YOUR dream job?

[Bivyhunter]

I’m looking to expand in 2018 to keep up with growth and shorten lead times. I’m looking for a specific skill set to help relieve me of some of the office work, increase the delivery of content on the website and social media and free up more of my time to stay focused on bow building.
Work experience/skills:
Experienced in Rhino CAD/CAM 3D software, savvy with social media
Job description:
Program and operate CNC machine, program and operate laser engraver, help manage social media content and customer communications, packaging and shipping bows and other merchandise, possibly small amount of bookkeeping, secondarily; hands on working on bow building.
Personal qualities:
Strong work ethic, fast learner, team player, passionate about their work, self-motivated, able to multi-task, organized, creative, punctual, patient, eager to learn, likes to be challenged
Willing to relocate to Colorado
Bonus:
Has experience with or is interested/willing to learn the following:
Graphic design experience; t-shirt design etc, brand building, shooting video/video editing, Quick Books, website updating, business experience/background/education/business management, photography/photo editing experience, woodworking experience, background in traditional archery
Pay negotiable DOE, profit sharing, 5 paid holidays and 2 week vacation with our current work hours/schedule.  Email resume/work experience to [email protected]

[Crooked Stic]

That is a lot to ask for there. You may get someone that can do a lot of the stuff you asked. Might be better to ask for a basic good bowyer and OJT the other stuff.

[Bivyhunter]

Crooked Stic, I know that is looking for the moon! I'm not anticipating anyone having all of the skills in the beginning, but the more of them they have, the better the fit. I'm not necessarily looking for someone with bow building experience, I'd rather be in the shop than the office.

[John Malone]

IM a small business owner. Let me give you some advice and take it for what its worth. When you find that person they will work for you awhile and eventually go out on their own and take lots of your customers with them. Its just the logical thing for some one that talented and motivated. Doesn't matter the profession I've seen it happen many many times to people. I would find someone knowledgeable enough with archery to fit but damn good at the other stuff, then find a good bowyer that only wants to make bows. Any one that can do everything you do will sooner or later decide that they don't need you. Its human nature.

[Krasus]

Can I work from home?? ☺

[mwosborn]

Originally posted by Krasus:
Can I work from home?? ☺

[Roy from Pa]

Me too. I'm retired and have all of those skills. But I need $250,000.00 to start.

[Bivyhunter]

Roy if you're willing to move that decimal point a few places, you can unretire!  

[T Folts]

Wow
My dream job.... Wish I could move...
Office skills.... limited..
T

[Wolftrail]

My own experience working for someone else was that I had more experience than the owner and never got paid for it.  In the end it never panned out.  If you want to spend more time in the shop maybe be better off just to have someone that is tech savy and good all around office person.

[C. Johnson]

Hmmm....

I'm a licensed master plumber in the state of Colorado.  I'm foreman of the plumbing shop at a large public school district here in southern Colorado.

I like my job but......

I love building bows.

Please don't tempt me!    

[fujimo]

Hey South, i truly hope you find someone.
we really struggle to find folks for our archery related manufacturing business.
 and when you get someone who is like you- a clone of yourself- who thinks, and pays attention to detail, and doesnt wreck machinery, and just has some imagination, and is not a drone, one can hardly pay them what they are worth.
we have finally found one lass- who is awesome, and hope we can hold onto her- then just going to employ drones- just worker bees that she can control.
 those special people are so hard to find, cos usually the ones that have savvy- are already doing their own thing.
but you know this anyway- this is not yer first rodeo      
all i can say- is keep going through them till you find the right one.
dont be a rescuer- i was a rescuer for far too long- if they dont work out quickly- set them free!!

what i eventually did, was said you come and work for a week for free, if you are a keeper- i will backpay that week, if we cant make it work, then you move along.
 i had way to many folks that would come along, get paid for a few days- then decide it was not for them- a waste of my time and $$.

this way you can test their commitment and their attitude. worked out for me.

i know you weren't asking for advice, and i haint preaching- just relating      
 i really hope you can find that special person.
good luck my friend

[Crooked Stic]

Wow I am glad I am retired. Never thought of having to work free to get a job.

[fujimo]

yup, it was an absolute last resort- i just got tired of having people waft in and waft out, and long before they were actually productive, they would go off to do something else, costing me training time and wages. if it only happened once or twice- i get it.
i had one woman last only two hours, ask to go on a break, never to return!!
if they work, and the jobs for them, they get back paid- alls fair. it shows their level of commitment to the job.
as a youngster, when i wanted something bad enough, i would work for free, do chores, "beg borrow or steal" to attain my goal.
 i was committed- and hungry. i would just like to see a wee bit of that enthusiasm in todays youth, thats all.

i must say that our location seems rather unique- we live in an area that seems to attract a lot of welfare experts and "hippie folk"
i have had two other manufacturing businesses in other places, and never had that issue before. we were turning people away - here we seem to have to beg people to come to work!

sign of the times- i dunno- i sure hope not!!

[YosemiteSam]

Your business isn't alone in this.  I was one of those young go-getters in my business who quickly left (after 3 years) to start my own company & never looked back.  Most of the bigger players in my industry build their entire business model on the assumption that there are lots of young go-getters who will eventually fail but a select minority will succeed and some of those will stick around long enough for them to make their money back and then some.  They churn & burn their employees as fast as they churn and burn their customers.  If they didn't, they'd go out of business.  It's a tough life for all involved.

The smaller companies in my industry tend to bring in partners with different skill sets & an established business of their own.  Each plays their role but is motivated to keep the business growing & thriving.  It also weeds out those who weren't going to make it anyway.  I don't know if that's even something that can be done in the trad archery industry or retail in general.  This is just something that works okay in my business.  But only sometimes.

Is it possible to outsource some of these things until the sales volume picks up enough to justify recruiting a well-paid, experienced employee from another company (even in a different industry)?  You'll overpay now but might be able to save yourself a lot of hassle searching for needles in a haystack.  Just a thought.

[John Malone]

Nobody in America is going to work for free its illegal anyway. But I had a fellow once who I really wanted to work for offer me minimum wage for my skilled labor on a trial basis to see if it would work out and after 30 days we would renegotiate. When I started my own business that's the way I hired people. That way if it doesn't work out I'm only out a few bucks. Every one I know  does it that way. You have to prove your work ethic and skill BEFORE you get full pay. So an entry level wage and a probationary period maybe something to consider.

[rmorris]

You make an awesome product and I hope you find the person that can follow in the footsteps of what you have built. Check out your local community college machining department. A graduating student may have just enough knowledge to do what you want and you can train them before someone else teaches them bad habits. I hope you find your person and continue to make your beautiful bows!

[LittleBen]

If I may chime in with my two cents:

It's not likely you will find someone with that range of skills and experience without really shelling out the bucks.

I would recommend you refocus on what your end goal is; expand.
It sounds like you wanna increase output, but also wanna stay in the shop, and I think you're "ideal person" is more of a list of all the things you currently have to deal with yourself but wanna hand off, and I get that.
 I would consider the possibility of contracting some of the specialized work. Truthfully I think you need 2 or 3 people.

One person (maybe part time) on premises who can take on some of the shop tasks like CNC etc. and free you up for the work you prefer.
One person (maybe part time) who can manage customer service, social media, marketing, maybe the website and the bookkeeping ... were talking about a secretary/office manager or something in that ballpark.

For the photo, video, editing, graphic design and maybe also website depending if you need design work or just updating... these are all professions in themselves and you may do better to find a local small business (or businesses) that does this work and work something out. I have a good friend who does this kinda work and I'm telling you, the quality these guys and gals can deliver is beyond. Not to mention, just the equipment to really deliver is extremely expensive.
May cost a lot  less to contract out the work a few hours here and there, than pay 40/week for an over the top incredible employee who can do a million things.

If you can expand enough maybe you bring those two people on full time in 2019 ....

My overall thought being that you might be able to hire those two positions I mentioned for the same as you'd pay for one person with that incredible extensive skill set, and neither one of them will have all the skills to leave the business and become a competitor.

Cheers

[Incognito1]

My dream job is professional couch sitter and internet time waster/tv watcher. I ain't young though..... Might be willing to relocate if you have another position that better fits my skillset......