Service oriented Business owners/contractors question. Advertising

[ROX]

What type of contractor work is it?




ROX

[CAP1]

Moreso then needing advise.
I am curious as to compairing what folks find works for them the best.
And what they have found doesnt.
And seeing if anyone had any different results and new ideas to try.

I figure with the traditional slow months the winter brings around here and already existing drop off due to the economic mindset people are in.
Its been a bizarre summer. decent spring. Insanely busy July. Nosedive in August. and now back to around normal in Sept.
The August slowdown though worked out well as insanity of July between work and some personal issues going on in my wifes family (Her mother has bladder cancer and isnt doing well) had me close to being burnt out.
I ended up Running a crew for a buddy of mine for a couple of weeks which seemed like a vacation in itself. All the authority with only about half the responsibility LOL

Anyway
I figure its better to start thinking of these things now then when winter does actually come.

Pretty much so far the things people have said works for them so far is the same things that works for me.

Word of mouth is by far how I get most of my work.
Second most is business cards in the store.
Actually selling isnt usually a problem.

I did get some work from Service Magic. But I found the investment/return ratio and aggravation with dealing with that company wasnt really worth it.
If you try it. You will get leads from SM. Just keep in mind most are either window shoppers or are very price oriented. And SM is less then helpful or co operative if you have a problem with them.

I've known other contractors who do get quite a bit of work from the paper version of the Yellow pages. (the phone book)
But those that do are the ones that take out the full page ads at thousands and thousands of dollars a year.
And even they get slow.

The rest so far are hit and miss.

I am getting a ton of people calling me lately looking for me to advertise with them though.
Couple of weeks ago I had someone repeatedly calling me wanting me to sign up for a year of their advertising service (which neither I nor anyone I know of around here has ever heard of) at $200 a month.
And wanted me to sign up for 2-3 years Telling me that that was what most of their clients signed up for(yea alright, HELLO) Telling me how I was going to be going on all these leads
They claimed they weren't a referral service but in talking to them it was clear thats exactly what they were.
After telling them no thank you a few times I finally said "Ok If your so confident of your service. there are two things I want and I want them in writing.
First I want the first month free as a trial period. Second And I want a 1 year contract. Not a 2 year contract.
If your so confident I will be able to land work. this shouldn't be a problem.  You invest 1 month and you end up getting me signed up for the remaining 11 if I like your service. Otherwise your just asking me to sign up for 2-3 years of another bill"
The lady on the hone replied with "Well I want a Mercedes and a diamond ring too But Im not going to get that either."
Heh. She aint gonna get it on my dime either.

that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.


the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.

 don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.

[Engine]

not referrals, actual orders.  hi you did mr so n so's gates.  we want you to come over and help us out with ours.  that is the most common thing I hear on the phone.

Sorry bout that, that's what I meant. If you do good work, people hear about it, and they'll call with work that needs to be done. Obviously this works a bit better for business that deal with niche products/services, though.

CAP1: It wasn't an accusation, it was me saying I wish I owned my own company.

[CAP1]

Sorry bout that, that's what I meant. If you do good work, people hear about it, and they'll call with work that needs to be done. Obviously this works a bit better for business that deal with niche products/services, though.

CAP1: It wasn't an accusation, it was me saying I wish I owned my own company.

lol.....understood.......

it's a LOT more work than i expected though. still much more fun than working for someone else.

[Engine]

Pfffft, you're the president, hire an in-office masseuse! 

[DREDIOCK]

lol.....understood.......

it's a LOT more work than i expected though. still much more fun than working for someone else.

Damn right.
Went into this...well back into this 8 years ago.
Despite the ups and downs I  dont regret a day.
At least the aggravation you have is YOUR aggravation and not from some jack nut boss who knows less then you do.
the closest thing you have to a boss is your customer.
And if they seem problematic.
You only have to deal with them till the job is done.

One of the best parts for me is witht he start of every new job.
Is its like starting a new job.
And on larger jobs. Just when it gets to the point where its feeling like "a job" I'm about done.

Not to mention the certain degree of satisfaction when your done taking something that looked like a disaster to start with and make it look damn near like a work of art when its done.

[DREDIOCK]

that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.


the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.

 don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.

Seemed ot have hit all over.
The stores I deal with all noticed a drop in August. And a very significant drop in business this summer over last year overall.

[storch]

that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.


the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.

 don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.

I haven't made any money this year.  the thing is to not spend every penny you ever made so when times like these come through you can survive and then take advantage of the period coming with far fewer competitors.  economic darwinism prevails baby.

[CAP1]

I haven't made any money this year.  the thing is to not spend every penny you ever made so when times like these come through you can survive and then take advantage of the period coming with far fewer competitors.  economic darwinism prevails baby.

oooooooooo, i'm squirrling money away now more than i ever have. if i don't HAVE to have it, i don't buy it.

although i have a bit more money available to spend, i keep it all nice and safe for these slow periods.

 on a positive note, my acountant says i'm one of her clients that;s in better shape.....i'm actually turning a small profit, which she can't believe since i just started in march.

[storch]

I made a couple of errors in judgement and against my own principles.  in 2005 I bought my wife a truck and allowed myself to be persuaded into paying notes on it even though I had ready cash available.  in 2007 I did the same thing again for a truck for me.  while the notes are low and we send additional money every month which goes directly to the principal owed I still feel like I'm living with damocle's sword over my head.  I will probably never purchase another vehicle on credit again irrespective of what my accountant suggests or how low the interests are.

the other mistake was I kept too many salaries on for too long when I couldn't afford them and the people were basically idle.  consequently money that should have seen me through two bad years might only seem through one.

at least I'm not going to the banks for loans though.

[DREDIOCK]

oooooooooo, i'm squirrling money away now more than i ever have. if i don't HAVE to have it, i don't buy it.

although i have a bit more money available to spend, i keep it all nice and safe for these slow periods.

 on a positive note, my acountant says i'm one of her clients that;s in better shape.....i'm actually turning a small profit, which she can't believe since i just started in march.

Yea one of the things you have to remember is to treat the business as though its a person. The Business has to make money as well as you