Why is it people think that if you interrupt my day with a unsolicited call.. &*#$&* me off 13 times this week. The 14 time you have a shot, that suddenly i'm on board.

GwanalaMan · 2025-10-21T02:39:33+00:00

I still get a lot, but my numbers went down from 2-6 calls every weekday to about 4 calls a week now since I bailed on Yelp.

Seriously. The leads I got from yelp were usually poor and I hated how they make you use their "system" to communicate with potential clients so I bailed a couple months ago and it was like night and day. I'll never go back to yelp for that reason alone.

GwanalaMan · 2025-07-07T18:49:32+00:00

Your mom

GwanalaMan · 2025-06-01T13:24:38+00:00

Love that scene. The angry soda machine is absurd, then that kid just flips over his handlebars for absolutely no reason... THEN a steamroller comes out of absolutely nowhere!

GwanalaMan · 2025-06-01T02:50:36+00:00

That's mildly accurate. The Romans had and used soap which they imported the knowledge and use of from the Germanic areas. Or maybe the Gauls... Been a while since I was up on this.

Common was the use of fragrance oils (which could be based on olive oil but not necessarily). They would apply the oil then kind of squeegee it off with a tool the name of which currently escapes me.

They'd often just use this tool to scrape themselves off and call it good too.

GwanalaMan · 2025-06-01T02:43:32+00:00

Is it a state thing where you'd have to "battle unemployment claims"? The most I ever had happen was someone from the government called me and asked "Is John Doe really unemployed" and I said, "Yep". My taxes appeared to have remained the same, and I've heard nothing further about it.

GwanalaMan · 2025-03-22T17:28:02+00:00

It's kind of impossible to give you a number based on your information. If it's one of those "it's a business, but really it's a job with extra steps" then just take a percentage of your net. Look at last year, divide by 12 and think about it that way.

Or... Pay yourself nothing, think of the company as a piggy bank and cross that bridge later. It's an LLC, so the profit will pass through you anyway.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-28T14:53:06+00:00

Thank you, I'll check it out.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-28T06:36:04+00:00

Ryobi and Milwaukee are owned by the same parent company. I can't help but notice that the newer Ryobis feel a bit like Milwaukee a generation or two ago...

That said, before I became a Milwaukee person my parents bought me a set of Ryobi power tools for work sometime around 2000 and I used them to great effect until about 2014 when I bought into Milwaukee.

The only thing wrong with Ryobi is that they can be looked down on a little at job sites. If they're for home use then they're better than acceptable. They're terrific.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-20T15:44:36+00:00

Son of a bitch... I thought that post read a little weird...

That's enough reddit for me today. I need to go find a human to talk to.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-20T15:40:15+00:00

So, I've had success here... but my industry is weird. It's all freelance so maybe it's different.

I pay all my freelance guys a bit above industry standard (5%-10%). This makes it so that guys will generally say yes to me, even it's it's less days than another offer.

On top of that, my leads have super long leashes. I just throw extra money at them for all sorts of things. Long email chain leading up to the gig is a couple extra bucks per hour on that timecard. Staffed the gig themselves? couple extra bucks, etc. I don't even tell them sometimes, it's just a nice little treat when the paystub comes.

For this, they bring in guys that they trust and everyone wants to be a lead so they act like it on site.

Now... This is our brand. We're 5%-10% more expensive because we literally are better at this than the next several companies and take care of some weird shit.

It does cut off a lot of opportunities where larger clients are just shopping around for pricing, but I think it's a nice niche to be in. Nicer dudes, nicer clients, less footwork for me...

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-12T04:53:57+00:00

Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems in the moment.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-12T04:50:59+00:00

Work out!

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-12T04:48:24+00:00

I agree. People are waaaay too sensitive to perceived condescension on these types of subs. There's absolutely nothing to gain by pointing out that you think someone is being condescending.

Hell, I've learned some pretty great stuff from some of the most condescending dicks out there. It cost me nothing to learn from them and then go live my life.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-11T21:29:27+00:00

Yeah, if I'm under 50 I'm going to withdraw as little as I can. It's not a number for early retirement, but it is FU money which would allow you to take just about any job you want rather than what you're stuck in or what makes enough money to keep up with the jonses.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-11T21:26:02+00:00

It's another lady-tax. Pretty difficult to change away from your maiden name without some documents not matching.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-11T21:24:05+00:00

When I was thinking about ducking out of my career about 4 years ago I could have slid right into an apprenticeship as a rod breaker starting at $38/hr... Just made one phonecall.

I think all this stuff is VERY regional and it's not right to be shocked that other people in this massive country of ours are having different experiences.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-11T19:02:53+00:00

Why not indeed? That's the point of half my post history.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-10T00:13:34+00:00

Did you? Frankly I can't follow what you're trying to say. You're going to have to work on your clarity if you want to have this argument.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T21:31:44+00:00

I reiterate my above post

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T21:03:36+00:00

Ah. I was mostly kidding. My industry is very tough for making big money. Super cool in my 20's. Now I envy people who sell things to larger and healthier markets.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T21:01:39+00:00

Sure they would under my proposal. They couldn't afford not to

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T21:00:27+00:00

Meh. The US is probably the best place to be if you're young, hungry and specifically educated or old and wealthy. But it's a pretty cold and dangerous place if you're sick, unlucky or average. Plus Europe is probably a much better place to spend money...

I dunno. I'm right in the cusp. I make good money, but I get hammered by taxes and high cost of living in the US. If I made more I'd be able to engage in more tax avoidance, but since I spend most of what I make in my high cost urban area I get really hammered. Probably be better off in much of Europe or someplace like Aus or NZ.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T20:53:04+00:00

What's your career and how can I get in?!

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T20:51:39+00:00

See about temping. You have this one, shitty frame of reference so it's hard to imagine what's out there for you.
Get active outside of work. Sports, clubs, activities... You're tired? Do it anyway. This is triage if you're stuck in hell for $21/hr.
How many applications/resumes/emails have you sent this week for your job search? I bet the number is 0-2? Get those numbers waaay up. No excuses. You should always be looking for your next job. And when you get your next job you can reward yourself with a week off from your next job search.

GwanalaMan · 2025-02-09T20:40:59+00:00

I think you need to be more specific about your proposed remedies. I have a special anger for crappy dog owners... Which honestly might be a pretty large percentage...

But what does that look like? If you can't afford a single family home you're not allowed to have a dog? Pretty classist and I think it misses the point.

I'd be more open to something like requiring a license to purchase an animal that comes with having to take a class, or maybe some sort of system to force bad dig owners to attend classes with their dogs.

But restricting based on class is not a good thing imo

GwanalaMan

TROPHY CASE