tell me what you'd charge

[charlie1]

It really is all doom and gloom tonight,
Comparison with 2 years ago:

- 3 times (at least) as many tilers
- Recession on the horizon.
- Fuel prices up by 35%

Yes there are tough times ahead. I am constantly hearing of people in the building trade being layed off, and this is just te start.

I do think we need to revise our prices accordingly to stay competative. To stay afloat in the next few yars as a tiler you will have to be fast and good and be prepaired to work longer hours i'm afraid. But this will afect everyone with there own business. Sorry to add to the doom and gloom but the next few years will separate the men from the boys I'm afraid and If you have worked hard enough to come out the other end still in business you will be better for it. Good luck to all.:cheers2:

 

[grumpygrouter]

Thats right Ed, 98-99 £60 a day was probably equvilant to £100 a day now. In those days, there was no national minimum wage to worry about, compulsary holidays and parental maternity leave. It is all these types of legislation that has filtered down into the self employed market as the costs to larger employers has risen than customers have turned, naturally, to tradesmen that have a lower cost base. As larger companies prices rose so the sole trades prices followed.

larger companies can only cut costs by so much before they lay people off, it is probably these treadesmen, new to self employment that have had a major factor in pricing.

Don't think that accounting isn't feeling the pinch also. Accountacy has had much bad global press over tha last few years (enron etc). This has led to all sorts of controls and legislation being introduced which have all cost money. It is at a stage now, where I, as not having completed professional exams, must "register" my services with HM Revenue and Customs and pay an annual fee to do so. This gives me the privilege of being "Inspected" at their will, without warning and fully backed by legislation giving them power of entry to my office (and hence my home) without a court order.

Wonderful world we live in eh!

 

[tiler burden]

why cant you see wages dropping that low? america are the biggest super power in the world. they are in economic free fall. they are heading towards negative equitity as japan did in 98 (by the way, they said that wouldnt happen either) we rely on the usa for large borrowing, they havent got it, what they have is being loaned at much higher interest. that is causing us to pay more for borrowing, that is impacting the market right now. china are becoming the fast growing economy in the world. we cant compete, they can under charge (a bit like the poles) theres lots of new trades man and the work is receeeding, because borrowing is more difficult/strict, fuel is soaring, utilities are soaring, mortgages are rising, wages for the majority of the country are not rising, usa is unstable, we rely on the usa for borrowing ...are you getting the picture, it aint going away because it cant go away, it has nowhere to go. i am based in liverpool, you are in london, you are probably for the first time in decades probaly going to feel it more than us because you have had it better than us and your house prices will be hit harder than ours due to the fact that your prices are over inflated beyond reason


i wont put anymore gloom on here tonight but if you do know anything about economics and the current financial situation then you will realise that this is not the 90's its worse. china are the fastest growing economy in the world. they produce alot , for very little...unfortunately that's impacting the west in a way that we never imagined.

 

[mz30]

Its hard to believe that in 18yrs you have never missed out on 1 job / pretty good salesman if thats the case :hurray:. Sick of hearing about this ' credit crunch ' now . Yes times are tough and they will probably get tougher. But what goes down must come up. I think the country is better prepared this time around and i dont believe things will be as bad as all the doommongers make out. Dont get me wrong i have posted a couple of times moaning about cheap tilers/ industry failing etc etc but what can you do, Just got 2 keep plodding on. things will get better.:yes:

No i'm a terrible salesmen,what you have to understand is in the 18yrs i have been tiling i have never advertised not once not even an ad in the local paper,all my work comes through word of mouth and contacts i have made over the years and even if the client has had a few quotes and mine is higher i always get the job as they have either seen my work or i have been highly recommended.

Thing's are going to bad or worse than what the "doommongers"make out ,just think about it most people getting bathrooms done will do so by using some sort of credit also people buying houses will do so with a mortgage ,now with every lending firm in the country tightning there belts the days of "easy credit "are over and believe me work is going to become tight .
Please don't bury you head in the sand and hope things will be alright as what i have said will happen.

 

[tiler burden]

we shouldnt apologise for 'doom and gloom' the intelligent people can see there is a real issue and we are being pro active, where as the positive deluded bunch are going to rely on reactive........pay your money and throw the dice, or stick your moey in an isa , that would be my answer lol

 

[CJ]

Link removed

 

[Spud]

we will have to see how it pans out i have a full order book at the moment i know the house builders have stopped building in many areas so only a fool will argue that works not going to be tight but just how long it lasts and how much it affects wages no one knows i am constantly looking for work and am proactive , read a book called who moved my cheese, its worth a read

 

[pjtiler]

thank god for the middle east eh
get your sun tan cream out lads

 

[brummie tiler]

we shouldnt apologise for 'doom and gloom' the intelligent people can see there is a real issue and we are being pro active, where as the positive deluded bunch are going to rely on reactive........pay your money and throw the dice, or stick your moey in an isa , that would be my answer lol

Nobody is asking you to apologize. I think you saying 'the intelligent people can see there is a real issue' is extremely patronizing. It is obvious to all that there is a real issue. At no point will my head be stuck in the sand , I agree the only way forward is to be pro active. If you read back to my original post you will see i say things will get better, i didnt say how long before they do, i havent got a crystal ball and niether have you. Of course if you stand around doing nothing while waiting for things to improve, no doubt you will struggle. Being positive and pro active go hand in hand

 

[tiler burden]

brummie, it is only patronising to the un-intelligent lol

no offence meant honestly. i make my decisions regarding money on statistics now, not theory thats all. i really hope that i am wrong and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to eat humble pie on this forum regarding my posts about this but unfortunately i dont think i will. as a said when people like bill gates make statements of economic depression,then you have to take notice....

regards
ed