I figured Id throw this out in the open, see if anything happens, Im starting to move out of self employment and looking for a full time position at a stable, quality oriented company.
Most that know of me know I build everything from homes to furniture, and I have photo threads here for viewing.
I would relocate if the right oppurtunity presented itself. Im wanting out of the snow here in Michigan.
Send me a private message or reply here, Looking for Possibly Kentucky, Tennessee area, for a relocation, but wont pass up on the right place.
Thanks
Woods favorite carpenter
Replies
Best of luck, Matt. Whoever gets you will be fortunate.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Thanks for the kind words Piffin, Im going to keep on doing my own thing until something comes up. Just getting to be a large drain to me, lack of decent labor, taxes and insurance costs keep rising and the unemployment rate has driven the prices through the floor.
Id rather be apart of a good team than stand alone anymore. Woods favorite carpenter
I've tried working on other crews myself a few times in my life. Problem for me was that it is hard to find an outfit that comes up to my level so I end up dis-satisfied and on my own again. I also have much of the personality of a natural entrepreneur, so that leaves me looking for opportunity. But it was a nice 'vacation' from the pressures of running my own for a while.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Good luck Matt!!
I have recently made the same realization.
I have kept my Insurance and am being paid accordingly as a sub.
I get along great with my new "crew".
we are quality oriented and we all learn from each other.
I still do small jobs that fit in any free time I have.
I now give any leads to the guy I work with.
tough time to be looking but you are top shelf and sooner(Hopefully) or later you will find someone that appreciates that.
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"After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion"
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
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If Pasta and Antipasta meet is it the end of the Universe???
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according to statistical analysis, "for some time now, bears apparently have been going to the bathroom in the woods."
Mattt- Best of success with your search.
Piffin,...I like your words...."natural entrepreneur."
Stan
Edited 1/13/2009 7:06 am ET by StanFoster
its not a good time at the moment but I figured Id check around. With the states situation I dont see anything good in the near future, in the meantime Ill keep plugging away underr my license and insurance.
Thanks guysWoods favorite carpenter
Just wanted to jump in and say good luck. I hope you find something that works for ya.
The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well. [H.T. Leslie]
Something should pop up, but if not, im not out anything, Im still working at the moment. I thought Id ask around here see if anything presented itself. Woods favorite carpenter
I'd tell ya to c'mon down, but to be honest, I'm looking for my next meal maker myself...times are trying to say the least. I've had two pretty solid customers, pull back on the work..they are skittish and lost savings..not good.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
thats about the same here. got a few reguilars that I can stay busy with but how long it will last no one knows.
it was worth a shot, nothing ventured nothing gainedWoods favorite carpenter
good luck, Matt... we'll keep you both in our thoughtsMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I was tempted to post a similar query. I am used to traveling around working. The PipeOrgan biz was such that we built the organ in Pa. in our shop, then took it apart and went to where ever it was gonna get a home..I was in Mobile Al., Chicago, New Jersey, Pa., the Virgin Islands, Georgia, and New York..all in a few short years.
Then I made a staircase in NC, took it to Tenn for storage till the house in Ark, was ready..
But I can't leave the house much for long in winter, too much work to keep the DW animals warm..and be here for any emergencies like frozen pipes..aagghh. I hate that. Before when I was unattached, life was so much simpler.
Hang tough, something will give soon. I hope.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
BossHog,
Don't know if you remember my questions regarding gambrell roofs last year, but your recommendations were right on track and helped get the new addition off the ground. Thanks.
I vaguely remember talking to someone about gambrel roofs. But I get involved in so many threads it's hard to remember each one.Glad I could be of some help, though - That's wht I'm here for.
Genius begins great works, labor alone finishes them [Joseph Joubert]
Resized:
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
shameless self bumb =)
Woods favorite carpenter
Matt, I'm currently doing the same thing. In WNY, nobody seems to want to part with $ (understandable) so the projects that were supposed to keep us alive have dried up. I hate the thought of working for someone else but the economy and the costs on this state make it hard on us little guys. We somehow are survivors though.
Im tired of competing honestly, I do through estimates down the last nail and never need to go back for money, I lose every bid to the guys that lowball and back charge for everything when I was cheaper and easier to deal with, but by then its too late.
I can be a good asset to a company and want to be, its just too much of a load on me at the moment with me still not at 100% from my fall. Either I hang up the bags and contract or go work for someone, and Im not ready to give up bending nails yet. Ive got too much in me still.Woods favorite carpenter
Gentlemen, what looked pretty bleak when I took a work sabatical mid november has turned around every day to at least a bearable growing number of one/two day-ers. January filled up, February is looking better which should take me to March and a nice 3 wk job up the end of the driveway.
Course the two month no income is gonna take some work.
Point being, no matter how gloomy it seems, there's always a chance. I'm living on reputation now and glad I made sure it was good these past 35 yrs. Keep your head up and do what's necessary, but know you can do it.
Pity those poor bastards that know nothing but sitting around crying in their beer.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Theres nothing really moving here at all. Im out there trying but its kind of quiet. Ive got a small kitchen Im waiting on cabinets and a abathroom at the moment.
Im not going to stand around crying waiting for bad things. Im going to make something happen. even if its traveling. Woods favorite carpenter
You made it through that accident. I have no doubt you'll come up healthy, wiser, and successful after this bump in the road.
Smitty brings this up on occasion. Us older guys have been through these economic gully's several times. I used to say when asked how I made it through a deep recession-''what downturn''. This one is indeed different due to it's magnitude and probable duration.
It might take a move, and you're young and adventurous enough to pull it off. I'm so entrenched here, my best chance at weathering this is staying put.
I have real concerns with my surroundings though. Things I've gotten used to and enjoyed will probably change drastically. Hopefully the suppliers will make it. Losing those relationships would hurt big time.
On a more somber note, if it gets much colder or doesn't warm up pretty soon, I might think twice about sitting tight. I'll be hanging a drop behind the seats pretty soon.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Its been a miserable winter here, lots of snow and cold. But Ive never cared for that half of the year. Ill weather it, i plan on it. I just want something a little different Ill keep my license and insurance running, but hand the rest of the headaches off.
BTW happy new year Calvin and all you breaktimers =)Woods favorite carpenter
Likewise Matt, I'm hoping for a happier New Year for all of us.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Best wishes Matt.
I jumped ship about 4 yrs ago and went to work for the man.
Well, I'm sol once again.........I've been out all week kicking the bushes. Tuned up the resume today. Don't know what I'm gonna do with it!
I've been starting to get a day or two here and there. At least gets me out with a purpose and keeps me from totally eating up my savings.
Good for the morale too, or what's left of it.
I thought we were going somewhere finally, kinda counted on it too. Us old guys are gonna take a beating!
Im sorry to hear that eric, good luck to you my man. Its not that im running out of things here, I can stay busy, just dont want to be "in charge" anymore.
Ive never cared for the paperwork and legal part of the business and I dont sleep well at night cause I cant stop thinking about the "what ifs". Its better for me at this time to make someone some money.
Woods favorite carpenter
Wheres David Hawks and Dieselpig been? I havent seen them in a while. Woods favorite carpenter
Last I heard, DP was busy stargazing at night and framing his patootie off in the daylight. Big job. But I don't know if he is done yet ot what.
Hawkes has a Thread in the PhotoGallery "Money Pit" and so far has been going gangbusters on the place..his progress was/is amazing for a mostly one man show.
Like Cal said, these gullies can be shallow and wide or deep and narrow..I get the feeling this one is deep and wide..but that's my pessimism showing, and my wife don't work ( retired, SS) and I AM the income over her 500 a month SS. I do get her out to help on some jobs, but its all the same pot and I can't rightfully charge for her time, shes just along for moral support and clean up duty..amd call 911 if I do a Brodie..LOL
I'd say hang in there if I thought it was the right thing, but I really don't know if it is..I've not been here long enough to make a lot of headway and a few of my jobs were long term, I didn't do a lot of customers, but I did a lot of work. It'll be interesting to see how we cope, all of us.
Stay warm.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I think david jumped onto a ship for awhile to do some remodeling to it. don't know about diesel
It's not for everyone. Working for someone else certainly held it's challenges for me, especially the guy I chose to work for.
I feel like a lot of the time I spent on the patroll was in many ways a WHOLE lot easier than working for me. Tough in other ways and one of them being that I was NOT the one in charge so I had to obey the 'one'.
During that period Matt, I had and used lots of time to look back on my years in business. Spent a good bit of time with my eyes and ears wide open out in the field, in the office and right here on BT. I cannot begin to tell yoou how much I have learned in the past 4 years being OUT of business.
I too was a crappy business man, and was tired of constantly trying to sell me to people.
I know a lot better now and if the economy weren't spinning in the bowl, I would consider doing it again, only a lot differently.
We WILL get through this!
Matt,
No leads; but Tulsa building seems to be stronger than most. Reasonably nice people. Mild winters but crappy summers. Good luck.
Ya big sissy! :)
Your not far enough west to be complaining about the snow.
The temps? Yes you do get as cold or colder than here.
Good luck with your search. I have work but it is getting to the point that I can't afford to do it.
Don't know what is going to happen, but the eyes are staying wide open for future opportunities.
Ive never been a fan of the winters here, I like sunshine and we lack that for 6 months of the year.
Stay away from the hysterical society up there =) they arent alot of fun with a budgetWoods favorite carpenter
I know almost everyone on the "hysterical society".Some are some very nice people, but with no common sense.I avoid doing most jobs that require dealing with them.It is kinda fun just doing the job first then hearing them tell me I can't.
Been there done that on Monroe Street. Tore a chimney down and reshingled the roof, the guy came out screaming at me.
"get those bricks out of the dumpster! you need to rebuild that chimney!"
another line, "oh, a new front door, not sure the board is going to like that"
board members look at the pictures of the door, "we like the old door better, change them back" then handed me the picture.
I laughed and said "thats the new door, I guess its alright then."
then as I was walking out, one man said, "sir, can i ask one favor, please paint that eye sore of a house, and you'll never see us again".
That was my experience and I never seen them again. =) Woods favorite carpenter
Happened to see this paragraph in one of the local papers today. """Everybody is sitting on the fence without a whole lot of confidence in the market," said Mike Erdman, the executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Marion and Polk Counties.Home construction activity has reached a low point not seen since the 1980s, Erdman said. Workers in the building trades have few options to cope with the decline. Unlike the 1980s — when builders found work in Arizona or Texas — there's really no area in the midst of a home building boom, he said."" I lived and worked in this area since the early 70's . I always found a way to pay the bills although I got behind at times and I admit it. Hang tough , find work or work for the man, whatever it takes.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
It stinks, no doubt about it. The weather seems to make it worse, for me, for sure.
I hope you find something, but other than better weather, can't offer you much here in southern Va. Seems every other week another plant is laying off or closing all together. Real estate is dead and even tenants are paying rent late.
I agree that this looks like a bad bump in the road. You are in a good position because you are flexible and have broad experience. Hang in there, I'm sure you'll find what you need.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
Same here, michigans crutch the auto industry is disappearing. and my town supplies alot of the parts for those cars. Doesnt take long to feel the trickle down. Jim Allen called it about 2 years ago, maybe 1 year.
And he wasnt kidding, its gotten awfully scary here, the unemployment numbers in the papers arent even close to the real life numbers.
Woods favorite carpenter
Thats the same thing my uncles have been saying, this isnt the same as previous ones they have weathered, at least so far.
There were always regions that they went to, as a last resort to make money and send back home. Now, not so much.
Something will show up, it always does. I just cant be picky (which I never really am to begin with) I just am looking to take one hat off at the current time. Its more than I want to carry now.
Maybe later down the road of life Ill ache too much to hump sheets of plywood, but as of now thats the best way I sleep. Woods favorite carpenter
i am leaning towards working for some one else now too after finishing my numbers for the year and thinking back on all the work the hourly rate is too low to call self employed i have just rewritten my resume and also signed up to take the electricians apprentice test though i don't think the family can swing the 7 to 3 hours now good luck to all of us
Noah
the hourly rate is too low to call self employed
I guess we can call it "self-enslavement" now.
Bowz
Matt, are you near Toledo?
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
131 miles away from Toledo, or 2 hours and 6 minutes. so not to awfully bad if Toledo has something for me. Woods favorite carpenter
I have some work in Toledo that is easy stuff but wouldn't be worth you traveling back and forth.
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I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
something of size shows up keep me in mind. Im not ruling out staying out of town for the week coming home for weekends. Woods favorite carpenter
Matt,
Just read your thread. 2 years ago I saw this starting to happen here in southeast Iowa. My small jobs were starting to be eaten up by big builders trying to keep their guys busy.
So started to do sub work for one of them. He had 12 employees and 4 carpenter subs at the time. My primary job was trim and kitchens. Ended up going back and redoing alot of mistakes from other guys.
Now his down to his 2 son's and myself and one other carpenter sub, and the other sub is going to retire in May. I know that this seems like I have it made in the shade but I don't. The one carpenter I had to go back and fix mistakes the most was his oldest son. And he doesn't like to admit mistakes!
We have 2 houses and a small condo set to build this year so far. But weather here is not the best either. Not as cold as you guys get but cold enough to hold off digging foundations here.
And now that I have hit the 50 something mark in life it is getting harder to compete with young laid off factory workers who can hold a hammer and under cut to get even small remodel jobs.
So I will stay with builder until it gets better or older son takes over. Wishing you the best in what ever comes along.
Nailer