As I mentioned some time ago, my husband's job with a contractor has pretty much dried up. He's been taking jobs as a plumber to pay the bills, but what he really wants to do is start a contracting business of his own.
Well, we've been involved in all the prelim work of - getting the general contractor's license and employer tax id and all that good stuff. Then, we did a direct mail campaign to our target neighborhood, an area that is fabulously wealthy and where my husband has already done a lot of remodeling work as well as plumbing.
The first 100 fliers went out last week and tomorrow is our first appointment with a potential client. I'm very anxious, because we really want this business to take off. General contracting is more lucrative and it won't be as hard on him physically. He already has one physically demanding job (firefighting) and I would love for him not to have to work so hard physically on his days off from the fire department.
So if you wouldn't mind sending us some good wishes, they would be appreciated.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Good luck to you both! *wonders what being a firefighter is like for this future story* I hope your business takes off and you guys get a ton of money.
Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
Coming your way Belle. If anyone deserves a break it's you!
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
Good luck!
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
Best wishes for a successful business.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
You and Wes are close in my thoughts, Belle.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Good thoughts on their way. Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
You got it, Belle and Wes!!
Posted by Sopwith, again (Member # 9457) on :
Best wishes for the new endeavor!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Add us to the list.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Well, he met with the homeowner and it went well, he's now preparing blueprints and a quote for them. It will still be some time before we know if we got the job or not, we do know we're not the only ones bidding for it.
Thanks for the good wishes!
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
Good to hear, Belle. ^_^
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
I know nothing about how contracting works, but I'll send you lots of good thoughts! Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
That's good news!
Best of luck with it.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
Break a nail! (get it? Actually, maybe it's better if you don't.)
Best of luck.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Keeping my fingers crossed.
I wish we lived in Alabama. Andrew and I passed on a house because the owner wasn't willing to come down on the price and it needed tons of work - at least 12K. When I told the owner that we would have to replace all the appliances in the kitchen, he had the audacity to tell me that the 45-year-old aqua oven and stovetop are coming back in.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
*snort* That's funny, Mrs. M.
Still waiting. Had another walk-through, met both husband and wife and covered some issues that will affect our final proposal. They're in no hurry, they don't want to start construction until the kids are back in school (can't blame them there!) so nothing will happen until August. But we're preparing our final proposal today and getting it sent over to them for their review.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
I missed this earlier. (Been away).
~~~Belle & Family~~~
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Looks like we got the job! Took some going back and forth, our first proposal was over their budget and they asked Wes to lower the price. He told them he could, but only by cutting out some of the features, he had already given them the best price he could on everything. So they agreed to some changes to the bar they wanted installed to lower the cost to within their budget. They've asked Wes to fax over the contract to them tonight so they can sign it.
And, we've already heard from another person who wants us to finish a bonus room in the same neighborhood. Who would have thought a bulk mail campaign would have been successful? But we've only mailed out 100 flyers and already two responses, and we have 400 more flyers ready to go, but we're mailing them out in stages to prevent us from getting more work at one time than we can handle.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
YAY BELLE!!!!!!!!
Our are things on other fronts? You know we're all thinking about you.
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