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sb55
04-19-2011, 04:54 PM
I live in an area with a large Amish population. I have used the Amish from time to time in the past to do light assembly, bagging parts, attaching labels, etc. in my own business. The work is done in the individual Amish homes on a contract basis. They are interested in getting more of this type of work as the economy has hurt them as well.

I know it can be a problem in business to get good people for menial repetitive jobs that do not pay well. I am considering marketing this labor force to other businesses as a solution to this problem.

My customers would ship their parts to my location. I would distribute the parts locally. When the jobs are completed I would pick them up and ship them back to the customer. That’s pretty much it in a nut shell. I welcome your comments. Thank you.

Harold Mansfield
04-19-2011, 07:33 PM
I don't know much about Amish people and their lifestyle other than a college room mate that lived in Amish country PA and spending time at his house on the way to Atlantic City.

But this doesn't sound like an original idea. I'd be interested to know how these type of relationships have panned out in the past and what were some of the shortcomings on both sides.

On the one hand, I can totally see how if their lifestyle prohibits use of electronics and the internet that they will never be able to market themselves outside of their area to impatient businesses that use/rely on modern tools to do business.

If they are interested in getting more work like this, it seems like you are solving problems for all sides. You have a skilled work force who is ready and willing, and you provide a service to them that their lifestyle makes it difficult for them to do for themselves.

On the surface it sounds like win-win situation for everyone. I can't find anything wrong with it on the outside looking in.

One question I've always wanted to know. Do the Amish pay taxes or do they have some kind of exemption? Don't they provide their own services, run their own schools ? And what about Government farm subsidies? I've always been curious about that.

greenoak
04-19-2011, 08:13 PM
speed and quality would be major....
i thnk having a lot of little different jobs would be hard... getting your instructions across every time thngs changed would take a lot of great communication... shipping would be complicated and you would have to figure that before bidding.... the good thng is you know the families already... .....
we work w ith an amish family and they are very high priced but do really hard woodworking projects.... its neat tho...they network together and can do all kinds of jobs on our creations from bencding metal to fixing stained glass... as well as the carpentry work...

sb55
04-19-2011, 09:36 PM
One question I've always wanted to know. Do the Amish pay taxes or do they have some kind of exemption? Don't they provide their own services, run their own schools ? And what about Government farm subsidies? I've always been curious about that.

They do pay taxes excempt social security. They take care of their own and have their own schools through the eight grade. I doubt they would ever take any type of subsidies.

sb55
04-19-2011, 09:50 PM
Logistics would be a concern. I may have to have a minimum order. The Amish near me are inexpensive to hire. They are of the Swartzentruber order.

KristineS
04-20-2011, 06:00 PM
I think it could be doable. I would think a large issue would be the fact that a lot of repetitive type jobs can be done very cheaply overseas. So you'd have to watch your pricing very carefully. Could be a good sell for companies that are very big, or who have customers who are very big on buying products made in America.

I think it has potential. There are, as you said, definitely logistics that would need to be managed and figured out.

sb55
04-20-2011, 11:56 PM
Could be a good sell for companies that are very big, or who have customers who are very big on buying products made in America.

I hadn't thought of companies whose products are all made in America. I just hope there are still some left. LOL