# Navy Seabee to General Contractor



## rwbuilds (Sep 7, 2021)

BLUF:
-14 years as Builder in the Navy Seabees. (2007-Current)
-8 years as a PM/SUP 
-Activating GC License in Arizona Jan 1, 2022.

I am seeking some guidance on procedural matters pertaining to the civilian sector, not so much technical trade knowledge. 

Is it appropriate to ask if someone is willing to take little birdie under their wing? lol

Thanks,
Bobby D

P.S. Are there any prior military construction guys or gals in here who have made a similar transition? I would love to hear from you.


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## wallmaxx (Jun 18, 2007)

rwbuilds said:


> BLUF:
> -14 years as Builder in the Navy Seabees. (2007-Current)
> -8 years as a PM/SUP
> -Activating GC License in Arizona Jan 1, 2022.
> ...


When I was a kid, I knew this SeaBee from the Vietnam era. He was a master of so many things........

Later as I grew older, I realized he was a red neck without fear and had the drive to figure things out and git 'r' done. Y'all are an amazing breed.......love ya like a brother. Best of luck in your new phase of life.

I was a framer....then an 11B / 25A then back to framing. Now I create plans for permit in WA and do military contracting. I don't have any builder experience to share with you. I don't have the depth of patience and a professional vocabulary to be a good builder.


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## spazman (Feb 16, 2012)

You are probably already know this. Find a good accountant and or tax person. I have seen several guys over the years that could do their work and do it well but were stupid when it came to handling money and it cost them their business or more. 
Good luck and welcome to CT.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Welcome to Contractortalk. 


Mike.
*___*


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## WBailey1041 (Jan 31, 2014)

I was a corpsman. Took the first road out I could find and haven’t missed it a day. Except for when I realized last January that I could be drawing retirement checks after twenty years.

If I were you, I’d use you college benefits to learn the administrative and business side of it. Any sleazy shack builder will offer you an apprenticeship’ likely not worth much.

Actually, now that I think of it, you’re probably the only person on this board that could walk down to the building department of your local city or county and actually get them to sit up and pay attention. You might try your local government as a start. Even a couple years as an inspector would be extremely valuable to you. Plus you would have access to all of the code books free.

I bet you would still have time to go to school part time to at least learn QuickBooks.


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## Ken360 (Sep 7, 2019)

Doesn't matter how good a craftsperson or builder you are, to be a good contractor you have to be good at business. Writing/reading/understanding the legal requirements of a contract, handling accounts, handling customer service. I'm a GC and they're are jobs where all I feel like I do is write checks and talk on the phone. It really helps to know a lot of tradespeople, the more contacts you have the better.


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice thing about Arizona - one central registry for all the trades. Bad thing is you have to have tax licenses for everywhere you work as they charge sales tax on the labor & materials. As mentioned - learn the business aspect - good accountant & lawyer are a big help. Oh & don't forget, you can't have them drop & give you 50 - welcome to civilian life


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## Fishindude (Aug 15, 2017)

My Dad did somethign similar.

From my experience building projects on military bases, they spend money like it's going out of style and give very little thought to economics in their design.
Just be aware that you won't have those luxuries when working in the private sector. Value and efficiency will be constantly scrutinized. You also won't have near the amount of red tape, scrutiny and oversight by others, which is a huge plus.


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## rwbuilds (Sep 7, 2021)

Great advice so far, thank you.
I currently am still working in my "transition job" as driver for a local distributor. This job is low demand on my time and pays the bills with a little left over, but I've never felt so under utilized in my life.

I am very passionate about minimalism and self sufficiency. I recognize a niche market in my area for a contractor empathetic to these ideologies. I am very active in providing technical knowledge to my fellow patrons on social media forums, in doing so I've started to recieve DM's asking if I know a contractor that could build "this" or if I could build "that". 

These are self sufficient people, but understand the value in hiring a professional. I'm predicting my main scope of work consisting of small 400-1000 sqft high efficiency off grid homes ton include some non traditional construction methods like hempcrete, Cob, Earth Rammed, ect. Have a lady who wants me to build her a quonset home next spring, that lead simply came from being helpful, took me 2 minutes of my time.

Well thats all for now, I look forward to hearing from some more of CT.


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## rwbuilds (Sep 7, 2021)

Fishindude said:


> My Dad did somethign similar.
> 
> From my experience building projects on military bases, they spend money like it's going out of style and give very little thought to economics in their design.
> Just be aware that you won't have those luxuries when working in the private sector. Value and efficiency will be constantly scrutinized. You also won't have near the amount of red tape, scrutiny and oversight by others, which is a huge plus.


You couldn't be more correct fishindude. I had a sub tell me one day " nothing against you, but don't call us again to work on this base" haha. I'm sure I'll relax some on certain things, but I'm a first hand believer and survivor of a solid safety plan.


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## rwbuilds (Sep 7, 2021)

SLSTech said:


> Nice thing about Arizona - one central registry for all the trades. Bad thing is you have to have tax licenses for everywhere you work as they charge sales tax on the labor & materials. As mentioned - learn the business aspect - good accountant & lawyer are a big help. Oh & don't forget, you can't have them drop & give you 50 - welcome to civilian life


That's cool you mentioned the tax license because I was just reading that a few days ago in the NASCLA Contractors Guide and didn't fully understand it, so I made a note to YouTube stuff about it. 
So no pulling rank on a shotty sub, lol dammit!


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## rwbuilds (Sep 7, 2021)

Ken360 said:


> Doesn't matter how good a craftsperson or builder you are, to be a good contractor you have to be good at business. Writing/reading/understanding the legal requirements of a contract, handling accounts, handling customer service. I'm a GC and they're are jobs where all I feel like I do is write checks and talk on the phone. It really helps to know a lot of tradespeople, the more contacts you have the better.


Thanks Ken, definitely feeling the consensus about being a good businessman first. I dont feel inadequate in that department only because I understand the value in educating myself every chance I get. Contracts are sorta a new thing to me, closest I've come is scope documents that outline responsible parties for xyz task/job. I have much to learn.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.


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## fourcornerhome (Feb 19, 2008)

My older brother Bobby was a Navy Seabee 65 -68. First two years were spent in Bermuda. He golfed a lot.


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## Kingcarpenter1 (May 5, 2020)

RW, welcome & thank you for your duties & service 1st. Different world out here as you know. Sounds like a good niche your after. All markets are wide open for now. Be ready for some premadonna subs & 9 — 10 o’clock starters, phone tag & no shows. Good thing about your niche, you can do a lot of it if not all. Weed the bad subs out & remind them market will turn. Collect as many contacts as possible. Can be a tough reach to sail so keep the ship tight. Best luck to ya


Mike


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## Ken360 (Sep 7, 2019)

rwbuilds said:


> Thanks Ken, definitely feeling the consensus about being a good businessman first. I dont feel inadequate in that department only because I understand the value in educating myself every chance I get. Contracts are sorta a new thing to me, closest I've come is scope documents that outline responsible parties for xyz task/job. I have much to learn.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to reply.


no problem. Should have added one more really important point, you have to get good at estimating, starting out it's better to stick with the things you do really well and know how to estimate, can make good money at, and make that your bread and butter, then add in new types of jobs/contracts as you gain experience.


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## kiwleini (Dec 26, 2021)

WBailey1041 said:


> I was a corpsman. Took the first road out I could find and haven’t missed it a day. Except for when I realized last January that I could be drawing retirement checks after twenty years.
> 
> If I were you, I’d use you college benefits to learn the administrative and business side of it. Any sleazy shack builder will offer you an apprenticeship’ likely not worth much.
> 
> ...


Thanks.


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