Next time there is a swell check out how many carpenters, painters, landscapers and small business trucks there are parked. Having your own service business can let you at least get out for a couple of hours every swell. If you can get to a point where you have some help and can really get in some long 4-5 hour sessions in. Actually owning any business with employees should let you find time to surf. Please do not leech of the government, even though that is a career choice for some... [video=youtube;bP_izYhdehY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP_izYhdehY[/video]
Average weekday??.. wake up, look out my window to check for swell, decide if its a DP sesh. If I have appts in the city I hop on a train and listen to music/watch vids or sleep till NY Penn. Head to my site that day. do work - see below... then head home. Usually home by 7-7:30. Sometime later some times earlier. If its past 9 my boss putts me up in a hotel near site. I also get to entertain clients in the city... always a plus! Also have the flexibility to schedule my appts in the city around weather forecasts... big help. If I don't have to go in to a site I definitely get wet, bike around, chill, whatever... (I always keep on top of calls and emails though - even if I am out in the water I'll check once an hour or so) So either way I get plenty of me time during the work week... Weekends are all about my kids. As far as the work... I meet with a client to discuss their tech needs. I develop a needs analysis and build an equipment list to accomplish the desired objective complete with labor and specialized programming requirements. Once approved I develop shop drawing so my shop can build as designed and our installers can install as designed. I then visit the site at various stages to ensure design integrity and resolve site condition issues. The last step of a project is to certify the room with the client and shake hands. I handle 3-5 projects at a time in various stages and are worth typically between $100K-$2.5M each. Big range, yes, but the low end is 1 or 2 rooms whereas the high end is typically 2-3 floors with multiple rooms/venues on each floor. Hope that answered you question.
