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Just wrapped a deployment for a financial services provider’s Tier 1 support, and I had to test it myself, so I did a quick demo of the AI helping me unblock my card. The system automatically retrieved the info I needed and was able to loop in a human...

10,063 次观看 • 7 个月前 •via X (Twitter)

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One thing I wish I did differently when starting out with my cabinet shop was to leverage outsourcing and subcontractors more. I started my business in a 1-car garage at 24 yrs old. I was young, hungry, and felt I needed to prove a point so I committed to purchasing all the equipment I thought I needed to start a woodworking business. Nearly $200k spent in the first 6 months outfitting a 5,000 sf shop with only $15k coming in. I did have cash saved up so the initial investment did not include taking on a ton of debt. But it was a horrible way to allocate the funds. Unlike many trades-based business, it is uncommon to be able to rent equipment for a cabinet shop so I went all in on my own. However, you can 100% rent time on other shop's machines, buy out cabinet doors and drawer boxes, sub out finishing to a painter, sub out delivery, and install, etc. I did none of this when I started out. I bought all the equipment, manufactured all of the components, did all of the finishing, self-performed all deliveries, and did install myself. It was a total grind and it made managing cashflow a nightmare. I ended up becoming a shop other woodworkers paid to rent machine time and that covered a good portion of my bills years 1 & 2. It wasn't until 5 years in that I was beaten down enough by poor cashflow that I started to sub out delivery and installs. We still manufactured all components and did finishing in house as we were focused on high quality and customization and had tooled up in the process of settling in this niche. Which didn't make it economical to outsource with the equipment and staff I had. I don't regret doing things this way because I gained 20 years of experience in 10 years but it certainly made scaling a custom cabinet business 10x more difficult. Sure, the technical aspect of engineering, manufacturing, and installation had a steep learning curve but I loved every minute of that learning curve. The constant pressure that clouded my judgement and ultimately led to burnout was a poor cash conversion cycle and margin compression from equipment loans and overhead. I feel fortunate to have been able to put myself through the ringer for a decade and gained a ton of experience that I can now apply to the next venture but I sure am happy to have been able to exit that business financially unscathed. It was a nail biter nearly every day. The video below inspired this reflection and I think it's a great message to those just starting out with any business, not just excavating or the trades.

Alex Forbes

42,417 次观看 • 5 个月前