business lessons

We were not dirt poor growing up. We could afford dirt.  But not much else.  My mother would stretch every dollar and learned how to feed our small army of 8.  That included my parents and 6 children.  My parents worked, and the older kids worked too.  My older sister worked at a local Dairy Queen.  My brother and I worked on evenings and weekends with my dad salvaging scrap metal.  As we got older like fifteen or sixteen, my Dad would pay us from the money he got for each load of scrap that he sold at the recycling plant.  Most of what my Dad sold was scrap pipe and steel from old oil leases. We learned to use a cutting torch and how to work hard.  I still have scars on my hands from the work.  Texas had once been a high producer of oil in North Texas.  But the business had declined as the oil wells went dry.  Many oil leases had gone idle and some had shut down completely.  There was not enough oil to make it profitable.  The once needed line pipe, old storage tanks and rusting pump units were an eyesore and often times had been cited by the Railroad Commission.  The Texas Railroad Commission oversee the oil industry in Texas.  Local property owners would then hire my dad and other like him to clean up  and haul off the old equipment bring the oil leases in compliance with the RRC standards.  Sometimes, my Dad would work a deal with property owners to keep the profits from the salvage as his payment.  Most would agree to the terms.  They would benefit from the cleanup, and my Dad would benefit from the profits of the scrap steel.  Other times, My Dad would split the profits with property owner.  But her did not like this arrangement and avoid it when possible.  He would make less money this way.  My Dad’s small cash business was all about making money.  Money he would use for or family and reinvest in to keep the business going.  It reminds me a lot of my own sewing business.  It takes work to keep the customers coming back, the right balance of buying supplies, and you have to work had to be successful.  Most people don’t realize how much goes into each garment or that just because you sold a dress for 200 buck doesn’t mean you made 200 in profit.  You money is tied up in materials.  A 200 dollar dress is usually about 150 in materials in labor.  50 buck is how much I really made and then I have to reinvest in notions and supplies and buy more fabrics to create the next garment.  Plus it takes some work to “hook” a customer.  Sometimes I will not charge for consultation time, or linings materials or zippers or incorporating elements into the design so that the customers fall in love with my work.  They will want another dress and bring me repeat business.  That is the hook.  It’s all part of having a successful business.  I also pride my small business on fair pricing and never over change.  This keeps me honest and customer’s happy.  My Dad was not a businessman.  He did not wear a suit nor work in an office.  He had never even finished high school.  He was self-taught about business and did the best he could to make money for the family.