In ,
Leon spewed forth:
"Swingman" wrote in message
...
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.
Pride in your work is what it is all about. I currently have a
customer in waiting with no rush for me to begin my 4th installment
of modifications in her kitchen, she is willing to wait. Her husband
worked with his father, a cabinet maker, when he was young and they
remodeled kitchens. He has the tools and equipment to do it himself
but he sees the difference in my work and gives his wife cart blanc
when it comes to their kitchen.
an old saying comes to mind from all this.
The Bitterness Of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price
is Forgotten.
I have several clients(interior designers) that have gone elsewhere over the
last 32 yrs to get work done.
Everyone of them has returned and will wait til I can get to it. In 32 yrs
I've never had a job returned, ever.
I even went 15 yrs with an UNLISTED phone number. And Swingman is right,
word of mouth is the only way an artist/craftsman can find his niche' and
work it..
The only thing I would add is always bid it high, you can always come down,
but going higher is always more difficult.
A client will tell me to do it the way i would do it for myself. I tell them
thats not he way they want it done, because I don't get paid when I do it
for myself.g
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