Scott Stone
New member
1. If you have the time to research the contracts of another contractor, especially if he is not in your area, you might be a bit obsessed. You should seek counselling. I can assure you that I have never researched the contracts of ANY other contractor, nor do I even care who someone else services. In fact, if someone comes to me to announce that they got a contract in my area, or anywhere, I am more than likely going to say something like, "Congratulations, good for you!" and mean it, because everyone deserves to feel successful.
A. Just because you see pricing does not mean that you know all the aspects of the contract.
2. Just because you feel you know the pricing in your area, in your "expertise", it does not mean that you know the pricing in other areas, or other fields of expertise. I know for a fact that some areas have twice the cost of living of the area I live in, so it is unreasonable that my area would have the same pricing.
3. There is an ability for there to be multiple experts in a particular field. If you believe that there is only one expert allowed, and you have declared yourself that expert, you might be a little narcissistic. Get help. If you have a hammer, not everything is a nail.
4. Asking to go on another contractors jobsite, in a labor for learning arrangement has no benefit for the contractor that you want to learn from. It costs me about $3000 to train an employee, before he or she is ever able to hit the road by themselves. Since you are trying to learn what my employees are being trained to do, it will cost me almost that much in training wages, equipment wear, and lost productivity to teach you in a labor for learning scenario. Then add in the liability of having someone represent my company while they are not employed for me, the cost gets silly. By the way, I have done it in the past, and that is why I have formed my opinions.
5. Not every contractor is capable of doing every job. Some people can manage multiple employees, some can't. It is a fact of life. The time management, and resource management of employees is a developed skill set.
6. Banks do not take risks. Let me repeat that, BANKS DO NOT TAKE RISKS! If they are going to loan you money, you need to be able to show them exactly how you are going to pay them back. If they don't believe what you are doing, and they are exceptional at reading statements and balance sheets, they are not going to give you a nickle to expand your business.
A. If your personal credit and financial management is horrible, they aren't going to give you any money, either. It doesn't matter what kind of contract you have.
7. If you don't work to stay at the top of the heap, and work to know all the latest things there are for a contractor to use in their business, you won't stay on top for long. Whether it is having recovery equipment or a surface cleaner, there are things that just help to make your business more successful and stable. You need to work every day to make sure you are at the top of your field. There are excellent educational resources out there. USE THEM!!! Education does not have to come from a book in a classroom.
8. If you have an employee that damaged something, it is part of the training cost. You are foolish if you fire that person the first time he has done something that might cost you a little money. The second or third time they have done it, it might be time for a discussion, but never on the first time. Unless they are blatantly stupid, but then, why did you hire them in the first place?
9. You must develop a cadre of friends. It is especially helpful if you have friends in your area, in the same business. You can swap parts, swap advice, and generally have someone that you trust as a sounding board. If that friend says something along the lines of "That is not something I want out there." drop it. They consider that proprietary. It's all good.
10. AVOID "friends" that are users. They will do nothing but drag you down.
11. Always think about the things that you have learned. In my business, I use things that I have learned from delivering milk, washing trucks, and things I have learned in church service every single day. Yet none of them have anything to do with my core business. Just because it is something you did while washing a truck or delivering milk does not mean it is not useful doing routing or understanding chemical reactions.
12. Be patient. There is always a reason that things happen. Sometimes the reason is that you made a bad decision, so analyze it, and learn from it, so that what could be a small mistake does not become a far more expensive mistake the next time it occurs, and there will be a next time.
For what it is worth, I am not perfect in the operation of my business. I consider it pretty successful and enjoy life, so I don't much care what others think. However, I take serious offense to someone armchair quarterbacking, trying to portray me as not successful. I have had that a lot in the past few years, and it always stems from the San Francisco area. Just saying...
A. Just because you see pricing does not mean that you know all the aspects of the contract.
2. Just because you feel you know the pricing in your area, in your "expertise", it does not mean that you know the pricing in other areas, or other fields of expertise. I know for a fact that some areas have twice the cost of living of the area I live in, so it is unreasonable that my area would have the same pricing.
3. There is an ability for there to be multiple experts in a particular field. If you believe that there is only one expert allowed, and you have declared yourself that expert, you might be a little narcissistic. Get help. If you have a hammer, not everything is a nail.
4. Asking to go on another contractors jobsite, in a labor for learning arrangement has no benefit for the contractor that you want to learn from. It costs me about $3000 to train an employee, before he or she is ever able to hit the road by themselves. Since you are trying to learn what my employees are being trained to do, it will cost me almost that much in training wages, equipment wear, and lost productivity to teach you in a labor for learning scenario. Then add in the liability of having someone represent my company while they are not employed for me, the cost gets silly. By the way, I have done it in the past, and that is why I have formed my opinions.
5. Not every contractor is capable of doing every job. Some people can manage multiple employees, some can't. It is a fact of life. The time management, and resource management of employees is a developed skill set.
6. Banks do not take risks. Let me repeat that, BANKS DO NOT TAKE RISKS! If they are going to loan you money, you need to be able to show them exactly how you are going to pay them back. If they don't believe what you are doing, and they are exceptional at reading statements and balance sheets, they are not going to give you a nickle to expand your business.
A. If your personal credit and financial management is horrible, they aren't going to give you any money, either. It doesn't matter what kind of contract you have.
7. If you don't work to stay at the top of the heap, and work to know all the latest things there are for a contractor to use in their business, you won't stay on top for long. Whether it is having recovery equipment or a surface cleaner, there are things that just help to make your business more successful and stable. You need to work every day to make sure you are at the top of your field. There are excellent educational resources out there. USE THEM!!! Education does not have to come from a book in a classroom.
8. If you have an employee that damaged something, it is part of the training cost. You are foolish if you fire that person the first time he has done something that might cost you a little money. The second or third time they have done it, it might be time for a discussion, but never on the first time. Unless they are blatantly stupid, but then, why did you hire them in the first place?
9. You must develop a cadre of friends. It is especially helpful if you have friends in your area, in the same business. You can swap parts, swap advice, and generally have someone that you trust as a sounding board. If that friend says something along the lines of "That is not something I want out there." drop it. They consider that proprietary. It's all good.
10. AVOID "friends" that are users. They will do nothing but drag you down.
11. Always think about the things that you have learned. In my business, I use things that I have learned from delivering milk, washing trucks, and things I have learned in church service every single day. Yet none of them have anything to do with my core business. Just because it is something you did while washing a truck or delivering milk does not mean it is not useful doing routing or understanding chemical reactions.
12. Be patient. There is always a reason that things happen. Sometimes the reason is that you made a bad decision, so analyze it, and learn from it, so that what could be a small mistake does not become a far more expensive mistake the next time it occurs, and there will be a next time.
For what it is worth, I am not perfect in the operation of my business. I consider it pretty successful and enjoy life, so I don't much care what others think. However, I take serious offense to someone armchair quarterbacking, trying to portray me as not successful. I have had that a lot in the past few years, and it always stems from the San Francisco area. Just saying...
