well guys i am throwing the towel in

[o8f150]

4 years ago I started getting into saws big time,,, then I found this place:bang::bang:,,, 2 years ago I decided since I was good enough getting saws,,weedeaters etc up and going since I was flipping a lot of them I would open my own shop,,, did a lot of advertising,, had business cards made ect ect ect,,,,, I would have been happy with an extra 100 bucks coming in each week,,,, I am lucky to make that much each month,,,shops here are charging 80 per hour and won't even touch a lot fo stuff,, me I charged 20 per hour and worked on any brand, so in the last couple of weeks I sold some stuff off and donated that to the tbone fund,,, also gave a lot of stuff away at the gtg the other weekend,,, I have several more items I am debating on selling since more then likely they won't ever get used,,,, in a nut shell I am going back to making it a hobby and not a business,,, this is really depressing since I had the hopes of expanding but no way now,,,, yes I am feeling sorry for myself,,, I feel like a big failure,,, I wanted to do this to help people in this area but it failed,,, ok guys let the flaming begin

 

[KenJax Tree]

No sense in flaming you,you're already a flamer

Sent from my AutoTune carb

 

[bikesandcars]

Why not just charge a little more?

If you are giving stuff away that doesn't sound like good business practice.

your heart seems ahead of your brain, need to talk to your accountant about a business plan.

There's a universal truth, when you sell a cheap car you get cheap buyers.... your rate sounds too low to me...

Take your skills and charge an appropriate wage, minimize your debt / liability and maximize your income!

This sounds like a horrible experience for you, It seems too late to do anything as you seem resigned to throw in the towel.

What is your other work? If you are not working and now quitting on your business I"d say you need a pep talk.

 

[stihlaficionado]

4 years ago I started getting into saws big time,,, then I found this place:bang::bang:,,, 2 years ago I decided since I was good enough getting saws,,weedeaters etc up and going since I was flipping a lot of them I would open my own shop,,, did a lot of advertising,, had business cards made ect ect ect,,,,, I would have been happy with an extra 100 bucks coming in each week,,,, I am lucky to make that much each month,,,shops here are charging 80 per hour and won't even touch a lot fo stuff,, me I charged 20 per hour and worked on any brand, so in the last couple of weeks I sold some stuff off and donated that to the tbone fund,,, also gave a lot of stuff away at the gtg the other weekend,,, I have several more items I am debating on selling since more then likely they won't ever get used,,,, in a nut shell I am going back to making it a hobby and not a business,,, this is really depressing since I had the hopes of expanding but no way now,,,, yes I am feeling sorry for myself,,, I feel like a big failure,,, I wanted to do this to help people in this area but it failed,,, ok guys let the flaming begin

Better to try & fail then to sit on your arse & not try at all. Besides, "failing" is a relative term.
Be thankful you're still breathing & the earth is still rotating on it's axis :msp_thumbup:

 

[nmurph]

Scott, you only a failure if you quit trying. Do you realize how many top CEO's have failed business ventures, often multiple times before they figure it out??? You step back, look at what worked and what didn't, and adjust from there. Maybe you weren't CHARGING enough?????? Maybe working on cheap saws makes it harder? (I won't touch a Wildthing type saw...if they can replace it for what I feel like it's worth for me to fix it, I just decline)...keep going, bud!!!

 

[bikesandcars]

Better to try & fail then to sit on your arse & not try at all. Besides, "failing" is a relative term.
Be thankful you're still breathing & the earth is still rotating on it's axis :msp_thumbup:

Screw that, better to not try and not waste money than to fail and lose financially.

Make it work!

 

[boxygen]

Don't quit. Start charging more, then people will start believing you are worth it. You can still discount as you see fit, but I think seeing the low rate I bet deters a l lot of people from even trying you out.

 

[tallguys]

Way too low rates...

As others have already opined, if you undervalue the labour and service you provide, others will as well.

Charging double what you were you'd still be a screaming deal at half the shop rate. You need to decide what your time is worth and go from there.

 

[KenJax Tree]

Sorry for the CAPS its copied and pasted:msp_tongue:

WHAT ABOUT FAILURE? IS IT REALLY BAD? ON THE CONTRARY. THOSE WHO HAVE SUCCEEDED SAY THAT TRYING AND FAILING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF SUCCEEDING. ONCE, WHEN THOMAS EDISON WAS WORKING TO INVENT THE LIGHT BULB, HE WAS BEING TEASED AND TAUNTED BY HIS CRITICS. THEY SAID, "TEN THOUSAND EXPERIMENTS AND YOU HAVEN'T LEARNED A THING."

"YOU'RE WRONG", EDISON RESPONDED, "I'VE LEARNED TEN THOUSAND WAYS NOT TO INVENT THE ELECTRIC LIGHT".

LATER IN LIFE EDISON WROTE THESE WORDS,

"MANY OF LIFE'S FAILURES ARE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT REALIZE HOW CLOSE THEY WERE TO SUCCESS...AND THEY JUST GAVE UP".

DOCTOR C.E. WELCH, THE FOUNDER OF WELCH'S GRAPE JUICE SAID IT THIS WAY,

"MANY MEN FAIL BECAUSE THEY QUIT TOO SOON. THEY LOSE FAITH WHEN THE SIGNS ARE AGAINST THEM. THEY DO NOT HAVE THE COURAGE TO HOLD ON, TO KEEP FIGHTING IN SPITE OF THAT WHICH SEEMS INSURMOUNTABLE. IF MORE OF US WOULD STRIKE OUT AND ATTEMPT THE IMPOSSIBLE, WE VERY SOON WOULD FIND THE TRUTH OF THAT OLD SAYING...NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE".

YOU MIGHT BE SAYING, "ITS EASY FOR THOSE WHO ARE GREAT SUCCESSES TO TALK ABOUT THE UPS IN LIFE...THEY NEVER HAD THE DOWNS".

REALLY? LISTEN TO THESE.

DID YOU KNOW THAT BEFORE DR. SEUSS, THE FAMOUS WRITER, SOLD EVEN HIS FIRST CHILDREN'S BOOK, HE WAS REJECTED BY 23 DIFFERENT PUBLISHERS. THE 24TH PUBLISHER, THE ONE WHO PUBLISHED HIS BOOK? THEY SOLD 6 MILLION COPIES IN THE FIRST YEAR.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE AUTO TYCOON, HENRY FORD? IN HIS FIRST THREE YEARS IN THE AUTOMOBILE BUSINESS...HE WENT BANKRUPT...TWICE.

AND THEN THERE'S THE GREAT ACTOR AND DANCER FRED ASTAIRE. IN HIS FIRST SCREEN TEST THEY NOTED, "CAN'T ACT, SLIGHTLY BALD! CAN DANCE...BUT JUST A LITTLE".

ALBERT EINSTEIN WAS CRITICIZED FOR NOT WEARING SOCKS OR CUTTING HIS HAIR. ONE OBSERVER EVEN SAID THAT HE COULD BE MENTALLY RETARDED. THERE'S MORE.

IN ITS FIRST YEAR OF BUSINESS, THE COCA COLA COMPANY SOLD ONLY 400 COKES.

AND THIS ONE I CAN'T BELIEVE.

MICHAEL JORDAN, PERHAPS THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER... MICHAEL JORDAN...WAS CUT FROM HIS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM.

YES, OUR HISTORY BOOKS ARE PACKED FULL OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE ACHIEVED GREAT SUCCESSES. BUT SO MANY OF THESE GREAT SUCCESS STORIES HAVE A GREATER LESSON BEHIND THEM. IT'S SIMPLY THIS. WE MAY NEVER MAKE HISTORY, INVENT A NEW PRODUCT, BECOME A FAMOUS ATHLETE, OR BUILD A MILLION DOLLAR COMPANY. BUT WHATEVER OUR GOALS AND DREAMS MAY BE, OUR PERSEVERENCE, OUR WILLINGNESS TO "KEEP ON KEEPING ON", WILL DETERMINE OUR LEVEL OF SUCCESS.

SO KEEP ON TRYING!

 

[fastLeo151]

Scott, no need to give up, it takes time to establish healthy business.

 

[exSW]

You are on the right track.Cut back,quit dragging home every saw you see and CHARGE MORE.When I got sick and tired of the horse business I raised my training rate to a dollar a minute,that's right $60.00 an hour,I still got people to take me up on it because they knew it was worth it.Now my rate is $2.00/minute and no takers...so far.You work cheap you get cheap work and cheap customers.As far as being a good old boy and helping people out,some folks there just ain't enough help for.

 

[Warped5]

Throwin' in the towel? Word around here was that you never even showered .... :hmm3grin2orange:

I agree with many of the previous posters. Charge MORE! Don't give the stuff away, worst case: Trade for something more useful and sell THAT! I do something similar ... my goal is $100+ per month and I reach that easily charging $35/hour. I also circulate my business card as a 'chainsaw collector' to all the local OPE shops ...

I do the work to offset the costs of the hobby ...

Bottom line: Charge more, take a shower and change your avatar.

Cheers!

 

[griffonks]

Wow, I'm sorry that you are frustrated.

It seems like you would have had all kinds of takers at $20/hr labor. Maybe $40/hr would be a better place to start.

I'm wondering if you tried advertising on Craigslist? Maybe do some mobile repairs, run some repeated ads under the for sale heading. Folks with a busted snow-blower, mower, rototiller, chainsaw, etc... would see it while shopping for a used replacement runner.

Very soon folks will find that their winter equipment, saws and snow-blowers won't start because of poor storage practices.

Occasional showering might help get repeat business too.

I also dislike your avatar, why don't you take a poll to see if anybody likes it?

 

[sefh3]

What part is "failing". Are you not making enough money to break even or is the business not there. There is a big difference. You don't need to charge more if the cliental is there. I debated this option many of times. I decided to keep it as a hobby instead of a business. The cliental is there but my family and full time job come first.

 

[angelo c]

Scott,
Coming from the perspective of a "consultant" and investor in many small business ventures. (currently growing one as well)
what I always look for is a great and detailed "business plan"...as a start..then I look for "Dogged Determination" I don't give two Chits how smart, experienced talented a "partner" is I need him to WANT to succeed more then anything else. sometimes businesses thrive even though they are the dumbest, poorest laid out cockamamie ideas, and the founder just will NOT QUIT.

That's the partner I'm looking to invest in.

 

[Scoutillac]

You need to take a close look at your margins and adjust your labor rate accordingly. As a small business owner I have had to take a close look over the past 3 years as my market went in the tank. I came off my best year ever only to have the economic recession hit and bleed out damn near all of my retained earnings. I was ready to give up but am too damn stubborn and this is all I really know. I just could not handle going to work for someone else.

 

[angelo c]

You need to take a close look at your margins and adjust your labor rate accordingly. As a small business owner I have had to take a close look over the past 3 years as my market went in the tank. I came off my best year ever only to have the economic recession hit and bleed out damn near all of my retained earnings. I was ready to give up but am too damn stubborn and this is all I really know. I just could not handle going to work for someone else.

Good for you !!!!

 

[o8f150]

well I have been told by several I am to cheap,,, this part of the country there isn't much money floating around,,,, as far as over head I have 0 over head so anything I make is 100% profit that's why I came up with that hourly rate,, guess to me charging 80 an hour is a total rip off and those shops have a huge over head,,, I can understand needing to make money but I am not looking to get rich but just to have extra spending money,,, I have flipped many many saws and other equipment and never lost money,, never made a huge profit usually 20 bucks or so but that's better then loosing 20 bucks,,,,,,, just like today one of my regulars came in with a bunch of chains to sharpen,,, I am not going to charge him anything since he is going to GIVE me 2 oak and hickory trees,,, all I have to do is go buck them up and he is going to use his loader to load them on the trailor,,, should be over a cord of wood in them,,,, to me that's worth the 12 bucks in sharpening for trade,, I am just going to let it ride and see what happens but I am not holding my breath

 

[Warped5]

There's another example ..... $12 to sharpen a bunch of chains? Way too cheap! Start thinking $5 each ...

 

[o8f150]

There's another example ..... $12 to sharpen a bunch of chains? Way too cheap! Start thinking $5 each ...

I get 3 per chain,, other local shops are 8-10 per