So Why Aren't I Rich Beyond Belief

14 July 2011

This week I have been considering my options as a kitchen and bathroom fitter, come electrician/ jack of all trades. I wonder if I am spreading my skills too thinly, or if I could make much more money doing something related, but more targeted.

The reason I was thinking about this was because over the last week I have had six quotes to do ! Yes count em...that's S-I-X! Best of all four of those have come back to me already and accepted. I am now booked up for the next 10 weeks and there doesn't seem to be any real let up in interest.

I know from experience that I can be booked up for months in advance and I fully expect, now that I am free to take on more work, that I will quickly become booked (and over-booked). The thing is – if I am so damn popular, why aren't I also rich beyond belief?

Well, the unfortunate thing is that I have reached my ceiling in terms of what I can earn if I continue to do the same thing. People will only pay so much to have their kitchen done, even if I am the best this town has to offer.

I was discussing this with Claire the other night and she thought I should take some of the skills I have and start to offer them in a different way. A kind of consultancy, rather than just the donkey work. She has suggested offering to help people with their kitchen design and purchase.

I know how annoying it is when I get to a job only to discover they have failed to deliver all the drawer fronts and the oven housing is the wrong size. If I could have more control over the design and the ordering of the kitchens, I could make money from that as well. That way they have my expertise, even if I can't fit it for them.

It was certainly food for thought. I am a one man band - while working with an apprentice is fine, I am best when I am doing things my way. So going into partnership is not for me and getting a bunch of employees would be a disaster. So as Claire put it: I need to leverage my skills. She is good at fancy words!

I have been round at our little house this week sorting out the shower, which developed a small drip. No big deal, but I am hoping it isn't a sign of things to come. Still it gave me a chance to check the house out. It was very tidy – but there were three (!) empty bottles of wine on kitchen worktop. I guess they have stressful jobs, but I hope they aren't big drinkers. The last thing I want is big parties and drunken carpet mishaps!