How's Business?

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220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
For me, it's a trick question.

Sales are down which means it's slow.

We laid off apprentices and I came back to work almost full time, so it is generally busy as hell for the 5 of us doing installations and service.
 
V

vinster888

Senior Member
Location
Nature Coast of Florida
comfortably cranking out the jobs no one wants to touch. T & M rocks. phone rings every once in a while. 2 years ago today, customers would wait a month. now they freak on us. 'Wow, i just called a couple of hours ago.' we are a small shop. 6 techs. we are currently taking this slow time to get more certifications.
 
K

Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
We are very slow here. We had to layoff 12 guys. We are down to our last
big job that finals June, we have our crew on a one week on and one week
off rotation,it's that bad. I've spent three weeks in the office doing
CAD work and estimating, trying to land some big jobs. "Big jobs" for us is 3mil
plus and the truth is, companies aren't willing to build or expand right now.
I am seeing a little improvement but it is very minor at this time.
 
Pierre C Belarge

Pierre C Belarge

Senior Member
Location
Westchester County, New York
What I am wondering about is how long guys can actually hang on with so little work.
What kind of money is going to keep the company afloat. I know of a couple of small companies that have gone out of business...the real problem they face now is they are broke and owe a ton of money.



So, the question begging to be answered really is....when is it time to close up?
 
K

Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
Pierre C Belarge said:
What I am wondering about is how long guys can actually hang on with so little work.
What kind of money is going to keep the company afloat. I know of a couple of small companies that have gone out of business...the real problem they face now is they are broke and owe a ton of money.



So, the question begging to be answered really is....when is it time to close up?
Click to expand...

Never! You never stop fighting the battle against the END of a good thing.:)
 
resistance

resistance

Senior Member
Location
WA
Pierre C Belarge said:
What I am wondering about is how long guys can actually hang on with so little work.
What kind of money is going to keep the company afloat. I know of a couple of small companies that have gone out of business...the real problem they face now is they are broke and owe a ton of money.



So, the question begging to be answered really is....when is it time to close up?
Click to expand...
It depends on the business.
-One good thing about our business: We have never carried any credit with any of our distributors. Everything is paid up-front<<<<this is a tremendous plus.

-Our worse enemy are those bills that are mandatory on a monthly basis--which includes payroll. *Payroll that goes towards paying mandatory personal bills.

-It's time to close shop, when you can't pay those mandatory bills:
A. Insurance
B. Taxes
C. Payroll
Then sometimes licensing:
1. Business--which could be a number of cities: Example: We have a business license in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue

2. a.Electrician b.Administrators c.Contractors
 
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GUNNING

GUNNING

Senior Member
Location
Gainesville, Florida
It started out like a normal year here. The week of April 15 the phone starts to ring regularly. It might end up like a nearly normal summer. Its not busy but its better than last year. The people with money are government workers and seniors. Thinking about putting in a line about senior citizen discounts in the add in the paper (they still read). Just in time for their $250 stimulus check this month.:rolleyes:
 
I

ishium 80439

Senior Member
Location
Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
I'm just a small guy running a Jman and an occaisional RW or apprentice. My year has been a bit of a roller coaster. From dead to "how are we going to get this all done" to steady and back and forth and forth and back and.....

I am currently guardedly optimistic that spring has sprung as my phone is ringing w/ a bit more regularity. I have also done some work for some new contractors that I think could turn into a good thing long term.

Wait and see.
 
E

emahler

Senior Member
Pierre C Belarge said:
Some of the contractors I know are incurring debt. How far would you keep going if you started to incur debt?
Click to expand...

that's the problem pierre....most guys think that the best thing they can do is never give up...no matter how much damage it does to them...

personally, I think you have to be realistic and should give up when you have enough money left to do something else....
 
Rewire

Rewire

Senior Member
Location
Lake of the Ozarks
All the contractors who wanted their guys to supply all their own tools and truck are now finding these guys competing against them for a limited amount of work.
 
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