Anybody else going out broke?

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bullheimer

Senior Member
Location
WA
i had the best winter since i started this year, and foresaw a great year.

my phone has not rung in two months. i still have the same advertising/website i always had.

the town i live in was rated the #1 place in the COUNTRY to come out of the recession the fastest.

i just missed my first mortgage payment on the first (which was three weeks ago now), still got no money, none coming in, dead phone, suppliers saying the same thing, "things have been slow".

if i am in the best place to be in the whole country, you guys must all be living in tents, or else that article was waaay wrong.

this sucks!!!! my paper ad, which used to generate two calls a week and one job a week, now says i will meet or beat any other bonafide bid by anybody. i need to try and hit the commercial properties with lighting upgrade flyers or SOMETHING! i don't know what else to do except tell my creditors SORRY! NO GOT NO MONEY!

it is pointless to bid any Bluebook plans or other blueprint posting public jobs and even anything commercial because the big guys are all bidding for wages! so i have been surviving on service calls, which is fine cause thats about all i've ever done since i started four years ago. what is going on? everybody got BP in their portfolios????? aaaaaaakkk!
 
mxslick

mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
Yep, it is really bad here. I am in the "movie capital" and my biz has stalled big time this year..I am looking into either relocating to find more work (but going back to doing concert and show sound) or just hoping that things change soon.

A lot of others in my industry and otherwise are also suffering. I have the double whammy of a HUGE load of medical bills that the VA is refusing to pay. :mad:
 
R

rodneee

Senior Member
you are not alone....seven working days left in june and the second quarter....i can already project a loss for the second quarter.....this will be our 10 th consecutive quaterly loss....and i do not see it getting better soon....i think i am broke but the accountant does not want to tell me....
 
P

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Not many people are doing real well these days. Hanging on by the skin of your teeth is about as good as it gets.

There is still some business out there though, and the survivor(s) will be those that go belly up last.

About the only people doing Ok these days are government employees. There is some pain a few places, but most government entities are still spending as much or more this year as last, while claiming they have cut their budgets to the bone.
 
zog

zog

Senior Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
My biggest problem is finding good people to hire. I would send you a bunch of work but your location is none of my business :)
 
B

bullheimer

Senior Member
Location
WA
i think you would be better off keeping YOUR location secret so i dont move there!!!!

i will leak it out in this post only, i am in mount vernon, wa
 
cowboyjwc

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
petersonra said:
Not many people are doing real well these days. Hanging on by the skin of your teeth is about as good as it gets.

There is still some business out there though, and the survivor(s) will be those that go belly up last.

About the only people doing Ok these days are government employees. There is some pain a few places, but most government entities are still spending as much or more this year as last, while claiming they have cut their budgets to the bone.
Click to expand...

Don't let the word "government employee" fool you. We laid off three people and had to take a week and a half of furlough time.
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
zog said:
My biggest problem is finding good people to hire. I would send you a bunch of work but your location is none of my business :)
Click to expand...
You know where I am, and I'm available. I can get there in about five hours. I like to think I'm good. :cool:

Everyone seems to agree that the savvy business man does better than the savvy electrician. Well, I'm the latter, looking for the former.
 
Rewire

Rewire

Senior Member
Location
Lake of the Ozarks
This is the weeding process,its painful and many will not make it through.What we have to accept is this is the recovery. The guys with good business sinse will be able to weather the storm but those that jumped in when it was easy money will fall by the way.we just lost a big EC who had several trucks a warehouse and what looked like lots of work until the bubble burst and they could not adapt.The guy started two years before me and grew to three times my sizein the last five years but they were heavy into new construction.
 
brantmacga

brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
many people closing shop or laying off around here.

we're very busy.

been trying to hire but can't find qualified help.
 
GUNNING

GUNNING

Senior Member
Location
Gainesville, Florida
Hello? Would you like to save money on your lectric bill next month??

Hello? Would you like to save money on your lectric bill next month??

Things are getting better here. Yup, still spending more than I'm taking in. The weed out process is happening and its a blood bath. The reason its getting better is because things are wearing out. I do service work. It took a couple of moths last time Bush senior left the reigns for the dollar to recover. Jr and Chaney really screwed the pooch. I have never heard so much ignorance on spending and economics, ever. Its like I am living in a fairyland where we think the Government has no business orchestrating an economic recovery. Their name is on the money.
What we are facing is a good ol fashion inflationary spiral. The people with money just don't want to go in that direction. The people in politics just don't want to get the blame. Make assets unvaluable and that leaves money, and you cant eat money. We've been had, big time.
OK what to do now.

ADVERTISE! A LOT! That should be one of the most important elements of your budget. Cold call, newspaper, internet, email spam. Use what base you have gotten to extent your work forces. Reduce rates and get on the other side of the supply demand curve (yes Keynesian was right), and sell. Its going to turn around. Momentum will make it so. In the mean time sell.:mad:
 
2

220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
Still treading water here.

Got rid of all the dead weight (labor) a year ago.

Those of us left are busy (40ish hours).

I'm hopeful but hesitant to say it's getting better.
 
zog

zog

Senior Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
Even though we are still thriving we have leanered we were sloppy and have used this recession to make oursleves better. I think economic downturns like this are the "evolution of business", making us stronger. We were fat, lazy, and stupid in this country, this will make our economy stronger.
 
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