Originally posted by "BlueStarHomes":
Well gees... you travel for work too?
OHH yea. Worldwide! Trying for work in Shanghai now! Anything to put money in my pocket or atleast to earn a free trip. I work fast and so cost effectively (cheapest materials) and so low in my labor charges that I tend to get a LOT of work. If you like chocolate, wouldnt you eat it for free? How about if someone paid you to eat it?? Thats how i feel bout rehabbing! I LOVE it!!
I have had people al the way from LA ask me to come and do their homes. Mainly,cuz I am a volume fundamentalist,not a profit collector. Low prices provide more work, more work=more done jobs or I call them "free 10-20 year ads" for others to see, and price slashing takes competition out of the game eventually, ruinous competition if you will. They wont compete with the same quality I do at anywhere near my prices, cuz its about the same or better than they provide.
I never did a job I regretted even if I lost money, because it made me money when someone else saw it and hired me later down the road.
I can relate to the business minded comment thing above. Ironically, I have 7 years of college and 2 degrees, one in management another in psych, and probably a masters equivalent experience in computers, networking, repair, building, "WHITE hat hacking," programming, 15 years 8 hours a day of non stop learning. I dont consider myself a laborer, but a businessman who makes money getting dirty and MANAGING the dirty task. I make my little bit of money because of how I market my wares, how I service the people,and how I actually KNOW how to sell and have been trained to do so. Ironic statement we were discussing the other day here at work.
Most guys go in for the one paycheck and never think about the fact REPEAT business provides cashflow. No company will make it JUST advertising in books and papers. Its a client relationship you must form,youmust be a salesman, and you must also beat down the doors to get those who can feed you business.
When I lost my REI co, I never had to find property. I had 2 lawyers pumping me full of estates, TONS of realtor's calling me before listing good properties, it was all spoon fed sweetness that I spent 3 years developing. I cant see having made it by only locating my own deals all the time. The success lied in those around me and the relationships I maintained with them.
Hell,I was too cheap to hire an accountant. id that myself. Hate math, but I did my figures and managed my books and knew EVERYTHING going on internally. I had 800k in a BLC to spend, and only I did all the work, which got quite extensive. But, no way I coulda done THAT without college.
Now, my resume is out and everyone contacting me is about upper management positions. Cant get a job though. Employers HATE hiring business owners. They are set in theirways and pick up bad habits. They must be untrained and retrained to comply with the new employer. FACT I was told by a human resources manager!
Of course, I will be poor til the house sells or I make 200k again. 100k I still face bankruptcy soon. But, I been at this new company 1.3 years and its getting up there. In REI, I began with 15k and had it to $750k in 3 years, with NO house hunting all lead feeds from clients.
Your so right above, its not what you CAN do, its how you MANAGE the ways in which it gets done! The best builder in the world with most impresive homes would never last if he did not understand the business side of it and manage his company correctly. Your number ones never last, the number 2 guys stick around but never do that well, it IS the 3's that are weathy. They're hard to find cuz they are busy and also because 95% or all contractors go belly up within a couple years!
