Starting to earn some cash

Status
Not open for further replies.

windy

Private Member
Hi all

First post so congratulations on a great forum.

Im a improver who has been plastering on my own houses and friend/neighbours etc for about two yrs.

two yrs ago i did a evening course over 3months at my local building college.
I have recently done 2 weeks at goldtrowel to step up a gear and get more formal training.

I now wish to supplement my income by plastering part time, ie perhaps one job per week

I was wondering how you guys would recommend gently putting myself into the domestic front and what jobs to take on and what to walk away from.

Im a mature and concenicious 35 yr old so im not gonna go into some guys house and %&$^£^ it up on them. If i cant do the job i will over quote in the hope that they dont call me back. If they do i know pro spreads who i can pass on the job. These lads wont look twice at me at the moment understandably due to the current climate so i cant offer to work for free for them.

ANy pointers or suggestions would be warmly received



THanks
 
Ur in the best place to ask any questions. and i guess the best way to learn what not to do is to do it wrong first! ie dnt skim on wet pva on a painted silk ceiling! ha never again
 
I think an improver is someone who doesnt know how to plaster snagging the work of someone else who dosent know how to plaster ???
 
uh oh ok warrior.. sorry..
Hi and welcome to the forum windy..

windy said:
These lads wont look twice at me at the moment understandably due to the current climate

ANy pointers or suggestions would be warmly received

THanks

this is probably because there isn't the work around to keep them going let alone take you on so your about to set up on your own and add to the "147 plasterers for every plastering job (according to the sun newspaper)"

theres a lot of pro plasterers out there who would be grateful for even a small job so my advice (although it sounds bitchy) is dont bother...

sorry to sound harsh but thats the facts...

maybe if youre lucky enough to come across a plasterer with plenty of work on you might be taken on in a labouring / improving capacity at first. There is always the chance that a bloke with work on might find your maturity and general experience valuable, theres a lot of young lads who seem to think a days work involves having one hand on the brush and the other on his mobile phone, he'll have blisters, but only on his texting thumb..

good luck...

were gold trowel busy when you were there?
 
Just go for it m8...you know the basics, start with small jobs...don't take on full reskims/large renders until your more experieced. I've never worked with a plasterer, just subcontacted them and learnt from them...i just did a 8 week city and guilds course and slowly took on bigger and bigger jobs...if u've got the opportunity to do it part time even better.

Its tough on your own thats for sure, but if your positive, concenicious, do a quality job, leave it clean and tidy u'll go far. Good Luck...where are u based?
 
Hi all

Based in Liverpool lads

Did goldtrowel course in May but i booked it in Jan when i assume they go dead and they were offering 30 % of ALL courses. THe course i attended in May was full to the brim with a combination of 5 week C&G , 3 week NVQ and one week courses.

Great course and exellent tuition. Instructors very passionate about teaching. WOuld like to go back for another course to get my NVQ but im based in Lpool and GT are in Essex ??? Bit of a drive
 
im not disrespecting goldtrowel.. or any other training provider for that matter...
but it would certaintly appear that with them being absolutely choc a bloc that every man and his dog seems to be jumping on the bandwagon, the problem is, when this happens, competition becomes so fierce prices drop to ridiculous rates and the whole thing becomes a pointless excersise for those entering into it in the first place.. and goldtrowel and the like are the ones who are milking it... i'll bet it would be interesting to find out just what goldtrowel are charging for newer technologies and skills like silicon renders...

lets put it another way... when people first cottoned onto the fact that there was money to be made in plastic windows every man and his dog got on the case..

a lot went bust, but only because they were offering a second class service, they simply rolled over and rose again as 'phoenix' companies in a different name.. they were just milking the 'cash cow'...

the only companies in that game still making money are the ones with a large market share with impeccable reputations..

there are existing plastering companies making a bit of a comeback at the minute because the service they offer is first class.. people (the customers) have cottoned on to the fact that every plasterer in the book isnt a qualified, experienced, conscientous tradesman and are starting to play it a little bit cooler with regard to taking the cheapest quote.. BUT theyre doing their research first...

my advice again, dont bother setting up on your own in todays climate, be as good as you can be and sell yourself to the existing companies, that way youll be jumping on a boat, not 'dipping your toe' in a raging torrent where it will be torn to shreds...

or you could ignore all that and have a go but be prepared to join the thousands of plasterers who've all jumped in thinking theyre onto a winner. The fact is, things are extremely competetive at the minute, those who persist in milking it without a thought for the customer, taking on jobs theyre not qualified for will come a cropper. Those who stick to what they do best, deliver a quality service time after time and absolutely will not compromise will be the ones to survive..

im off to become a brain surgeon now...
 
Well said mate. They have now started doing K-Rend courses, couple days for a few hundred, what people dont realise is you can go straight to K rend and they will show you how to use it for f*ck all, just costs you a ferry ride across the Irish sea.
They are well milking the whole situation, some may say fair play its just business but they and the others are the reason we are knee deep in chancers. Some tool round my way charging 200 green queens per room whatever the size, quality eh!
 
oasis said:
mr segs is allways a good one for a long answer! should do a page or 2 in he Daily star
well sometimes i should listen to my own advice mate! Im the worlds worst for procrastinating..
(bangin on about what im gonna do and not actually doin it)
anyway, i can type pretty fast ;D
 
Chris W said:
there are existing plastering companies making a bit of a comeback at the minute because the service they offer is first class.. people (the customers) have cottoned on to the fact that every plasterer in the book isnt a qualified, experienced, conscientous tradesman and are starting to play it a little bit cooler with regard to taking the cheapest quote.. BUT theyre doing their research first...

You're absolutely right, and if you have a website/blog with customer testimonials that others can verify, it will attract 'quality' customers who come back time and time again :-)

Pete
 
Perhaps we are all missing the wagon here.If Goldtrowel and so on are so rammed , and were not working , then perhaps we should start up a plastering trainning workshop.
Must say , i`m not shy on work so can`t complain too much .
 
warriorupnorth said:
Glad you explained procrastinating to us Chris, or us simpletons would not of had a clue what you was talkin about ??? ::) ::)
word a day calendar paul...

todays word...

'patronising'

something im also very good at :-[
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top