I got my c-10 licensed in 04.I would try and work for my self but i could'nt stay busy enuff.So i would just work for somebody else.Well i'm trying again been doing it since 06.It's just me doing everything with no help.I want to hire somebody but i think why would somebody want to work for a one man operation.So i guess my question or questions is 1.Should i dump a bunch of money in ads first then hire?2.Should i get quickbooks to do all the payroll stuff or just pay a bookkeeper?3.I have money to put back into my business what is the best way to use this money.I do mostly resi. with some light commerical here and there.Any advice to help somebody just starting would be greatly appreciated.
my business is stuck on the ground
- Thread starter zappy
- Start date
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jrannis
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Lauderdale/ Miami
zappy said:
You are going to find lots of contractors in your market nich kind of in the same boat. Stick to what you know. Dont dabble in commercial work unless you can float some serious cash.
Service work is a great cash cow for a small business and most of the time you can get paid on the spot. Give some of the lead generators such as service magic a try. Just dont work cheap.
Build alliances with other contractors to take calls they cant cover. Find a professional way to compensate them for the calls. Make sure its a two way street. Oh yeah did I mention DONT WORK CHEAP!
Best wishes, I hope it works out for you.
IrishRugger
Senior Member
Yeah don't work cheap that could be your worst move. If you get so busy you need to hire a book keeper find one you can trust. Don't worry about competition just do your thing and stay focused
captaincrab55
Senior Member
- Location
- Maryland
Zappy, If you get busy enough to hire someone, consider hiring a payroll company and PT Book Keeper..
Energy-Miser
Senior Member
- Location
- Maryland
Paychex has reasonable rates, they charge some small upfront fees, but beyond that they charge per number of people on payroll, so you pay proportionally as you grow.captaincrab55 said:
JohnE
Senior Member
- Location
- Milford, MA
Be sure that you both need and want an employee. You need to decide if the situation warrants it. Some cost increase disportionately to the situation some for the better, some for the worse. For example you need to pay wc, that presumably cost little or nothing right now. But if employee will be working side by side with you, tool/ truck overhead does not increase....
Personally I can't do what I'm doing without a few guys.
Personally I can't do what I'm doing without a few guys.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
Quickbooks really is easy to do payroll with. A bookeeper is a good idea but just like any help there is a learning curve for both of you. My back hurts a lot less since I hired help.
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
I'm not a fortune-teller, but I read this post last night and had a certain impression. I re-read it this morning, and still have the same thoughts. My thoughts are this; Having a license and the technical ability to do the work is only about 1/3 of what you need to be a successful contractor. It does seem like you sorely lack business and marketing skills. These are skills which can be learned over time, but often at the detriment of the company. In the current business climate, I would guess that a guy's overall likelihood for success is quite slim if he lacks these skills. My suggestion would be to continue to work for another contractor and take some business classes at night, or continue to work by yourself and take some business classes at night. Hire a small business coach, if you can afford to, or elicit the help of the retired businessmen at the local SBA office.
brantmacga
Señor Member
- Location
- Georgia
- Occupation
- Former Child
i will pass along a tip that was given to me by a member of this forum. get these two books: "Where Did the Money Go?: Easy Accounting Basics for the Business OwnerWho Hates Numbers!", and "How Much Should I Charge?: Pricing Basics for Making Money Doing WhatYou Love". Both are by Ellen Rohr. I bought mine from Barnes & Noble; It was the only place I could find that had the second book in-stock. I also purchased "The E-Myth Contractor: Why Most Contractor's Businesses Don't Work andWhat to Do About It" but haven't read it yet because I'm still getting kicked in the face by the first two books.
SmithBuilt
Senior Member
- Location
- Foothills of NC
M D reffered to SCORE
My experience with score was very good the group of retired businessmen that helped me were very knowledgeable.
http://www.score.org/index.html
My experience with score was very good the group of retired businessmen that helped me were very knowledgeable.
http://www.score.org/index.html
thank you for all the great advice!
thank you for all the great advice!
i went to the score website great advice.im going to try service magic,and go buy quickbooks pro.thank you to everyone.p.s is 85hr+20 service charge working to cheap?i know this is a touchy subject but i think it needs to be ask.i think there should be a minimum that none of us should go under.
thank you for all the great advice!
i went to the score website great advice.im going to try service magic,and go buy quickbooks pro.thank you to everyone.p.s is 85hr+20 service charge working to cheap?i know this is a touchy subject but i think it needs to be ask.i think there should be a minimum that none of us should go under.
brantmacga
Señor Member
- Location
- Georgia
- Occupation
- Former Child
zappy said:
now i know you need to read those books i told you to get.
Why not just hire a CPA to do your stuff? You organize it for them, then give it to them. They do the rest. They know how to set up the programs, do the taxes. Seen a lot of small businesses like that. And who said don't do commercial? I'd look into doing small tenant improvements and commercial remodel. I personally prefer small TI's in strip malls and commercial remodel in steel stud buildings. No reason to not look into it.
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
You come here and charge 85/hr and as soon as the money you have in your pocket runs out you will be OOB.zappy said:
jrannis said:
I'd like to add a word or 2 about the workin cheap idea.
I would suggest you make a concrete rule that low profit high volume work will never account for more than 50% of your labor hours. . Some low profit high volume GCs [and I mean low profit for you not for them] can provide consistent work that helps with your money flow and easier workforce scheduling. . But never never never let it take more than 50% of your labor hours.
If you get offered more low profit high volume work and accepting it would take you over the 50% mark, counter with a higher bid and wave the work goodbye.
If you lose some of your higher profit work, resist the urge to take the easy way out by accepting more work from the consistent low profit contractor. . It's very very easy just to send your guys to their jobs. . Have the backbone to tell the low profit contractor that you have to cut back on the jobs you accept from him, then lay-off your least productive men, and finally set aside the time to do some old fashion "pounding the pavement".
If you can't pick up new profitable business, then keep your workforce small and keep working on your contacts and looking for new business.
David
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
$85 per hr is really dependant on where you live, who you work for and the type of work you do. For some areas that may be to cheap.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
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