years and start doing some ornamental iron and smaller fab work again(still have almost all my equipment).  I am glad I did it, I ran a sucessful, fulltime business for 5 years.  I was never hungry, could always afford a few beers at the bar and never had anything repoed or cut off.  Would I do it again,  planning on it.
Reply:Originally Posted by jimmyedWould you do it again?What exactly do you do? Repair work? Custom fabrication? Both?Like to hear some stories from people who went out on their own in this business..Had the idea in my head for a while now. I have never welded for a living. I have most all the tools I would need to get started and grow from there. I think there would be a market for it, town of ~12000 people. Not a single welding shop in town.
Reply:All good info. I have most all the tools I would need to get started and decent sized shop to work in.  Anyone else have anything to add? What do you do for advertising? Business cards? Ad in the paper?
Reply:I passed out business cards, but most of my work came from word of mouth.
Reply:The only thing I would add is that you make sure you have all the proper info and prices on insurance and complete over head. I have seen many people who were making a few extra bucks on the side then went full time at it and didn't realize the full extent and cost of running a business. It sounds like you have a great opportunity and may be the best thing that even happened if this is the kind of work you are interested in. I have my own side shop that I have been running for several years. Might go full time someday. Good luck.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:Originally Posted by jamlitThe only thing I would add is that you make sure you have all the proper info and prices on insurance and complete over head. I have seen many people who were making a few extra bucks on the side then went full time at it and didn't realize the full extent and cost of running a business. It sounds like you have a great opportunity and may be the best thing that even happened if this is the kind of work you are interested in. I have my own side shop that I have been running for several years. Might go full time someday. Good luck.
Reply:Discipline is the biggest downfall of most small business's.  The owner tries to turn something they love to do into their job/career but they don't have the discipline to to the things that make a business run.  Welding will be the smallest part of being successful. So many people with so much talent never make it in business for themselves because they don't have the people skills or business skills to put the whole thing together. They have no idea how to figure costs and quotes, etc. etc......It is a long list of what is necessary to make a successful buisness.  Working hard is part of it but not all of it. It is the grunt work that really makes a business successful. The non glory unrewarding things that must get done.  Look at how many starving artists there are!  Talent but no common sense. I know so many people that work for others and think the boss/owner does everything wrong and they could do it so much better.  They criticize the whole operation while they are cashing their check.  Be very careful and really think it through. I would go to a friend that has a business and follow them around for a while and see if you can do/tolerate what it takes to run a business.  Implementation of a idea or plan is much harder than coming up with the idea or plan.  The people that get paid the most are the people that can implement an idea and keep the wheels turning and people working and flowing.
Reply:Originally Posted by burnandreturnDiscipline is the biggest downfall of most small business's.  The owner tries to turn something they love to do into their job/career but they don't have the discipline to to the things that make a business run.  Welding will be the smallest part of being successful. So many people with so much talent never make it in business for themselves because they don't have the people skills or business skills to put the whole thing together. They have no idea how to figure costs and quotes, etc. etc......It is a long list of what is necessary to make a successful buisness.  Working hard is part of it but not all of it. It is the grunt work that really makes a business successful. The non glory unrewarding things that must get done.  Look at how many starving artists there are!  Talent but no common sense. I know so many people that work for others and think the boss/owner does everything wrong and they could do it so much better.  They criticize the whole operation while they are cashing their check.  Be very careful and really think it through. I would go to a friend that has a business and follow them around for a while and see if you can do/tolerate what it takes to run a business.  Implementation of a idea or plan is much harder than coming up with the idea or plan.  The people that get paid the most are the people that can implement an idea and keep the wheels turning and people working and flowing.
Reply:goto welding tips and tricks.com go to start a welding biz and read it i mean really read it theres alot of useful info and it helped me get off the ground  you have to be able to do what you can when you can if it gets to be too much you will have to pass but you will have to decide that heres the thing you can do every customer right but if one isnt happy thats the 1 thing you get rembered for and word of mouth is +or- read that article and post againmiller maxstar 150   hobart handler 210 w mig conversion hobart 250 arc force plasma cutter    boston ind cutting torch miller performance auto darkening helmet milwalkee 14in chop saw 10,000 watt generator huge drill press and industrial band saw
Reply:Hi Jimmy your quote "Had the idea in my head for a while now. I have never welded for a living. I have most all the tools I would need to get started and grow from there. I think there would be a market for it, town of ~12000 people. Not a single welding shop in town. " -Make sure you have the necessary skills to take on whatever work come in your way.-Feel out the community! As said those folks must be getting their work done somewhere! That somewhere will be your competition.-Insurance is a must but also look into what the permit and business licensing requirements are! Local, state & federal. -Realized that if you take on a job that requires  certifications and skills which you do not have tell them you are not equipped to do the job and recommend a qualified shop if you know one. Doing a job that your not equipped or skilled to do may result in civil & criminal liabilities.-Plan on at least 6 months to 1 year for the business to start up building some customers.And this list could go on and onCo-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:What is the name of some of your shops?  I'm a journeyman tool and die maker. I do a lot of aluminum and hardened steel welding (among the basic stick mig mild steel welding) as well as fab work. Been thinking about starting a shop at home and see how far I can grow it.  Tyring to come up with a good name and have settled on "The Weld Shop" for now.  Just wondering what some of you guys came up with.
Reply:Also, how many of you guys who have a welding business have a few welding certs?
Reply:I have had my own business for some time now.  I am currently taking welidng cert classes to open a fab/mobile welding shop of my own.  The hardest part is selling your business.  It is like asking a girl out for the first time and being told no, over and over again.  It can be tough to get out there and hand out business cards and make contacts and never have the phone ring.  Sales are VERY hard.Just having your name in a phone book does not make the phone ring.Stay low budget and throw as much money as possible back into your business.  The number one reason small businesses fail is cash flow.  Too much going out and a couple of months of no to little jobs and you find yourself folding it up and losing your equipment.You don't need a new truck with a $10K weld/gen on it it get work.
Reply:I can't relate to being told over and over again no by a woman.....Never happened to me!
Reply:Originally Posted by burnandreturnI can't relate to being told over and over again no by a woman.....Never happened to me!
Reply:It was a feeble attempt on my part to be humorous.
Reply:I know, so was I
Reply:I was working on the side for 4 to 5 years frist then I stared my own full time. I  got most of the tool over the years but needed lots more when I got goin. been in now for 7 years did real good tell end of 2008 when all stop  now working for who ever I can to make it Iam 56 now stared welding 1972 I have line boring, meg,tig,stick,tralblaser 301[ dont wast time with bobcat not as good] build 40 X 50 shop small lave and all shop tools I need what I need now is the work to pick up logging was most of my work but did what ever came alone hope all works out
Reply:I have a small welding and machine shop I operate out of a 60x60 building. This is a second job as I do it in the evening and weekends and sometimes during the day. I have a very diverse clientele. I provide general fabrication and components to off road community, prototype work for engineers in the ethanol industry, tube bending for hot rods and everything else, all the way to bending small tubing that ends up in crucibles melting silicon for computer wafers. Oh, and off site field repairs on anything from tractors and industrial irrigation to hand rails.You really will struggle to make a living at this unless you are open to a lot of variety. I have as much machining work as I do welding work. Granthttp://jackalopefab.com/MM210Synchrowave 200DXMiller XMT350 w/60series feederMiller Bobcat 250 with SGA 100 and spoolgunHTP PlasmaFull Machine shop with everything