Work Load

Little work the first half of December, then really busy to end the year, and fairly busy now.

I'm curious as to where you are located?

Here in southern NY, both for me and for many of the surveyors I know, things have been steadily picking up quite a bit. We are getting 3-5 residential calls a week right now but are turning most down because municipal and and even local development projects are taking up all of our time. We're booked in the field for about three weeks right now and about two weeks in the office. We're also starting to line up a couple of long construction projects for the spring/summer.

I was expecting things to slow down quite a bit as usual around the holidays but it just didn't happen for us this year.

Tom

booked for 2-3 weeks out, pretty much the same for all of 2013.

Things are really picking up steam here, 2013 was great and I am picking up jobs with meat on them weekly. I could easily put on another crew, but could not keep up in the office.

Maybe I can finally get past my doubts and fears about the economy and get ready for a few good years and think about hanging it up. I really do not need new equipment, but do need to get into the modern era of surveying software sooner than later.

Probably have 3 weeks backlog and have not have returned the end of last weeks 20 phone calls due to the dang flu.

The good thing is that I can now turn down the crap jobs again.

Randy

2013 was the best year ever and it has not slowed down. looking to hire several people. Back log about 2-3 months.

:good:

Have six jobs on the list that we haven't even thought about starting yet. Have four others that may be wrapped up by the end of the day. In the middle of an ALTA job right now.

My problem is that I want to work at my own pace. No one is going to push me into a rush, rush situation. You want it done. I'll get it done. But, it won't be done yesterday. When the calls start coming in too fast, I punt and refer them to others. Should they choose to not go with anyone else, I'll be happy to add them to the end of my list.

We are fortunate to be very busy. Our BD guy and PM's have worked had to bring projects in the door last year. We never slowed down at the end of 2013 and we are hauling ass into 2014. We hired three party chiefs in the last three weeks. Needless to say, the 2014 truck/equipment budget is strained already. 🙂 I'm excited for a great year.

I'm pretty busy but I've only been solo full-time for about 4 months. I've got 3 decent size boundaries (50-120 ac) I'm working on but everything I make right now is still going back into the business. I'm picking up a new four wheeler this week and plan on picking up a GPS unit in the next week or two. After that, I should be able to start putting some money in my pocket.

Work for me has been steady as a solo operator. I have help when I need it. I am fortunate to be about three weeks behind with a few "no hurry" projects. 🙂

I keep a few business cards on hand. Trips to the county courthouse and simply setting up an instrument on the side of the road sometimes produce a client or two. B-)

Work Load - WTF ??

Really ? !

Every response to my inquiry is positive.
(that's great)

Is EVERYBODY busy?

Or is it just the guys who have time to read this MB?

I don't get it...

I've been in business for myself since 1978.
I think that I've got a handle on the market.
But apparently I must have lost it.

I must wonder,
Is it competitive intrusion?

Work Load - WTF ??

> Is it competitive intrusion?

I would expect location to be a bigger factor. It would help to know where each of the respondents works.

As for me (northern CA), I'm comfortably busy, and have been since summer. No telling what it going to look like 3 months out, but for now it's all good.

We are really slow here in the Southeast. The same as we've been since '09. We had the worst summer I ever remember. We had one big project in early fall that kept us busy for six weeks. During that time only two small jobs came in! We had a decent start to winter but it all but died starting in early December. I've quoted probably six jobs in the last week, so maybe its getting better. Of the six I quoted I only got the go ahead on two. When others are doing lot surveys for $350 I guess I'm lucky to get any. I just don't understand how they can work for that. I'm saying a prayer for a better spring.

Work Load - WTF ??

Central New Hampshire is still very slow. With only a couple weeks work at any given time, I'm hesitant to take on a party chief, which makes it difficult to go after "big jobs" with only two of us still working. So, no... It's NOT all rosey everywhere.

The view may be dependent on your demands

I'm at a stage in my life where I'm somewhat comfortable compared to times in the past. I keep my overhead low and my profits high. That most definitely is not the typical scenario. But, that is why I am content with a slower pace than what some others may deem essential.

Years ago I heard a wealthy man say that most people are too busy working to find the time to make money.

There are two ways to net $1000. The most common is to go out and earn about $1400 so that after taxes, etc. you are left with the $1000. The far simpler way is to not spend $1000 on something that returns a temporary or minor benefit. A similar way to net that $1000 is to avoid paying interest and various fees on debt instead of delaying the acquisition of the thing until you have the money to buy it.

Too many of us identify being extremely busy with success. Being just busy enough to meet your needs and build some cushion is far better. Having grown up around the extremely unpredictable world of agriculture, I learned early and all too well that hard work alone doesn't guarantee anything. Getting the right thing done at the right time and being incredibly lucky with respect to things over which you have no control is the key. Today, when Brazil is being decimated by severe drouth, the grain markets go crazy everywhere else. If Brazil has great weather and tremendous production, our markets fall apart. It doesn't really matter much if you have the largest harvest of your entire life if the price is lower than the breakeven necessary to balance the expenses. The surveying world isn't much different. If someone else is willing to do every job you could do for far less pay, you either drop your prices to make a minimalistic income or find a different source of income. It will still be in surveying most of the time, but you will have to find the niche markets with fewer competitors. Or, it may be necessary to relocate to a more fertile job market for some period of time.

The view may be dependent on your demands

> Years ago I heard a wealthy man say that most people are too busy working to find the time to make money.

:good:

A thousand times yes. Finally accepting this concept is the most import financial decision I have ever made. My personal experience is that once I dialed back the professional hours, I finally found the time to make some money.

The view may be dependent on your demands

:good: :good:

We are slammed , got two crews going . Been that way for a year .

Slow as a snail on a turtles back....