Net 55k annually. Self-employed, getting job offers for "more."

[CabinetGuy]

Let me start out by saying I have a damn good life.  I don't save enough, but I did max out my trad IRA and my SEP IRA (the latter isn't very impressive if I told you what I paid myself.)

My work can be stressful, but at times it's downright easy.  Heck, I even had most of January "off" due to scheduling issues.  But since I have a nice stache, it didn't even register that I wasn't bringing anything in for the time being. 

So why am I writing this post?  I've had a job offer to sell bulk interior trim to custom home builders by an older fellow who is looking do cut down his workload.  He's 65, in bad shape both financially and physically so he's looking for someone to take over for him.  The position would be a 1099, so I'm already set up to take over since I have all of the requisite insurances.  I also have great relationships with most of his clients already, since I do business with them, but in a different capacity as a "cabinet guy".

So what's my dilemma?  The job has a potential to pay 100k a year, easily.  Sounds like a lot, but like I said, my job, my business, can be pretty easy (with some incredibly stressful times in between.)

Am I crazy that I'm not really that interested in the offer?  I'm a college dropout, passing up on a salary most would be crazy to make!  Am I lazy?  Am I not a go-getter?  Am I a loser?

Or do I have the elusive, work life balance that everyone is searching for?  Should I want "more"?

Thanks,

Jon

[FrugalFan]

If you are on track to retire when you want to retire, and are happy with your work life balance, then there is no need to want "more". I could probably start some side hustles to accelerate our time to FIRE, but that would cost me more of what I am seeking in FIRE anyway (time with family, time to do non-work things), so I am sticking with the status quo.

[ShortInSeattle]

I've been self employed a long time and I easily would have made more $$ had I stayed on my corporate career track.

But I like working for myself.
And the flexibility to make my own schedule.
And not worrying about a layoff or an evil boss.
And getting to choose my customers. (huge!)
And getting to decide how hard to work.
And never having to bow and scrape to get time off.
And not needing to follow stupid arbitrary rules.

No, you are not crazy if you want to keep all the perks of self-employment. The perks are substantial.

[Katagal]

Jon I think you've answered your own question, you have time to do things you want, you have enough money to pay for the essentials, yes indeed I think you have scored the elusive work/life balance many talk about yet very few achieve.  A different call if you want to help out your associate/friend/mentor for a while and earn extra dollars for a specific reason but not to assuage some unexpected guilt at not being "ambitious enough". 

[CabinetGuy]

I've been self employed a long time and I easily would have made more $$ had I stayed on my corporate career track.

But I like working for myself.
And the flexibility to make my own schedule.
And not worrying about a layoff or an evil boss.
And getting to choose my customers. (huge!)
And getting to decide how hard to work.
And never having to bow and scrape to get time off.
And not needing to follow stupid arbitrary rules.

No, you are not crazy if you want to keep all the perks of self-employment. The perks are substantial.

Thanks for that, pretty great summation of self-employment.  Just hard to put a number on it.

FYI, was talking to a guy with 20yrs experience in custom home building the other day after posting this.  Turns out, his boss just started using a builder software that they now have to "punch" in when they arrive to each job site, what his role is at the time (labor, managerial) and TRACKS them via GPS during the day!!

Told the guy I'm pretty sure I would have walked out if I had to do that.  I could not believe the level of micro-management he has to put up with.  Big fat nope.  Looks like I'm self-employed for life after hearing that.

[Fishindude]

If you are already self employed in the residential cabinet business, why not pick up this interior trim as a complimentary product line?
If it's more than you can handle by yourself, do the math and see if you could hire a helper and make it work while still increasing your income.

[Guizmo]

I've been self employed a long time and I easily would have made more $$ had I stayed on my corporate career track.

But I like working for myself.
And the flexibility to make my own schedule.
And not worrying about a layoff or an evil boss.
And getting to choose my customers. (huge!)
And getting to decide how hard to work.
And never having to bow and scrape to get time off.
And not needing to follow stupid arbitrary rules.

No, you are not crazy if you want to keep all the perks of self-employment. The perks are substantial.

Thanks for that, pretty great summation of self-employment.  Just hard to put a number on it.

FYI, was talking to a guy with 20yrs experience in custom home building the other day after posting this.  Turns out, his boss just started using a builder software that they now have to "punch" in when they arrive to each job site, what his role is at the time (labor, managerial) and TRACKS them via GPS during the day!!

Told the guy I'm pretty sure I would have walked out if I had to do that.  I could not believe the level of micro-management he has to put up with.  Big fat nope.  Looks like I'm self-employed for life after hearing that.

To be fair, some workers steal a lot of time because they are not being managed on-site.

[Axecleaver]

You're presenting this as a black and white choice, but perhaps there is a shade of grey in here that would give you some benefits and not require you to sell your soul in the process. There is synergy between the cabinets work you do and bulk interior trim sales. Sales is all about relationships, and you already have a pretty good set of established relationships to leverage.

Instead of thinking about this as a 100k a year job, think about it in terms of how to take the easiest 20% (or 50%, or whatever) and work it into your current job and relationships. Think about what would make it worth it to you on your terms, and walk away from deals that don't meet your needs.

[Tetsuya Hondo]

You lazy piece of cow poop.

I just turned down a project worth about $30-40k. I agonized over whether to take it or not as, on one hand, it's a nice chunk of coin. On the other hand, it's weekly travel and would move the needle from having a comfortable work schedule to long days and higher stress.

I'm a lazy, but happy, piece of cow poop. The moment I said no, all the building stress that was weighing on me just dissipated in an instant.

Axecleaver makes a good point. Perhaps there's some comfortable middle ground.