End Of The Road

[Raja]

After weeks of uncertainty finally i have decided to call it a day tiling full time and do it part time as and when required.

I have paid £1800 in February to yellow pages for 2 adverts in the 2 books covering 4 areas and yell.com i am hoping i will make my money back by next year even if i do 1 job a month. They are 2 of the biggest ADS in the 2 books so really feel for the small ads.

The Only thing wil b leaving will be the new Van i bought in December £10,000
As i do not need it am looking at around £3000 loss on that.

I think i will always do tiling as a part time thing but not as a main employment.

Many of you will be wondering where did it go wrong so wil say that i have never spared expense in advertising last year was £3300 and work was good this year was £1800 and work seems to have died out. As for flyering and generally sucking up to tile shop owners that is not my style. When i first started tiling 6 years ago it was a sought after skill which not many possesed and trianing was a long process 1 year at college for me.

These days the market is saturated with Tilers, Plasterers, Plumbers and not forgeting Milkmen i have been told. I am sorry to say that undercutting and a general cheap work force who quote at novice rates has bought my jobs to a swift end. Sad but true the general public are only interested in the cheapest quote. Many wil disagree but please respect my views they are not to offend anyone.

Personally i am more than happy to shut shop than drop prices as they are fair to begin with. Also another nail in the coffin was "Jacks of All Trades" it is true that as time goes by people want more and more jobs completed by 1 person ie. full bathroom fitting etc. complete kitchen fitting somthing which i do not do through choice as i specialise in tiling only and before some one says pass it onto a plumber to do it i have been there done that doesn't work.

I thank u all for advising me in the forum and listening to me rabbit on like a gooden, hope to be knocking around for some time as a part timer who only does small jobs lol

[Sir Ramic]

Sorrry to hear that Raja.
I think you are wrong to get rid of the van, after all you will make a loss so why not keep it and think if you can put it to use. Contact courier companies and explain the situation, see if they can offer some work.
I have told you before that work is tight at the moment, thankfully my phone is ringing albeit not as much as i would like but its work.
You say sucking up to tile shops etc is not your style .....Hello wake up Raja, business is business. I work for many people i would choose to socialise with but thats the way it is. They may not like you but if they needed a tiler then why not you. I would love to think the work will just come to me but it wont. In January i was very quiet but i took on some site work, i was frozen, wet, miserable but at least i was getting paid, You have to survive and the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
THINK how you could get some work and do what ever it takes to get that work.
Now too be blunt and you may not like this but it seems you have had lots of help from your family to get this far.....maybe you have had it too easy. Quitting now and you let them down too, sure you have no tiling work at the moment but i would look for a second source of income just to keep ticking over and build up my clients for tiling work.
How about sitting at your PC and making up a flyer listing your abilities and say that you can travel, work nights etc. Then send it to every builder, shop fitter, plumber and other tilers in your area.
DO SOMETHING AND DO IT NOW!

[GazTech]

I'm sorry to hear that you are giving up. I have and will help to support you in any way you need ( you have my number ). I also respect your wishes and wish you the best whatever you decide to do mate.....Gaz

[davy_G]

Raja, Good for you for keeping your prices up.

Good luck and hopefully the part time tiling proves more successful

[tileform]

Sorry to hear that mate
Good luck with the part time time work and whatever else you choose to do

[grumpygrouter]

Raja, really sad to hear this! What are you going to do now? Don't just give up a year at college and 6 years experience. take stock of where you are and think how you can generate more business - suck up if necessary and get out and drop business cards around targetted areas. 600,000 people in Sheffield alone - there must be a huge amount of tiling there somewhere, you just got to find it man!

Obviously if there is any advice I can give, PM me and I will see what I can do!

Grumpy

[basshunter]

understand where you are raja,i dont think its been a great start to the year for most people.it sounds as though you are passionate about tiling so why give it up if you love it so much??
i would say im in the same boat these last few weeks but i have no intention of just giving up-infact i did some new business cards yesterday and also made a list of all the places im going to visit and sell myself.
its arrogant to think even if you are a good tiler that the work will come to your door.
i dont believe in paying all that money for advertising like you have.with 3k you could do a lot better things.
hang in there,your not the only one going through this

[Fekin]

Funny post really, and don't know exactly the best way to answer....

With the looks of it you have only done the kinds of advertising that required the smallest effort on your part, which is the most expensive forms of advertising as well, which if you have not got a wide reputation with dozens of builders\ tile shops and other trades, then your only going to get a slither of the market that actually looks in Yellow pages.

I guess if you are not willing to make a real effort to find work then there is nobody to blame but yourself for the work not coming in.

This isn't a post getting at you what so ever, it just seems strange to have spent so much money to be a full time self employed tiler, and to put very little effort into getting yourself the work coming in, when there is soo much compertition around.

Good luck for the future raja.

[IvegotsTILE]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Raja you've broke my heart

What are you gonna do now?How will you pay for your Streethawk bike?

I hope all these guys who are looking at changig their careers and stoping their current employment read this thread,If a guy with a years course and 6 years experience is calling it a day you should think long and hard about what you do next.

You better not leave the forum mate or I'll be more upset

[tilinga2z]

Read many of your rants and views all with fondness, I do understand how you feel, I have done 4 weeks work since new year it is tough at the mo. My advice is read over Fekins reply a couple of times and constructively pick the bones out of what he says. Act upon his advice as it is true, give it one more concerted effort mate....go down fighting!!!!!!

[bigdaz]

definately right in what you're saying about market satuation. everyone has jumped on the wagon, and like you say, people are just after the cheapest.
I worked as a plasterer part time and the reported £200 a day turned out to more like half that. not really all that good for such back breaking work. So what with all these schools turning out 'tradesmen' by the thousand and not to mention the influx of migrant workers its getting so more and more people are chasing less and less work so I believe being multiskilled may give you the edge.
Still, its always nice to have a regular wage supplimented by a few nice little earners so good luck with the doors or whatever else you're up to (you are still SIA I take it?)

Dazzz

[sWe]

Sorry to see you go Raja. Please excuse me for not writing an essayesque answer, but I just wrote one in another thread, so my brain is a bit worn at the moment