I was going to guess 'restaurant owner' - one of those entrepreneurs who sets up his gas grill in the convenience store parking lot on Friday afternoon after the county health inspector is off for the weekend. Hot dogs/fish sandwiches - cash only.
Econ Obama just doubled the minimum salary requirements for employee overtime.
- Thread starter Willy Leadwell
- Start date
I never stated everyone is like the people I know. I know and associate with all types from $19k/yr to well into the 7 figures, and that's also irrelevant.
How many do you employ?
You stated that these lower IQ individuals will have nowhere to go? On the contrary, it seems a doubled minimum wage would benefit them in their limited future of remaining an employee and they won't need to become entrepreneurs.
What motivates people to start a business?
Being fed up with the bullshit.
Personal achievement.
Actual financial growth potential.
That's available to everyone if they want it.
I know a few people who are well off financially yet complete morons in most other categories, so IQ is not always a factor.
And I also know people who have a 140+ IQ yet don't have the courage to do anything with it but instead make $28k/yr at some bullshit job.
Retrained? How is that anything other than a personal responsibility?
It seems Leadwell does paint/body/restoration. Cool. A very appreciated business, hard to find good paint/body guys these days. You know what's not cool for someone who does that? Starting off fresh, competition, and rural location. (I don't know where he is, how long he's been doing it, or his customer base, and whether or not he takes insurance jobs, so I'm not saying those apply to him)
I have connections in paint/body, and those are in the north Atlanta area where people spend more money. That's where I would be if doing paint/body/restoration. Sure the costs are higher, but so are the profits.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in business sales/marketing is operate based on what you would do or assume that your customer base is going to think like you do.
I don't do restoration, that's a hobby. I'm in the production paint industry.
Starting up is always hard. Done it many times in many markets and won't argue with you on that one. Competition is one of the best things you can have. I've done the best when I'm closest to my competition. My biggest competitor is Maaco and they are a mile down the street. I capitalize on their weaknesses, mainly their poor customer service. They spend millions on advertising, I operate on repeats & referrals. As far as location goes, there is some truth to that. My grandfather who worked for Earl Scheib used to say that you can put a shop out in the middle of the woods and if you run it right, people will flock to it. He was right, though prime location can make life a lot easier on you.
That's a huge lie you've bought in to. That people in areas where the median income is higher spend more money. I can assure you that it costs the same to repair/maintain a car regardless of geography and people everywhere have a tendency to spend ALL their money. My industry is one that is considered to be recession friendly. Basically, the longer people keep a car rather than buying new, the more likely they are to need my services. This also enables me to thrive in lower income areas.
Also, a commercial metal building in a prime location like I use is going to rent for right around $1 square foot in North Atlanta, the same as it would in Conyers or Valdosta. I've run shops in Atlanta, Metro Atlanta, Valdosta, Albany, Tallahassee, Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, Mobile, Gulfport, MS and several other markets. The rent and the cost of doing business runs virtually the same. The only times I've paid substantially cheaper rent is based on the exposure and traffic count in front of the property, not geography or demographics.
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Increased minimum wage only helps if you keep your job. If you are replaced by a machine, terminal or kiosk because a job that makes sense at $9/hr or 11/hr, but not $15, you aren't going to do better except in the very short term. It's this kind of first order thinking that's led to where we are now.
Maybe instead of complaining about people complaining, ask the question,"And then what?", and see where these policies lead instead of just seeing the first order effects.
In my business I have hourly employees ranging from $9-$18 and salaries ranging from around $40k to about $100k. The problem with artificial inflation through something universal like a huge minimum wage increase is that yes, the guy who made $10 and now makes $15 is better off momentarily, but then the guy who makes $15 has to be bumped up to $20 just to get him to stay because now he can do a much easier job and make what he was making before. The guy making $18 now has to be bumped up to $25 for the same reasons. The low level manager has to be bumped up because his employees are making as much as he does and, well, you see where this leads if you have any sense. That leaves business owners with only a couple of choices. Eliminate employees or pass the added cost on to the consumer. Neither of those options are the desired result of the increase. In my industry, there is no kiosk that can do what my employees do, so a significant price increase would be necessary. Then sales would drop and I'd more than likely end up having to let a couple people go as a result.
If any of these politicians had any experience whatsoever they would know this. Or maybe they do know it and they are willing to sacrifice the greater good to gain and/or remain in power.
I've read that the reason for the minimum wage push is that some unions wages are pegged to the minimum wage and their pay will automatically be raised. I don't know if that's true, the union wage I get won't be affected.
My mistake, I wrongfully assumed you did paint/body.
One of my businesses is auto service (European).
Had a shop in Marietta off 41 for 2 years.
Moved it to Alpharetta after that. Equally good exposure (exposure is only critical when starting up and if you don't count on repeat customers)
You know what I learned after 2years in Alpharetta?
Drive time went down from 40min to 5min.
Customer base went up about 10%.
Leasing costs went up about 60%.
Overall profits went up about 40%.
Headaches went down 80%.
Liens placed on non-paying customer cars went down 100%.
Overall time wasted probably went down about 70%.
So in this field the importance of location is no lie I've bought into (maybe in yours it's less relevant)
Average value for cars serviced in Marietta was roughly $4000, and in Alpharetta roughly $9000. So obviously the average repair bill was higher.
Happier, more relaxed employees that make more money since hourly rates are slightly higher and they are paid accordingly.
One of my businesses is auto service (European).
Had a shop in Marietta off 41 for 2 years.
Moved it to Alpharetta after that. Equally good exposure (exposure is only critical when starting up and if you don't count on repeat customers)
You know what I learned after 2years in Alpharetta?
Drive time went down from 40min to 5min.
Customer base went up about 10%.
Leasing costs went up about 60%.
Overall profits went up about 40%.
Headaches went down 80%.
Liens placed on non-paying customer cars went down 100%.
Overall time wasted probably went down about 70%.
So in this field the importance of location is no lie I've bought into (maybe in yours it's less relevant)
Average value for cars serviced in Marietta was roughly $4000, and in Alpharetta roughly $9000. So obviously the average repair bill was higher.
Happier, more relaxed employees that make more money since hourly rates are slightly higher and they are paid accordingly.
Well yes, but that's another thing altogether.
We are all still personally responsible. Things "leading" to this and that....
Ok, "and then what?"
Then we adapt if we haven't already.
Simply discussing it certainly doesn't help....or maybe that's supposed to lead to something.
Ok.
I see. Quite a different scenario there.
Are you the owner?
In my service shop, the % of profit may be higher and having only 5 employees makes it easier I guess.
Between the average employee earning about $30/hr (none on salary, all job hours and % of profit for non-techs) and considering costs, there still leaves plenty of room for a proposed increase in pay for the employees...even though they already make about 30% more than the average auto service tech because I'm not a greedy bastard like some other business owners are.
I can easily find replacement employees within days, but none have left so far and more want to work but I will not take more since once again, I'm not a greedy bastard and the pace is just fine.
Not quite like that, but demographics do make a difference in this field. Intentions are not always something predictable.
In my 18 year career I've run shops in over a dozen different demographics. From dirt poor ghetto south central Atlanta to college towns, to military towns, to beach communities and everything in between. In that time I think I've liened a total of maybe 5 vehicles. If you've had to do that so much that it's a contributing factor to why you moved locations, you're doing it wrong.
It wasn't a lot, anything more than 0 unpleasant since I don't like doing that.
I placed liens on 4 also in 2 years in Marietta. None in Alpharetta. It's the demographics.
Not doing it wrong.
What would you do when a customer has an 180 day unpaid $2800 bill on a complete, authorized work order? Let it slide? Most shops place liens after 90 days.
Yes, I am the owner. The biggest problem I have with this new mandate is that I have a guy who makes $90k-$100k year, but his salary is $600 week. The rest is bonus and incentives based on sales, managing costs and profit. They have included in the mandate that bonuses and other non salary incentives may only account for 10% of the required salary. So here's a guy who made about $96k last year working maybe 50 hours a week who now qualifies for time and a half overtime. It's stupid. And if you're paying people through profit shares, it's going to affect you probably more than you realize? Do you use a payroll service? If so, they should have notified you months ago.
In Georgia you are only legally allowed to charge storage for 30 days, after which time you have two choices, do nothing or file a lien and sell the vehicle. Usually when they get the certified letter they come pay the bill and the storage and I don't have to pursue it. And I'm usually very lenient with the storage charges if they finally show up with the cash.
Ive actually got a funeral car in the shop right now, a 6 door limo that the owner of the funeral home went to prison while I have the car. I've had trouble with this guy before, but we sorted it out. Now I've turned it over to my title lady and the vehicle vin number apparently doesn't exist in any system. I may be getting screwed out of a bill for only the third time in my career. The first was a used car dealer who didn't want to pay for the repairs on the car after she repossessed it while I had it. I almost went to jail over that one. The second was a guy who just brought his spare key and drove off with his jag without paying for it. APD never caught him(he didn't kill anyone so it wasn't worth their time).
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No, I don't use a payroll service.
Commision based is only for the parts runner guy and service advisor. That accounts for maybe 10% of payout. Now does it make sense why I'm not concerned?
And why wouldn't you pay 1.5x for over 40hr/wk anyway...would it be an issue (or possibility) if you changed it to commission only?
I've had quite a few businesses over the years, and one thing that hasn't changed: people will work just enough not to get fired when they're paid hourly or salary. That's why I prefer performance based (if it's an option, obviously)
I am well aware of storage, liens, laws, etc.
Most shops start charging storage after 3-4 days of completed job. I started after 10 days.
Being that I waited so long, I was extremely generous and understanding but some people pushed it. Only then was a lien placed.
If you change to commission only, you'll have to pay time and a half. If you pay on profit shares you have to pay time and a half.
Why wouldn't I want to pay him time and a half? Because His pay is based on his performance, not the clock. You claim to pay based on profit too, so you're going to find yourself in the same boat if that's true