Hi npeaphon, Welcome to Garden Web and The African Violet Exchange. I thought you might like to know there is no email link on your member page, thus no way to email you. Please see addressing newbie and newer member issues for complete instructions on getting your member Page Email link set up. While you are there editing, you might want to place your state abbreviation in the one box provided for the garden zone (and Location). You will find it is often beneficial if members know where you are located...... It is a postage cost, days in transit, temperature/climate thing to be considered. By placing your location in your member page preferences profile, it will be displayed on your Member Page, and will automatically be displayed whenever you make a post. Many members, myself included will not respond to a trade post if the location of the member is unknown and not on their Member Page. hth. Sue...chemocurl

Brook - very interesting, I had printed up some cards on my computer/printer and had them available at market (some people took them) and also at the Historical Society Tavern Night I had donated jams and jellies to twice. The small local newspaper came to 1 Tavern Night and interviewed me, they also took some pictures of my stall at market but I haven't gotten any phone calls from any of these. I am leery of printing up hats/T shirts/ totes due to the cost (though I'm considering a laminated road sign to put up at the corner of my road and the state highway). But maybe I can get some plain totes (or sew my own, I'm fairly handy) and stencil them at lower cost? Not sure how many to start out with. I also have gotten zero leads from LocalHarvest - I'll only stay listed as long as it's free. I am all about service - I love to talk to people about growing the stuff, what the differences between varieties are, the health benefits, and though I'm not a great cook (we don't eat fancy with a picky 9-yr old), I offer "ideas" (one of the winter projects I didn't get around to was scanning recipes I've been clipping from the newspaper featuring produce I grow). I am also a fanatic about safe canning practices and have referred people to the NCHFP website and to our county extension office. I am not sure about setting up an "honor system" stand because I do know farmers who have been shortchanged - or even had things basically "stolen" - I think some of them are on this forum. But this thread was about cutting costs - and here we are talking about incurring more. I just got my latest copy of HMI's In Practice - good article on the front about "The Business of Growing" and actually managing your business rather than letting it manage you. More good stuff inside, esp. surprised to see in "The Data Mine" that according to USDA Census (which may be skewed to large producers - I know they sent my dad a census form and he didn't fill it out, seems like a lot of small farms aren't), there are definite economies of scale in production - they say that "farms below $10,000 in gross revenue operate at an unsustainable loss." (graphic shows -98%! which I guess makes them hobby farms - and these are the ones that bothered to participate in the census!). On the same page there is a book review about "Farms with a Future: Creating and Growing a Sustainable Farm Business". I guess I have to get back to my HMI training - I never did understand how to write a business plan. Thanks for the ideas on how to grow the business (any ideas on how to do it on the cheap?). I don't usually have problems growing plants (though of course the past 2 years - the time I've been in business - the weather has been the worst I can remember). But I know nothing about managing a business. And I did possibly gain 1 -3 new customers today. I stopped at local pizza shop/convenience store for milk, and saw they had new egg supplier, asked about the old one (right in town) and was told he was unreliable. I mentioned my cousin's eggs, and that led to a discussion about Araucana chickens and farming with 2 customers, 1 of whom was interested to hear that while I didn't have chickens (yet, trying to figure if it would be profitable), I did grow "organic" veggies. I wrote down my name, address and number for him, he's interested in coming to the farm once we've got spring greens. I may go back to the store owner and ask if he wants to add some produce to his offerings of milk, OJ, local eggs and some shelves of dry goods (typical convenience store stuff). Maybe we can work out a consignment deal? Though I think he was more interested in hiring me or DH for part-time "financial services" work (selling financial products and insurance?). He was well-dressed, anyway. I told him I had 2 kids in Scouts and also did a lot of charity work in my "off-season" and that DH worked too many hours at his regular job to add a part-time job.

I think the best suggestion in the whole thread was Holly's suggestion to have them kneecapped! LOL! The prices are robbery. For that amount, I'd expect custom mosaic work to the level of the baths of Pompeii. Something truly artsy and spectacular. You're getting I-95 truckstop quality work instead. They are in over their head. I know you like him, but there is something not quite right here in the fact that your GC hasn't already addressed the issue permanently. He is failing in his primary role if he does not. If he is the one paying them, then it's HIS problem to sort out the materials from labor here. You shouldn't even know there's an issue with their contract. You shouldn't have even seen the contract between the two. It doesn't involve you. Your role is to insist on the quality of work that your fee should be providing. His role is to provide that quality by selecting the appropriate subcontractors and supervising their work. Even if he has to eat some fees here or take a loss by severing the relationship with this sub, it's HIS problem that he agreed to the vague contract. NOT YOUR PROBLEM! He needs to cut his losses with the subs and move on. If he doesn't do that, then he is either getting kickbacks from them or he is related to them. There is some other hidden motivation to keep them. It's NOT a "court thing" at all. He has the right and obligation to set the quality standard of the work that the sub provides, and if the sub doesn't provide to that standard, it's his job to get rid of them, even if it costs him. He is the GC and you pay him for the headache resolution. You don't keep people who screw up and cost you money---unless they aren't really costing him money.

The biggest drawback to doing this is the amount of storage that you will need in order to house the items in a way that you can find them and lay hands on them when the time comes for them in the build. The other drawback is that for many items, you cannot see if they work or not unless you see them in the home already hooked up before they are taken out. Those type of items, like built in fridges, jetted tubs, etc. are ones that I would most likely skip buying second hand unless you are able to get a screaming good deal. (I'd skip buying a jetted tub second hand anyway unless it had never been installed--leading to the chicken/egg conundrum. They're pretty gross after they've been used.) One other thing to consider in your spreadsheet is your backup plan. There are going to be items that you think are right, but when it comes to install, will be the wrong color in the right light, or will have been damaged in storage, or you may have just not found seondhand. Be sure you know where you can get replacement items from, and rapidly. The longer your build goes one, the more costly it is to you, both in wear and tear on your nerves and your pocketbook.