Replies

1. 
   ken_hill | Feb 08, 2002 11:05pm | #1

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   Brian- Where I live the local homebuilders' assoc. has a referral pool for members.

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   Mike_Smith | Feb 09, 2002 02:19am | #2

   *brian, the big boys who do commercial work are on bid lists and get solicited by all kinds of agencies and companies..they are usually pre-qualified to bid.. like bond limits, licensing, etc...if you want to pursue jobs done under public bidding and /or commercial.. you should visit the architectural firms that do the design work and find out how to get on the bid lists..the same players will be doing the bids every time.. the same gc's , the same design firms... once you're in, you're in.... until you screw up and then you're out

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   Rich_ | Feb 10, 2002 04:31am | #3

   *Brian,Mike's right on. Here in CA the state puts out a periodical register of all govt. contracts. That's one source.Another source is to join the local builder's association. Get your ducks in a row and start bidding those jobs. In a very short time those players Mike mentioned will start circumventing the builder's trade sheet and start soliciting you directly through RFPs. As Mike said, once you're in, you're in.I did that for a time and was getting a huge response from agencies and GCs.

1. 
   Brian_Smith | Feb 10, 2002 05:57am | #4

   *sound's like what my contractor did. when i was in business (remodeling), i was considering mingling with interior decorators. real estate offices provided me with work, but it made me nervous working for sellers moving to the bahamas. threats of mechanics liens put the kabosh on that avenue. property management companies were to slow to pay. HOAs worked out very well for me.now there's talk in the company i am working for about making me some kind of higher up in a new construction company and i'll need to generate more work. when i was on my own, i had excellent clients with plenty of WOM referrals, so i never had to "work the system", so to speak.big help, guys.thanx,brian

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   robillard_ | Feb 10, 2002 01:31pm | #5

   *Brian, I hooked up with two high end painters. They keep me pretty busy. A decorator also throws me alot of work. she uses me and another carpenter. Whomever can "do it yesterday." Lumberyard refers also of homeowners my way too.Have not had much luck with realtors. The people who have called usually were sellers and were looking to get out cheap.

2. 
   Brian_Smith | Feb 11, 2002 09:13am | #6

   *references to lumberyards reminds me of another issue. i understand that there was a lawsuit against home depot for essentially acting as a general contractor by offering services of contractors to install their products. anyone know what came of this?brian