When is enough, enough?

[Bfd/Paul]

Hi folks

When do you give up on your business? Long story short, done joinery and associated trades all my working life. 20 yrs a sub-contractor on houses, large projects, appartments etc. Markets crashed housing market followed, and found
my self competing for house/domestic type work with everyone and his brother!

Got the sign written van, the website(weebly/ipage type), done the leaflet drop , speaking to estate agents(landlords)etc. But still work is the worst i have seen it in 4 years.

Just when do you call it a day? Apologies for the" pity fest":redface: and any help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[TotallySport]

when you stop enjoying what you do, and can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Do you still enjoy it?

 

[Paul_Rosser]

You call it a day when the business no longer provides what you require from it. Be that money, lifestyle or just not having to work for someone else.

When having to compete for work in a very crowded marketplace ask what do you offer that no one else does, what sets you apart from everyone else out there? If your prices are competitive then you need something to make you stand out and give you the edge.

To give you some idea we need a house painted kinda quickly and did the usual thing of getting 3 quotes last week, the first two promised to get the quote over to us by today, the third promised us the quote by Sunday and sent me a text on Sunday morning just to say he was still waiting for his paint supplier to give him a final price and he would without fail get us the quote as promised.

Now there was nothing wrong with the first two guys, both seemed very knowledgeable, but just because the 3rd guy bothered to get the quote done quickly and kept us up to date we engaged him on Sunday without even waiting for the others.

Provided your prices are reasonable people very rarely buy based on price, they buy based on service, the person selling and lots of other reasons.

Sorry for the long post but just read an excellent book on this kinda thing called "Becoming a category of One" which I would urge any business owner to read if you want to stand out from the competition.

P.S. Have you though about keeping an eye on sites like Zoopla as they show when houses are sold and what prices are paid, then you could target your marketing at people who have just bought property as they tend to be the ones who want to decorate them.

 

[estwig]

I'm in the loft conversion, house extension business and rushed off my feet. Everyone wants more space.

Are you writing to all the planning apps published on the council website? Do it and introduce yourself.

Never mind the estate agents, bunch of muppets, local architects, designers like me, that's who you want to be talking to.

 

[Bfd/Paul]

Hi Totally Sport,

The actual job, yes. But the the constant pricing and pandering to people/customers who know what your price should be and how long it should take. And why shouldnt they, based on watching 4 episodes of" 60 minute makeover" and Houses Under The Hammer".

Presume times are hard for all you folks on UKBF and my little moan is is business transferable!

Marketing is the obvious call to arms, but i feel it is limited in my type of work and current circumstance.

Cheers

 

[estwig]

Presume times are hard for all you folks on UKBF and my little moan is is business transferable!

Marketing is the obvious call to arms, but i feel it is limited in my type of work and current circumstance.

Cheers

No times aren't hard at all, business is booming, you just have to know where to look.

Marketing is the answer, maybe not in the sense you are thinking about it.

Are you not interested in loft conversions? have you much experience of doing them?

 

[Bfd/Paul]

Thankyou Paul Rosser and estwig,

Its nice to get a input from different people and a new perspective on our own, if not that unique problems!

Paul, in the examples you gave were what i would like to think mirrored my own way of dealing with people. Quote times, promptness etc. But some still are driven by price and thats seems to be the type i,m attracting at the moment:|
Will look the book up on Amazon.

estwig, good to hear your busy. With being a "one man/van" type contractor its hard to approach customers and architects etc without a proven track record.
Yes, done loft converts, extensions for builders etc as a subbie. But none to show for myself if you get my drift.

Thanks for your time chaps and will rethink my stratergy!

 

[estwig]

Start photographing everything you do, it will surprise you how quickly a portfolio can be built up.

Get a written recommendation from every client, ask every client for a written recommendation, you'll be surprised how much people enjoy the opportunity to be helpful, if they are given half a chance.

Once you have a portfolio, you can put your prices up and stop scrabbling around with the other builders, who can't prove their worth.

Either do the above and built a solid future, or do like most tradesmen, sit by the phone and moan about the fact it doesn't ring!

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Start photographing everything you do, it will surprise you how quickly a portfolio can be built up.

Get a written recommendation from every client, ask every client for a written recommendation, you'll be surprised how much people enjoy the opportunity to be helpful, if they are given half a chance.

Once you have a portfolio, you can put your prices up and stop scrabbling around with the other builders, who can't prove their worth.

Either do the above and built a solid future, or do like most tradesmen, sit by the phone and moan about the fact it doesn't ring!

Really good advice, if you don't have one think about a facebook page with pictures and testimonials from existing clients.

A lot of people in your sector won't even use email properly, so make yourself stand out to younger potential customers who buy into social media and use it to sell your services.

 

[Talay]

No excuse these days not to have email and calls patched through to mobiles and sms with any all notification you can get.

As a small example, our phones go off at 10pm but messages come through to email and email is up 24/7/365.

New customer sends in message at 22:30 and receives a response at around 22:40. Now without asking a price, the response got the business and though not £1000s as per a loft conversion, ours is repeat services so we could easily pull 4 figures from a new client in a year.

What effort ? just using technology and a few minutes of time.

If we're really unable to reply quickly, we auto respond and we do follow up ASAP.

 

[jasion]

If you have time to complain , you also have time to do something about it..... Instead of crying about your situation publicly i would rather promote my business and tell everyone why my service is better then somebody else's.

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Hi folks

When do you give up on your business? Long story short, done joinery and associated trades all my working life. 20 yrs a sub-contractor on houses, large projects, appartments etc. Markets crashed housing market followed, and found
my self competing for house/domestic type work with everyone and his brother!

Got the sign written van, the website(weebly/ipage type), done the leaflet drop , speaking to estate agents(landlords)etc. But still work is the worst i have seen it in 4 years.

Just when do you call it a day? Apologies for the" pity fest":redface: and any help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Look at the larger versions of your business and decide what you will need to do to become like them.

Develop systems. Use technology. Stop procrastinating. Decide on your plan and follow through on it.

 

[Karllacey]

Dropped you a message matey - please feel free to give me a buzz

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Move with the work to other area's for the week, I would have thought the floods would make you one of the few occupations to benefit from others misfortune

Borrow a Caravan and try your luck in the west of the country for next few months

Offer services to insurance adjusters who sort out claims

 

[avalanche]

Im in the same business and lost all my contacts when the crash came so worked hard on my identity and marketing and increased my profits year on year since the start of the crash.
I wont lie, it has been hard work, with most days being average16 hour days for the 1st year or so
6-8hours a day 5 days a week on the tools the rest of the time on marketing, research and building systems.
I still do a lot of hours now but it is getting easier and I plan to have that worked out this year.
Marketing applies in your business, the hard bit is getting it right, dont do enough and your at the mercy of the bottom feeders.

 

[SecurityInstaller]

Not sure where abouts you are in the country but have you ever thought about working for housing associations they are always wanting tradesmen!

 

[Bespoke Woodcrafts]

I've been a time served joiner for about 12 years, as you know the industry was booming with a load of cash to be made before the crash. The work is coming back as the economy recovers a bit but it is nowhere near the happy days of the late 90's-early 2000's!
If your not having any luck doing the usual joinery jobs that every Piotor and Patryk is doing then try something else. I got out of the kitchen fitting, finishing joinery about a year ago, I'm now making children's furniture from a small industrial unit and have orders from before Christmas to after next Christmas to get through.
Don't be afraid to take it in a whole new direction because being honest, going by your posts you seem to have lost all faith in your business.
Good luck buddy

 

[MIKE-1]

If you have stopped enjoying your work and can afford to then give up.

 

[farmerswife]

yes, totally understand. There is def not loads of work around here in S Wales and what we do get offered is usually underpriced by our competitor who will do the job for zero profit inbetween those very profitable jobs he has. So many tradesmen who are a one man band and those who dont get how to price jobs - for us its a min £250 per day with machines otherwise its not worth bothering. I get fed up of taking call after call - I try to asertain what they want, when they want then my partner goes out to see the job and spends hrs pricing or getting QS involved (which costs), time is spent ringing around getting material costs and working out the problems. What we do price in is contingencies and these have to be unlike others you'll get stuffed. Have T&Cs, do thorough quotes covering our backs. Clients come back with a price thats half what we quoted but we come through recommendation and quality and thats what wins us jobs.

Its getting harder, the problem is people want jobs done but they want it for Tesco 'Value'. People want to get a highly paid job but they dont want to pay tradesmen for work. Other people are in cloud cookoo land ring up just to see how much, have no cash and no idea.

All we can do is give the impression of a quality company or are not cut price, no offers, no gimmicks, we are not the cheapest this in turn puts those dreamers off. Believe me we have nearly packed it in every week - cash in all the machines and do less and wonder if we'd make the same money.

Dont waste time getting on HAs theyll just rip you off and its hassle. You must have a USP - do something or offer something that is a cut above the rest. Personality is important you need to a repour with customers, look good, have a uniform, make you look like yr part of a bigger company, do weekend work its endless really but I know how it feels.

 

[Bfd/Paul]

I've been a time served joiner for about 12 years, as you know the industry was booming with a load of cash to be made before the crash. The work is coming back as the economy recovers a bit but it is nowhere near the happy days of the late 90's-early 2000's!
If your not having any luck doing the usual joinery jobs that every Piotor and Patryk is doing then try something else. I got out of the kitchen fitting, finishing joinery about a year ago, I'm now making children's furniture from a small industrial unit and have orders from before Christmas to after next Christmas to get through.
Don't be afraid to take it in a whole new direction because being honest, going by your posts you seem to have lost all faith in your business.
Good luck buddy

Hi BW, thanks for yours and many other responses, especially Farmers Wife who got exactly where i,m coming from.
Your boldness in seeing the future and spotting an opportunity and going with it is to be applauded.
I myself are still ticking over and still looking for another direction as is everybody else.
All the advice is welcome and very honest in its tone!. Estwig,especially!!.
One can certainly tell just by their writing who the achievers are.
Thanks again all.

 

[canbel]

Hi BW, thanks for yours and many other responses, especially Farmers Wife who got exactly where i,m coming from.
Your boldness in seeing the future and spotting an opportunity and going with it is to be applauded.
I myself are still ticking over and still looking for another direction as is everybody else.
All the advice is welcome and very honest in its tone!. Estwig,especially!!.
One can certainly tell just by their writing who the achievers are.
Thanks again all.

Hi. Sorry if this isn't the right way to do this - tried writing to him via the members part. Can anybody please put me in touch with Estwig? Just want to ask him a question.

Many thanks,

Canbel (w at pobox.com)

 

[promdressers]

To give you some idea we need a house painted kinda quickly and did the usual thing of getting 3 quotes last week, the first two promised to get the quote over to us by today, the third promised us the quote by Sunday and sent me a text on Sunday morning just to say he was still waiting for his paint supplier to give him a final price and he would without fail get us the quote as promised.

Now there was nothing wrong with the first two guys, both seemed very knowledgeable, but just because the 3rd guy bothered to get the quote done quickly and kept us up to date we engaged him on Sunday without even waiting for the others.

Frankly, that seems a little disrespectful to the other two guys. I hope you let them know that you were going to truncate the agreed timescale. As a self employed individual, it is annoying when one contacts the client with a quote, within the agreed parameters, only to be told that they have already had it sorted. Trades people ARE entitled to some down time. Most self employed tradespeople don't have the benefit of staff - and have to do the quotes and paperwork after a shift on the tools.

 

[Cloudcandy Sales]

You feel so when you are all done and fed up of your job & feel that you cannot get any more success in your life.