For those of you with your own prosperous business….I’m looking for a little reassurance here. If my situation calls for a wake up call, then give me that instead. Here’s the scoop:
Went into business for myself just about a year ago. Today is Friday and it is the end of my first week without any work. I feel I have made good use of the week by not just sitting around on my azz though. I spent the week aggressively making “cold calls”, estimating jobs, and writing up sharp looking proposals and hand delivering them. Got my office in good order and tied up some other loose ends that I had been trying to find the time to do (shop for office supplies, outfit the new trailer, register and insure the trailer etc)
I’m starting to feel a little down about not working this week. Maybe a little guilty too as the new wife gets up and goes to work every morning. I’ve got a nice full week lined up for next week. A good $16,800 frame which starts in four weeks is lined up. A smaller garage frame (10,500) is on the horizon for June-ish. I’ve got hand delivered bids out on the following:
1. a smallish board, mud, and tape garage job at $4000
2. a siding, replacement window, and trim package at $22,000
3. a deck “facelift” at $7500
4. a new deck job out at $12,800
But those are just proposals, nothing for sure yet.
I’ve got a meeting scheduled for tomorrow to look at another deck and frenchdoor installation and another repeat customer wants a possible kitchen gut (around $28,000) that is still in the design/proposal stage.
Company bank account is down to about $4,000 and I just dropped 5G on a trailer. My only helper has currently been subbed out to a buddy who is building his own house. It’s a good situation for all and everyone is happy with that deal so I’m not worried about losing my only real employee.
Is this about where I should be? Is this normal for a newly established company? What else can I be doing to help my business? I’ve had offers to work on various jobs for people as “day” work. If I have to I’ll take it….I’m not too proud to feed my family. But I refuse (right now anyway) to low bid a job out of panic just for the sake of having some place to go in the morning.
I’m starting to feel like a slacker. This is the first time in about 10 years that I haven’t had a place to go to in the morning and haven’t been booked solid for at least two months out. Am I on track, or starting to slip? Two weeks ago it was about 50 degrees and everyone seemed to want work. We got a snow storm this week and everyone seems to have clammed up. Is this to be expected?
Replies
Don't really have any intelligent advice to offer.
Just wanted to say hang in there - I hope everything works out O.K.
Q: What's the difference between a blonde and an ironing board?
A: It's often difficult to open the legs of an ironing board.
Thanks Boss....'preciate it.
Boss,
Where do you get those tag lines? That one with the blond & the ironing board was a hoot.
Scott
I have a large collection of them to draw from. Get 'em from a lot of sources.
I try to rotate them so they're only repeated occasionally.
Like blonde jokes? Here's another one for ya:Q: What's the quickest way to get into a blonde's pants?A: Pick them up off the floor.
deisel.... 30 years and it's still the same for me.. weather , competition, owners.. financing... there is always something that can knock a hole in your schedule..
i'm trying to fill a 3 week hole myself....
i laid off one guy and told him to collect.. i'm hoping it will be one week..
we have three contracts at the 95% level... two of them need outside work... our spring work needs a foundation...our inside work is finishing up..
the two baths i want to start are not under contract and the owners are in florida for two weeks... go figger
there are two solutions... over book or try a page from Shazlett..
the only guy i know who has solved this problem is Shazlett... he does roofing and he structures his work so he only does something like 700 - 900 production hours to pay for 365 days of living... cool huh ?
is this normal ?.... i went three years without a layoff.. based on past experience.. THAT is not normal... just lucky...
the one thing i always caution is don't panic (yet ).. and don't take any jobs at cost just to keep going.. better to stay home and watch the ncaa thantake a job and lose money
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Well that helps I guess. My old boss ALWAYS had work....but never made any money. I just don't want to fall into that trap. When I turned on "Dr. Phil" today I felt pretty low.....sort of hit a bottom of sorts! I gotta get out of the office and DO something....anything. Think I'll go build more shelves in the new trailer and hope that phone rings. Thanks Mike. At least JLC-LIVE is right around the corner huh?
jlc...one week from today.. we'll start with breakfast at CrackerBarrel..
sure is a bummer with this weather...Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Trade? Can you see my place in pic 05???Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Enjoy it, you've earned some time off. Remember, work to live, dont live to work!
Make friends with your distributor/suppliers and a couple of high end builders, you'll never be hungry.
NEVER low bid out, breaking even is loosing money. If you sell a break even job, you'd be better off staying home.
Good luck!
I think you're ok on track.
An ethic I've picked up my years in the trades: don't under any circumstances overcommit. Take the risk of swinging your richard rather than fall down on a job. And the way to do that is to get a premium in the marketplace, not lowball to bring work in. That's a path to failure.
My observation is that people that lowball and overcommit have terminal issues with being cut off / COD at suppliers, can't make payroll, expensive punch-out, etc. Guys that work smart tend to have their work booked out a while after getting good and established, and they can cherry pick jobs.
Right now we are very choosy about the work we're doing site development and utility wise. We have a good reputation.
remodeler
Deez,
Your first sentence and last sentence say it all:
1. You're one year new in business and you're having your first week off? You mean you worked all year during your first year?? Trump will not fire you. That's highly successful. Statistically you should have gone broke.
2. You're feeling like a slacker. You're one of those guys who's doing something productive from sunup to sundown 7 days a week, or you feel like you're underperforming. Classic.
Go get a lawn chair, set it out in the sun, get your shorts and sunglasses, put on some Frank Zappa or some Liberace or some Wagner, drink some lemonade and take a break. You're reminding me of myself with all this overproductive zeal, and lemme tell ya' it's hard to be me.
Keep at it. Today and yesterday are downtime for me, so I'm making the most of it, catching up on the estimates and paperwork, invoices, and cleaning up shop. I will probably put in more time these two days just trying to keep busy than I would have if I was working on a job.
Remember, the good times (good money) makes up for the slow times. Budget accordingly.
From here you look like one hell of a success story. Listen to Mike, kick back and watch March Madness.
As soon as you relax and WANT to stay home to watch basketball, the phone will probably ring. It will ring soon enough at any rate.
When you're back to work, remember to try and build up a reserve of cash to carry you over the dry spells, then you can enjoy them more when they come.
Rich Beckman
Practicing some of what I preach (reserve of cash???!! LOL!)
Another day, another tool.
The nature of the beast. the work comes and goes . I get real busy all year and sometime around Feb. it just slows down some years it doesnt , some years it stays steady enough to keep the money flowing . this year has been O.K. but the last 4 weeks have been slow week 1 , had 3days work. week two 4days, last week 3days this week 0 work . but even though its been slow its been good iove gotten much needed work around the house done , like crown molding , an entertainment cabinet for DVD , TV VCR old records turntable, built , finaly put an ad in paper yesterday and got a call today for maybe a weeks worth of work starting monday. Tile repair, trim, prune trees outback , a few other small things , fun stuff.
keep your head up and just keep busy doing what your doing. hell go look at tools but dont buy any.
Dogboy
Dieselpig- You will have weeks like that in construction. Like others have said enjoy the time off but don't lower your price just to keep busy. Clean your garage, paint your house, make tool boxes,take your blades and have them sharpened, replace those whacked up electrical cords, lube and store your power tools, clean off that work bench so you can find something.
Sounds like you have a lot of irons in the fire. They will ALL pop soon enough, and wouldn't it be fun if you were ready when they do.
I haven't worked solid for three weeks but I am bidding and loosing lot's of bids due to the increased wood and bracket prices.............Like Mike said, you can stay home and not make any money...........
Don't worry you will be busy soon............and you hardly sound like a slacker.........
You'll be in my prayers...........
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
Edited 3/19/2004 6:22 pm ET by Pro-Dek
Bob, I appreciate your support and the support of everyone else who responded. I have alot of respect for many of the guys who frequent Breaktime and it's comforting to hear that it happens to all of us at one time or another. March is tough....winter (indoor) work is wrapped up or dried up, and nobody seems ready to commit to anything outside yet. It's supposed to hit 50 degrees by Wednesday....maybe that will get the phone ringing huh? Glad I didn' t completely blow my wad ($) when things were rolling....came pretty close though with this trailer :)
Again, I appreciate everyone sharing their experience....it helps to hear it.
Turn off Dr Phil.
That crap will rot your brain.
You made it through the first year, congratulations.
All businesses go up and down, the smaller you are the more significant it is.
There's nothing you can do to force customers to spend, just keep trying.
Don't panic until next weekend.
Joe H
just got done with another joint venture bid..
brought me back to BT.. listen.. conserving cash... nothing like paying cash for something.. like your trailer.. but at the same time... financing big capital purchases is not all bad either.. it moves expenditures closer to income...
there have been many years i never made a dime... but i did make it thru on cash flow... sometimes just surviving in this business is more than half the battle...
i buy used things with cash.. new things i look for the best fiancing deal so i can keep my working capital free for payroll, early pay discounts, etc..
worst thing that can happen if you miss a payment on a capital expense.. they' take it away... but lose your working capital and you're at rock bottom...
hang on to your working capital if you can... that's been my experience anywayMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
It seems to me that you made well of your slack time, catching up on bids and quotes,even hand delivering and a little shmoozing with prospective clients. You'll most likely get some work from this week.
Don't count it as slacking, you're still taking care of biz, doing stuff you would need to take time from actual work to do anyway.
at this very moment ... I'm trying to fight my way thru finally wrapping up a project that's dragged on about twice what I thought it would ... which turned out to be a good thing .... as most of the work I had "planned on" ... was also pushed back.
As it is ... I have about a month of good work scheduled ... and the possibility of another month of some lower end stuff ... but the big siding job I bid and was assured I was gonna get .... as my buddy is the project lead and customers number one source of which subs to hire ....
Is at this moment having all the corner boards and fancy trim installed ... by the same buddy that wanted me to take the job .. as all his other work dried up.
So now the trim/siding/deck job "might" become a siding and what's left of the deck job .... or .... I might just jump into the tile install on that job.
Long story short ... after I finish up the current job ... I either have work set up till next winter ... or two solid weeks of work!
All depends who and what fall where they do .. and everythings based on everything elses timing ....
So ... why worry?
When the wife asks ... What's next ... I just say I'm not exactly sure.
She's starting to figure out how this works after about 5 yrs ....
But .... in those 5 yrs .... I've spent more time outta the house than in the house ....
and all the bills have all been paid either early or on time ....
So I've just learned to not worry.
Bank account goes up ... bank account goes down.
The goal is to have a little bit extra after each year .....
One thing that's always kept me balanced ... I know if I ever decide that things are completely shot ... which ever Fri that is ... that I can be working for someone else by the following Monday. There's always work out there for someone good.
I've even made email contact with a designer local to me ... who can't get anyone good on short notice for what sounds like fantastic jobs ... but I said I have the same problem .... I'm good .. and short notice usually won't get me either.
But even when I'm slightly over booked ... as in have a waiting list ... I still like to make those new contacts ... as ya never know when I can be available at moments notice.
Next week ... take a real week off. You just did all you biz running around work for a week ... you have work coming ... stay up late .. drink some beer ... and sleep in.
It's called ... an unplanned self employed vacation. They work great if held to a one week max.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I agree. I love unplanned vacations. When I work I work pretty hard. I am greatful for some down time between jobs. Usually I clean out my trailor, restock expendables and do a little work around my own house.
Scheduling is everything. In this business its difficult to schedule a vacation. I always seem to loose 3-4 days before a vacation and a couple of days after trying to get the ball rolling again.
DP,
yer doin fine. Wait a week and you'll be swamped.
If yer feelin guilty watchin mama go of to work then clean the house, do the shopping and make her dinner.
I ddo and I ain't ashamed of it either!
Eric
As you can see, you're not alone. You're right exactly where you should be, doing exactly the right thing. Just never comprimise your work and keep improving yourself by broadening your skills. You are networking yourself and that's great. Don't turn down the little jobs, they've gotten me through thick and thin for over 26 years now. Go to where the money is, even if it takes an extra half hour in your truck. Do pickup work, better yet do some volunteer work for the less fortunate for a day or so, that helps prioritize things real quick. You're doing fine, this is the way the business is, that's all.
DP,
I think you are in great shape. The indicators I always look for are is the phone ringing occasionally and do I have bids in the works. If those two factors are happening work is around the corner. But really you already have work going on just not at this moment.
I think you did a really smart move by subbing your guy out. That is a real benefit to be able to slow up outgo in order to conserve cash until your back at it. I told a buddy of mine recently that I think sometimes being in business is surviving until the next profitable job comes along.
Really though a week is just a great time to catch you breath and do what you are doing now, checking you strategy and getting the office/business front in order.
We have been in business 4 years now and seem to have a week or two in the summer. The one advantage I have is rental property as there is always something to do on them so I can keep us busy with that.
But the one thing I learned recently is this. We have had work the last two weeks but due to slow delivery of some windows we didn't have enough to keep us both busy. So I worked half a day and worked in the office and went out and visited customers. Drummed up 40k in business and booked all of June. Just by walking in and talking with a previous customer and being available to talk at length on the phone with another. So having time to do business seems as important as being at work. Or what we tend to think of as work.
Anyway my opinion, you are on track. Enjoy the time off. You'll pay for it later anyway. :-) Go out and by the wife some flowers and have dinner ready when she gets home. Or do what I would do, get the flowers and take her out for dinner. I hate to cook. DanT
Better to be a testy angsty fella in your own environment rather than a busy fool elsewhere, price every job for profit and do not start unless you're sure you have profit, enjoy any time off you can swing cos it wont be there all the time.
A few weeks off over a yr looks good so enjoy it
I'm just like everyone else here. There are weeks that I can't understand why I don't get a call - yes, I advertise.
I'm also spending time looking at Michael Smith's book "Markup and Profit". I hope you read it.
It opened my eyes. and Gestner's "Running a successful construction company". You need to keep educating yourself, too, about business. All these other people in the forum are a great resource, too.Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
dieselpig-----I hesitate to give ya advice here----'cause I really don't see what your complaint is. 1 week off work in your first year of business---and you are complaining?
Nahhhhh,----I think you were bragging!LOL
all I can tell you---are things I figured out for myself.
first)-----If you have to work every day, year round------your pricing is way too low,your personal expenses are too high----or both. you are not an "employee"----you are a business owner----so you have to arrange things differently.you shouldn't EVER get yourself in a situation where this weeks groceries are dependent on this weeks work .That's an employee mindset----but it is counter productive to your long range survival. It's what often keeps guys working for wages when they could do better.
second) Personally-----I learned years ago that I am not gonna do much work from mid November untill late March early April.Later----I also found out that I have a slow period of about 6 weeks mid summer( I think I could spend a month at the beach in july----and no customers would be impacted)
soooooo, after quite a few years I got a pretty firm grip on how many hours I ACTUALLY worked.( Last few years I have actually been keeping a log to track this accurately.) It became obvious that each hour I worked had better produce much MORE than 1 hours pay.
soooo,
what I do is about each December/January I sit down and look at the upcoming years expenditures----both business and personal.---2 seperate budgets. what will I spend on advertising,planned tool purchases,new trucks,phones,insurance----EVERY overhead item-----------and on the personal side things like ordinary living expenses,planned vacations,Tuition for my kids,investments, home improvements. at the end of those sessions I can make good decisions on my procing for the upcoming year.
I know how much I will need for overhead,and how much for the household, and i know historically how many hours I can expect to work. that makes it easy to figure HOW MUCH I had better be charging for EACH AND EVERY HOUR of production.
Once I found out Mathmatically what I have to charge----It quickly weeded out time wasting,non revenue producing work. I never work just to stay busy----I can't afford too. I DO concentrate on selling my services for what I KNOW I need to generate.
I am thinking you may be giving your services away at about a 40% discount.
Here is the good news-----your existing customers will generate your future referalls. soooo----if you are doing work at a certain price level----those customers are largely gonna generate similar referalls. Once you get your prices up----your customers will generate referalls to people who are prepared to pay your higher rates. so----cutting your rates to stay busyNOW---hurts you currently---and will continue to punish you for years in the future with lower profit referalls.
like Mike indicated----I only work production about 700 hours a year----so I spend more time NOT working than actually working. So when I DO work----I am very focused . I spend about 300 hours a year on overhead----those 300 hours determine the success and profitability of the 700 hours of production.
BTW----i live a very modest lifestyle----but I do have a lot of free time each year.
good luck, you are doing fine.
"Today is Friday and it is the end of my first week without any work."
Diesel,
Do you do any advertising? What is your marketing/positioning strategy?
Jon
I'm about 100 miles away from you in Southern VT. This is my second year in the area. I had people coming out of the woodwork when it was 50 degrees. In one week I had worked up enough bids to carry me through August. Everyone of them has put it on hold. I have a small 1 week job starting on 3/29. This week I worked on my house and could probably spend 2 solid months on it if it weren't for $$$$. Its been my past experience that many of these non commital bids will come to the table and then want the work completed yesterday.
Hang in there and stay away from that daytime TV stuff!
MES
mes.... one way to get beyond that is to get a scheduling deposit with your contracts...
say you have a $20,000 contract Proposal.... on your Payment schedule.. the first payment will be a $2001 payment to bind the contract and schedule the work....
no deposit... no contract... no room on YOUR schedule...it sounds more like you don't have contracts, you have open ended estimates ...
you are a Contractor first, and a builder 2d... the quid pro quo is.. they give you money.... you do the stipulated work... no money.. no contract..
people will rearrange their priorites if they want YOU to do the work...but you have to work it into the mix from the beginningMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
Thanks for the info. Makes good sense.
MES
At least you've used your time wisely. Putting the trailer together just made you more efficient and stronger for the busy times. Your sitting better then most guys, you have someone else bringing in money also.
One thing that my boss has managed to do is set enough aside to make his payroll for a year if times get lean. Keep in mind he also has several other interests to keep his guys occupied during slow times, so it's not like we're sitting around. ( He doesn't like laying off cause guys tend to find other jobs.) But It's not a bad idea to slowly stash away your salary for rainy days. It seems to me the hard part is keeping from draining the company account while your bored.
Who Dares Wins.
I had my own business for about 10 years and have advised many others who started their own business. The first thing I ask them is "are you a salesman?". I don't care how talented you are, you have to be a salesman first. You should allocate specific time every week to sell, even when you are on jobs. Keep track of everyone you contact and develop a relationship (make friends) with them. Keep that relationship going. Call them every now and again even if you don't get a job from them. The worst thing that happens if you do this is you make a lot of friends. If your friends want what you are selling, they will buy it from you.
Since you have been in business for about a year, start calling your past customers and rebuild your relationship with them. Ask them if they have anything you can do for them or if they know of anyone who does. When you give out your business card give three. One for that person and two for them to give away. If you do it right, you will be busy all the time.
It works,
Dennis
Well sheeet! Where to begin? Again I appreciate everyone sharing their experience with me. I guess it's just the "nature of the beast" so to speak. I like getting up and going to work everyday and consider myself very lucky to be able to say that. I'll try to respond to as many comments as I can remember:
Mike Smith: Looking back, I kind of wish I had financed the trailer. I honestly thought at the time that just paying in cash was the best solution....just get it overwith you know? But financing it would have freed up some cash flow for the lean times. Also, I do require a deposit at the time of a contract signing to reserve time. This is anywhere from a coupla hundred bucks on a small job with few materials, all the way up to a 1/3 of the total contract on additons and kitchen/bath remodels.
WorkshopJon: I really don't advertise per say. The Yellow Pages in my area are FULL of contractors and handymen. Can't imagine why anyone would pick me out of the 100 or so other guys without seeing my work compared to theirs. I did just order "real estate" job signs. One for my last job, one for my current job, and one for my next job should be decent system. Word of mouth referalls have gotten me this far. Also, my best advocate is my wife! She is a waitress at an expensive restaurant in town and hands out business cards like crazy! God bless her. She's a better salesperson than I am. Would love to justify bringing her on full time someday. Gotta save up and get the truck/trailer lettered up nice though.
Shazlett....it's good to be you! I hope that someday I can structure my business the way yours is. Right now I'm struggling to find a balance between my price and staying competitive. I don't yet have the foundation of a large client base with large referalls to always charge TOP dollar. I know my overhead, I know what I NEED to make as a salary, and I know the profit margin I would like to be in. To stay competitive as a newbie I stick to my salary, stick to my overhead, and profit/markup is my variable.
Jeff Buck....you've got a good attitude about this stuff. I probably just need to relax a little more and say to myself , "hmmmmm, what would Buck do right now?" :)
Gunner....RE setting money aside. I make an honest effort to do this. I managed to get the company account ahead of everything by about $9000 this year. That's with taxes already paid for this year and bills paid up. I've got my worker's comp policy audit coming up in May, but figured I was fairly safe and went and dropped that 5G on the trailer......right before everything dried up. Gettin' nervous, but not yet panicky.
Dennis.....I wish I were a better salesman. I get too technical with customers and bore the crap out of them sometimes. I'm relatively young so I get a little shy about being all "buddy buddy" with my customers. I try to appear as professional and business like as possibe....probably to a fault. I often worry that I look too young to be seen a legit even though I'm 30. Sales are pretty much a "learn as you go" situation for me right now.
Running a business and being a good carpenter are two very different things I'm learning. It sounds like I should feel more fortunate for how lucky I have been this year. Ungrateful little bastard that I am! Seriously, I learn so much from this forum, I probably owe a chunk of what success that I have had this year to alot of you guys.
I guess the moral of the story here is that I should count my blessings and shut up, huh?
"I guess the moral of the story here is that I should count my blessings and shut up, huh?"
No, not at all.
Count your blessings that you are a participant in one of the greatest think tanks of the industry.
Not only will this group provide you with information vital to your success but will also hold your hand, wipe your butt and kick your a$$ when you most need it.
Stay the course. (Who said that)?
I want to weigh in with one final comment--have you done any outreach to the big, quality companies in your area? You may be able to sub work from them, fill holes in your schedule, and pick up the jobs that fall off their desks. There are several large established companies here and they'll sub work to me if I don't have any of my own, and are happy to do so. There's a shortage of good, skilled, conscientious carpenters in most places and busy GCs are happy to hear about someone good looking for some work.
"Jeff Buck....you've got a good attitude about this stuff. I probably just need to relax a little more and say to myself , "hmmmmm, what would Buck do right now?"
It's an easy slogan to remember. They sell the little reminder braclets every where. You've seen them I'm sure. WWJD? What Would Jeff Do? Get one and wear it, it will help.Who Dares Wins.
Ya know ...
for years I been trying to get the wife to believe that's what those meant!
She'd probably answer .. stare at it for a coupla minutes ...
then go grab a beer.
I'm gonna look into getting my cut from those reminder braclets .......
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
actually .. funny story ... company I worked for .. and my buddy was a lead carp at ... finally folded ... after a coupla years with the hand writting pretty clear on the wall ...
as we're talking about my buddy starting his own gig ... he said he's got his business plan down pat. Any time any decision arrises ... he's gonna sit back .. and think...
Just what would #### do?
And after deciding what the old company owner, ####, would do ...
He'd simple do the opposite!
Things like ... pay subs on time ... actually charge enough money to build the damn thing ..... not fight with customers so they hate ya ..... things like that.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I'd like to weigh in with the others and agree that you've had a very successful first year. A week every year to catch up on bids and do a little planning can only be good. With that being said, I feel the guilt thing when I'm not putting in 52 weeks a year, 60+ hours a week. Maybe we both need to look at therapy or medication ;-).
Been on my own about a year just like you. Have had some slack times, but always some 'company' work to do. Think of it as catching up on the overtime your company owes you for all those 60 hour weeks you've put in. My 83 year old dad, seems every weekend he calls I'm in the workshop working away, today he asked me how many working days there were in a week, and told me to slow down. God bless him. Lowballing to keep busy is not the way to go. (I keep telling myself that, slowly upping my rates as word spreads of my quailty.) Figure carpentry is like the teaching I did, takes a long time to EARN respect, but you can loose it in a minute, don't lower your standards.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
Another admitted "Type A"! Alright! Today was the first day in weeks when I could easily (evidently not!) have just farted around. But.... I went over to my site and touched up framing with a planer, did some clean up, and put in a few more elec boxes... I hate being bored.
Seriously, I'm not in the construction biz any more, but it doesn't matter what biz you're in: All self employed people long for time off, then fret when they have some!
Here's my advice (which I'm not good at following): Enjoy a bit of time off when it happens!
The self employed tend to have a tough time having time and money at the same time... usually it seems to be one or the other.
Keep doing what you're doing. You've got success written all over what you tell us here at BT about yourself! (Easier for us to see that than it is for you to see it.)
Something is what it does.
About 15 years ago I aligned myself with a good window company. They have a contractor program and feed me work from time to time. The relationship with the company has followed me from Phoenix to New England. In turn on my remodel jobs I spec. their window brand.
Also I saw a comment about advertising. Word of mouth no matter what the location has always provided the most quantity of leads and work for me. I have had good luck in the small New England villages by posting an ad at the grange or general store.
Good Luck
MES