Earthblog

As we move into the 2nd quarter of the year, we’re noticing that financing is once again becoming easier to secure.  For the last 6+ months, it’s been tough for some contractors to get loans to purchase equipment.  Actually, to clarify, for the last 6 months or so, it’s been difficult for contractors with anything other than superb credit to get a loan.

Mike Arness, from Clearview Financial, tells us that we should notice a continuing loosening in lending.

It’s been frustrating for us and for our clients, as those that have the ability to expand and grow their businesses were being stifled by tighter credit. 

Based on what we’re seeing in terms of call volume and what we’re hearing from customers, the market out there seems strong, and demand for grinders and scrapers is high.  But, without credit available, our sales suffer, and our clients businesses suffer because they don’t have the equipment they need to grow.

For those with credit cards, there is an option (although it can be very expensive).  I don’t know that we ever charged as much on credit cards for big purchases (over $5K), than we did last month.  That’s expensive for us, and potentially for our clients.

But, as the credit eases, we can go back to doing lots of equipment financing through the good guys over at Clearview, and helping flooring contractors around the country with all their equipment needs.

After a very forgettable February, it’s nice to see that March has been nice and busy.  This, of course, is a trend we’ve seen over the years.  But, with all the doom and gloom you hear in the media, the middle of a slow month can be a scary time.  Your mind can mess with you, making you wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

As we like to say in the removal game, “what goes down must come up!”.

And, we’re seeing that with a good start to March.  Our clients ar telling us that they are starting to see more work come in, which is why they’re buying equipment.

Not sure if it’s starting to pick up yet where you are, but, on the whole, looks like things are on the upswing.  Enjoy, and take advantage!

We’re all just a few weeks away from the start of the “busy season”….that magical period of time that runs roughly from April through August, where it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the work that needs to be done.  Grinding, polishing, removing, installing, one job flowing into the next. 

Well, now is the time to make sure you’re ready to go.  We get calls all the time from guys that need a machine for a job that starts “yesterday”.  Sometimes, of course, that’s unavoidable.  There are always going to be things that pop up, and maybe catch all of us with our guard down.  But, there are also often opportunities to avoid finding yourself in that last minute pinch.

If at the end of last year, you swore to yourself you were done renting that old, beat up walk-behind scraper for $x a day, and were finally gonna buy one next year, do it.  Don’t wait until you blow more money renting the same old machine for the first couple of jobs this year before you get fired up enough again to remember why you wanted to buy in the first place.

Also, right now, we’ve still got show special pricing from the trade shows we just did in Vegas.  Both Surfaces and World of Concrete were earlier this month, and the show specials are available all month, whether you made the trip or not.

And, lastly, there’s the used equipment market.  As you may have read in previous blog entries, the demand for used scrapers and grinders doesn’t come close to matching the supply,  So, if you’re thinking about a used unit for yourself this year, contact us now and let us know what you need so we can let you know when we have something available that meets your needs

Addressing your equipment needs now can help you enjoy an even better (and maybe less stressful) busy season!

It’s a funny fact of life, but it sometimes seems that opportunities are more abundant the more prepared you are.  We hear all the time from our clients that as soon as they bought a piece of equipment, the “demand” for them to do that kind of work went up.

For example, a guy gets an opportunity to bid removal jobs every once in awhile, and would just rent a machine if and when he ever actually was awarded the job.  Then, he wins a big job, decides to buy his own machine rather than rent one, and all of a sudden, he’s finding more opportunities to bid removal.  And, the other thing he notices:  now that he has his own machine, he’s actually winning more of the bids.

It’s interesting how that works out, isn’t it?  I’m not sure if it’s a different mindset when you own the machine, or if the fact that you own your own equipment communicates a level of competence and experience to your potential customers.  But, there’s something at play here, and the results cannot be denied.

Maybe you simply start getting more work because you’re not as intimidated when bidding jobs.  When you own your own equipment, you now know how quickly you can take up the floor, allowing you to bid more accurately.  Being able to more accurately asses the job allows you to bid more aggressively, since you don’t have to put in that “fudge factor” or a cushion.

Floor removal can be hard, and making business decisions can be hard.  Lots of guys are out there either renting or subbing out work, not taking in to account the extra business that you can pick up when you have the equipment in house.

If you’ve been on the fence about buying your own removal equipment, or a grinder or whatever, don’t forget to account for “The Law of the Prepared”.

What’s going on in the worldwide economy will no doubt impact all businesses, but it is widely believed that FDR was more than partially right when he said “We have nothing to fear but fear itself!”

The basic qualities it takes to run a successful business don’t change much whether the economy is good or bad.  What we’ll find is that tougher times will simply separate the men from the boys.  While we’ve heard from some clients that things are slowing down, we’ve got many other clients that are growing, and investing in new equipment for their businesses.

Same outside forces, different reaction and result.
 
A couple of inches of snow can shut down a city in the south…but, in Chicago or Buffalo, they’d hardly even notice it.  Again, same outside forces, different reaction and result.

We can’t control the weather, and we can’t control the economy.  Best we can do is be prepared.  When it snows, or when the economy slows, we just put our head down and get to work.  The environment will turn around.  And, when it does, things will look different.

Here at SED, we’re investing in new software to help us run all operations of our business more efficiently and effectively.  Is the timing perfect?  No, not really.  Is it expensive?  Yup.  But, it’s what is needed right now for us to be a better company and thrive long term.  So, we’re putting our head down, and getting to work.

While some competitors out there in any industry are just trying to make it through the downturn, there are bound to be opportunities for those willing to make things happen right now.  That’s just the way these things go.  And, when things change, when things turn around, the guys that made things happen are the ones that will be well rewarded.