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Anyone go from career grower to non grower and not know what to do?

303hydro

senior primate of the 303 cornbread mafia
Veteran
While I do understand the point your trying to make, the whole "you can have anything in life if you want it" I don't really buy that theory.
.........................................

And like I said, I don't even know if I should try to get back to growing in the first place.

First thing first, you got to figure out what you really want and what your willing to do to get it.


It is you that controls your own destiny, no one else. If you want a job in the industry, you should get a resume and proactively send it in to one of the hundreds and hundreds of businesses in your state. You can't apply to one job on craigslist and act like you actually looked for a job man. Not only nutrient companies, but hydro stores themselves, or what about all the mmj centers??? Start networking, try to get in on a collective , a spense, a grow, whatever.....

Jsut wanna grow?? Are you single? Get a restaurant job on nights and weekends to meet girls and make extra money until you start your grow. If your not the social type try to get a manufacturing job at nights or graveyard,it just takes one bottle of fake piss.....( you might even get health insurance ) ( just get two easy jobs izza driver, telemarketing, retail, gas station, grocery store, even......)

I've lived in places where having two jobs was a way of life for 85% of the locals. You had to do it to survive, super expensive and wages the same as middle america... When you have no choice, you just do it. I think when you get a little more focused on what you want you can do the same and get past the "mental roadblocks" your going through now. You absolutely CAN have anything you want in life if your WILLING to make the sacrifice ( which is sometimes life itself or every moment of it).


Good Luck. Smile, things could be worse for all of us friend. :)
 

headiez247

shut the fuck up Donny
Veteran
First thing first, you got to figure out what you really want and what your willing to do to get it.


It is you that controls your own destiny, no one else. If you want a job in the industry, you should get a resume and proactively send it in to one of the hundreds and hundreds of businesses in your state. You can't apply to one job on craigslist and act like you actually looked for a job man. Not only nutrient companies, but hydro stores themselves, or what about all the mmj centers??? Start networking, try to get in on a collective , a spense, a grow, whatever.....

Jsut wanna grow?? Are you single? Get a restaurant job on nights and weekends to meet girls and make extra money until you start your grow. If your not the social type try to get a manufacturing job at nights or graveyard,it just takes one bottle of fake piss.....( you might even get health insurance ) ( just get two easy jobs izza driver, telemarketing, retail, gas station, grocery store, even......)

I've lived in places where having two jobs was a way of life for 85% of the locals. You had to do it to survive, super expensive and wages the same as middle america... When you have no choice, you just do it. I think when you get a little more focused on what you want you can do the same and get past the "mental roadblocks" your going through now. You absolutely CAN have anything you want in life if your WILLING to make the sacrifice ( which is sometimes life itself or every moment of it).


Good Luck. Smile, things could be worse for all of us friend. :)

Thanks for the reply man.

Regarding the job thing, I probably should of mentioned, I have been applying since pretty much right after my grow went down. Craigslist every day, (average about 20 cover letters/resumes sent per day) as well as job sites specific to entertainment field, www.entertainmentcareers.net (which I actually got a job off of a few years back) mandy.com, etc. Gotten plenty of interviews but nothing came of them. Most times I go in for an interview there are 10-20 other people interviewing for the same job. I also have my resume up on all the major resume sites.
 

headiez247

shut the fuck up Donny
Veteran
why are you not growing outdoors?

1. Don't need a new box
2. Won't get your family in trouble

That would be cool. And I would much prefer to live up in NorCal or in a more rural environment then where I'm at now, but I'm not, and I'd only do outdoor if I could live onsite and had plenty of property
 

kifmaster

Member
That would be cool. And I would much prefer to live up in NorCal or in a more rural environment then where I'm at now, but I'm not, and I'd only do outdoor if I could live onsite and had plenty of property

Not really too hard, just don't go to the super popular counties for growers, find a random off the map place with plenty of coverage and privacy, preferably gated.

People are pulling 100k a year easily like this with a lot less plants than you think.

It's the defeatist attitude that fucks you. You can't cry over spilled milk. Sunk costs are often hard for people to accept but really are irrelevant to future success. You can't undo things that have already happened you can only adapt and make better future decisions.

You don't have to be done growing, and you don't have give up on getting a job. I know plenty of guys with too many kids, massive debt, legal problems, and/or health issues, and they all make it happen. Doesn't matter how you make it happen you just have to make it happen, thinking and waiting are not profitable actions. You need to have more than just a Plan B. Look at a lot of the most financially successful people in the world and you'll see that they have their hands in a lot of different honey pots. Multiple sources of income is generally the path to wealth.

Shit i know an 18 year old who is basically homeless, bounces around friends houses on a nightly basis. He managed to find another 215 patient who would let him grow a legal amount of outdoors in his backyard in exchange for free smoke. kid was able to pull around 12# of decent od and just zoned it out to close friends and managed to make more money in one season than most of his friends with full-time jobs could. Bought a truck with a water tank and a compressor and runs a car detailing business while still doing another season of od. Kid doesn't even have a high school diploma.

At the end of the day, you need to take responsibility for you.
 

Anti

Sorcerer's Apprentice
Veteran
Get a crappy job, bro. I have one. It pays the bills. I grow for personal. Crappy job does suck. But the bills get paid and you put a little in the bank. Hell, you have a degree. There are tons of jobs out there that just want someone with "a" degree. Doesn't have to be in a related field. (I know, because I get turned down for them. No degree.)

Soon (after years of scrimping and saving) I'll be moving into my new house. I will not be in a micro-cab much longer. Crappy job? I give it another year, tops.
 
V

vonforne

EDIT: Damn, just saw how long this was lol. Whatever, I had to vent, and anyone interested in reading it and responding I'm open to all suggestions, input, invitations, insults etc.

This is my first time starting a new thread about something personal so we'll see how it goes. I'm doing it because realistically (sorta sad) the people on this forum are really the only ones who can truly relate to my situation.

I'm not looking for a solution, and honestly I don't think anyone could really provide one for me but at least I can vent a bit and see if anyone else has ever been in my boat.

About half a year ago, my best friend and grow partner of 2+ years out of absolutely nowhere compromised the project, stole $15k, and caused me to have to make the awful decision to tear down my grow, all because of a girl he fell in love with who lived across the country. I'm not going to go into details because there is really no point (I think I described it in more detail way back after it happened, in a 'partners are generally a bad idea' thread).

I still have the pics from that round in my sig. I haven't been able to get myself to delete it yet. Almost everything was in full bloom, across 8k in flower, with a full veg room of 1k.

Anyway, I sit here 6 months later and I still don't know what the fuck I'm going to do with my life. Yes like many others I have a quarter million dollar college degree, in Film/TV of all things (yes from a very good school, but yes, also completely pointless and I wish I was smart and went to Law/Business school). I'm lucky enough to be in a situation where I'm living with a family member in his home, so I don't have to get a job at Walmart in the mean time, but I still wake up every day with this feeling of emptiness knowing that I have nothing to go take care of.

What I loved about growing is every day I had so much to do, and what I did had a direct impact on how well I did. Everything was goal oriented.

What sucks is (and trust me, I have very little self esteem so I'm not trying to show off) I really am a smart guy. I have a hell of a resume and have worked for very wealthy people in the past who depended on me to make really important decisions. I'm business smart as well, but none of that shit matters when your sitting at home with no job.

At first I falsely tried to convince myself that I could get contract jobs, helping people consult on grows, sort of a GC for growers, but of course given the security involved in our industry, that just didn't work out, even in SoCal. I had two jobs but in the end it wasn't even worth the money because I didn't charge nearly enough.

Next I figured I'd try to get into the more legit aspects. I somehow landed a interview with General Hydroponics who posted an ad on craigslist of all places. I met a manager for lunch in LA who was looking for a person to rep SoCal and basically cover customer service and do lots of store visits. Sounded great to me as a starting point, but he had lots of people to interview and I didn't get a call back (even though we talked candidly about what I did, and even flashed him a little pic or 2 of what I've done). Would of been nice. They were offering around $50k, mileage reimbursement, health ins, a computer, and other perks.

Many people have asked "well why don't you just start up again?" Multiple answers to this. Besides the fact that the market price is going wayy down (and continues to) there are all the logistical reasons. I had to take out a BIG loan from an investor for that last grow, and I wasn't even done paying it off when I had to tear it down. So I had to borrow from the relative I'm living with to pay it back. I live in a nice house that I found for him (renting) and even though there are 2 spare rooms (one being my room that is empty because I refuse to let him buy me furniture for it, the other a guest room) growing here just isn't an option. For one its a rental and the particular management company are nazis. First time in my life I've ever seen someone spend literally 2 hours taking a picture of every inch of the house before we moved in.

Also the main panel is 1) outdated 2) would need to be upgraded to a 200amp 3) is mad far from the spare rooms. In addition, I could never risk my relative going through the stress of a bust. He is older, and a completely normal, nice, law abiding person, and the only relative who knows about what happened to me.

So the prospect of trying to find another investor, starting up when the market is bad, getting another house that I wouldn't be living in, etc, just doesn't seem like the smart move for me.

Anyway, I'm just curious if anyone went from a medium sized grow as their sole income, to nothing, and what the fuck you did from there.

Man after reading all that I have just one thing to say.....

Get off your ass, stop thinking of what was and get the hell going forward again.

V
 
1

187020

headiez, this may sound stoopid...but if you don't have a fitness routine try some exercise while you sort everything out

it'll give you a boost !!
 
I

Iron_Lion

If you're sitting on a $1/4 mil degree then you don't have it that bad, in fact I'd say you're better off then a few million people in the world today. <--- that should brighten your day.
 
Maybe we have different financial expectation as far as what constitutes comfortable; that is the only thing I can surmise from your story.

I just set up a 6K room and 2k veg room for under 5 grand, total. Everything was name brand and new except the cooling equipment, and I used old school ballasts. Electricity was a bitch for my first grow, too. So I worked a 9-5 for 4 months until harvest to pay for it.

You can get 4K a lb pretty easily in almost all parts of the country short Northern California. I don't understand how this is not enough to live a comfortable, fulfilling life. The prices have dropped but the game is far, far from over. I figure I can do this for another five years, at least, and live well.

I'd be on the horse for a McJob and credit cards to go as big as humanly possible in a shitty studio apartment, then progress onward.
 

headiez247

shut the fuck up Donny
Veteran
headiez, this may sound stoopid...but if you don't have a fitness routine try some exercise while you sort everything out

it'll give you a boost !!


It's funny you say that, it is exactly what I've been doing. I do 1-1.5 hours of cardio 7 days a week (which is a big deal for me cuz I'm not an athlete nor skinny).
 

headiez247

shut the fuck up Donny
Veteran
Maybe we have different financial expectation as far as what constitutes comfortable; that is the only thing I can surmise from your story.

I just set up a 6K room and 2k veg room for under 5 grand, total. Everything was name brand and new except the cooling equipment, and I used old school ballasts. Electricity was a bitch for my first grow, too. So I worked a 9-5 for 4 months until harvest to pay for it.

You can get 4K a lb pretty easily in almost all parts of the country short Northern California. I don't understand how this is not enough to live a comfortable, fulfilling life. The prices have dropped but the game is far, far from over. I figure I can do this for another five years, at least, and live well.

I'd be on the horse for a McJob and credit cards to go as big as humanly possible in a shitty studio apartment, then progress onward.

Ya I'm not sure how you were able to do that. When I had to get all the equip for the 9k I didn't have the wholesale connection that I have now, so while I didn't pay MSRP i def paid the hydro store premium.

Each situation is different as we all know. It took 3 months to find the perfect house for me. Perfect in the sense that it was one of the only houses in SoCal that I found with a semi basement. had to dig it out a lot but in the end the only way to get under the house was to go thru a trap door under the carpet in the living room. I could literally have a cop cocktail party in the house and nobody would know it was there. House was 2400 a month (+ 4,000 deposit, so right there just covered what you paid for your whole set up), I was willing to pay the premium on it for the security I felt from the crazy location of the grow. In addition if the landlord ever came by, same deal, they could walk through the whole house no problem. So increased rent, hold over time while finding it, the move itself, $2,100 a month in electricity etc, it adds up. I didn't do it on the fly, I had multiple excel spreadsheets, all planned out.

In retrospect I would certainly rather of done it cheaper, borrowed less etc but that's the past and how it went down.
 

supermanlives

Active member
Veteran
i went from 2 greenhouses ,outdoor grow and 9k inside to nothing. i am slowly getting back up there. it takes a while and i too need to upgrade me electric. it takes time but i havent needed to borrow any money and dont plan on it.
 
G

Guest 168361

whats up man...honestly going through a similar situation right now...got robbed of $20k....fuckin sucks and the thought of stopping cold turkey initally was my first reaction, but after thinking it over and realising how much i am still in debt growin again is the only option....just gotta be more careful and learn from your past mistakes. every mishap is a lesson. I'm just not gonna let this shit stop me from my passion. It is my one serious true love in life. and im not giving up that easily. also you could always grow in a state where its not so legal so prices would be higher??? maybe not the best choice but more $$$
 

One Love 731

Senior Member
Veteran
Its not how much you harvest but how many seeds you plant. Get busy planting. Life is what you make it, don't care if anybody agrees. I know I can do anything I set my mind too. The only limitations on what you can achieve are those you put on yourself. Sounds like your waiting for the perfect situation, ya don't find those, ya make'em. If everything comes undone pick up the pieces and put it back together. You don't even realize how good you got it, that's the problem plain and simple. I am so glad I've hit rock bottom, the change of perception is worth all the time I've done/lost and relationships lost. Notice the things I didn't mention? Quit making excuses and handle your business. Peace, pot and karma. One Love:ying:
 

mrheadie

Member
headiez, sometimes the best thing to do is humble yourself and go back to your roots. starting off in a tent with a 600 like who mentioned would be a good start. we all love our free/lazy time (craven), but as life throws you curveballs, you need to adjust your swing. i went from doing lotsa dirt and having lotsa money to getting popped running 100 elbows and having my world turned upsidedown. after settling thing with the fam and getting a job i moved back in with my mother for 6 years, working in construction most of the time and saving all the dough i could. i still kept mothers of the blue haze and ww i had in a 14"x26"x36" for 3 of those years (as soon as i was off probation) and ran strickly outdoor. after 6 years of saving and finding a steady decent job, i bought my own house, numerous toys, and my vehicle is paid off. live has many ups and downs and you have to keep your head up when its down, and enjoy it to the fullest when its up. even though i hate my job and having to wake up everyday to deal with jagoffs, i still take pride in what i've done in the last 10 years when everyone basically labled me a worthless criminal. keep ur head up and dont think of excuses of why not to grow, think of reasons to do what you loved and took pride in!
peace and pot
 

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