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Homeowner Forum / Construction / June 2005Black widow spider bite and the creation of a job?
Am in San Diego, and recently lost a job (non-construction) and my apartment due to - to make a very long story very short - a black widow spider bite. Now I have to either find a job, or create one. A friend gave me a 24-foot motor home (1972 Dodge ... one of those boxy looking things) so that I wouldn't have to sleep in my car. In the "create a job" category, I was wondering: if I can set up and install a system whereby I could provide an area intrusion alert system for construction sites [ a number of intrusion monitors placed around the site or at "critical" locations on the site that would feed any "alerts" into the "base" in the motor home ] such that I would be alerted and could take appropriate action ( turn on klieg lights; call the police ... whatever) to forestall or terminate any theft ... is there a market for that? If the idea has any merit, any thinking on the subject (pros, cons, economics of the idea, etc.) would be very much appreciated. (E.g., I assume I'd have to be bonded. What other considerations are there?) Christopher A. Steele San Diego, Ca. > Am in San Diego, and recently lost a job (non-construction) and my > apartment due to - to make a very long story very short - a black [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Christopher A. Steele > San Diego, Ca. I think your idea has merit. However, the problems could be numerous with this undertaking. The biggest pittfall that I can see is that many of the jobsites that would be big enough to hire this service, would be to big for one person to manage. Small jobs rarely would be able to pay what it would cost. If something was stolen, you may be liable. Perhaps you have thought of these problems. Still, an interesting idea. Good luck NJM: "...many of the jobsites that would be big enough to hire this service, would be to big for one person to manage." And I didn't want to be walking around a site -- however small or large -- all night, which is why it would have to rely on electronic monitoring via numerous sensors placed at strategic spots on a site; so, essentially, one man, "many monitors." I hadn't thought of the liability question, NJM. That would have to be dealt, else it's a 'killer.' I historicaly low-ball prices for my ideas, but since I would only be -- essentially -- looking to cover personal costs and pay some bills, I don't think I'd charge more than 50 to 75 per night: considering what construction personnel (deservidly) get for their work, I didn't think that was out of bounds. But then, I don't 'know' that to be the case. Thank you, NJM, for the response. Appreciate it. Christopher A. Steele ps. Pardon me for the delayed response. Was assaulted by some punk who then did damage to my '65 Rambler, and have been dealing with that situation for a few days. > I historicaly low-ball prices for my ideas, but since I would only be > -- essentially -- looking to cover personal costs and pay some bills, I > don't think I'd charge more than 50 to 75 per night: considering what > construction personnel (deservidly) get for their work, I didn't think > that was out of bounds. But then, I don't 'know' that to be the case. What does low-ball prices for your ideas mean? Why would you intentionally go cheap. If it's a good idea and you're offering a valuable service people will pay you for it. Some of the best advice I received when starting out was to charge people the full amount. They'll respect you more for it. If you intentionally go in to an endeavour and shoot yourself in the foot coming out of the gate, you're starting out from a pit. You need money, a business needs money to grow, you're doing it for the money. So why give the service away. People might advise you that you should have low prices to start until you build up a customer base and experience and then you can raise your prices. That's crap - nothing else. When you raise prices you'll piss off your existing customers. By having low prices to start, the odds of your business failing go way up. Do yourself the favor. Find a fair price that lets you make the money you need. If you can't do that, it's not the right business for you. R > What does low-ball prices for your ideas mean? A bit of a mis-statement on my part. I tend to *under estimate* what people will pay for a product or service. > Why would you intentionally go cheap. If it's a good idea and you're offering a valuable service people will pay you for it. Because "THE GOAL" would not be to found a start-up, but to survive, in the strictest sense of the term. > Some of the best advice I received when starting out was to charge > people the full amount. They'll respect you more for it. No question. Agree totally. It's actually beginning to look -- as of this morning, because I can't find a safe spot on which to park the motorhome [ I was assaulted in it Wednedsay morning, the car was trashed, bump on the head, etc. ] -- that I will have to move out of state, but ... had I pursued the idea, gone out and spoken to people at sites and gotten a feel for what the market might bear, I would certainly have edged the price upward ... I'd be a fool not to if the customer was receiving a service they needed and wanted. But "the unit mission" -- to put it in military parlance -- would have been ... to surVIVE. Thankyou, R. Appreciate the response, Sir. Christopher A. Steele |
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