LGM Guitars Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Hello to all of our customers. The time has come at LGM Guitars and Graphix where we sadly are backlogged so far with work that we regretfully will not be taking orders on guitars until the current backlog of work is completed and shipped. We are still doing custom paint, if you have an inquiry for airbrush work please let us know. Due to the move, LGM Graphix custom paint taking off MUCH bigger than expected, and some poor use of time management, we have fallen very far behind on our guitar orders. Rather than continue to take orders and miss deadlines, it is in the best interest of LGM Guitars and our customers to stop taking orders for guitars. This is not a permanent issue. We have no plans to stop building the Leviathan line, and are currently looking into other alternatives to our current building process in order to streamline production. Please check back to the website for updates on Leviathan availability often. We apologize to those of you who are still waiting on instruments, and apologize to those of you who want to place orders right now. Please bear with us until we get through this batch of guitars. Thank you Sincerely Jeremy Ferguson LGM Guitars and Graphix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 That's good and bad news Jeremy. Sounds like the move was exactly what your business needed to push it into overdrive. Congratulations on becoming a huge success! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hire some workers! You're in Canada, so it's not like you have to pay for health insurance on 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hiring people is not what I want to do right now. I'm to busy to hire somebody that needs to be trained, not busy enough to justify somebody else full time. It's that double edged sword, I need to wait until I have enough of a financial cushion in the bank right now to be able to hire somebody and suffer through the first few months of training/paying etc. I just need to get back on top both financially and with the schedule, then I can consider options like hiring people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 When it does come time to think about hiring someone, though, remember that you can't wait until the person is needed before you hire them. Hire them in anticipation of growth, and use the "slower" time to get them trained up to speed. Plan for success, don't wait for success, or your plan will become hasty decisions! Of course, only YOU know when the right time is, and I'm convinced that you're correct that right now is NOT the correct time; however, moving forward, it's something to think about sooner than later! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hiring people is not what I want to do right now. I'm to busy to hire somebody that needs to be trained, not busy enough to justify somebody else full time. It's that double edged sword, I need to wait until I have enough of a financial cushion in the bank right now to be able to hire somebody and suffer through the first few months of training/paying etc. I just need to get back on top both financially and with the schedule, then I can consider options like hiring people. Trial by fire, baby, trial by fire. You don't have to hire someone to build guitars or paint graphics, but someone or some people to take care of the mundane time-wasters. Like answering the phone, taking out the trash, sweeping out the shop, handling bodily fluid spills, things like that. Things that you'd pay a high-schooler minimum wage to do after school. Answering the phone and emails might take a full-timer, but surely you could source a part-time college student for that? There's gotta be a community college around you full of kids that need beer money for the weekend. Yes, there is a learning curve for answering phones, emails, and proper cleaning of the shop, but I guarantee you it will take less time for you to train them for a couple of days than it will to continue to do those tasks yourself. By eliminating or reducing the amount of unproductive work YOU have to do and shifting that responsibility to a person who's time isn't as valuable as your time, you will make more money, the business will continue to grow, and you'll get more product out the door on time. Shutting down orders is never an appropriate solution. If the people really want your stuff--and they're willing to be on a waiting list, sign 'em up! Shutting them out will only make them look elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Im sure Jeremy knows what he is doing with his own business. Keep up the good work Jeremy, i was considering stopping all orders also, but im too silly to do that, in fact i just signed on for bigger, better adverts, before the first lot are even out there yet.... Damn, ive sold eight guitars this year already, and i wanted to limit myself to only 10-12 customs per annum. Crafty, ive had guys get VERY pissed off at the fact they are on a waiting list, and they expect to be able to come and visit and sit down for a coffee whenever they please. Which of course puts me further behind. Even though they know their guitar isnt even going to be thought about for another six months, they still want to know when you'llk be starting, and why you havent done anything. When i HAVE told people i cant accept their orders, half the time they beg and plead, and on a few occasions have offered a premium to let me "add just one more". People want what they cant have. Having someone answer emails, etc, doesnt help SOMETIMES (in this case, most of the time). Jeremy (and i) still needs to veiw an email to see what the guy wants a quote on, still needs to work out a price, and still needs to instruct someone to reply with the details. Kinda defeats the purpose of hired help. People ordering a guitar/airbush art, want to speak to the maker/painter, not some part time college student who has to run back and forth to get the answers. Sweeping up is a tenminute job every day, and taking out the trash is a once or maybe twice weekly job... I had one part timer... one day per week, for twelve months. On the second last day, they asked me "can you just go through the process of doing a setup again please". Thats after doing up to 8 guitars per day, once a week, for 12 months. Some people just dont care... you do not want to get caught with one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 When it does come time to think about hiring someone, though, remember that you can't wait until the person is needed before you hire them. Hire them in anticipation of growth, and use the "slower" time to get them trained up to speed. I have to disagree. I was taught to wait until you can't wait any longer, then wait 3 more months. Of course, it's Jeremy's business and he knows what's best for him. I'll butt out now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 When it does come time to think about hiring someone, though, remember that you can't wait until the person is needed before you hire them. Hire them in anticipation of growth, and use the "slower" time to get them trained up to speed. I have to disagree. I was taught to wait until you can't wait any longer, then wait 3 more months. Of course, it's Jeremy's business and he knows what's best for him. I'll butt out now. I have to agree with your disagree. I was always taught that the number 1 reason for businesses falling on their arse is growing too fast. Congratulations and hard luck Jeremy. I kind of understand what you're going through. I was the first employee for the company I currently work for and I know how fast the workload can build up and bite you on the backside. Two years on and I'm only doing two peoples work now. In light of your and Perry's posts maybe it's the best thing. There will be some exclusivity as stated by Perry as people will want them, but not be able to get them. Also if you can start to make deadlines, then word of mouth will increase, especially in these internet days. Who buys a guitar without checking the name out on line first? Either way, good luck mate. Glad to hear its taking off for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hey guys, thanks for the replies, what I'm wondering, is why did this post get moved to the buy sell trade area???? It's got nothing to do with classifieds, it was an announcement, hence my putting it in the announcements area! Who moved it and why? Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyB7539 Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think you should start thinking about that magic word "internship". Get a kid with a little desire, and in return for showing him a few things, he works for free a few days a week... Hell he may even be able to get college credit out of it. It's a win-win situation. He should be able to cover most of your manual labor stuff like floor sweeping, trash removal, order filling, etc. and you can show him stuff like neck building, inlay, and stuff like that as you are doing it. Also if you wanna throw him some beer money for busting his butt, then all the better. Hell I would almost kill for that kind of opportunity here in Ocala... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think you should start thinking about that magic word "internship". Get a kid with a little desire, and in return for showing him a few things, he works for free a few days a week... Hell he may even be able to get college credit out of it. It's a win-win situation. He should be able to cover most of your manual labor stuff like floor sweeping, trash removal, order filling, etc. and you can show him stuff like neck building, inlay, and stuff like that as you are doing it. Also if you wanna throw him some beer money for busting his butt, then all the better. Hell I would almost kill for that kind of opportunity here in Ocala... Not to mention totally illegal.... You cant "employ" someone without paying them. You cant have a helper come in and volunteer without getting workers compensation. Get caught, and you can lose your business. I got a quote last year, $8,000 per annum just for workers comp. Same price if i have one employee, or six. Furthermore, why "employ" someone that only has a desire to learn? What keeps them there when they become smart alecs and 'know it all' in six months? MONEY keeps them coming back... loyalty and honour very rarely do, especially when someone else IS offering money. Without money, they* feel less obliged to 'do the right thing', rather its more of a 'whatever' attitude. (* they = maturing teenagers, college students, and people in general who work without pay while all their mates DO work for a living, start saving for cars/bikes/guitars/amps/booze/etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think there are different rules here in the US. I have worked 2 jobs for "free" where I was learning the job so that was my pay. My buddy who runs a shop has three kids come in weekly from a local college to learn about a small business. I think it maybe just different rules all of that junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hello to all of our customers. Business Greeting The time has come at LGM Guitars and Graphix where we sadly are backlogged so far with work that we regretfully will not be taking orders on guitars until the current backlog of work is completed and shipped. Business AnnouncementWe are still doing custom paint, if you have an inquiry for airbrush work please let us know. Business SolicitationDue to the move, LGM Graphix custom paint taking off MUCH bigger than expected, and some poor use of time management, we have fallen very far behind on our guitar orders. Rather than continue to take orders and miss deadlines, it is in the best interest of LGM Guitars and our customers to stop taking orders for guitars. This is not a permanent issue. Honest Announcement, although your still taking orders for custom paint and airbrush? We have no plans to stop building the Leviathan line, and are currently looking into other alternatives to our current building process in order to streamline production. Please check back to the website for updates on Leviathan availability often. We apologize to those of you who are still waiting on instruments, and apologize to those of you who want to place orders right now. Please bear with us until we get through this batch of guitars.Business, "no plans to stop building", "check my website often" Thank you Sincerely Jeremy Ferguson LGM Guitars and GraphixBusiness Signature as if that really mattered we get the point.... Hey guys, thanks for the replies, what I'm wondering, is why did this post get moved to the buy sell trade area???? It's got nothing to do with classifieds, it was an announcement, hence my putting it in the announcements area!The post is Business plain and simple, Totally Customer and Cash related Who moved it and why? Jeremy I moved it, business belongs in one of two area's, the Classifieds or Auction/Website supply............ Before anyone goes postal cause I know somebody is going to pitch a fit because of past announcements on "New Products", even I myself limit my business to either e-mail or the Classifieds or Auction/Website supply. The Announcment Section is for Forum News and as it states "Get your feet wet by introducing yourself to others and testing out the forum controls here" Personally I have enuff problems dealing with customer service I can honestly admit as I am multi tasking serveral jobs as well, but even I know business through the forum belongs either one of the sections designed for it or via e-mail and over the phone.......... Yeah, I'm grasping, but come off it Brian, it's an announcement about the company, not trying to sell a bloody product, it's to let my customers know what's going on. This is ridiculous, it does NOT belong in the classifieds, it talks nothing about something that is for sale, it is an announcement regarding the status of the shop, nothing more. JeremyTake a really hard look at what you wrote and tell me the above is statement is true...... Yes I knew you would go postal Jeremy................ Are you kidding me? So when people post about having a new shop or something like that it is about business? never seen one moved for that, how about this post? http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22563 Even though it's my own post, does this not discuss business then too? http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19419 Hey, it's about donation to the site, but when it comes right down to it, it's about money right? http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=20137 This isn't a product for a business? Advertising the product? http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19632 Again, one of my posts, but since it's regarding my business and a service I provided I guess it belongs in the classifieds too? http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19156 OH, another business advertisement http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18657 There will be ABSOLUTLY NO BUSINESS POSTED IN THE ANNOUNCMENTS Section again..........Trust me I know............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think there are different rules here in the US. I have worked 2 jobs for "free" where I was learning the job so that was my pay. My buddy who runs a shop has three kids come in weekly from a local college to learn about a small business. I think it maybe just different rules all of that junk. Ditto. There are plenty of unpaid internships here in the States, many of which are government run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 If I'm looking for a custom guitar, I'm not going to go to the Announcements section of a forum. I'll probably check the Classifieds first (then whip out a Search. LOL). That's just kooky ol' me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think there are different rules here in the US. I have worked 2 jobs for "free" where I was learning the job so that was my pay. My buddy who runs a shop has three kids come in weekly from a local college to learn about a small business. I think it maybe just different rules all of that junk. Ditto. There are plenty of unpaid internships here in the States, many of which are government run. It's true, I get intern's every summer who after they've left I have to clean up their mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Gee, thanks for keeping PM's PM's Brian, really professional in this case. Whatever, it's your house, do with it as you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Over here (UK), my girlfriend was entering a very competative market (art). Loads of qualified people and not a lot of jobs. She had voluntary jobs for about a year before actually finding something decent and paid. Rules over here must be different, they didn't even give her petrol money and she worked for 4 months, around 45 miles away. If this route is gone down, then there's also the added extras of insurance, time doing things like Health and Safety Plans etc (which you need over here if there are more than 5 people at any one time). I also second Gorecki, could be way more trouble than it's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Not to mention totally illegal.... You cant "employ" someone without paying them. You cant have a helper come in and volunteer without getting workers compensation. Get caught, and you can lose your business. I got a quote last year, $8,000 per annum just for workers comp. Same price if i have one employee, or six. Furthermore, why "employ" someone that only has a desire to learn? What keeps them there when they become smart alecs and 'know it all' in six months? MONEY keeps them coming back... loyalty and honour very rarely do, especially when someone else IS offering money. Without money, they* feel less obliged to 'do the right thing', rather its more of a 'whatever' attitude. (* they = maturing teenagers, college students, and people in general who work without pay while all their mates DO work for a living, start saving for cars/bikes/guitars/amps/booze/etc) Perry, Businesses and other organizations in the US and Canada do this all the time. I've probably worked a dozen or so internships over the last ten years, some paid, some not. It's the classic apprenticeship system at work. You get low-cost grunt work, the grunt gets work experience and a practical skill set. Businesses that fail because they grow too fast generally do so because they can't turn a profit in time to pay their creditors. It has nothing to do with actual market growth. If you want to slow down market growth and demand, raise your prices an EJ-tad. I'm not trying to tell anyone how they must run their business, I'm only imparting a few nuggets of knowledge on the subject. Feel free to ignore it and I'm sure your business will be a success anyway. All I'm trying to do is suggest ways you can improve your workflow and spend your most valuable asset--YOUR time, in a more efficient way. For example, a customer who calls at the most inconvenient time for your schedule is a liability because they're taking away from your time. It is much more cost effective to have a person take down the name, number, and nature of the call so you can call the customer back at your leisure. If you have another person taking out the trash, sweeping the shop, and running errands, you will then have even more time to devote to your skilled trade and follow-ups with customers later in the day. Over time, you will notice an increase in overall profitability as you're able to get more product out the door by spending fewer wasted hours per project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 (edited) In the guitar building/repair business its a catch 22 situation. What is needed the most is to have someone help you get the guitars out the door. If you find someone who is willing to work for free you can bet that he won't have the expertise to do the precision work required without supervision. When you are repairing people's guitars for a lot of money its hard to trust an "indentured servant" to do the work while you answer emails and the phone. A lot of the work requires some sort of prerequisite proficiency at using various power/hand tools without hacking off a thumb or blowing up your shop. Its a situation where the building quality has to be flawless at every step... or else. Nobody does that for free. Edited March 25, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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