Interesting, someone else who runs on two profit centers. I starting typing about how we had two profit centers for the telcom operations but figured who cared. Materials, of margins that pay the office and shop costs, and labor that pays the wages and benefits. It's always been close to 50/50. Doing CPE installs would shift the balance and starve the physical plant, but we could close the office and run out of the trunk ;-) Just kidding!
When an operation becomes non-supporting (don't pay it's own bills) we're quick to put it to sleep, and move on to the next great idea. (but we always support what we sold, forever) Computers are gone, but networking is gooood money. Phones are well into becoming computers, but no-one has made a system that is easy to install and properly program, and I think we have a few years yet. Wireless really is the next step. We looked at doing an ISP, but now realize the real way to do that is by using wireless lan cards in a public neighborhood hopping system. Like the now gone Ricochet, except use yer neighbor's lan card instead of the streetlight box. Just can't figer how ta bill it ;-) This is hot in Europe right now. SBC has totally locked up the ADSL business here, ISP's can't afford to connect to all their huts. And they have the copper to the office/house locked up tight. Wireless is the only way to do the last mile, but all the wireless companies were slaughtered with the .com crowd. Great thinking of all the possibilities! And there's money there... -larry --- Dave Phelps <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ok, count me in on this thread too :-) > > My question is why does the sale and the > installation have to be a package > deal for you? Who cares? If a customer buys a Pana > from some web site then > wants you to install it, its still in the box, just > as it would have been > if you had ordered it. So you lose a little profit > on the materials. At > least you get the profit on the labor. If you don't > do the work, you don't > get any profit on the labor either. > > I would install a system purchased elsewhere. It > simply means either I > can't get it cheap enough, or my markup was too > high. I consider selling > products and selling service, to be two distinct, > separate profit-centers. > And products aren't much of a profit-center. I would > rather get the > business and get a customer and break even on the > equipment. You get profit > on the labor anytime the customer has an issue. > OTOH, if you refuse the > work, the customer won't call you for return > business later either. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com ********************************************************* * To unsubscribe, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * The KXT-Digest Home Page: http://kxthelp.com/ * *********************************************************
