another week

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hector

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i just know this is going to be yet another bad week, fed up of watching day time television,i look out the window and i see another plasterer driving by working,and i think why is he working and not me, have i upset the population of carlisle, are my prices to high ,charge 120.00 per day, what is the matter, no enquiries, 2 small jobs to do and that is it. i can understand how people suffer from depression, trying everything but nothing, then i meet a joiner/plumber/plasterer, and we talk and they are the same as me nothing on, i personally think it will be 2/3 years before we see any significant change, and yet we are lucky because we have a trade sooner or later the phone will ring. when i am working i feel better emotionly,mentally,and generally feel more positive than i am now. the wife is working and she is paying all the bills everything feel so helpless. this week will be spent willing the phone to ring,and hoping and praying work comes in yet again, 17 years established and this is the worst i have known it. all the best lads,keep smiling,stay positive.:RpS_unsure:
 
instead of waiting for the phone to ring why dnt you ring around and look for work??
 
Maybe the plasterer you seen out of your window is on the hunt for work? Times are hard m,ate but pick yourself up and get out there looking it will keep your mind ocuppied, what are you doing to get work? I know a few lads who rely on the same contacts they have had for years but there are no loyalties anymore everyone is trying to save money and these guys are running out of work and contacts.
 
but you got to be in it to win it as they say sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring aint gonnna do ya any favours
 
Yer right there flynnyman I thought you talking about me at one time LOL you have to make the phone ring.
 
Keep you're head up mate the uks financial crisis is due to level out in 2027 :RpS_thumbup:
 
There is money still out there, it's just a llttle harder to find it.

Change of approach might work

If your soley domestic, check for site work, small builders etc, vice versa if your site. Diversify to tacking/dabbing/coving/screeds/insulation work if need be. Anything for a few quid is better than being stuck at home imo
 
There is money still out there, it's just a llttle harder to find it.

Change of approach might work

If your soley domestic, check for site work, small builders etc, vice versa if your site. Diversify to tacking/dabbing/coving/screeds/insulation work if need be. Anything for a few quid is better than being stuck at home imo

Totally agree with that jasper, recently I've done my first tacking for twenty years and fitted my first areas of ceiling insulation.
 
I havent had any domestic work since early december been on site subbying to a company and from what I can gather there is quite a bit of site work about at the moment down this way.
 
I dont get this whole "go out and chase the work" attitude, theres so little work out there and so many people chasing it, we cant ALL get it, theres a reason the phones stopped ringing for lots of us, it just aint there, end of!
 
sick of hearing lads on here moaning get out there and get on with it instead of waiting for it to come to you,
or get into another area or do a different job to earn a living, plastering doesnt own you a living.

I was in a smiliar senerio, up until 2008 i ran a half decent plastering outfit myself and 7 lads working for me, then in autum 2008 it more or less stopped overnight,contracts stopped, i had to remorgage, sell my range rover [ i then got a pushbike], and lay all the lads off, and on top of that a firm went bust on me owing me over ten grand. I was sat around with the wife paying bills, then after about 6 week i had to get real, i had do something different so i swallowed my pride and i went van driving for a while, earning around 250 quid a week, this was after earning around 1600-2000 quid a week runing my own outfit. over time i then built contacts up, got my self out there and got on with it, after about 5 month i got back into plastering and rendering. Two years here i am still in the trade and booked up until around late summer.

its just down to your attitude and your willingness to do something different or to work smarter.
rant over:RpS_angry:
 
He use to be on talk sport but died a death , never seen his show.

Come on the SPURS.
 
FreeD, I just don't think it's good to be poking fun at a fellow tradesmen struggling to find work. Maybe a bit more constructive advice, like owls has given, would be better. For my two bobs worth I would myself be contacting former customers and more critically I would be looking for newer ones. There are still opportunities if you look for them. Try visiting estate agents, or letting agents (usually the same nowadays) and asking them. They manage an awful lot of properties you know. Make a note of all the properties for sale or let in your area, then when the 'sold' sign goes up bung a card through the door, or give them a knock if you know they're in. Ring up the local factories and ask for the name of the maintenance manager, then get on site and talk to him. Or do what rockhardsolidplastering done and get a board made and stand outside your local BM's or trade centre. Get your name out there, it WILL generate future work.
With these options I would recommend a face to face visit over a phone call. You've got to make your own way in this world, the clue is there if you're SELF-EMPLOYED. I know things aint easy, but to do nothing isn't really an option. Set yourself a target, say maybe 5 contacts per day, and I bet you will get something from doing it :RpS_thumbup:
 
I've always found the best way is to network. If you see builders other tradesman, have a chat and then follow up afterwards with a call.

When you do make good contacts look after them, whack 10% on your labour and sort them out. Etc.

Local magazines can also be a great source of work e.g parish magazines. Bit don't expect the phone to start ringing straight away.

A website is a great source of work, Danny the owner of this forum can make you one that will give you a great return on investment. Just remember there is no point having a website if no one knows about it! Put it in your adverts and get high in google.
 
thanks for all your advice lads especially owls, really cheered me up ,seriously feel a lot better,more positve thanks hector.
 
thanks for all your advice lads especially owls, really cheered me up ,seriously feel a lot better,more positve thanks hector.


just speaking from experience pal thats all.
keep ploughing on and dont let the b**tards get you down, just get yourself out there.
 
sick of hearing lads on here moaning get out there and get on with it instead of waiting for it to come to you,
or get into another area or do a different job to earn a living, plastering doesnt own you a living.

I was in a smiliar senerio, up until 2008 i ran a half decent plastering outfit myself and 7 lads working for me, then in autum 2008 it more or less stopped overnight,contracts stopped, i had to remorgage, sell my range rover [ i then got a pushbike], and lay all the lads off, and on top of that a firm went bust on me owing me over ten grand. I was sat around with the wife paying bills, then after about 6 week i had to get real, i had do something different so i swallowed my pride and i went van driving for a while, earning around 250 quid a week, this was after earning around 1600-2000 quid a week runing my own outfit. over time i then built contacts up, got my self out there and got on with it, after about 5 month i got back into plastering and rendering. Two years here i am still in the trade and booked up until around late summer.

its just down to your attitude and your willingness to do something different or to work smarter.
rant over:RpS_angry:

Well said mate, if i've got no work on, i never sit at home waiting, i'll drive round to sites, put cards through where building work is happening, allsorts up my sleeve....Phone round, email as many people as possabe...
 
If no one knows your available for work NO ONE will call you...... as the lads have said already, hand out business cards, chat to buliders send emails ect. I had a quiet spell late 2010 and emailed prob 20-30 local building firms small and large intoducing myself and company asking if plastering services were of any use to them and could i tender for work. from all of my emails i had one reply prob 2 weeks later( not the best return) but from that one email i was given a job that lasted three months and then a second job half way through the fist.That construction firm is now a solid contact who regulary offers me work,and has just given me a large contract till oct 2013.My point is all it takes is just one lucky break but sittin on your backside feeling sorry for yourself aint gonna get it..............BE POSITIVE no ones gonna offer work to the miserable bloke who says he can plaster, promote yourself locally or on the internet and show potential clients what you can do. GOOD LUCK:RpS_thumbsup:
 
my best ever way of getting new work was parking near b&q at a pace where everyone going there willsee youwith a big home madee sign saying plasterer for hire and phone number.got lots of work that way.

got arrested aswell
 
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