Woodworking was in my blood, and when I finally grew up to become a carpenter and contractor, I needed very little instruction in my field. I could do practically anything with wood and building supplies. I could build a house or a cabinet, I could make a floor or a guitar. It didn't matter ? I had mastered it from a young age. My father had always involve me in his trade, and as a result I was better than most people at it. Nevertheless, there was an even more important aspect of the business that I had missed out on the entirely: economic.
I had naively assumed that my skill would carry me, but within the first year it was clear that that wasn't true. I wasn't making any money ? or at least not nearly as much as I should have been. I suspected everything but the cause. Maybe I wasn't charging enough, or I was taking too much time to finish the work. Maybe my workmen were lazy or overpaid. What I didn't realize was that the problem was with my supply. Simply put, I was not making smart choices about the wholesale lumber I bought.
I didn't realize how big an issue this was. I haven't even really thought about wholesale lumber supplies before. I simply used the closest supplier I could find, figuring that it would make it easier to restock whenever I needed more. I didn't realize that I was getting completely ripped off on wholesale hardwood lumber. Because I was buying from a wholesale lumber supplier who mostly sold to hobbyists and smalltime contractors, I was paying close to retail prices for my wood.
Aside from that, my supply problems were seriously slowing down the rate of work. I had to face the fact that, even though I believed in supporting local industry, I simply couldn't as a contractor. By using a small wholesale lumber supplier, I was putting myself in a bad position. He was always short of one thing or another, and sometimes it could take days to get the right supplies. Whenever I needed a specialized kind of wood, such as teak lumber wholesale, I would have to go somewhere else anyway, unless I was willing to give him a solid month to look for it. I knew that I had to grow up, maturing both as an individual and as a small businessman. Once I really grew to understand the economics of my business, money was not a problem anymore!
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