[geefree]

Hi,

When you had one round, and it was eventually bursting at the seams,

Did you expand my employing a part time helper,?

and build again. then make him, or employ someone full time.

or did you buy more work to quickly integrate it into your existing work?

and have someone run it for you,...and shave some off your existing round and pass it to your employee.....to make your round easier.?

it can be a hard and dangerous road ...employing...

i am aproaching being full up....but i dont earn enough,

so my first point of call is to increase prices on , what i believe is now underpriced, and drop some to replace with better paying houses.

Then drop the outlying calls which i took on at the beginning but could not build on them..

when i have done this, i will be ready to turn the corner again.


Any advice would be gratefully received 

[geefree]

I know its a long winded thread and how long is a piece of string etc etc....

but i would be interested what stratagy people put into place when the time comes, rather than blindly building , without a plan...

And where better to ask... than on here?

 

[bad trippy]

for me and the mrs to work flat out 2 days per week and have the other 5 days off for house restoration

[Clive McDonald]

I disagree.
What matters is the total that you earn, the gross. Hourly rate or poorly paid is irrelivant.

Don't compare yourself or try to measure up to the best on here, you will come up short- and you have no idea if they tell the truth or embellish.

There was a thread by a newish starter (i know you've been going a bit gazzasp8) and he wanted to buy in and employ.The work he wanted to buy in was 20ph tops, and the sums don't work when you pay someone to do this.Not least the cash flow required to grow.

The answer to your question is counter intuitive and the one you don't like. To grow you have to go through a period of earning less. Ie, as an example you earn 180pd now, you get a helper and pay 50 to achieve 230, but you also burn through the work faster.

[MNWC]

what i do is when i get a new call i price it up higher than my normal work and if they accept get rid of some of my lower priced stuff therefore your hourly rate goes up and so on

[Smudger]

Spot on Marcus !


Darran

[geefree]

Thanks Slumpbuster,

i agree with your comments, and it was the answer i wanted,

regarding your last point,

ie.180 pd take a lad on 50pd to make 230, and burn through the work faster.

Then expand ? and use them extra spare days /hours per month to build build build.

And use the guy to help me do this?

Then he earns the same (for the time being)....and i earn more?


Then start again?



Sorry for all the question marks,   you know me by now.

[matt]

ive been full since i started, remmber in the space of a few months i purchased 3 rounds ( 1 of a guy retiring, 1 of a guy returning back home to oz and a guy winding down in prep for retirement )

i filled in the blanks in the round and its now ideal for me

i worked out last week, i have enough work to work full time ( 5 days a week ) , but because i only work 3 days a week i know i will allways be late ( i say i will be around every 6 - 8 weeks )

i have thought of employing part time, at least till i can work 5 days a week ( when my daughter starts school ) though thats 3 years down the line

i know the amount per hour i can earn, i know the amount per hour i would pay, for the 2 / 3 days a week, the hastle just isnt worth it for me

window cleaning is a fairly stress free life, thats why some start up, you have to decide if you want the hastle of a employee

[Totus]

This what i did with my brother.

Approached being at full tilt in Dec 2008

Brother got made redundant Jan 2009

Paid him £500.00 p/m out of what I was already earning PLUS topped his wages up with all the new work we got coming when we went leafleting. Since we burned through the work in about 2 weeks we also had 2 weeks leafleting.

June 2009 reached pre-agreed wage earnings through all new customers picked up and now the business gets the new work filtering through. Now only have 1 week to fill to be at full tilt again.

However I have noticed how much more difficult it was to get work in this year compared to last but maybe that's a regional thing. Think i was fortunate with my timing, but you do need to sacrifice in the short term to benefit long term.

I also think that the first person must be the hardest as further expansion will allow me to pay a good proportion of the next employees wages out of the overspill I am looking to create first - say 3-4 days work too much for me to cope with.....then get'em on board and do the same thing again.

[geefree]

Thank you,

some interesting thoughts to chew on.

[ftp]

I'm in the same boat. Can't cope with it all. I seem to be going through a process of natural evolution - the jobs I hate or that are poorly priced tend to get left behind for months. Not the ideal solution really. I should be tougher and cull the crap.

[Dean Taberner]

theres no long term future in not employing.

dean

[rosskesava]

I'd put all my prices up. I would not under any circumstances go down the road of employing anyone but that is just my own personal experience.

You may loose some customers though but next time you price a new job, add on a couple of quid to whatever price you originally decided. Some potential customer will say no in shock and horror but there are those that are prepared to pay up and are happy to do so.

After a while you'll get used to quoting higher prices.

[mci services]

i dont know if it going to work but ive did the culling of work and taking on better paid etc. then i approached my local council and interviewed a few young lads and got one good one. the council pay his wages while he works for me for 13 weeks then i get a grant for a further 8 weeks paying his wages in full then 1/2 his wages for another 4 weeks then 1/4 wages for a further 4 weeks and then and if i can afford it i will be responsible for his wages.
if it doesnt work out i will have to let him go but so far it going good

[Dean Taberner]

if u want a long term stable future in this trade i cant stress how important it is to employ.

thats just my view of it,

im right though honestly,

dean

[matt]

if u want a long term stable future in this trade i cant stress how important it is to employ.

thats just my view of it,

im right though honestly,

dean

but plenty of 1 man outfits survive

[Dean Taberner]

I wouldnt fancy being a one man band in my 60s matt especially trad,

Fair enough wfp has helped but the way this government is going we'll be working till we are 80.

[matt]

I wouldnt fancy being a one man band in my 60s matt especially trad,

Fair enough wfp has helped but the way this government is going we'll be working till we are 80.

loads do though, even on ladders

of course it gets easier, children leave home, house is paid off, i would guess you dont need the same money

now we have WFP, its got tp be easier, lightwieght poles etc etc

the idea of doing a manual job in latter life has to be good, it'll keep you fit and active, nothing worse that sitting at home waiting to die

[Dean Taberner]

i dont know if it going to work but ive did the culling of work and taking on better paid etc. then i approached my local council and interviewed a few young lads and got one good one. the council pay his wages while he works for me for 13 weeks then i get a grant for a further 8 weeks paying his wages in full then 1/2 his wages for another 4 weeks then 1/4 wages for a further 4 weeks and then and if i can afford it i will be responsible for his wages.
if it doesnt work out i will have to let him go but so far it going good

Stu-mac

How did you arrange this mate?

You are right stopping the culling of the work,

Dean

[Dean Taberner]

I wouldnt fancy being a one man band in my 60s matt especially trad,

Fair enough wfp has helped but the way this government is going we'll be working till we are 80.

nothing worse that sitting at home waiting to die

Totally agree there,

Off subject patrick swayze is doing just that so ive just read on aol, very sad.

Dean