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Man that sucks, is he running any Cnc's or just manuals?
That's good too hear , do yu stay busy at yur own shop ? How's the work flow so far for yu this year?
The problem with guys like me is that Baker, SLJ, NOV etc wont deal directly with us. We still do their work, but its through the bigger shops. That means we get crumbs. When there is work that is fine. I work fast and smart and still make good money on the crumbs. But, there just arent any crumbs.
IMHO you guys need to get off your butts and realise its a flawed business model. Your running cnc's in your garage doing overflow type work, times busy its a great plan. Hit a quiet spell, yeah no overflow, your dead! Simple as that!!!
IMHO its far better to offer more - not do just some one elses work, but find a product line and peruse it. This is a small planet, with a great mail system + WWW. Just because within 50 miles of you is as dead as a door nail does not mean there’s not work out there, you just have to think differently, find different things and play a different game. Anyone can stick a CNC in a garage and start up, it's what you then do with it that truly makes or breaks things.
My case that ment taking my tools, making some different tools using those which i now use to make a range of unique products which i sell globally. My customer base is aimed at the bit of society with money and that are in a position to spend that money (think going after a sponge soaked in blood, not just picking up the nearest stone to wring out because its easy) Not a industry in terminal decline!
So stop listening to people telling you its slow, get on the WWW and find stuff people want then work out how and make it. Best parts the profit margins, yeah direct sales is like testicles being plucked clean with tweezers at times, but the return - mark up is so much better! Haveing a thousand customers means that black listing the assholes really does not matter!
I agree completely, but for some its easier said than done. I designed and built a digital night vision scope. ( It is popular here to hunt wild pigs at night ) Every single person that has seen/used it was completely impressed. But just as I was finalizing the design another well established company started selling one. Mine has been declared better by every single person that has compared them side by side, but the other is made in china and has a price point that I cant compete with. And a huge advertising budget. Despite its almost embarrassing lack of clarity and range it has probably outsold mine 1000:1 In the last few weeks I have stopped selling them, I was beat by the big boys and made in china, plain and simple.
The real issue may be that I am not an idea guy. Im the guy that is very good at making things, but terrible at coming up with ideas etc
IMHO you guys need to get off your butts and realise its a flawed business model.
IMHO its far better to offer more - not do just some one elses work, but find a product line and peruse it.
Better?
I have tried a few products. Some were quite successful. I hated every second of it.
The nice thing about job shop work is variety. You never know what might come through the door. It's interesting to setup new jobs and always have to figure out how to make something.
Making a product is the perfect form of torture for me. Go to the same place every day. Perform the same small set of tasks over and over. Deal with selling things to the retarded general public.
No thanks.
I've been wondering for a while what method you would suggest for starting a new shop?
Hell I don't know. I just did something and it kind of worked. Now that it kind of works I can focus on making it more fun/interesting.
If you're a machinist, be a machinist. Don't be pressured by everyone here to become an OEM widget maker. The world needs job shops too.
I surly didn't save up $100k.
What would you say the necessary capital investment in equipment would be to pay the owner a salary equal to a day job, in an average (whatever that is) economy? Also, what's a best case estimate of the time frame to build customer relations in order to bring in those higher quality jobs?
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