ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Reaping the Harvest That I've Sowed

I was going to screw off yesterday but ended up making 3 service calls. They earned me $150. It's your's Virgil. Tell me where to send the check.
Bob

Cash flow is always the crux, it's simply gotta be there contractually, fiscally, or exist as credit.

There are those that can do amazing things with paper ( no, i'm not one of them..)

Good Credit is key to the latter, how one or one's Co, LLC, Type-S Co, Proprietorship , Consortium, etc appears to the 3 major credit beurau's is important, and it takes work to get there.

Without digressing into my own checkered fiscal past i'll just mention joining a credit reporting agency, given time and proper attention this could allow you future leverage in similar straits.

Chin up Virgil, a miracle's just around the bend

66;
The days getting paid both ways are gone as far as I know. There may still be a few that involve service calls with co. vehicles. Most pay for onsight time, and leave it up to them to get there. Depending how you bill the customer will justify what you may agree to with your help. If your not billing for travel, then your paying for your helper out of your pocket for nothing, that's a complete loss. Your helper is there to not jusy make himself money, but to widen your income as well. Lets say you bill him out on an hourly basis of I $8/hr. You should be able to bill the customer at $16/hr. I'm not sure what your rates are there, everywhere is different. But your the business owner, your putting the extra time into bidding, estimating, billing, organizing, ordering and everything else that goes into a business. If your help isn't making you the extra income, than he's just another liabilty. I would try to make the best of your time with taking advantage of your help, and making a mark up on his wages thru your customers to get in your pocket, after all, your gonna have biz ins payments, maintenance on the vehicle, biz phone, etc... Hope this helps a little.
~Ange

66wv,
You mentioned before that you had been working 25 days straight, so you obviously have some irons in the fire. It is possible that you could talk to your customers and get them to pay for the work you have done. Or at least for the materials you have installed. It is not uncommon for contractors to ask for a deposit at the start of the job. Another payment when it is half finish.

It seems you are a moral and upstanding guy. However I do not think that you should pay your helper for the travel time. If he was driving his car to the job would you pay him for that. The answer is no, you are just being a good guy and giving him a ride. You are already saving him the gas money. Also explain to him that there may be sacrafices or he will go back to sweeping leaves.

If you need it I think $10 a man here could help you out. I will send cash, I do not think that you would cash a check.
Scott

Brain fart
[This message has been edited by Scotts (edited 12-04-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Scotts (edited 12-04-2002).]

Anyone else that wants to help out this guy in his time of need here is his website with his address. http://www.kellyelectric.electrical-contractor.net/Kelly_Electric/Kelly_Electric.htm Sorry you have to cut and paste.

I would recommend sending cash, I think he is too proud to cash checks. Like I said I think $10 a man will help.

Happy Holidays to all.
Scott

Scotts, I am utterly speechless.

Dude, I gotta choke back tears here...

Man...

I don't know what to say... But:

Thank you.

Just the thought of it means a lot to me.

And you're right. I just hit the "clear fields" button on a long post explaining that I wouldn't learn a good lesson if I didn't bail myself out of this mess... I do have a lot of pride. Pride doesn't allow me to beg.

But I also cannot allow myself to insult anyone who so graciously offers.

I am very touched.

Since I obviously can't stop it now, please send a return address so I know where it came from and can someday repay you.

I can only hope that someday I'll be in a position to be as gracious and generous.

Swallowing my pride, -Virgil

God bless you, man! your wearing the same old shoes i wore for a while!.. 66, i found that one of the hardest things i had to learn to do, besides accepting help from friends, was ASKING for it! none of us here want to see you fail, or get disheartened. .....
i was offered, and finally accepted, financial help from some of the strangest places, way back "when". dont know if you have a church, or if you are even a spiritual man, but, if you are, that is a good place to go and "swallow the pride".... ....the board of deacons in my church, (most of whom were customers of mine at one time or another) unanimously voted to give me financial support, to help get me out of a "hole" very similar to yours. this was a great blessing to me, in more ways than one. this wonderful act of kindness helped me, by helping me through my immediate crisis, as well as generating more work than i could handle at the time, from good-paying fellow church members... also, the church got a pretty good "in-house electrician", working pretty much free of charge, in return, to take care of the occasional needs of the church and parsonage.
btw, my "contribution" to the cause is on its way, and dont even think about paying back. we'll meet some day....i'm sure of it... ....you can buy me a cuppa joe.........

gramps

[This message has been edited by gramps (edited 12-04-2002).]

10-4 Scott.

boy it gets me steamed when someone works as hard as you do Virgil, and would have nothing to show.

especially in light of all those who live off the system , or all the corporate welfare without a shred of shame.

by no means am i placing blame, i've said myself on this BB many times that an electrician does not a contractor make.

having proved this to myself consistently is what is,i guess, contractor 101 for me, i'll assume we've all had our 'low's' here and can share the possible rx.

Did you know that we as small biz are the backbone of the economy? well it's true, pound for pound we constitute more an entity than all the fortune 500's combined.

asends soapbox.....cue battle hyme of the republic....

While corporate America's big boys have traditionally lobbied the shorts off of legislature, we've gone unheard,the disparity of our laws in some states and situations actually work against the little guy due to this.

so here is where i stand with my counterparts @ the NFIB

bookmark it for some good reading, maybe check out "Don't Wait Until Completion to Bill for Long Projects"

dragged off by stage hook




[This message has been edited by sparky (edited 12-04-2002).]

I'm among some of the kindest people in the world. I'll be brainstorming today on what I can do for you folks in return. There's gotta be something.

Thanks.

Gotta run, more work awaits...

Good Luck, 66.
Things always work out eventually.
Hang in there!