Skison 18/19

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I sold satellite dishes perhaps 10-15 hours a week. My rent was only $250 a month back then and maybe $40 a month for utilities.  It wasn’t like now where I spend $3,000 every month. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[Shadows]

On what?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

11 minutes ago, Shadows said:

On what?

Hote,l food, bars, uber..during ski season I drop several thousand on ski trips and always miscellaneous stuff like haircuts, mother’s and Father’s Day gifts, bday presents, wedding gifts, Xmas presents, dentist.....on and on. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[Ride Delaware ?]

Hote,l food, bars, uber..during ski season I drop several thousand on ski trips and always miscellaneous stuff like haircuts, mother’s and Father’s Day gifts, bday presents, wedding gifts, Xmas presents, dentist.....on and on. 

I guess people are still dying at a good clip? $3k a month seems pricey...

[Ride Delaware ?]

I'm on my town's EMS Fast Squad and they are paying me to become an EMT this fall. That seems to mean that I am by default a ski patroller at Ascutney. (If you've seen me ski, don't worry: it's just a rope tow). 
Still deciding whether to get a job or be a ski bum this winter.  I want to be a way better skier, not a plodding, intermediate weekender. 

I’ve never seen you ski, but patrolling would do you well, even if it’s at a small mountain. It will get you out on the hill a lot and build camaraderie. If you are going to become an EMT, you should contact Suicide Six’s patrol director and tag along for awhile. I’ve heard they are accommodating. My brother in law basically learned to ski while on patrol there.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Patr

35 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

I guess people are still dying at a good clip? $3k a month seems pricey...

I don’t know I feel like that’s not that much.  I’ve had 2k months before when I don’t go out much. That doesn’t count car and cell phone expenses that the company pays for.  Business is booming...I’ve been in charge almost 4 years and this year we are up a solid 15% the first 7 months of the year...things really haven’t been slow since right around the last presidential election. 

 

Today I only spent $16

Edited August 3, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[Ride Delaware ?]

Patr
I don’t know I feel like that’s not that much.  I’ve had 2k months before when I don’t go out much. That doesn’t count car and cell phone expenses that the company pays for.  Business is booming...I’ve been in charge almost 4 years and this year we are up a solid 15% the first 7 months of the year...things really haven’t been slow since right around the last presidential election. 
 
Today I only spent $16

I’m guessing you get a salary plus a profit bonus? You deserve to get paid!!!

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

16 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

I’m guessing you get a salary plus a profit bonus? You deserve to get paid!!!

I draw a bi weekly paycheck...take a year end bonus along with other employees and then in January me and my dad split the profits for the year.  My dad doesn’t want to be involved in the business much longer, as of now he only works on mausoleums and community projects and is up 2-3 days a month.  I was trying to figure out how I get to $3k and totally forgot about weed..that shit adds up as well.  Anyway the goal is to save as much as I can in my 40s and sell the business at age 50 and retire...also spend some winters out west before then...

Edited August 3, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

On topic I’m glad it’s August!!!!  

[Ride Delaware ?]

I draw a bi weekly paycheck...take a year end bonus along with other employees and then in January me and my dad split the profits for the year.  My dad doesn’t want to be involved in the business much longer, as of now he only works on mausoleums and community projects and is up 2-3 days a month.  I was trying to figure out how I get to $3k and totally forgot about weed..that shit adds up as well.  Anyway the goal is to save as much as I can in my 40s and sell the business at age 50 and retire...also spend some winters out west before then...

Can your office manager run the show if you’re living out west? You must really be investing if you want to retire at 50!

[NMSKI]

$3,000/month hahahaha! With a wife, kids, house, etc I would kill to spend 2x that in a month. If it was just me, that would be a lot though.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

5 hours ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

Can your office manager run the show if you’re living out west? You must really be investing if you want to retire at 50!

She can...it’s just anytime she’s off the office would have to be closed and there are a few things I do that she doesn’t do like write checks, train funeral directors and I’m so much better at selling than her. 

1 hour ago, NMSKI said:

$3,000/month hahahaha! With a wife, kids, house, etc I would kill to spend 2x that in a month. If it was just me, that would be a lot though.

That was my sister and bro in laws daycare cost when both kids were in day car.  Their mortgage is $4k a month.  NMSki I don’t know if you could be a single guy..you need to have people around to cropdust. 

[Ride Delaware ?]

That was my sister and bro in laws daycare cost when both kids were in day car.  Their mortgage is $4k a month.  NMSki I don’t know if you could be a single guy..you need to have people around to cropdust. 

Do you guys prepare the bodies too? I was under the impression you only sold tombstones...

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

53 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

Do you guys prepare the bodies too? I was under the impression you only sold tombstones...

No I’m not a funeral director..only tombstones 85% granite, 10% bronze and the rest marble.  The majority of our business is through funeral homes though.  Right now the death rate is low and the cremation rate is high so funeral homes are happy to sell our memorial stones to help make up for lost revenue.  I’ve trained 4 new dealers so far this year and walk in business has been brisk. Monday I sold six tombstones..two to one family.  

[toast21602]

Wow people are dying for your services! 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

21 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

Wow people are dying for your services! 

Yeah I get a kick out of the preneed customers.  On nice sunny days you have older married couples who stop in and say,”we’re planning on dying one day”. They don’t want to leave the burden to their kids.  They plan everything.  We did a tombstone not long ago that had a beer mug and a bingo card on it..way steezier than rosary beads and doves.  

[Ride Delaware ?]

Yeah I get a kick out of the preneed customers.  On nice sunny days you have older married couples who stop in and say,”we’re planning on dying one day”. They don’t want to leave the burden to their kids.  They plan everything.  We did a tombstone not long ago that had a beer mug and a bingo card on it..way steezier than rosary beads and doves.  

Tombstones come in all shapes, sizes, and materials, but what does a standard tombstone for two cost? Something decent, but not extravagant. Your mid range model let’s say.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

37 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

Tombstones come in all shapes, sizes, and materials, but what does a standard tombstone for two cost? Something decent, but not extravagant. Your mid range model let’s say.

About $3500 in gray or pink. More in black,   Red, blue, green and Mahagany.  Flat markers start at $950. It’s rare to have a month without at least a few memorial stones in the $7-8k+ range.  We quoted on one today that retails for over $13k but it’s for 8 people.  

Edited August 4, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[Ride Delaware ?]

I’m guessing that there’s a decent markup/profit margin on a headstone?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

23 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

I’m guessing that there’s a decent markup/profit margin on a headstone?

You guessed right...although the markup goes to pay commissions, payroll, taxes, insurance, truck expenses and building expenses...what’s left after that is profit.  Like any business economies of scale comes into play.  If we purchase 30 pieces of granite annually from a particular supplier we might receive a 15% discount but if we purchase 500 pieces of granite annually our discount could be as high as 40%.  Most of the people who do work for us are independent contractors.  We have two artists who do ethings for us, one does hand ethings with a diamond tipped dremmel tool and one does laser etchings.  We have three guys who do in cemetery inscription for us..inscribing information on existing memorial stones. One in New Jersey, one that does philly and the Lehigh valley and one who does areas west of us.  Most of the cemeteries do their own foundations but if they don’t our delivery guy does them and we profit off that although we give him extra money on them.  We also sometimes assist funeral homes with putting bodies in mausoleums as we have experience with that. We are also asked on a weekly basis to clean memorial stones and although we have power washing equipment, we are too busy with deliveries to clean memorial stones and the amount of money we get from cleanings isn’t worth driving an hour to a cemetery.  I typically recommend using a scrub brush, mild dish soap and warm water for cleanings. 

Edited August 4, 2018 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[saltyant]

Talking about death, funerals, cemeteries is so damn depressing. I thought this was the super stoke thread for 2018-2019 "skison"???

[Ride Delaware ?]

You guessed right...although the markup goes to pay commissions, payroll, taxes, insurance, truck expenses and building expenses...what’s left after that is profit.  Like any business economies of scale comes into play.  If we purchase 30 pieces of granite annually from a particular supplier we might receive a 15% discount but if we purchase 500 pieces of granite annually our discount could be as high as 40%.  Most of the people who do work for us are independent contractors.  We have two artists who do ethings for us, one does hand ethings with a diamond tipped dremmel tool and one does laser etchings.  We have three guys who do in cemetery inscription for us..inscribing information on existing memorial stones. One in New Jersey, one that does philly and the Lehigh valley and one who does areas west of us.  Most of the cemeteries do their own foundations but if they don’t our delivery guy does them and we profit off that although we give him extra money on them.  We also sometimes assist funeral homes with putting bodies in mausoleums as we have experience with that. We are also asked on a weekly basis to clean memorial stones and although we have power washing equipment, we are too busy with deliveries to clean memorial stones and the amount of money we get from cleanings isn’t worth driving an hour to a cemetery.  I typically recommend using a scrub brush, mild dish soap and warm water for cleanings. 

You could always forward that business along to Shadows. Could be easy side money.

It sounds like retirement at 50 could be doable. Keep maxing that 401k and Roth IRA.

[Ride Delaware ?]

Talking about death, funerals, cemeteries is so damn depressing. I thought this was the super stoke thread for 2018-2019 "skison"???

You were mislead. This is the thread where you list your hopes and dreams, then reread after ski season only to realize your dreams have been snuffed out.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

28 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Talking about death, funerals, cemeteries is so damn depressing. I thought this was the super stoke thread for 2018-2019 "skison"???

RideDE keeps asking me questions.  Sorry for the threadjack. If not for death I wouldn’t have money to ski. 

[toast21602]

4 hours ago, saltyant said:

Talking about death, funerals, cemeteries is so damn depressing. I thought this was the super stoke thread for 2018-2019 "skison"???

Part of life. Embrace it.