Running A Company Is Like Being The Captain Of A Sinking Boat

constructonomics

Have you ever felt like running your company was similar to bailing water out of a sinking lifeboat. You bail and bail and bail until you finall have to throw people overboard.

jazzbone

yes ! I have my life jacket on and I'm ready to jump.
Probably 1st of the year I'm bailing on construction and try my hand at something else

joshua1

Hi, I know a lot of guys that are at the top of their game, like as in billions not millions in assets, and the advice they all give, is never bail, ever - stick with it. Shed staff, shed overhead, kill direct debits, give back finance purchases with a hard neck and a smile, cut costs, cut personal expenditure, but dont bail. If you bail out, you go back to the start, back to a start-up in a new industry. One guy I know is now the governments go to guy, and he told me that 4 years ago he was broke, no cash,problems everywhere, but he shed, shed, shed and kept going, and it turned around. And when it did, he built the layers back up. You have to be a survivor, plug on, and work at it, the more your phone rings, the more you make, so call everyone, remind them of you, call in every favour you can, use every connection, however tenuouse, but dont bail out, cos all the others are thinking the same"Im gonna quit and get me a job", and when they do, you wont have, and work they would have got will come to you, the survivor - and I'm a realist, not a day-dreamer. DO NOT BAIL! Bailing is the enemy, to be fought, not embraced. J.

KentWhitten

You're only on a sinking boat if you believe you're on a sinking boat.

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If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

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joshua1

You may well BE on a sinking boat, but its only sinking if you dont plug the leaks, be they excess fat and overhead, excess staff, excess personal expenditure, or lack of income. Get rid of one and boost the other and that barge aint sinkin no more, its floating, and the whole trick is to stay afloat. The defenition of a successful businessman is someone who still works for themselves after 5 years in business, bank balance be damned. The race is long, and in the end, its only with yourself, so run a bit faster!

Cdat

Sorry, but I built my boat to weather the rough seas. In fact, I'm building other boats or should I say, I'm salvaging other boats that lesser Captains jumped from. Oh wait, I see your ship now....

480sparky

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wademckenna

I have been in the remodeling industry for many years, and can tell you that bussiness has always had it's ups & downs, things always get better, but there will always be low times. This will never change. If you feel like like "bailing out" you probably should. Contracting is a career, and it doesn't sound like care much for it. Follow your instinct, and find something you like.

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joshua1

Encouraging stuff guys. Just the advice I'd like to hear if I was feeling despondent. I guarantee you I have more boats than most, not least of which is a thriving debt-collection agency that runs itself and is currently booming. However, a little more practical advice for someone floundering may not go amiss. J.

Celtic

Invest in inflatable underwear

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Red Adobe

I downsized 3 years ago due to stress, i slashed overhead and stopped training people just to lose them to my compatition.....its been a good year for me this year and I have actualy done better then the large co's around. Even after paying myself i can show profit now.

I got in the same rut alot get into being that bigger and bigger is better, and for me I outgrew what I wanted and wasnt able to be happy

hbelectric

I went from one man shop a few weeks ago, i'm now back up to 7 guy's temporary and work outlook is good, of course things can change quick.

slowforthecones

Where there is fire..there comes business.

Metro M & L

It's posts like this that get you investigated man. Watchout!

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joshua1

Brace yourself, when they put this one out you are gonna be swamped! Just shows, every cloud.....

joshua1

And even if the boat is sinking, some guy somewhere is looking on,whipping out his calculator, licking his lips and saying "Damn, if only I was in that guys shoes, I could make a fortune with the gear he has". Sometimes you just have to change your perspective and business model to suit circumstances. My business model changes with almost every new job! I have a problem saying NO to work(and I have no problem charging for work - cheap I aint), so I am on a perpetual learning curve. I believe that if another company can do a job, we can do it. It may require re-skilling, new tools, better vehicles and maybe even bigger cahones, but I find mine get bigger the more jobs I thought would be impossible turn out to be just a series of small tasks strung together to form a big chain. J

Bill Z

A quarter of a century ago, an old man told me...

"When everything is really, really bad, don't worry 'cause it'll get good again.

..And when everything is going really, really, good, don't worry 'cause it'll get bad again."

That advice has helped me through every downturn, any bad month, any troubling situation.
It also helps me hold back from flying too high and buying extravagant things when things are good, so I can weather the next storm.

Now, to many of you, I'm an old man... so I'm passing it on. It works if you use it.

Taranis

Prize for best advice goes to Joshua. Stick with it and fight to keep it (and your dream) alive. That's what I've done over the past year and now coming out the other end, still with my own company and lessons learned.

http://www.justgiving.com/lesley-mark