As Promised...drumroll please... Update to full time scrappin'

If you guys know me at all you should know that I am always late with the posts! I have pictures though and that is always awesome!

Anyhow - I am really enjoying doing this as my job! The most important thing to me in a job is that it stays interesting. Otherwise I have problems keeping it! I guess you could compare me to a sponge in that sense although it's not a very helpful personality trait to have. My biggest issue so far seems to be finding my balance with bringing in material/business. I don't want to put myself in a position that I end up not being capable of fulfilling a commitment that I've made due to poor planning/lack of space. It is bad business and makes me look unprofessional in the eyes of customers (for lack of a better term). That alone can take you out of the game before you even get started in a small town like the one that I live in. Of course, the other side of this is under-commiting which leads to a lack of incoming material and therefore lack of incoming funds to continue. The latter is where I find myself; stupid because it's almost a Catch-22 situation.

I made some postcard sized flyers around Christmas that had the holiday theme and then had to recreate a new flyer after that because it's super tacky to keep handing out Christmas themed handouts after the date has past; that's how I would see it at least. The second flyer is better because I figured out a way to make it double sided which gave me a larger area in for detailed information about what I'm doing as well as space to include a couple of examples of the items that I'm looking for. I believe that examples are a vital part of the way that I've chosen to present myself and my purpose. It's easy for us to come up with a million and a half ideas of what we're looking for but the average person thinking is not shaped the same as ours.

I struggle with my own self-confidence issues when it comes to interacting with potential customers. It's like an extreme sub-category of stage fright like behavior. I'll freeze up, talk too quickly, or end up not getting out there at all to even try. As much as I am an outgoing person (obviously) this behavior has a tendency of coming out of nowhere and puts a dent in my networking activity. So, I am working on that issue. I have been getting a few other half developed methods of bring the material in but have to work out the details of course.

I apologize if I'm being a little vague - a good friend on here informed me of the fact that I could potentially shoot myself in the foot by giving out too much information about my plans/ideas because they could be taken and used against me. Trust and believe that if that should happen I will not take it very well and handle myself in a calm and mature way like I know that I should. Bad temper, got it from my mom, she's worse than I am though - suffers from "Dinosaur Brain" (when you see red and don't remember what happened after the fact).

Well if you made it this far through the reading I think that you deserve pictures! I realized that the pictures that I have aren't nearly as good as I lead myself to believe they were but, hey, hopefully you will enjoy them and I promise to do better next time. I'm going to try and possibly get an example of the Christmas flyer that I made since I am not currently distributing it.

It's hard to not just throw it all on the table because I would love to get the feedback from all of you. The only ones that I've gotten an opinion from are my mom and grandma and they are a biased source of criticism as well as not belonging or having any concept of the industry.

Hope that I didn't bore you to death...now on to the pictures!!

Magnet Faces that Morgan made from all the magnets we've collected
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6096c5bb.jpg


Couple of close ups:
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...pscc40d12c.jpg
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...psaef776cd.jpg


It's an itty-bitty CRT! (post-it to help with perspective)
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3c28004.jpg

Side View
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0924ef72.jpg

Shouldn't warnings be free from spelling errors?
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d4646b0.jpg


This is an aluminum ring from inside a laptop hard drive....
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps60ca7226.jpg

and it makes the perfect scrapper fashion accessory!
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6800e781.jpg
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps76f3274f.jpg

I was thinking of turning this into a Halloween monster decoration...
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0010c169.jpg

and this is our part-time cat
http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/...pse1ba978a.jpg

Your doing just fine :) dont worry about parents being critical, i went through the same thing, just keep plugging away

Thanks for the update Julie...glad to hear that hard work is paying off.

Congratulations, Julie. Good to hear it's taking off.

Glad to see you made the leap into full-time! Keep plugging away at it and it will keep growing. Just remember to always keep your promises to your customers and network, network and network!

Hey Julie glad to here and see everything is going well for you. I like the creativity with the magnets and the ring...the speaker box i can see becoming a character from Monsters inc....the little guy I think his name was Mike. Good luck with everything.

If I may: I have a sales/recruiting background so I can present my business well. Since you mentioned: I struggle with my own self-confidence issues when it comes to interacting with potential customers, might I recommend a little sales/self confidence training. It's easy, just go to the Library and pick up 1 book and read it (just get one at a time). Don't go crazy reading this all in one day, just read a chapter and use the info on your next cold call. You can start with someone like Zig Ziggler or Dale Carnegie. Also, less is more. When you are speaking to potential clients, stop talking and let them talk and then listen. Write things down that they tell you, if that will help you. Smile!!!
A couple of months ago, on my lunch hour, I walked into 3 office buildings just up the street from where I worked. I spoke to maybe 7 people. One of them gave my flyer to their IT Director. Over the last week I have obtained, 4 Pickup truck loads and 1 trailer load of e-waste. That was the only marketing I have ever done and it produced $$$. And it is one of the largest companies here. I'm now trying to get them to allow me to use their logo on my flyer. That would be a awesome.
Start reading/training, present yourself professionally, listen, less is more,,,,,,and you will do fine.
PM me and I will share my phone number and you can call me to discuss.

Wow! It seems lime just yesterday you made your first post. Glad to hear things are going well.

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I struggle with my own self-confidence issues when it comes to interacting with potential customers. It's like an extreme sub-category of stage fright like behavior. I'll freeze up, talk too quickly, or end up not getting out there at all to even try. As much as I am an outgoing person (obviously) this behavior has a tendency of coming out of nowhere and puts a dent in my networking activity. So, I am working on that issue.

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The actually approaching of people "scares" me also so I countered it by going to yard sales, the people are already out in the yard/garage and others around also. I started out offering to do "haul-off's" of their left overs after their done with their sale. It's easier to approach them when their outside.

Like your kittie also,,,

What is she the rest of the time?:))

Glad to hear from you Julie. What ever you do don't give up, the more you talk to people the easyer it'll get. Good luck and keep up the good work.

julie i have been full time for 10 years now started 3-3-03 don"t listen to the nay-sayers secondly build a network if you are not sure if you can handle the extra a phone call to a freind or competitor is still better than a day with out pay.


Lastly to overcome a fear of talking to people start on the phone you"ld be amaazed the confidence you can build

good on you, I had little doubt about you from the first post..

You're right that you can ruin your business by not fulfilling commitments. A policy of mine is, if I say I'll take it, I'll get everything moved one way or another and worry about storing/working it later. You might put in some late nights, but it will work out for the good.

I like your examples idea, just try to think like a person outside the scrap business. You might try asking a friend or local business person that you know to tell you what things they have that they don't know what to do with or how to get rid of. If any of this fits your long wanted list, it might be something to include on your fliers.

I used to have what I called "panic stage fright" and couldn't talk, sing, or play in front of anyone on mic. Then a friend called me out live one night and it was more embarrassing to refuse than do it, so I ended up being the keyboard player and singer for our church praise band. Now a couple years later, I am still self conscious, but it's a lot better after taking the plunge.


Good luck and how much for the cat?

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Originally Posted by musicman57

What is she the rest of the time?:))

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The Cat? Oh she is someone else's pet the rest of the time lol

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Originally Posted by Libertytow

julie i have been full time for 10 years now started 3-3-03 don"t listen to the nay-sayers secondly build a network if you are not sure if you can handle the extra a phone call to a freind or competitor is still better than a day with out pay.


Lastly to overcome a fear of talking to people start on the phone you"ld be amaazed the confidence you can build

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Good advice from Liberty there Julie. As much as other scrappers can be your competition they can also be a good resource. I have always been friendly with the other local scrappers in my area and have traded jobs numerous times when I couldn't get to something or they couldn't. I have also networked with one or two people here on the forum as well. Keep at it, don't let your fear run your life or your business. Remember if someone calls you from one of your ads or flyers it means they need your service that you are offering.

Julie,

I have been doing this for roughly 5 years now. When I started, my family and friends kept asking me when I was going to get a real job, or get back in into real estate investing. I politely told them to mind their business. Our bills are always paid, gas always in our vehicles, food always in our house, our kids and us have the stuff we need and want. Most are a bit jealous that I can make more in a week than they can in 1 month.

To get over your scared factor, just go out and talk to anyone and everyone. Anytime I am out, I sometimes over hear someone talking with someone that they need something hauled off or moved, etc. I politely cut into their conversation, and tell them that I couldnt help but to hear they need something hauled off. I introduce myself and hand them a business card and tell them what the minimum is we charge, and tell them to call or email if they like a quote.

When we go to certain events where there is a lot of people, I take a lot of business cards, and pass them out to people and say, "We offer FREE quotes for your junk removal needs".

When I mentored people doing real estate, I always told the ones who were scared to talk to people, to practice in the mirror, with family, friends, etc.

Told them, to tell the person they practiced with, to do it a few times and agree to whatever they said. Then a few times where they threw in every question imaginable, etc.

Taking your business cards and flyers, or other promotional products and even just a little confidence will go a LONG ways.

You have come a long ways, and look where you are now!

You are even one step ahead of most of us, with your flyers/mini brochures....I have been trying for weeks to do one and cant seem to get it right lol.

Keep it up, and if your looking for more ways of increasing profits, then check out ebay. Thanks to a few tips from jghilino, I have been able to increase my profits for selling ebay to a nice little extra income.

Its been fun watching you grow into your own business and I am happy for your success.

On to advise on making sales calls here it is. Stand in front of a mirror and loudly state the following while looking yourself in the eye. It will unnerve you at first but raise your confidence in the real deal.

1. My name is Julie ********
2. The name of my business is ***********
3. I/we recycle metal (what ever your targeted business is with this customer)
4. The reason I am here is to determine if we need to do business.

These are the four "rights" of the customer, something I learned decades ago at a Xerox sales training course. You would be surprised how may salesmen show up at a sales call and fail to do these four basic things. It quickly tells the customer who you are why you are there and that your respect their valuable time. Continued success, Mike.

Thanks for all the advice and support guys! I've heard of this whole mirror and family/friend practice stuff but I have issues with it... for one I feel like a complete idiot talking to myself in a mirror about crap I already know (I like to stick to mumbling to myself around the house and in most public places) and unfortunately I can't trick myself into not knowing my friends/family even to practice. Plus there is no way that I can see them asking anything that isn't easily explained. Plus I could be B.S.ing a whole answer if I was stumped and as long as I sound convincing and vaguely realistic it wouldn't be questioned. This is easily done with familiar people. I'm inquisitive by nature and usually not caught off guard by most questions because I've asked stranger ones.
The fear that I have is like before you jump off the high dive board for the first time really so as long as I don't have time to think it's usually all ok.

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

Good advice from Liberty there Julie. As much as other scrappers can be your competition they can also be a good resource. I have always been friendly with the other local scrappers in my area and have traded jobs numerous times when I couldn't get to something or they couldn't. I have also networked with one or two people here on the forum as well.

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I'm always very friendly with other scrappers that I encounter (one so far) but I find myself feeling the same way that I do when it come to working on cars. It's primarily a gender biased type of work in the sense that females are not automatically seen as equals in the eyes of fellow scrappers. So, I have a little bit of that feeling that I have something to prove in my ability to handle my self and my scrap. Once I feel that I have accomplished this I'm sure that networking with my peers will easy. Once I find them that is....

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Originally Posted by miked

These are the four "rights" of the customer, something I learned decades ago at a Xerox sales training course. You would be surprised how may salesmen show up at a sales call and fail to do these four basic things. It quickly tells the customer who you are why you are there and that your respect their valuable time. Continued success, Mike.

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I've been letting my services come up conversationally for the most part but those are definitely points that I will keep at the top my head in all conversations related to job possibilities - Thanks very much!!!

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Originally Posted by Julie

I'm always very friendly with other scrappers that I encounter (one so far) but I find myself feeling the same way that I do when it come to working on cars. It's primarily a gender biased type of work in the sense that females are not automatically seen as equals in the eyes of fellow scrappers. So, I have a little bit of that feeling that I have something to prove in my ability to handle my self and my scrap. Once I feel that I have accomplished this I'm sure that networking with my peers will easy. Once I find them that is....

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Gender, scmender...thats b.s. from what I have seen of your work on this site you can break anything down and swing a hammer with the best of them....i am lucky I can find where the **** oil filter is on my wifes car to change the oil, but put me in a kitchen and I make just about anything from chili to veal scaloppini with a side of ziti and fresh vegetables with garlic sauce....real manly right? Maybe thats why I am a bit over weight, too much sauce stirring and not enough wrench turning...lol

I believe the same as you about the gender thing... but if you've seen my picture I'm sure that at face value I don't amount to much. I know that it happens but they always have their feet in their mouths (or however that saying goes) by the time that they get to know me. I'm very stubborn too and have always had to learn things by doing them myself as opposed to watching others or being told how to. I'm sure that it helps but I'm going to be needing a Rascal Scooter before most of my peers. lol

I appreciate people that can cook good food.... I make a mean buttered toast myself on a good day...

have you gotten any better with self confidence issues???


this is gonna sound dumb but when i hire employees and they have that problem i make them go to lunch and flirt with the wait staff

sink or swim

when they capture it and flirt back (trying to get a bigger tip) i tell them to use theat confidence in the field to land jobs then tip the wait staff a $20

What does you kitty do the rest of the day??

I'm always very friendly with other scrappers that I encounter (one so far) but I find myself feeling the same way that I do when it come to working on cars. It's primarily a gender biased type of work in the sense that females are not automatically seen as equals in the eyes of fellow scrappers. So, I have a little bit of that feeling that I have something to prove in my ability to handle my self and my scrap. Once I feel that I have accomplished this I'm sure that networking with my peers will easy. Once I find them that is....


When you do find them you will probably discover that they don't care which bathroom you use as long as the cash is flowing. In the end, it's all about the Benjamins......

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Originally Posted by submarinepainter

What does you kitty do the rest of the day??

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She belonged to someone else unfortunately - one of my neighbors told me that her owner came from across the fence and rescued her... good timing for them though because I almost adopted her full time lol