That chat with my neighbor about his side hustle hit different last night

He runs a junk removal gig on the side and told me he turned down a $3,200 job last week cause it was a hoarder house with biohazards. Said his insurance wouldn't cover it and he learned that lesson the hard way after a $900 cleanup went wrong. That got me thinking about all the crap I take on my pressure washing jobs that I probably shouldn't. Like that deck I did for $150 that had mold so bad I needed a respirator and it ate up 6 hours of my Saturday. Has anyone else turned down a paying gig cause the risk just wasn't worth it?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige_bell8110d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that is such a good point @the_cameron... I actually read something online just last week about how many small business owners take on jobs they really shouldn't. It was a whole article from a liability lawyer breaking down horror stories of people getting sued or hurt because they didn't know when to say no. Your gutter job is a perfect example, that roof slip could've ended way worse than just losing 400 bucks. I think people forget that turning down work is just as important as getting the work sometimes. Better to lose a job than lose your health or your savings on some legal mess, you know?

white.keith9d ago

The guy walked away from a $3,200 cleanup job? That's a big check to just turn down.

the_cameron10d ago

Nope, walked away from $400 gutter job. Roof was sketchy. Not worth a hospital trip.