I’ve had enough.
I don’t want to do this anymore.
But I’m trapped and everyday is another day where I drag myself through the never ending torture of a job I no longer have any passion for. This is where I’m at:
The Company.
I own a construction business specializing in waterproofing that I’ve successfully run for 3 years. I bought the business and the commercial property off the previous owner whom I worked well with for 10 years as the quantity surveyor / project manager. It was an amazing deal - I basically bought the assets (350k) + property (1,05m) and got the business for free. The total value of the deal was 1.4 million which financed via a bank mortgage, secured against the commercial property itself and our home. The main reason for the purchase was to secure a future and be my own boss.
At the end of this year I would have paid back 400k to the bank on the expiry of those loan facilities. I hate debt and wanted to pay off as quickly as possible at the interest rates we secured. ( between 2.5 & 2.99% across 4 separate loans) The remaining 2 facilities are due to roll over at the end of 2025 at god knows what rate.
The company is lucrative - we turn over an average of 2.7m per year and gross around 33% (900k) profit each year. After expenses and my salary I have discretionary net profit remaining in the region of 200k.
Froward work also looks good with constant enquiry due to the company branding being well known in our region.
In terms of staff I currently have 18 total including myself. Moral is good.
The Issues.
- I don’t actually have enthusiasm for what we do. Despite it being lucrative, I find the waterproofing side of things quite dull. It’s also fraught with risk and liability if you have any issue.
- The hours are killing me. 7:00am till 5:30pm with an hour travel either side. I’ve been trying to stay healthy and motivated by going to the gym, but that means getting up at 4am and going straight to work. I do that 4 days a week. I don’t see my 2 kids ( 4 & 9 yo boys) until I get home at half 6, by which time i’m brain dead. But i play with them, read them stories, get the eldest to bed at 8:30pm. I then get half an hour to myself before I fall asleep. Saturday is spent either catching up on work or sorting something out in the house. Sunday is spent getting organized for the week ahead. Repeat.
- Lack of skill. When I took over I knew I would have 1 major weakness - my practical knowledge of using the products and working on the tools, or lack thereof. My staff know this, and I don’t try and pretend to look like i know. I’m honest about my limitations and instead tried to surround myself with people that do know these skills. I’ve been lucky in that I had a good relationship with a couple of senior contract supervisors who came up through the ranks on the tools. They were very hands on and practical which is exactly what the site staff need. This allowed me to focus on my strengths of the overall running / pricing / administration of the jobs we do. Unfortunately both these guys are older ( early 60’s ) and I realised that I had to get some form of succession plan of new staff to take over from them. However because of the niche area we operate this has been nothing short of absolute failure. It’s been stressing me to no end and now one of those supervisors has had to hand in his notice due to health issues. So 2 people are doing the work of 3.
- I’m sick of dealing with staff issues, client issues and site issues. Everyday is just more issues wasting more time and puts me further behind my set plans. I don’t really feel like i have time to actually run the business… everything is reactive at the moment and it’s leading to mistakes. When I delegate it feels like it creates more issues so I end up trying to do more things myself.
It’s destroying my health and mental wellbeing. I’ve started drinking way too much to try and switch my head off… but all it’s achieved is sleepless nights, a shit diet, and an unused gym membership.
I hardly get to do anything with my kids which really sucks, but at the same time i’m the sole bread winner.
I don’t know how much success i’d have with selling the business because of the niche we operate, and the lack of management in key positions. So as a worse case I could wind everything up and sell the commercial property + assets, pay off the outstanding debt, and walk away with maybe 300 - 500k? As entitled as it sounds, it doesn’t seem like it’s a lot or worth all the effort. I’d also feel genuine guilt about pulling the rug on our staff… as much as there issues infuriate me, they’re actually a great bunch of people. I’d feel like a villain.
Then there is life after the business. I really don’t know how i’d deal working for someone else again.
At the moment I can’t think. I can’t work. I’ve literally sat at my desk and done nothing for the last 2 days straight ignoring calls and emails. But i feel like I need to be here in person to help the other contracts supervisor who frankly has been amazing. I think he knows i’m at breaking point.
Anyway. that’s me…ready to receive judgement by the internet.
With that high of a net profit, I would consider identifying which of your many current hats you’d least like to be wearing, and hiring some heads to fill them for you. One really good hire could take care of your site visits and client work for you, or focus on your employee succession woes. Scale back your need to pay off the business and refocus on making the business not rely on you.
This exactly
This. Seems like you have a lot of money and not alot of time… balance that out a bit.
Yes yes this is what I was thinking too! Right off the bat it feels successful and like it can take off really big with the right person doing the managing. Perhaps it’s time to find a passionate person who works for you who would be willing to step up? Or a whole new one. But I bet there’s someone out there who would LOVE to do it
Exactly, it might be worthwhile to pinpoint the roles you’re least fond of among your various responsibilities. Consider hiring capable individuals to handle those tasks – a strategic hire could manage site visits and client work, or address any challenges in employee succession. This approach can reduce your personal involvement, allowing you to shift focus from repaying the business to building its independence from your direct involvement.
That was my first thought as well - with that much positive cash flow you could surely hire someone to reduce most of your workload so you could focus on A) taking more time off and working shorter days, and B) spending more of your time improving the business, instead of just operating it.
I agree with this comment. Get someone else in to deal with some of the bullshit and take more time for yourself.
OP is smart for reaching out before they dropped a good thing.
They need to start thinking about a business advisor that has the goal of getting them into a more passive role. If OP were to take this responsibility on for themself, it could be rushed and they end up with the wrong person.
A burnt-out, active, owner will only be bad for business in due time. It will be better for the company if they find someone that will help them find the right person to delegate some of their responsibilities to.
Second this, pay someone good money and drop your income as much as you can accept. Then use your time to pursue something else. Everything you outlined is a solve-able problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re enthused with the service or not, you have to eat shit to get anywhere. But get some of your time back, yes.
This is the answer. He could step WAY back and have a good life which would be worth cutting into that gross profit. DO IT!
This is the answer. He could step WAY back and have a good life which would be worth cutting into that gross profit. DO IT!
Happy cake day btw
Thank you.
The biggest hat I’d like to lose is the day to day running of the guys. By this I mean:
•Setting them up with all the tools / materials / access requirements
• putting in place and monitoring H & S / method statements / tool and machinery compliance
• Having a robust QA procedure in place for documenting application of products.
• having a manager skilled in the application of the products we use that can mentor and train younger staff.
The last item really is the kicker… specifically having someone with the practical and working knowledge to deal with the material we apply. We deal with hundreds of different chemicals / products / membranes with their own idiosyncrasies… and if you get the application wrong, it xan be extremely costly.
To become competent in their application, you need to know your shit.
The main issue I have though is a lack of skill in out country with these products, which is exacerbated by my location - it’s not a major centre. I want to hire, but can’t find the people.
Happy cake day btw
Thanks!
Oh god, my reddit account is a teenager 🫣
Was thinking the same thing.
My brother-in-law spent 10 years running his business, and essentially becoming a millionaire, he’s spent the last two years essentially hiring people to take away his most exhausting responsibility.
Went from 13 hour days down to six … it can be done… the hard part is finding the right fit.
He took a Paycut so his salary wouldn’t cut too much into profit… but he always gets a piece of pie with less responsibility while still owning the company
And that could bring additional work that would cover the new person?