Larry was 18 years old and building decks in Burlington Ontario. He went out and worked for the best deck companies in Ontario the year previously, about 5 of them. He learned all their tricks, how to price and how to do some basic marketing and decided that he could do it better. Marketing that worked? Flyers, a small ad in the phone book, and signs on the lawn and truck while you work seem to do the trick.
Larry worked on 1 street for 2 months, some 12 jobs in total. He was working under a name cooked up by his father. "Fair Deal Carpentry", and it sounded right since that's really what everybody wants right?
Larry was 18, but unfortunately he looked 14. It is a difficult task to convince anyone that he is an expert in the field of decks and fences when you look so child like.
What's in a name anyways? Your work speaks for itself right? All that matters is that you get your foot in the door and get the opportunity to sell right? All leads are good leads... aren't they?
Larry was doing a job in Hamilton for a referred renovation through a friend and if you have ever been in Hamilton you will know that it is all 1 way streets. A drunk in a van loaded with roofing materials ran a red light and Larry's truck t-boned the van. His left arm went through the drivers side window and his right hand pushed the steering wheel of the F150 about 6" out of round. The truck was about 3' shorter than it started out.
After 6 months of rehab and laser treatments he could finally turn his ignition key in his truck. Insurance replaced the truck, but he lost about 4 months of work at this critical time in his business start up. He burned up all his cash and was basically starting again.
This was 1991 and Larry is/was Lawrence Winterburn, founder of GardenStructure.com and things have changed a little in the past 20 years.
All the things that worked for me in the first year or two are now ancient history. Flyers, Yellow pages no longer work. Lawn and Truck Signs might, but that original name...my God, what a mistake that was!
I milked some opportunities, what turned out to be important ones from the bargain seeking clients I ended up meeting up with, but that Fair Deal name lead to lost opportunities, jobs with no profit and cheapskate clients that would negotiate all the way through the job. Things didn't start to get better until I changed that name.
It was just one of the reasons I didn't get the big profitable jobs back then.
I was doing all kinds of things wrong, and lucky for me, I learned from the experience.
If you want to learn how to get the big leads, and opportunity to do more profitable large projects, click this link. Starting a Deck Company
I want to help you become a success... Preferably Sooner -- Rather than later!
L
Larry worked on 1 street for 2 months, some 12 jobs in total. He was working under a name cooked up by his father. "Fair Deal Carpentry", and it sounded right since that's really what everybody wants right?
Larry was 18, but unfortunately he looked 14. It is a difficult task to convince anyone that he is an expert in the field of decks and fences when you look so child like.
What's in a name anyways? Your work speaks for itself right? All that matters is that you get your foot in the door and get the opportunity to sell right? All leads are good leads... aren't they?
Larry was doing a job in Hamilton for a referred renovation through a friend and if you have ever been in Hamilton you will know that it is all 1 way streets. A drunk in a van loaded with roofing materials ran a red light and Larry's truck t-boned the van. His left arm went through the drivers side window and his right hand pushed the steering wheel of the F150 about 6" out of round. The truck was about 3' shorter than it started out.
After 6 months of rehab and laser treatments he could finally turn his ignition key in his truck. Insurance replaced the truck, but he lost about 4 months of work at this critical time in his business start up. He burned up all his cash and was basically starting again.
This was 1991 and Larry is/was Lawrence Winterburn, founder of GardenStructure.com and things have changed a little in the past 20 years.
All the things that worked for me in the first year or two are now ancient history. Flyers, Yellow pages no longer work. Lawn and Truck Signs might, but that original name...my God, what a mistake that was!
I milked some opportunities, what turned out to be important ones from the bargain seeking clients I ended up meeting up with, but that Fair Deal name lead to lost opportunities, jobs with no profit and cheapskate clients that would negotiate all the way through the job. Things didn't start to get better until I changed that name.
It was just one of the reasons I didn't get the big profitable jobs back then.
I was doing all kinds of things wrong, and lucky for me, I learned from the experience.
If you want to learn how to get the big leads, and opportunity to do more profitable large projects, click this link. Starting a Deck Company
I want to help you become a success... Preferably Sooner -- Rather than later!
L
