Busy Couple Weeks

[Tim Bateson]

For those who are wishing for businesses to drop into their lap.... Careful what you wish for.
I've burned through a good deal of my day-job vacation time in October. Just trying to keep up with demand. In just the past 2 weeks - Mark over 400 Yeti mugs, Engrave 100 Cincinnati Reds ball bats, Cut 1,000 airline brake pads, dozens of Name Plates, a dozen NFA Trust engravings, another dozen firearm mfg engravings, Mark 150 metal On/Off switch covers, 1,500 desk wedges, and numerous misc items.
Success is good, but the neighbors think I work in my shop 24/7. One of them asked my wife if I was forgetting to turn off the basement light at night. Sleep is now a luxury, or is it an allusion, I don't know too tired to think about it.
My November schedule looks to be nearly as busy.

[Bert Kemp]

Awesome for you Tim Maybe getting close to making it your full time job and be your own Boss.Unless of course you love your day job and the Boss is great LOL

[Gary Hair]

Awesome for you Tim Maybe getting close to making it your full time job and be your own Boss.Unless of course you love your day job and the Boss is great LOL

The drawback to being your own boss is that you know exactly what he is capable of and you may not want to work for him...

[Tim Bateson]

I actually cranked up the old Mini 24 to run at the same time I was running the M2. The Mini needed to run a dummy job for maybe 5-8 minutes before it started firing - been idle for over a year.
I plan to "retire" from the day-job shortly after I can tap my 401K (17 months... not that I'm counting). We all know there will be slow weeks/months & with my 401K, it'll give me that added financial security. I project that I would seldom need to access it, but it will fill the financial void, just in-case.

[Kev Williams]

Sounds all too familiar... not that I'm complaining (other than the 110+ hour work weeks)

[Scott Marquez]

For those who are wishing for businesses to drop into their lap.... Careful what you wish for.
I've burned through a good deal of my day-job vacation time in October. Just trying to keep up with demand. In just the past 2 weeks - Mark over 400 Yeti mugs, Engrave 100 Cincinnati Reds ball bats, Cut 1,000 airline brake pads, dozens of Name Plates, a dozen NFA Trust engravings, another dozen firearm mfg engravings, Mark 150 metal On/Off switch covers, 1,500 desk wedges, and numerous misc items.
Success is good, but the neighbors think I work in my shop 24/7. One of them asked my wife if I was forgetting to turn off the basement light at night. Sleep is now a luxury, or is it an allusion, I don't know too tired to think about it.
My November schedule looks to be nearly as busy.
Don't overlook your sick days, cough, cough. LOL
My side job is sewing and my laser helps me increase productivity by quickly cutting and marking intricate patterns.
I feel your pain, when I first started I always wanted to be busy, now I'm working until 10:30-11:00 at night and weekends just to keep up. Yes, be careful of what you wish for.
Scott

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

For all of you out there reading Tim's post and wondering what magic wand he is using, I encourage you to go back and read his posts from years ago when he was struggling. Tim has worked hard for this success and he has paid his dues and earned these bragging rights!

Tim, You Rock! I am so pleased to read you are doing well. Thanks for sharing that tidbit about your mini. I don't think I would have left it on for that long before giving up and thinking the tube was dead. Hopefully others who have had dormant lasers will see your note and have the same results as you did. Have you tried turning it on again to see if it fires up within a minute or two or does it take the full 5-8 minutes each time now?

[Gary Hair]

For all of you out there reading Tim's post and wondering what magic wand he is using, I encourage you to go back and read his posts from years ago when he was struggling. Tim has worked hard for this success and he has paid his dues and earned these bragging rights!

Tim, You Rock! I am so pleased to read you are doing well. Thanks for sharing that tidbit about your mini. I don't think I would have left it on for that long before giving up and thinking the tube was dead. Hopefully others who have had dormant lasers will see your note and have the same results as you did. Have you tried turning it on again to see if it fires up within a minute or two or does it take the full 5-8 minutes each time now?

I forget who said it but it reminds me of this "I was an overnight sensation and it only took me 10 years to get there"

[Bert Kemp]

I was watching Larrt the cable guy last night he said he's been a comedian for 15 years and he's been funny for 6.



I forget who said it but it reminds me of this "I was an overnight sensation and it only took me 10 years to get there"

[Bert Kemp]

JUnior tAKE NOTE IT TAKES TIME AND LOTS OF WORK


For all of you out there reading Tim's post and wondering what magic wand he is using, I encourage you to go back and read his posts from years ago when he was struggling. Tim has worked hard for this success and he has paid his dues and earned these bragging rights!

Tim, You Rock! I am so pleased to read you are doing well. Thanks for sharing that tidbit about your mini. I don't think I would have left it on for that long before giving up and thinking the tube was dead. Hopefully others who have had dormant lasers will see your note and have the same results as you did. Have you tried turning it on again to see if it fires up within a minute or two or does it take the full 5-8 minutes each time now?

[Tim Bateson]

... Have you tried turning it on again to see if it fires up within a minute or two or does it take the full 5-8 minutes each time now?

I still need to tickle it for 30 - 45 seconds each time (run with no material). We're talking about a well used tube that is over 10 years old. Once warmed up it appears to be working like it did when new.

[Bill George]

If your wondering about retirement so far money has been the least any issues that came up. Its me wanting to keep busy and learning, and also Not Giving products or my time away. My wife said I charge to much ( I was a former union member) and to that I say... If I want to work for low wages I can sell all my "stuff" and get a job at Walmart. Until then, a price is a price... unless I do something for the Church and its pay back time. Thank you Lord.

[Tim Bateson]

Health Insurance scares me more than anything when it comes to retirement planning.

[Kev Williams]

oh gawd, the R word... I just turned 62 and is THAT ever looming large now...

[Bill George]

Well Tim you look to be a ways from 65, but Medicare A&B is fine but you need supplemental to fill in the 20% it does not pay and a few other things. Good news its not that bad cost wise. A lot cheaper than Obama Care that is for sure.

[John Lifer]

Yeah, the healthcare boogie man! If you guys haven't taken a look at the cost vs the coverage, make sure you are sitting down when you do! I'm trying to get back into the job market for at least 4 or 5 more years just because of the healthcare issue!

[Jay Selway]

I went full time with the laser work about a year ago. Haven't looked back. It's terrifying at times to be the sole breadwinner in the family but I really REALLY enjoy being my own boss. Who wouldn't?

[Glen Monaghan]

I went full time with the laser work about a year ago. Haven't looked back. It's terrifying at times to be the sole breadwinner in the family but I really REALLY enjoy being my own boss. Who wouldn't?
I've been self-employed for over 10 years now. Who wouldn't want to be their own boss? Anyone who doesn't want to take sole and full responsibility for themselves and their business; anyone who just wants to show up, do their job, and know how much to expect in their paychecks every two weeks; anyone who expects to be paid overtime if they have to show up early or stay late, and expects to get 2-4 weeks of annual vacation and sick leave; anyone who doesn't like challenges and stress, feast and famine workloads, uncertain schedules and income, learning to be a jack of all (or at least many) trades... there are way more people who wouldn't want to be their own boss than those who would, and a lot of those who think they would want to be their own boss would probably discover that they really don't want that if they took the leap and tried...