Seeking work

Finding your own work, I've found, is quite hard. At the moment I'm subcontracting to a company earning decent money and happy with the work. However the plan is to find my own work, not to work for somebody else. So far to drum up work, I've started my own website, a twitter account, got pages on google+ and Facebook and of course this blog. Also got my own cards printed, some magnetic signs for my car (was a van until a little accident on the M54 before Christmas wrote it off. Rolled it.) and advertising on free index. Currently working with a mate from my old firm and together we have priced up a job, didn't get it over the little matter of £100 too expensive but he's got a couple of leads coming in so could be fruitful. Pooling resources.

Now following all that I'm debating whether to join one of these tradesmen sites. Does the initial outlay bring in enough to justify it? I'm not too sure, though I have heard of some making a very good living from the leads they get. For the time being I think I will continue along the lines of self promotion, next stage leaflet drops. I need to think carefully where to post them to where I think I will get the most work, if any. Yes I do realise a lot of people hate having takeaway menus, estate agents requesting properties, charity bags, etc posted through their doors but I also realise the importance of getting my name out there. From the leaflets I could get one call back which leads to a job and in turn leads to another and so on. From small acorns...

Anyway a follow on from my last post. I have done another two flats using water based gloss and whilst, in my own eyes, the finish and coverage is not as good as oil based it has shocked me. Upon application it started to dry very patchy but the next morning it looked very solid and had a decent shine to it (see picture). Can't eliminate the brush marks in it yet, that's despite using the correct brushes for the paint but I am happy with how it's come out. I think if I was to use it on my own work, I would use two top coats to give a more solid finish. The more flats I do, the better I'll get using the paint and the better my finish will be. Practice makes perfect and that is still true after 17 years in the trade!