Burnout, How do you handle it.

[Adrian 155]

I love my job. Almost 7 yrs. on my own now.

First and foremost. I love the satisfaction of a happy customer and getting a nice fee.

But, sometimes I just shake my head and would rather just be a full time musician again.

Right now, I do both. The distance between both of those worlds are a million miles apart.

Same ol same ol.

Anyone ever get burned out on this whole PW thing I got myself into?

How have you re-ignited the "Fire"?

Maybe a new routine, or even possibly my working past 1 in the afternoon. hehe. Kidding of course.

Alot of folks tell me I have a very cool existance being able to operate in both realms.

Very seldom does it cause conflict. I get the same satisfaction blowing someone away with a cool tune as I do cleaning the pigsty's some people choose to live in. ( maybe I said that wrong).

But again, burnout seems to be rearing it's ugly head. Sometimes in both worlds.

Very open to suggestions.

Yes I actually do work past 1 in the afternoon sometimes and not all of the musical performances are at midnight in a smoke filled club. Both are very respectable trades for me which I love.

Balance, I know is the key. I do consider myself very lucky to be able to operate in both worlds.

But burnout is another issue all together.

Thx.

[Scott Stone 604]

Excellent question. About 16 or 17 years ago after having been in business 3 or 4 years, I was tired of pressure washing, too. I was doing it, and delivering milk, as a full time job. I did not have the option of just pressure washing full time, I had, at the time, a stay at home wife, a house payment, and two kids. I also has absolutely no family to fall back on in lean times. I contemplated selling my business, and rig, to just do the milk thing. Instead, I diversified, realized I had a good, and relatively successful thing, going, and kept at it. In another couple of years, I had quit the milk thing, since 100 hour weeks on salary did not suit me, and got another job, that allowed me the freedom to work the pressure washing. Within a year, I had it full time, and there is no residential pressure washing to speak of in metro Phoenix. It was all fleet, and eventually, I used the knowledge I gained there to move to what I am doing now. I cannot say the boards helped me to get there, because, honestly, I wasn't on the boards at that time, and the only one that was really in existence was the old Delco board.

I did it, but, I think that you need to pick what you love. You are probably actually a little burned out from having two jobs, and always end up tired doing one, or the other.

[Adrian 155]

Excellent question. About 16 or 17 years ago after having been in business 3 or 4 years, I was tired of pressure washing, too. I was doing it, and delivering milk, as a full time job. I did not have the option of just pressure washing full time, I had, at the time, a stay at home wife, a house payment, and two kids. I also has absolutely no family to fall back on in lean times. I contemplated selling my business, and rig, to just do the milk thing. Instead, I diversified, realized I had a good, and relatively successful thing, going, and kept at it. In another couple of years, I had quit the milk thing, since 100 hour weeks on salary did not suit me, and got another job, that allowed me the freedom to work the pressure washing. Within a year, I had it full time, and there is no residential pressure washing to speak of in metro Phoenix. It was all fleet, and eventually, I used the knowledge I gained there to move to what I am doing now. I cannot say the boards helped me to get there, because, honestly, I wasn't on the boards at that time, and the only one that was really in existence was the old Delco board.

I did it, but, I think that you need to pick what you love. You are probably actually a little burned out from having two jobs, and always end up tired doing one, or the other.

You are right Scott. I am tired from my occupations. However I love them both.

I have never had more satisfaction than both of these paths.

Musically ( and I know what I am talking about here) I have performed in front of 80k people in a stadium called the Cotton Bowl 2 yrs in a row.

Talk about a feeling of success. Not to mention playing clubs in L.A. on the strip all the way over to the east coast. And made some great $$$$ and great friends and contacts. I'm just not 25 yrs. old anymore and I have the "been there done that, got a cigar" attitude.

I write material for several other musicians acxross the country as well as still collect some pocket change in royalties.

At 47 now, I am just so tired, you are correct.

As a business owner ( and I am in touch with my feelings ) I simply see no changes, just the same steady road after all these yrs.

Wood really gets me fired up. Cleaning really gets me fired up......... but only for a moment.

I actually hope to rule the residential market some day and have a solid name and reputation for being a vet in the industry.

BUT......

Again, you are correct, I am so very tired.

I have no intention of quitting either of the things I love and ( at least from my standpoint ) am very good at.

I simply hate the fact that I am getting too bored, too old or too lazy.

Even flying for me has lost a bit of it's lustre. And anyone who knows me, knows that flying is my favorite way to blow $$$$.

I guess I just need a motivational kick in A$$, from someone who's been there and turned it all around for themselves to re-capture the initial feelings and drive it takes to keep plugging along.

Thx Scott, good food for thought.

[big mike 14]

Adrian,

Make sure you take time off (away) from work. It's simple in theory, but many never really take a break from "thinking" about their biz. You may say, yeah I do take time off, but do you really?? For me, I have a built in 4 month vacation every year (winter). It makes me hungry to work when I get the chance, and by late fall I'm tired of it, and need a break. Also, be happy with the fact that you have two income streams in a time when many have none.....

[Adrian 155]

Thanks Mike. You are right, always thinking about one or the other.

I think maybe my beautiful bride may have switched the coffee to decaf or something.

Maybe that's why I feel so blah blah blah about everything.

Or maybe I need another honeymoon. hehe.

Thanks for the calls and good words you guys. It means alot. Really.

I just need to shake this "ho-humness" and get off these stupid crutches and get back out there swinging.

[offduty 25]

I have stuck with the washing for about 10 years. I care nothing for it or the industry per se. It is just a good cash cow. I have had several other endeavors that I owned and closed up or sold. If you get burnt out, quit and do something else. I was at the Fire Department and quit after 12 years because I didn't want to work my 7 christmas day in a row. There is always another way to make a buck if you hustle. If you are burnt out on washing, sell or give everything away and start singing. I have drove tractor trailers, cleaned carpet, turned wrenches in a diesel shop, been a cop, been a fireman and a ran my own framing/siding crews. I don't turn 40 for another 5 months. Point is, do whatever you want to do, you only live once. I have a great wife of 16years who has not had to work since my oldest son was born 11 years ago. She go alongs with every job I quit or business I sell and just rolls her eyes sometimes. I bought a road tractor 3 years ago when I saw Ice Road truckers on TV. Spent 2 months jumping thru hoops and insurance to find out that unless your Canadian with a lot of miles logged up North you ain't got a chance of driving. I was going to do it for a few months cause it looked cool. Made money when I turned around and sold the Mack and am now waiting to see what bug bites me next.

[James 624]

Sounds like you have a case of the Post Nuptial Blues ?

[Adrian 155]

Sounds like you have a case of the Post Nuptial Blues ?

James this might be the first time I have to disagree with you.

We have been together for 12.5 yrs. before I popped the question. ( quit possibly the longest date in history)

No Blues in that dept. for sure. ( just between you and me, she's doing pretty darn well w/o the help ABC Pressure Washing)

Met her at one of my bands shows in Austin, and never looked back and never looked at another ( well, except Cindy Crawford).

All is well in that category. She's the only class I got. hehe

[Adrian 155]

I have stuck with the washing for about 10 years. I care nothing for it or the industry per se. It is just a good cash cow. I have had several other endeavors that I owned and closed up or sold. If you get burnt out, quit and do something else. I was at the Fire Department and quit after 12 years because I didn't want to work my 7 christmas day in a row. There is always another way to make a buck if you hustle. If you are burnt out on washing, sell or give everything away and start singing. I have drove tractor trailers, cleaned carpet, turned wrenches in a diesel shop, been a cop, been a fireman and a ran my own framing/siding crews. I don't turn 40 for another 5 months. Point is, do whatever you want to do, you only live once. I have a great wife of 16years who has not had to work since my oldest son was born 11 years ago. She go alongs with every job I quit or business I sell and just rolls her eyes sometimes. I bought a road tractor 3 years ago when I saw Ice Road truckers on TV. Spent 2 months jumping thru hoops and insurance to find out that unless your Canadian with a lot of miles logged up North you ain't got a chance of driving. I was going to do it for a few months cause it looked cool. Made money when I turned around and sold the Mack and am now waiting to see what bug bites me next.

From one old school to another, William, you never cease to impress me.

I guess I just need to identify which bug ( if any) is knocking at my door.

Much respect for the firefighter in you.

I am an ex EMT-II for 7 yrs. and always leaned on you guys for support in the field. But guess what happened............. burnout.

[rick77 14]

I love my job. Almost 7 yrs. on my own now.

First and foremost. I love the satisfaction of a happy customer and getting a nice fee.

But, sometimes I just shake my head and would rather just be a full time musician again.

Right now, I do both. The distance between both of those worlds are a million miles apart.

Same ol same ol.

Anyone ever get burned out on this whole PW thing I got myself into?

How have you re-ignited the "Fire"?

Maybe a new routine, or even possibly my working past 1 in the afternoon. hehe. Kidding of course.

Alot of folks tell me I have a very cool existance being able to operate in both realms.

Very seldom does it cause conflict. I get the same satisfaction blowing someone away with a cool tune as I do cleaning the pigsty's some people choose to live in. ( maybe I said that wrong).

But again, burnout seems to be rearing it's ugly head. Sometimes in both worlds.

Very open to suggestions.

Yes I actually do work past 1 in the afternoon sometimes and not all of the musical performances are at midnight in a smoke filled club. Both are very respectable trades for me which I love.

Balance, I know is the key. I do consider myself very lucky to be able to operate in both worlds.

But burnout is another issue all together.

Thx.

Adrian, I can relate to the burnout that you speak of. I was a full time musician for nearly 28 years until I dropped back to freelancing a couple of years ago. I started my window cleaning business (part time) back in 2005 and added power washing in 2008. I don't want to let the music go but it is very hard to keep up with both the music biz and the cleaning biz, especially in the Spring and Fall. I've been trying to find a balance between the two businesses that I love.

One thing that has helped is that the music business has slown down to a crawl over the past year. I'm actually enjoying the slowdown after running so hard in that industry for so many years. My hopes are that the economy will get much better in the not so distant future. At that point I hope to be able to take my pick of gigs that come my way in both the cleaning biz and the music biz.

I'm finding out that I can't do it all. From here on out I'll be saying no to certain gigs and jobs because I simply don't have the time and/or energy to do it all. Family is the most important thing so you have to have plenty of time and energy for that too.

One thing for sure, I don't want to be a full time musician ever again. And certainly not in this economy. A good thing about bouncing back and forth from the music world and the cleaning world is that you get a break from each and still get to make money. I guess the trick is finding the right balance between the two. Good luck with all of your endeavors.

[Adrian 155]

Yeah RC, the music world is DOG's life, but some of the rewards are sometimes more than dog bisquits, if you know what I mean.

In 25 yrs. of seeking a label, one, only one, Crown Records, a mexican label gave us a hard as hell 2 yr. run across the states.

Most just don't know what's involved with labels. It's like being held captive sometimes and I am just too old for that crap anymore.

The irony is I love the music but hate the business. It sux man. Hence the old age burnout.

Pw has been a part of me for only a little less than 7 yrs. now. I don't want to quit ..... I just don't want to be bored with it anymore.

I'll work it out I'm sure, because I'm definately not going to go anywhere with the house note I have. hehe.

Glad you understand the dilema. Clubs just suck anymore, getting old. I don't even drink man and everyone always wants us to stay and "close the bars" with them. Time to grow up I guess. lol.

Thx man.

I 'd love to hear some of your material anytime by the way.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Adrian
just learning to spell.

[rick77 14]

The irony is I love the music but hate the business. It sux man. Hence the old age burnout.

Amen to that!!!!

Oh yeah, the clubs do suck. I quit drinking during the last few years of playing full time. That's when I had sorta grown up and actually realized that it (the music biz) wasn't really that much fun day in and day out. But there were some really great times, especially in the younger days when all of the girls were so wild. But I'm glad that I'm where I'm at now and would not go back. Gotta keep movin' on.........

[John T 744]

Hey Adrian,

Your in my age bracket so I can relate to what your saying. I've been working nights for 20 + years now and I am also starting my 15 year in Powerwashing. You caught a post of mine above about burnout. That year I was in my 8th year in business where your pretty much at now. I felt I was the best wood guy in history yada yada yada..then one day this business man I know says to me..."So you think your the best Powerwasher around""SO WHAT BIG DEAL. That means nothing if you dont get employees to do the work. Thats the toughest thing because you have to release control and let these guys do the work that your "Great" at. but if you don't do that soon you will burnout and you may lose the will to do it anymore. You only come around once.

So If I was you I would look to hire..and fire..and hire to you get the right guys. Spend more in your marketing to get more jobs for your new employees. Just do it and eventually when there out doing the work and you home playing your guitar you will say..Hey John is right.....as I did when that business man told me back then. This business man is Gary Melius who I am very good friends with and I see him frequently. He owns many businesses and he also owns his own castle www.oheka.com where I go frequently with my wife just to hang out and smoke some cigars with Gary. Just do it!!

[Adrian 155]

Acknowledged John, I understand what you are saying completely.

Each year I get a swamper during the Summer months. In a few cases I end up getting call backs ( and not the good kind either).

It's very hard for me to leave a swamper on a job site by himself for this very reason. Once you leave a bad taste in a customers mouth, it makes it harder to maintain that customer. An unnessesary (sp?) headache IMO. Now I just handle each project one at a time.

However I do understand "taking the plunge", I did it when I first started the biz, but might just be a bit reluctant to take the next step.

Just being honest with myself. When a company takes on employees, they ( in a lot of cases ) take on a whole potato sack of issue that employee brings along with them to the company. Who needs that crap? Who wants grey hair?

....Just saying...... it really is a hard decision to make.

[Greg R 82]

Burn out happens .... sometimes you just have to step back and re-evaluate things. Burn out got me a few years back and I ended up starting another business and took a 2 yr hiatus. At that time I was deciding as to whether I wanted to sell the business or not and move onto something new but after awhile I just missed it. Glad Im back on track now but I did make alot of changes in the way we do things.

To be honest I even miss owning/running deckguide and the forums at times but there's only so much time in a day so you have to prioritize.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Greg R

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Every so often you have to re-evaluate what is important. Sometimes trimming off the activities that tax and drain you, is enough, other times you need to just get away and recharge the batteries. We are doing home improvement stuff this winter, and while it is exhausting, it is rejuvenating because it is our house and satisfying - fun in it's own way. But, having said that, it's also time to save for the next vacation next year. ;)

Beth

[Adrian 155]

Right on Beth. I can definately relate to that. I have been playing hooky the past couple of days doing some yard work ( I am actually going to build myself a deck) and clearing the Winter droppage from the trees.. It has taken my mind off of my "future" temporarily.

I just need to get back in the "happy" saddle and try and enjoy what I do for a living. It's always nice filling the books, that changes everything.

......bring on the wood.

[AllAmerican 14]

Burn out blows! I've been wanting to do something new for over 10 years now. I just can't seem to find anything that I'd like to do as much as pressure cleaning.

Plus, you can't dispute the money. Hell, I can work a couple of hours doing houses and make as much as I would bustin my tail all week for "the man".

I laughed when someone said hire employees. HA!! Screw hiring employees. Been there, done that. Who in the world needs that headache????? I was 42 with 3 young kids getting a stress test cuz I thought I was having a heart attack. All because of my wonderful employees. They wouldn't show up, they'd fight with the customers, trash the equipment, I'd constantly get calls on their driving (wasn't their vehicle & equipment), then lets talk about them showing up on whatever kinds of drugs...... Again.......employees......HA!!!

I fired 'em all, raised my prices (to cut back on work & make more per hour) and am plugging along being kind of fat, dumb & happy. Still looking for something else not as strenuous but as profitable.

I think we all get tired of "going through the motions". The key is.....save your money, don't spend more than you make (credit cards, huge house payment) and get your money working for you.

[Bilge Cleaner 14]

I spent 27 years crawling around cleaning inside fuel tanks a bilges on MotorYachts

I did not take a full week vacation until my 18th year in business which from then on I started to take 2 weeks a year ( should have done that years ago )

I loved working on yachts but really started to hate So. Fla and what I did for a living even if the money was great.

In 2005 I sold the business and the house during the housing boom ( sold it for 30% over ridiculous ) and moved up here to rural Georgia and even though things are tight I don't regret leaving, a customer once told me that theres no rehersal in life, you only get to do it once!

[Adrian 155]

All American and Bilge Cleaner, could you please go in your profile and complete your signature line so I know who i am talking with?

I appreciate your input, but really would like to know who you are.

It's house rules anyways. Thx.

Welcome to TGS.

[Joe Ortiz 14]

Adrian, when you started PWing did you use it as an outlet?to get a way from music?

When you use somthing as an outlet too long you get burnedout. I get burnned out when i have to work sevral nights in a row and b!tch and complain at why did i start this bizz.

then the check comes in and i remember why. But this year i am trying somthing new in the PW bizz.( My bizz)

you may be bored with the type of work your doing. there are lots of other areas in pressure washing you can get into that would feel like "a newthing" to keep the flame burnin.

good luck in you choice.