I worked as a plumber for over 10 years. The company I was with got acquired by a larger one, and after a few years, they shut down the entire plumbing department, laying off around 10 workers, including me. I was faced with the choice of either finding a new job in a small(ish) town, competing with 10 other plumbers for the same position, or finally doing what I’d been thinking about for years: starting my own business.
I didn’t want to focus solely on plumbing, so now I’m essentially what you’d call a handyman. I take on a variety of home improvement projects according to my skills, and I absolutely love it. Not only is there no one telling me what to do, but the variety of jobs I get to do is immense. No two days are ever the same.
On top of that, I actually receive gratitude for the work I do. Practically all of my customers so far have been visibly satisfied with the quality of work and service they’ve received, which makes my job extremely fulfilling. I actually feel like a useful member of society now. To be honest, I’m quite surprised by the amount of positive feedback I’ve gotten. I’ve always known that I have extremely high standards for the quality of my work, but I never considered myself a particularly likable person. I might need to reconsider that as the evidence to the contrary keeps piling up.
Of course, there are downsides. I took a significant pay cut, and the long-term success of my business remains to be seen. But so far, things look promising. I’m not looking to get rich, grow my company, or hire employees, but if I can maintain my current standard of living and never have to go back to working for someone else, I can safely say this has been one of the best decisions of my life.
If the flooring is that flush on the other side, I applaud you. I did my basement floor myself to save some money and it was rough. Measured a small gap to leave some wiggle room but it's pretty fuckin bad in places.
Also if you're good at what you do (and it certainly looks like you are), word of mouth will be your lifeblood in a small town. My dad was a small business owner (2 employees eventually, after years and years of being solo) and the vast majority of his work was word of mouth and returning customers.
I just got done fixing some 2 1/4" strip hardwood flooring in a closet, and even over a run of only about 5" it got about 1/2" crooked by the time I got to the closet side wall. And that's despite (or maybe because of) weaving it in with the flooring outside the closet opening!
(Either that or my wall is crooked, which is also a possibility, LOL.)