I have a few friends who are Engineers at Lexmark and they are doing great! Their bonus was fantastic and the work load is amazing.
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I have a few friends who are Engineers at Lexmark and they are doing great! Their bonus was fantastic and the work load is amazing.
I am in the lure manufacturing business. Some of you know what company I'm with and have done business with me and some are posting good reports on catching nice stripers in the jumps both near surface and 20 to 40 ft down on the same lure. I would rather not say what company out of respect for Peter, APB and the rest. I will say that this year is the worst year we've had since we've been in business. It's so bad that I had to go back to construction for the first time in 4 yrs. That is not such a good move either because the construction business in my county is very bad. I hope that with the fall cool down sales will increase and take some pressure off. Last fall my wife nearly lost her job that she has had for 14 yrs. No such thing as seniority where she works. She survived the draw down and is still going strong thank goodness. Spring is on the way, it can only get better.
My personal bubble has been great this year. I've gotten more side work mowing lawns then I have since I started doing it.
Also started doing garage/basement clean outs. That has been very good thanks to the price of scrap metal being at a all time high.
This summer I've made enough side money to buy a 40hp merc outboard for my jon boat, a bad a$$ motor/trans/rear end, for my 78 camaro. Bought a 75 camaro project car which by next summer should have a 454 big block. Also got a early 90's F150 so I don't have to use my nice truck to do all the dirty work.
Have also sold 3 cars that I bought cheap to fix up and sell. :D
Still getting my 40 hours at work with some OT here and there.
[QUOTE=walkeraviator;427198]Hey Bug.... My father-in-law is in the oil/natural gas/chemical business as well. [/QUOTE]
The company my husband works for does heavy industrial construction as well as working in power/oil/gas/chemicals/desalienation plants, etc. My husband has specialized in chemical plants for the past 21 years.
[QUOTE=DJD;427148]A question to all my brothers and sisters on this site.....How is business? How is your own private economic bubble you live in? By this I mean forget that garbage you hear and read about everyday. I'm just curious how you are doing at work. Is your company growing? Status quo? Losing business? Making ends meet? Nothing personal just curious how things are out there in different parts of this country and state and even in Canada (Margie:))
Personally my local utility bills have gone up over the last year or so and I spend a little more at the grocery but I adjust by choosing where I buy what I want....just takes more planning. Gas is acceptable at less than $3 per gallon (ugh) I guess I'm conditioned to it now.
We are slammed beyond anything I have seen in 10 years! Amazing isn't the word to how much business opportunity we have and are getting. This isn't new construction (that still sukks because low bid now on projects is below our cost....mostly) it's a result of us looking at what we do and concentrating on our strengths which is service. Service leads to direct sales and that leads to alot of work.
I'm a Systems Integrator we deal with Fire Alarm, Intercom, Nurse Call, Paging, Card Access, CCTV, Networking, Fiber, Pro Sound, AV Teleconferencing, Cable distribution, Educational Media Systems and on and on....
Just curious???:)[/QUOTE]
Anything remotely connected to the Broadband industry is booming right now due to the stimulus money. Companies are expanding like crazy. But what will happen when that stimulus money runs out in 2 years ??? There will be a massive amount of companies going after scraps. Which will bring prices down to a very meager wage for the ones that survive it. Things look good now ! But I think the stimulus will hurt our industry bad when the $$ are cut off.
[QUOTE=DJD;427148]A question to all my brothers and sisters on this site.....How is business? How is your own private economic bubble you live in? By this I mean forget that garbage you hear and read about everyday. I'm just curious how you are doing at work. Is your company growing? Status quo? Losing business? Making ends meet? Nothing personal just curious how things are out there in different parts of this country and state and even in Canada (Margie:))
Why thank you Don for including me in this thread.:) The Canadian economy did recover faster from the recession as our banks are strong up here. Heck they rarely lend money unless you can put down a good down payment and have a car or boat to back that up. People who are poor or on welfare dont get houses as they cant afford it. So the banks are strong. Now for me its bad and I have lost out on about 20 jobs that I am qualified for and have experience in but I cant even get an interview cuz I am not fluently bilingual in french. Canada has a small minority of french but since Ottawa is the capital city it is manditory you have to speech both official languages. That is the result of putting a liberal Prime Minister in office who spoke french as his first language. He did that just before he left office in 2003. So by the end of this year if I cant find any work I will have to out west to look as there is no french out there. There are jobs here but I cant get them so it is very frustrating. We are pulling out the recession that hit us all bad when the US stock market crashed. It may have happened in the US but affected many other countries. Wish me luck out west folks!:)
[QUOTE=Mean Morone;427337]I am in the lure manufacturing business. Some of you know what company I'm with and have done business with me and some are posting good reports on catching nice stripers in the jumps both near surface and 20 to 40 ft down on the same lure. I would rather not say what company out of respect for Peter, APB and the rest. I will say that this year is the worst year we've had since we've been in business. It's so bad that I had to go back to construction for the first time in 4 yrs. That is not such a good move either because the construction business in my county is very bad. I hope that with the fall cool down sales will increase and take some pressure off. Last fall my wife nearly lost her job that she has had for 14 yrs. No such thing as seniority where she works. She survived the draw down and is still going strong thank goodness. Spring is on the way, it can only get better.[/QUOTE]
Then drop the price on your lures, increase volume, and help us all out. $11.95??????? I can get a Redfin for $4.99, or a Long a Bomber for $5.25, and still kill the Stripers in the jumps, on the banks in the winter, or on the banks in the Spring. I don't think the Stripers read the labels first.
Talked to a marine dealer recently, a couple, or three.
All said things were slow. All also said they are having a hard time getting inventory, or boats built to order, and in some cases can't find the engines customers want.
Ya see the big marine manufacturers cut production when demand dropped. Did they drop prices and provide incentives to buy....heck no! Instead, they "guestimated" and cut back making the stuff they needed to sell to make $$$. There has been an increase in aluminum boats sales. Why? Cheaper, lighter, needs less motor, need less gas to tow or run. But alas, most dealers are having a tough time capitalizing on that because some marine makers have forgotten a cardinal rule of business or two.
a. Make product available.
b. Price it to market at customer needs, TRANSLATED, if the customer has less to spend, then sell for less to keep the demand there. Volume is the basis of profit.
c. Make product the market is demanding, react and capitalize on emerging trends.
Why do marine dealers have such slow service centers? Labor rates for 3 I talked to are $110/hou5, $, 95/hour, and $97.50/hour.
I was quoted $180 to purge the air out of 4 disc brakes on a trailer and I know it takes about 30 minutes with a power bleeder.
Customers who are having a hard time keeping a job, or getting one, who are faced with repairs to be able to enjoy their boats, will blow off the labor rate quick, either ignore or delay repairs, or seek alternatives, i.e do it them selves, or bargain with a freind to do it.
In my case, an RV service center quoted the exact same job for $85 and promised to have it done in 45 minutes from when I dropped it off. Sorry marine dealer....you lose.
Loyalty to dealers? Where's the loyalty to customers that cause a customer to return the favor? You struggling to stay in business does not justify taking me to the cleaner and taking money out of my families pocket to fix yours.
Why is Walmart sales still growing in the midst of this all? Matching customer demands, making inventory avaialoble, and tailoring prices.
Whay are Ford and Gm sales increasing in this mess? Matching product to new customer demand, and to customer expectations. Great sales ###, NO, but increasing above and beyond 2 years ago.....YES[B][I][U][/U][/I][/B]
[QUOTE=bassin_bug;427340]The company my husband works for does heavy industrial construction as well as working in power/oil/gas/chemicals/desalienation plants, etc. My husband has specialized in chemical plants for the past 21 years.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I have massive respect for my father-in-law. No college teachin. All self taught, but now gets invited to give lectures and seminars at trade shows and universities and what for... He is the proverbial self made man. He tells me stories of how poor he grew up and the way he and my mother-in-law lived when they first married... wow is all i can say.
He even has petents on chemical compositions and processes for treating wells... its really amazing.
Wow Hbob are you looking for a marketing job, we could use someone like you. :) No we are not only fighting the economy, but we are also fighting against lures that are made in China for just a few cents apiece. We choose to make our own lures which means our prices are going to be higher. We cant work for a few dollars a day. China is a communist country that dosent mind their citizens working for a few dollars a day. You are right that fish dont care where their lures come from and obviously neither do the fisherman. We could have had our lures made in China(and may still out of desperation) but we dont like the way they do business. They would ship our lures to us out the front door and ship a knock off out the back door. We were told that that is standered operating procedure. We also want to keep everything here in the states. Dropping our price is an option, but we dont make much profit as it is. You have no idea the cost of American made components. I've been working for free for several months now anyway. I guess our customers would appreciate it and come back when we jack up the price again(I doubt it). We started this business with no money so we have to rely on sales that go right back into the company purchasing equipment that will go toward faster production and altimately lower prices for our customers(sales=money=employees,machinery=faster production=lower prices on lures, simple). You combine all this with a very smelly economy and companies like mine go away. Now the fish will have plenty of Chinese made lures to choose from. This is my dream job. Because it is my dream job I will try everything to make it go. I love fishing and I love making lures. I love my buddy whos is my business partner also(we will always be fishing together). Whatever happens I will continue to fish with some of the best looking lures around made right here in the U.S.A by me. I give away alot of lures now, but that nonsense will cease if the company goes under. They will be all mine and dont ask for a loaner, unless you are my good fishing buddies(you know who you are). ;) :)
Another thing we are fighting is marketing. I'm getting tired of businesses telling us that we have the best lookiing product but wont sell them until there is demand. How do you get them sold if noone will sell them? Now we have to prove the same thing to a major distributor. They want to see interest in our products. It doesn't matter that we are in many states from Mich. to Florida from South Carolina to California. No that doesn't mean a thing. We have to prove ourselves beyond what we have already done.
So I guess it must be pretty easy looking at our situation from the outside and knowing what to do. I'm willing to listen to anyone who has advice. Thanks Hbob.
Sounds like timing is the key when it comes to the lure business. Things like Iif the Economy was good and the region your in was a haven for fishing or if some local pro or national pro was sponsored and won with your lure. I'm sure these things would help you make a good profit.
I always understood that if a small lure making company hit on a hot lure and it made the national scene your bait would be copied and mass produced by the big boys faster than you could even try and stop them.
Your in a tough business man. Good luck to ya!
[QUOTE=Mean Morone;427459]Wow Hbob are you looking for a marketing job, we could use someone like you. :) No we are not only fighting the economy, but we are also fighting against lures that are made in China for just a few cents apiece. We choose to make our own lures which means our prices are going to be higher. We cant work for a few dollars a day. China is a communist country that dosent mind their citizens working for a few dollars a day. You are right that fish dont care where their lures come from and obviously neither do the fisherman. We could have had our lures made in China(and may still out of desperation) but we dont like the way they do business. They would ship our lures to us out the front door and ship a knock off out the back door. We were told that that is standered operating procedure. We also want to keep everything here in the states. Dropping our price is an option, but we dont make much profit as it is. You have no idea the cost of American made components. I've been working for free for several months now anyway. I guess our customers would appreciate it and come back when we jack up the price again(I doubt it). We started this business with no money so we have to rely on sales that go right back into the company purchasing equipment that will go toward faster production and altimately lower prices for our customers(sales=money=employees,machinery=faster production=lower prices on lures, simple). You combine all this with a very smelly economy and companies like mine go away. Now the fish will have plenty of Chinese made lures to choose from. This is my dream job. Because it is my dream job I will try everything to make it go. I love fishing and I love making lures. I love my buddy whos is my business partner also(we will always be fishing together). Whatever happens I will continue to fish with some of the best looking lures around made right here in the U.S.A by me. I give away alot of lures now, but that nonsense will cease if the company goes under. They will be all mine and dont ask for a loaner, unless you are my good fishing buddies(you know who you are). ;) :)
Another thing we are fighting is marketing. I'm getting tired of businesses telling us that we have the best lookiing product but wont sell them until there is demand. How do you get them sold if noone will sell them? Now we have to prove the same thing to a major distributor. They want to see interest in our products. It doesn't matter that we are in many states from Mich. to Florida from South Carolina to California. No that doesn't mean a thing. We have to prove ourselves beyond what we have already done.
So I guess it must be pretty easy looking at our situation from the outside and knowing what to do. I'm willing to listen to anyone who has advice. Thanks Hbob.[/QUOTE]
Parallels the same thing I was hearing from the boat dealers. Folks don't want to stock inventory unless there is demand, and as long as there is little inventory available, demand can't be satisfied. So I sympathize with the whole tail chasing ordeal.
Case in point a local tackle shop here in Etown. Says he has fewer folks coming in the door, and when I go in I find less inventory than before, so I'm less likely to go back as I'm not likely to find what I need with the reduced shelf stock. And I realize that means the guy has less sales, so less money to invest in inventory. Vicious circle. But somehwere something has to change, the mold has to get broke, cause it ain't working this way.
Ever heard of Hershey Foods? When time fits, check what they did in the depression right about the time the war broke out. Basically, undersold a big govt contract for candy bars for Army rations, **** near went banrupt just to make the orders move to meet the contract. But when the folks came home, the only thing they knew when it came to chocolate was "HERSHEY". The demand has been seeded, brand loyalty was embeded, and the rest was history.
You don't need me telling you, I will be the first to say you are in the business and know it better than I. So don't take what I write here as an argument, I sympathize.
And for the record, I hear ya about the "show me what you can do for me" mentality. I've gaken on a new catch phrase "If you don't get me while I'm free, you won't be able to afford me later".
PS: I don't have to like the price to still like the lures. That said, don't expect me to say thanks for a lure priced in a range that makes me concerned to use. [B][I][U]BRAINSTORM.[/U][/I][/B] Lures is $11.95, and for $2 more, I get 6 months with a dated receipt, I get "lure loss insurance". You make $2 more per lure. I get piece of mind, can better justify the cost, and more likely to buy. You get money to advance production efficiency, maintain volume, show demand, and if I lose the lure, the one you replace it with will probably have costed you less to make. (the insured pays the shipping) AND......the big lure makers and retailers will see your demand increase through initial sales, as well as the limited number of replacements needed.