Business partners

Discussion in 'Builders' Talk' started by D.S Builders, Jun 19, 2010.

  1. D.S Builders

    D.S Builders New Member

    I looking for a business partner where should i start looking?

    D.S
     
  2. DON'T DO IT!

    PARTNERSHIP IS AN ANAGRAM OF BATTLESHIP!

    Even more so it you are both married!

    Stick to you own idea's and volumes of work input!

    Grimnasty, aint that the truth?
     
  3. RockyBilboa09

    RockyBilboa09 New Member

    No it isn't! Do you actually know what an anagram is Chess?
     
  4. Flippin 'eck≠

    Flippin 'eck≠ New Member

    Oh dear.......
     
  5. Flippin 'eck≠

    Flippin 'eck≠ New Member

    Anyway, dsb, do <u>NOT</u> do it.

    I repeat, <u>DO NOT DO IT</u>.

    Did I mention, <u>DO NOT DO IT</u>.
     
  6. D.S Builders

    D.S Builders New Member

    Ok so its a bad idea i take it. I just need someone who can help with the quoting and running of the company as i'm starting to struggle with work loads etc. In the last month ive had to turn down 2 double extensions as i just anit had time to price them.

    On the other hand i carnt afford to employ a manger and if i did it would take a while for him to earn his money.

    What can i do ????

    D.S
     
  7. Flippin 'eck≠

    Flippin 'eck≠ New Member

    How do you know you'd have got those two extensions if you haven't even priced them?

    When you see a job (to quote) you should do the quotation next evening. I know builders who send in quotes six or more weeks after seeing the job. Usually by then the job has already gone to someone else.

    Potential customers will think "if it take him 6 weeks just to do the quote, how long will the flippin' work take?"

    You can send drawings to specialist 'estimators' but how they work out the price when they haven't seen the site, I don't know. Access is a major issue, bad access can add 50% to some jobs but these 'estimators' just work out the price of the build. I guess you could add on some costs for awkward access and/or similar.
     
  8. Anderida

    Anderida New Member

    Don't think u need a manager. Sounds like u need a Girl/Boy Friday. Someone to answer your phone, book appointments for u to do estimates, liaise with clients and help with the paperwork.
     
  9. wuddy

    wuddy Member

    if you are running around now it will be worse if you take someone on keeping an eye on them and showing them what to do, the solution is to create systems of work, set yourself a method of doing everything and document it so you have a manual, you can easily find ways of saving time by doing this. keep working at the level you are currently working at and implement your systems then you will find you have more time and more profit, that is the time to take on someone to do some of the work and it will be easy to pass work over as you have all your working methods documented

    do not take someone on yet, turn down the work if you have to as you are not ready to expand - you cannot keep up with your current workload so why make it even harder for yourself
     
  10. ian anderson

    ian anderson New Member

    You could start with a 'trainee' from the local chamber of commerce. Filter carefully though as there are some right puddings about!

    I see this all the time, some of the best tradesmen make the worst 'business men', myself included!

    I always found that turning work down made you look even better. People think that if they have to wait you must be really good. I have had people wait two years (when I worked abroad for spells). Nice feeling!

    If you do go for a partner, look for someone that brings new skills to the mix. If you are a brickie, consider a chippy etc. As long as you are both flexible you can work together and even make savings on time through efficiently.

    I always dreamed of a multi discipline team to build new houses. One of each trade all working together, imagine how efficient the build would be if the sparks and plumber were involved from the start. I always thought it stupid how much 'choppin out' and stuff needed in a new build just because the bricky can't be 4rsed to think about services etc.

    P.s. it would have been heaven to bawl at a sparks to hurry up with the bl**dy hod! and chucking gobbo at the plumber cause it's too wet ;)
    Ian
    ---------------------------------
    Most days you can find me pottering about at polishing peanuts, where I try to make sense of an often bewildering world.
     
  11. Flippin 'eck≠

    Flippin 'eck≠ New Member

    The main problem with Ian's suggestion is that the plumber will want plumber's rates while he's carrying the hod and the sparks will want spark's rates while he's filling a skip with rubble.

    It would be financial suicide imho.

    Sub-contract, that's the answer. That's what we do. We have teams of self employed specialist subbies we get in as required, on a fixed price, for each stage of the work.

    If it rains/snows/earthquake, you have no wages to pay. Overheads are minimal and they all sort out their own tax. No holidays to factor in, no statutory sick pay etc etc.

    If they don't show up it's their loss not yours.

    If they want to work late into the evening or weekends, that's fine, the price is fixed so no overtime to pay.
     
  12. ian anderson

    ian anderson New Member

    Wasn't a suggestion! twas a dream, new spec build and profit equally split between all.

    Figured that we would all learn a lot about each others roles throughout a build....

    Of course, in the real world, it would never work.
     
  13. D.S Builders

    D.S Builders New Member

    Thanks for all your replys. I have made the decision not to take on partner I will continue alone and employ someone for the paperwork etc

    D.S
     
  14. Flippin 'eck≠

    Flippin 'eck≠ New Member

  15. ian anderson

    ian anderson New Member

    My accountant said to me many years ago that I should 'monitor' a full day at work.

    Think about everything that you do through out a day and relate it to what actually gets you paid.

    I did this and realized that I spent a significant part of each day doing work that 'technically' didn't earn me any money at all!

    Lets face it. To 'earn' we need to be fixing material.

    ERGO: Fetching tools from the van, setting up, clearing up, putting stuff away, sweeping out, fetching that 'forgotten' tool from the van when you are three floors up in a loft. Going to the merchant, answering the phone, following up future deliveries etc etc etc could, in theory be done by A N Other. Thus freeing you up to 'fix material' all day.

    Let the 'labour' be carried out by the 'labourer' on 'labourers' rates thats what I think.

    Keep the good stuff for the tradesman and he'll earn more money because he is more efficient. Lets be honest can you justify charging the client £30 per hour for sweeping up?

    Just my opinion of course.......... :)
     
  16. Joelp1

    Joelp1 New Member

    good point there ian. I fit kitchens all day, but it occurs to me regularly that its only about 2 or 3 hours a day the stuff that only i can do (electrics and worktops), the rest i could leave the lads doing. So whilst i think im worth 20 or 30 per hour, i waste hours doing really simple stuff like building units or loading skips.

    I would also NEVER get into another partnership. Its a dreadful idea, you will never be sure they are working as hard as you, and if they do seem to be working hard, then they will probably think that YOU are slacking.
     
  17. ian anderson

    ian anderson New Member

    True.

    Although you can probably take it too far. I met some brickes once that were so focused on the actual laying of material they trained their boys to arrange everything akin to laying the Queens dinner table.

    The bricks had to be the right way up and the right way around so that the brickie NEVER had to 'flip' a brick to lay it.

    These guys laid bricks like machines (and earned a pile) but man, I swear that they hardly straightened their backs from the moment they got on the scaffold till they hit the van at knock off time. Basically if they had to stop laying, someone had screwed up.......

    Guess thats why I never really cut it on site work!
     
  18. I agree with you Ian,

    Being a success in business is about managing more than doing, effective time management is everything.

    Just managing the guys on a projects, making sure that materials are ordered in time, delivered on time and finding time to price up new work and liaise with the client should make for very little time for you to do much more than help out for very short periods.

    The best business book I have ever read is:

    " I'll show them whose boss!" by Jerry Robinson, it really makes you stop and think about the way that you manage things and particularly people.

    Put it on your Christmas list, easily available from Amazon.
     
  19. D.S Builders

    D.S Builders New Member

    totaly agree ian & charrington. But it seems that i'm spending to much time on site approx 8-10 hrs a day so there's no time for quotes and managing.

    I aint had any work for the last 3 weeks because of this and i'm losing money due to bad managment just got to sit and wait for some quotes to come back now.

    D.S
     
  20. DS,

    You won't find any work sitting and waiting, why not sift through the planning applications at you council offices and go and door knock the applicants or view local property sales on the rightmove website and at least stick your business card through the door?

    In my youth we used to door knock looking for gutter cleaning work, we always focused on more affluent adresses between school run times to catch the lady of the house at home. We spent two days a week knocking and only three days working to ensure that we always had work booked up and were often asked to do other maintenance work.

    We always left a card and received a fair bit of gutter cleaning work by recommendation work from ladies of the Tennis and Golf club.
     

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