I cannot see the wood through the trees. Please help!

[junglebarrel]

Hi all, I have been browsing this forum for a few weeks now and doing a lot of head scratching…
I am 29 and need some ideas on how to make a few changes in the direction my business path is heading.. (apologies if this is the wrong area for this thread, I am new to this!)
A bit of back ground, I started my company when I was 19, general building, maintenance works etc. We do a lot of work for local authorities and have many good contacts – overall business is doing ok and it has taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am today. I have a yard, where we have built a large semi commercial building with all amenities.. (not suitable for rental as we use some space for our existing business).
The problem – there are only so many physical working hours in the day! And the time has come to try and change direction. I wondered if anybody out there may be able to throw any ideas around for things that could be imported/ sold? Manufactured? etc as I have a great space but when it comes to ideas about what to do with it, I just fall blank!!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

 

[PDRD]

Hi,
Sorry if I have mis-read but what are you trying to do? Are you looking for suggestions for a new business direction?

You say that there are not enough hours in the day, is this because you have too much work to do? How many staff do you have?

Sorry for the Q's, just trying to build a better picture.
PDR

 

[3 MORE YEARS]

I have limited knowledge on the building industry, but you are in a service business like me. You may want to look at "what's profitable" in the building industry. Go after work that has high margins, so you get paid more for doing less work or less hours. That's one way. Another way is to scale up. Lower your labour costs and do more volume.

As I said I am no expert, but the above may help.

 

[Janusol]

Given that you have building experience, how about importing building materials from overseas? However you'd need to work out what could make you different from the competition.
Personal service? Or an ability to return excess materials? Create a loyal local group of builders by sharing some of the price discount? Immediate dispatch of materials to the site? I guess it's what would make you chose one supplier over another.

 

[paulstewart64]

PM me if you want to talk this through as I've done this many times over for business owners.

 

[Blood Lust]

Hi all, I have been browsing this forum for a few weeks now and doing a lot of head scratching…
I am 29 and need some ideas on how to make a few changes in the direction my business path is heading.. (apologies if this is the wrong area for this thread, I am new to this!)
A bit of back ground, I started my company when I was 19, general building, maintenance works etc. We do a lot of work for local authorities and have many good contacts – overall business is doing ok and it has taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am today. I have a yard, where we have built a large semi commercial building with all amenities.. (not suitable for rental as we use some space for our existing business).
The problem – there are only so many physical working hours in the day! And the time has come to try and change direction. I wondered if anybody out there may be able to throw any ideas around for things that could be imported/ sold? Manufactured? etc as I have a great space but when it comes to ideas about what to do with it, I just fall blank!!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

Instead of crossing over into a new industry why not raise your prices to reduce the demand to something more mangerable or expand your operations?

If your field is doing so well then surely thats the field to take advantage off?

 

[NicNac]

As a horse person, my suggestion would be metal, american type barns. They are just starting to take off in the UK and horse people will pay very good money fora well designed barn. A barn in essence, is just a big shell of a building. Inexpensive to put up, but people are willing to pay for the skill. There are a lot of wooden barns and companies who specialise in them, but metals barn are a new market. These barns last for 20-30 years, are much more fire retardant that wood, can be better insulated, is waterproof, etc.

If you need someone to practice on, I'd take a 10 stable barn at cost no problem

 

[NicNac]

i.e

Please excuse the typos in the above post, a 14 hour shift after 3 hours sleep last night means my brain is very dull tonight!

 

[webgeek]

The metal buildings idea is a great one, and worth checking into.

I'd also recommend, on a smaller scale, the little wooden sheds that people like to store their bikes and mowers in. Many homeowners do not have the time, skill or patience to assemble one and would snap at the chance to buy one assembled/delivered onto their property, even if it was assembled on site at the time of delivery.

Alternatively, a flat pack assembly service for furniture. It's even more scaled down than the above. Knowing someone who does that personally, they can assemble and deliver items very profitably, and make a comfortable living doing this. No staff costs, no equipment other than basic tools and implements.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Aye the horse barns look great.However they will never get past the Planning Department.
"Not in keeping with the vernacular architecture.Permission refused"

 

[Moneyman]

I would try to supply and fit something. garden sheds are good. small conservatories, green houses or small ponds and fountains.
Find some quality suppliers and then leaflet the community with a supply and fit all in price (you can have a list of extras)
You have to offer it as a done deal..slab base and all.
Do a decent job and the work will come in.

 

[junglebarrel]

Thanks for all the ideas, but i was thinking more along the lines of buy in goods/import and sell on as i have the facilities to do so. i am trying to get away from the more labour intensive work such as all out manufacturing (as my day business is labouring in its self!)... Yet i was at the Grand Designs show last week and they had some very funky garden buildings on display which i was thinking of having a crack at!

 

[Christine Hough]

Pre-fabricated garden offices which take minimal installation?

 

[10032012]

I cannot see the wood through the trees.

Shouldn't it be:-

I cannot see the trees through the wood. LOL

 

[junglebarrel]

Same difference! lol