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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
This is just more of the war on ourselves going on here, and the thing is , we really didn't consiously set out to create another gilded age.

Not that it would help economically, but it would sure feel good if we could pitch a few of those banksters responsible in the closest volcano

~S~


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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
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It was great when people without money could still buy things but these days you have to find the people who still have some money and sell them something. They are out there.
They are generally mature people in mature communities who are not upside down on their mortgages.
This is going to be a word of mouth business more than putting out ads. The electrician who works for my wife's country club community started by doing a few odd jobs around there. This year she gave him $100,000 worth of work and a hook into a few other similar communities. You get a few customers like that and you can get by.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
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FWIW, over 25+ years, I had one (1) yellow page 1/4 page ad, for a year contract, and received squat in return!

I survived (with at least four (4) FT 'sparkies', who never missed a paycheck. Yes, I missed a few paychecks, but that's life.

Word of mouth, and as Greg said above....a few good contacts. Plus staying far away from the 'booming' resi in this state. A lot of guys abandoned the comm work to jump on the resi bandwagon; some were successful, some joined the $$$ fight and lost.

Recently the resi bust hit one EC really hard & 43 guys lost their jobs; the EC worked for one (1) major resi player (developer) and we all know what happens when all your marbles are in one bag.

Fini


John
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 165
R
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what to many dont do is sit down and write a business plan and then follow it.

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 34
CDS Offline
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My business is starting to pick up finally .
I figured out how to get busy , you plan a vacation , then the phone rings off the hook .
Seriously though , I am moving more into service calls , res and commercial . Cutting overhead , it's just me now , no employees .
I don't think being hard on the guy who is not doing well is appropriate .
I am an electrician , not a business man . Consequently , I make a living , but I don't get rich . Fortunately , in America , if I want to start a business , I don't have to pass someone elses qualification test . I just try , and succeed or fail . Thats the American way , or it used to be , before our gov began deciding who wins and loses . N844AA , good luck , you just have to decide if you will stick it out or not . All in or all out , right ?

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 165
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Originally Posted by CDS
My business is starting to pick up finally .
I figured out how to get busy , you plan a vacation , then the phone rings off the hook .
Seriously though , I am moving more into service calls , res and commercial . Cutting overhead , it's just me now , no employees .
I don't think being hard on the guy who is not doing well is appropriate .
I am an electrician , not a business man . Consequently , I make a living , but I don't get rich . Fortunately , in America , if I want to start a business , I don't have to pass someone elses qualification test . I just try , and succeed or fail . Thats the American way , or it used to be , before our gov began deciding who wins and loses . N844AA , good luck , you just have to decide if you will stick it out or not . All in or all out , right ?
If you are an electrician and not a business man you dont own a business you own a job. When someone fails at business it is always easy to blame it on government or bad economy or even the lowballers but the harsh truth is if your business fails it is squarely on you.I have seen it happen many times over the years a good economy brings the wannabe contractors out of the woodwork but just the slightest bump and the fall like dominoes.Another thing that use to be the American way was when you failed you didn't whine about it

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 34
CDS Offline
Member
I agree the responsibility is on the owner completely , I merely said being hard on him is not productive .
You sir do not know my business , or balance sheet , so please don't comment on it .
I have been in business for 8 years . It is a small business , granted , but I make a living . I've done jobs up to 250,000 , made money on most , lost on a few .
I don't think you have the right to examine his credentials and decide if he should be in business or not .
Many people writing on this thread are probably just venting , you can't really take that to mean they should not be in business .
Just saying , business is tough , have a little compassion , not trying to start a fight here .

Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,158
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Now that we have covered the inexperienced businessman, Lets try and move onto greener pastures, this thread will end up in a flaming war and that isnt what we want at ECN.Lets post ideas that will help us be better.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381
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Gentlemen/Members:

As Doug said above, let's not turn this thread into a flaming situation.

Let's try to stay within the scope of the topic, and pass on any suggestions that we may have to assist each other.



John
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
well i haven't written myself a check in over a month, and the majority of calls here are either from collection , or debt cosolodation agencies wanting to know if they can do biz for me

i'm also owed more than anytime in my tenure being a biz man, nothing like having to work for other businesses that are going down the drain

sadder still, are all the calls from apprentices with 'less than 1000 hours to go' here. I really wish i could tell them something other than hang in there

i'd go back to doing some shift work in ems at this point, but one look at me says 'over the hill' , and given there's so many younger (1/2 my age) go-getters that'll run circles around me, why bother.....

i've put together flyers , new cards, a web site with monthly suggestions (nice spam, if you will) and shaken more hands in the last year than a local politician

so yeah, any suggestions are more than welcome

~S~

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