Re: WHAT recession ?

[tourman <robercampbell@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 11, 7:46=A0pm, nick markowitz <nmarkow...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Jan 11, 6:17=A0pm, Robert Macy <robert.a.m...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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> > On Jan 11, 11:51=A0am, Jim <alarmi...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
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> > > On Jan 11, 11:52=A0am, "Bill" <billnomailnosp...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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> > > > "Jim" =A0wrote in message
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> > > > > ...Jeeeeeze ..... now I actually have to go to work again.
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> > > > And are accounts paying their bills on time?
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> > > > Delinquent accounts lessening? Same? Growing?
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> > > Over the last few years I've lost a higher number of accounts than
> > > usual. Some (I'm sure) due to the economy. Lost jobs, people moving t=
o
> > > another state because of job changes, etc. However ( and let this be
> > > of interest to those of you who have been in this business for many
> > > years) I've been in this industry for 43 years. One of the attrition
> > > issues that I never considered was that I would start losing accounts
> > > because they died. Other related losses are due to moving to Florida
> > > for retirement, can't afford fee because they're retired on limited
> > > income. One spouse dies or gets sick and the other can no longer
> > > afford it. Sold house and moved in with family/to gated community/
> > > senior community, etc. So ..... the longer you're in business the mor=
e
> > > you have to deal with this kind of attrition.
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> > > There are a few delinquet accounts that I'm carrying for a while ....=
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> > > just because they've been good customers for so long and are going
> > > through hard times. Some I've had to cancel after a while. Others I'l=
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> > > carry for a bit to see how it goes. Some I've carried have come back
> > > and I've forgiven past due. I play this by ear.
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> > > However. as far as growth, as far as alarm accounts go, I'd have to
> > > say it's about status quo or a little less. But ....... In the last
> > > 4/5 years I've increased my home theater and CCTV, automated lighting=
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> > > whole house audio and residential network wiring, and setup business.
> > > It's not recurring income but the profit margin is lots better, so
> > > income is growing. And I peiodiacally increase monthly monitoring fee=
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> > > in small amounts too.
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> > > How about you?
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> > I remember when my absolutely first consulting client died! He was
> > more than just my first consulting client, he was a friend. Years and
> > years of working with him, he had slowly gotten behind and owed me
> > enough to run our firm on for a year. Upon his death, I just walked
> > away, couldn't push collecting the debt since he left a widow and
> > subteen daughter, and a lot of debts behind. Months later, the widow
> > showed up with a truck full of his electronic test equipment and said
> > they didn't offer her much money for this stuff and asked if I could
> > use it. You bet! =A0Along with the myriad of items buried in the truck
> > were such goodies as BERT [bit error rate tester for communications
> > channels], HP Function Generators, Tektronix scopes and spectrum
> > analyzer with tracking generator option! and a full blown Intel
> > Development System!
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> I have not taken on new clients for 4 years now I have enough work
> just in my current base to keep me busy between all the crazy stuff I
> work on and build =A0loss couple gain couple accounts as customer shrink
> and grow .

RHC: Yes Nick, I'm pretty much in the same boat. I only do maximum two
system installs a week which keeps me ahead of natural attrition as
people move. Since I'm VERY near the 1200 account mark, it's just as
well. Monitoring revenues keep me more than happy and compensated, so
I can concentrate on giving top notch service to my client base. It
seems this winter though, work has increased somewhat over the same
time last year, but I just go with the flow, and try not to over
stress myself .  Minor service like battery changes and paperwork
fills in the rest of the day

Ain't life grand...:))