I wanna start my own business 21 years old.
I’m 21 years old and have about 3 years of experience in construction. I’ve been working on multi-million-dollar wood-framed apartment and townhome projects and have gotten experience with a lot of the day-to-day operations involved in building large projects. I’ve recently been laid off (ran outta work and I was the lowest guy on totem pole). I have no kids and small responsibilities. I’m fully aware I have a ton more to learn. I’m a committed young motivated man with no quit.
Lately I’ve been seriously considering starting my own general contracting company, primarily focusing on residential construction, additions, renovations, and potentially smaller commercial projects.
I know being 21 is young to start a GC, and I’m not under the impression that I know everything. That’s actually why I’m making this post. I’d rather learn from people who have already done it than make expensive mistakes figuring everything out myself.
For those of you who started your own GC/construction company:
- What do you wish you knew before starting?
- How much experience would you recommend having before going out on your own?
- What were the biggest mistakes you made during your first couple years?
- How did you get your first few customers?
- Did you start with your own projects or subcontract for other builders/GCs?
- How much money would you realistically want saved before starting?
-What should I prioritize first: licensing, insurance, estimating, accounting, marketing, tools/equipment, etc.?
- How did you handle cash flow when you were just getting started?
-Would you recommend starting small with renovations/additions before taking on full home builds?
- What systems/software do you use for estimating, scheduling, contracts, invoicing, and project management?
-How did you build relationships with reliable subcontractors?
- At what point did you hire employees versus continuing to subcontract everything?
-Is there anything you would absolutely NOT do if you were starting over?
I’m not looking for someone to tell me “you’re too young.” I’m more interested in hearing what you would do differently if you were 21 again and had a few years of solid construction experience.
Any advice, criticism, or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.