What piece of advice has always stuck with you?

Doesn’t have to be related to scrapping…could be anything!

My dad always said these two things and, of course, as a teenager I didn’t pay any attention but they’re both really good pieces of advice and I try to keep them in mind wherever I go.

“It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it” (Which definitely applies moreso nowadays with scrapping and running a business)
And…
“You don’t have to know a lot about a little, but you have to know a little about a lot”

My dad is still with us and was always a hardworking guy. We always had food on the table and a little fun money. And now I’m starting to realize that he wasn’t as dumb as I always thought. I hope he sticks around a bit longer.

Never burn bridges...

You can agree to disagree but be civil and professional enough to leave the door open for further relations, be they personal or professional.

Experience is something you get, right after you need it. Use everything as a learning experience and try to make different mistakes.

Wear it thin, wear it out, make do, or do without. I will say that I've learned that the right tool is worth it's weight in gold, and often a new project requires a new tool.

No other success can compensate for failure in the home (talking about family relations).

People in dept pay interest. People who save money earn interest.

throw away only what your wife tells you too.... so I am not married... lol

Don't be dumb- unknown but still good advice.

Things usually have a way of working them self out- old boss man said this all the time when I was overthinking things and sweating the details, and I've found it to be very true.

In other words, do what you can, with what you got, to the best of your ability and let the rest occur as it may.

"If you don't have time to do something right the first time, what makes you think you will have the time to go back and fix it?"

That one has always stuck with me. Which is why I am so meticulous about everything I do. It may take a few extra minutes, hours, days or even weeks... but I do everything to 100% of my ability.

Repeating something over and over expecting a different outcome each time is the definition of insanity.

golf is not about playing the game, golf is all about business.

If you want to cut metal roofing quickly just grab it on the side with pliers and yank. it can be torn to pieces without using a single blade or snip.

"Success is when... preparedness meets opportunity" Vince Lombardy

When guns are outlawed, only Outlaws will have guns. (just some old common sense from an old bumper sticker. )

If yer gona do it half A**ed don't do it. My dad when I was about 8 yrs old, my job was to pull weeds in our 1 Acre vegie garden.

"Take your time and enjoyed your work"

I helped this older gentleman build his workshop and he must of seen me working in a hurry and trying to get things done when he told me this. When ever I am in a hurry trying to get things done I think of what the old guy told me and relax a little and remember that I got to enjoy my work because it is what I send most of my time doing.

Sometimes the best deals are the ones you walk away from. Remembering this has saved me alot of money when bidding on auctions.

My father in law "for free take it!" and "it fell off a truck!"

"Profit begins when you buy not when you sell" My re-statement of this is: If I buy it at a low enough price I am assured of making a profit." Mike

Buy low sell high.

Do not piss on an electric fence, get pissed off, piss into the wind, or get into a pissing match with a skunk. Any of these will cause you shock and no one will want to be your friend. Father's advice after climbing off my horse for the third time on an elk hunt. He also said if I did not drink so much, I would not have to saddle up as much. Valuable information if you live in the country.

His advice for the city, do not get on an elevator with a full bladder. It will be the one that breaks down.

At my age it pays to have a one track mind.

"Look both ways before crossing the street, an then do it again."

Hasn't failed me yet. not hit by anything!

Sirscrapalot - Common sense isn't so common.

Don't mess with the quiet one

You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

“you reap what you sow”

There are old mushroom hunters.
There are brave mushroom hunters.
There are no old brave mushroom hunters.

A saying implying the importance of knowing what you are doing, that can also be applied to scrappers in a way.

"Got to back up two steps to catch up to ourselves."

When I was 18 I worked with a 72 year old building concrete waterfalls. Often times we would get to a point in our work where we realized we needed to go back and do or redo something to continue on with the project.

Karma's a ***** don't f$#$ with her
Not preparing on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine.
Measure twice cut once
Do only what your career can handle

not my problem.

When I was also a teenager:

"Now I know you are pretty smart, and that you are young, and happy, with a great very hot girlfriend, got a decent car, and I have three pieces of advice for you. One, buy don't rent. You are handy enough where you if you don't buy a house at a young age you are throwing money away. Two, join the fire department. In ten years you won't even be 30 years old and you will have a vested retirement account. Three. And now I know you may not agree with this one at this time, but I promise you in the future you will agree with me......Three, dump your super hot girlfriend that is awesome, that you have been with for two years, because you are missing out on the only years of your life to date* high school girls."

*this quote may have been edited for the public.

Mind your manners
People are people

Always look up the value of something before you start to scrap it.

Two things:

1. "Compliments are a dime a dozen. I only accept cash." - Roy Garber

2. "Don't sell a car until you've lost all emotion for it. As long as you have feelings, it's a keeper."- A friend of mine, who drives a 1994 Oldsmobile with 300k miles. Shocker, I know ;)

My dad died suddenly when i was young so some of the old timers mentored me till i was a little further along. Some of the things they said stayed with me all these years.

1: It's later than you think son.

2: The way to hell is paved with good intentions.

3: Never argue with an idiot .... it's a sin.

4: There are three kinds of people: The Haves ...The Have Nots ... and the Have a little want more.

5: Most people need to be told where to go and what to do.

6: It takes three key things for every undertaking to succeed. They are Money ,Management, and Manpower.

7: Listen to your heart.

Waste not, want not. My grandfather (from the old country) used to tell me this when I was young and I would scoff because he had money and I thought it just came to him by magic...

A wise scrap metal buyer told me this. Buy it for what it is, not what it can be. This advice helped me a lot. If you see dirty aluminum that you can work on and make it clean aluminum, still buy it for what it is at the time, dirty aluminum.

A couple of things concerning business.....especially if you're just starting out:

1. You need to whisper before you can yell. ( meaning learn how to swim before you jump into the deep end lol)
2. Be a hustla. Free is a new or young businesses best friend!


My last cleanout client met me at the house the morning I was to start. He asked me if I wanted any money up front. I said "No, we will settle up when I am done". He then told me a story. He was working for a contractor building a new house. His boss was very wealthy and could fund the project till it's completion. He told the client that he liked to complete his work before he got paid and he would collect when he finished the job. Well, a few months into the job my client had just finished building the staircase when their client showed up to check on progress. As he is walking around the house he falls down the stairs and dies. Boss didn't paid for a year for the house until the estate got settled. And never got the full amount. Lesson: When a client asks you if you want anything up front, take it. At least get your expenses paid. Then collect your profits after your done.





“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”
- Vince Lombardi


“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people cant.”
- Warren G. Tracy’s student


“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
- Albert Schweitzer


“The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake- you can’t learn anything from being perfect.”
- Adam Osborne

Speak when you are angry and you will make the worst speech you will every regret, and never remember.

It read it on a menu at some hole in the wall restaurant around 15 years ago. Stuck with me, not always in action, and found it to be very true.

Look for horses, not for zebras.

Don't know where I heard it, but it has saved me wasted time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by t00nces2

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Look for horses, not for zebras.

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I use this with my new medics when checking in patients. "horses"are your run of the mill illinesses and "zebras" are your unique,rare, uncommon stuff. Sometime people get tunnel vision looking for that one crazy thing and miss what is really going on.

One I follow to this day Respect is earned not given along with Guard your reputation with your life as a good reputation will bless you all of your days.

Victory With Honor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hypoman

Lesson: When a client asks you if you want anything up front, take it. At least get your expenses paid. Then collect your profits after your done.

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This is how I recommend ordering anything. If I need to special order a computer that I will buy for $125, and sell for $225, I get the 125 to order it. You get two advantages- the buyer is committed to buying, and your bank account balance won't decrease.

One that I just remembered:

"Some things that are free are overpriced"

That's definitely true.

Life is a cruel teacher.
She gives the test first, and teaches the lesson afterward.
And then she kills all her pupils.

The one I try and live by is:

Conduct yourself like someone is watching you, even if no one is.