I own a heavy equipment appraisal company. Very much like the dude who comes out to look at your car or pickup after you wreck it (or someone hits you) only we do it on a heavy scale.
So if it's not a car, pickup or SUV, insurance companies consider it "heavy Equipment"It's not a big company and I'm out in the field almost everyday. We will see anything from motorcycles to 100,000 toncranes, Combines,Tractor Trailers, Pavers, Dozers, Screeners, Backhoes,Trains,Delivery Vans,Planters, Irrigation systems, you name it.....if it's insuredand wreckedwe'll inspect it.
If it's repairablewe'll write you an estimate for repair, if it's a total we'll value it and move the salvage (all that insurance crap) basically we are TPA's (Third Party Administrators) for insurance companies. Some companies have staff personal and we will get their overflow, others just use independents only.
It takes a long time to acquire accounts and it's very easy to lose them. All it takes is for one unhappy customer (who just happens to spend $250,000.00 per year in premiums) and you will no longer be on their "list" of companies to use.
I started doing this shortly after "retiring" from the NFL and have been at it about 17 years now. I didn't go incorporated until 1997 so the first seven years I was DBA (doing business as) until I could build up a client list.
Hours???? Well I'll put in an average of 70-80 per week I work about 15hrs a day. You will find me on this sight all the way till 4:00am (just ask FRALEY
) but it's all good, I'll work when I'm young. I have a wife and kids to support. My better half is a stay home mom but she does the corporate books (thank God) as I don't have a clue how that stuff works...no time for it, too busy working.
She's a brain no doubt, double major in college and a straight "A" student.
It has it's benefits, I work at home so I can take breaks often and even cut out early to do some afternoon hunting. My typical day consists of me getting up at about 8:00am, I hit the road and (depending on where I have to drive) I will be back in the "office" at about 2:00pm. From there I'm on the phone most of the time collecting the data I need to complete my files (part prices, values, salvage bids, police reports, fire reports, proof of loss reports....reports...reports...reports
)
I shut off my computer around 6:00pm and help my wife with dinner, then it's help the kids finish up their home work thenplay with them for a short while. Then get them to bed and relax with the wife (most of the time we talk or watch TV together) She goes to bed around 10:00pm and i go back down stairs to work (unless I get lucky
, then it's a little later.
) I'll work to about 2:00am to 4:00am. This is my quiet time where the phone isn't ringing off the hook and I can get my paperwork done, estimates and such with all of the information I gathered during the day.
Next day....I do it all again....After my 4hrs of sleep.[&:]
The pay is good though, I can't complain about that, but health insurance is ridiculous and it seems like I'm paying money out left and right...everybodies got their hand out (Uncle Sam[:@])
Well there you have it, my day in a nut shell. I actually had to take three phone calls (there's always a problem it seems[:'(]) and straighten a couple things out while I was typing this.......it never ends.
For you guys that ARE your own boss...
