If I was a barn builder

[AxleHub]

Brett,

I don't want you to be discouraged . . I want you to be ENcouraged. But that type of enciueagement can't come from outside . . it has to come from you listening to others and then thinking about what they are saying and how you could consider overcoming those issues or points.

As an example . . how could you do a test run ? Something smaller and where you find the job and then have these crews you know do the work and you supervise and manage it? Just 1 project 1 time and them as subcontractors not employees?

I don't care if it sounds too easy . . you have to prove to yourself and those crews that this idea might work and you have to see how things could be improved imo before you get a big head of steam going about it.

Now it doesn't matter if its ac4 car garage or a 30 x 40 building . . But nothing bigger imo. Keep your risks low while you are looking for adjustments and improvements.

In other words . . Go for it if you choose . . But with training wheels attached . . Get thru EVERYTHING completed and paid for . . then . . Only then . . Discuss the potential if a second job is to be done imo.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a contractor here in Texas and I've been self employed for the last 15 years. I've built spec houses, done additions, built metal and pole barns. I've found that for me, the challenge is that type of work is in dealing with people. When you do it for others, figuring out what they want, and then getting others to do it is extremely frustrating. I'm not a people person, and I hate being a manager. If you have crews working for you, you have to be able to get people to do what you want, how you want, when you want. There is nothing easier to build then a pole barn. Simplest type of construction out there.

If you are good at dealing with people, you can figure out what your clients are thinking, along with hearing what they are actually saying, and not saying, then the most important part of being successful is marketing. Just because you have a crew and good materials, doesn't mean people that have never met you will pay you to build them a building. You have to start out building up your reputation. No amount of paid advertising will come close to word of mouth. Word of mouth comes from happy clients. I live off of word of mouth. I haven't advertised in over a dozen years and I just booked up May 2017.

You'll have to advertise at first, and most of what's available is a waste of money. Newspaper ads, trade publications, yellow pages, billboards, are all pretty much worthless. The free classifieds worked for small jobs to get my business started. Meeting real estate agents also helped getting my name out there. Working for cheap the first couple of years is probably how I got most of my jobs. Angies List works, but it's a double edged sword. People will call you from it, but you get a lot of waste of time calls too. Better Business Bureau might help, I think it really depends on your area. Fliers at feed stores might also work to some degree. Facebook has taken over as the very best marketing took out there in my opinion. Most of my competition has a business page, but I keep it all on my personal page. It's up to you how you go, but in my opinion, trust is gained by being available and letting clients see who you are. Anybody can go onto my page and see what I've done, what I'm doing and what type of person I am. This combines word of mouth because when a person needs a contractor, a friend sends then a link to my FB page and then they either call my on the phone, or send me an email through there.

I never knew if I could survive being self employed until I tried it. I don't have a background for it, I just had some experience doing DIY stuff and free labor for my parents on their rental houses. I've been lucky in that I can do a lot of different things and will take on most projects that a client needs done. Most of the guys out there that ask me if I'm hiring and they are looking for work all limit themselves on what they do. Some will only paint, others are only wanting to do tile work, or whatever it is. If you are only building barns, that narrows down your market tremendously.

Along with barn building, I would also offer finishing off the inside rooms for offices, bathrooms, and entire homes. I would offer cabin builds and sheds, maybe even have a few pre-made sheds like the ones they sell on the parking lots of Lowes and Home Depot that you could deliver. I would price what others are getting and do it for less. As far as I know, I'm the highest paid handyman in the area. I started out the cheapest and just kept giving myself a raise as my wait times increased. Go into it focused on building up your name and reputation, if you do that, the money will come later.

 

[TerryR]

Eddie,

Your FB page wouldn't help you much with me - Facebook shows me only this for you:


Doesn't explain much about what you do.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

On this subject matter, I absolutely hate dealing with, or bidding against newbies in the business. They don't know enough to cover all of the bases with clients, and I spend half of my life educating my clients on why they shouldn't hire / consider using these newbies. Now, that being said, a lot of new business's are started by seasoned professionals leaving employment in their field, and strike out on their own, that's different. But, when you get a guy with a truck, hammer, and saw out there starting up, it's a catastrophe. First rule of thumb for me is stick to what you know. We don't build restaurants for that very reason... We don't know enough about them. I just spent an hour today walking a client through a bid for a project in Chicago. She Didn't understand why I insisted on only using certain subcontractors. Easy answer, they have all worked for me before in the same complex.They know what is expected, AND required of them, AND they are proven. Jumping out there with no experience / knowledge is just plain wrong. Learn your trade, then go out there and excel at it.

 

[s219]

Eddie,

Your FB page wouldn't help you much with me - Facebook shows me only this for you:
View attachment 474018

Doesn't explain much about what you do.

You need to log into FB to see more information. Not Eddie's fault, that's the way FB works.

 

[Streetcar]

Firefighters that I know in construction for most part either are handymen or work with other fire fighters. Not being available 1/3 of the time makes running a crew very difficult

 

[TerryR]

You need to log into FB to see more information. Not Eddie's fault, that's the way FB works.

I wasn't claiming it was Eddie's fault, just pointing out that those who refuse to have a FB account cannot be reached by that channel.