You’ve learned a craft. You’ve run work or managed projects for someone else. Certainly by now you’ve thought, “by God, if they’re in business making all that money, surely I could do that. I could probably do even better than them because I’m running this job better than they __________ (and here feel free to insert dismissive phrase here of your choice…”could, did, ever did”).

So, through various means and methods, perhaps getting your contractor’s license, maybe doing side jobs, you start out with your entrepreneurial venture.

And because you’re good at what you do, people will want to hire you. But then come the demands of running the business. Not only are you still doing the work, you’re also finding the work, pricing the work, billing for the work and trying to keep all your other plates spinning without losing your own marbles.

Then you realize “I need help.” You decide to hire someone to help out in the field. And you decide to get someone to help you out in the office with all the paperwork you can’t stand doing. You know, those things like insurances, admin, payroll, withholdings, HR, billings and paying vendors. After all, if you liked paperwork, you wouldn’t be working in the trades. You would have become a CPA instead.

And if you’re like me, you hire some friends to help out in the field and your wife to help out in the office. And again, if you’re like me, you soon realize that your friends who you hired don’t work at the same pace you do. But that’s how you figured the job. As if you were going to do the work.

And again like me, as much as I love my wife, and I love her and have for 37 years, at the time I didn’t see that her natural strengths are in nurturing and taking care of others, both two legged and four. But I wanted to see what I wanted to see, if you know what I mean. Taking care of paperwork… not her strength. And that led to tensions and frustrations in the marriage.

And now, as a fledgling contractor, you’re on a crash course with reality. You’ve gotten a few big checks and thought you were doing well. Because you didn’t realize that most of that money that came your way belongs to someone else. In fact, at least 80% of that if you’re good and lucky. And over 100% plus if you’re not so lucky. You don’t realize that yet because the proverbial shit hasn’t hit the fan. Yet.

But it’s on its way.

The bills from vendors and trades start coming in. There are additional overhead costs popping up that didn’t seem to matter a few months ago, especially when they were obtuse or your old employer's. You also need to remember you’ve got a silent partner as well, quietly waiting their share, until you miss a payment. And that’s the US government.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all this juggling, you’re still out there, networking, doing the best you can through family, friends and clients, to get more jobs, to keep cash flow coming and to keep your crew of friends employed.

Oh, and your friends… they like their paychecks every week, whether you get paid or not. Because after all, in their minds, you’re making all this big money off of their labor.

And they wonder why you’re becoming such an asshole.

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Find out more at Who's Your Competition? What Motivates Them?