Tradesmen in the Fastlane

[MJ DeMarco]

For the non-Fastlaner and in today's economic climate, I'd rather graduate high school and pursue a trade rather than go to college and get put into the college/debt/degree/no-job-for-you scam.

 

[RazorCut]

I think we are missing a trick here.

There is always more than one way to transform a trade into a Fastlane business. If you think latterly working in a trade can be a goldmine.

Many years ago I used to be a carpenter and joiner. Recently I have been putting those skills to use occasionally in my friends business. Within days I came across several pain points while helping install high end fitted furniture in customer’s houses like these:



The problems did not just exist in this niche though, it existed in everyday construction. Instead of ignoring them it was easy to think ‘what’s the solution?’ I’m currently researching a patent application on the first product.

Carpenters and Joiners

While at a trade fair last year I was chatting to a guy called Cliff Petit who invented these:

http://www.space-plug.com/

He was a carpenter and wondered why no one had any sort of product that allowed cabinets to be easily fitted with variable wall gaps. He decided as there wasn’t one on the market he would invent one. Going to make use of his contacts regarding injection moulding etc. Really nice guy.

Electrical Contractors

Peter Moule was an electrician and, because of his inside knowledge of a change in electrical safety regulations, invented a little plastic box to connect cables safely. He was doing pretty well with them then went on Dragons Den (the program Shark Tank is franchised from) and has become a multi-millionaire from it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-bright-spark-nets-25m-deal-Dragons-Den.html

Painters and Decorators

Currently we have only to look at Sal’s @Likwid24 thread on the inside to see how one idea seen through the eyes of professional painters can become an amazing success story:

http://www.thepaintbrushcover.com

Millionaires in the making, and very soon too it seems.

I’m sure there are loads of similar transformations out there in many different trades.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Love this thread.

I'm not a trademan myself, but married into a BIG family of tradesmen.

I actually got started in my current line of work by helping an electrician too (you can read that here).

I've run lead generation campaigns for pretty much all the trades to a call centre in the UK.

Whenever a tradesman is round my house fixing something, I'm always probing to find out how they plan on retiring themselves out of their company and still having the company grow. Non so far have thought about it. It's fine... they're happy just to have a steady stream of work.

Some people to study:

1. Joe Polish (cleaners)
2. Yvonne Halling (B&Bs)
3. Some dude who was a limo driver, then ended up selling leads to limo businesses... can't remember his name...

 

[million$$$smile]

I was a tradesman for nearly my entire adult life. I wouldn't trade it for ANY college degree. I don't have to work it anymore, but it doesn't stop me from missing the camaraderie out in the field or looking back after a full day of workin' hard and actually seeing something that you helped build with your hands...

nothing like it.

There is a lot to be said about the shovels and pans analogy...

The trade that I apprenticed in has enabled me to build a business worth more than I could have EVER earned working by the hour, but again, working by the hour is what propelled me into a million dollar business.

The thought was so simple, it is almost scary, and yet it was far from easy.

One of the biggest challenges a tradesman has to overcome is this...the challenge of not trying to do it all himself. I would have probably cut my learning curve time in half if I wouldn't have tried to do it all myself. We as tradesmen have a tendency not to ask for help if we see any way of doing a project alone.

Find a need in your trade and fill it.
It is that simple. If it is a new way of doing something, of creating something, or of selling something, find out what is needed and then get off your butt and burn the candle to make it happen. It is the only way you'll ever know if you can break the chains of working by the hour.

It can be done. I did it And there is still plenty of fruit to be picked. The trades are ripe for new ideas, products and ways of doing things

We now manufacture our own small line of tools and pouches, and have dealers nationwide. And it all started with an investment of about one paycheck.

Online, offline, ebooks, processes, videos, apps, safety, outsource, training, contracting, retrofitting, you name it, it is all there in the trades.

You just gotta want it.

R

 

[lukeymacca]

After a few beers last night I was pondering, are there any tradesmen on this forum? Im a sparky by trade and have no longer wish to exchange my time for money, but still wish to stay within the electrical industry. My thoughts are that a trade/services business can be fastlaned by systematising and scaling (and then selling).

Would love to here how the trades out there have "fastlaned" their lives. Have you stuck with your trade, and managed to fastlane your businesses by scaling or changing direction or have you decided to jump ship to something that better meet the 5 Commandments.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Ron Pratte.

BINGO. For anyone curious, Mr. Pratte started as a framer for a construction company. Then started his own business and framed himself. Then hired a crew to frame for him. Then expanded regionally employing as many as 4,000. Then in the housing boom, sold his company to Pulte for $350 million.

The announcer made mention of his tradesman goes Fastlane story and I thought of this thread.

Who is Ron Pratte?

Simple put, he is an american success story. An entrepreneur who started making money right after high school by pouring foundations and framing up new houses. His company grew and, at one point he had more than 4,000 employees, who were building as many as 60 houses a day during the building boom in the Phoenix area and in Las Vegas. Than at the height of the market he sold it all to Pulte Homes and retired.

Over 140 meticulously restored and stored classic automobiles and 1500 pieces of automobilia collection will be sold this week.

http://www.thevegastourist.com/blog/ron-pratte-vegas-connection-collection/

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I believe that almost all businesses can be fastlaned.

Yea, in the case of tradesman, the method of scale would be a human resource system. You hire the electricians which work for you. Probably, IMO, the most difficult system of scale involves the scaling of people, or employees. In this case, more employees equals a higher ceiling of revenue.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Pete799p]

For the non-Fastlaner and in today's economic climate, I'd rather graduate high school and pursue a trade rather than go to college and get put into the college/debt/degree/no-job-for-you scam.

100% this. - sorry a bit off topic

Read an interesting article today that broke down the true earnings for an average doctor, which included the opportunity costs associated with college, internships etc. and it came out to roughly $29 per hour for the average surgeon.

Anybody thinking about college vs. trades should read this article.

http://www.quora.com/Is-becoming-a-doctor-the-only-way-to-ensure-a-safe-financial-future

That being said looking back I would have dropped out of highschool to get my GED so I could start working in the trades sooner. Then work my a$$ off for 10+ years while saving as much cash as possible to retire by 30. Not "fastlane" but financial independence by 30 is still a pretty solid way to go plus I would have never had to set foot in a cube.

The trades also have a lot of advantages for aspiring fastlaners, hell even slowlane college goers.

-First you have a skill that you can always use to earn money.

-Tradesmen, especially if you are really good, are often able to work more like freelancers picking and choosing the jobs you work on or better yet doing your own side jobs. This can be a great way to bring in extra income while building a business. You need some cash go do a side job to keep the lights on and it will certainly be a better bang for your time buck then serving coffee at Starbucks.

-Tend to be cheap businesses to start. Bad because there is a lot of competition due to the low barriers to entry but good for cash strapped treps. They can also be rather profitable.

-Potential to earn a solid wage much younger then the college path. Touched on earlier but it will be alot easier to fund your startup when your making $30 hour vs. $10. I have had many tradesmen friends, some of which dropped out of college, who were making six figures by the time we were graduating college and taking unpaid internships. I even know many who were making mid six figures in their 20's. I know I missed a bunch of opportunities when I was younger because I lacked the funds.

- For the college folk it's a lot easier to pay your way through college at $30 hour vs. minimum wage.

Obviously not "fastlane" but a solid alternative to college slavery.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[LightHouse]

Yes a very well respected member of the forum is/was a tradesman and transitioned out or at least hit the fastlane...

paging our good friend Randy @million$$$smile

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[wilddog]

A RESOUNDING YES!

I know a couple of millionaire tradesmen, one in HVAC and the other in exterior siding. They both have the same story.
They got tired of working for someone else and started their own trade businesses.
They leveraged the relationships they built with builders during their slowlane years. This gave them an "in" to understand how builders operate and allowed them to bid on jobs. Builders are tight-knit so word-of-mouth helped grow their businesses.
Now they spend most of their time managing employees and cultivating builder relations. Although they both still love going to the job site and working with their hands when they're free.

 

[Milkanic]

I'm a software developer/architect but used to work for a building products software company (and now a large marketing saas).

I'm currently vetting an idea a bit - It's a huge market that will only get bigger with the baby boomers retiring and a more tech savvy generation coming in. Do you own your own business today?

I suggest reading the book Blue Ocean Strategy and then brain storming what other businesses you could apply to the trades.

A couple companies to check out
http://craftjack.com/
http://www.homeadvisorpros.com/
http://www.redbeacon.com/
http://porch.com/

 

[timmy]

I discussed Building Contracting some time back on someone's thread here. As a carpenter myself I think it's a hard task, and it's often better to reach for the low hanging fruit. Using a trade to create a successful fastlane business requires a great team of supervisors/formen who work on a profit sharing arrangement. There are countless success stories but most are at it for decades and are still involved in the daily duties there. That doesn't pass as fastlane in my opinion.

 

[stevethe bungee]

Hi all i am an Electrician too, i have worked for money all my working life, yes it has paid the bills but has never given me any real money, It's back to that old mantra, selling time for money. Here in Cyprus i now have a slowlane business but it is still time for money!

If you can establish a reasonably large company with some good profits and get someone else to run it then maybe it could become Fastlane but you need to rely on employees who are generally unreliable and do not have the same interests as you. Personally i am looking to get out of it but it pays the bills for now.

MJ where was your book 30 years ago when i needed it.

 

[lukeymacca]

Loving the conversations this thread is generating!
Here is my thoughts….
I believe that almost all businesses can be fastlaned. It doesn’t matter if you provided cleaning services, SEO, import goods and sell on ebay, run a car wash or write code. If you have the right mindset (and understand business) you can scale, systematize, engineer yourself out of the day-to-day, and then exit with a nice lump sum in the hand. While this may not be the easiest or quickest way to build wealth within a few years of hard work you will reap the benefits.
Maybe I’m wrong and missed the entire point of the book (might have to go back and re-read haha) but for now this is my plan! Promise to keep you all update on the progress.

 

[Shdreams]

Pulled my man card out of my A$$ and spoke with the Boss man. I'm In! Roughly 2 months from now I'll be framing single homes and Towns as a pieceworker. Booya! Instantly doubles my income. I'm ecstatic Rite now. Now I just need to make it stick. Build the Bank roll And keep unfolding the master plan.

 

[jazb]

How to transition to the fastlane as a tradesman?

Get the money, make a marketing plan. get the work and put others in charge of implementing it. You can do as many projects as you like independent of time....

 

[Milkanic]

I had my roof replaced this past fall and did some research on the roofers for lawsuits, reviews, etc. Nearly all of them owned 500k+ custom homes.
I went with the guy who could actually return a phone call and had a professional website.

The day of the scheduled replacement, a sub-contracted crew of 15 Mexican guys in unmarked trucks showed up and knocked it out in 8 hours.

So basically the guy I hired never lifted a hammer and made a few grand for sub-contracting the bid and covering the insurance.

 

[Metabaron]

In a gold rush, sell shovels and pans. I used to work for Menards, owned by John Menard Jr. He started with a framing company, then had other framers coming to him to buy materials on the weekend. He is worth 9.5 billion, has 285 stores and the company is privately held by the family still. I think that quailifies as fastlane, even if it took 55 years to get there

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Dawsop]

I want to create a bank roll to be able to source out the tech stuff I don't have time to learn. So your not far off from what I'm working on actually.

I am in Alberta framing, 12 years ago I started and have worked myself up to 40 employees and sub contractors. It takes along time to build trust with the builders but eventually they will pay you a premium to manage their framing. It can spin into supply and install ( 5% on all wood used) and builders releasing big blocks of houses,townhouse or condos. My next venture is prefab business with a major apartment builder. I currently work less than 20 hours a week. pm me if you want Protect your name at all costs its all you have in this business

 

[Andrewski]

I'm a journeyman scaffolder, 24 yr old, made 120k with my hammer last year while my friends that went to college are making $16/hr with 20k in debt.


Anyway I'm still searching for my niche but life is still pretty good right now!

 

[Shdreams]

Well tomorrow will Be week two of operating my own Business/Framing crew. First Invoice goes in on Friday. I have two employees On pay roll rite now. Lots of elevation issues with the concrete But we pushed through. Even hustled a chipper and did some myself. If we close out these two units by friday that's $7000 before the employees get paid and wsib etc. That will be the biggest earnings in two weeks out of my 30 years on this planet! Boo yah! All thanks to the forum. If things keep trucking along. I'll be carrying certain products in no time online. hehe

 

[Goobii]

I think if done structured correctly, you could turn a trade business into a fastlane venture.. think franchising. As long as you have enough leads to sustain and maintain your network and a proper system for your system.

 

[LibertyForMe]

One thing that I have found working for a mid sized company that's main offering involves labor, and one tactic is to branch out into more emergency type situations. If a business has the health dept or some inspectors breathing down their neck, they will pay a premium price for someone who can do the work immediately.

So maybe try to isolate instances where there is a lot of urgency, and become the go to guy.

 

[Milkanic]

Seems like a pretty chill guy.

http://www.velocity.com/tv-shows/barrett-jackson/videos/meet-ron-pratte.htm

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Shdreams]

So My plan to take roofs on didn't quite pan out. But! I heard through the grape vine. My Uncles company is taking on over 500 homes In the next 3 months. So I traded my little kia in for a Truck. My Uncle is a very Intimidating man, so I'm currently mustering up the courage to ask to be paid by the Job. Kinda hoping posting it here will set it it stone sorta speak. We've had a couple duo's branch out like this and just remain a duo. I want to turn into multiple crews ASAP. And never look back.

 

[D11FYY]

Really wish I would have learned a trade now. My Dad always wanted me to go down the route of Plumbing/AirCon repairs.

Charlie Mullens of Plimco of London has done amazingly well with his plumbing business he only owns something in the region of 20% of the market in London but he is content with that. Some interesting videos on YouTube and articles on the web about him.

May sound kind of silly but something as simple as an app/printable web page for the elderly or just even general people with common problems which may seem simple to a tradesman but difficult to the average person.

Sounds silly but my girlfriends friend had a puncture and that got made a drama out of (mega facepalm). So just a simple app with 30-50 different helpful advices.

I know we have the wonderful Google and Youtube with an abundance of info but a app specified in this situation would possibly go down well if its not already out there. Monetize by pop up adverts.

Just a thought.

 

[Shdreams]

Update: I start Piece work on Monday Hehe. I'll post photos and my pay check differences in the next few weeks. I have to thank Alot of guys and, Vig, The Big Guy MJ, Big Thanks For throwing gas on my fire.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChickenHawk]

Alas, I don't think there are many tradesmen on this forum. My husband is an electrician/electrical contractor though, and we've pretty much decided that there's no obvious way to "Fastlane" his business. But maybe there's a way to use that electrical know-how to pursue something related -- such as inventing a new tool or system that solves some electrical problem.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else has any thoughts on this.

 

[DKNJ]

Hey I work for the plumbers union. I am a journeyman but am turning my back on the business for now. I still have to bust my tail for 1 to 2.5 years on the job hours to get my license. To fastlane for electrical trades, hmm maybe start an online course or program that covers all aspects for people that want to learn at home rather than pay an arm and a leg at lincoln tech? Manufacture electrical supplies? I'm looking for a way to fastlane plumbing. Online content and affiliate marketing go well together.

 

[DKNJ]

Yea true. Plus becoming an electrical contractor is a pretty high entry level business. It takes years of school and on the job hours. The only thing is, you are the valuable asset. You can hire experienced guys that are willing to break their backs under your license but I'm not sure how it works exactly, I think there are certain types of jobs that the mechanic has to be licensed. Just try not to grow too quick. I've seen a contractor grow quick and then during slow times have to lay guys off and liquidate.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.