Larger business or smaller

All of our work comes from referals...all of it. I spend xtra money on the jobs adding special touches and doing fine detail work. It makes for more referals for one thing, and since we don't have to pay all that cash for the advertizing, I consider it my advertizing. I works for us anyway.

You are either very big or very small. The medium sized outfits get eaten alive, and unfortunately all of us have been there. It really feels good to listen to the answering machine to the Yellow pages sales people calling again and again and not having to bother to call them back. Cheap too!>>>

It would appear that I'm a little further along. More free time for me and THE LOVELY MRS CIAK to pursue what we want and like. I stated it before and I will say again. I hit the timing right. Just pure luck if there is such a thing. Sold all my vehicles ,left my office , flushed all advertising except a small publication that helps supports a charity I agree with . All referrals . I get along very comfortably . There was a time I had a knot in the right side of my back up to my neck. Now I rock on my front porch walk with THE LOVELY MRS CIAK . I'm paid handsomely to travel Soon THE LOVELY MRS CIAK will be traveling with me . Double the pay 1/2 the expense . I help school some adjusters about stormers and the down and dirty Roofing Contractor. I know the roofing trade . I know craftsmen and by asking a few short questions pertinent to the trade . I digress. My end game is to give away my last roof to someone I trust .>>>

Well, I will not be totally eliminating my advertising for referrals only. I still like getting new customers. But not at $3,000 a month. Im thinking $1,000 used in a few differnt avenues instead of just 1. The yellow pages has been good for me over the years until the last few years. Now the price is ridiculous and they refuse to lower it. So bye bye baby. Incolumn only for them. Yellow Book will get a little and another smaller book that distributes to my prime area only, will get some. If i need to add some more advertising later if this doesnt work out, then theres always the newspaper which i used to get a fair amount of work out of for a couple hundred a month. And the proximity marketing. I did some direct mailing to local real estate agents and got some work out of that but it wasnt worth all i had to do to get it. I will either be letting my office go or moving to a lower cost home. Not sure which one just yet. Already lowered down just about every bill i could. Probably have to let my salesman go as well. I can and will be cutting out all waste possible. If things get really slow i dont mind replacing roofs myself with a helper. I dont do it now because the little bit of extra money i make by doing so just doesn't do much toward all these expenses. When it means something significant again i will.>>>

I deleted my last post out of respect Ole Willie. I'll try to stay on track and focus. I would seriously look at why your doing this.?? Roofers are folding their tents for a reason. It is going to get worse. We haven't hit the upper end of the curve yet.It is more of a J for lack of a better example. If you have been paying attention to the news on the All Barrack Channel (ABC) they are telling you it has bottomed and Michele Jackson was a drug addict . Everything you wanted to know ?? Tabloid crap !!!! They are not telling you what you need to know . Prepare yourself . The news media have become the government channels. They will not tell you what you need to know .>>>

The way residential operates all you got to do find a few good subs, befriend a couple of insurance adjusters a good hail storm and you got yourself a nice little business.>>>