The Truth About Starting Your Own Business in the Construction Industry
If you search for terms like “independence” or “starting a business” online, you’ll find articles with useful information and interesting stories, but most of them are written by white-collar workers.
He keeps writing about things like how happy he is to be able to eat whatever he wants whenever he wants, or how he can work whenever he wants—things that are completely irrelevant to the construction industry.
Although the construction industry has a higher rate of people starting their own businesses and becoming self-employed than other industries, I think there is surprisingly little information available about those who have taken that step.
So, as someone who has started my own business as an equipment installer, I’d like to share my thoughts on how things actually are.
My income has gone up, but I've become more frugal than before.
First, regarding the money—which is what everyone’s curious about—my income has gone up compared to when I was working for a company.
Of course, there are times when earnings are low, but knowing that your income increases the more work you do really boosts your motivation.
This is the same as in other industries.
However, I think the construction industry relies on subcontracting for work more than other industries do. As a result, while the risk of not having work may be low, profit margins may also be low.
Especially when you take on work outside your area of expertise and have to subcontract it to other companies or tradespeople, the profit is low relative to the responsibility and effort involved.
One thing that's for sure is that you'll start taking better care of your belongings and paying closer attention to managing your expenses.
For example, if a job worth 10,000 yen yields a profit of 1,000 yen, then cutting expenses by 1,000 yen is equivalent to taking on a job worth 10,000 yen.
I've come to understand how the stingy company president feels.
Also, I earned my Level 2 Bookkeeping Certification after going independent, but personally, I don't think it was very meaningful.
After starting my business, my hourly wage tripled.
Next, regarding time, naturally, I have much more free time now than I did when I was working for a company.
The hardest part about working at a company was that I couldn't go straight to work and straight home.
I had to go to the office and stay there just to attend meaningless morning meetings, fill out daily reports, and perform other unnecessary administrative tasks that were nothing but a chore.
Whenever I filled up with gas, I had to write down the number of liters and the distance traveled on a form and get it stamped for verification, but I still don't understand what the point of that was.
Did they think I was going to skip the job site and go swimming in the ocean instead?
I have all sorts of memories, but none of them are fond—they’re all bitter ones.
I decided to quit my job on the 30th of December while washing the president’s BMW as part of the year-end cleaning.
Sorry. That just turned into a rant.
In any case, since the number of hours I spend on the job has decreased significantly, if I factor in the change in income and calculate it on an hourly basis, my hourly wage may have more than tripled.
However, there are many tasks I didn’t have to deal with when I was a company employee, such as organizing receipts, preparing invoices, submitting documents for insurance and license renewals, and making bank transfers.
If I neglect any of these, it could lead to serious trouble, so I have to be pretty careful.
Even if you start your own business, you can't pick and choose your work
On the downside, I often hear people in other industries say that once you go into business for yourself, you can be selective about the work you take on, but at least in my case, I haven't been able to do that.
That’s because, when it comes to subcontracting, it’s hard to turn down a request when the person acting as an intermediary is involved.
Also, because I'm worried that I might lose my job at any time, I'll take on any kind of work.
In fact, for a while after the 2011 earthquake, there was no work related to residential equipment.
This is because a manufacturer with a parts factory in the Tohoku region halted production.
Even though I work using my own skills, once I realize that the construction industry relies on personal connections, I ultimately have no choice but to set aside my ego.
I can't make ends meet on the public pension alone
If you work for a company, I think you’ll have a decent amount of Employees’ Pension Insurance based on your income, but if you’re self-employed, you’ll only have the National Pension. Even if you operate as a corporation, I think most people set their salaries low, so their Employees’ Pension Insurance contributions will be correspondingly lower.
Therefore, if you don’t set aside money through a personal defined-contribution pension plan or similar program, your future financial security will be at risk.
If you're planning to go into business for yourself, I think it would be a good idea to consult with a tax accountant or certified public accountant who can handle your tax matters, or with a financial planner.
Changing jobs is also an option
If you enjoy working for a company, I think being a salaried worker or craftsman with a stable income is a good option, but unlike other industries, I believe the construction industry has low barriers to entry for those looking to go into business for themselves.
Also, even if you don’t have the courage to go into business for yourself, if the company you work for is exploitative or spends its time on nothing but pointless tasks, it might be a good idea to use your current skills to find a new job.
Unlike in the past, job search sites and matching apps are there to help you these days.
