Has anyone else besides me been having a hard time finding apreciatative and well paying customers ? Discounted and short cut labor is so prevalent around here , that a craftsman goes begging . How and where can I go to get outside of this “dun yet?” market ?
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Benji
Don't know where you live but we have our fair share of tail light carpenters here in st lou. I have been in construction for 28 years and I have found the best way to cope with the guys who always under-charge and under-deliver is to stick to your guns and don't give in on pricing and definitely never quality. There have been some fairly lean years but I have always maintained a high level of quality work. I have compromised on cost at times-gotta eat and pay my bills-but for the most part have always considered myself a craftsman rather than just a guy who can half way do a job for a low price. Most home owners want the most they can get for the least amount of money-who doesn't? What you have to do is demonstrate the built in value of a job done right with none of the hassles of poor workmanship that the cut rate guys always deliver. maybe you need to court a different type of home owner; I mean one who can appreciate the effort and expense of a job well done. We go after 2 major groups: the boomers because of their mind set, and the gen x'rs because of their disposal income. Both of these groups value quality work for different reasons. The boomers carried over the thinking of their parents that a job worth doing is one worth doing well. The x'rs are highly intelligent and research their home projects thoroughly; they have a built in understanding that quality costs more and they are willing to pay for it. We have tremendous response from these 2 groups and it is what we bank our business on. Those are my thoughts. Good luck.
sully
Benji-
I don't know where you are or if you really want to move, but I was in kind of the same situation about a year and a half ago. I realized that only when I worked for the very wealthy the work was challenging and rewarding. So I packed up the fam and went on a search for the fat. Landed in Nantucket, Ma. These people don't really care about the cost, want quality work and can pay for some truely challenging stuff. Cost of living is very high but so are wages. If you sell yourself and back it up it can really work out well. Basiclly what I'm saying is find a resort community (fat) that fits your style and go there. Not only can you make a good living but can enjoy the beauty and fun that people pay big money for.
Casper
Several years ago my brother and I were painting and minor remodeling a nice older home in a very nice neighborhood. The owners left the home for 30 days so that we could work.They went to a resort area or maybe their second home in vail or whatever.They asked a neighbor to keep an eye on the house and gave her a key.
The neighbor came in after we'd been there a week or so and frantically called the owners saying the house had been trashed.What the woman saw that freaked her out was the living room which we had taken all the expensive furniture out of the room, painted the walls and ceilings, and we had left ladders, paint, tools, etc. on the floor (carpet pad) in the room. The house was not trashed. It was a typcial home under construction.
There was no damage to anything. I'm guessing the neighbor woman had probably never done any kind of home repairs and probably had never done anything in her life to even get her hands dirty.When the owners called and asked about the home being trashed,
I told my brother "Let's pack up out tools and move on" - "I don't need these kinds of headaches". "I'm not working for these kinds of people". We ended up staying and everything was fine.I envy the guys in here who work for customers possessing intelligence, common sense, and who appreciate someone working hard to do the job to the best of their ability. People who aren't asking for something for nothing..++++++++++++++++
-Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain-
It would help to have some info on your operation. Is it just you? Where are you located? What's your level of experience, as a tradesman and as a businessman? How long have you been in the community you're in? How long have you been on your own? How are you going about trying to find work? Etc. etc.
It is not easy to find the best customers. They can generally hire anyone they want and often have the experience to know that they should ask around, check references, and look at work completed. You need a reputation to attract those clients, and you need word of mouth referrals. It takes time to develop a business based on those things. Probably a few years at an absolute minimum, and really more like 5+. Taking over your Dad's business helps, but most of us don't do that.
One thing I try to keep in mind is that I'm not competing with the woodbutchers. I'm only competing with myself.
Price your work so you don't have to worry about losing money. Take your time to produce a quality product.
Run your business like a business. Call when you say are going to call, show up on time, look/act professional, and treat people with respect.
Do all of the above, and your product will sell itself. The proof is right here, on this website.
I'm just young and dumb, so what do I know.
<<One thing I try to keep in mind is that . . . I'm only competing with myself. >>An Olympic champion said the same thing recently.<<Price your work so you don't have to worry about losing money. Take your time to produce a quality product. >>Key point. We are not Burger King, and you can bet that even they do not lose a little on each job and make it up in volume.<<Run your business like a business. Call when you say are going to call, show up on time, look/act professional, and treat people with respect. >>I get jobs all the time for that reason, and the clients tell me so.<<Do all of the above, and your product will sell itself. The proof is right here, on this website. I'm just young and dumb, so what do I know.>>I'd say you know all of the important stuff.Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it. -- Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)
You've had some great advice already and I'll second what everyone's said.
I'm mostly in upscale remodeling and finish work and will add one key thing that I see over and over again with carpenters doing quality work; under promise and over deliver.
The original time of completion is written in stone for clients, even if they've completely changed the project and have agreed on an extended schedule. In the back of their minds the original completion date is still there and anything longer is just the carpenter not doing his job.
Along other lines, it's hard to catch big fish if your pond only has small ones. If you know big fish are in there then take a close look at what others are doing to consistantly get those big fish. You have, and are, doing exactly the right things in the right places to be working with your current lineup of clients.
Best wishes,
Don
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.