Some good advice there especially the part about spreading around the work between multi clients.
I sent out one feeler letting a past client know I was making myself available and heard back about a major remodel, but not expected to start before Fall 2018.
I will continue to send out feelers and would leave this job if any old or new client called for about two to four weeks of work. I have already left this job once, last fall to do just that...keeping as many people happy as possible.
By associates I do mean other operators like me with their own businesses who call when they need to move a big job along a little faster...or refer each other when not available. One is licenced and charges full retail and scares some people away. So he'll refer me at some middle price and make a $5 an hour kick-back for himself.
The time I lost $5k to our cities then second largest developer, I had a contract, two pages, written by myself and signed by an agent. There were seven progress payments built in, and the right to walk if any payment was missed. He got me on the last two progress payments as I started more than one section before getting paid for the prior. Plus, the field agent (superintendant) changed mid-job. He was the only one I really trusted. With screwy judges, and lying defendants, it does not help. I even had a clause of 100% per year interest on unpaid balances, and am told by lawyers that's not legal!? I would be owed $100k by now.
My biggest job to date was a $64k bid, with lengthy contract (theirs) that was fulfilled and paid perfectly with no call backs for problems. I had 12 weeks to complete before late charges kicked in. An associate had worked for them before so there was some trust. I survived but came close to screwing myself underestimating one aspect of the work, hell all of it. Worked with a lot of employees and two subs, one of which my associate who kind of saved my ass on the aspect I underestimated. He was good at it. Overall not worth it at my stupid bid price.
I was called to bid again by them for another project but looked at the blueprints and declined. I also declined a big condo job where a high school classmate (then superintendant) got me in the door to bid. The blueprints must have cost $100 just for the paper the roll was so huge.
Those could have been life changing opportunities but I felt undercapitalized after that first risky venture that did not really help my bank account. Don't know why I just didn't throw out some rediculous number and terms. My enthusiasm for this work waxes and wanes. When I was most confident, turns out I was most at risk, to the point of foolishness.
So about contracts. I don't call myself a contractor anymore, and if I write something down it will be called a "Working Agreement" with possibly some "Work Orders" ...assuming I write the paperwork. Contracts that major developers and builders write are written by lawyers, maybe even their lawyers. They are one sided and throw only a couple of bones to protect the subcontractor.
My two-page contract should have protected me but didn't, when faced with dishonest people on all sides. Even then, the main thing I needed in court was documentation that I was on the scene, and had completed the last two sections.
That's why my main emphasis is on documentation even more than signed contracts. With a smart phone and an awareness of what documentation is valuable, I can theoretically create something that is as binding as any contract.
For example, if I now require my client to acknowledge, DAILY, the hours and the rate I have logged into the daily log sheet, it's some pretty damning evidence that I was on the property, and was being encouraged to work and continue to work for x,y and z. Any hours x wage that has been acknowledged is like a mini contract. Leaves little wiggle room.
The basic law is that if people are accepting services from people expecting to be paid, they are bound to pay.
Logs help a lot, which is why I keep descriptions of what I do daily. Getting the client to acknowledge my logs, DAILY, is icing on the cake, when combined with pictures and snapshots of checks issued thus far.
Thus far, I have been negligent in getting people to acknowledge my logs and was horrified to find out my client wasn't even looking, having lost the link buried deep in her email. With email search engines, there's no excuse for that, but I can't excuse myself for assuming people are watching my bill grow bigger by the day.
Once, when I had a problem, the woman didn't even acknowledge I had sent a link to my log. Probly not a coincidence she never acknowledged ANYTHING about the growing bill. Technically, the time sheet IS A DAILY INVOICE, that can only be ignored upon an agreement to pay upon some agreed schedule. And there again is where I have allowed too much leeway.
So that is all changing. People will have to acknowledge my logs daily until they can be trusted to pay weekly.
One reason I don't call myself a contractor is I am unliscenced and an explicit contract would be evidence of illegal activity. So I keep the business small and word of mouth. I'm just under the radar, "neighbor helping neighbor".
I am an "operator".
I don't call myself a "carpenter" because that is a union term and I'm not in a union. I only have associates...and documentation. Other than "client" I don't really know what to call people who hire me. "Customer" doesn't sound right. "Boss" is worse. "Client" seems right because a lot of custom work is consultation oriented. I avoid "builders" like the plague.
I sent out one feeler letting a past client know I was making myself available and heard back about a major remodel, but not expected to start before Fall 2018.
I will continue to send out feelers and would leave this job if any old or new client called for about two to four weeks of work. I have already left this job once, last fall to do just that...keeping as many people happy as possible.
By associates I do mean other operators like me with their own businesses who call when they need to move a big job along a little faster...or refer each other when not available. One is licenced and charges full retail and scares some people away. So he'll refer me at some middle price and make a $5 an hour kick-back for himself.
The time I lost $5k to our cities then second largest developer, I had a contract, two pages, written by myself and signed by an agent. There were seven progress payments built in, and the right to walk if any payment was missed. He got me on the last two progress payments as I started more than one section before getting paid for the prior. Plus, the field agent (superintendant) changed mid-job. He was the only one I really trusted. With screwy judges, and lying defendants, it does not help. I even had a clause of 100% per year interest on unpaid balances, and am told by lawyers that's not legal!? I would be owed $100k by now.
My biggest job to date was a $64k bid, with lengthy contract (theirs) that was fulfilled and paid perfectly with no call backs for problems. I had 12 weeks to complete before late charges kicked in. An associate had worked for them before so there was some trust. I survived but came close to screwing myself underestimating one aspect of the work, hell all of it. Worked with a lot of employees and two subs, one of which my associate who kind of saved my ass on the aspect I underestimated. He was good at it. Overall not worth it at my stupid bid price.
I was called to bid again by them for another project but looked at the blueprints and declined. I also declined a big condo job where a high school classmate (then superintendant) got me in the door to bid. The blueprints must have cost $100 just for the paper the roll was so huge.
Those could have been life changing opportunities but I felt undercapitalized after that first risky venture that did not really help my bank account. Don't know why I just didn't throw out some rediculous number and terms. My enthusiasm for this work waxes and wanes. When I was most confident, turns out I was most at risk, to the point of foolishness.
So about contracts. I don't call myself a contractor anymore, and if I write something down it will be called a "Working Agreement" with possibly some "Work Orders" ...assuming I write the paperwork. Contracts that major developers and builders write are written by lawyers, maybe even their lawyers. They are one sided and throw only a couple of bones to protect the subcontractor.
My two-page contract should have protected me but didn't, when faced with dishonest people on all sides. Even then, the main thing I needed in court was documentation that I was on the scene, and had completed the last two sections.
That's why my main emphasis is on documentation even more than signed contracts. With a smart phone and an awareness of what documentation is valuable, I can theoretically create something that is as binding as any contract.
For example, if I now require my client to acknowledge, DAILY, the hours and the rate I have logged into the daily log sheet, it's some pretty damning evidence that I was on the property, and was being encouraged to work and continue to work for x,y and z. Any hours x wage that has been acknowledged is like a mini contract. Leaves little wiggle room.
The basic law is that if people are accepting services from people expecting to be paid, they are bound to pay.
Logs help a lot, which is why I keep descriptions of what I do daily. Getting the client to acknowledge my logs, DAILY, is icing on the cake, when combined with pictures and snapshots of checks issued thus far.
Thus far, I have been negligent in getting people to acknowledge my logs and was horrified to find out my client wasn't even looking, having lost the link buried deep in her email. With email search engines, there's no excuse for that, but I can't excuse myself for assuming people are watching my bill grow bigger by the day.
Once, when I had a problem, the woman didn't even acknowledge I had sent a link to my log. Probly not a coincidence she never acknowledged ANYTHING about the growing bill. Technically, the time sheet IS A DAILY INVOICE, that can only be ignored upon an agreement to pay upon some agreed schedule. And there again is where I have allowed too much leeway.
So that is all changing. People will have to acknowledge my logs daily until they can be trusted to pay weekly.
One reason I don't call myself a contractor is I am unliscenced and an explicit contract would be evidence of illegal activity. So I keep the business small and word of mouth. I'm just under the radar, "neighbor helping neighbor".
I am an "operator".
I don't call myself a "carpenter" because that is a union term and I'm not in a union. I only have associates...and documentation. Other than "client" I don't really know what to call people who hire me. "Customer" doesn't sound right. "Boss" is worse. "Client" seems right because a lot of custom work is consultation oriented. I avoid "builders" like the plague.
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