Clean Slate

ron schenker

Here's the scenario. You're a GC and you're moving to a new city. You don't know anybody in the trades but you need to build yourself a crew of good reliable contractors. You also need to drum up some business. How would you do it?

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

Mike Finley

Where are you going Ron?

Gordo

I have no personal experience with this but can offer what I think will work.....and like anything it will take time. Go to the supply houses and ask the vendors their take on contractors that are established. See if they need subs or would like to pass work your way. Develop a list....then cull it as you weed/ nurture the right contractors/clientle.

How did you start your current business?

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Looks like some pros were here.

ron schenker

To Littleton Colorado to start up a new bathroom remodelling business

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

boman47k

Uh OH!

Mike Finley

Sweet, with guys like you for a peer with we'd both be better for it!

dirt diggler

lol

somebody's not paying their bills ... j/k

hrscammisa

You can go on the contractors web site and see who has any bad marks on them for starters.Check with the local building dept also they can tell you a lot whos doing what.It has taken me about 14 months to get a good feel here where I move and I did not know any body just because there busy dose not mean there good found that out with the concret guys here and the plumbers to.

Magnettica

I would pass my business card out everywhere. Find the local coffee shop that does alot of business, offer to do some work at a discount rate there, and then plaster an advertisement of the kind of work that you do so everyone who frequents the coffee knows who you are and can see the work that you do.

Good luck!

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slickshift

Bring enough money to live off of for three years

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Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

Brian

I would pick a small area of 5K to 10K homes that fit the demographics I was seeking. I would then bombard that area with advertising-- door hangers, direct mail, community papers, etc. As soon as I got a job I start a proximity program to market to the neighbors.

By concentrating my marketing in a very small area, I'd get a lot more exposures for the money.

Brian Phillips

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AtlanticWBConst

I'd do my research on the area regarding similar businesses. I'd also do research on what the best advertising mediums are in the general area. I'd develop a new and not yet registered business name - tying it in with the area. Example: Boston building and remodeling, New England Remodeling Corp, etc...
I'd set aside funds for advertising for 6 months. The rest is self explanatory.

Example: There are these 2 idiots in our area that we used to do business with. They have no clue about structural building and had remodeled basements and left a trail of angry customers.
They advertised in about 5 magazines and their phone started ringing. They actually got signed contracts for several additions and other remodeling work this way (no references and no experience doing additions )

End of that story... (in order to make my initial point above)


Rest of story:
The idiots contracted us to do the first addition that they got (everything; hole in the ground to carpeting).
2 story addition, 1 bath, 1 master bedroom w/master bath, playroom and 4 more bedrooms w/bay windows. Existing house: replace all windows and strip and re-side with vinyl/aluminum trim. Their Budget: $80K (found out that they wanted to pocket $24K for doing nothing) = Actual contract was $104,000.00 (he used a computer estimating program to come up with it) - Even that $104K amount was way off for all the work required. (I used actual materials & window quotes, actual sub quotes, etc, and actual experience... to come up with a cost estimate of $150K -$160K)
....Also found out, that they had already taken a $20K downpayment & hadn't even checked with the town about whether it could even be done.....
Obviously, we walked away shaking our heads ...
.....morons...

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