State of the economy - Good or poor?

[TarmacLady]

Which of you lot want to pop over and redo my drive -- January in Florida, low bidder only! :laugh: :p

[Nigel Walker]

Tarmac Lady


I am on holiday in Orlando at the end of February.
Although I wouldnt want to lay a drive on my hols, I would love to come and work in the nice hot sunshine ooooh sunshine.
It has been minus 4 today in the lovely Lake District

I would be more than happy to return to sunny Florida and do your driveway !!!!!!


Dream , dream dream dream


Nigel

[Ian CHP]

Which of you lot want to pop over and redo my drive -- January in Florida, low bidder only! :laugh: :p

Which of you lot want to pop over and redo my drive -- January in Florida, low bidder only! :laugh: :p


ME,ME, ME, ME, you pay for the flights accomodation etc I,ll do it for nowt,

however it may take quite a while

[rms]

What's the average rate for a driveway in Florida?

Florida might have a sub tropical climate but those hurricanes are a pain in the arse! I know because my Cousin recently moved there.

I think i'll stick with the UK and a holiday home in Tobago or St Lucia (when I make enough money)

[rms]

Have I offended somone?

How's December looking so far?

[Tony McC]

Offended someone? Not as far as I know!

December is slow - the number of email enquiries I receive is down to below 100 per day (thank god!) and there are definite gaps between the phone ringing. I think it's much the same for many contractors as folk can only think of Xmas.

Enjoy the respite while it lasts - we'll all soon be rushed off our feet again.

[TarmacLady]

sorry, rms, you didn't offend -- I neglected to follow the thread!
(Yes, I'm blonde.)
Don't know off-hand what the going rate is -- but you're dead right that we're right tired of dealing with the blimming hurricanes -- and *we* were lucky this year. I'll have a look round and ask at some of the Chrimbo bashes (we've several neighbours who've had their drives redone recently) -- I'll let you know what I hear, just for comparison sake.

[mouldmaker]

As a manufacturer, I can see definite downturns over the last few months. From conversations at Glee, I think Stonemarket are the only ones to have really made much headway over the last 12 months and that has as much to do with introducing new products and keeping things fresh as anything else.

Most merchants I've spoken to (who are willing to tell the truth!) report downturns of 10-15% over last year.

We've managed to remain fairly level as we cover a number of bases, and have introduced new products, and our website has proved invaluable for pulling in leads from a wider area.

[Tony McC]

Manufacturers, importers, distributors ... they're all saying they had a fairly flat year but that has to be tempered with the fact that 2004 was a real bumper year for many.

I reckon the decorative products are going to struggle for another 12 months or so, but the specification market will remain fairly bouyant.

[rms]

For January the level of enquiries we are currently receiving is much higher than usual. Looks like 2006 is going to be a great year! All the best to all you other hard working contractors up and down the Country!

[mouldmaker]

2006 is looking hopeful for us too. We have had a busy January (considering we were supposed to be shut down for redevelopment) and have orders out to the end of March, and new products being launched (hopefully) March/April.

[simeonronacrete]

I feel guilty for saying we're doing OK, but then we are. Sales are about 30% up on last year, and that saw a similar increase on the year before.

How? Very hard work, a restructured sales team, gazillions on marketing, incentives to staff for doing well, and being out there in front of customers and specifiers, offering them a consistently good product, backed up by professional service. Oh, and this website, a wonderful source of interest from professionals.

Resin bonded aggregate Ronadeck Fast Grip has been a hot favourite since we launched it about 6 years ago, and our new Tree Pit Ronadeck Tree Pit system has really taken off. What seems a very specialist application can be undertaken by landscapers and builders, with training, and a professional approach.

Good luck to us all for 2006 (Chinese year of the Dog).

[bobbi o]

not sure what profit margin you guys are working to,but would be great if you could answer a couple of questions which may be of interest.
1.when working out your costings on a job,what profit margin do you add on at the end?
2.if your turnover is say 600k a year what profit on average would you make from that net?

my answers are:
1.25%
2.15k

[Tony McC]

Methinks you're in the wrong game, Bobbi!

You need a profit margin of at least 15% just to keep a business functioning and 2,150 quid profit on a 600K turnover is less than you could get in interest from the Building Society.