There was a time when skilled machinists could start their own shops without the expenditure of too much capital or the assumption of large debts. There's the story of a good toolmaker and blacksmith who went on his own in the early 1900s in a basement shop with a forge, an anvil, a drill press, an old lathe, some hand tools, and a great deal of energy, shrewdness, and will to succeed. When he died, he left his family one of the largest and best-equipped machine shops in New York City.
This kind of story has probably been repeated countless times in our country, and certainly as many opportunities exist now as ever before. Some sections of our country offer numerous opportunities. Young people with skill and courage can surely succeed on their own. If you are the sort of person who will never be happy until you are working for yourself and nothing will stop you, then the following information may interest you.
First, you must have sufficient all-around experience in machine shops to enable you to handle any production problems that may arise. If you lack this broad basis of practical and technical knowledge and experience, you should plan your future so as to acquire it. This experience is absolutely necessary when you operate your own shop, because initially you will not be able to delegate your production problems on to a supervisor or someone else. The responsibility will be yours, and every bit of experience you have accumulated will be necessary to succeed in your own business.
In addition, however, you must learn something about modern business practices and problems. Production will be only half the story. If you wish to remain in business, you will have to learn how money is spent before it is made. Not only will you have to purchase materials and equipment, hire and fire employees, sell or market your products, establish financial credit, and handle a multitude of other duties, you will also have to deal with a host of governmental taxes, restrictions, and regulations.
When the toolmaker in the story opened his shop, he did not have to worry about income taxes, employee withdrawal accounts, corporation taxes, excess profit taxes, state insurance funds, unemployment insurance, social security payments, union restrictions, shop stewards, paid vacation funds for employees, or an endless number of other matters. Today all these factors have to be dealt with daily. You will also have to know something about business law, and how it affects partnerships, contracts, liens, accounts, notes, and leases. It will not be necessary for you to be an accountant, but an adequate understanding of record keeping is an asset. You should have a basic knowledge of labor law, too.
How are you going to acquire this broad background when your job keeps you busy all day? The answer lies in activities outside your job. You can take evening, extension, or correspondence courses. Watch for advertisements of such courses or inquire at your local schools, both public and private. You can acquire a certain amount of business experience on your daily job. The federal government offers many publications containing information about running your own business. You can find out about these by calling your local government documents information center.
The federal government has long been interested in the small businesses in our national economy. It has set up the Small Business Administration (SBA), which has primary responsibility to help small business ventures.
It offers free or low-cost workshops at localities all over the nation where interested people can learn the fundamentals of operating a small business. There are Small Business Administration offices in all fifty states. The SBA publishes a free calendar every two months listing dates, times, and titles of courses offered at city agencies and colleges.
The agency also publishes numerous leaflets and pamphlets dealing with management aids for small businesses.
In addition to all this, the SBA, under certain conditions, will help small businesses with loans, technical assistance, and management advice. It also operates a subsidiary called the Small Business Investment Companies, which will also help with finances and consulting services.
There are many ways of establishing yourself in business. If you can arrange funding, you can purchase a shop outright or buy an interest in a going concern. Of course, you will first have to make the proper inquiries as to financial standing, credits, accounts receivable, business contracts and connections, and so on. Since it would be rather unusual for a young machinist to have the kind of money necessary for this procedure, we will not pursue this any further than mentioning it.
Each of the several trade associations already mentioned publishes materials to help business owners and managers more effectively run their companies. For instance the National Tooling and Machining Association offers a wide variety of management aids.
However, if you have invented, designed, or perfected a gadget or some sort of special equipment, tool, or device which has merit and sales possibilities, you might be able to interest enough backers to set up a shop. However, the high cost of machine tools (new or secondhand), the other necessary tools and equipment and skilled labor are going to require quite a lot of money or credit. Nevertheless, if your product has merit, you might successfully set up your own shop if you have the necessary persistence and drive.
However, some attention should be paid to protecting inventions and unique equipment or gadgets you may have designed and are proposing to manufacture. The usual method is to patent such items, but obtaining a patent is a lengthy, complicated, and sometimes costly endeavor. It usually requires a search of existing patents, special drawings as specified by the U.S. Patent Office, writing up claims and information in accordance with regulations and other legalities, all of which should be done by a patent attorney who can do all the above and represent your interests throughout the procedures with the Patent Office. When a patent is finally granted you still have the problem of protecting it, for if it shows commercial promise others may be tempted to infringe upon it unless your lawyer initiates court proceedings to protect your patent. This can be a costly matter.
In addition to all this, the federal government has created an Energy Related Inventions Program within the U.S. Department of Energy. Operated in cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards, the object of this program is to encourage individual inventors to submit their ideas for evaluation by the National Bureau of Standards. If this agency finds ideas that seem feasible and have possibilities for commercial development, it might provide development grants. These grants need not be used only for technical improvement; they can also be used for designing merchandising and marketing techniques. This agency is a flexible operation, ready to encourage and help perfect any idea that might diminish our energy crisis. An unusual aspect of the program is that it helps small business operators and individual inventors. The ideas or inventions need not be patented or even be patentable. Over 10,000 ideas and inventions have been evaluated and some have been found worthy of support.
Some mechanics have started by setting up a few small machines, such as a bench lathe and a sensitive drill in the basement or garage of their homes. By taking on contract or subcontract work, they have managed to make a start and expand into larger commercial quarters.
If you have connections to firms or individuals from which you can secure sizable amounts of contract or subcontract work, you can get started on the strength of this. It may mean borrowing the necessary capital and living on a shoestring for a while, but if you can deliver or if you develop a specialty, you can probably succeed. For example, I know of one small shop that is doing very well making small, high-precision parts, turning these out on subcontracts from large producers of airplane engines and parts, experimental weapons, and other such highly specialized articles.
About the poorest approach is to set up a shop without any definite products or specialty in mind, trusting that the work will come in. It probably will not work out. Such an effort is very risky and most fail.
Opening a tool and die shop, a machine shop, or a production plant are not the only outlets for the machinist. For example, there was a case where two brothers, both skilled machinists started a sales agency selling and servicing certain well-known machines and tools. They were very successful. Another mechanic established a boat yard with a machine shop and kept busy reconditioning, repairing, and maintaining motor boat engines and equipment.
In another instance, a young person rented some space in a garage and set up an automobile machine shop. He and a partner installed some machines for turning brake drums, grinding valves, and the like. In a short while they were doing this type of machining for a whole group of garages and service stations and were able to rent larger, more suitable quarters. Subsequently, they purchased a crankshaft grinder and other equipment enabling them to offer a complete motor rebuilding service.
In short, there are plenty of opportunities for going into business in some branch of metalworking with good chances of success if you have the temperament, the necessary experience, some idea of how business functions, some capital and credit, the ability to take a chance, and a bit of luck. Of course, there is no denying that not all of us are suited for a business life with its ups and downs, its constant worry and drive, and the almost constant insecurity. Many of us are perfectly happy as wage earners and are certainly making our contributions and leading useful lives. So if you are considering going into business, just make sure you are the adventurous type and have the necessary skills, knowledge, and information.
