How to increase my job income?
Bonners Ferry, ID 路 Member since 2016 路 23 posts 路 8 votes
Thank you all for the great advice! Here I was thinking I should maybe look into changing careers, but the truth is I do enjoy my work.
Very encouraging!
I have talked to my boss about opening a crew I could manage in what I specialize in (excavation) and so I will keep perusing that.
And just for a little more insight, I currently live off 1/3 of what I make, and I'm pouring the rest in to my house project.
Any more advice and ideas will definitely be heard!
Thank you all once again, it's definitely bringing me some clarity.
Someone wise once told me that you can experience above average success in any industry by simply picking something that everyone else in that industry sucks at and doesn't want to do, and putting the time/energy/work/etc in, to get very very good at that one thing. It sounds like that may be excavation in your case.
Maybe you can do even better.
Maybe there is some hyper niche thing within excavation that everyone else shies away from. Maybe you put systems in place that make whatever it is that makes everyone else shy away from it not so bad (like some equipment, or a technique you develop), and you lean into doing that thing, and being THE expert on it, whatever it might be.
$0.02 from someone that knows absolutely nothing about excavation.
Hi @Seth Johnson ,
Welcome to the BP community! Not sure how much you work, but you can always through your name out around town and take some side jobs. There are many ways to make money online, but take some work and some know how. All the best!
I'd say, stick with what you are doing. Learn every aspect of the job, it will make you more valuable. Look for opportunities to manage projects, gain management experience.
Side hussle...if you have free time ( nights and weekends) pick up some side jobs. As a flipper, I'm always looking for guys like you!
specialize in what ever area of your job you like most and become great at it. Become the go to guy for what you do by doing great quality work. This is how I've upped my income in the flooring trade. The longer you are in your trade the more you will see the lack of up and coming talent...so that means that right now you have a huge opportunity to maximize your demand later by learning and practicing now.
@Seth Johnson No matter what you do will take hard work. If you like construction you should investment in yourself, in areas that will increase your hourly wage or salary; like construction management. If you are good at what you do, and it sounds like to are, you should continue to build upon that what you are good at.
50K a year is a lot of money at 21 years old. I would bet (if I was a betting man) you spend too much money on things you shouldn't and don't pay yourself first (savings)? If not, great, if so, create a budget and start saving for a down payment for your first property. You can make a 100k and still be broke. So a better question to ask is "how many people saved a 100k per year?". A good book is by Tony Robbins: MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.
Best of luck!
I would agree with the specialization comment above. There are a ton of general construction guys in any area, but there may not be any specialists in one area. Since you are building your own house use it as a bit of a checklist to look at contractors in your area. For each project you do research the best contractors on that project in the area. See if you can find a specialization that is not being filled. Find out what the complaints are with the other contractors in the area. Figure out how you can structure and organize your business to address those complaints. Don't forget to build up your brand as well. Give customers a place to brag about you: set up a website with pictures and testimonials.
If you go to a prospective client and say "I can do anything" they won't be too impressed, there are a ton of generalists out there. However, If you can go to them and say "I am the best tile guy in Northwestern Idaho. My company offers fast, dependable service with an average completion time of xdays. I have completed projects ranging from a custom kitchen backsplashes to complete bathroom remodels. You can find pictures/videos of our work on www.JohnsonTIle.com with many testimonials from happy customers. In fact, here is the contact information from my last 3 jobs. They would be happy to discuss my service with you. When would you like to schedule me to come out for an estimate?"
Which of those stands out to you?
For more general income improvement advice I really recommend you search the archives of the https://radicalpersonalfinance.com/ podcast. Josh has done several shows on there about the mindset required to increase your worth to your employer and your own business.
Overall, sounds like you are doing a great job so far. I wish I had my head on as straight as you when I was 21. Have a great weekend and good luck.
Welcome to Bigger Pockets. A great resource is the webinars section of the website. https://www.biggerpockets.com/proreplay
the fact you are thinking like this at 21 shows me that you care! That's better than 98% of people your age! I cared at that age, just had no financial education or advice to point me in the right direction.
Thank you all for the great advice! Here I was thinking I should maybe look into changing careers, but the truth is I do enjoy my work.
Very encouraging!
I have talked to my boss about opening a crew I could manage in what I specialize in (excavation) and so I will keep perusing that.
And just for a little more insight, I currently live off 1/3 of what I make, and I'm pouring the rest in to my house project.
Any more advice and ideas will definitely be heard!
Thank you all once again, it's definitely bringing me some clarity.
Someone wise once told me that you can experience above average success in any industry by simply picking something that everyone else in that industry sucks at and doesn't want to do, and putting the time/energy/work/etc in, to get very very good at that one thing. It sounds like that may be excavation in your case.
Maybe you can do even better.
Maybe there is some hyper niche thing within excavation that everyone else shies away from. Maybe you put systems in place that make whatever it is that makes everyone else shy away from it not so bad (like some equipment, or a technique you develop), and you lean into doing that thing, and being THE expert on it, whatever it might be.
$0.02 from someone that knows absolutely nothing about excavation.
There is massive amounts of money to be made in excavation. My advice would be to work for your boss until your 25. Learn as much as you possibly can learn on his dime. Learn while you earn. If allowed, pick up as much side work as you can. Save up as much as you can during this time. Then at 25 start your own excavation company. Start picking up jobs at prices that beat your competitors. Do what you promise, be reliable, and be awesome. By 30, which will be here before you know it, you will be getting so much work at top dollar you can sit back and manage your company. Then after you have built a multi million dollar business, if you decide to, you can start buying 100 unit apartment buildings.
Trust me if you get good at excavation and can manage money and people, you have the opportunity to make a lot of money. But don't get me wrong, it's going to take a lot of hard work and long days, not to mention a great wife. Best of luck.
Focus on solving a problem, saving the company money, or selling more of what the company does. Then ask for more money or go seek more money. I was in my late 20s, a college grad, and still was not making $50K. When I learned that I was solving problems, saving the company money, I asked for more money; and I got it. Right there, I learned that you have to ask for what you want. If you are worth it, ask for it, they will find a way to pay you. Another idea is to stretch yourself for free. Ask for more responsibility at your current pay, for consideration later after proving yourself.
You are far more advanced than I was at 21. I am sure you will figure it out and be successful.
@Seth Johnson - so I've skimmed all of the comments it is occurs to me that everyone is talking about earning money, but not making money. It's not the same thing...
The way I see it, Seth, while you may be able to get from $22 to $40/hr at a job, and you may be able to work 20 hours, the ceiling on both is just too low. And with that being the case, why even worry about it? Why not put infrastructure in play which is ultimately much more salable?
Thoughts?
Lots of good points here.
I would also say ditto on keeping in mind your relatively early stage in life. I am guessing fewer folks had a 6 figure income at 21.
Keep the long game in mind. I would not get down about your current salary. At your age and stage, you are really building the foundation for the future (and like a house, the foundation may not look impressive to some, but it is the most important).
If you think that way, and shift your perspective, you can see you are getting extremely valuable experience right now and taking some positive steps in the right direction.
For example, you could be setting the ground work for a top notch excavation business of your own (as mentioned) and you are discussing.
Or if you can learn the aspects of quality home/building construction, it could exponentially increase your earnings potential down the road (whether you rehab/ build your own rentals or custom build for others).
Developing your potential in these pursuits could be rewarded in the near future.
Short term, you could pick up side gigs or overtime (also mentioned), but I would really think big picture.
That is, the key may be less about making a few hundred more bucks a week (though it doesn't hurt if you have the energy) and more about building the foundation of your future in the trades, heavy machinery, excavation, rentals, investment, consturciton etc...where the real money will come.
Learning about real estate investing, learning all you can about your business (like running a crew on your own), making contacts, etc. all will likely pay dividends. Even building a reputation for quality work in your area right now and starting to learn on BP are good first steps (that you are taking!). Putting money into your home and investments is also a strong start towards building a solid foundation to your financial future.
Best of luck
You're on bigger pockets so we know you're interested in real estate. Think of where you want to be in 30 years and work backwards. I know it's hard to do, but even 10 minutes of thinking about this can put you ahead of everyone else.
Do you want kids? If you want to get married your wife probably will. Do you want to retire with a lump sum or monthly cash flow? Think of what you want your yearly income to be in retirement (then double that because of inflation) and think of what you would need to have in place to make that possible. Would it take 20 single family homes? 100 apartments? Would you rather be someone that lends to others at a high interest rate and remains hands off? Just some things to think about.
I was in a very similar place in my life financially when I was your age and my answer was just to save my money...I can tell you now that I am 30 that I should have invested it in more risky ways in my 20's. My advice to you is to find a run down duplex, put your 3.5% down payment in and use your other cash to fix your duplex up to a standard that would attract nicer tenants and demand a better rent per month. Meanwhile, live in it and save your living costs like you are paying yourself, put them in a separate account or whatever it takes to make sure you are sinking that saved money away. This one step could set you up very well, and determine whether or not you even want to be in the rental business. If you do like it, consider trading up to a 4 plex with more cashflow while still living in the unit. That is something, now married with kids, that I wish I could turn back the clock and do over.
And all this time you are going to have extra cash laying around, which is great, just make sure it's accessible but still living up to it's potential. Don't let it sit there earning less than the inflation rate! Time is against you, the more money you put into this before you're 25 the higher the return your investments will show later, by a long shot.
Ben Leybovich
Okay, so like building a passive income business of some kind? I'm not to sure where I would even start.. do you have experience doing this?
Well, I haven't had a job in a long time. Building passive streams is kind of what I do.
Just think to yoruself - I am the guy who runs the system, but I plug other people into the system to do work. This is very different from you saying - I am the system, who can I plug myself more to do more work so I can earn more...
Change your perspective. Think about things that you are good at - your strengths. What types of systems can you build around the things you know well?
Your thinking small time, No one gets rich working for someone else. As pointed out by Kevin you need to learn for now and concentrate on starting you own business. That will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams if you are successful. Far beyond real estate investing in so many more ways.
I would choose to concentrate on that approach ahead of investing in real estate since you can not do both when starting out. Once you have a successful contracting company real estate investing will come naturally as part of your business. Money makes money.
Greg S.
So, you would suggest that I stop perusing realestate completely until I have created a successful business?
I'm not sure that would make sense. You can do them both at once, plenty of people run their own businesses, and their own REI business.
There was one of the 10 page long threads on here a while back that discussed people having "unfair advantages" over the competition, that thing they know or do that lets them score deals that the "average" or "median" investor can't touch.
In your case it's clearly construction. This might mean that you can offer a price higher than what others offer, knowing that your labor and professional costs will be way less, so you'd come out ahead in aggregate. You can (should?) also be able to estimate rehab costs better than anyone else at your level of REI experience, so maybe you don't have to buffer your estimates as much.
Once of the most common types questions on BP is "how do I find a good contractor?" and "How much do you think xyz will cost?" -- I can only imagine that these are ALSO common questions at your local REIA meetup. Who knows where those conversations will lead.