New Customer Freeze

[Tim Bateson]

As of today, I will no longer be excepting new customers. In reality, it's been since Thanksgiving, but now officially a freeze. This mostly applies to one-off and small jobs type of work. I spend wayyyy too much time on that type of work. I have enough commercial/Industrial, and firearm work sources to keep me more busy than I would like.
I just can't handle working all day, having dinner and maybe an hour a day with the wife, then working to midnight 6-7 days a week.

1. You say Hire - Won't work - My shop is in my basement and I won't have "employees" in my house like that.
2. You say Store Front - Not my business model & not interested (yet) in that massive overhead.
3. You say Full-Time - That can't happen for another 16 months (I'm a couple years ahead of my 10 year business plan).
4. You say 2nd machine? Already have two. Long jobs it works, but short jobs are too difficult to manage more than 1 machine.

It's a gamble cutting back, but I have to think of my sanity and marriage too.

[John Lifer]

Yep, makes perfect sense. I'd maybe not cut off business customers entirely, I know you don't shop for them, they appear, which is great.
I'd for sure stop one offs, and anything not really making you $. You have to fire customers sometimes I would make sure not to eliminate a potential big customer, just put them off for another year or so! Working two jobs for long period is hard. And eliminates the fun!

[Scott Marquez]

Good for you Tim, my guess is that you will make more money in 2017 with less output of time and mental stress.
Enjoy, Scott

[Jeff Body]

I've always wondered about a situation like this as my brother is in the same. He's got way more work then time. I've often told him it's time to raise his prices alittle.
My thought is why not let price help weed out customers. By the sound of it you're in high demand, wouldn't that call for a higher price????
With that you'll weed out the customer that don't value your skills and you'll gain the ones that do and are willing to pay the higher price for your expertise.
You'll also come out ahead because you're making more money for your time.

Time is a constant variable.
What other variables can you change that will help you to continue to grow?

[Bruce Volden]

Tim,

Yep, been there done that! I however was fortunate enough to have kids @ home. I would create the files and they would "load" the machines.
My daughter was home schooled after 8th grade and caught on VERY quickly and she pretty much could do it all. She / they would run the machines 8 - 10 hours per day and when I got home from my "day job" I would take over for at least another 8!!!
HATED doing that, never any free time.
Oh, I was paying the the kids $10 / hr. and this was back in the mid-late 90's!

Bruce

[Mike Null]

Tim

I began to make a similar move a couple of years back. I raised my minimum price to $25 which quickly started the "weed-out" process and then I began saying "we are not accepting new accounts at this time". Of course, if the job sounds interesting I may accept it but that is rare.

In the month of December I doubt that I had more than 6 retail customers and those were usually for $100 or more.

I'm also home based with my shop in the basement and I don't like visitors; I also don't like people who can't keep their appointments. Given my circumstances, I have no problem in being firm with these
retail customers. I make my living from commercial accounts and that's where I'm going to focus.

[Kev Williams]

We've had strange people in and out of this house all day every day since my parents moved here in '69 (I was 14 years old). All but one of our immediate neighbors were here when we moved in, and the exception has been there over 10 years. This keeps the "I think the neighbor there is selling drugs!" calls to a minimum ...that, and the fact we make the name badges for over half the Police Dept's in the area.

I'm now 62, planning on semi-retiring in 3 years, and am also getting weary of the 'Do you engrave?' phone calls. I've not needed 'street' work for nearly 10 years, but I just keep doing it. One reason is MOST of the time the inconvenience is minor, and on rare occasions (true story) a cold caller looking for a name badge for his nurse wife may work for an electrical contractor, and when he sees my shop (which always provokes a "Holy ***t!" response), he tells his boss, and his boss asks a few questions, and in short order I have a regular $600-$1000 a month customer making easy-peasy 1x3 nameplates--- which is exactly the type of work I want to have when I semi-retire!

I have been getting better at telling people 'sorry', but I'd feel better if I knew of somewhere to steer them to so they can get what they need done. Truth is, a lot of my 'competition' brings me their 'sorry' work (Like the big silver cup in the garage I have to engrave today). In my "I feel dumb" thread, I posted up about blabbing 'harmonicas' to the lady who brought them with one of the recipients standing with her. This order originated with grandpa all frantic because he couldn't find anyone who knew how to engrave a harmonica. "we can't engrave metal"... say What?? We're talking basic diamond etching that ANY engraver should be able to do, on a flat easy to hold part. Sheesh. I guess it's no wonder I have to work 17 hours a day to keep up. What I want to know is, if my peers can't engrave a simple harmonica, how are they making a living?

Anyway, it's hard for me to tell people no. But I always cringe after collecting a 10 and a 5 for the 45 minute's work I put in for their job when they say "I'll be sure to tell everyone I know about you!"

(fortunately, they usually don't)

Happy New Year everyone!

[Bill George]

I took my phone number off my website and they must contact via email. Established customers have my cell number. The do you engrave gets old after a while, and I charge $20 minimum for a job, unless they are a paying established customer who I make exceptions. My wife says I charge to much, but I worked for union shops all my life and if I want to make minimum wage I will get a job at Walmart.

[paul cottingham]

In my business (retired now) once we got to where you are, we doubled our rates. Mind you, it was a different business (network admin.) rather than cutting our business, it doubled it. Due to the math, it really improved our bottom line, too (more than doubled it.) we were able to weed out the clients we no longer wanted.

[Kev Williams]

I took my phone number off my website...

I did you one better, check my website, it's been this way for months-
www.engraver1.com

-doesn't matter much, because everything about me comes up when anyone googles "engraver". I get an average of 3 cold calls a day, and about 1 in 5 is from across the country...

[Glen Monaghan]

everything about me comes up when anyone googles "engraver".

hmmm... I didn't find your name or website in the first 5 pages of results...

[Kev Williams]

Neither did I my computer was looking in Alabama (we have a kid there, that might have something to do with it)

[Rodne Gold]

If you dont financially need the extra work..can it... whats the point of making money which cuts into the enjoyment of family and life?
I would apply the FOAD pricing model rather than refuse tho..

[Matt McCoy]

If you dont financially need the extra work..can it... whats the point of making money which cuts into the enjoyment of family and life?
I would apply the FOAD pricing model rather than refuse tho..

I had to look up FOAD, but totally agree. The only option for growth without expanding (employees) is raising your prices. Now might be a good opportunity. As mentioned, time is the constant.

Congrats and Happy New Year.

[Jacob John]

I did you one better, check my website, it's been this way for months-
www.engraver1.com

-doesn't matter much, because everything about me comes up when anyone googles "engraver". I get an average of 3 cold calls a day, and about 1 in 5 is from across the country...

I'd love to have this "problem" that many of you have.