Random Thoughts - Part III The Search for Spark (No Politics)

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have to sit through a hundred or so of these a year. Same story just changed enough to suit the season. Also the same actors and locations in about 90% of them which get's confusing as hell.

I probably watch at least part of one two or three times a week, but fortunately it's during MomHawk's "me time" and she doesn't care if I get up and do something else.

Finding Hallmark and GAC (the channel a lot of Hallmark actors just moved to) was the final challenge in our household "cut the cord" initiative. I was finally able to get it on FRNDLY TV for a reasonable price with DVR functions so everyone (meaning MomHawk) bought into cutting the cord.

[soundman98]

hallmark movies are like christmas music or fairy tales.

by the time you've seen/heard the 10th one, it either becomes a form of torture, or you become numb to the world.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soundman98

hallmark movies are like christmas music or fairy tales.

by the time you've seen/heard the 10th one, it either becomes a form of torture, or you become numb to the world.

[spcmafia]

The detailing side gig has been pretty great so far. Im absolutely stunned that not a single one of my customers has had anything bad to say. I've been resorting to use our workplace message board and all patrons have been, in a way, coworkers.



Don't have a fancy flier, nor social media account, with fancy videos, is just been good post reviews and word of mouth among employees.



The funny thing is that someone else has decided to join the game, who names his packages "Gold-Platinum'. Charges more than double of what I do, and is also the same guy that when I first started doing this, contacted me, stated he had an actual business, and that I should be charging more. To this day I'm still wondering if he was trying to look out for me, or take me out as competition.



I've done so many details and washes, and this is kind of sad, but I've become super efficient at it. That even when I do my own car, I now forget to enjoy the me-time I used to have before I started all this. I should order a bunch of parts to sort off reset my mind on the joy of doing something with the BRZ.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

The detailing side gig has been pretty great so far. Im absolutely stunned that not a single one of my customers has had anything bad to say. I've been resorting to use our workplace message board and all patrons have been, in a way, coworkers.



Don't have a fancy flier, nor social media account, with fancy videos, is just been good post reviews and word of mouth among employees.



The funny thing is that someone else has decided to join the game, who names his packages "Gold-Platinum'. Charges more than double of what I do, and is also the same guy that when I first started doing this, contacted me, stated he had an actual business, and that I should be charging more. To this day I'm still wondering if he was trying to look out for me, or take me out as competition.



I've done so many details and washes, and this is kind of sad, but I've become super efficient at it. That even when I do my own car, I now forget to enjoy the me-time I used to have before I started all this. I should order a bunch of parts to sort off reset my mind on the joy of doing something with the BRZ.

Any hobby that becomes a paying proposition becomes a job.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Any hobby that becomes a paying proposition becomes a job.

Got that right.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Any hobby that becomes a paying proposition becomes a job.

I only do side work for select people because of this and I never charge. Once you start charging it changes the whole game.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I only do side work for select people because of this and I never charge. Once you start charging it changes the whole game.

I make a solid $1 an hour when I do commissioned model builds!

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I may have to turn in my (old) man card. I got lost in the music.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding

I may have to turn in my (old) man card. I got lost in the music.

Meh. I think she's much better looking when she isn't trying so hard to be "sexy model guitar player" and just "kick ass guitar player"

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Meh. I think she's much better looking when she isn't trying so hard to be "sexy model guitar player" and just "kick ass guitar player"

Pretty girl. Good guitarist. Pick your order.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I make a solid $1 an hour when I do commissioned model builds!

Slow work takes time!

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

The detailing side gig has been pretty great so far. Im absolutely stunned that not a single one of my customers has had anything bad to say. I've been resorting to use our workplace message board and all patrons have been, in a way, coworkers.



Don't have a fancy flier, nor social media account, with fancy videos, is just been good post reviews and word of mouth among employees.



The funny thing is that someone else has decided to join the game, who names his packages "Gold-Platinum'. Charges more than double of what I do, and is also the same guy that when I first started doing this, contacted me, stated he had an actual business, and that I should be charging more. To this day I'm still wondering if he was trying to look out for me, or take me out as competition.



I've done so many details and washes, and this is kind of sad, but I've become super efficient at it. That even when I do my own car, I now forget to enjoy the me-time I used to have before I started all this. I should order a bunch of parts to sort off reset my mind on the joy of doing something with the BRZ.

the best way to grow any business is word of mouth. it's slow and consistent gains, that also allow you to control who you deal with. it also better allows you to control the quality of what you're selling too.

my mom does sewing as a little side business, mostly womens pants/dresses. at first, it was all word-of-mouth. then she got her name into a few formal dress shops. business had slow and consistent gains.

then she tried adding her name at joanne fabrics. it was like getting a billboard on the highway. she doubled in calls coming in, but they got progressively weirder/worse. massively complex cat outfits with no pattern. making 'jeans' out of obscure fabrics. 40 year old threadbare coats that 'just need this one seam fixed'...

word of mouth is good!



as far as your pricing, i find it really weird that this guy called you out over it.
odder still is how he did it so early on when you started. an actual business is going to have drastically higher costs, so it does make sense that he's charging roughly double over a "man 'n van" operation.

but that said, i hear of electrical companies starting all the time-- many of them will attempt to undercut my companies rates one way or another to gain customers. at first it works, we might lose a few jobs here and there. but then either the quality starts suffering, and those customers start calling back for us to fix what the other company couldn't, or that company starts getting more serious, and their back-end costs raise to the point that their rates become similar to my companies, or in some cases, they attempt to grow too fast, and accidently raise rates above my companies. to which all those customers start coming back to our then-cheaper rate...

i or my boss has never even thought to call out any one of these other shops-- we always attempt to look at what makes them different. the costs of any business are quite well fixed, so anyone that severely undercuts established players tends to always be skewing the system some way-- one guy had a line to buying stuff at the employee discount level. that worked for a little while until corporate caught on..

in your case, you are doing it out of your own garage for 'free', contrasted to him likely paying rent at a commercial building for garage space. and doing it on the side, you can't take on as many customers, but without needing to pay for benefits, that also drastically reduces costs...

the simple question is this "do you have more work than you can handle?"
if yes, your prices are too low.
if no, your prices are likely inline with customer expectations.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by soundman98

the best way to grow any business is word of mouth. it's slow and consistent gains, that also allow you to control who you deal with. it also better allows you to control the quality of what you're selling too.

my mom does sewing as a little side business, mostly womens pants/dresses. at first, it was all word-of-mouth. then she got her name into a few formal dress shops. business had slow and consistent gains.

then she tried adding her name at joanne fabrics. it was like getting a billboard on the highway. she doubled in calls coming in, but they got progressively weirder/worse. massively complex cat outfits with no pattern. making 'jeans' out of obscure fabrics. 40 year old threadbare coats that 'just need this one seam fixed'...

word of mouth is good!



as far as your pricing, i find it really weird that this guy called you out over it.
odder still is how he did it so early on when you started. an actual business is going to have drastically higher costs, so it does make sense that he's charging roughly double over a "man 'n van" operation.

but that said, i hear of electrical companies starting all the time-- many of them will attempt to undercut my companies rates one way or another to gain customers. at first it works, we might lose a few jobs here and there. but then either the quality starts suffering, and those customers start calling back for us to fix what the other company couldn't, or that company starts getting more serious, and their back-end costs raise to the point that their rates become similar to my companies, or in some cases, they attempt to grow too fast, and accidently raise rates above my companies. to which all those customers start coming back to our then-cheaper rate...

i or my boss has never even thought to call out any one of these other shops-- we always attempt to look at what makes them different. the costs of any business are quite well fixed, so anyone that severely undercuts established players tends to always be skewing the system some way-- one guy had a line to buying stuff at the employee discount level. that worked for a little while until corporate caught on..

in your case, you are doing it out of your own garage for 'free', contrasted to him likely paying rent at a commercial building for garage space. and doing it on the side, you can't take on as many customers, but without needing to pay for benefits, that also drastically reduces costs...

the simple question is this "do you have more work than you can handle?"
if yes, your prices are too low.
if no, your prices are likely inline with customer expectations.

Your last sentences pretty much hit the spot. I charge what I do because, well, I don't want to over-promise and under-deliver. I always set the expectations exactly where they should be before booking any detailing. I do it from my own house, or keep it within my immediate area if I have to do a house visit. I set my own hours and never book too many jobs in a day. Because I can, and is not something that I need, is just nice to have cash, plus I have to take care of my back and how much strain I put myself under.



I could have a lot more work than I can handle, I just distribute it well enough that it doesn't become a strain, I talk to the customer and they seem to respect it since after all, we all work for the same place during the day, so they know what to expect.