Might Be Looking For a Change

I have heard there is a dearth of contractors on the gulf islands, especially Salt Spring. My Aunt lives there and has had a hard time finding qualified and trustworthy contractors, so most of them commute from Victoria. I actually ended up doing some metal work on someone’s gate out there last year because they couldn’t find anyone to get it done. Nobody can afford to live there, and a lot of places out there need work due to the days of sketchy builds and minimal permitting, which are gone. I’m sure there are people on this forum who can speak more about the viability of this, but I bet a guy could make a decent living as a handyman out there. If you’re commuting from off-island, people are willing or have no choice but to pay your travel time/expenses. My cousin was doing electrical work for a buddy for a while and said it was pretty profitable.
It takes a lot to establish yourself. You still need to get your name out there somehow. Once you're in, for sure there's a viable business there. But most people like to kick tires or reply with "$75 per hour?! I could do this myself, I just don't have the time". Carpentry is a lot different than electrical or plumbing.
 
It takes a lot to establish yourself. You still need to get your name out there somehow. Once you're in, for sure there's a viable business there. But most people like to kick tires or reply with "$75 per hour?! I could do this myself, I just don't have the time". Carpentry is a lot different than electrical or plumbing.
Very fair, carpentry probably has a lot more DIY accessibility than elec or plumbing. That being said, the local contractor she had issues with and had trouble replacing was a carpenter lol. But I get your point about the time commitment to get that set up, and then dealing with time wasters and low-ballers etc.
 
If you want to se how precarious life on SSI can be spend some time at the Vesuvius ferry terminal in the AM sometime-all those people heading over to work but who can't afford to live on SSI and they consider themselves lucky to find a basement in Duncan.
 
If you want to se how precarious life on SSI can be spend some time at the Vesuvius ferry terminal in the AM sometime-all those people heading over to work but who can't afford to live on SSI and they consider themselves lucky to find a basement in Duncan.
Yeah the housing situation there is brutal.
 
It takes a lot to establish yourself. You still need to get your name out there somehow. Once you're in, for sure there's a viable business there. But most people like to kick tires or reply with "$75 per hour?! I could do this myself, I just don't have the time". Carpentry is a lot different than electrical or plumbing.
Lots of work up north 🤗 cheaper living, better fishing, more places to go especially with your boat.
I’ve got a couple jobs ready for you as everyone so busy I can’t even get my buddies to start them right now
 
Lots of work up north 🤗 cheaper living, better fishing, more places to go especially with your boat.
I’ve got a couple jobs ready for you as everyone so busy I can’t even get my buddies to start them right now
Sounds awesome. I'm sure I'd have a blast. Not sure I'd have a wife to come home to though if I spent any more than a night or two away working. The Gulf Islands are a manageable commute. But I guess that's why half the high end builders from the city moved there. Now they're only a boat ride away from their piles and piles of money that they're making by leaving 2nd year guys to supervise their projects and billing them at $125 per hour.
 
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Yeah, gulf islands is bad market in my opinion, logistics, labour supply and no growth. I think the north and lower mainland are poised for growth especially with the new zoning. Might be some bright spots on the island but nimby counsels in some communities may still be a pain, courtenay/saanich. The cancellation of rezoning public hearings has already had a positive impact.

A friend started a business that might be worth considering, he’s done a couple mill in his first year.
 
There has to be some large home building companies that have contractors, but need one more, to rebuild the burnt homes in the Okanagan and Shuswap.
250 or so, some lakefront big buck places
 
There has to be some large home building companies that have contractors, but need one more, to rebuild the burnt homes in the Okanagan and Shuswap.
250 or so, some lakefront big buck places
I've got a buddy that lives and works out there. It's always my plan K
 
In all seriousness, what about starting a YouTube channel on the proper way to do construction tasks. It takes time and consistency to build up enough of a following to generate ad income but once you do it’s like a freight train, the money just rolls in each month. Amounts vary depending on your view count. Aka how good your videos are. My buddy did a channel on sticky notes a couple of years ago and still brings in a couple of hundred a month from those videos.
 
To give you an idea on how much money some of these YouTubers make, go to this website:


then type in the @name of the channel. It will show you rough ad revenue per month and year. Crazy what some of these people are making in some instances for nothing, like looping rain for 10 hours!

Imagine what you could do if you’re good at something.

I’m working on a fishing channel myself called fishing with irishwolf. Focuses on underwater strike footage. Takes a while to get the footage and still learning the ropes but it’s not hard to make the videos. Can help you get started if you like. Show you a few things.
 
To give you an idea on how much money some of these YouTubers make, go to this website:


then type in the @name of the channel. It will show you rough ad revenue per month and year. Crazy what some of these people are making in some instances for nothing, like looping rain for 10 hours!

Imagine what you could do if you’re good at something.

I’m working on a fishing channel myself called fishing with irishwolf. Focuses on underwater strike footage. Takes a while to get the footage and still learning the ropes but it’s not hard to make the videos. Can help you get started if you like. Show you a few things.
I appreciate that my man. It's been suggested by a few guys. I really just can't see myself investing so much time and effort into what amounts to a crapshoot at best.
 
YouTube is a labour of love unless you have the equipment, marketing experience, technical knowledge, writing skills etc. and most importantly the correct niche to launch a channel and start producing quality content that people will watch. Or have connections or cash or both to be able to put a production crew together. RPM (revenue per 1000 views) depends on the category of videos you create as well, some niches like finance pay a lot better. There's a lot of survivor bias at play there with channels that blow up. Tons and tons that don't make it, or have a middling amount of subscribers and income. Most YouTubers making a comfortable living have been absolutely grinding away creating quality content for years before YouTube becomes their primary source of income. Having worked in production for over a decade, I have often considered it, since I have or know people who have the skills listed above, but ultimately I'm not that passionate about creating content, nor I am willing to spend all of my free time doing it. There is a TON of work that goes into making a video, and the competion and production values on YouTube are at all time highs. Unless you're passionate about making videos, or have money and a crew to execute your vision, I wouldn't recommend anyone try to do it with the goal of financial success in mind. Might as well just buy lotto tickets lol. Look at guys like FishingWithRod, who have been making excellent fishing content for a very long time. I doubt he's getting rich off 75k subs.
 
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YouTube is a labour of love unless you have the equipment, marketing experience, technical knowledge, writing skills etc. and most importantly the correct niche to launch a channel and start producing quality content that people will watch. Or have connections or cash or both to be able to put a production crew together. RPM (revenue per 1000 views) depends on the category of videos you create as well, some niches like finance pay a lot better. There's a lot of survivor bias at play there with channels that blow up. Tons and tons that don't make it, or have a middling amount of subscribers and income. Most YouTubers making a comfortable income have been absolutely grinding away creating quality content for years before YouTube becomes their primary source of income. Having worked in production for over a decade, I have often considered it, since I have or know people who have the skills listed about, but ultimately I'm not that passionate about creating content, nor I am willing to spend all of my free time doing it. There is a TON of work that goes into making a video, and the competion and production values on YouTube are at all time highs. Unless you're passionate about making videos, or have money and a crew to execute your vision, I wouldn't recommend anyone try to do it with the goal of financial success in mind. Might as well just buy lotto tickets lol. Look at guys like FishingWithRod, who have been making excellent fishing content for a very long time. I doubt he's getting rich off 75k subs.
There’s a bit of a science to understanding how the YouTube ranking algorithms work. If you figure that out then you have a better chance. For me, I’m in a somewhat similar tangent to @Rain City. Been at my tech job for 25+ years, been thrown under the bus a couple of times due to politics within the company. So I’m done, need a change. But they have me by the golden balls. Hard to move
to copper balls with less responsibility. And if I try and make a lateral or higher move the money may be the same possibly better but the responsibility and duties goes up 10fold to my current role. I’d never get out fishin if that were the case. So instead I’m trying to branch out, try for alternate revenue streams that on their own may not supplement a full income, but would help keep my sanity and perhaps fund my dream of owning a silverstreak one day.
 
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