A lot of mine goes back in to buy more junk and keep my business growing. Then the general necessities- fuel, maintenance, insurance and a little advertising. From the beginning, I pledged to myself that I would keep my overhead LOW and concentrate on growing the business. One guy (me), a 9000# GVWR diesel truck, a chop saw, a few old transmission dipsticks for checking cat cores and a big steel building with a gravel floor and no heat... That's pretty much my whole operation, and it works. The truck also doubles as my daily driver, which helps me justify the cost of it.
Some days, I could really use a hired hand, but I get it done. On others, a 3500 dually or box van with a lift gate would come in handy, but my Ram 2500 does fine. A building with heat would be sweet in the winter, but I refuse to take on another mortgage or pay rent when I own the building I'm in. All of these things are quite tempting at times, but I've seen one too many guys in this business try to go too big, too fast and go under.
There are things in life that I take time to enjoy, and a good month of business can help with them. Spoiling my wife is always fun
I also enjoy antiques, and slowly fixing up our 1896 Victorian house. The auto scrap/core business has helped me with these things. On the days I think "What the (expletive) am I doing this for?!?", I remember that. You know, the days where you pull a back muscle, smash a fingernail, put a scratch on your truck and end up making 20 bucks for the day
It all works out in the end.
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