Lancer Camper. Inc Sold Out

Kayteg1 wrote:

monkey44 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I've seen positive changes thought.
Caltrans- who build Benicia/Martinez bridge in CA with triple time and quadruple cost overrun, in last years when Bay Bridge needed repairs or rebuild - hire smaller contractors.
Private contractor build Las Vegas monorail not only for few millions less, but also few months ahead of schedule.
Somebody is putting some common sense into the corporation madness.

That's not really small business tho ... I think of small business as ONE guy building one or two homes at a time, with a small crew and watching how the finish looks and acts. NOT, a guy with a builder's license, sitting at a desk and building hundred-home tracts. He's just running the money end, and has little to do with quality.

I single-handed build big house and it took me 6 years, although big delay was triggered by bank freezing my credit line.
That worked for me as I could live in old house in the corner of the lot and build new one on the center, but such situation is not going to work when you build for profit.
I know the Bay Bridge contractors are not really small business, but unlike Caltrans - they do have to be competitive and as results save taxpayer's billions of dollars, doing much better job.

Good for you - bet you appreciate it more too, and have the quality you provided. The reason I use that example, I built custom homes in California for years, in rural areas. And, yes I had a crew of three, and me. And as far as quality control, my fingers touched every part of the builds -- One, pride in workmanship, and two, had a reputation to maintain in a small community ... so the type of quality control (or lack of) in corporate building will never fly in small town rural areas. Builders that cut corners in those areas didn't last long. We had small time businesses that were a bit more expensive than "driving into the city", but the customer service from a business owner that meets you at the door and wants your business means a lot and has value of its own.

And it's not always about "keeping customers" for the income, it's often about keeping customers because you want your customers happy with your product. You need both to survive in small business.