TIMON

Llanelli.

Hi Eggs It's too soon to post how it happened but I can say it wasn't work related. He was living back in Wales. He moved back down so he could be closer to his family. Everyone here is devastated. Very sad loss, he was a great guy.

Very sad to inform you all that Justin (Justo7) passed away this morning. Was a good mate. He will be sadly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Timon and Lynne

Worked on a concrete gang on the south coast really crap wages meant long hours of backbreaking work. Sweeping sand back onto the beach at Bournemouth ,7 miles of the stuff then back to the beginning again. Lots of really crap agency work in factories etc.. (No wonder I ended up on drugs)

Read lots of climbing equipment catalogues. DMM, Petzl, ISC, edelrid etc.. Get familiar with the latest (and older) kit on the market. Also read the rigging research document on the H&S website that will help with working out SWL, WLL. Values. Hope it goes well. I did it last year, it was an intense week but was enjoyable.

I understand what your saying but you have the wrong idea of our prices. Just because we are a charitable project don't make the mistake of thinking we are cheap! And organisations that provide addiction recovery services charge service users an arm and a leg to go on their programmes. We are free to enter and don't have waiting lists. Running businesses to pay for the residential care side of things means that people on our programmes aren't burdening the taxpayer by claiming all sorts of benefits and housing benefit. A government survey worked out that our charity has saved the government (or tax payer) £89m in 20 years. (It's our 20th anniversary this year) So if you think that we are using our charitable set up to undercut the local competition then you are mistaken. (I say this with the greatest respect to you 🙂)

Meindl are excellent

That's about the size of it. I don't take a wage out of the business. My wife and I get an income from elsewhere.

Bought this recently. It's great to drive, not blisteringly quick but lively and sure footed 🙂

If we didn't all work voluntarily on this project it wouldn't be anywhere near that high. But like I say, the 60% goes to pay for the residences. So I'm not sure that we can compare strictly like for like, I really appreciate your comments and input guys 🙂

Which is also true. Last two years were expensive for kit and the mog had new tyres and a clutch kit. Hopefully we will reap the rewards this year.

Best we've done is 60%. I'm hoping we will improve this year as we shouldn't need to buy so much kit this year. Perhaps be a bit stricter with the guys (and myself) about looking after their PPE. Like Stephen says.... Look after the pennies. It's such an obvious simple statement but so true.

Thanks Alec, that's good stuff to look at. Useful info. Timon

I was asking people how THEY had been able to save money in different areas of expenditure. I wasn't inviting people to analyse our finances. Just trying to pick up tips from people who actually run their own businesses and have experience in this area.

Thanks guys. I know it might seem like we're not getting very far with this thread but you've given me some good questions to ask myself.

It's not that we're not producing income, we're competitive but not cheap like some firms out there. My original question was to people who run businesses and how they have managed to cut expenditure in certain areas. To get some tips.

How about Aeroflot ? Apparently the cabin crews rudeness was off the scale

That about sums it up. Bob. Trouble is most of our work is back yard domestic so mechanical handling isn't much use. If we did site clearances then if would be worth the investment. More hands on deck it is then. Time for a crew cab then! Oh crap... We're overweight again! And on it goes 🙂

Vehicles and kit... Both a necessity. 🙂

I've looked into that Mick, I think the mog is cheaper. Certainly more compact.

We're not that kind of charity We don't hire staff, managers etc.. Everyone here (apart from a handful) has come through the programme. We're definitely not burdened with too many "managers". For example... I run a business during the day, do PR work, fundraising and oversee a house with up to 20 guys in it. (I'm not asking for a pat on the back by saying this) I'm just trying to put some context to it.

We have spent a lot on kit and hopefully this year we can reign it in. But ropes wear out and chains etc... Running a mog on white is pricey but it gives us an edge on the competition as we can process more quickly.

I run an Arb firm that is part of a drug and alcohol recovery charity. We all work as volunteers, and so do the guys on the programme. It's provides work skills and life skills for people recovering for addiction. All the guys live in our residential centres The income from the business pays the bills not just for the business running costs but also for the residential side of things. (We also have furniture and landscaping) Once we have paid our business running costs all the profit goes to the residential costs (astronomical !!) Our business running costs include vehicles..., Mog, transit and doblo van x2 chippers. Kit.... Usual cutting climbing rigging stuff (don't want to list it on here for obvious reasons) Insurance Training, (once our guys have been with us a while we put them through their tickets ) We hire an extra climber (an ex-resident) to help us push work through. We also occasionally hire a subby climber for anything tricky or potentially dangerous. We spend a lot on flyers but that's what brings the work in. I recognise were not a typical Arb firm but at the end of the day we have a family to house and feed. Ours is just a very big family. Big houses big bills. The more efficient our business's are, the more places we can provide for people who need help.

Funnily enough,,,, the Stihl training guy was round today and he was talking about the advances in battery technology. He said that the new battery saws give about 30 mins cutting time on 4" inch timber.. Food for thought. Certainly

Hi all. Just been looking over our expenses for the last year. Our percentage compared to our income is quite high and I want to bring it down this year. Have any of you been on this journey and made any significant gains by making cuts or changes in any particular area? I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences, successes, failures, things that have made a difference to your income/expenses percentages Any tips on how you have been able save in this area would be very welcome. Thanks in advance Timon