Where are the CEO's?

[Cropduster]

Ok dudes, alot of us got into this business because we wanted to work for ourselves. Some of us are the CEO's of our own companies, and worked hard to build our business, get good equipment, keep good help. Why don't more of us act the part? I'm not talking wearing suits and Italian loafers, but why not brush up on grammar, spelling, and math? Have a little knowledge of finance, taxes, and P & L. I see too many guys out there, get their jobs done, instead of investing money back into their company, they go buy a boat, or a quad, or whatever. I see company owners that write like third graders. I look at spelling, and see mistakes far worse than my eight year old makes. I see company owners spending the day running their mouths in the coffee shop rather than running their company. They are the first to complain about no work, and have no clue that all the locals not only see them in there, but hear them bragging about how they pad their bills. In these economic times, serious mistake.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Those you are refering to are the ones that will get left behind in the slow times. When work is booming, many get into the business that have no understanding of how to run a business. In this line of work, when the good times are here, nearly anyone can get a loan, buy a tractor, and now thay are a contractor. Now a lot of them will get sent back to work for someone else. Sadly, most will not understand why.
I have recently hired some of these types, and they are usually good at what they do, but lack what it takes to run a business. Many of them can't even run a job properly for that matter.

 

[Cropduster]

You are pretty much on the money on that! I see alot of guys wanting to go it alone, they have no idea how the equipment works, so they don't know if their employees are running it into the ground. They have no idea of keeping a good image. This one guy I see has a kid working for him, the kid drives him back and forth from the coffee shop to the ice cream shop, he doesn't have a decent tractor, loader, or truck, and wonders why people aren't ringing his phone off the hook. And the moron doesn't answer his phone. You don't get work by waiting for people to show up on your jobsite to hire you.

 

[Squizzy246B]

I like to think that the time an effort I spend on aspects of my both my personal and company presentation. There are areas I could improve on (maybe a facelift??) but I know for a fact the way we present our quotation pays good dividends.

I see the results of some of my competitions efforts at doing a quote...."Build Wall $10,000" scrawled on a piece of dirty paper. I have a couple of those right now and the clients openly told me later they accepted my quotes, (even though we bid higher) because we were so well presented (compared to the opposition). So while the dollar may be almighty in manner ways, people still seek quality and expect their contractors to be well presented.

If I received a quotation or correspondence from a contractor with spelling areas I believe it would tell me something about their business.....they may be perfectly capable of doing their job but can they actually run a business properly?.

 

[dirt digger]

very true...however CEO's refer to a publicly owned company, most excavating companies are not

but seriously...i do agree with what you say, however when you reach a certain point in your ownership of a company you can just pay someone else to think for you...thats the joys of owning a successful company, you don't have to do anything but still reap in the rewards

 

[tuney443]

very true...however CEO's refer to a publicly owned company, most excavating companies are not

but seriously...i do agree with what you say, however when you reach a certain point in your ownership of a company you can just pay someone else to think for you...thats the joys of owning a successful company, you don't have to do anything but still reap in the rewards

Except you are forgetting 1 thing---we are all CEO's---CHIEF EXCAVATING OFFICERS!!!! At least I am when the telemarketers bother me in my favorite seats on my phone.

 

[Boophoenix]

doesn't CEO mean ? CEO = Cheif Equipment Operator

Just kiddin. I understand your point of veiw and it's very vallid. At the same time how many of us have been on a job with the guy with a suit and a degree blowing hot air that is going to screw up a job?

I think there is a nice mid point for most of us. Unless we become the big guys on the block with 100 million plus of machinery.

 

[Boophoenix]

Almost forgot in some cases it may mean

Clumsy Equipment Operator

 

[digger242j]

If I received a quotation or correspondence from a contractor with spelling areas I believe it would tell me something about their business.....

Well, all yer quotes should have mathematical areas, sure, where ya does yer figurin, and where it sez what's the job gunna cost, and them areas is all fulla numbers, but don't ya need "spelling areas" where it sez what the job of work is that yer gonna do, where yer sposta fill up with proper spelt words??

(If "areas" has some sort of Austrailian meaning with which I am not familiar, please forgive me. In that case, by heartlessly ridiculing you, the error would be all mine.) :cool2

On edit:

So while the dollar may be almighty in manner ways

How manner?

 

[OCR]

Oh, oh...diggers on a roll... :lmao

OCR... :laugh


No doubt about it though... he's a good proof reader.


PS: heartlessly ridiculing ... that's what he did to me in the Dozer thread...

 

[Squizzy246B]

Last time I install a stupid spell checker..........."auto correct" yeah right!

 

[Cropduster]

The problem with spell check, if you use the wrong word, but it is spelled correctly, it flies. As far as the guys in the suits messing up your job, sure it happens. But in these times, with work limited and competition fierce, it makes sense to look, act, and operate as professionally as you can. In this neck of the woods, professionalism has its rewards. I got a job the other day because the customer noticed my competitor's name in the police report, for something not job related, but she said if the guy makes that section of the news, she doesn't want him roaming around her property. And he was cheaper than me, she showed me his quote, and asked if I could cut corners. When I saw the guy had left out some key items, I realized why everything about his operation seems shady. Either he was going to back charge the woman for the things he missed, or hope that the inspectors missed his omission on the job site.