THE Post Peak Employment Thread (merged)

[Bytesmiths]

Most of this self employed work is quite manual and maybe in your old job you did mainly brainy work, but that's the future anyway.

Not necessarily. Most of my income comes from information-related services. Perhaps that will change over time, but the point is there is probably time to transition your "brainy" work while picking up a manual skill.

Do you do good bookkeeping? I guess that this is not my favourite, but necessary.

I don't have to; that's one of my spouse's revenue streams. :-)

[patience]

Bytesmiths,

I agree 100% with what you said, and yes, my thinking there was based on the present day situation. Yes, it will change dramatically with post-peak society. Yes, doing your own mass production works. We do that at any opportunity at present. (My background is in high speed automation for auto manufacturing.)

The trick is to apply the correct approach at the correct opportunity. Slow, painstaking handcrafting won't compete head-to-head with mass production NOW, but it WILL pay when the world begins to operate diferently. I think it is all important to position for both situations. Being nimble about how you do things is the great advantage of the small operation, as contrasted to mass production that is well-nigh impossible to change direction quickly, sort of like an aircraft carrier, compared to a person walking. If we master both sorts of skillsets, and apply them appropriately, we can win every time.

I guess I sounded too negative in the first post, which was not my intent at all. I think you hit an important point with small income streams. An example of that which makes us a few bucks is prowling the junkyard for old tools, such as shovels, axes, sledgehammers, picks, etc., with broken or missing handles. I have a process for rejuvenating these, since there are wood handles available to us as seconds from a local handle factory. First, remove all the old handles, and rivets, doing them a batch of them all at once, to save time. Derust them all with a wire brush on a right angle grinder, and paint them all, hung on wire hooks to dry. Collect handles to suit, and spend a morning installing about 20 of them. The finished tools are stacked in a corner of the shop tagged for sale, at about half of new price, and sell fairly quickly.

Gardening tools done this way have been VERY popular this year! I've known people who specialized in refurbing bicycles and others who did used lawn mowers, and made decent money at it. Even if it is only a single item to sell , like the old farmers' adage, "have something to sell every week". It works. Just because our primary business is welding and machining does not mean we should not make our slack times productive with such things. A winter of salvaging things to sell has paid us well in spring when the outdoor season begins.

[Loki]

An example of that which makes us a few bucks is prowling the junkyard for old tools, such as shovels, axes, sledgehammers, picks, etc., with broken or missing handles.

That's a very cool idea. My workplace has tons of old tools that need to be fixed up, and I'm the only one who cares about such things there---it'd be a good way for me to learn how to do it right. What kind of junkyards do you go to?

As for the woodworking example, I can see how some folks could make a go of it, but my problem is that I don't actually have any woodworking skills. I'd have to learn from scratch and invest in better tools, then try to find a market. Only so many hours in the day and dollars under the mattress. Better to focus my energies on market gardening and tree work, and maybe odd projects like tool renovation. As much as I'd like to pick up some craft skills, I think they'll have to be limited to stuff I use at home rather than stuff I produce for the market. At least for now.

[Bytesmiths]

... prowling the junkyard for old tools, such as shovels, axes, sledgehammers, picks, etc., with broken or missing handles. I have a process for rejuvenating these, since there are wood handles available to us as seconds from a local handle factory...

Ah, I love it! That's a fantastic example of what I rather ineptly tried to describe.

Thanks for taking my posting in good cheer, Patience. Looking back, I could have been more diplomatic than to start out by saying I had "nits to pick." Successful self-employed people need to be good diplomats.

Gotta go now... one of my multiple, tiny "revenue streams" just called: a lady wants some VHS tapes put on DVD.

And that brings up networking -- if word gets out that you're handy in certain fields, especially in a rural area, they'll think of you before they go to Radio Shack or some "brick-n-mortar" store. This is a person I had in my photography class, and she'd rather pay me to do something like this than pay some stranger.

[criticalmass]

This is why I like these forums... I would have immediately chimed in with "junkyard miner" but it's been mentioned 5 times or more in this thread. Had this conversation come up almost anywhere else, I'd have struck people with awe at such an answer

[Bytesmiths]

This is why I like these forums... I would have immediately chimed in with "junkyard miner" but it's been mentioned 5 times or more in this thread.

That's an interesting bit of junk you have for your avatar -- did that generator or motor come out of the junk?

I have some mixed feelings about it, though. We really try not to drive much. Some weeks, we only get off the farm on Tuesday, when groceries are 10% off. But I have scouts who patrol the dump and know what I'm looking for.

[mos6507]

did that generator or motor come out of the junk?

Some people find those motors from the junk (forklift motors). But it looks like a new Advanced DC brushed motor.

[mekmek]

I have worked in HR and IT for about 15 years. Yesterday I started studying full-time to be a High School Teacher. I figure teaching will be a good post peak job - certainly better than HR or IT. I am doing some Agricultural Science subjects as well so that I will be able to teach in that area.

[hardtootell-2]

I know I will get kicked around for suggesting this but, I don't think enough attention is paid to the consumption side. Maybe we need a separate thread. There are ways to decrease your living expenses dramatically. The closer we can get to zero, the less of a hole there is to fill. How far should a person go? I would move across the country for cheap land that I could own outright and jettison the mortgage. I would pay cash for whatever helps me have a long term no bills future. Some examples- fruit trees, solar panels, solar heating, a wide array of high quality tools,raised beds, woodlot etc.

We can focus all we want on the income side but if it has "a giant and growing hole" to fill, it may never succeed as a strategy. Income strategies need to be matched to consumption.

Just my $0.02

[Loki]

This is one of my favorite threads on PO.com, it's been dormant far too long. Rise from the dead!

Back in Oct 2008 I wrote that I was thinking about doing freelance horticultural work as a way to diversify my income. While I've done very little freelance hort work, I have certainly advanced my horticultural knowledge and skills. Since Oct '08 I finished my hort degree and have been working full-time in the field, including 2 seasons of organic farm work. I feel much better qualified to break out on my own for some small market gardening or arboricultural enterprises.

I have unexpectedly picked up some pruning jobs the last couple weeks, though. I buy milk from a retired couple and they asked me to prune some overgrown blueberries and raspberries, about half a day's work. And yesterday a friend of mine asked me to help prune a dozen or two overgrown fruit trees. They are a complete mess, it'll take quite some time to prune them. He said his landlord will pay me to do it, should be fun.

I think I could get more side work pruning fruit trees if I was more "proactive" about it---wouldn't hurt to take the certified arborist exam, set up a legitimate LLC, and hang a business card on every bulletin board I see (and Craigslist of course).

I'm hoping to try making my own longbow soon, if I'm any good at it that might also be a minor income stream down the road. Should be able to get plenty of free wood from pruning jobs

[SeaGypsy]

I think though we have very different lives Loki, we have this in common; the drive to develop and apply new skills. I'm now in my 3rd career switch since peak (ish 2006/7) and 7th or so in my 32 year work life.
Practical and social skills are the real wealth of the emerging era. The only asset you can be sure of taking either to the grave or the dementia ward.

[Loki]

SeaGypsy, sure has been an interesting "career" trajectory since I graduated high school in '91. I've worked (in rough order) as an airborne infantryman, a fast food worker, a library tech, an editor, a historian, a teacher, a GIS tech, an arborist, and a farmer.

I've always agreed with Heinlein that specialization is for insects. I get bored with stuff and want to see what's over the next hill. Helps that money isn't a motivating factor for me, good thing considering the downward trajectory of my income the last few years

Where did you learn the skills for your window enterprise?