tips on picking up small jobs??

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I have a question for others who may live in a small town. I'm layed off from my normal job ATM. While i am getting unemployment bennys, its about 400 every 2 weeks less than what i was earning working. So while im actually have some kinda money coming in i figured why not try and get a rep to hopefully someday getting away from the terrible sweat shops around these parts, and work for myself which i have always wanted to do. I have about everything i need in my 2 car garage mig, tig, plasma, oxy fuel saws, drill press, air tools etc etc 13 years exp working for others. What is the best way to find work? when nobody knows what you do. hanging flyers etc seems kinda like a annoying way as i dunno if anyone everlooks at them anyway. I have a craigslist add running but have not gotten a single email from it. I'm heavily into motorcycle and automotive stuff but have alot of exp with farm equipment and some food processing but nor farm or food processing interests me cause its normally way to big for anything i can fit in my garage. I would like just small simple stuff at first. any pointers? one guy said machine shops but the machine shop here they told me they do all their own welding in house and werent interested in farming any out. So i dunno where else to look in a town of about 10,000
Reply:fast food restaurants? i'm thinking fixing gates and dumpsters and such i wouldn't touch anything that touches the road.Dynasty 200DXPassport plus w/ spoolmate 100victor 315c oxy/(act and prop)Miller digital elitemilwaukee power tools
Reply:hand out buisness cards of some sort?? maybe? ive seen one buisness in the next town over go bust and it worries me a bit as i never seen the doors open their it was a nice shop.
Reply:Never give up.
Reply:Go to the LWS bearing coffee & dognuts.  Most will have no problem letting you put business cards on their counters.  (make sure to open an account with them too).Also inform them that you're willing to pay 5% for referrals, & NO JOB is TOO SMALL.There are 3 Welding supply places in my town, I get referrals from all 3, every week.On CL: Use the same ad Every time. (DO not put your business name in the ad, it will get flagged.)Also let people know that you are Insured.  It's VERY important!You ARE insured, right?!?Farms are also a great place to find work.Used car dealers,  Motorcycle shops, Marinas, Print shops (if there are any left..), Plastic injection molding shops,  Brewerys, Don't screw with car frames, no matter how broke you are..they will cost you in the end..I even do work for the public library "Hey mam, would you like that door fixed"  I was inHope it helps, & good luck!Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:A couple things you might want to keep in mind. Dabar39 here had some issues with the local municipality over a CL add.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=35394I know around me the local municipalities are cracking down where ever they can to try and make up lost revenue from taxes. There's a lot of people right now trying to work under the radar because of the ecconomy and inspectors and cops are on the lookout for any opertunity to bring in lost income. Anyone with a hammer is trying to be a home handyman and so on and there's a ton of scammers out there who will take the money and run. That means officials are taking a good look at various "contractors" and small PT guys looking for those who don't have business licences, insurance and the rest of the stuff that makes someone legit, as thats usually a key element in spotting scammers.Second thing, keep in mind that even if you don't make any money, what you are doing makes you "self employed". That will wipe out your unempolyment benifits if someone catches you. My helper got caught unawares by this. He took a legit job to suplement his unempolyment last winter. The company reported him as a "sub contractor" rather than as an empolyee he thought he'd been hired as. ( When he'd worked for them in the past he always had gotten a W2 at the end of the year) That meant he was no longer eligable for unemployment. A $400 2 day job cost him several hundred dollars in lost unemployment bennies and it took him close to 8 weeks to get the whole thing straightened out. Chances are slim you'll get caught, but if you do for some reason, they'll want you to return any monies you recieved from them back to what ever date they choose to say you "started" and could be barred from recieving unemployment for up to 6 months IIRC.I'm not trying to scare you or disuade you from giving this a go. I'm just pointing out in advance some of the issues you might be in for. There's a lot more to doing "work" than most people really understand..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:My two cents worth.1. Advce is worth what you pay for it.2. Return all your calls, show up on time, do not suddenly raise your price above what you agreed on, thank everyone who calls you-even if they don't give you a job.  Admit that you have limitations, but always work to your capibilities.Some times those little "not worth bidding on" jobs are tests to see if the customer feels like truusting you with a real job.  Get a local business license, declare your income (at least enough of it to justify your deductions).I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:I'm in Fl, where would I go to find out what the rules are? Tax collectors office, chamber of commerce? At this point I'm only interested in the piddly little jobs.
Reply:all good advise thanks guys i dont have a local welding store really. its about 20 miles away. prolly hard to get a account with no job lol. I would like to just pick up small simple stuff people can drop off and go their is no local Used car dealers, Motorcycle shops, Marinas, or Print shops around these parts.
Reply:You do not need an "opwn account".  You can be signed up for a Cash Account, where you pay for everything with your credit card.  Credit cards can help you with your cash flow, the credit card company extends you a Line Of Credit, hoping that you will not pay the bill in full every month.  Beat them at their game by paying the bill in full every month, taking what ever incentive they give you for using their card.  My wife and I take the cash incentive and when it gets big enough, we apply it to the payment.  Sometimes the card issuer will offer extra incentive use the card on certain days, I am willing to take advantage of any incentive that benefits me.Try to aviod paying interest.  Intrest is the rent on borrowed money.  Credit is a tool, just like a hammer or a wrench; a good workman takes care of his tools.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:when i started, somehow through a friend a  locksmith got my name, seems that lots of people call them to repair gates that dont lock correctly. lots of them have old style locks and lock boxes and want new dead bolts and knobs which requires a new weld in box, i charge 65. per hour with three hour min. to do these , which usually can be done in about one hour and does not include the lockset. back then it was not unusual to do four or five a week. not to mention a lot of them led to other repair work. this was in a pretty wealthy residential neighborhood, but also a lot of apartment owners need the same type of work done to keep their places up to code.just an idea!BTS Welding
Reply:Originally Posted by AircamperaceI'm in Fl, where would I go to find out what the rules are? Tax collectors office, chamber of commerce? At this point I'm only interested in the piddly little jobs.
Reply:Originally Posted by Broccoli1http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Reply:Originally Posted by Aircamperace At this point I'm only interested in the piddly little jobs.
Reply:Never be late and late starts 15 minutes early.Never fail to preform.Learn to say no.Never forget a customer.
Reply:Biggest thing I've found from advertising on CL is people expect me to drive 45 miles (one way) to do portable welding to weld a bracket on their bush hog out in the middle of the field for $15. Sure it only takes 15 minutes to actually do the welding, but it's $75 an hour with one hour minimum. Not to mention I'm not charging anything on top of that for milage or consumables. If you're just looking for small piddly jobs that won't add anything to your bank account, craigslist is a great place to go. Otherwise, a better method of advertising will need to be devised. FB hit it on the head too. I'm doing some welding on an edelbrock intake tomorrow morning for a guy and he said if he liked my work he has a lot more where that came from for him and his buddies on their offroad 4x's. Never know...Make sure you return all calls and if you can't do something or don't feel comfortable, tell them right up front.
Reply:Originally Posted by Fat BastardNever be late and late starts 15 minutes early.Never fail to preform.Learn to say no.Never forget a customer.
Reply:Go up and have coffee with all the old timers, sometimes they are worse than women at spreading rumors.Lincoln Ranger 250 GXTLN-25Lincoln Magnum SG and ModuleAirco HF BoxMiller 304 XMT CC/CVMiller 60 Series FeederMiller Syncrowave 250O/A SetupIt's a dog eat dog world and i'm wearing milkbone underwear
Reply:Fencing companies use welders to make H and corner braces in ranch fencing, and welding wrought iron fences and entrances.  Check people that build smokers.  Lots of places around that do metal buildings.  A local school that needs a welding instructor.
Reply:craigslist!   i pulled up the welding listings on treasure coast CL recently.   the first ad i saw was for a welding "fabericator" that could do it all.   i emailed and asked why anyone would bother calling for their fabrication services when they can't even spell it correctly.the guy emails me back and says it doesn't matter they don't take work from "prxcks" like me. lolwish i saved it.   so i go back to see if the ad is still there because i was going to post the link;  he took my advice and now has the word spelled correctly.  prxck that i am.   but what do i find?http://treasure.craigslist.org/sks/2550363071.htmlwelding fabircation (Hobe Sound)  no sense in me pointing out the error, i don't want to be a prxck.Last edited by fdcmiami; 08-24-2011 at 08:46 PM.