John LaBarbera
Member
Way to go, Mikey.
Surviving the slow times.
- Thread starter Mikey P
- Start date
hogjowl
Idiot™
Is that all ya got, John?
Bill Soukoreff
Member
OK, I am Canadian, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I think it's smart to look for more work in the home but before you become jack of all trades take Mickey's advice and look at your business model first. What works for one, will not work for all.
Mickey can do ANYTHING he wants to right now because of one important fact. He has ALREADY established himself as an expert in one or two areas. That took him a lot of time and hard work. Now he can easily become a expert in other areas and his customers will readily trust him and follow his lead. He has it made.
However, if you are not Mickey, and have NOT established yourself as an expert in something and hope that becoming a jack of all trades will help you get through the downturn, you must recognize that you will competing head to head with the big, slick companies that will be desperate and ruthless. They have already being offering multi-services and will do them better and cheaper then you.
As an owner-operator I am planning to go the opposite direction and specialize even more so, even in the face of total oblivion! Doing so already has landed me three carpet retailers and numerous designers, customer home builders and one high end management company. They don't want to recommend a jack of all trades. If you go against the trend you just might stick out and shine for everyone to see. And we come out of the recession, you will be leaps ahead in your specialty market. I have searched for the best owner operators in the areas I do not specialized in and have formed alliances with them. I don't do large commercial, I don't do apartments or condos or rentals. But I have the best guys who do specialize in these things.
It's not for the brave of heart or for every business model, but I think for the quality oriented owner operator, this is the best thing to do. Specialize, specialize specialize. Let everyone know your are the best in one or two things (of course you have to really be the best).
Remember, one of Warren Buffet's most notable philosophies is: when in doubt, do exactly the opposite of what everyone else does. Just my two cents.
Mickey can do ANYTHING he wants to right now because of one important fact. He has ALREADY established himself as an expert in one or two areas. That took him a lot of time and hard work. Now he can easily become a expert in other areas and his customers will readily trust him and follow his lead. He has it made.
However, if you are not Mickey, and have NOT established yourself as an expert in something and hope that becoming a jack of all trades will help you get through the downturn, you must recognize that you will competing head to head with the big, slick companies that will be desperate and ruthless. They have already being offering multi-services and will do them better and cheaper then you.
As an owner-operator I am planning to go the opposite direction and specialize even more so, even in the face of total oblivion! Doing so already has landed me three carpet retailers and numerous designers, customer home builders and one high end management company. They don't want to recommend a jack of all trades. If you go against the trend you just might stick out and shine for everyone to see. And we come out of the recession, you will be leaps ahead in your specialty market. I have searched for the best owner operators in the areas I do not specialized in and have formed alliances with them. I don't do large commercial, I don't do apartments or condos or rentals. But I have the best guys who do specialize in these things.
It's not for the brave of heart or for every business model, but I think for the quality oriented owner operator, this is the best thing to do. Specialize, specialize specialize. Let everyone know your are the best in one or two things (of course you have to really be the best).
Remember, one of Warren Buffet's most notable philosophies is: when in doubt, do exactly the opposite of what everyone else does. Just my two cents.
