Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 You sounded hacked off yesterday, and I'm not surprised. Help and assistance aside, what about trying to shift what you're doing? Drop the wonderful world of eBay and all the pain it brings, but maybe drop some of the more bread and butter repair work, try positioning yourself more in the repair/restore market? Set your prices as a w***ker filter and see how you go? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonk179 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Be picky with your jobs and don't advertise. I say this as the best customers are those who come from recommendations from already satisfied customers. You already have a good reputation from what I read on the forums and It would be a shame for idiots to ruin it for you. Cut back to minimum workload you can get away with money wise, take a holiday and then think. Don't let the you knows grind you down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hard for us to say Steve as only you have the full picture, but many of the things you are getting stressed over can be put right. Sorting out good accountants and help will ease your burden. Where I go to have my car worked on, the two partners are both hands on and prefer to be doing rolling road and building cars to doing the managing. They have a guy who runs the workshop and a girl in the office which allows them to do what they love. No one who loves cars loves paperwork. As for muppets, yep lots out there but getting some good quality terms and conditions that any of these have to agree to upfront will stop vexcious claims. There are only 24hours in a day, yet you seem to have managed to be not 100% healthy yet cram 48 into each one. I use a saying with my managers when they are telling me their problems. it is this, sometimes we are so busy managing, to stop and manage what is important. By this I mean we are managing to get the work in and out, deliveries done, wetnursing staff. dealing with H&S, Vat men etc, where if we stopped and looked at it from a distance and managed time and rescource we can acheive more with much less stress. It would seem sad to me to have something that you have built up quickly close for things that are fixable. At least working for your self the decisions are yours, working for others can be as stressful if not more stressful. Try to take time and think things through fully. I am sure that there are many on here would love to help you if we can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 An ex colleague of mine wrote 2 books and the second was entitled "too busy to delegate" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory's Dad Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 No one who loves cars loves paperwork. So true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerodynamix Ltd Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I feel for you Steve and hope you make the decision that works best for you . I too have had some of the same feelings a little while ago with amount of hours being spent and not seeing the family . Luckily I'm not Vat registered so don't have that issue .......... but am just about there . "too busy to delegate" So true !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Steve, One word - pick your customers… actually thats three words but it worked for me in the tree business... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I've often thought it's one of life's great ironies that employed people often think that as a business owner you swan about, mess around on the computer, don't do much work and take time off whenever you want to. This may be true for some people, but in my experience is almost exactly the opposite. With the possible exception that I spend far too much time on the computer and not getting enough work done, but it's all work related guff that needs doing. Still wouldn't swap though, which is just as well as I'm probably unemployable by now (too used to being my own boss) Would be a shame to give up if you've plenty of work coming in, but I know how frustrating the other stuff gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clansman Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Nil Carborundum mate ............be more selective and specialised, Would be a more appreciative customer ( I know I am) I would think and hope, leave the "normal" stuff and hassle that goes with it to A.N Other and sons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Good call by the clansman here, Steve! You're like a mutual friend of his and mine, who wants to help and not turn away work .. but gets dogs for it after! It's not easy knowing what every customer is like until you start work, for sure. However, there'll be a few numpties that you can spot a mile off!! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E. Coyote Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Steve, One word - pick your customers… actually thats three words but it worked for me in the tree business... I was going to suggest similar. If you feel you have to deal with people you'd prefer not to, then clear Ts&Cs + sensible cash up front/stage payments. Suspect you'd enjoy working for someone else even less than you like the current situation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 well some news , been offered a job 9-5 decent pay and not a million miles away from where i am now , will have to give this some serious thought my initial thoughts were if i didnt have all the work in i would have said yes straight away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkymart Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Steve if you do decide to jack it in could you not sell your business as a going concern and try and make some cash out of it rather than just shutting up shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingster Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 ...You're like a mutual friend of his and mine, who wants to help and not turn away work .. but gets dogs for it after! I used to be like that - never turn down a job and always agree to any deadline rather than say "no". But a couple of years ago, I started turning down smaller fiddly jobs and concentrated on some decent customers who paid on time. I also stopped pandering to customer's deadlines and they were absolutely fine with it. Finally, I stopped working weekends. Never been busier (but only weekdays) and never been happier - even OK with the VAT & Tax now as I just put it all in a savings account until needed, so never ever worries me. Took me 15 years to finally get it together and save the tax n vat mind - I always used to work on 'cashflow' to pay it - bad idea. Hope it works out for you Steve - obviously never met you mate, but feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matta Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Steve - I know you've probably thought about this long and hard but make sure you get as much advice as possible on the options available to you (you're getting plenty on here!), to allow you to make a balanced, judgement on where your future lies. It's sometimes difficult to be objective when everything seems to be against you. Whatever you end up doing, I wish you every success for the future. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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