Tiling careers unrealistic?

[vince1]

great thread lads. what can i say you lot said it all. all i will say is IF YOU WANT IT GET OUT AND GET IT

[tjsmiler]

Well said Arcadia. i have long said that the info wanna be tilers receive is absolute garbage b ut the fact that they are not lying is what makes it so difficult to do anything about!!!

The money is out their to earn but then there is a million puonds to be won if you answer Chris Tarrents questions correctly (but how many actually win?) the same principle applies to the tiling game, it is out there in abundance but not many of us will know what it takes to get it or indeed HAVE what it takes to get it.

When i finished my PTS course i was probably the worst student their, i just diddn't get it!! (setting out, adhesives, substrates etc) it just did not sink in..... I was so dissheartened that i had spent 2k on something that taught me about 1% of what is really needed to know in order to succeed.

However, my personality is one that is very driven, i don't have an ounce of lazziness in me, i am good at selling, i am quick thinking, i am determined and i can also be erm how can we say it very persuasive!!

Please note i am not being big headed here, i am trying to make a point (we have already established that i was crap at tiling)

There were guys on my particular course who picked it up very quickly but were totally the opposite to me in terms of personality..since leaving the course i have spoken to nearly all who were on my course and i can tell you now that not ONE of them has done even half as good as me, (again i am not trying to show off) even though they could tile better....much better!! i felt so sorry for these guys because i knew and they knew that they were going to really struggle because nobody had told them that they were going to have to FIGHT or REALLY GRAFT in order to keep the work flowing (i am not talking about a bit of work here and a bit of work there) i am talking about earning the the serious weekly wage that these training centres PROMISE!

Personally i am flying with my little company and i am earning very good wages, i have made top contacts, i know most of the local tradesmen, i know a lot of other tilers and i look after them when they work with me, i am in with hotel managers, tile shop owners, certain fellers on here , i am in with insurance companies and all my stationary is done on the cheap, i befriend ALL of my customers and do things that MAKE them remember me, you name it and i probably have a bit of the action going on with me too.

This however has not comee because i have been lucky, i work NON-STOP between 15-18 a day... if i'm not tiling i'm talking tiling or i'm quoting.... i NEVER EVER EVER turn work away no matter how busy i am ( and i am booked until Febuary next year) all the work other tilers turn away bacause they are busy i take it on (they phone me with it because thay know i will fit it in or i will quote it and sell it to another tiler who is not so busy)

It's very important that you understand that this is not a show off post, i am trying to get accross that if massive earnings that tile centres go on about were so easy to come by how come i have had to work so so hard to acheive it?? there is much more to tiling than meets the eye.yes ANYONE can be successfull at it but most wont because as BRH and Bettsmkj so effectivly point out..these centres are not telling you the whole truth of what is needed to be really successfull.

Sorry if this has put any newbie tilers off, it was not supposed to but i witnessed some very nice people fail because they are simply not of a nature that can be very useful in this game.........

If any newbies want any advice att all please feel free to PM me, failing that just keep your head down, do fabulous quality work, think out of the so-called box and listen to the guys on here who have been doing it years....... as i have said before there advice and knowledge is worth 10 times the price of one of these courses......and it's free.

TJ

[vince1]

Nice Thread Tjsmiler " Good Advice My Friend "

[GazLC81]

Yep a good thread and some very good points!

I am new to tiling, I started my first job about a month ago and I earned very good money from it. In my first week I earned nearly £500 but in the three weeks following have only took about the same. I am getting more and more enquiries and things are going ok.

You have to be realistic. I just want to earn enough to pay my bills at the moment. I am working hard and doing the best I can with every job. This way I am giving myself the best chance of earning a decent amount of money in the future.

Anyone thinking of doing a course should read this thread!

Gaz

[tjsmiler]

Absolutely Gaz....good approach to it, don't be in such a rush to earn big bucks, instead take the time to learn the trade and earn enough to pay the bills.... keep very very busy all the time, and build things up for the future when you will have the speed, knowledge, experience and contacts to handle any job... thats the stage i'm at now

Good luck to you mate

TJ

Cheers Vince i think that some of us on here who have come from training centres should be telling the truth about these centres.... but at the same time we should be letting newbies in on some of secrets so they know that if they want it they can get it but they are gonna have to work SERIOUSLY hard (in order to acheive the profits these centres tell them about)

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Gaz @ Topps

Many of the newbies will fall by the wayside,lack of comittment,lack of basic skill,lack of business acumin,inability to learn the correct way and like Darren says just plonking cards around wont cut it.In USA a plasterer trains for 3/5 yrs for qualification and is respected like lawyers and all other proffessions and command the same wages for their knowledge.The authorities in USA take a very dim view of rogue traders and heavy prison sentences are imposed,maybe we should take the same view to protect the paying customer and give true committed pro tilers the respect they deserve.I for one would endorse this principal,lets put it this way a rogue gas fitter can kill,a large format tile or section of wall tiles falling could kill.

well said gaz mate.. as you perhaps did . I trained with a company for 4 yrs before i went out on my own.. i too would endorse this principal.....

[GazLC81]

Originally Posted by dhceramics

well said gaz mate.. as you perhaps did . I trained with a company for 4 yrs before i went out on my own.. i too would endorse this principal.....

If you can go down this route then there is no doubt it is the best one to take. In mine and many other peoples cases, it just isn't an option. I went on the course at Chase Tiling because I wanted a new career and the opportunities to earn more than I already was.

I honestly don't remember Phil the instructor telling us we'd be earning 20 or 30k a year at any point. He did tell us we'd have to work very hard and you get out only what you put in. Phil was more bothered about teaching us how do actually tile.

Gaz@Topps touched on something I have thought about a few times. Some people have practical skills and some don't, as simple as that! NONE of these courses can really teach you how to be practically skilled or how to run a business. I think a lot of people will fall by the wayside due to a simple lack of communication skills. That first point of contact on the telephone or when you go to do an estimate is so important. The customer has to feel like you know what you are doing AND that they can trust you.

You could be the best tiler the world has ever seen but if you lack people skills and motivation...... Forget it!

I think it is important to say at this stage that it can be done. You can do a course and then build yourself a nice little business and have a better life/income. Itr all depends on YOU not the quality of the course.

Gaz

[tjsmiler]

GazLC61.......... very well said mate, this is another thing i was trying to say in my longer post.... newbies should not be fooled into thinking it's easy by promises of big earnings instead they should be looking at their own personality and ask the question weather or not they have the people skills and stuff to make a nice go of it.


I think some people are to easily led into the whole fantasy of 'once i have done a course i can do this and i can do that and i will be earning 30k etc' and it's down to us lot (i think) to make sure that some very decent wanna be tilers out there don't waste their money because as Gaz so rightly says, you can have the skills but that aint no good if you aint to good with people.

Good post Gaz mate

TJ
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By the way let me also point out that not all courses are like this....i know that Darren at North East Tiling runs a superb course and genuinly wants all his students to do well

TJ
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By the way let me also point out that not all courses are like this....i know that North East Tiling runs a superb course

TJ

[wivers]

Very good thread and some great reply's. Infact they are all so good i feel unworthy of leaving any serious post in here myself...... This could also be due to the fact i am completely stupid and a reply from myself would either end in a silly nob gag or with a large picture of my anus.

[tjsmiler]

Silly Nob...... Go Away

TJ

[GazLC81]

So close to being worthy of a sticky thread!!!!

[Dave]

this is for wivs and tj.....lol lol lol.

Nob (disambiguation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)