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Hard choices and expensive lessons
Tim Hite:
I've been struggling to get labor estimates down as I've expanded my company into new areas like lighting and staging. I'm also overextending myself personally, as my dudes aren't as technically skilled as I would like. They make up for it in willingness to learn and work hard. Still, I have to be around to manage most of the load ins and tech setup, the outs they are better with.
Last week, I missed a meeting with a new client. Largely because I didn't think to schedule labor for loading my truck, and I was too busy with other work. I overextended myself and fell flat on my face. It's going to cost me $7k in a lost show and a pissed off marketing agency client.
We aren't doing enough volume for me to have full time shop dudes, and I still have to go out on bigger shows, even when I'm busy with non-show stuff.
Trying to find strategies for managing this transition from self-employed to running a business while we are ramping up has been challenging. The shows we have are profitable if I keep overhead low with gig based labor. This transitional phase is challenging.
Craig Hauber:
--- Quote from: Tim Hite on February 23, 2023, 11:52:23 AM ---I've been struggling to get labor estimates down as I've expanded my company into new areas like lighting and staging. I'm also overextending myself personally, as my dudes aren't as technically skilled as I would like. They make up for it in willingness to learn and work hard. Still, I have to be around to manage most of the load ins and tech setup, the outs they are better with.
Last week, I missed a meeting with a new client. Largely because I didn't think to schedule labor for loading my truck, and I was too busy with other work. I overextended myself and fell flat on my face. It's going to cost me $7k in a lost show and a pissed off marketing agency client.
We aren't doing enough volume for me to have full time shop dudes, and I still have to go out on bigger shows, even when I'm busy with non-show stuff.
Trying to find strategies for managing this transition from self-employed to running a business while we are ramping up has been challenging. The shows we have are profitable if I keep overhead low with gig based labor. This transitional phase is challenging.
--- End quote ---
I think you would hard-pressed to find any of the independent business owners on this site without crew issues right now. I'm having a hard time of it and I'm not surrounded by the millions of people you have there in SoCal!
I've just come to accept that crew will cost more and do my best to incrementally increase my billing amounts. If that's not possible then profits will be reduced and I make up the difference with keeping costs down in other ways -cheaper pre-owned gear, not always chasing the "new+shiny" and fixing/repairing/customizing existing infrastructure in-house.
I do have way more down time during our arctic months that I don't remember having when working in the LA area years ago so that aspect may not be possible for you. -My personal time is much cheaper in those months.
One thing I've also done is re-tailor my infrastructure so I can do as much solo around the shop as I possibly can -ramps, custom loading dock deck, forklift, material handlers & hoists. So I can at least condense my labor needs down to just at the venue only.
Riley Casey:
A few low hanging fruit suggestions
- Have formal training sessions for inexperienced crew in the down months. Provide coffee & snacks and pay them warehouse rates for their time. Make it an ongoing process and get the word out to the freelance universe that this is an option at least twice a year. Make it something people line up for. Turning unskilled labor into skilled labor is the best business investment you can make, far better than a 48 footer full of new gear.
- Build quoting paperwork that doesn't let you get the quote out to the client without a completing a full checklist of things like show pack / unpack crewing, load in/ out crew, show crew costs, cross rentals, your own equipment charges, vehicle rentals, whatever you've needed in the past goes on the list.
- Turn out really complete show prep paper work that less experienced people can follow including comprehensive crew schedules / assignments, venue address, site contact names & phone numbers. I've come across people who use Google calendar as a low budget crew contact scheduler, not something I've tried myself.
- make it easy for less experienced people to use your gear. Label EVERY case you own with a name and a number that can be read from 50 ft away. Color code ALL of your cables. Its your money that's wasting if you send a hand to get a dozen 25ft XLRs and make that person wonder what to do with a case of fifty unmarked cables. Print out and tape into the lid of every case the contents so it's clear there should be eight SM58s and ten active DIs in case 5005.
Bob Faulkner:
--- Quote from: Tim Hite on February 23, 2023, 11:52:23 AM ---I've been struggling to get labor estimates down as I've expanded my company into new areas like lighting and staging. I'm also overextending myself personally, as my dudes aren't as technically skilled as I would like. They make up for it in willingness to learn and work hard. Still, I have to be around to manage most of the load ins and tech setup, the outs they are better with.
Last week, I missed a meeting with a new client. Largely because I didn't think to schedule labor for loading my truck, and I was too busy with other work. I overextended myself and fell flat on my face. It's going to cost me $7k in a lost show and a pissed off marketing agency client.
We aren't doing enough volume for me to have full time shop dudes, and I still have to go out on bigger shows, even when I'm busy with non-show stuff.
Trying to find strategies for managing this transition from self-employed to running a business while we are ramping up has been challenging. The shows we have are profitable if I keep overhead low with gig based labor. This transitional phase is challenging.
--- End quote ---
Long story short... many years ago I started expanding my audio business to include more lighting (mostly intelligent) and staging (all as part of my service offerings). I quickly learned that I could not provide sound and lighting without assistance to include everything from load-in and setup of sound and lighting, and DMX programming for shows. The audio system was enough to keep 3 of us busy for 6 hours to setup.
I stepped back from adding additional services; I simply could not provide all that I wanted to as a small business and to effectively run the business at the same time. To address the issues, I started to work with two lighting companies and one staging company for larger events. I've had to contract those services out so I could focus on audio.
Tim McCulloch:
Well... having managed a shop for the last... eh... while...
What Riley said.
Next, you need a crew chief. One who knows enough about how stuff goes together and has people skills for both labor and clients. Sometimes you need to split that role because finding one person who can do it is rare. This is a mostly supervisory position, and should not be counted as a full "labor" position in estimates.
What Riley said.
VoE: you're gonna burn out. There isn't enough of you to do it all, every time. Your health and sanity become more vulnerable. It's wise to sit back with a pencil and an old envelope and ask yourself what *you* get from the expansion. YOU are what is fueling your growth. What's the ROI for that non-monetary cost?
I'm not against growth, I helped grow 2 shops over the last 30 years. The gear side is fairly easy. It's sales and fulfillment of expectations that drive the business and the art of management is to extract a profit AND ROI from between those. And there isn't enough of *you* to do it all, every time. Wow, there's a echo in here... here... here.
My old boss was FOH for a classic rock act very popular with the scooter crowd. When the act retired a few years ago he was surprised by how much sales needed to increase for me to pay him half of what he made with the band. Every warm body increases overhead that must result in greater gross profits or negate other operating costs.
What Riley said... said... said...
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