I own a hair salon. Typically, November is my busiest season. It has been SO quiet. A lot of my colleagues are also saying the same thing and have had to close up shop because of it - or get a second job.

People keep saying it will get better and the economy will bounce back but I don’t know. I am so close from just throwing in the towel, closing up shop and getting a corporate gig.

  • ZackDaddy42@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Small construction/remodel business here in VA since 2005, and honestly this is the busiest year I’ve had since before 2008 hit. Hope you guys all see it turn back up.

    • commonsensecoder@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Heard the same from a friend of mine in the small construction biz. People aren’t moving due to rates, so they are upgrading their existing houses.

    • Maximus1000@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      My contractor in Northern California is also saying he is so busy and all his contractor friends have more work than they can handle

    • AMoistTowelette@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      are you finding that people are more hesitant to sign the contract or nothing has really changed from the past couple years? I’m in NOVA as well so we aren’t dead by any means but bigger sales are harder to come by (or my sales guys just suck)

      • ZackDaddy42@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Actually when a contract is involved, people typically like that better so they have a legal document. I’m in Lynchburg, and everyone around here does so much on handshakes, which I’ll do for other contractors that I know and I’ve worked with for years, but anyone unfamiliar I’m writing a contract every time. But it helps when the customer already knows what they want and the price is close to what they expect. But all in all I don’t think it’s changed much from what I can tell, except homeowners are more cautious bc it seems the “fly by nights” and sketchy guys were so abundant for a while that people are afraid they could get screwed.

      • ZackDaddy42@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I’ve been turning down quite a few jobs in the last six to eight months, which I didn’t do before, and swore I’d never do. But I feel like it’s better to say “I can’t get to that as soon as you’d like” than to promise what I can’t possibly deliver. I know a lot of guys that take everything that comes along and they end up pissing off customers and sometimes facing lawsuits.

      • ZackDaddy42@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        So if I’m doing work as the general contractor, most work is from people relocating or buying a new house, or also selling the one they’re in, which I attribute a lot to realtors that refer me. I do a lot of sub work also, but most of that is from other contractors and their investors that concentrate on flips, mostly.