Well, I have succumbed to the pressure of supplying a profile of who I am.
It's not the most exciting story you'll ever read, but it's mine....
At 60, I am the youngest of four siblings. Born in Fairbanks, Alaska, I spent the first 18 years of my life the son of an Air Force sergeant and stay-at-home Mom. It was a great childhood.
I grew up in a "normal" family. My father was a jack of all trades and a master of them as well. I never witnessed anything he couldn't do and do well. He could tear apart an engine (on the earlier cars), make a radio, including the chassis from scratch, build a bookcase, etc, etc, etc. The house he and his friend built still stands in Augusta, Maine. He basically could do it all. And though I didn't pay much attention in my younger years to how he was doing things, it sunk in that anything is possible; that I could do it too. I learned patience and quality from him.
After high school, I continued moving around quite a bit, mostly because of different jobs. I always loved seeing new areas and meeting new people. I finally ended up back in Delaware. I always tell people, I left Delaware because there was nothing going on and I came back for the same reason. Things change as you grow older.
I've had a few jobs in my life. I did well and advanced in all of them. I know that may sound smug but it's just a fact. I started as the wash-boy at a Cadillac dealership and after transitioning through most of the departments, ended up as the youngest member of the Cadillac Crest Club. I was a musician (drums) and ended up playing professionally for quite a few years. I worked as a car rental delivery person and worked my way up to managing my own office in Philadelphia. I was hired as the banquet set-up person at a country club and worked my way through the industry until becoming a general manager of one. The last place I managed had 10 owners. That should be enough information for you older readers as to why I quit.
After my Dad passed away and I got out of the coat and tie, I decided...what the hell...I'll make custom furniture and "stuff". I found out quickly that around here, there was very little demand for that sort of thing. My brother-in-law was working for a realtor and asked if I could repair a bathroom floor in a rental the company had. Sure, I'll give it a try.
That first job led to many more for the same realtor. He kept me pretty busy, but after a few years, I began to hate it. He was a slum landlord and didn't care about fixing it right...he just wanted it fixed. I found the whole mentality of cutting corners and keeping it cheap pretty hard to swallow. Luckily, by the time I bid him adieu, I had started to build up a nice little portfolio of "regular" customers...actual homeowners who appreciated good work.
That's where I am today...doing work for mostly retired folks. I will pretty much do anything I'm capable of; some of it pretty cool, like building kitchen cabinets or built-ins and some of it not so cool, like cleaning gutters or repairing a leaking pipe in cold, damp, dark crawlspace. A little side note....when I first got started in this, I'd take the cover off the opening of a crawlspace and think...there is no way in hell I'm going in there. It quickly occurs to you...if you want to pay your electric bill, you absolutely will crawl in there and "get-r-done". Now I just open it up and yell at any critters that may be present...."I'm comin' in". The yelling seems to help and most of the anxiety is gone.
I hire different trades for jobs that come along requiring their expertise. I usually work alone but enjoy the occasional helper for mundane jobs. I try to work by a code that has allowed me success throughout my life; give $1.10 worth of work for every $1.00 you are getting paid. So far, so good. I'm not getting rich but I'm comfortable most of the time.
Contractor Talk was and still is a valuable tool for me. I view it as a tool, as important as my miter saw. The wealth of knowledge from this community is mind boggling; whether it's a "how-to" for a tile floor or an opinion on something concerning an employee (or Congressman). I know I've taken much more than I've given but I hope the times I have chimed in have been useful to someone out there in internet-land.
So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Thanks to all who thought I deserved some sort of recognition. It means a lot.
Robie.
Contractor of the Quarter Winner
March 2015