sean26

I'm faced with the decision of whether or not to lay off my employee. He's an excellent worker - in fact, a better painter than I am - but I can hardly pay myself a wage. Leads seem to have dried up for the season and I have no big jobs lined up, despite having undertaken a major advertising campaign (door hangers and newspaper ads)in August/September.

My question is addressed to painters working in big markets, such as Toronto, Chicago, etc: what are my employee's prospects for finding work in residential repaints at this time of year (November). Are the bigger companies hiring now? I know there's no chance at all for him to find work where we live at the present time (Hamilton, Ontario), but moving to Toronto is an option for him. I hate the thought of letting a quality guy go at this time of year - and I'll regret it 1000 times more in the spring when the work will be there, and I'll be going through the crap of looking for someone to replace him - but I simply can't afford to pay him any longer. At the very least, I'd love to give him some job leads...anything at all.

BuildingHomes

If you are in Hamilton, why are you not painting in Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Milton, Ancaster, Grimsby and more?

I live in Burlington, and I work as far as Stouffville.

PlainPainter

Business is business - if you can't afford to keep him on - let him go. Evidently he isn't adding to your bottom line enough to keep paying him even though you won't have much work until the spring - it's just the nature of the business. I am back to myself for those very reasons - and cannot do larger exterior projects anymore - the people have voted, they want cheap painting. And I, not being a company like Raytheon, GE, or some other big company - cannot afford to keep people employed just because their good. The way I see it - as the owner of a small residential painting firm - I am more like a broker between what homeowners are willing to pay and what workers want to work for. I have guys that insist on $20/hr under the table money - at the same time I have homeowners that don't want to pay more than $25/hr - which means I will have as much as $10-$15 net loss per man hr. So guess what - the crews with all the cheap immigrant labor will have to do the work. It's just sad times. I kept a guy on for a few months for interior one year - paying him $15/hr, during a period where homeowners historically chisel you down. And I figured I was breaking even on his labor - and finding it tough to pay my company bills on the $7-$8/hr I was making. Guess what - I let him go - and have since then found other lines of work to keep my employed by myself more profitably. Something eventually has to break - customer requirements for cheap house painting are just too tough to broker.

camaroman2125

Its just me and another guy and what we found that what works sometimes is taking the little jobs that don't pay much but might lead to more work. For example we powerwashed some awnings for a business here in town. a few days later they call us cause they want their whole interior painted for thanksgiving. And possibly their exterior next spring. We asked them why they wanted us to do it and its cause that they called 5 companies here in the area and none of them wanted to take the little job(yet alot of them that I talk to are complaining there isn't enough work). So a 100 dollar powerwash turned into over a 6,000 interior job and possibly a exterior

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

PlainPainter

The only problem with $100 dollar jobs, is that when you add up all the expenses of running your business and deduct this from your $100 - you will be in the RED! It's great if you consider it as advertizing costs, that leads to bigger and better jobs. But all too often - I just get these $100 jobs that takes up the better part of the day - and then watch next year as they get some other company to do other work. It's a gamble - and I find it hasn't paid off - sure if you don't do it - then you will lose out on some potential jobs. It's a toss up - and hard to say what the right thing to do is. Personally if I don't have any other work scheduled for the day - and consider it as add on work to another job - then I'd be losing big bucks over the long term if I didn't charge a $300 minimum for hauling my trailer and equipment. Krikes one job I did cost me in gas $25 just one way! I'd lose $50 like that off that $100. And accountants don't deduct mileage for 'commuting' to work.

camaroman2125

Yes it can put you in the red, but I always say if I wanna keep working sometimes I need to take a hit. Not saying i'm always going to take the 100 dollar jobs,but if I feel it can lead to something else I'll do it. So far it has worked out well for us. If you build a relationship they will remember that and more than likely go with you on other projects. Heck we are doing some work up in michigan that my partner worked for these people over 8 years ago and they still called him over anyone else. Sometimes you gotta do somethings that others won't. It is a gamble, but so far it has paid off well for us cause we are booked all the way into feb so far and working on march. Not saying this is for everyone,but this is how I do it and its paid off so far.

__________________
SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

woodmagman

Every one wants their house painted for the Christmas holidays. Market to that....your empoyee's are your business....