New company, new career

[Molynoox]

How's it going @Molynoox? Any luck with some new clients yet? Did the Rugby club work come off?

Thanks for asking.
It's been an interesting few weeks:

• Had a serious / boring conversation with my wife about finances and the fact that we have some big bills coming up that we need a realistic plan for (school stuff)
• As a result we have set a time limit on my garden room business stuff as march / April, so the clock is now ticking
• At that point I will get serious about getting an office job - a slightly depressing thought
• I've already put together my CV and applied for one job as an experiment - they were interested in me but their salary range didn't meet my needs so I'm not pursuing it
• I've built a garden room for the landscaping company I'm working for, which was fun, and relevant.
• Myself and one other guy built it in 9 days, it's 4m x3m, and that included removing the old shed and putting in a concrete base. It's insulated, has french doors and 4 windows and a roof lantern. It's not decorated yet and needs skirting too, but even so that's faster than the 6 months I took to build mine! so I'm feeling positive about that
• And the big news..... I've had my first enquiry, just this Saturday!
• And weirdly, I've had my second enquiry, on Monday!
• And slightly bizarrely, I've had my third enquiry, yesterday

I have no idea why the flood gates have suddenly opened but I will find out when I dig further.

For now I'm just enjoying having some light at the end of the tunnel that isn't office shaped.

I have a guy coming over on Sunday to look at my garden room and have a chat, so Saturday will be spent preparing.

On the rugby club stuff, the president of the club contacted me and said they were discussing my proposal but that I should be aware that it could take a loonnnggg time to happen, possibly not even 'this year' were his words!

Martin

 

[Molynoox]

I would say the bubble has burst on the "Garden Room" fad that surged during the Covid Pandemic, now that people have gone back to the office they're not looking for that extra room that offers complete privacy from the rest of the household. Combine that with the current cost of living crisis and very few people are looking to spend upwards of £20,000 on a glorified garden shed if they don't have to, no offence to your own work.

A friend of mine owns a sawmill, and had to take on several people and invest heavily during that period to keep up with the sudden demand for rough-sawn and machined cladding, recently work has dropped right off a cliff and there is no demand and he's had to lay everyone off and he's back to working by himself. That's not an isolated story as I've heard similar experiences from others in the field through small talk with timber representatives and drivers.

"Diversify or Die" is the name of the game these days, we wouldn't normally make kitchens as we specialise in production windows and doors, but that's what's been offered and that's what we've been producing lately. Recently a customer enquired about a staircase which they had already approached three other workshops that didn't produce stairs whatsoever and refused the work, shortly after completing the staircase the customer wanted the whole house exterior joinery replaced, not an insignificant amount of work, so sometimes doing something you wouldn't normally do pays off later down the line.

Yeah it's a shame that some businesses are struggling now, a few tradesmen have mentioned it to be lately.
Searches for garden offices doubled in volume during the pandemic, but have now settled down to about 80% of the peak volume in 2020. Currently the search volume is about 1.7 times what it was in 2018 so it's still healthy.

Martin

 

[BucksDad]

Best remind the rugby club president it could be more expensive in a year (albeit if they really don't have the money then it's a moot point)
Great news on the enquiries - hopefully they go somewhere!

 

[Molynoox]

Best remind the rugby club president it could be more expensive in a year (albeit if they really don't have the money then it's a moot point)
Great news on the enquiries - hopefully they go somewhere!

yeah good point about the price increase.
I think there is just a lot of red tape - I was told by my initial contact that there is money available but all decisions go through a committee, and that there may be some high priority stuff that needs doing.
Martin

 

[Adam W.]

A tip for better web presence. If you put a link to your site on your forum signature, your rankings will improve rapidly.

 

[BucksDad]

Yes but then clients will also find all his postings on the forum.. poisoned chalice!

 

[Adam W.]

Yes but then clients will also find all his postings on the forum.. poisoned chalice!

Interesting, do you have direct experience of that happening?

 

[Molynoox]

A tip for better web presence. If you put a link to your site on your forum signature, your rankings will improve rapidly.

worth a shot, I'll try it
...I see bucksdad' point also but I don't have a lot to lose at this stage

 

[Joshjosh]

A tip for better web presence. If you put a link to your site on your forum signature, your rankings will improve rapidly.

Thanks for the tip off

 

[Adam W.]

@Molynoox & @Joshjosh

I guess I should explain why - It creates active hyperlinks to your site which the google crawlybot thingy likes to see, the more links the higher your ranking and the more you post, the more links you create.

Also, it likes to see youtube videos, if you create content there or any other video type forum and it has links to your website, The greater the viewing audience = more high valued exposure.

You also don't need to pay a company to manage your SEO, as its guidance is all published on the web and it's really easy to DIY.

As for the directing back to your forum content - I've never heard of that being a problem, even if it can be done.

 

[Molynoox]

@Molynoox & @Joshjosh

I guess I should explain why - It creates active hyperlinks to your site which the google crawlybot thingy likes to see, the more links the higher your ranking and the more you post, the more links you create.

Also, it likes to see youtube videos, if you create content there or any other video type forum and it has links to your website, The greater the viewing audience = more high valued exposure.

You also don't need to pay a company to manage your SEO, as its guidance is all published on the web and it's really easy to DIY.

As for the directing back to your forum content - I've never heard of that being a problem, even if it can be done.

Thanks Adam.
I've added it into my sig. But I don't see it anywhere...
Need to make some YouTube videos now

 

[Daniel2]

Thanks Adam.
I've added it into my sig. But I don't see it anywhere...
Need to make some YouTube videos now

I can see your link as a signature.
I even clicked on it, and it successfully took me to your website.

 

[Molynoox]

I can see your link as a signature.
I even clicked on it, and it successfully took me to your website.

Oh right, thanks.
Maybe it's because I'm on mobile, or maybe it's because it doesn't show my stuff to me.

 

[BucksDad]

So @Molynoox one month on since your last update.. have any of the leads turned into confirmed work?

 

[Molynoox]

So @Molynoox one month on since your last update.. have any of the leads turned into confirmed work?

Wow time flies!
I have three on the go at moment. I am getting good vibes from all of them but there are discussions occuring about budget and also planning. Two of them have potential planning issues which is causing delays with making any commitment. And the other has budget problems.

It feels like a positive start but I need to get some more leads really.

Thanks for asking

 

[davej.]

Hi Molynoox , it's been interesting reading this thread.
I've just decided to pull my finger out and try to make a wage from my workshop.

Wouldn't you consider making smaller items - just to get doing something ?
Because if you don't diversify, there seems a possibility that things will just not happen.

I used to sell cheap, used cars long time ago and it was so much harder selling £2k cars compared to 500 quid cars.
I live in a depressed min. wage area and starting off with big ticket items with no extensive background would be impossible. Period.

I made a few garden bars through the pandemic but only sold local, a friend was selling same with pallet delivery and did much, much better.
If you could make "xxxxxx" similar items as listed on ebay at superior quality (the competition isn't that strong - no need for dovetails), then, as mentioned, your reputation should grow and with courier/pallet delivery all mainland uk would be your market. Consider every sale item to be a 'calling card' for your business. Look how broad a range others here have mentioned.
I guess I'm suggesting to work up to your preferred product as a means of getting there.
Smaller items can be made with materials on hand or little outlay. The time commitment is easy - and like your 2nd summer room build efficiencies soon appear.
Don't forget many here are purists - but the adage "pearls before swine" is as true as ever, when many trades just practice the quickest methods to get the money and run and any finesse is out the window
Regards Dave.j

 

[Spectric]

Hi @Molynoox

I dare say the job loses at Dunton will have some impact on your area as that pays high wages.

 

[Molynoox]

Hi @Molynoox

I dare say the job loses at Dunton will have some impact on your area as that pays high wages.

Probably, but it can work both ways.
One guy I'm speaking to is a retired ford guy. If he was made redundant in latest round then he will have redundancy pay that will effectively be an unexpected bonus.

 

[Molynoox]

Hi Molynoox , it's been interesting reading this thread.
I've just decided to pull my finger out and try to make a wage from my workshop.

Wouldn't you consider making smaller items - just to get doing something ?
Because if you don't diversify, there seems a possibility that things will just not happen.

I used to sell cheap, used cars long time ago and it was so much harder selling £2k cars compared to 500 quid cars.
I live in a depressed min. wage area and starting off with big ticket items with no extensive background would be impossible. Period.

I made a few garden bars through the pandemic but only sold local, a friend was selling same with pallet delivery and did much, much better.
If you could make "xxxxxx" similar items as listed on ebay at superior quality (the competition isn't that strong - no need for dovetails), then, as mentioned, your reputation should grow and with courier/pallet delivery all mainland uk would be your market. Consider every sale item to be a 'calling card' for your business. Look how broad a range others here have mentioned.
I guess I'm suggesting to work up to your preferred product as a means of getting there.
Smaller items can be made with materials on hand or little outlay. The time commitment is easy - and like your 2nd summer room build efficiencies soon appear.
Don't forget many here are purists - but the adage "pearls before swine" is as true as ever, when many trades just practice the quickest methods to get the money and run and any finesse is out the window
Regards Dave.j

Interesting.
I have thought about making something cheaper to get me started but I don't know what yet. I would have to market it too. Or put it on Etsy, Shopify etc I suppose.

Martin

 

[Spectric]

If he was made redundant in latest round then he will have redundancy pay that will effectively be an unexpected bonus.

That is a good point, plus the good pension scheme so maybe there is a potential market in the retired population. Those redundancies had to happen as we transition from ICE to electric motors.