Starting Slow, Working Weekends

Bertram

In an attempt to start slow, the weekend right now is about all the free time I have. But can this lead to the fast track, my reasoning being.

On weekdays, most clients and all the surrounding homeowners are at work, and do not see you. Pull up on a Saturday Morning, everyone is home and now all the neighbors see you.

So can starting slow in this fashion, actually help accelerate the business?
Thanks,
Bertram

bigchaz

cant start nearly as early on saturdays though. During the week if theres gonna be noise involved I usually start no earlier than 7:30.

On the weekends... I wouldnt start earlier than 9. Might make more enemies than future customers if your working a nail gun or miter saw at 7 in the morning on saturday

Dont know your policy, but I also never work on Sundays.

Grumpy

I am assuming that this is a side business and you will be working on the weekdays for someone else. This is a nice way to suplement your income assuming your current employer is fine with it. Many companies have rules against moon-lighting/side jobs.

If this is your fulltime and only job, then I would be very curious to know how you will generate enough income in two days to support yourself for 7 days. If you can pull it off, I'd be willing to pay for your recipe to success. Most of us work 5-6 days a week.

Don't think that while you are working people/neighbors will line up in droves requesting you to do their work. Also don't think people won't see you working on weekdays... you and I both know that the roads are just as packed on week days as they are on week ends. Finally don't think that if you are working a 3 or 4 day job will your customer be willing to wait a whole week for you to finish up, this is a huge inconvenience for them.

Lots of people started up doing side business, and are now successful. I jumped in with both feet, both out of respect for my boss and knowing I had to fully dedicate myself 100% to pull this thing off. I see no way how working on weekends ONLY will accelerate your busines. IMO week end work is for quick and easy jobs, while week day work are for the regular large or PIA jobs. Also look at it like this, working 5 days a week will yield more exposure than working 2 days a week, regardless of the day you work.

Have you considered leaving yard signs at your jobs over the weekend?

Bertram

Thanks again,

Bertram

Grumpy

That might not matter to your current boss. I worked for one roofing company where I was their scheduling manager. I dealt with all their subcontractors daily and they knew I designed websites on the side. My boss got pissed because I made websites for a few of them. His exact words were... "We don't want them to do their own work, we want them to only work for us."

Well frick man, pay them better or hire them as employees. How you are paying them now I have no idea how they can feed their families or would want to work for you.

That's just my little rant, but just to point out how sometimes bosses can live in the clouds.

realpurty2

I am not sure I see the logic in working strictly weekends being a fast track. In this area, a customer usually complains if we even suggest working a Saturday for a few hours to tie up loose ends. Most HO's work all week and consider weekends rest and family time. Jobsite signs also make you visable to neighbors 24/7 during the duration of the job. If your work is exterior or noisy in nature, it could allienate more than attract. I could also see it being an issue when a job is longer than a weekend project because then your tying up the home for a week without forward progress.

Starting slow is a good thing, but to think it's a miracle fast track. Not in my opinion.

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Woman in a Man's World.

Bertram

Working weekends may be an available option for someone starting out who is already consumed 12 hours a day during the "normal" work week. And, I agree, it would not be the prefered method, that's why it was posted as a question and not a statement.

"So can starting slow in this fashion, actually help accelerate the business?"

Thanks,
Bertram

realpurty2

Bert,

Sorry my tone might have read as sharp, wasn't my intention. I was merely trying to give what my answer would be to the question. I am having one crappy day and it must have shown in my response. Hope I didn't pass along my mood to you.

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Bertram

Purty...
No worries... and believe me, I'd rather hear it the correct way from those that know, that's why I ask....

I no way, shape or form would I want to be working one Saturday and then get 50 calls the next day for work, and the chance's of that are slim to none. But for those in this Contracting Service business, have you ever realized something that had not been originaly thought about at first.

Thanks,

Kristina

Lemme share ya a story.

My husband is a builder. Has been since he was a teen working for his dad. Always worked for dad.

Wanted more out of life and for his family, cut out on his own cold turkey. 1.5 years later, he's just started work as a Production Manager for a restoration company.

We have nearly buried ourselves financially by doing it this way. With 5 kids, 2 mortgages and only a one man show, it didn't get very far. We started off in the hole with personal finances and barely survived 2 winters with ZERO work. He literally did not work for 6 months straight.

Some of the advice we got from this site was that he should've started off slowly, doing work on evenings or weekends after his *day* job. Not quitting his day job until the "side" business required more than nights and weekends on a consistent basis. I find it odd that you are getting the exact OPPOSITE advice. People here told me that the reason why it sucks so bad to start your own business is because you are working your tuckus off 18 hours a day. In the beginning, I hardly believe that 18 hours is completely dedicated to your own business. You simply don't have enough jobs to keep you that busy from the get-go. If you are in a market that is crazy for builders right now, more power to ya. Here in CT, the market is SATURATED with builders and people who are pretending to be builders because they can't get people to have their homes powerwashed or their lawns mowed.

There is one guy who does tree work though. I've seen him advertise for the last 3 years. He started off as "Weekend Tree Work". He kept the name but now has a notation underneath that says, "not just a weekend job anymore!". Apparently, his weekend gig grew into a full-time gig.

Ultimately, I think starting slowly will work and would 110% dedication right from the beginning. It's up to you, your comfort level, your market.

Good luck!!

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copusbuilder

Kristina!! Are you saying there are inconsistancies with the advice?? Remember there are egos that need to be stroked and if on one does it then one must do their own

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AkA Richard Cranium

DecksEtc

Bertram,

I actually started my first year of business by starting out doing smaller jobs on evenings and weekends. Then I decided to take the plunge the following year and go at it full time. A few pointers/bits of advice for you...

- don't expect this method to "accelerate" your business. The correct marketing and web presence for your area will do that for you when you're ready to pay for and manage that aspect of the business

- be very explicit with your customers and let them know that you are doing this "part-time" and that they will have to expect projects to take longer to complete. They will expect to pay less for this inconvenience so you should set your prices accordingly.

- you don't say what kind of business you plan on but working only weekends my not be realistic. You should try to squeeze in a few nights during the week, if possible. For me, building decks on just weekends wouldn't have cut it.

My first year I did about a half dozen decks and about the same number of fences. Will it be easy? No. Is it a good way to start out for the situation you've described for yourself? I say, Yes.

My first year full time started out slow because my name wasn't out there enough. My second year has exploded. This year, I did more consultations by the end of May than I did for my entire first year, and I'm barely keeping up with the projects I'm signing.

The bottom line is that starting out on a part-time basis allows you to have your full time job/wages to keep you from worrying about where each pay cheque will come from. Ultimately, you have to decide what you want to do. Also, starting on a "part-time" basis, it won't kill you if you don't have constant work.

Good Luck in your decision!

Bertram

Terry,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and it is very encouraging as well. The services I am targeting are the small Handyman Services. Ya know, I think we are seeing more and more discussions on this board about Handyman, some good, some not so good, some in between, Pros n' Cons to the franchise model, etc. I had done framing and remodeling for a couple of years, not for myself, but working for a top-notch craftsmen. It was just tough work and my hats off to those in that area of contracting. From framing, to running lawn crews were my 7 years of doing heavy labor. I got smart (at least thought I did) and went back to computer school, earned my technical cert. and for the past 8 or so years, have been behind the "desk" side of the world, pushing information. 2 things I’ve learned are 1) Customer Service
2) Computers. So the jobs I would be looking to target would not be large renovations, but smaller, things that can be accomplished in a couple hours to 1-2 days max. I'll leave the larger projects to those that service that market. All the handyman work I've done since having a desk job has been on my on homes. From paint to molding, shelving, doors, one bathroom rip-out re-build and everything in between. The worst was replacing termite eaten sills & joists on my cape in order to sell it, but that's a story for another day.

cssconstruct

Bertram,

There is no right or wrong answer to your question. I think a lot in the begining really depends on luck. You can have the perfect job model, heck you could probably be the best in the world at something and still fail. That is the beauty of business. You just have to find what works for you. There is an opportunity cost for everything and you just have to figure out how yours affect you, ie are you losing out on handyman work because of your other job, or would the loss of steady income severly hamper your current lifestyle. I know people that I thought could never fail go out on their own and six months later were bankrupt, and others who could not find their butt with both hands, having more work than they knew what to do with. My only advice to you is, do what YOU think is right. Whatever you do may or may not work, but you will know that you did it the best way for you. We don't have to live with your decision or approach, you do. Best of luck.