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One of the things that’s been pounded into my head in the last year is the importance of written goals. How many here have written goals? I have some, but they are now changing.
blue
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And besides goals, how many of you plan your tomorrow, before you retire for the night?
I haven't been faithful to that....things have to change....
blue
*Written goals, plan for tomorrow, the eintire week, month (loosely) and adjust them depending on what "fires" occur that screws them up.
*Okay Sonny, your one of the few, in our industry, writing the goals and planning your tomorrows. They've been telling us that successful people have similar habits. I'm beginning to see a pattern....Jumping in headfirst....blue
*Goals, plans? That's all fine if you know where you are going. But for some of us it's all just one long exciting ride. Trouble with goals is, you can only set your sights on what you can see now, seems pretty limiting to me. To each his own.
*Jim, when I plan, it's like starting from the bottom of a letter "V" and moving up toward the very center of that opening at the "V". But - the peripheral (sp. ?) eyes and mind takes in everything else. That allows adjusting when needed.Only about setting your sights on what you can see now? Nah. It's want you want - then! What I see now is already in the past.Try it. Makes for one hell of a journey, especially of you take a side trip once in a while.
*Blue,I know exactly what I'm gonna do tomorrow.I'm gonna go to work and see what happens.Just kidding.I do plan ahead. I've got a long term investment idea that my wife and I are moving on tomorrow. I've got jobs lined up for the future, and plans to maybe....maybe expand my shop if the marble company next door moves out. But as far as the "I'm gonna make this much money by this date or whatever by this date".....usually you're just setting yourself up to fail. Not YOU personally, but you know what I mean.Gotta be flexable or break in the wind storm.I guess the one goal I have, and I don't have to write it down, is to do the best I can to be successful in my endeavors both large and small.To quote a phrase..."Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn't".Nice suit, by the way.Ed.
*Blue, I am a BIG believer in the value of written lists.Every night I write out tommorrows "to do"list.I put a completion time on everything----for instance I know that I better have the days roof torn-off by a specific time,the trip to the lumber yard at a certain time,new customer estimate at a certain time.Then I push my self to beat the time outline.financial goals----planned retirement at age 59.I know I will need (among other things)X amount of money.Assuming a certain average return I know what specific amount I need to invest each year---and I work to beat that schedule too.Last Tuesday evening my oldest son registered for a certain school to attend in the fall----his brother will follow in a year.This is gonna cost us about 10K a year,but we are very happy cause this was a goal of my wife and myself since before the kids were even conceived.And the kids are totally on board with it----they have lived their entire lives knowing exactly where they are headed.( here is a hint---if you read Sports Illustrated,a couple of weeks ago the cover featured 17 year old basketball prodigy Lebron James----same catholic school)I find "to do" lists very comforting
*Blue, I am a list maker, planner, long term, short term doesn't matter I like to plan. Can build a project in my head a dozen time before I get there. But I do think it is, to a large degree, personality. My wife makes lists to remember. I make them like Stephen to feel reassured. Probably just a control thing. DanT
*>Goals, plans? That's all fine if you know where you are going.Ha! I can truthfully say that I've never known where I was going.....and yet I've had a very good life and am pretty content. Maybe it all has to do with being a type A or type B. I am a definite BThe wonderful part of living in this country is the fact that we are free to be whatever we want (almost) I would be miserable in a suit and love hanging out with the guys...others love the suit and hodnobbin....as long as we're honest with ourselves.....we're ALL good.
*Heres a tidbit that I have learned in the past month about written goals.Back in the seventies, a Yale graduating class was polled. They found that 3% of that class had written goals. Several decades later, they studied the results. The 3% that had written goals, had accumulated more wealth than the entire 97% combined!You can form your own conclusions...Written goals are your road map. They should include your wildest dreams, then the steps that will take you there.Write your Long term, intermediate term and short term goals now. Be specific. Then develop a plan to accomplish your goals. Stick to it. Adjust your goals as needed.When I was twenty, I had a goal for age 30. I thought about it often. I didn't know about the power of goals. I didn't have them written. I just missed my goal at thirty, but never had another set. I've been wandering on that exciting journey since then. I've missed the boat for 18 years.Here's my new goals.100k income, without carpentry by Jan 2003.Double income every year for next three years.Jan 2006 reach one million year mark.Can I do it? Yes I can. If others have done it, then I can too. If you think you can, you have a shot at it. If you think you can't, your prediction will come true...guaranteed.Now, to get that daily list thing fixed....blue
*Jim, I used to think the same thing. I hated suits. Now I love them. I call it my costume. I'm really a low life carpenter hiding behind my clothes....acting like I deserve a million or so...Clothes will never make a man, they are just another tool in the bag.blue
*Blue, The following is strickly an opinion. While I appreciate anyone who strives for self improvement financial or otherwise, you seem to feel that in your past business life you were a lessor than. Look just because you didn't own a nice suit sure doesn't make you a "low life carpenter" any more than owning one makes you succesful. I have a friend that is worth several million all done in real estate that I have never seen in anything other than kaki work pants and a flannel shirt. (nice truck though) I just hate to have you feel that you were or were not something before that will or will not be in the future. If you truly like yourself today then you have to realize you wouldn't be who you are without having gone through the things you have to get here. Ever read the Millionaire Next Door? If not check it out. Most folks that claim and look like a million aren't. A lot that don't are. Its all what you do with it, not what you talk about or how you appear. DanT
*Count me as a goal writer and task maker for about three years now. I sit down every year and determine where I want to go and what I want to be...than say "how do I do that?" Do I need more education, more experience, more information? And than those start becoming some of my tasks. Ain't rich yet...but I think it's helped not to be poorer.
*Dan, you stated"..............you seem to feel that in your past business life you were a lessor than."We were. It has nothing to do with clothes or character. We were "less" because we were less wise, and had acquired less knowledge. That's why, as we experience more in life, goals and asperations may change.And for some, with a life change they gain more self confidence, yet for others, less. Like I mentioned several weeks ago in a different thread, quoting Zig Ziglar: "Attitude determines altitude." That occurs any time throught out lives.
*Actually Daniel T, I am one of the more successful carpenter contractors out there, depending on the criteria that you'd like to asess me by. I just have determined that carpentry is not going to be my business vehichle. I've decided that after a lifetime of effort, a lifetime of experience and seeing many lifetimes of my fellow contractors pass before me. I see where they were, and see where they end up. I'm choosing something different, especially since the opportunities to make significant income in carpentry contracting are shrinking, rathter than expanding. It's not the clothes, and it never will be. I'll be walking out of here in few minutes. I have to choose my carpenty costume or my making money costume....guess which one I'm more interested in.....blue
*Sonny, I understand what you are saying. What I am saying is Blue seems to continually beat himself up over past errors or decisions. I just read the post on Builders Association. He stated "to bad I was to stupid to join in my younger years". I am saying there is little point in viewing your past as a total negative. I think it can result in lowering your self esteem and outlook including how you view tommorow. I mean I didn't get my head out of my butt till 28 and made no real financial ground until about 35. Youth, inexperience, wrong profession, wrong view point etc. etc. etc. But again I say I wouldn't be who I am today without being who I have been and I am sure not going to beat myself up everyday with negative feelings toward my old professions or habits. Blue I think what you are doing is great. I just don't understand the negative view of what got you to this point. Glad you have found a new interest and direction. Glad you are driving for the future. Glad you have the background to help you see which way to go. DanT
*Dniel I understand what you're saying. I think Blue is just admittint to himself miskates made in his younger years, not beating himself, unless I'm wrong. We all review our past mistakes with the "Wish I'd ..........." But for me, I try not to say "Wish I'd ............. becasue there are too many "Glad I did.............."Heck, even when I went under ;in '81, sure Barb said I went itnto depression for a while, but if I had to loose everything to learn someting important, glad I did it then and not at 60. And I'm not one of those who think: "If I had half a brain it never would have happened at all."So, in '81 I had a third of a brain and now I have a whole one. How's that for a positive attitude?I live for what I have, am, and can become.
*Interesting thread Blue:To add a little to S. Lykos post.....I have on occasion wished that I had not farmed for 15 years, and built stairways instead. But it took me 15 years doing something that I didnt care for to cause me to follow my passion. So instead of thinking that my 15 years of farming was a total waste....I now am very content on how that has focused me. Blue: Back to your original question.......I mentally make a list of what I need to do for the week. I tend to kick butt until I see my goals are going to be met, then slack off and cruise on till they are, then take off early as a reward. It keeps me organized and rewarded for attaining my goals.
*I have a sheet that I call my AlzTimer. Got the idea from another contractor friend about 5 years ago.I do mostly smaller jobs, sometimes 4-5 in one day, sometimes it's a 5 day job, so I set the AlzTimer for my particular type of operation.Left side is list of jobs - Condos above and Private below. To the right is another short column stating "Project" - just enough room for a couple of words to refresh my memory. Middle column says ""Do" and "Call" below it.. Last column on the right says "Time Sheet" I write down my hours per job per day. The bottom left 90% is a weekly schedule and under that it states "Week Of: - twice so I can generally put in the names of jobs for those two weeks. On the extreme right 10% is "Invoices" so I can write down those I need to invoice.This organizes me and hs been working fine for years. I just modify it if I have an employee or not, and save them each week for documentation of where and when I did each job.Anyway, if anyone else who also does small jobs and is interested, I can scan it and post it, fax it, or convert it to Word and email it.
*Sonny, how big is your AlzTimer sheet?I'd be interested in seeing it. I've always been real bad about keeping time sheets. I've just now started using a day planner out of necessity. I'm also currently using an index card file. I've got about 50 prospects or so in the pipeline and that would be impossible to deal with without the file system.I'm reaching out for any organizational tips...blue
*Dan, don't get me wrong. I'm not in a depression or anything like that about my past. I'm proud of my past and proud of many of the things I accomplished. Carpentry allowed me to raise my kids and do a lot of things with them that a corporate job wouldn't have allowed.The self-denigrating comments are just my lame attempt at humor. I like to laugh at myself for being so bullheaded and untrainable. I've reaped my rewards....Now, age has given me enough wisdom to know that I was a dumbf**k back then. Hopefully, it's not too late...blue
*BLue, it's in a 8.5 x 11 full sheet but can probably be shrunk. I also use a DayTimer that goes with me anywhere I go. Fit's into my back pocket or an inside suit jacket pocket. The DayTimer might be better for you. I get mine 12 months in advance (about $40), has a separate pull out section in it with all my names, addresses & numbers, slots for cards, etc. mIne is set up with one page per day (by hour), but they are also set up for 2 pages per day. Each Insert is for one month.www.daytimer.comThe one I use is about 3.5 x 6.75 and is called a "Senior" size. I use the cheap vinyl cover instead of the leather one.
*I use daytimer as well but I use the computerized version. It automatically carries over my to do list if I dont mark them accomplished. I then print it out on plain paper and punch holes in it. I use the flip side for sketches or estimate notes. Pretty efficient.ACT!! is designed for salespeople to keep track of contacts. I bought the silly thing but have never used it.
*peter.. i bought Act... and then Better Act...man...it was like getting a filling... and better act was like a root canal...luckily i don't need to handle the volume that Act & Better Act are set up for...
*I have written goals, stuffed in my organizer, which goes with me just about everywhere.I've been writing goals for about 15 years and not until recently did I learn that I was not writing them correctly to be effective. Which was painfully obvious because I was rarely meeting them.This is an excellent topic; maybe we should expand it onto another thread where each of us can list specific short-term goals, 1-3 months. One of the things I learned about goals that people are more inclined to work towards them when their goals are shared with other people, a sense of accountability. With Blue saying he would like to have income of 100k by 1/03 is a goal but I will guarantee that his goals are much more specific as to HOW, and those are the goals we should share. Anybody bold enough to go for it? Blue, didn't see you at the GLA meeting Monday night?Scott R.
*Scott, I didn't make the GLA meeting on Mon...I was spending some time with the most influential prospect in our small town of Otter Lake. This dynamic lady will be very successful and will be an important key to my future. One of the things that we all have to do, as we move into different aspects of our business plans is to adjust the amount of time doing the things that are important to the plan. Sometimes, this means that we will have to change our habits. Sometimes, activities that were very important last year, must be limited or eliminated. I'm developing a new circle of friends and activities and spending my time in the areas that I need to. The GlA thing just happened to be pushed back a little bit. One of the greatest things about my new endeavor is that my family endorses it. Our family is having a ball, and this business has brought us significantly closer together. We've always gotten along well, but this business has taken it to a new level.I would be very open to sharing my plans, but alas, this isn't the right forum for my specific activities and therefore I have to decline. I would be interested in finding out how the contractors in here are planning on taking their business' to the lofty levels of financial freedom. I'm certainly not closed minded about that possibilty, and would gladly follow a path that would put my contracting business back on a steam rolling path. As of right now, however, I see only the same old story that I've witnessed for the last two decades....feast or famine, price cutting by the builders, poor to low quality workers coming into the field due to relatively low wages, lack of security and poor work enviorments. I see a distinct lack of opportunity for the highest achievers and don't see anything changing soon.Keep in mind, that when I started in the trades, we made a substantially higher income than the average worker, such as a UAW auto worker. The lure of the trades was a great salary. Now, most carpenters are barely able to survive, just barely keeping their head above water, while the auto workers are basking in high wages, lucrative vacations and sick time, and enjoy the relative security of 95% pay during layoffs.If someone has a plan that will push a carpenter contracting business into a serious money making machine...let me know...please.Jumping off this stalled train....blue
*>If someone has a plan that will push a carpenter contracting business into a serious money making machine...let me know...please.Hate to say it, Blue, but you may be right about the carpenters trade. Saw an add in the paper for finish carpenters the other day for 15.00 an hour. Some 12.00.....even 11.00.........Jeesh, I used to start laborers at 10.00 (in the eighties)
*Jim, as overhead costs have skyrocketed, revenues have decreased. Houses are getting a lot more complicated, adding substantial amounts of time. The lost income had to come from somewhere. First it came out of the "excess" profit. Then, since the profit margin was thin, it had to come out of the worker's wages. Now, since wages are so low, the worker's are happy to make $20 per hour contracting!And we are in a strong market!My boogerin' partner and I just laugh as we watch crews work 6oo hours on 200 hours pay.....blue
*Jim,I bet we saw the same ad for finish carpenters $12-15/hr.(recent Beacon Journal?)But to be fair,if you have seen some of the trim work easily visible in your average " Parade of Homes" builders model $15/hour might be OVERPAID!.I ran an ad myself on Sunday and Monday. After thinking about something Andy C. Clifford said in another thread some time ago I wrote the ad as follows.Apprentice roofer/carpenter.Learn trade and business. 330-123-4567.I stopped counting responses at over 90. I am still getting calls from people looking for work and the ad hasn't run for 2 days.Probably at least 120 applicants.All this for a job that starts a $10/hour.I hired what appears to be an outstanding candidate-he was one out of 8-10 "keepers".The other 110 or so---lets just say they were a group of characters.It's a cruel world out there for lifes un-prepared
*I don't believer it! A real live actual "CONTRACTOR" actually really said:"One of the things that we all have to do, as we move into different aspects of our business plans is to adjust the amount of time doing the things that are important to the plan. Sometimes, this means that we will have to change our habits."These words should be etched in stone. I am so tired of hearing (and reading), from far to many others:1. I make enough. (Yea - peanuts)2. I love what I do for a living. That's good enough.3. Money isn't everything.4. The rest of us are "profit mongers."All rationalizations and because they don't have the b***s to tell the truth, which is that they don't know how to make money in this industry, don't want to learn, or are just too lazy.Thank you, Blue, for having a "pair" and for telling it like it is. Your status as a man just went up even higher IMO.
*>Jim,I bet we saw the same ad for finish carpenters $12-15/hr.(recent Beacon Journal?)Yep, that's where I saw it. I have a contractor friend who is paying 11.00 ...and they're pretty good. ........I think a lot of guys are looking for work right now. It's a damn shame (on them) you can go through 120 guys and only come up with 8 or 10 worthy to hire. I hired all my kids from the Manchester High wrestling team when I was building in the eighties.. They were all good. But these days thats probably the going average........
*Wow Sonny, thanks for the strong endorsement!I'm just trying to tell everyone that if they've spent a lifetime struggling to make a healthy profit, and still can't seem to get a handle on it, then maybe it's time to re-write the business plan.I'm re-writing mine...without carpentry in it!Carpentry cannont live up to the dream that I have for myself, financially speaking.blue
*Jim, I forgot you mentioned you used to hire wrestlers.the young man I hired is 22,and an athlete.Wrestled and played football both ways in High School---coaches wrestling at a local middle school----has a 2 year fire science degree from Stark Tech and wants to be a fireman.compare that to all the guys who called up and said" uhh,like dude---are you still hiring, man?"I actually felt bad that I couldn't offer a job to about 6 or 8 quality guys who applied. But I also felt embarrassed for the 100 others.Absolutely incredulous---hearing some of the things come out of their mouths.
*>said" uhh,like dude---are you still hiring, man?" .....:-)......Wonder if that's a local attitude, or everywhere in the US attitude.
*blue... don't even think about organizational stuff until you talk to me...I gotta tell you... there is only one...costs you $279 to go to a class then you still have to buy a binder and a refill kit but it will pay for itself in 30. I promise.With the mental illness I have struggled with (especially the last year or so) this system has been the only thing that has allowed me to function enough to survive... I even payed down my debts by 15K since last Oct. when I got on this system... and I have only worked halfways... hard to work with this illness... but I would have exploded without this system...Franklin Covey RULES! But you gotta follow the system... takes 30 days to get in the habit...
*Wethead, what kind of work are you now currently doing?blue
*At the moment I am focused on my plumbing and heating business. It is a good thing but as you well know there is neither residual income nor an oppurtunity to reach some goals like you have set (I have too)Name is Plumbing & Heating Solutions... how's that for a sales message right in the name?After the health issues are on a better keel (should be very soon) I will again explore other possibilities.
*That's great Wethead...stay in the hunt!I like the name too.blue