Never had a Spring

Here in Nebraska we had the coldest April on record with several inches of snow. May looks to be the hottest one on record with daily temperatures in upper 80's to low 90's.

I can't wait to see what June will bring?

This weather is goofy for sure.

However, as long as the rain stays away, it's ok with me. I'm booked all this month and half of next month already.

That sounds awesome Freemind, the window biz is going well!  I can't even get a full day booked these days let alone a month.

I lost some this year, but that's expected. I have one Monday that came from Google. It's on a local golf coarse. I was wondering how I would get in there, now I have an "in".

I'll be looking for more business in the summer lull period though. But maybe it will be busy, with the contractor I am hooked up with. They are doing a huge project for the city.

Yeah it’s still kinda cold here, high 50s in the early morning hours, usually it’s already in the low 60s by this time of year.

It's been nice here high 70s. I decided to seal my 2500 square foot driveway. I went through 22 five gallons buckets of sealer, 4 ten lb buckets of crack filler and a bag of pot hole patch. I don't think it's ever been sealed and I've been here 4 years. I'm glad that job is done

I feel for you Mo, my drive is 5000 sqft and you will not find me doing any of that. The roads around here are so full of pot holes that a few flaws in the driveway just feels normal now.

Spring is chilly here too. But we have been having quite a few bouts of rain. I've had to reschedule a few jobs already.

Just did a estimate yesterday for two post construction houses by the same owner in a gated community I didn't know existed. I could not wrap my head around how much money these people have to afford to just write a check for the houses, land and new buildings they had built/remodeled. Yet they still drove cars like everyone else (chevy trucks/ Toyota mini van).

The smart ones don't drive expensive vehicles. Those who understand money realize that expenisve cars are one of the worst purchases you can make due to depreciation as soon as it rolls off the lot. I used to work for guy worth 7 million and he drove a beat up old Dodge Dakota truck everywhere.

I think that even the smart ones will drive expensive vehicles, just not every day drivers. Every day people who live their lives by DEBT are the kind that have to have something "name brand" to feel (project) they are somehow successful.

Our society is now driven by spending debt. You can even rent to own push lawnmowers, if that tells you how dumb people have become with money.

One thing I am trying to learn, are income streams. It's how people become wealthy. Labor just doesn't scale.

Buy a car wash...that has been the common advice that I have been given by wealthy customers. A car wash with at least one automatic bay in a good location will make you all the money that you will ever need and requires little of your time. They tell me that each one is good for $250k per year.

You are correct that labor will never make you rich nor will it be a resource for life as we all get older, but it is normally the only way to start. If any of your remember a radio show called "Bruce Williams" (best show ever by the way) he once stated that if he lost everything and had to start all over, it would just require buying a dump truck and he could earn 6 figures in any region of the country after a year.

That was probably 20 years ago, but I think it remains true today. We have a stone quarry near here and most of the trucks are independent contractors who make a very good living delivering crushed rock all over the area.

My area has 5 car washes now. 1 fully automatic, the other 4 with 2 small automatic bays and 4 manual bays.

I don't think I would want to buy one. If I were to invest in something, it would be something selling products 24/7.

Never heard of the show. Don't think I'd buy a dump truck, but would start a landscaping business here first. That or a maid service. Both are in demand. Neither will make you wealthy IMO.

I would never get into a selling business, too much major competition and cut-throats in that industry. You also have to deal with shifting customer demands too much for longevity. Just look at all the food chains that have gone under almost over night that were staples for decades.

I wouldn't go the truck route either, but I think his point is very valid in that it would provide a better income than working for someone else in most cases. Landscaping does seem to do well around here as well, but the newer generations want nothing to do with owning homes, so another decade from now it might be a dead industry as well.

I think you need to have a diverse stream to last the long haul. A day job for insurance, a car wash, maybe a couple of rental properties...that would make for a steady stream unaffected by the times. I think that is where I went wrong, walking away from the day job and getting hit with $1300 per month for medical insurance as well as no back-up income for slow periods. I really hope this interview goes well on Tuesday, that job would take a lot of stress off right now by paying the bills each month and providing really cheap medical insurance....all while still allowing me to service my customers under the business. It would be a real winning combination these days.

When I'm talking about selling, I'm not talking about storefront. All Internet sales, all drop ship stuff. Listing on Amazon, Ebay, etc., No holding actual product or physically handling and shipping.

Problem with a dump truck is the same with any other service business. Building a dependable stock of clients that will keep you busy enough to generate consistent income. The truck thing would also be seasonal just like window cleaning or landscaping unless you lived in a warm climate.

Buying a car wash would depend on having the initial investment to buy it outright. Buying one on payments? You would minimally invest at LEAST 500K to buy one. You would have to be making a pile of money to make those mortgage payments!

I understand the insurance thing. That's what stops me from going full time. I hope it turns out for you.

In a nutshell....there is no easy way to make it big and it still takes money to make money. IF all you have is little money, then all you can make is little money. It just seems to hold true at everything.