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Well my first year had been going pretty good right through the first week of Feb. since then I haven’t had squat. almost three weeks without work or money. I’m starting to think that if the phone doesn’t ring in the next few days I’m going to have to dip into my IRA just to survive. hopefully things will pick up in the next couple of weeks before I have to resort to such drastic measures.
Others I talk to locally are in the same boat. most of us have lost bids because of the cleints losing their jobs or similar situations. I knew this would happen but just wasn’t at it long enough to be able to save enough to ride this out to well. I’m presently working on fixing up my portfolio and rethinking my marketing strategies to try and make soemthing useful of all this down time.
How are the rest of you doing?
If things pan out within a month or so I’ll be swamped by a builder I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with but in the meantime… well, just send your charitable donations to…
Replies
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Steve: Just hang in there. I am sure it will pick up for you.
*Stan, Yeah it will, it's just frustrating in the meantime.
*Steve- Don't forget the 'building' season is coming up soon! Good luck buddy. -Ken
*You will look back on this time and wish that you had more like it. Take advantage of the down time and use it wisely (or foolishly). You won't always be able to.
*when it gets tough like this.. think of a fall back position.. the worst thing is to be tied into a contract that you underbid just to get the work..better to work by the hour for less and keep your options open ..and maintain flexibility.. the last time we went thru this .. me and my lead man went laboring for prevailing wage on a building demo of minimum housing ... three months of good wages and i lost 10 lbs around the middle...pot bellies look even worse on skinny guys... hah, hah, hah....
*Steve, Yeah, the down time was always a killer for me too. Thats when the tension got the worst. Thats why I've been trying to get the ball rolling on something I can do that is somewhat independent of having a prepaid customer like I brought up in my "Production Business" post. Of course any business needs a customer but not always a "prepaidcommitted" one. I'm considering Stan's curved moulding idea and some takeoffs from it??? Still not sure what would give the most bang for my buck and how well it would work in my area? Maybe something like that would work for you? And as a far off idea I always had but could never get going...Wouldn't it be great if you knew of several guys in your area who were one-man shows exactly like you are and could switch off being "employees" for each other depending on who got the job. Even if it meant working for real cheap for another guy one time as long as he repaid the favor when he was slow somewhere down the road. Work would still get done and everyone would make some money even if it wasn't much. After all any money is better than no money at all. Good luck, Steve!Mike
*Steve Things are starting to pick up here (metro Detroit area). I know that most of the people I talked to about getting work done are waiting for their tax return to come in. I think in the next couple of weeks things should get rolling. Hang in there in bud!!
*When I find myself in a financial bind (like now) I generally do some networking to find some part time work to supplement my regular income. (Truss designers don't make all that much) Lately I've been driving to St. Louis on weekend to help a friend who buys old houses, fixes them up, and sells them. It's not great work, but it's different from the normal routine. Even learned a couple of things. Maybe something like that would work for you? Try something out of the ordinary for a while, and wait for your normal stuff to start hopping again. Best of luck, whatever you do.
*Thanks guys, I've been on the phone lately trying to stir things up. hopefully things will get going soon. I called this morning to look into hitting my IRA. I don't have a choice right now. I've got bills that are due and no way to pay them. even if things pick up it will be a bit before I actually start to get the pay. I've got a couple of outside jobs I could do if the weather would cooperate but unfortunately it hasn't so I just sit and wait for those. unfortunately epoxy doesn't work too well when the temp's around 30 deg. crap! I have been trying to figure out a new way to find clients as well. most of the guys I know that do have any work are doing jobs that will just barely support them let alone a helper. this year I'm socking away as much as possible for the next winter so I don't have to go through this again. I'm gonna pay through the nose for hitting the IRA, between taxes and penalties.
*Steve - That is unfortunate but I guess you'll get to know the 10% penalties real well.Hopefully you will be busy soon.SJ
*upside is if things pick up and I don't have to use all I took out I can put it back and only get penalized for what I use. if things really pick up I could theoretically put it all back and never have to pay anything if I can get it back in within 60 days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I got a call earlier this evening from a guy I used to work with in engineering (sidenote he's on his forth job in about a year due to layoffs. last guy in first guy out). anyway he was approached by someone he used to work for who knows that we have done some control systems for other companies on our own. I do the engineering and fabrication and he does the programming. they want a system for some automation equipment and that will start in about two months.Just watch in a month or so I'll disappear from here because I'll be too busy between building and engineering. I ought to change my company name to "S.J.MERRETTE - Anything for a buck"like I said feast or famine. this time I'm saving enough so this time next year you won't hear me whining on the computer again.
*steve... that was you ?... i thought my cooling fan was crapping out..
*Steve, Its nice to have your engineering background as an alternative. "S. Merrette...Building and Engineering Soldier of Fortune"Mike
*Ive been here many times in my early years. Man needs a poke to lean on in bad times. Ive been caught with out a poke also.Call every body you know. Ive worked at various jobs that wasnt in my alley of training ,but it paid the bills or some of them.Window shops,factories, other trade people as well.I walked into a factory in a number of occasions and started doing maintenece for them. Then I started bidding their small work. Walked into another one one time and I was just looking for a normal job in 14 inches of snow. They made a boss out of me running the paint line. I asked a friend for a job at a plant another time and I ended up in charge of shipping. People arent out there that are self starters for hire . Your back ground would show you are and you might be supprized at the out come of a visit. Zig Zigalar said he would average a vacumn cleaner every 7 houses.So the rejection didnt bother him as he was hurrying for the seventh house.I always wondered how salesmen handled this feeling.Hence;Im trying to pump you up and make you feel a little better. hope the best for you, Tim
*ha ha ha ha ha Mike. (smart a$$) :)
*Steve, I would hate to see you dip into your IRA. Once you get into that habit soon nothing will be left. Consider your IRA money as sacred, and take a job at Mickey D's if you have to. Things have been real slow for me as well but are starting to turn around. The break I was looking for came from a source I wasn't expecting. To network as a beginning real estate investor I've been attending a few real estate investor / landlord association meetings. There are a ton of investors that buy properties to sell at a profit or keep as rentals, and all these properties need some work. However only a very small portion of investors do the work themselves. I just hooked up with one of the top investors in my area a couple weeks ago and she put me right to work, she also has generated many other leads as well.Scott R.
*Scott, I know what you mean about staying away from that but I'm about out of options for now. even if I try and get a job at McD's it would be at least a week or two before I saw a pay check and that wouldn't be enough to cover my bills anyway so I'll still be short.I'm going on 4 weeks with nothing and I am already looking at some late charges as it stands now.Everyone I have tried contacting keeps telling me that they'll have something in a few weeks or a month but that won't help me now. I have a family to feed and right now we're out of groceries as well as money.I have no one to blame for this but myself. I didn't save enough for the slow time and now I'm paying the consequences. costly lesson but if I learned from it maybe it was worth it.I did have someone contact me last night about custom contemporary railings and handrails on the house they are building. I'm working up drawings and getting material prices now and will see if that flies.Like I mentioned if things do take off in the next month I still could put back at least a portion of what I would take out and not get penalized so bad.I meet with my tax accountant on monday and will see what that looks like too. depending on the outcome of that meeting I will know better what direction I will be going.
*Break out the want ads......someone's gotta be looking to hire a carp immediately. Do you have the HandyMan connection in your area.......they'll start you that afternoon if you interview in the morning....and you'll get paid that nite. Jeff
*Good idea Jeff. The handyman post looks pretty imressive to me.Steve,do you have a dial a trade? thrifty nickel? local news paper?
*We have the merchandiser which is the freebie newspaper with ads. I've been advertising in that and am about to take a leap and andvertise in the local newspaper with some of the money I'll take out.the problem there is they want a couple hundred bucks for a microscopic ad for a few days. I've been beating the bush again and most of the builders I'm talking too say they have been having 4 - 5 subs knocking on their door every single day looking for work.I've been calling on some of my old clients too on the premise of checking to make sure everything was fine with their jobs and checking to see if they need anything else. most of them are saying that they want to do things but that the money isn't there to do it. that sucks.Everyone who does have any work is just doing little piddly jobs that barely pay the bills just to do something.as for the want ads no one is hiring right now. most of them are letting go because of this slow spell. oh well. I keep telling myself it will turn around even if I have to turn it around myself damnit.Thanks for the support and suggestions gang. I WILL make it! for those of you who don't know me personally (which is all of you) I don't give up. I may get frustrated or depressed and say some things but I will not give up. No one succeeds from quitting.
*Go get em.
*Steve,It's the nature of the beast. I'm local to you so I know the feeling.You got to get used to riding the edge a little. The work will come with you positive attitude. It is "anything for a buck" in this business. Shoot, I just looked a sandblasting and painting part of the PHEAA building in Harrisburg.At the same time you got to find your niche and keep your prices up. Don't fall into the trap of bidding jobs just to get work.The phone will ring.Bank a years living expenses and don't sweat it if you get slow. When and if you hire employees, bank three months salary for each one, consider it overhead.Don't put yourself into a position where a month off will put you in this position.Good luck.
*Thanks Tommy, all good sound advice. like I mentioned earlier, I plan on preparing a little better for the slow time next year. obviously I'm working toward not having a slow period so that would mean just that much more money sitting in the bank earning interest.BTW if you ever need an extra hand give me a call. if I remember correctly you're up in the hershey area which is definitely within my travel range about 45 minutes from me. just a thought.