all this talk about jobs..., long term plan for starting a shop Options

[xsboost90]

since i was a kid all i wanted to be was a business owner. My parents convinced me i wanted to be an engineer, but everyone i know that was one either didnt like it or couldnt find a good job. I took a year of industrial design and some autocad classes for mech. engineering that i need to finish. My problem is the idea of working in an office isnt what i want.

Ive always wanted to start my own shop- seems everyone does- but im not doing it unless im sure i am prepared and can be successful. I have plenty of mechanical experience, and can fabricate things like crazy, mostly whats holding me back is money and tooling. My plan is to build a nice sized garage in the next year or two and start collecting more tools and building/restoring p-cars and such. I may try to get into fabbing custom parts as well, we'll see.

My QUESTION is , should i go to work for a reputable shop first and learn the rights and wrongs , ins and outs or just jump in and learn on my own. Currently im a safety director for a health care facility, but have been a mechanic for two years and worked at a body shop for some time + learned alot from my father =bodyman for 20+ years. I may get him to come work w/ me as well...may even be interested in building street rods. Or how about this, street rods w/ porsche motors and drivetrain! There is a shop nearby that restores old bugs and buses, called metalcraft coachwerks. I always want to ask for a job there when i see the owner but, health ins 401k etc may not be an option. I think ill wait till my g/f graduates from nursing school before i make a big change. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/unsure.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/confused24.gif)