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huggytree
05-20-2009, 06:07 PM
my BNI networking group is very strong w/ contractors

we have almost every trade

the roofer & web designer has come up with a unique idea. To combine all the trades under One Name and get a billboard,website,radio advertising,etc.

one name being considered is 'Elite contractor group'

We would have 1 phone and take turns being the answering service. We would try to funnel most of the work through the website, so it could be handled directly w/ the needed trade.

basically we are creating our own new contractor or builder.

builders typically add 10-30% onto the subs work....so savings is one advantage. shared advertising is another big one.

the dissadvantages i see are -
what if we dont all agree on anything? we cant force anyone
what if we have a slacker in the group or a quality problem?
without 1 person being in charge how will scheduling work (i think poorly)
would any organization work without someone in charge? (i dont think so)
i think 95% of all partnerships are doomed to failure. w/8 contractors i think its hopeless

i think its a unique idea and worth pursuing, but i think there are more neg's than positives...with so many people working at cost i dont see the cost advantage we would normally have in a normal economy.

any thoughts or suggestions?

vangogh
05-20-2009, 06:53 PM
The idea sounds good, but the disadvantages you list are to be considered. Could you set up some rules and guidelines you all agree to adhere too. At least then if someone isn't pulling their weight or disagreeing you'd have something to fall back on. You could elect one member of the group to be in charge with a reelection every 6 months or year.

Another thought is if you all think this will bring in more money for everyone you could all hire someone from outside to manage the whole thing.

Your concerns are valid, but they each have solutions.

Patrysha
05-20-2009, 08:06 PM
I'm working on similar co-promotion projects locally, but it's more focused on the marketing end of things rather than the project completion end of things.

In other words, the participants get the joint advertising that funnels through the main website, but once the leads are forwarded the group part is done...

More of cooperative advertising effort than a separate business entity. You may find that simplifying the concept solves your problems.

Spider
05-20-2009, 08:13 PM
...builders typically add 10-30% onto the subs work....any thoughts or suggestions?Builders don't add a markup to subcontractors' work just because they are greedy. There are costs involved in organizing and running a group of people, whether that group is a consortium or a number of hired tradesmen.

The costs involved include
... negotiating solutions to every problem that arises.
... dealing with slackers in the group and quality problems.
... scheduling work and seeing that schedules are adhered to.
... a group working without someone in charge will not be an organization - it will be a disorganization!
... partnerships are one of the most successful means of growing a business, but the proposal here seems to be a non-partnership.
... taking responsibility for a satisfactory completion.

As it has been described, this would not be a contractor or builder. A contractor-builder must sign contracts. Who would sign the contract with a client, if there is no-one in charge, no-one to control the flow of work, no-one to create and enforce a work schedule, no-one to take responsibility when things go wrong, no-one (or different people) answering the phone depending on which week it is, etc.

If you expect each trade to sign individual contracts with the client, then the client becomes responsible for control, organizing, scheduling, and running the project. If you think general contractor-builders are bad, wait until you try working on a multi-trade project under the direction of someone who has never done it before and hasn't a clue about bringing disparate and often conflicting trades to a satisfactory finish.

Clearly, this idea has not been properly considered by the participants of this BNI group. The most you can hope for, in my opinion, is for someone to be a clearing house - or a referral service - for a group of individual trades. Isn't that what BNI is, already, without the telephone answering service? So, get together and hire a telephone answering service amd share the cost of that and the advertising that will bring calls into the answering service.

To contemplate doing work as a contractor-builder that is nothing more than a loose-knit group of tradespeople is to invite catastrophe.

phanio
05-20-2009, 09:21 PM
I am always leary of partnerships unless they have very good contracts in place. Instead of having someone on the inside make decisions for the group - look to an outside mediator - make sure they are independent.

Also, my first thought is that if you do joint advertising and all leads to the website - will anyone will get lost in the shuffle.

huggytree
05-20-2009, 09:49 PM
spider,

you are correct in everything you say

there would be seperate contracts for each trade with the homeowner

dealing with slackers and keeping the schedule would be a problem

over all the main benefit is to share advertising and go large with an individual small budget from each contractor....i cant afford a road sign, but divide it by 8 and i can.

yes we already share the tips, but this would be creating more of those tips.

just because i dont believe in partnerships because everyone has a different work ethic i think its doomed to fail quickly...i do see some positives though which makes it worth all 8 of us tossing the idea around for a while..

Dan Furman
05-21-2009, 12:13 AM
You are much better off all chipping in for advertising where it makes sense, and leaving it at that. I've seen this type of thing before - never seen one run successfully. Getting two people to agree is hard enough (but can be done). 8 tradespeople?? Good luck (hardheaded lot you guys are :) )

Remipub
05-22-2009, 07:28 AM
I think it sounds like a great idea as long as those in the group are reliable and do good work. Reputation is going to make or break something like that. I would say though that it would be in everyone's best interest to hire someone to take the calls and handle the scheduling. Doesn't even have to be a full time employee, but just an answering service. They can immediately page or text the contractor when someone calls. The benefits are cost sharing for the marketing, but also a built in networking of sorts. If someone is going to do a remodel job, they'll likely need multiple contractors. It would be nice if they could call one source and get everything they need. If they can save a few bucks in the process, all the better!

cocoy
05-22-2009, 12:12 PM
I would only go as far as sharing advertising.

Get a home owner's newsletter together with several articles from each trade.

Spider
05-23-2009, 08:58 AM
I can see the advantage of a shared answering service, too.

1. All joint advertising could advertise a single telephone number,

2. Each participant could use that same number in their own advertising, if they wanted (to cut down telepone interruptions while they are trying to work.)

3. Plus, they could 'call-forward' their own calls to the answering service when they needed to.

I think joint advertising would save money, or permit more advertising for the same cost, and joint answering would help each participant become more efficient in their work by outsourcing some, if not all, of their telephone calls.

orion_joel
05-25-2009, 01:42 AM
Maybe an idea, do a website, do a road sign and do some other joint advertising projects, but that is it. Maybe not join together as a business group, but get together and form a sort of advertising coop for your group.

The primary consideration here would be to for a type of contract or agreement for the participation, for example, you dont want to start the group and have others try to bring in other friends with competing trades for other members, but also set some ground rules on if people do not pull their weight, to kick them out.

Another joint project you could do is something like a renovators guide that has a section about each of the different trades, common downfalls, and considerations when renovating, and each of you do the information for your section and places ads within pages of your section, nothing big maybe 3 or 4 pages each so 24-32 pages, could help build some interest in renovating.

Steve B
05-28-2009, 08:30 PM
I started a networking group that meets monthly and we share advertising costs and marketing efforts where it makes sense.

Call me or PM me if you want details. I am the head of the group and we've been doing it for almost 2 years.

Harold Mansfield
05-30-2009, 03:53 PM
I think it's a great idea, but someone has to be in charge, or the administrator, and rules and quality control have to be set in stone.
If it's just a free for all based on trust, it will likely fail faster than McPizza.

huggytree
05-31-2009, 11:04 AM
our BNI group just dumped our electrician...too many complaints

now our HVAC & Painter/drywaller are threatening to quit..

perfect example on why this group idea wouldnt work....1 problem and the group would splinter...

people go into business because they have strongly held beliefs on how things should be done....how can 6-8 people come together and agree? they cant.

i never agreed w/ how the electrician ran his business...he was too cheap and he lowered his prices if the people asked.....his customers were not my customers...he had alot of lower middle class & poor and mine are mostly upper middle class & lower upper class.