Alan, excellent answer in a very professional way. Kudos.

Alan.

Thanks once again for your invaluable input. Much appreciated

-I have my contractor's license

-I have money in the bank and don't want to deal with banks/getting a loan....but that's what's making me think about keeping my job....where did I get this money??.....from my job!

-I will most likely not be able to get a loan either since I have a felony and it is for "Making a false statement to a gov't insured agency"...that's how I ended up in prison...it was actually a "camp" and I was never behind bars.....I was there with doctors, lawyers and millionaire businessman....I actually kinda miss it

-The thing is, the place where I work now it is sooooooooooooooo easy.....so easy i'm bored out of my mind. Everything comes to us all cut, holes drilled and all we do is screw parts together. I have been doing this for 30 years and I like taking something from start to finish, which I am capable of doing. You don't get ahead there by having talent, you get ahead by kissing ass.

Mauricio,

Go to a SCORE office, you need to learn cash flow and sustainable growth without using any financing.

I think an issue to address is at some point you may want a CNC machine or some other heavy iron so if you can't borrow then Auction deals are your source.

See if SCORE can help you.
Good luck
A-

It took you 30 years to get tired of it? Doing another few years should be a cake walk!

Mauricio:

It does not have to be one or the other. As cabinetmaker has said, you could do some work on the side, evenings and weekends, which will allow to ease your way into having your own business. You can determine whether or not you have the necessary temperament and business acumen, try to develop a clientele, get known for doing specialty work, slowly build your machinery and tooling acquisitions, etc., all while keeping your day job, continuing to make your wages, and minimizing the risk of having your own business. You may get to the point where you can go full time, or decide against it and decide to do only the jobs that you find interesting on the side.

I don’t know how serious your legal issues were, but they may prevent you from being considered for a project management position, and so any advancement in a company may be limited to positions on the shop floor. Alan makes very good points (I would like to take a moment to offer my appreciation to Alan for the very good business insight he brings to this forum), but you can take a stab at your own business by starting slowly, perhaps as the “garage shop” that many business owners on this forum despise, despite probably having been one when they themselves started out.

I can relate to the concept of not having very interesting work, or feeling that your skill set is being underutilized. I started my business 20 years ago, when the shop I was working for bought a CNC. From that moment on, they only took on work that was more suited to a CNC, and stopped bidding the more labor-intensive, skill based work. At that point, with 25 years as a custom builder, I did not want to be relegated to being an “assembler” and watch my skill set die. As other shops were following suit, I even looked into another line of work, but was unhappy starting over in another field, and so I took the plunge and hung out my shingle.

There is so much more to this business than just building the projects, and if you can navigate all of those situations, then you will find having your own business to be rewarding, from a growth, personal satisfaction, and profitability standpoint. There will be ups and downs, but the long term can be worth it if you learn the business side of the business. Be careful, go slowly, investigate all of the aspects of a potential project, and don’t take on a project just because someone waves a check in your face.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
TonyF

Alan that is a great answer, like others said maybe you should try doing some additional projects on weekends and evenings, it will be extra work, but you will get a feel for what it would be like on a full time basis. You of course will have to make sure you have insurance and or worker’s compensation and whatever else is required in your area to cover yourself and yours and other people’s property.

Michigan Man
Is your answer based on your opinion of Unions or is it an educated answer. Like it or not Unions have their place in certain industries and there are a lot of hard working employees in unions. Reading your post I got the impression that union workers are all a bunch of slackers.

Maybe it seems like everyone is being a bit too harsh, but the truth is that when you ask this question, it's clear that you are likely to not make it as a business owner. Your mindset needs to change if you ever want to make it on your own, you have to have guts and be willing to go all-in, dedicate your time and yourself fully to your business.

Scott, I did not mean that all union workers are not hard working. It is my opinion that many of them want just to come to work, work there 9 to 5 shift, and go home, and think about other things. They want someone to take care of them for their hard work. The mindset of those type of people are generally not conducive to being your own boss. Starting your own business is going to be quite a reality check for most people. The fact he is asking this question is a red flag to me.

A business owner enters into an agreement with union or any employees. If the business owner is any good, he will make a nice profit on his workers. To maintain a good work force that will make him money, he compensates them accordingly. Union workers are not a drain on a company. I've worked for plenty of horrible bosses and business owners. Blame goes both ways.

Unions are generally not a benefit to the company that uses them.

I have seen them become a burden on the companies they were involved with, GM for example

The local I belonged to disappeared after the union reps absconded with the retirement funds

Michigan man,
I would agree with what you said.
I agree that unions have their place, the problem is that they are put in place so the owners are fair, but then some get to powerful and expect more than they are worth.
In order for a company to do well there has to be give and take regardless if there is a union in place or not. Your employees are your best asset. Treat them well and intern most will go the extra mile for you.