my oh my...

Just where has the time gone?

It has been almost 6 weeks since I have written anything, all the way back to July 3rd!

Since my last post, business life has been a bit unpredictable and was also interrupted by a nice vacation.

This spring/summer I have seen two new hires come and go. The first maybe we are wishing was still here, the second, well lets just say, um, lets just say, well lets just not say anything. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about. ...

When it comes to hiring, I have been told to follow this practice….hire slow and fire fast. I did neither. I hired way too fast, maybe out of desperation, and as it turns out I should have fired after a week. Fortunately I did not have to terminate, they realized they could not do what we wanted and left on their own accord. If you are ever in the same situation, listen to your gut and pay attention to the red flags as they pop up and deal with them swiftly! Even after only a month, the little things can get way out of control. Time is wasted, money spent and nothing gets accomplished. Back to the interview process!

Vacation was so nice. Lets just say this….

            Bears

            Fish

            Nieces

            Nephews

            Reading

            Good food

            Sleep.

A word about one of my sub-contractors. They went beyond the call of duty this weekend.

9 am to 10 pm Saturday night and 9 am to 1 pm Sunday.

We had to fix a poorly done finish job on a wood floor that because of schedule issues, I had to use someone new. Apparently they did not know how to do the process we needed done and the floor looked really bad. My usual floor guy could not get in on my original schedule, so the need for a different crew. Needless to say I called Richard and JJ and begged, pleaded, and said I will do whatever it takes to get them in…..well maybe not “whatever”, but I owe them. They came through and the floor looks like it should have the first time, awesome!

Richard and JJ, my thanks to you!

Also in these last several weeks, the prospects for new work has been amazing. We are in the process of signing on new customers, wrapping up the Craftsman and Oak Creek projects, putting in the foundation for our next addition– Lamar Ave– and trying to fit in some smaller repair and fix-it jobs along the way. With being back down to having only my lead guy right now, the schedule will be trying. We will have to figure out how to hire well. Maybe the third will be the charm.

Our potential work includes remodeling an entryway and exterior trim around it, a couple decks, a couple porches, some basement finishing, some new windows on a couple of houses, remodeling a large bedroom into two smaller ones, a bay window installation, some counter top work, some ceiling repair work, a couple of tile backsplashes, and a partridge in a pear tree!

Whew! I need to go to bed!

~The Carpenter.