would like to work with custom a/v installer, no pay of course, just want to learn. thank you.

austin, texas area

A/V help for free?! Can you relocate?

cannot relocate

can you come to Houston every once in a while?

I can use some slave labor... err... a free helper...

i could come to houston every once in a while; however, if i get an austin offer i would have to take it. what kind of work do you do? etc. send details, thank you. rick.

ovenfried,

I'm not from Austin, or even Texas for that matter, but I have two questions for you.

Is your request TRULY as a hobbyist (you indicated in your profile you're a hobbyist), or would some generous sole in Austin be training (granted for free, and getting some needed help maybe) a future competitor?

Would you be willing to sign a legally binding non-competition agreement for that person, as a protective measure for him?

Just curious. Probably wouldn't be if I hadn't seen, heard and experienced this very situation first hand.

GO PATRIOTS!

boytoys,
gee, i am a 54 year old man with 24 years in the oilfields of texas, i dont believe i will be a custom installer. cheers, rick.

Somebodys paranoid! ;-)

Go Colts

I was always taught that competition promotes business and if your good at what you do then you have nothing to fear from your competitors.

competition's not the problem....

I would like to revisit this with both of you after you've each trained (expensively) a newbie and had him walk.

This happened to me...I even had him sign an agreement, which I tried to hold him to, until there was a loophole found.

15K later...I learned to be a little, "paranoid."

Competition is good and healthy, but even the BEST loose a few big jobs they don't want to, and if it happens to you, because some punk you trained got ahold of your contact book...that would sting even worse...

my 2 cents...was not meant to alledge, accuse or infer...it was just a question

Just a jab. I feel your pain. That happens in every industry tho. Plumbing is the worst. As soon as they get there card they are gone to greener pastures.

What happens is that these guys think that they are going to get rich by being in business for them selves and have no idea about the level of commitment it takes to own a contracting business. I have been in the custom home industry for 20 years and have trained several of my competitors. I have lost a few jobs to them and have been asked to fix most of them. I guess it is just part of the game and I try not to get upset about it.

I don't think there is really any paranoia there, but rather a searching for a solution to training someone and then having them walk.

If you have a store, the situation is much worse, because you will be training someone who just might become acquainted enough with your product sources to offer to do the same kind of work that you do, but they would start it without overhead. This means they can charge less and often get the job if they are competing with you. The homeowner is not going to ask for financials and business history to see which one of you is likely to be in business in three years, the established store or the trunk-slammer. Every time we consider having someone new work with us, we have to weigh how motivated they might be to leave and compete. Unfortunately, this means the best candidates will be already well- or at least somewhat-trained, so we can see that their motivation to go do their own thing is not great enough for them to have already acted on that impulse.

And about being in business for yourself --

My wife is a doula (do a google search if you don't know what that is), so she knows all sorts of things about childbirth. The other day she read this to me, without even a hint of irony:

What is the only thing more exaggerated than how wonderful natural childbirth is? The joys of owning your own business.

Ahl...I am in Houston and wouldn't mind helping out to get some experience.

You can email me here...

[email protected]