- Joined
- Jun 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,071
Hi Everybody.
Some of you know that my fiancé and I recently purchased our first home. It's been about two months now, and it looks like I have finally gotten back on the horse. Things were bumpy, to say the least. I had to move my house and my shop at the same time. A few thoughts, hopefully this might help some of you if you encounter a similar situation.
- Pack and ORGANIZE EVERYTHING beforehand. I did do some pre-staging, but not on the smaller things, which ended up being the most important. I lost about $500 worth of important tools in the move, and still haven't found them. We had fifteen (15!) people show up to help. My fiancé and I spent so much time directing, that I was not able to see what went where, contrary to my plans. Once we got into the new house, I realized I didn't have a darned clue where anything was, shop stuff was mixed in with house stuff, etc.
- This may fall under the above point, but figure out what is most important. The things you MUST have to complete paying work of high quality. Make sure these things are accounted for throughout the move, even if you think it's "easy" to keep track of it all. Ttwo of my most important tools were lost or possibly stolen during the move, and because I hadn't been working for over a month, could not afford to replace them. Luckily my folks let me raid the hoard and I got a working solution, but if that hadn't happened, I could have been in real trouble.
- Finish ALL pending orders before the move starts, even if it means not sleeping for a week. I came pretty close to getting myself in really hot water on this one. I cleared probably 80-90% of my pending work, but I had a handful of knives that were either simply waiting to be cleaned up and shipped, or were waiting for sheaths. I thought that I would be up and running quickly after the move, and that didn't happen. I came very close to internet drama apocalypse, but managed to save it (barely) by keeping in touch with the few customers that were waiting.
- That brings us to keeping in touch with your customers. I did Ok on this, but could have done better. Most emails were answered in 24 hours, but a few took a couple/few days. If I had done any worse on this, things could have gotten much uglier. This is probably the single biggest thing, when it comes to preserving your reputation. Things happen. Deadlines slip, and then slip again. If you are open and honest about it, people are much more likely to be sympathetic.
- Make up a plan, and BE REALISTIC about how your new space will work for you. The new place had about 40% less floor area for me. When I first got set up, I was so worried about fitting in every tool, that I ended up with a labyrinthine and unusable space that I couldn't bear to even step foot in. I lost 2-3 weeks on my first shop setup alone. This was the single biggest snag. If I had been realistic about what I actually needed to be able to work, and what could be rolled off to the side, I would have been up and running probably a full month sooner.
- Multiply x4. I've heard people you should take your estimate and double it, just to be safe. I don't think that is nearly enough. If you think something is going to take an hour, it will take half a day. If you think it will take a day, it will take a good part of a week. It's a lot easier to bump your schedule up, than it is to recover missed days. If you double your estimates, you will probably still let people down. At least with x4, you have half a chance to do better than you promised, especially if something goes wrong. This rule also applies to how long before you should start preparing.
- If possible, have at least twice the x4 time in funds saved. This accounts for any expenses moving into the new shop, and additional delays. I did have some money put away for the move, but it was barely enough. If I'd been going at this for more than a year, it would be a bit different, but it was a bit hard. Either way, do your best. Some examples from my move: wire in 220 drop for compressor, purchase/ wire in lighting, replace damaged stand on grinder, replace missing tools, etc. This list is quite long for me. It looks like I'm gonna pull it off, but I cut it very close.
My fiancé and I are happy with our new house. Everything has been wonderful, but the shop side has been a near disaster the whole way... things got bad enough more than once that I considered just quitting the whole thing. The ONLY reason I kept going was because I have a few customers that are very supportive of my efforts, and make sure to let me know regularly. These people are GOLD. They are far more valuable than any sale you may incur from them. This is probably the single most important point I have to make. Throughout this entire maelstrom the last few months, this was the one thing that kept me on track and saw me through to the other side safely. I just can emphasize this enough.
Either way, happy to be back, and can't wait to start posting work again. I just ground my first few blades from the new shop, and can't wait to start finishing them.
Some of you know that my fiancé and I recently purchased our first home. It's been about two months now, and it looks like I have finally gotten back on the horse. Things were bumpy, to say the least. I had to move my house and my shop at the same time. A few thoughts, hopefully this might help some of you if you encounter a similar situation.
- Pack and ORGANIZE EVERYTHING beforehand. I did do some pre-staging, but not on the smaller things, which ended up being the most important. I lost about $500 worth of important tools in the move, and still haven't found them. We had fifteen (15!) people show up to help. My fiancé and I spent so much time directing, that I was not able to see what went where, contrary to my plans. Once we got into the new house, I realized I didn't have a darned clue where anything was, shop stuff was mixed in with house stuff, etc.
- This may fall under the above point, but figure out what is most important. The things you MUST have to complete paying work of high quality. Make sure these things are accounted for throughout the move, even if you think it's "easy" to keep track of it all. Ttwo of my most important tools were lost or possibly stolen during the move, and because I hadn't been working for over a month, could not afford to replace them. Luckily my folks let me raid the hoard and I got a working solution, but if that hadn't happened, I could have been in real trouble.
- Finish ALL pending orders before the move starts, even if it means not sleeping for a week. I came pretty close to getting myself in really hot water on this one. I cleared probably 80-90% of my pending work, but I had a handful of knives that were either simply waiting to be cleaned up and shipped, or were waiting for sheaths. I thought that I would be up and running quickly after the move, and that didn't happen. I came very close to internet drama apocalypse, but managed to save it (barely) by keeping in touch with the few customers that were waiting.
- That brings us to keeping in touch with your customers. I did Ok on this, but could have done better. Most emails were answered in 24 hours, but a few took a couple/few days. If I had done any worse on this, things could have gotten much uglier. This is probably the single biggest thing, when it comes to preserving your reputation. Things happen. Deadlines slip, and then slip again. If you are open and honest about it, people are much more likely to be sympathetic.
- Make up a plan, and BE REALISTIC about how your new space will work for you. The new place had about 40% less floor area for me. When I first got set up, I was so worried about fitting in every tool, that I ended up with a labyrinthine and unusable space that I couldn't bear to even step foot in. I lost 2-3 weeks on my first shop setup alone. This was the single biggest snag. If I had been realistic about what I actually needed to be able to work, and what could be rolled off to the side, I would have been up and running probably a full month sooner.
- Multiply x4. I've heard people you should take your estimate and double it, just to be safe. I don't think that is nearly enough. If you think something is going to take an hour, it will take half a day. If you think it will take a day, it will take a good part of a week. It's a lot easier to bump your schedule up, than it is to recover missed days. If you double your estimates, you will probably still let people down. At least with x4, you have half a chance to do better than you promised, especially if something goes wrong. This rule also applies to how long before you should start preparing.
- If possible, have at least twice the x4 time in funds saved. This accounts for any expenses moving into the new shop, and additional delays. I did have some money put away for the move, but it was barely enough. If I'd been going at this for more than a year, it would be a bit different, but it was a bit hard. Either way, do your best. Some examples from my move: wire in 220 drop for compressor, purchase/ wire in lighting, replace damaged stand on grinder, replace missing tools, etc. This list is quite long for me. It looks like I'm gonna pull it off, but I cut it very close.
My fiancé and I are happy with our new house. Everything has been wonderful, but the shop side has been a near disaster the whole way... things got bad enough more than once that I considered just quitting the whole thing. The ONLY reason I kept going was because I have a few customers that are very supportive of my efforts, and make sure to let me know regularly. These people are GOLD. They are far more valuable than any sale you may incur from them. This is probably the single most important point I have to make. Throughout this entire maelstrom the last few months, this was the one thing that kept me on track and saw me through to the other side safely. I just can emphasize this enough.
Either way, happy to be back, and can't wait to start posting work again. I just ground my first few blades from the new shop, and can't wait to start finishing them.
