Any other self-employeed notice the economy lately?

mikeofaustin · May 13, 2010

In the last few weeks, things have been really picking up. In fact, I can't get a break from it. People keep calling, needing this and that. All in the last few weeks. I'm having a little stress just trying to determine if I need to disappear from any new clients as my current ones are non-stop right now. I think I've gotten about 5 purchase orders this week alone. And for me, a PO means I'm busy for at least a few days.

wreckdiver1715 · May 13, 2010

Mike, I like to hear good news like that. I see that you are in Austin Texas, so I know that life is good out that way. My first business venture was located in South Austin back in the 80's, and I still have a warm spot in my heart for Austin.
So what is it you are doing for work out that way?

Tom

mikeofaustin · May 14, 2010

I do electronics design. Design, layout, fabrication, assembly, kitting... Mostly printed circuit board stuff. I've done this for so long for 'the man', that when I got laid off, I took my skill and ran with it.

Most of my work is with companies. But occasionally, I'll get Joe Farmer looking to build an electronic cattle gate, or something strange. It's really neat what some people think of these days.

baspinall · May 14, 2010

I have owned my own telecommunications cabling business since 1992. The last two plus years have been a roller coaster ride from you know where. I still have not seen anything bounce back in my world. Its getting really scary.

Brian

diggummup · May 17, 2010

Nothing good happening here lately. Actually since the middle of April it has pretty much died for me. But then i'm just a lowly flooring installer. I've been reduced to doing mainly residential work these past couple years since the real estate boom went bust. No money in resi's. Now i'm doing the ebay/ flea market thing to make a little extra cash on the side. I'm still working just not as much.

simonds · May 17, 2010

digummup,
I'm in the same boat as you are. I was into new homes for 25-30 years, and you know where that
went. I'm now trying to change over to remodeling and such. I'm not known in the area for this type of work so it has been really hard to compete with the others around here. To many hammers around here. ( Everyone has a relative that owns a saw and hammer, or knows someone who was laid off and collecting unemployment but still will take on all the cash jobs they are offered.)
I should have took a government job 40 years ago instead of being a building contractor.

mikeofaustin · May 17, 2010

simonds said:
digummup,
I'm in the same boat as you are. I was into new homes for 25-30 years, and you know where that
went. I'm now trying to change over to remodeling and such. I'm not known in the area for this type of work so it has been really hard to compete with the others around here. To many hammers around here. ( Everyone has a relative that owns a saw and hammer, or knows someone who was laid off and collecting unemployment but still will take on all the cash jobs they are offered.)
I should have took a government job 40 years ago instead of being a building contractor.

For what it's worth; A few years ago, I called a termite inspection out to my home because they were in the outside wall. I didn't know anything about them and I was freaked out. He assured me that they are relatively easy to deal with, in fact, he gave me some simply instructions to do on my own instead of spending a couple thousand on a contract (4 years later and still no termites). One think he did mention though, was he needed contacts for people to rebuild the eaten-away part of peoples homes. I told him I was going to rebuild my own wall when he asked me if he could sent contacts my way. I declined.

So, a potential job lead is residential termite repair. Like me, I was freaked out, and it's possible that others are too.

What I learned, BTW, was just go and buy a bottle of termite killer from a local home depot, and flood the outer exterior dirt with the mix, but also, drill some holes in the wall, and flood the inside too... Not so much where the drywall wets itself (you get the idea). Looking back, I wouldn't have a problem offering this service with a 5 year termite free warranty.

mikeofaustin · May 17, 2010

texastee2007 said:
mike I am so proud of you....things are turning around for you and prayers are being answered....Just Wow!

Thanks. what I'm learning is that you keep your current clients happy, and they'll keep coming back. It's a 'client base' that counts.

Frankn · May 18, 2010

Well here is my take on the economy. Self employment followes the money. If money is loose, it is good, but money is tight, it is bad. Now what regulates the money you ask! In one word " OIL ". If oil is selling in the 60's the economy pickes up. If oil is selling in the 70's the economy picks up, but slower. If oil is selling in the 80's or higher the economy freezes or drops. True there is a lag, but the economy will follow the oil. Here's an interesting note. It cost the oil producers app. $5 a bbl. to produce oil at the terminal. Yesterday oil closed in the 60's so at the moment, it looks good. Remember oil is not only used to run our transportation, but is used in producing almost every product we use.

bigfish31 · May 18, 2010

I have to agree with you. I used to paint new homes, but those dried up. Then I switched to comercial projects. Competion lowered the price on those jobs. So now I repaint the repo homes I painted 6,7 years ago for the banks and investors. I make more money now than I did the first time. I am hiring more crews and working 7 days a week to stay up with the demand. It won't last for ever, but it's crazy right now.

simonds · May 19, 2010

bigfish,
Who would i talk to for work like that. I would be interested in just fixing up repo homes for a bank or mortgage company. Just a little work can make a home worth a lot more money.
Thanks for the tip.

Produce Guy · May 19, 2010

Mike it's really good to hear that business is up for you ,I can remember when you were laid-off,I think that we're lucky here in Austin and most of the people here didn't suffer like the rest of the U.S.A. .

snake35 · May 20, 2010

The Ohio economy is dead as disco.

bigfish31 · May 20, 2010

simonds said:
bigfish,
Who would i talk to for work like that. I would be interested in just fixing up repo homes for a bank or mortgage company. Just a little work can make a home worth a lot more money.
Thanks for the tip.

The realestate companys handle most bank repo's around here. There are 100,s of empty homes. I also do it for some investment groups that buy them at auction, clean them up, and sell them for 20,30 thousand more. I leave fliers on front doors that have lock boxes on them. It's easy to tell from the unkept yards.

Bigcypresshunter · May 21, 2010

Im on unemployment. I see it getting much worse sorry. I have decided to sell off everything I own' besides my tools, and move to the country in south central Florida. I still have my seasonal job in the Big Cypress.

I have a vacant lot in the country and Im going to try to move out there in a small trailer or something. I dont care I would live in a tar paper shack if I could get away with it.

I watched homes on one acre go from $200,000 in the Hendry Country area to 40,000 a year ago to 30,000, and now 19,000 and still no buyers. If I find a home for $5,000, Ill buy it lol.

The real estate market has gotten worse just the past 2 months. I know people that havent paid their mortgage for well over a year. They desperately dont want to foreclose but cannot allow this to continue indefinitely. The banks are going to have to make another round of foreclosures, and it will happen soon.

bigwater · May 21, 2010

I'm self employed, in the sign business. I do just about everything from cut vinyl stuck on a yard sign to full color digital printed hard signs to channel letter monument signs to quantities of small decals like bumper stickers. Business for me always drops way off right about Thanksgiving, and stays pretty dead until after the first of the year, so that's when I take my vacation.

Last year business dropped off around Thanksgiving as usual, but right after the first of the year it stayed dead. I was getting sort of nervous because bills have to be paid and I was getting nothing coming in the door. I didn't bill a single dime in February. I was about ready to shut the doors and go look for a regular job.

When March hit though, everything exploded on me. It seems that most every buisness in the area was looking for more creative ways to get noticed, so they were looking for creative advertising, vehicle markings, updated signage, etc. To top it off, none of the other sign shops in my town survived the winter, so I'm getting the business of all four of the other shops that were in town before the downturn in the economy.

I took two hours off yesterday afternoon to go gold panning, and ended up having to stay in the shop until 10:30 last night to make up for it. I've got more business than I can handle, and I'm probably going to have to hire somebody before long to stay on top of the work.

Bigcypresshunter · May 21, 2010

bigwater said:
I took two hours off yesterday afternoon to go gold panning, and ended up having to stay in the shop until 10:30 last night to make up for it. I've got more business than I can handle, and I'm probably going to have to hire somebody before long to stay on top of the work.

I used to work in the sign business. Also brass pattern work and sandblasting glass. Are you in Florida?