On 3/16/2011 12:18 AM, wrote:

That scene was genius, Jay. You bet that will see a lot of linkage
from me to my buddies. I will be more than sure that my buddies that
have ****ed away retirements, personal savings, racked up huge loans,
crushed their family resources, and all the other things they did
while in business get a chance to see that. It might just ring a
bell.

But at 21, I was that guy in the cap.... wow....

THANKS!

Oh yeah.... your post title is perfect, too. *despair*

Agree 100% with your assessment, and the following is in no way directed
at you (that would be the mother of "preaching to the choir"), but to
those who will quit before getting started, based on just the
possibility of "despair", as illustrated.

If you work it right, and long enough, you can have the last laugh, and
a dollar or two to boot, instead of despair.

Granted, it is not often that the uninitiated get to see what can be a
startling difference, and not often that you can even find folks who
even care, but therein lies one of the secret(s) to not tripping over
"despair":

#1: ALWAYS work toward the goal of putting yourself in a position to
pick your clients ... NOT vice versa!

CAVEAT: You can't advertise your way into this position, you can ONLY do
it by word of mouth and referrals.

In that regard, had the opportunity recently to present a client, mid
job, a very sharp, stark, contrasting dose of reality with regard to the
difference in QUALITY of the work done by a well respected residential
construction "trim carpenter" with years of experience on high end
homes; versus the work done by experienced, accomplished "cabinetmakers"
who put quality and pride in what they do above all else ... Leon and
I, even if I have to say so myself

We did all the kitchen cabinet work and, to save time for me to devote
to supervising the rest of the project, and the client money, I had a
hot shot trim carpenter do the cabinet work in the den and two bathrooms
of vanities, doors and drawers.

The STARK difference, in just the drawers alone, was enough to cause the
client to scrap and swallow the cost of all (23) of the bathroom drawers
done by the trim carpenter, and to pay rebuild new drawers for the
bathrooms " ... just like those in the kitchen!".

those "domino" drawers in a recent thread, crafted by Leon

Again, in that regard, I can guarantee that this client has friends and
family who have not only heard about this, but can also pay the freight
.... eventually the chickens from the eggs laid on this job, as with
every job, will come home to roost, which brings us to the other, and
most important, "secret":

#2: The REAL, and ULTIMATE, challenge is in being economically smart
enough to still be around to take advantage of it.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)