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Workers comp

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,250
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
CM, do you break out your WC hours such as your underground rate would be way higher than your operators? Maybe they are charging you for the underground work you do and not giving you a break when your above ground. Grandma does that for us. The insurance company kinda a balks at it but she holds their feet to the fire.
Every year when they come for the audit, she has the numbers all broke out on a percentage basis. They must trust her because they take her sheets and base it off that. She's actually doing their work for them, but at least they know we know what the true numbers are.;)

Grandpa due to our small size we only have one WC rate which I think isn't right but it's the way it is.

On a side note I wish my competition felt the same about growing their business and hiring employees as some in this thread do.;)
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,432
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Might be better off to find a guy with his own setup and contract him? Keep a piece off the top for yourself?
)

Numbers crunching shut that down for me in the late 70s early 80s when I was looking to conquer the work world around my home town. Had no way to make it work on paper even when cheated at some expenses which could have ended my Self Employ career even earlier than it did. Separate Private Contractor will net SOME income but will be far less than you can actually expect then are the Return Visits on whatever that person hoses up, do You or that Contractor eat the warranty?? Most end up in a fight before flight.
 

Mobiltech

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
1,680
Location
Sask.
Occupation
Self employed Heavy duty mechanic
Mechanic work and construction are a little bit different as far as experience goes. To hire a guy that can sit in a seat and operate is one thing but to find a troubleshooting mechanic can be tough. You will start out thinking you can give him any job to do but as time goes on you will find that his time spent learning is costing you money. Pretty soon you will start to pick and choose what he does and what you do which will drive you crazy after a while. At some point you will just say aw crap I will do it myself!
On the other hand if you find a competent guy he will soon say why don’t I just go on my own and make the big bucks.
 

Shimmy1

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
4,260
Location
North Dakota
I see another perspective in this equation that hasn't been mentioned, and the reason for it is I am dealing with it personally. Let's say an individual has a great gig going as a one-man-band, but is struggling to keep all the balls in the air. If he lets any of them drop, there is a real chance of it hurting the business. Around here, when someone wants something done, usually they want it done yesterday or the day before, not tomorrow, next month, or next year. Besides that, when you tell these type you can't make it, they find someone that can, and guess who they call the next time around. I have been lucky for almost 10 years on my own, 15 years before that with my father with customers waiting until I can get to them, sometimes 2 to 3 years. The longer you are in business, the longer the list of GOOD customers gets, and the harder it becomes to take care of ALL of them. You start by losing one or two, and in a small community where everyone talks to everyone else, pretty soon some new guy OR a big shot comes from Fargo and all the sudden you are waiting for the phone to ring so you can go to work. Not a good place to be. It's been said that you will always be better off alone, but will you really?

I broke down last season and hired a guy so I'm not talking out my azz here. Statements made by some others about employees and their time and my time and whatever kind of p i ss me off. I am paying as much (or more) than most positions around (besides large farms, which I cannot compete with). There are two of us. Two. I am responsible for my family's financial well-being as well as his. I have many different jobs to know, from demolition to clearing to building site prep to drainage. I have to guess, usually by a phone call and previous experience with the customer's location, how long the job will take, and keep a running tally so I know who I can tell YES and who to tell MAYBE, and who to tell NEXT YEAR. And then, you lose your one guy for a day, or 3, or 10 because of [insert excuse here]. Or, he won't work Saturdays because it's summer and it's nice out, and I've worked 7 days per week for the last 30 years because that's what it takes to succeed/survive, take your pick. It gets really old, really fast.

I'm not trying to make a case either way for Mike's situation. Only he will be able to decide whether or not he wants to leave his comfort zone. But I can make the point, and I know there are others on here that agree, those of us trying to run a business and have employees don't appreciate those of you planting seeds of discontent in the minds of those on here who are employees, and I'm sure their bosses don't appreciate it either. If you want to sit and cry in your beer about your own inability to go into business for yourself, GREAT. Do it alone, don't try and peddle your attitude to guys on here, because those of us that need employees don't necessarily need them to make us a million a year, sometimes we need guys to keep our business running.
 

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
16,556
Location
WWW.
Those who went into business great, those who chose not to go into business great.
But nobody on here is planting seeds of discontent-people gave their opinions pro and con by people in business
or have been in business or have never been in business. And no body is crying in their beer.

farming must be over for the year.
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
I see another perspective in this equation that hasn't been mentioned, and the reason for it is I am dealing with it personally. Let's say an individual has a great gig going as a one-man-band, but is struggling to keep all the balls in the air. If he lets any of them drop, there is a real chance of it hurting the business. Around here, when someone wants something done, usually they want it done yesterday or the day before, not tomorrow, next month, or next year. Besides that, when you tell these type you can't make it, they find someone that can, and guess who they call the next time around. I have been lucky for almost 10 years on my own, 15 years before that with my father with customers waiting until I can get to them, sometimes 2 to 3 years. The longer you are in business, the longer the list of GOOD customers gets, and the harder it becomes to take care of ALL of them. You start by losing one or two, and in a small community where everyone talks to everyone else, pretty soon some new guy OR a big shot comes from Fargo and all the sudden you are waiting for the phone to ring so you can go to work. Not a good place to be. It's been said that you will always be better off alone, but will you really?

I broke down last season and hired a guy so I'm not talking out my azz here. Statements made by some others about employees and their time and my time and whatever kind of p i ss me off. I am paying as much (or more) than most positions around (besides large farms, which I cannot compete with). There are two of us. Two. I am responsible for my family's financial well-being as well as his. I have many different jobs to know, from demolition to clearing to building site prep to drainage. I have to guess, usually by a phone call and previous experience with the customer's location, how long the job will take, and keep a running tally so I know who I can tell YES and who to tell MAYBE, and who to tell NEXT YEAR. And then, you lose your one guy for a day, or 3, or 10 because of [insert excuse here]. Or, he won't work Saturdays because it's summer and it's nice out, and I've worked 7 days per week for the last 30 years because that's what it takes to succeed/survive, take your pick. It gets really old, really fast.

I'm not trying to make a case either way for Mike's situation. Only he will be able to decide whether or not he wants to leave his comfort zone. But I can make the point, and I know there are others on here that agree, those of us trying to run a business and have employees don't appreciate those of you planting seeds of discontent in the minds of those on here who are employees, and I'm sure their bosses don't appreciate it either. If you want to sit and cry in your beer about your own inability to go into business for yourself, GREAT. Do it alone, don't try and peddle your attitude to guys on here, because those of us that need employees don't necessarily need them to make us a million a year, sometimes we need guys to keep our business running.

Who's complaining about their jobs or bosses? Only thing being said is employees are a necessary pain and there are a lot of con's to them, several of which you yourself mentioned.
 

Shimmy1

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
4,260
Location
North Dakota
farming must be over for the year.

Yeah, mostly is. But, I've told you before I don't farm. If you're referring to me making a post for the first time in a few months, yes, I'm about done with 100 hour weeks until spring.

And, in regards to your *not so subtle insinuations, I don't come on here much anymore because I'm busy, and it seems like whenever I do, the first, second, or third thread I read has someone making a comment like I referred to in my other post. We can hardly get decent help, and most of the ones that will work seem to think you should consider it a privilege that they are working for you. It's ridiculous.
 
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Shimmy1

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
4,260
Location
North Dakota
Who's complaining about their jobs or bosses?

You need to be able to read between the lines. A lifetime of working for customers that usually have employees, and hearing the complaints they have about said employees, you develop a sense for picking out attitudes. I'm not going to refer to anyone in particular, the ones that are making the statements I'm referring too know exactly what they are trying to say, without actually saying it.
 
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