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Originally posted by benncool

That's because nobody really knows what the hell you do.





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Neither do I, but I am happy.

I had a little enterprise once that did pretty good for me.
I picked up window units off the side of the road. I fixed them in my spare time and sold them in the spring. I might get back into that.

"Today, eight months later, there are nearly 69 million eBay users who spend $59 million every day. Much of it goes to small
"mom and pop" businesses that auction everything imaginable."

"Now, IBM sells home computers on eBay and Disney offers vacations and all things Mickey and Minnie.

With all this action, eBay has hit the jackpot. Profits are up 71 percent in from this time last year, almost a quarter of that from
these direct sales.

“Big companies do sell on eBay,” says Whitman. “And they find it to be a very cost-effective distribution channel. But they sell
on the same terms as you, an individual, would sell.”

There is no advertising and no promotion: "We think it's important to have this level playing field," adds Whitman. "So your
neighbor next door has an equal chance of success as a large corporation.."




Those quotes came from a Charlie Rose report about Ebay and that was a year ago.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/...in527542.shtml

That is the direction I am looking at to get out of what I am doing now. I have an option on an 18,000 square foot warehouse dirt cheap. Working with the state empire zoning people now about it. Which means I may get some tax breaks and maybe some state help to get going. I am not looking to sell directly on Ebay but be a drop shipper for those that do. They reserve a product I have on hand and pay for it once it is sold. Then I ship it directly to their customer with their name on it so they never have to touch it.

People are making some really stupid money with Ebay.

Originally posted by Diceman
Thew grass is always greener......till you have to mow it for awhile.
Over the years, soooooo many of my customers have told me they wished they were in my biz doing what I did.

That's because nobody really knows what the hell you do.





(I meant that in a nice way )

Thew grass is always greener......till you have to mow it for awhile.
Over the years, soooooo many of my customers have told me they wished they were in my biz doing what I did.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by benncool

My next job will be on a dive boat down in Florida someplace. I'll be the mate that helps the girls in and out of their wetsuits. My pay will be a free tank of air.

If it becomes too much of a strain, I guess I could help out

Harde har har........

[QUOTE]Originally posted by benncool
[B]

Originally posted by spotts

Originally posted by benncool
I was thinking of either getting into the restaurant or the video rental business. I want something less risky.

Tell me your kiddin Ben. You ever met somebody who owns a rentrant who has a life?
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Yesssss. I was just kidding . That's just what I need at 59 3/4 years old----A career change. My next job will be on a dive boat down in Florida someplace. I'll be the mate that helps the girls in and out of their wetsuits. My pay will be a free tank of air.

Beter get two, one for uptop and one for the dive. BTW, it just sunk in, ya ole log.

[Edited by benncool on 06-02-2004 at 04:47 PM]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by spotts
[B]

Originally posted by benncool
I was thinking of either getting into the restaurant or the video rental business. I want something less risky.

Tell me your kiddin Ben. You ever met somebody who owns a rentrant who has a life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

Yesssss. I was just kidding . That's just what I need at 59 3/4 years old----A career change. My next job will be on a dive boat down in Florida someplace. I'll be the mate that helps the girls in and out of their wetsuits. My pay will be a free tank of air.

[Edited by benncool on 06-02-2004 at 04:47 PM]

Originally posted by benncool
I was thinking of either getting into the restaurant or the video rental business. I want something less risky.

Tell me your kiddin Ben. You ever met somebody who owns a rentrant who has a life?

[Edited by spotts on 06-02-2004 at 02:08 PM]

Originally posted by thehumid1
I hear sex sells....I was thinking of offering my body to lonely housewives on service and maintenace calls....oh wait I do that anyway...

Oh- OOhhhhhh! You've never talked to Dowdy Doody's wife on the phone! Honestly- I'm kicking around opening a self serve car wash. Man, thats good money there! And ya don't wind up married to it.

I hear sex sells....I was thinking of offering my body to lonely housewives on service and maintenace calls....oh wait I do that anyway...

I sold my business and work for the guy. I probably needed to.
As soon as my contract is up, I will start another HVAC business. I just hate working for low quality people. I have to run a small show to get any kind of satisfaction from my work.

Thats pretty much what I am going through. You said it right there..

Sure your biz is changing, everyone's is. But we are more at fault than anyone for that change. We put up with the national accounts that have relegated us to sheet metal work, We accept the growing supply house prices without a grunt, we continue to allow the larger accounts to set our prices. Revenues have not increased proportionally with costs in 15 years. Techs can easily make more money and bennies with the larger companies, but their margin is no more than your's.

The most recent trend with us, is the larger accounts with the "lets make a deal" mentality. They wont pay you for 60 days, then throw the invoice back at you, claiming the billing is wrong, which buys them another 30 days, then they want it discounted or they will get someone else. If you fall for this, they will soon have you doing the work at cost or below. If you refuse, they simply start all over with another contractor.

Or they just simply adjust the invoice to reflect what they feel is "fair". Dont even think of getting a contract signed.

And whats up with holding my money for a year after completion of a mechanical job? ...Come to think of it, cutting hair is sounding more appealing all the time.....

Originally posted by Dowadudda
How about this? Cash out! Move away from Detroit to a smaller metropolitan area. I think really my problem is, this place just sucks anymore..

DUH!!! It's Detroit!!!

How about this? Cash out! Move away from Detroit to a smaller metropolitan area. I think really my problem is, this place just sucks anymore..

Originally posted by tinman
go to the UP for a week, drink beer and four wheel and maybe fish.

I AGREE! JUST MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE WHEN THE WEEKS OVER EH!!!!

go to the UP for a week, drink beer and four wheel and maybe fish.

Tinman,

I can't argue with the business is business deal. I think through this thread and thinking over the last few months what it is. I need a break. I am starting to get ticked off all the time and I aint enjoying life lately.

But I truly beleive that this industry in my realm of it is changing and it aint for the better.

business is business. There will always be somebody after your lunch. Be it cutting hair, selling groceries or whatever. Tomorrow will be different than yesterday. Learn, adapt and play the game. When home depot entered the market contractors were concerned. Home Depot has not affected the clever ones, we simply raised our labor rate to compensate for the material markup loss. I don't know the particulars concerning commercial service but there are some out there succeeding. What are they doing?