Finding Customers

[john.k]

I had a airplane customer .....sold him a few machines .lots of stuff ,parts for a light plane he made, etc......he had a "Pitts Special".....then I got the bad news ...loop the loop ended up in a hole in hard ground....Took a backhoe to dig him out.....Also made a lot of parts for rider mowers ,no fatal crashes there.Fortunately.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

I had a airplane customer .....sold him a few machines .lots of stuff ,parts for a light plane he made, etc......he had a "Pitts Special".....then I got the bad news ...loop the loop ended up in a hole in hard ground....Took a backhoe to dig him out.....Also made a lot of parts for rider mowers ,no fatal crashes there.Fortunately.

You could not pay me enough to ride in a small plane, too many crashes.

 

[john.k]

A Pitts Special is a small colourful biplane made for aerobatics....I d hazard a guess that owner survival rate isnt over 50% per annum........anyhoo ,one time I went to see a customers "plane"...it was actually an autogiro....and could take off in the back yard.......he wanted me to come up with him.....this must have completely slipped my mind ,and I left......got a call from the guy about a hour later asking when I was coming back to fly in the autogiro.....he was offended ,and never gave me another PO.

 

[Jashley73]

You could not pay me enough to ride in a small plane, too many crashes.

Most important is the pilot. A close friend has/had a private license. I'd ride in an Apollo rocket with him at the helm. Not for his skill, but rather his good sense.

I'd happily turn down rides in a Ferrari, if I thought the driver was going to be a fool...




Indian, not the Arrow...

 

[TeachMePlease]

You could not pay me enough to ride in a small plane, too many crashes.

Don't move to Alaska... That's how we went city to city

 

[Garwood]

I like small planes. Everything feels right. The sensations, the noise. Big planes are hard to wrap my mind around. I like sitting near the wings so I can watch the wings bend and twist around. Watching the wings flop around like they're made of rubber in bad weather is fascinating. Not real comforting though.

 

[couch]

Jump on Instagram, make an account and post whatever you can from your shop on there. Network, and word will get around fairly quick. Lot of guys running shops solely off of work they're getting on there, I did for years. There are tons of guys looking for small shops to do exactly what you are offering.

 

[michiganbuck]

Here is a fellow who runs an ad on craigslist. I dont know him, or if he gets any work.
CNC Machining Service Offered - skilled trade services

Agree his photo should not be set on a cracked driveway.. He could have moved a little to look like on a surface plate.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Here is a fellow who runs an ad on craigslist. I dont know him, or if he gets any work.
CNC Machining Service Offered - skilled trade services

Agree his photo should not be set on a cracked driveway.. He could have moved a little to look like on a surface plate.

Maybe it is for contrast as the part looks to have a nice finish.

 

[Garwood]

Here is a fellow who runs an ad on craigslist. I dont know him, or if he gets any work.
CNC Machining Service Offered - skilled trade services

Agree his photo should not be set on a cracked driveway.. He could have moved a little to look like on a surface plate.

I actually think that is a great craigslist ad. It shows nice looking work, it's not technical, it's friendly and concise. I bet that guy gets a decent number of responses and a real job or two every now and then.

I have ran craigslist ads in the past when times were slow, but never had any great success with it. Local word of mouth is 1000% more effective than a craigslist ad.

 

[dkmc]

Way back in the early 1980's I put a "Welding" ad in the local shopper paper. Huge mistake. Many responses from financially challenged rust bucket auto owners needing their rust welded back together. One woman called every week for a month about the drivers door falling off her Pinto. And when the ads in print, you can't kill it, it just keeps on giving.

Got a call from a hermit looking guy who was vague on the phone, ended up stopping by in his 1950's rust bucket Jeepster. He opens the hood, pulls out the dip stick. The "washer" spot welded on it that determines how far it goes down in the tube broke free. He asks "how much to weld it"? At this point I'm seeing nothing but humor in the situation, and I say "I can TIG weld that no problem, TEN dollars" which was not even worth my time. He says "I can get a good one at the junkyard for SIX". I said "Happy motoring"! and went back in the shop and locked the door.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Way back in the early 1980's I put a "Welding" ad in the local shopper paper. Huge mistake. Many responses from financially challenged rust bucket auto owners needing their rust welded back together. One woman called every week for a month about the drivers door falling off her Pinto. And when the ads in print, you can't kill it, it just keeps on giving.

Got a call from a hermit looking guy who was vague on the phone, ended up stopping by in his 1950's rust bucket Jeepster. He opens the hood, pulls out the dip stick. The "washer" spot welded on it that determines how far it goes down in the tube broke free. He asks "how much to weld it"? At this point I'm seeing nothing but humor in the situation, and I say "I can TIG weld that no problem, TEN dollars" which was not even worth my time. He says "I can get a good one at the junkyard for SIX". I said "Happy motoring"! and went back in the shop and locked the door.

Most pic a part types charge a small admission fee, a buck or two. His refusal to pay $10 doesn't make economic sense, he really is not saving $4 by going to the junkyard, some people are not too bright.

 

[dkmc]

You Sir, also see the humor in that story.

Most pic a part types charge a small admission fee, a buck or two. His refusal to pay $10 doesn't make economic sense, he really is not saving $4 by going to the junkyard, some people are not too bright.

 

[Garwood]

From craigslist ad responders I have made a production run of brass bong parts, a dozen very large steel support columns with bases to shore up the wood trusses in a warehouse used to dry hemp (they started hanging the hemp and realized the building was coming down), I've removed hundreds of broken bolts usually with drill bits or EZ outs snapped off in them, I've done lots of steel inserts into aluminum block GM engines like the Northstar V8's and the Trailblazer Atlas 4.2, lots of automotive and AG drivelines, custom 4x4 axle housings, lots of custom tools for heavy equipment like hydraulic piston nut wrenches, big diesel injector and precup wrenches. I definitely had the same experiences of weeding out the cheap folks. It's hard when they're a nice older person that cannot comprehend just how much stuff costs today.

Not from Craigslist, but I recently had a guy in his 80's bring me all the guts from a model T transmission to true up and re-bush everything. I estimated $1200 and he threw a little tantrum like I was his last hope and I insulted him. While he jabbered on about how it should be $100 job I loaded the parts back in his car and wished him a great day. I know when I was starting out I would have spent an hour talking to that guy and probably done the job for a few hundred. I think I had his parts back in his car inside of 3 minutes. Funny the things you learn after you're in business for awhile.

 

[dkmc]

It was a $100 job....when the 80 year old was in his 30's. I have a bearing distributor nearby. They've thought they're doing me a favor selling the 'old guys' bearings and bushings for their mowers, rototillers, and snowblowers, then they used to send them to me to 'change it out'. Old guys come in, expect immediate service like I'm standing here waiting for them, and 'it shouldn't cost more than 2-3 dollars, only take ya a couple minutes'. Of course they're pissed when I say no, or point to the labor rate sign by the door. I finally had to tell the bearing house, 'thanks, but NO THANKS'. Don't send any of those time wasters to me anymore!

It's hard when they're a nice older person that cannot comprehend just how much stuff costs today.

Not from Craigslist, but I recently had a guy in his 80's bring me all the guts from a model T transmission to true up and re-bush everything. I estimated $1200 and he threw a little tantrum like I was his last hope and I insulted him. While he jabbered on about how it should be $100 job I loaded the parts back in his car and wished him a great day. I know when I was starting out I would have spent an hour talking to that guy and probably done the job for a few hundred.

 

[john.k]

Me and other shops used to send charity cases to each other for a joke,but we d never rip off doddery old guys like the scumbag auto electrician in the shed next to me...he was a POS thief for sure.....He was perv ,used to get girls working for him and grope them.....his wife was a monster ...I had many clashes with her......one time she came over and tells me one of their apprentices has left outside overnight the the aircon regassing gear.....Yeah ,I knew ,I told a mate about it ,he was round in like 10 seconds to pick it up.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

If you find an elderly person who hasn't purchased a particular item or service in quite a while they seem to forget about the effects of inflation over decades. Also it seems as we age we think less time passed than actually did.
There is no reason though to be rude like the old guy that threw a tube of gasket seller at the kid behind the counter when he said "that will be $5 please." That was a good many years ago and if I was his age I would have told the old guy off.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

I like small planes. Everything feels right. The sensations, the noise. Big planes are hard to wrap my mind around. I like sitting near the wings so I can watch the wings bend and twist around. Watching the wings flop around like they're made of rubber in bad weather is fascinating. Not real comforting though.

I guess I was wrong to think the slow speed in the open sky would be boring, I guess not!

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

My shop started the same way. Here's what I did.
A) website - a MUST. I got mine done for about $1500 and it looks like a million dollar shop!
B) Business cards. The longest lived form of advertising. I've gotten work from cards I left 10 years ago.
C) In person - THIS is where it really works. EVERY month, I take 1-2 days for "shoe leather" day. I would dress neatly - not fancy, but neatly. Dockers. Polo shirt with company name on it. Hair combed. Teeth brushed. Shaved. After shave. Breath mints. Bottles of water. Bag lunch. Business cards. I would drive to every industrial park and warehouse within 2 hours radius of my place. If I couldn't make it in time, I'd write down locations in my notebook, (always in the car with extra pens), and visit the next time. Knock on doors. You're there to HELP. You're selling YOU. Your knowledge. Your capability. I ALWAYS came back with work. ALWAYS.

 

[Jashley73]

My shop started the same way. Here's what I did.
A) website - a MUST. I got mine done for about $1500 and it looks like a million dollar shop!
B) Business cards. The longest lived form of advertising. I've gotten work from cards I left 10 years ago.
C) In person - THIS is where it really works. EVERY month, I take 1-2 days for "shoe leather" day. I would dress neatly - not fancy, but neatly. Dockers. Polo shirt with company name on it. Hair combed. Teeth brushed. Shaved. After shave. Breath mints. Bottles of water. Bag lunch. Business cards. I would drive to every industrial park and warehouse within 2 hours radius of my place. If I couldn't make it in time, I'd write down locations in my notebook, (always in the car with extra pens), and visit the next time. Knock on doors. You're there to HELP. You're selling YOU. Your knowledge. Your capability. I ALWAYS came back with work. ALWAYS.

And take the company letterhead paper with you, and leave handwritten notes. Let's them know that 1- you're a real person, 2- not just some lazy sales turd that leaves a linecard & gets lots. Leave an ink-pen & business card as well, as a minimum.