I have mentioned that I’m taking some different direction, leaving the large ($18mil/yr) gc I work for in the next 4 weeks or so and finishing up some rental properties that dw and I own. The rental income will meet our expenses and a little savings and take about 3-4 months to complete.
I met a guy the other night at my jobsite and we had a good talk. His wife is stay at home, like mine, and runs his front-end too as far as phones and books. He’s a remodeling contractor, has good subs for drywall and roofing, and takes a lot of window and siding jobs which he does himself. He also specializes in bathroom renovations in a standard package kind of thing (costs xxx for 5 x 8 and then we can talk about extras) and does kitchen jobs.
He’s getting more leads in than he can follow up on. I think probably taking work at a lower margin than he needs to. And really wants a sales guy / extra help seeing jobs through, and I think it might make sense for us to pair up. Separate companies, set commission kind of thing.
anybody have thoughts? I need to figure out what I’m going to do in a few months. Another thought is day-trading s&p 500 futures. I like the adrenaline.
remodeler
Replies
Just a coupla thoughts ...
one ... are there really day traders out there? Didn't they all go broke ... then have to find real jobs ...
and ... this guy already has too much work ... and he wants a sales guy?
That don't make sense. Sales guy implies more work ... which he already has too much of ....
how much extra is there in a standard bath reno? Sounds like a low ball pro ...
I'd guess you'd have to pump quite a few low end baths thru the pipeline to make any commission ... or sell your soul thru some ugly bait and switch operation.
low to mid level places make their cash thru quick and tidy production. It's more quanity vs quality.
I'd say the situation would sound lots better if the guy was a custom high end bath outfitter ... with lotsa potential extras to make even more money on.
windows .. siding .. roofing ... base model baths ... and kitchens ...
that's more of a numbers game. Hit them hard ... burn thru the job ... and don't look back. All tough businesses to make money in ... lotsa low bidder competition ... hard to be agressive to make a buck while still earning a good rep.
But back to your question ...
sales ... forget the extra help part ... sales is a full time and then some job.
How much direct sales experience do you have?
Looks like you might be entering a whole new ... cut throat ... world.
Jeff
Buck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Thanks for the thoughts folks.
> are there really day traders out there?
After I reread my post, I think I sounded flippant about that Jeff. I was doing pretty good, but too uneven to depend on, trading in the past year in my spare time. It kind of filled a space for me until we got really into this renovating low-income housing thing we're doing. I've been taking a subscription to a guy who publishes a newsletter on his system for trading s&p 500 mini futures, and I've followed it for a little over a year. He misses the big moves and takes the little shaves, but pretty consistently hits 100% return in a two month period. I track it close enough to see what his system is doing and that it's working. It's a $3000 minimum to start, and covering your losses back up to that point each day if it doesn't go as planned ($3000 is margin on a $50k futures contract)
I did direct sales HVAC for about 7-8 years through my twenties to mechanical contractors, bundled equipment systems for public bid work. I don't know that I was really good at it, but I've grown since then too.
I think the problem this guy - Mike - is trying to find a way out of is what he likes doing is being a tradesman, doing his part and working with subs to coordinate the whole show. What he's spending a lot of his time doing is estimating, meeting with homeowners, doing follow-up, etc. He made the comment that he'd just as soon not have anyone know he owned the company. He's got some decent marketing in place through good rep, a local quality-service listing (customers rate service companies), yellow page ad, etc. I think he'd just as soon have someone be the face and hand him the job saying, this is what we're contracted to do... and he does a quality job getting it done... and walks to the next one, and someone else does the follow-up, generating punch list, etc., and pops in while the work's in progress to address customer concerns.
I don't want a remodeling company of my own but love the trade. It takes a long time to build a good reputation.
I'm glad to hear the comment about low-ball work and cut-throat competition. He has some formulas he likes to use for estimating jobs because they work for him, like 2.3 times the cost of a window regardless of factors. I wonder if he is on the low end of work.
Anyway he and I are having dinner in a couple of weeks. I'd appreciate any suggestions for intelligent questions on my part to ask. I'm leaving the gc one way or another. Too damned high stress. 60 hour weeks aren't enough? I average 80 a week with the remodeling stuff I do on the side and the day job. I've been at 100 for two weeks now. I value my own stuff and am being asked to put it aside.
remodeler
"but pretty consistently hits 100% return in a two month period."
Remodeler,
I'm shaking my head in disbelief. NOBODY morally and ethically makes a CONSISTENT 100% return in two months. NOBODY. And if you think so, you've been had.
Jon
It sounds like the guy needs someone to "pinch-hit". Nothing wrong with that. It might give you the flexability you need in terms of hours.
Suggestion; Take a 4 month leave of absence from your job. spend at least 6 weeks of it working with the new guy. If it does'nt work out you can go back to work and rethink your future.