Over the last few years I have dealt with many of you both on and off of Hamb. As some of you know December 31st is the last day for my shop, closing the doors for good. I tried to bring really fair prices by just barely eeking out a living and not ever gouging anyone. Dealt with too many assholes that wanted something for nothing, couldn't understand that quality and time go hand in hand. Love the cars, hate morons. I have met MANY friends over the years and overall it was a good time. Don't feel sorry for me, I consider this a new begining. What this means for the future,,,,, MORE TIME. I will still build cars, make modifications and parts. Just more custom, at home and more relaxed (I haven't built any cars for myself since we opened shop). I need to make it about the cars again, not making money to pay rent. I have/will be taking down most/all of my stuff for sale on the various boards as a LOT of stuff has gone into storage. Once the smoke settles and we get caught up, I will be back to building and selling, only now hopefully with a smile. Anyway, I wont be posting much (if any) this next week (or a few weeks), as I have to clear out the shop and will be super busy. I hope all of you have a great New Years and will catch up in January some time.
I don't know your history, or how many years you've been in business, but to me people like you are highly respected, whether you make it or not. Myself, I have never stepped up to the plate in the big stadium. So, from the peanut gallery, we always love the players, and raise our caps in salute. You will do even better in the next game! Watch for our salute!
Sorry to hear the bad new's, But i can relate to what your saying, We in the U.K. suffer the same !!! Everybody want's it for nothing !!! Steve.
I've done the same thing. I know exactly how you feel about the something for nothing. Some of the people that I've done work for assumed that I did this shit for fun or a public service and not to pay the bills. I just build for myself now.... Good luck man.
Been there, done that. The public can suck the blood from one's ambition. You will do better now. Happy New Year and Hot Roddin!
Been there, done that, got left-over T-shirts. You won't be sorry. I'm not. While many may indeed feel as ricardo does it's not the norm in the general populace. Something about being a single buisness owner make many who "want" think you'll do it so cheap because "you like what you do" and see a place that looks less like a Boyd and more like the real deal. But they never understand that real deal and you simply cannot educate them. Sometimes a one finger salute is well placed. My last straw was a guy that wanted to pay me less than 1/2 what his mothly bill was and asked if it was OK. My retort was pretty much a genuine smart ass remark. "Well it might be OK if you call my landlord and tell him when YOU are gonna pay me, then call my mortgage co. and tell them to waive the late fees based on YOUR payment schedule." He asked me if I thought that would work and was sincere and serious about it!! I got hired by my current employer the next day. That was 5yrs ago. I recently tried it at home. Have a 1200sqft shop out back and thought it a good way to pay for toys and hot rods. It doesn't change. The latest guy has yet to come up with down money. But I guess I'm a little harsh...I'm pissed because I asked for it in JULY and it's now DEC 26?? Same same. I'm happy for ya and a little melancholy(sp?) at the same time. You're doing the right thing for now. Rest easy. There's plenty of customers that DO respect the ability and they're too few and far between at times. I made a living doing this shit for over 20yrs and have an outstanding show record plus the bragging rights of 100% customer satisfaction. Not enough it seems. It happens. The bottom line is that this shit is expensive because it's time consuming and mat'ls are at an all time high. Less players now, but more that want a "favor" or a "freebie". If it was free I'd have it. You're not alone. Hang in there and good luck with your future plans.
Been there done that as well. In the past when my father and I owned our own shop, (2 different ones) We were always fair and honored our work along with never using crappy cheap parts. Most of our business was word of mouth, and repeat customers. WE did a lot of work on older and really old vehicles like packards, old ford's, chevy's, etc. Even a few exotics owned by friends, Ferrari's, classic mercedes, and a masserati. I own my own business now, but it is remodeling, not auto restoring/customizing. I am working on Real Estate invesments right now, and when I am clearing enough from those I will be buying some land with a big shop, and start restoring and customizing again. I will this time be very picky of whom I do work for and if someone doesnt like my prices they can K.M.A. I take pride in everything I do and its never a crappy job. Just take it easy, and move at YOUR OWN pace. I know its hard to do I struggle with it everyday in my business. Just like today I have 4 clients calling already, and I explained to them I was still on christmas vacation and would start back up tomorrow. I know it pissed a couple of them off, but I have a life as well and family comes before anything. Enough Rambling from me though, Good luck and keep on building.
I'm well aware of the pitfalls of "being in business". My last shop was a fabrication deal where I was fortunate enough to have one main customer. We fabricated stock car suspension pieces and chassis. It was a wonderful relationship that paid the bills, allowed for a comfortable profit and left time for special projects for select customers. While the main customer never was a problem, paying all bills on time and never squabbling over price, the "extra" work we were able to do sometimes did not go so smooth. It was some of the same things that have been posted here and it took a lot of joy out of working at a trade I REALLY like, steel fabrication. An accident put me in the hospital for over 3 years and ended my regular working career. I now do an occasional job for select customers but it's a "my way or the highway" kinda deal. Frank
Actually I have been following you and your shop for a while now. I retired and thought I may try something similar in the midwest. your stuff seemed to be good quality and price was not out of line. I have always said" I like the cars I just don't like the owners." I will probably not venture into this area but I want you to know you did inspire me several times with your E bay and website items. Thanks and good luck.
it's a tough business man... don't blame you for getting out. that's why i now have a normal 9 to 5 and do hotrodding on the 5 to 9. Good luck!
I'm having a job being done by a guy working out of his home garage. The car has been there for a year next month. He uses it as fill in work which is fine by me as I'm not in a hurry I send him a check every month. Right now I'm ahead of him. He threw out an hourly rate that was way to low! I added $15.00 to his number and we're both happy. At the risk of being flamed, I'm going to pontificate and tell some of you guys out there that you're not charging enough. I know that sounds harsh, but if you go tits up and take a 9-5 job, you're talent and skills are lost to rest of us. While Fred Offenhauser is credited with the quote that "hot rods have tools in the trunk while street rods have polish and dusters", he also said, "i'll sell you a manifold at cost as long as you understand that cost includes a fair profit for me".
My Dad tried to run his own rod building own shop out of our garage when I was a kid. He had done alot of work on his friends stuff for free for years. His did everything from fab work to paint. He really started to hate his day job, so with my Mom's blessings, he built a nice shop in our backyard and started taking in jobs. He restored a couple Mustangs, built a few F-100's from the frame up, and a bunch more. He loved doing it, but all the guy's he had done stuff for free for so long couldn't understand that he wanted to charge them now that he was doing it as a job. His labor was rediculously low, and he didn't mark up any materials. The final straw for him was when the insurance guy said he could work on other peoples cars, or they'd drop his policy. He quit doing it, and went back to a job he hated. The worst part is, it left a real bad taste in his mouth about cars in general, and he just hasn't returned to them with the interest like he once had.
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