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Slow progress is still progress

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

CaptainAmerica

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I'm slowly building my new venture, and hit a milestone, so it's time for Round 1 of a Progress Thread. I have all the usual excuses: I'm old, have variable health issues, live in a small place, mostly unemployable, and practically skill-less.

Here's what I did after Covid ate my baby:

1. I stopped. I just freaking stopped freaking out. My consulting business was gone, because my pipeline clients would rather make payroll than hire me, and I couldn't blame them. The state and county was in lockdown, I didn't know where to turn next, and I was about to get married. So I quit. I quit everything, including thinking about it. Fortunately, my savings saw me through.
2. I got a stupid part time day job. I am now a *cashier* at Home Depot. I can think of fewer things I am so extraordinarily unqualified for, but they hired me anyway. Yes, I hate it, thanks. When it's slow, I ponder all the decisions that led me to that moment. It's very motivational.
3. As Vizzini said, go back to the beginning: I started with what I knew. I wanted to use my organizational skills and science background to create a Productocracy, based on my own Path of Least Resistance, and Deep Work and Work the System principles. I reread all 4 books, and others.
4. I started ASKING QUESTIONS. What do people want, where is there a hole in the system, where can I insert my skills in such a way as to obviously build up a business that I can later franchise and sell? Bonus to working at Home Depot: I had a willing and captive clientele in front of my face, already paying me money. I talked to a whole lotta contractors.
5. I bought the WTS training. I bought the full package of a scheduling software training. I ran my idea of a scheduling service past all those contractors.
6. I started doing cleanups on my own to make sure I was quoting the right prices. Out of one lousy job (where I didn't get paid for 3 months, and lost a friend), I got a customer.
7. I used the premature systems to get independent contractors in to do the work. I babysat them a bit because I was nervous.
8. I got paid!

Which leads us up to this week: that client was selling a house, and the new owner asked for a quote. In talking with potential subcontractors, it became clear that I need to get my General Contractors license in order to grow the business the way I need to. So I took that $430 and bought more training, so I can take the state licensing exam in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I bought all the attendant software and a Zapier account, and I'm trying to make everyone play nice together.

Yesterday, I saw my lawyer in the store, and told him all about it. He wants to be my beta tester for the full rollout. He ASKED. I'm floored. Not a single person has told me it's a bad idea. Some people have had really great suggestions. I had to change the business name with the state. Things are moving, but it's slow.

A few years ago, I took up running, and I looked ridiculous. But I decided that if it *looked* like running, then it counted as running. This is the same thing: it doesn't matter how slow I go, as long as I'm moving.
 
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Empires

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Great progress! I operate with a similar business model. It is *very* scale-able with a high barrier to entry the way you are doing it.

The network of contractors you are building, and the infrastructure you use to manage it are your golden tickets.

Spend the time now to build a SOLID infrastructure so that when you start to scale you don't have major growing pains that become more expensive to fix.
 

WJK

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I'm slowly building my new venture, and hit a milestone, so it's time for Round 1 of a Progress Thread. I have all the usual excuses: I'm old, have variable health issues, live in a small place, mostly unemployable, and practically skill-less.

Here's what I did after Covid ate my baby:

1. I stopped. I just freaking stopped freaking out. My consulting business was gone, because my pipeline clients would rather make payroll than hire me, and I couldn't blame them. The state and county was in lockdown, I didn't know where to turn next, and I was about to get married. So I quit. I quit everything, including thinking about it. Fortunately, my savings saw me through.
2. I got a stupid part time day job. I am now a *cashier* at Home Depot. I can think of fewer things I am so extraordinarily unqualified for, but they hired me anyway. Yes, I hate it, thanks. When it's slow, I ponder all the decisions that led me to that moment. It's very motivational.
3. As Vizzini said, go back to the beginning: I started with what I knew. I wanted to use my organizational skills and science background to create a Productocracy, based on my own Path of Least Resistance, and Deep Work and Work the System principles. I reread all 4 books, and others.
4. I started ASKING QUESTIONS. What do people want, where is there a hole in the system, where can I insert my skills in such a way as to obviously build up a business that I can later franchise and sell? Bonus to working at Home Depot: I had a willing and captive clientele in front of my face, already paying me money. I talked to a whole lotta contractors.
5. I bought the WTS training. I bought the full package of a scheduling software training. I ran my idea of a scheduling service past all those contractors.
6. I started doing cleanups on my own to make sure I was quoting the right prices. Out of one lousy job (where I didn't get paid for 3 months, and lost a friend), I got a customer.
7. I used the premature systems to get independent contractors in to do the work. I babysat them a bit because I was nervous.
8. I got paid!

Which leads us up to this week: that client was selling a house, and the new owner asked for a quote. In talking with potential subcontractors, it became clear that I need to get my General Contractors license in order to grow the business the way I need to. So I took that $430 and bought more training, so I can take the state licensing exam in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I bought all the attendant software and a Zapier account, and I'm trying to make everyone play nice together.

Yesterday, I saw my lawyer in the store, and told him all about it. He wants to be my beta tester for the full rollout. He ASKED. I'm floored. Not a single person has told me it's a bad idea. Some people have had really great suggestions. I had to change the business name with the state. Things are moving, but it's slow.

A few years ago, I took up running, and I looked ridiculous. But I decided that if it *looked* like running, then it counted as running. This is the same thing: it doesn't matter how slow I go, as long as I'm moving.
Good for you. You are starting with where you are. And there are several other off-shoots you can do with your contacts. Your most valuable asset will be your list of sub-contractors. and what their specific skills are. You can have guys out cleaning up messes -- people out taking care of small jobs -- people delivering materials -- You just want to get your beak wet off of the top of each of the jobs. BUT, make sure you have the insurance policies to cover you. When someone sues, they sue everyone in the food chain...

How about a service where they go pick up the small parts that were forgotten? I have a crew and they do forget to have me pick up stuff for them. Then they end up standing around waiting for that part or the material. Do you know how hard it is the find the right part for a particular job???? Think about how many kinds of screws Home Depot carries...
 

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