# Value-Added to What for Whom?



## 800PoundGuerrilla (Nov 24, 2013)

I've been so busy beating the streets of NYC since April of last year, working to promote and support prefabricated drywall profile means and methods (Magacon), joint compound delivery systems (Mudmaster), finishing tools cleaning systems (Washmaster), and butt-joint tapering means and methods (RebateMate), all designed to make trade tasks safer and more productive, that I haven't had much time to check in with DrywallTalk.

Today, having some time, I perused the forums and discussions and found some food for thought about a troubling condition I will call the "Productivity Paradox". Having spent most of my adult life as an independent trade pieceworker, I have been painfully aware of this paradox since day one. It goes something like this:

I've worked more productively (effectively and efficiently) in order to make more money in less time to gain a greater return on my invested time and effort and create more time for myself to do other things besides working. But the more productive I was, the more those I produced for wanted for less money considering that I wasn’t spending as much time doing what I was doing to produce what I was producing. So, my question is, "What am I getting paid for, my time or what I produce?"


----------



## endo_alley (Nov 2, 2013)

When other people adopt tricks and innovations for increasing productivity, competition will eventually force them to offer their work for less. So innovations and tricks which are done to benefit the bottom line of producer in the short run, wind up helping the client and hurting the worker in the long run.


----------



## krem (Mar 20, 2016)

haha, i had this conversation with the builder at my current job on fri, he seen me using the tube and flusher to topcoat the internals and square set in 4 rooms in 20mins by myself, he was totally amazed:thumbsup::thumbsup: BUT then he asked why i still charged him the same amount as i normally do before i had them "gizmos and gadgets"!!
i kindly said that this gear costs a fortune, and he said, wll you just did 3 hrs work in 20mins, its paid for itself already!!
i kindly asked if he dropped his price when he bought gas powered nail guns and fitout guns, all his cordless makita gear to save him running leads everywhere, laser levers to save time from using dumpy levels?? haha, get f***ed he said, thats my good investment and cant be competitive without them, so i said, well why is it different for me then, i have to be competitve to survive too, so you just answered your own question!!
bugger them, us plasterers seem to be the only trade who arent allowed to make any money, sparkies easily charge double our rate, same as plumbers, ****, even painters can get $50hr for supplying a brush and roller, $80hr if they have a sprayer cause they get job done heaps quicker!!
its all B/S really!!
now, thats my therapy for the day, where do i pay the bill:whistling2:
krem


----------



## MrWillys (Mar 10, 2014)

Simplified, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance baffle them with bull schitt.


----------



## endo_alley (Nov 2, 2013)

"Why I still charged him the same amount as i normally (did) before " I always ask homeowners if they get a good price from subcontractors will they remember this when they go to sell the home? And on the closing day offer a rebate to the buyer? No they always say. We will sell for what the market will bare.


----------



## Mr.Brightstar (Dec 2, 2011)

There are two rules for success.

1. Never reveal everything you know.


----------



## Mudstar (Feb 15, 2008)

800PoundGuerrilla said:


> I've been so busy beating the streets of NYC since April of last year, working to promote and support prefabricated drywall profile means and methods (Magacon), joint compound delivery systems (Mudmaster), finishing tools cleaning systems (Washmaster), and butt-joint tapering means and methods (RebateMate), all designed to make trade tasks safer and more productive, that I haven't had much time to check in with DrywallTalk.
> 
> Today, having some time, I perused the forums and discussions and found some food for thought about a troubling condition I will call the "Productivity Paradox". Having spent most of my adult life as an independent trade pieceworker, I have been painfully aware of this paradox since day one. It goes something like this:
> 
> I've worked more productively (effectively and efficiently) in order to make more money in less time to gain a greater return on my invested time and effort and create more time for myself to do other things besides working. But the more productive I was, the more those I produced for wanted for less money considering that I wasn’t spending as much time doing what I was doing to produce what I was producing. So, my question is, "What am I getting paid for, my time or what I produce?"


I must assume you have not been in this trade long enough if you not sure what your getting paid for


----------



## P.A. ROCKER (Jul 15, 2011)

You only need a few things to make a mint selling those systems.
A pile of money, a big pair of balls and a strong stomach.
You have to corner the market share in the region by basically giving the service away and keep it pinned down for some time.
The competition will either buy you out or kill you.


----------



## 800PoundGuerrilla (Nov 24, 2013)

Mudstar said:


> I must assume you have not been in this trade long enough if you not sure what your getting paid for


A rhetorical question Mudstar.


----------



## endo_alley (Nov 2, 2013)

P.A. ROCKER said:


> You only need a few things to make a mint selling those systems.
> A pile of money, a big pair of balls and a strong stomach.
> You have to corner the market share in the region by basically giving the service away and keep it pinned down for some time.
> The competition will either buy you out or kill you.


If you wish to end up with a small fortune, start out with a bigger one.


----------



## P.A. ROCKER (Jul 15, 2011)

General,,, how come you didn't join the carpenters union,,, being you live close to Philadelphia. 
Wasn't it a good option??


----------



## 800PoundGuerrilla (Nov 24, 2013)

P.A. ROCKER said:


> General,,, how come you didn't join the carpenters union,,, being you live close to Philadelphia.
> Wasn't it a good option??


How come I didn't join the carpenters union? Maybe because I had "a big set of balls, a strong stomach" and wanted to make a whole lot of money? I liked that line P.A. ROCKER.

Maybe it was because of the times I was living in. I turned 58 years young this year ... was born in April 14th, 1958 ... became a teenager in 1971. With that perspective and a knowledge of history, one could draw some conclusions. 

Maybe it was because of the environment I grew up in. My father was an entrepreneur minded guy who worked in the automobile business. My mother an artistic and intellectually curious stay at home mom. Both were very independent, mindful and hard working people. The philosophy expressed on a regular basis was, "Do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life". So, many intellectual-philosophical conversations at the kitchen table with my mother, and riding shot-gun with my father before I entered first grade spawned an attitude toward "work" as "it's not a job, it's an adventure".

Maybe it was because when I was first exposed to construction work in the early 1970s "stagflation", a phenomenon in which inflation and unemployment steadily increased, was redefining the industry's "modes of production". Escalating materials and labor prices set off alarms in the ranks of building owners, management consultants, corporate journalists, and public policy makers. The rapid rise of the open shop was upsetting the long standing collective bargaining equilibrium in construction. Delivery was moving from a General Construction Delivery Model to a Construction Management Delivery Model. Most of the construction firms I was exposed to were "double breasted" (running both union and open shop organizations). I worked with both union and "non-union" tradesmen. I was influenced by both.

Maybe it was because of my early exposure to "piecework", having become one of the creative means of dealing with the market conditions that stagflation presented. I was young, athletic, smart and enthusiastic (an 800 pound Guerrilla) ... ripe for the opportunity to turn my time and effort into money. And, I ran the wheels off of that opportunity. Framing, hanging, finishing ... installing acoustical ceilings, doors, casework, millwork. Keeping time study on everything I did. Paying attention to the things that effected production. Doing the math everyday ... keeping score ... $/unit labor = $/hr x hrs/unit labor.

Maybe it was because I caught the "independent contractor wave". Working for me was always about more than just making a living (it's not a job, it's and adventure ... do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life) ... freedom was very important to me ... freedom to choose who I worked for and negotiate what I worked for. 

Maybe **** happens. Maybe you jump into the deep end and learn to swim to survive ... and as you get better at swimming, you swim to thrive ... then swimming becomes a way of life. You marry a girl ... you buy a house ... you have three kids ... you turn around and you're 58 years young ... and still swimming.

How come I didn't join the carpenters union? Maybe because the opportunity never presented itself? Maybe because I never had time, the thought never entered my mind?


----------

