Ever hit a wall? I have. I got nothing for ya at the moment.
Adios for a very short bit surveyors.
You rock.
The Business of Land Surveying
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Name Change
I have been thinking of changing the name of my company.
This has been something that has been plowing through my mind for quite some time.
There are several reasons for it.
1) Marketability. The name I have is dull and a new name would add a much needed kick. The public needs to have a better understanding of what they are looking at upon first site and a new name can bring that to light.
2) This company name is the initials of a dead guy. Need I say more?
3) Change is progressive. In changing the name I can easily incorporate a new digital strategy into my marketing by creating a new website and fully utilizing SEO. My current website is built on dead technology.
4) My client base right now is such that a transformation will be seamless. When things get super crazy again it will be harder to do.
I have weighed the pro's and cons and the pro's win by a land slide. As a matter of fact the only con I have is that it will cost some money to set things up such as a new domain name, having a site built and implementing the new strategy.
After a lot of thought on the topic I think it is easier to start from scratch as opposed to trying to revamp the old.
I have to admit that it is a daunting task and it makes me a little nervous, so must mean it's good and the right thing to do.
This has been something that has been plowing through my mind for quite some time.
There are several reasons for it.
1) Marketability. The name I have is dull and a new name would add a much needed kick. The public needs to have a better understanding of what they are looking at upon first site and a new name can bring that to light.
2) This company name is the initials of a dead guy. Need I say more?
3) Change is progressive. In changing the name I can easily incorporate a new digital strategy into my marketing by creating a new website and fully utilizing SEO. My current website is built on dead technology.
4) My client base right now is such that a transformation will be seamless. When things get super crazy again it will be harder to do.
I have weighed the pro's and cons and the pro's win by a land slide. As a matter of fact the only con I have is that it will cost some money to set things up such as a new domain name, having a site built and implementing the new strategy.
After a lot of thought on the topic I think it is easier to start from scratch as opposed to trying to revamp the old.
I have to admit that it is a daunting task and it makes me a little nervous, so must mean it's good and the right thing to do.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Administration
I have been the sole administrator for my company for a long time now.
In doing so I have learned a massive amount about business, accounting, insurance, etc.
The other day I received a letter from the IRS telling me that my form 5500 for the year 2010 had yet to be filed.
I was quite sure that they were wrong so I did a little investigating.
My company use to have a 401k program and there was a company that was doing the admin side of it.
A few years ago I received an invoice from them for things they had never done and I told them that I would never pay that invoice, after all it was a 1200 dollar deal and I had no idea what it was for.
Well I am thinking that maybe I should have paid that invoice.
In 2008 I discontinued the 401k plan and it turns out that 2009 was to be my final filing that this company was supposed to do and that's what they were billing me for.
I contacted the company and they were great. They knew exactly what to do and they only charged me $500 to do the filing and prepare my response to the IRS.
Now comes the kicker.
In order to avoid massive penalties set forth by the Department of Labor I had to send them a late filing fee of $750. Yes, that's right $750.
Once explained to me I gladly wrote that check.
In a pension plan situation if there is a late filing there is an accumulated penalty of $1000 a day is what I was told.
Apparently if this preemptive strike is not taken they accept your filing and then say thank you and send you a penalty, to which no one knows how it will turn out.
Lesson learned. Always ask what the invoice is for.
In the long run it only cost me 50 more than the original invoice but it caused a bit of temporary anxiety and frankly was an unnecessary hassle.
Funny how mistakes seem to have a more striking effect on me.
In doing so I have learned a massive amount about business, accounting, insurance, etc.
The other day I received a letter from the IRS telling me that my form 5500 for the year 2010 had yet to be filed.
I was quite sure that they were wrong so I did a little investigating.
My company use to have a 401k program and there was a company that was doing the admin side of it.
A few years ago I received an invoice from them for things they had never done and I told them that I would never pay that invoice, after all it was a 1200 dollar deal and I had no idea what it was for.
Well I am thinking that maybe I should have paid that invoice.
In 2008 I discontinued the 401k plan and it turns out that 2009 was to be my final filing that this company was supposed to do and that's what they were billing me for.
I contacted the company and they were great. They knew exactly what to do and they only charged me $500 to do the filing and prepare my response to the IRS.
Now comes the kicker.
In order to avoid massive penalties set forth by the Department of Labor I had to send them a late filing fee of $750. Yes, that's right $750.
Once explained to me I gladly wrote that check.
In a pension plan situation if there is a late filing there is an accumulated penalty of $1000 a day is what I was told.
Apparently if this preemptive strike is not taken they accept your filing and then say thank you and send you a penalty, to which no one knows how it will turn out.
Lesson learned. Always ask what the invoice is for.
In the long run it only cost me 50 more than the original invoice but it caused a bit of temporary anxiety and frankly was an unnecessary hassle.
Funny how mistakes seem to have a more striking effect on me.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Into the Pit
Last week I had to do some quantities on varies material piles in the west valley.
I arrived at the site with the impression that there were 8 to 16 individual piles and the quantities were for inventory not a sale and had to be approximate. Upon arrival I was informed that there were 26 piles.
Good thing I brought one of my contract guys. We just kind of looked at each other and laughed, he took the north pit, I took the south pit and we blazed off with our gps's.
In 5 hours we were finished and had each taken 1000 + shots each. We were both a sweaty mess and I was out of gas. There were some massive piles and I ran my ass off.
I got back to the office, uploaded the data, defined the break lines and shipped it out to a trusted person who is way better at calculating that sort of thing than I.
I am thinking in the future I may try an imaging station on this sort of thing. Usually an instrument can be set up high enough to define the tops and the sides can be done from above or around them on traverse points.
Either way technology will become a factor. That is some hard ass work. I do like the idea of a laser scan, however a lot of outfits are still having a problem paying for that kind of thing especially when they either don't need that kind of accuracy or they don't care and there is the fact that it goes right away the second a bucket hits a pile.
Old school guys are smart and sometimes trying to get them to come up to modern times is a little tough, especially when me and my contract guy are going to do the job for a third to half of the cost as a laser.
I will keep trying to sell them on it and as time goes on and the cost drops it will be easier to do.
I arrived at the site with the impression that there were 8 to 16 individual piles and the quantities were for inventory not a sale and had to be approximate. Upon arrival I was informed that there were 26 piles.
Good thing I brought one of my contract guys. We just kind of looked at each other and laughed, he took the north pit, I took the south pit and we blazed off with our gps's.
In 5 hours we were finished and had each taken 1000 + shots each. We were both a sweaty mess and I was out of gas. There were some massive piles and I ran my ass off.
I got back to the office, uploaded the data, defined the break lines and shipped it out to a trusted person who is way better at calculating that sort of thing than I.
I am thinking in the future I may try an imaging station on this sort of thing. Usually an instrument can be set up high enough to define the tops and the sides can be done from above or around them on traverse points.
Either way technology will become a factor. That is some hard ass work. I do like the idea of a laser scan, however a lot of outfits are still having a problem paying for that kind of thing especially when they either don't need that kind of accuracy or they don't care and there is the fact that it goes right away the second a bucket hits a pile.
Old school guys are smart and sometimes trying to get them to come up to modern times is a little tough, especially when me and my contract guy are going to do the job for a third to half of the cost as a laser.
I will keep trying to sell them on it and as time goes on and the cost drops it will be easier to do.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Courtesy Call
A week or so back I received a call from a colleague and they wanted to know what I was going to do about something on a particular project.
They were expressing concern because there was another surveyor involved that they were having a conflict of information with.
I am going to refrain from going into details here because some of the witch hunter types that read this blog may be prone to misinterpret this post.
A quick note to you witch hunters. If you have a problem or concern about something I have done call me, express your concern, be absolute certain of all sides of the story before you attempt to throw me under the bus. Conducting yourself in any other way will have major consequences.
On top of that if I want your peer review I will ask for it, until that day back off.
OK, that said and back to the topic.
The person that called me was having a conflict with another surveyor and I had done some work in the area. They were extremely professional in their questions and upon hearing my answer they agreed with my decision and moved along without a problem.
My decision was this. The client had yet to pay me for a particular line item and I simply was going to sit tight until I saw some green.
Is money an issue on a project? You bet your sweet ass it is!!
Money is the only reason I do this job and for me to say I do it for any other reason is a flat out lie.
Do projects fail to get completed because of money? Once again the answer is yes.
The only surveyors who can honestly say that money is not an issue is a government surveyor or a drone that is buried in the basement of a big machine and until they sit in the seat of the business surveyor they should keep their mouths shut and most do. Thank you!
Any business surveyor that says they have never stopped a project because of money is a liar. If they kept going even though they were not being paid, shame on them. All they did was open the door for further exploitation of themselves and hurt the profession as a whole.
Some of you may have a different opinion and that is awesome. It's the differences that keep us on our toes.
Make it a great week surveyors and remember, never doing anything for free.
They were expressing concern because there was another surveyor involved that they were having a conflict of information with.
I am going to refrain from going into details here because some of the witch hunter types that read this blog may be prone to misinterpret this post.
A quick note to you witch hunters. If you have a problem or concern about something I have done call me, express your concern, be absolute certain of all sides of the story before you attempt to throw me under the bus. Conducting yourself in any other way will have major consequences.
On top of that if I want your peer review I will ask for it, until that day back off.
OK, that said and back to the topic.
The person that called me was having a conflict with another surveyor and I had done some work in the area. They were extremely professional in their questions and upon hearing my answer they agreed with my decision and moved along without a problem.
My decision was this. The client had yet to pay me for a particular line item and I simply was going to sit tight until I saw some green.
Is money an issue on a project? You bet your sweet ass it is!!
Money is the only reason I do this job and for me to say I do it for any other reason is a flat out lie.
Do projects fail to get completed because of money? Once again the answer is yes.
The only surveyors who can honestly say that money is not an issue is a government surveyor or a drone that is buried in the basement of a big machine and until they sit in the seat of the business surveyor they should keep their mouths shut and most do. Thank you!
Any business surveyor that says they have never stopped a project because of money is a liar. If they kept going even though they were not being paid, shame on them. All they did was open the door for further exploitation of themselves and hurt the profession as a whole.
Some of you may have a different opinion and that is awesome. It's the differences that keep us on our toes.
Make it a great week surveyors and remember, never doing anything for free.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Technology Again
I have spoken a lot about technology and the pros and cons of it as it is related to our business.
This last week I made the determination that I am behind the curve.
I was speaking with an equipment sales guy about the future of surveying and the advances that have happened and how because of the recession I have not made a purchase in 6 years except for small things, cables etc.
Looking at the newer stuff I can tell it is much improved and I am going to assume more accurate. Yes even GPS. I say this because the newer stuff hardly loses lock and locks much more quickly when it is fired up of floats.
The robots speak for themselves.
I have a theory that through technology the surveyor can start pushing the contractors to adopt machine control, the concrete guys can be trained to use robots and they all can be trained on software. They to are starting to be run by a younger forward thinking generation that is embracing it all.
I say it's about time.
Where is the surveyors part? A project will always need us but we can now step back from staking and let the liability rest where it always should. On the shoulder of the contractor.
The future is us teaching them how to use equipment and software and yes teaching them that they are the responsible ones.
We are at a time when we will no longer be the first ones the finger gets pointed at.
That all said I now have a personal thing to talk about.
Saturday I said goodbye to my Blackberry and got a killer HTC phone.
My berry was 3.5 years old, dated and slow. I have to tell you that this HTC 4G phone is quite a shock with all of the functions and speed. Within an hour I was asking myself why haven't I gotten one of these sooner??
I think that we must progress with technology as surveyors. I know it can cause problems and brain dead newbees or does it?
I think the new people just think differently then us 20+ years guys. They think in solution and apps and we think in practical.
It's all part of the evolution of our biz.
Make it a great week surveyors!!
This last week I made the determination that I am behind the curve.
I was speaking with an equipment sales guy about the future of surveying and the advances that have happened and how because of the recession I have not made a purchase in 6 years except for small things, cables etc.
Looking at the newer stuff I can tell it is much improved and I am going to assume more accurate. Yes even GPS. I say this because the newer stuff hardly loses lock and locks much more quickly when it is fired up of floats.
The robots speak for themselves.
I have a theory that through technology the surveyor can start pushing the contractors to adopt machine control, the concrete guys can be trained to use robots and they all can be trained on software. They to are starting to be run by a younger forward thinking generation that is embracing it all.
I say it's about time.
Where is the surveyors part? A project will always need us but we can now step back from staking and let the liability rest where it always should. On the shoulder of the contractor.
The future is us teaching them how to use equipment and software and yes teaching them that they are the responsible ones.
We are at a time when we will no longer be the first ones the finger gets pointed at.
That all said I now have a personal thing to talk about.
Saturday I said goodbye to my Blackberry and got a killer HTC phone.
My berry was 3.5 years old, dated and slow. I have to tell you that this HTC 4G phone is quite a shock with all of the functions and speed. Within an hour I was asking myself why haven't I gotten one of these sooner??
I think that we must progress with technology as surveyors. I know it can cause problems and brain dead newbees or does it?
I think the new people just think differently then us 20+ years guys. They think in solution and apps and we think in practical.
It's all part of the evolution of our biz.
Make it a great week surveyors!!
Sunday, August 5, 2012
August
Well I back from vacation and am kind of ready to do it again, do it again.
I have to tell you that coming home from the beach sucks ass.
All last week I was super busy and just could not get my head in the game.
Now I am sitting here on Sunday night thinking about work and my head is yet to center up.
Surveying. Why do any of us do it? Do we love or did we fall into it?
In my case it was the latter and before I knew it I would have had to take a drastic pay cut to jump over to something else.
I have done a lot of things throughout the years. Surveying has always been my day job but I have this habit of always chasing the shiny new thing.
I have owned several other small businesses, I have done MLM and actually did well (I hate sales), I have been involved in failed companies and have my hands in new ventures. I am always trying new things and coming up with killer ideas and inventions. Yes I write them down and pursue them, ask anyone who really knows me.
I'm kind of like a musician that is smart enough to keep a day job.
Last week I just got beat to shit. I got racked on the shin with a rock, slapped in the face with a cat claw, gouged on a chain link fence and my shoe filled with blood, knocked in the head by a tree branch, bitten by ants, got lots of splinters from lathe, felt like I was in a steam room from all of the humidity, got burnt by the tool box and the list goes on.
So there I am standing there administering first aid to my freshly gouged leg that occurred because I had to bail a fence because the client neglected to take the lock of of the gate asking myself "why in the bloody fuck am I doing this"?
Am I going to get rich doing it? Do I love it? Do I consider it my future? Do I want my kids doing it?
Deep down inside I know that the answer to all of them is no.
So here we go, here we go, here we go again.
Some of you will get this, some won't.
At the end of the day though it's all OK.
Peace love and booty grease surveyors, make it a great week.
I have to tell you that coming home from the beach sucks ass.
All last week I was super busy and just could not get my head in the game.
Now I am sitting here on Sunday night thinking about work and my head is yet to center up.
Surveying. Why do any of us do it? Do we love or did we fall into it?
In my case it was the latter and before I knew it I would have had to take a drastic pay cut to jump over to something else.
I have done a lot of things throughout the years. Surveying has always been my day job but I have this habit of always chasing the shiny new thing.
I have owned several other small businesses, I have done MLM and actually did well (I hate sales), I have been involved in failed companies and have my hands in new ventures. I am always trying new things and coming up with killer ideas and inventions. Yes I write them down and pursue them, ask anyone who really knows me.
I'm kind of like a musician that is smart enough to keep a day job.
Last week I just got beat to shit. I got racked on the shin with a rock, slapped in the face with a cat claw, gouged on a chain link fence and my shoe filled with blood, knocked in the head by a tree branch, bitten by ants, got lots of splinters from lathe, felt like I was in a steam room from all of the humidity, got burnt by the tool box and the list goes on.
So there I am standing there administering first aid to my freshly gouged leg that occurred because I had to bail a fence because the client neglected to take the lock of of the gate asking myself "why in the bloody fuck am I doing this"?
Am I going to get rich doing it? Do I love it? Do I consider it my future? Do I want my kids doing it?
Deep down inside I know that the answer to all of them is no.
So here we go, here we go, here we go again.
Some of you will get this, some won't.
At the end of the day though it's all OK.
Peace love and booty grease surveyors, make it a great week.
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