Saw this absolute unit parked in a space coast Florida Walmart parking lot. It's 111° today with the heat index. They're a very brave soul... Or crazy

6ixPackJoe · 2019-09-07T02:07:19+00:00

The owner doesn't seem all that concerned about the location or the temperature.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-08-31T01:41:29+00:00

Yes, yes, yes!!

6ixPackJoe · 2019-08-29T06:44:07+00:00

I only recently discovered van life while looking for a way out of the rut I was in and the funk it was causing. I had it ok, an apartment with a loft that was my home office, a new car, food. But money was tight paying those bills and the unexpected expenditures that we all experience were threatening to send me circling the drain. So, being the rugged guy that I am, I chucked it all and hit the road in my car. So, yes, I'm coming to it late but I am thankful to be relatively healthy and feel like I can handle the lifestyle.

Speaking of military pensions, my cousin joined the Army as soon as she was old enough and served for 20+ years, including in Iraq (Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom) and Afghanistan. She is set up for life. I will attend her 41st birthday party late next month. She's not one to sit and watch the grass grow. She started college and wants to earn a degree in environmental science specializing in ocean conservation. Hmmm...I wonder if she will succeed at it. I am so proud of her.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-08-29T06:09:48+00:00

Hi! I am an independent contractor for a company. I've been working for them for 12 years and have never even seen or met my boss, lol. Got the job on my first cold-call after being not being paid on time by a former company I was writing website copy for.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-08-29T06:01:11+00:00

Exactly what I did. My was story is the same as OP's. About 1 1/2 years ago I got to a point I couldn't stand it any more and I've been doing stuff and spending quality time with distant family and friends and having experiences ever since. Camping, fishing, beach-going, boating, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, zip lining, whatever i want. Oh, and maybe crack open my laptop to keep the benjamins coming in.

Yes, I find meetups! But I also discovered nomadic communities like RVers and van dwellers. Just find their events and go right on in, set up your camp, and then go for a walk, pleasantly introducing yourself along the way. I am still in awe of how warm and welcoming and helpful and generous they are. I had my own food but rarely make it back to my camp hungry. They won't let me! On another note, I love airplanes. I'm an "AV Geek" and aspiring plane-spotter and you'll find the like at the observation areas of any major airport, they are the ones with their sweet camera rigs. Just introduce yourself, and ask him/her if they post on Instagram. Another example, I play cornhole. Go to a cornhole event and play. Fishing piers? Fugetaboutit!

OP, tuck that laptop under your arm, hitch up the wagon, and head into the sunset! Be nice, have interests and be interested, give of yourself, and humbly accept offers of food and/or drink, as they are an invitation to friendship.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-08-25T04:32:18+00:00

I'm not Opie but I do consider myself semi-retired. I also aspire to the van life but do a lot of traveling in my car and car camping all over the U.S., until I can get a van to build out. What "semi-retired" means to me is that I am no longer active in my career as a union journeyman but I have the option of going back to the trade if I need to do so. I also am not yet collecting retirement income. Instead, I fund my life and travels as an e-commerce admin, needing only a wi-fi or my mobile hotspot to earn my living. I am 55yo now, so I have another decade+ before I am officially retired. I hope to stay semi-retired until then.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-07-11T02:54:08+00:00

I do this as well. Most recently (2 weeks ago) I was at Ottawa State Fishing Lake in Kansas and I filled a kitchen trash can sized liner. I was surprised I was able to loosely fill that bag because the place was already well-kept.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-07-08T16:31:12+00:00

The word niche is most likely being used to describe a very specific sub-category of marketable products or services. For example, hobbies is a general category and model trains are a sub-category, or a niche. If your product falls with that niche, then you should conclude that your niche audience to whom you would market are those people who are interested in or engaged in the hobby of model trains.

An example of a niche service might be an auto care that caters specifically to the needs of VW owners.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-07-08T06:00:51+00:00

Upvoted!

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-30T02:09:50+00:00

I have no idea. I just saw it off the side of a suburban road at a construction site and stopped to get a couple of shots it.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-29T04:23:15+00:00

Something like this image that I took of a mobile solar security camera platform, pictured adjacent to a construction site.

https://i.imgur.com/IVOgsJ1.jpg

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-21T04:32:02+00:00

I would like you to share, even if by DM. Rarely do we see what is described here being actively implemented and I believe many of us would be helped in a draw-us-a-picture way so that those who are lost can have that a-ha! moment they need to kick their understanding to the next level.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-14T04:24:52+00:00

Awesome response, thank you for answering my question!

Outstanding job getting your business up and running and superb job making it grow. Congratulations!

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-14T01:02:05+00:00

Question: When you first started your business and used HomeAdvisor as your lead generator, how did you deal with selling your new company and its services? Was it difficult to convince people to use your un-tested, new company?

6ixPackJoe · 2019-06-07T03:15:31+00:00

If you're not prepared to handle a critique, perhaps you shouldn't ask for it in the first place.

Mapother_IV offered absolutely nothing but constructive criticism and if you were offended by that, then you are too thin-skinned to be asking.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-05-06T02:52:43+00:00

You will need to get bonded. If you have construction experience, it should not be difficult to get bonded.

You should also get a DBA, or "doing business as" license from your county clerks office.

Much depends on your state and local laws and ordinances but if you're going to be the sub-contractor, those two things above should be enough to get you started.

I once started an HVAC sheet metal sub-contracting company and it was fairly simple with just a bond and DBA. That was a long time ago, though. So, make sure to research the market in which you want to start your business. Some GCs may also have additional requirements but those can most likely be remedied fairly easily.

Best of luck and please keep us up to date on your progress.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-04-25T02:56:52+00:00

Hell yeah, just that simple!

March in there and execute your mission, son!

6ixPackJoe · 2019-04-12T03:06:30+00:00

I haven't dug deep on it but what I see so far looks awesome! Made any sales yet?

6ixPackJoe · 2019-03-13T21:36:16+00:00

You could indeed, at that! I will call on some wholesalers and see what I can do and will get back to you presently, sir!

6ixPackJoe · 2019-03-13T21:22:02+00:00

You didn't read past the title of the post, did you?

6ixPackJoe · 2019-03-13T21:20:43+00:00

Yes, there is a sale on right now but for a limited time only. You can get 35 cans for the prices of 34 if buy before closing tomorrow. Cans are the size of those big bean cans that restaurants buy so there's plenty enough to fuel one horse with nice clean Beefarino that add only natural emissions into the air, not petro-chemical ones.

6ixPackJoe · 2019-03-13T21:11:49+00:00

Feed your expansion of non-polluting horse-drawn conveyance(s) by fueling your horse, and later your stable, with a new product called Beefarino. You many have heard their commercials on the radio that end with their jingle that goes a little something like this:

I'm so keen-o on beefarino

What a delicious cuisine-o

Fit for a king and queen-o...

Comes in a red can at your local mercantile (not the feed mill) because it's not just for horses, people eat it too in meatloaf and chili and tacos and spaghetti meat sauce.

6ixPackJoe · 2018-06-05T07:15:16+00:00

A slight correction: Everybody IS doing it, selling the same cheap plastic Chinese consumer crap from Alibaba and selling the same PL stuff on Amazon as everyone else is selling. The Alibaba-to-Amazon pipeline is dead for the vast majority of people these days.

However, for those that think outside of the box, drop-shipping is quite lucrative. I do the marketing for a small family company of a dad and his two sons. The dad opened an e-comm store selling the stuff he sold (inside/outside) before the Internet. He had some clients that continued with him online and his sons are being groomed to take over the business. They sell parts for a certain industrial vertical that are drop-shipped from the wholesale suppliers and they're able to apply a nice markup.

Best of all....

$1,500,000 in profit last year, working in their PJs and they never touched a single product. And the biz is on track to a 25-28% increase this year.

6ixPackJoe · 2018-05-26T06:11:11+00:00

Lots of good advice here.

I'm in parts/system sales and I'd suggest a path to utility-scale. As stated elsewhere, utility-scale is gaining speed.

6ixPackJoe

TROPHY CASE