Today's Guest Article And Podcast Feature Daniel Eric Bowling
Entrepreneur And Founder SmartTradesmen.com
Daniel reached out to us and shared his story and it is fascinating. He is someone who has mastered the art and skill of upholstery including owning operating a profitable upholstery company.
Along the way he discovered some of the similarities all tradesmen share. The love and care they put into doing their work and the frustration of making a good living which includes some free time and building a retirement.
Daniel shares some of his thoughts and words of wisdom on The Contractors Success M.A.P. Podcast and in the article below.
Please tell us about your background and how you came to be where you are now.
I once co-owned a custom furniture design company, I have done many construction jobs including commercial drywall finishing, and most recently I have jumped into the world of online business.
Upholstery is the trade that I am most known for. I spent the last 10 years mastering this dying trade. As I was mostly self taught and also younger than most in the trade, I brought in a fresh perspective.
While everyone else has this idea of a cookie cutter business with overhead and lots of expenses… Once I left my for company, I went a different route. Low overhead and double my prices. What I do is an art, so why not treat it as such.
There are times that work gets a little slow, but when you charge what you're worth it is easier to make up the difference. I have found that in the slower times, I can make GOOD money. But when everything falls into place.. I can make GREAT money and all it took was a change in mindset. Swing for the fences when you have everything set up ready to support your workload.
Last year I had one job that brought in 10K in less than a week. In the Smart Tradesmen way of doing things, working with other talented individuals is the quickest way to success. That being said, this big job was mostly sewing. I outsourced to my friend and former employee, who is a seamstress. I paid her $2K to cut and sew. She did this in less than a week. Then I had 2 days of install and made $8K. It all came down to charging what I thought it was worth to them. Not how long will it take me. Value yourself, and your knowledge.
I believe podcasts are very powerful and will be vital in my marketing strategy for this next year. By the time this episode goes out, I will have launched my 2nd podcast called Smart Tradesmen.
Smart Tradesmen the podcast is designed to help bring entrepreneurship into small business, where most of us just own our own jobs.
We are building a great community behind the Smart Tradesmen brand. One that is ready for a new way to do business. I am currently building a platform to support trade based businesses and to improve the life of the Tradesman and self employed from apprenticeship to retirement.
I believe in a “for the greater good” mentality, and I strive to offer as much value to the lives of those around me, as I possibly can.
What are some differences between you and your competitors?
Probably the fact that I do not approach anything like I have any competition. My goal is to just be myself in life and in business, so good like competing with me on being me. I have that market cornered. There are no competitors in the online world. I am looking to help that one person who needs to hear my message. If I am the guy for the job then so be it.
I know there are other upholsterers, so in the strict definition of competitors, yes they are out there. I am unaffected though. I only take the jobs I want, I am honest, and I charge what I am worth. Because of that, I have some loyal customers.
What problem or issue does your product or service solve?
With the Smart Tradesmen community, I hope to get us all communicating so we can take our business to a new level as a whole. A movement has begun in society, where there is a skills gap and a growing need for people to fill those skilled jobs. I want to be out front speaking up to make sure that when the dust settles, we are getting paid what we are worth.
What are three things a contractor should consider when hiring your services?
Where they have been in the past, what worked for them and what didn’t. Where they want their business to be in 5 years. Where do they want to be personally in 5 years.
How can you tell if someone is a good fit for your company?
If they are ready to stop spinning their wheels and try something new. As far as my upholstery business, I only deal with very high end designers in the residential side of things. I know right away if they are a fit just by the questions the ask me about my work. Commercial work is a little different. It depends on their budget, and if I think I can make money for what they are able to pay. It goes back to feeling out what they are able to pay and not just coming in at a low number to get the job.
What types of advice do you give a contractor?
Educate yourself. Keep up with industry innovation. Find out what new tools there are. This includes new software or services. Use the new software, services, and systems to become more entrepreneurial. For example: Dropbox, evernote, FreshBooks, just to name a few. There are even free project management tools.
In closing, please tell the listeners how they can contact you:
daniel@SmartTradesmen.com is my email address.
SmartTradesmen.com is where they can keep up with what we have going on. If they want to grab a free business jumpstart guide go to smarttradesmen.com/bizplan. As a warning… It will force them to really look deep and ask questions that we usually avoid. If someone is ready to take their business to a new level, then I recommend giving it a try.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SmartTradesmen/ is the community page.
Twitter is @DanielEBowling
Instagram is DanielEricBowling
Editor’s Note: I have only known Daniel Erik Bowling a short time and I trust him and find him to be very knowledgeable and capable on the subject of upholstery and more importantly he understands and is willing to help all tradesmen and trades women to raise your level of thinking and related performance and income.
I Highly Recommend all contractors spend some time on his website http://www.smarttradesmen.com/ and get to know him. He is a valuable resource to all trade workers and contractors. Please be sure to let him know Randal DeHart, The Contractors Accountant, recommended you. And join his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/SmartTradesmen/
