Small Town Self Employment

[TDub]

So ill try to make this not super long..and I have no expectation for resolution, rather I'm using this as a vent before I go storming into offices today.

Anyhow.

So the business is doing fine, things are going well but I'm a small timer, only 3 employees. I like it this way as it allows me to work and not just manage and scramble job to job. Over the last year I've been working on some fairly substantial renovations in a historic building in downtown. A building everyone knows what it is and can see what's happening etc. Now, my endorsements allow me to work on this building, in chunks. The street level, where all the current work is taking place, is broken into 8 seperate business units. If I were renovating the whole building at once I couldn't do it, taking this as seperate projects, I can..per my CCB licensing etc.

The local good ol boys club (which is strong here and of which, I am not only not a part of, but have actively worked against) has taken notice. I was working one unit over when a couple of them *they own larger contracting businesses in town, and they also own city officials etc* came by fir a walk through of the other units as they are now complete and up for rent.

During that walk through I could hear them discussing the work and asking who was doing it and talking to each other about the work and it's high quality work and they need to know who did it blah blah. Eventually I run into Joe behind the building as I'm taking out a load of trash. I have worked for Joe in the past...we do not get along, he's a backstabbing little bitch and the reason I quit and started my own thing. Anyway, he finds out I did the work, goes on and on about how good it looks and the quality and it's just really impressive and what was the extent of work we did and who else worked there...blah blah. I say thanks but offer no more information to him.

They all *the good ol.boys club* know who I am, I've worked for half of them, they know I have my own company and have for years now. In general we all get along fine but I'll never be in the club, I'm not from here and I don't follow their rules of engagement.

Within 24hrs of his visit I have a stop work order from the city until we have a series of meetings due to a local contractor reporting me for conducting work without proper permits and not having proper licensing endorsements. Both false.

I sent the city an email late Saturday night explaining the work, showing the permits where required and paragraphs of the language within my endorsement papers explicitly stating I am licensed bonded and insured for this work and it is within my endorsement rights thru the state licensing agency. The reply was cease and desist until they can investigate.

I also contacted OSHA for a consult on a couple future projects at the building. They asked me who I pissed off and that an "unnamed" Contractor has called in 4 aeperate violations (all false) on me in the last 24 hrs. They said they are aware of the project and had been monitoring but never have seen anything wrong with my work or my process.


Fuck this shit, small town bullshit. I am not going to stop work, My paperwork from the state is very clear and supercedes anything the city claims. The good ol boys decided I was encroaching on "their" work i guess.

So, today, I will continue work as I am entitled too. I will also be visiting the other contractors and asking if they can pull the knife from my back and letting them know how I feel, since they are cowards.

Also, starting to call in other contractors for violations is a slippery slope....Karma can be a bitch.


Ugh, I'm fucking pissed, I've been stewing on it all weekend. Trying to calm myself before I walk into their offices.

[jfish26]

So ill try to make this not super long..and I have no expectation for resolution, rather I'm using this as a vent before I go storming into offices today.

Anyhow.

So the business is doing fine, things are going well but I'm a small timer, only 3 employees. I like it this way as it allows me to work and not just manage and scramble job to job. Over the last year I've been working on some fairly substantial renovations in a historic building in downtown. A building everyone knows what it is and can see what's happening etc. Now, my endorsements allow me to work on this building, in chunks. The street level, where all the current work is taking place, is broken into 8 seperate business units. If I were renovating the whole building at once I couldn't do it, taking this as seperate projects, I can..per my CCB licensing etc.

The local good ol boys club (which is strong here and of which, I am not only not a part of, but have actively worked against) has taken notice. I was working one unit over when a couple of them *they own larger contracting businesses in town, and they also own city officials etc* came by fir a walk through of the other units as they are now complete and up for rent.

During that walk through I could hear them discussing the work and asking who was doing it and talking to each other about the work and it's high quality work and they need to know who did it blah blah. Eventually I run into Joe behind the building as I'm taking out a load of trash. I have worked for Joe in the past...we do not get along, he's a backstabbing little bitch and the reason I quit and started my own thing. Anyway, he finds out I did the work, goes on and on about how good it looks and the quality and it's just really impressive and what was the extent of work we did and who else worked there...blah blah. I say thanks but offer no more information to him.

They all *the good ol.boys club* know who I am, I've worked for half of them, they know I have my own company and have for years now. In general we all get along fine but I'll never be in the club, I'm not from here and I don't follow their rules of engagement.

Within 24hrs of his visit I have a stop work order from the city until we have a series of meetings due to a local contractor reporting me for conducting work without proper permits and not having proper licensing endorsements. Both false.

I sent the city an email late Saturday night explaining the work, showing the permits where required and paragraphs of the language within my endorsement papers explicitly stating I am licensed bonded and insured for this work and it is within my endorsement rights thru the state licensing agency. The reply was cease and desist until they can investigate.

I also contacted OSHA for a consult on a couple future projects at the building. They asked me who I pissed off and that an "unnamed" Contractor has called in 4 aeperate violations (all false) on me in the last 24 hrs. They said they are aware of the project and had been monitoring but never have seen anything wrong with my work or my process.


Fuck this shit, small town bullshit. I am not going to stop work, My paperwork from the state is very clear and supercedes anything the city claims. The good ol boys decided I was encroaching on "their" work i guess.

So, today, I will continue work as I am entitled too. I will also be visiting the other contractors and asking if they can pull the knife from my back and letting them know how I feel, since they are cowards.

Also, starting to call in other contractors for violations is a slippery slope....Karma can be a bitch.


Ugh, I'm fucking pissed, I've been stewing on it all weekend. Trying to calm myself before I walk into their offices.

I have nothing helpful to add, except - I get it, it sucks, and there's not much you can do besides chopping the wood you can.

[TDub]

The most frustrating part is these guys get away with soooo much shit in this toen because of who they are and who is openly on their payroll. Its insane. But yet, they can't leave me alone? When all my paperwork is legit and I'm doing things by the book? it's insane. I wont...because it wouldn't matter....but i could call them in on every job they do. I know the inner workings of their process, I was part of it. It's not legit...its why I left. They are garbage contractors, theyre big, but their quality is awful, they scheme clients and the taxpayers on their public works jobs and they cut every corner possible.

[BiggDick]

I think it’s obvious where this story is heading…

[TDub]

can always count on ousdahl for a non serious comment

[KUTradition]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

[BiggDick]

can always count on ousdahl for a non serious comment

I think venting about work can be healthy. I won’t begrudge, and certainly won’t come here to throw a tantrum about another poster doing so.

With that said, let me wish you luck in your standoff with the good ol boys club. And for the record, all non seriousness aside, I don’t condone violence.

[japhy]

My two cents, talk to a lawyer and give it some time. Nothing to gain from going after those contractors when you are at a significant disadvantage. Best case is you figure out the situation and move on and finish your contracts. If there is a bad faith issue with the competition bring it to the attention of the Owner, they are probably in the best position to pursue legal recourse. I ain't no lawyer, but have dealt with my share of bullshit over the years.

And good contractors and good workmanship is hard to find these days. There are plenty of developers out there ready and willing to pay for good work. Broaden the range of where you work. An easy way to advertise, find a local/regional office off the AIA. They are always looking to get someone to come in and give a free presentation that would count towards Cont Ed. Show them something unique you did and they will ask for your business card afterwards.

I work in mostly big cities but in a number of small towns as well. The politics of bringing in an out of town contractor is always an issue. But with certain big projects for technically complicated projects they need to bring in out of town expertise. I work with a couple of medium sized contractors who specialize in this work. They understand small towns but travel all over the midwest doing these complicated projects. It is a niche that seems very lucrative. They have worked booked out 1-2 years in advance. I can send you a link to their website, and introduce you to people if you are interested. It never hurts to look at what other successful people are doing.

I started my firm as a 3 person office in 1988. We met like minded small firms and merged and merged. 36 years later we are 300 employees work all over the US. Numbers take some of the burden off you personally. And you can maintain integrity and autonomy within a big firm if you gather the right partners.

And hang in there. This is why I moved out of a small town as a kid and never went back. A lot of small towns are diminished by this very issue, trying to destroy competition. There is a fear of thinking that does not conform to standards. And that is a reason for the brain drain.

[jfish26]

Problem in these cases tends to be that lawyer spend represents a massive degradation of margin.

[TDub]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

not that I'm aware of, because theoretically, citizens can call them in and half the time they have no clue about the rules and procedures. But, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

And yea, It's shitty....now instead of having a productive week and focusing on completing work and making money I have to deal with this bogus shit.

Of course, they know that, and that also works to their advantage.

[KUTradition]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

not that I'm aware of, because theoretically, citizens can call them in and half the time they have no clue about the rules and procedures. But, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

And yea, It's shitty....now instead of having a productive week and focusing on completing work and making money I have to deal with this bogus shit.

Of course, they know that, and that also works to their advantage.

in the future, can you prevent them from even touring your sites?

i don’t think retaliation would be wise, as much as you might want to and as gratifying as it might be. i’d try to insulate myself from their nonsense to the extent possible, while also continuing to build your reputation and ingratiating yourself with the non-douchbag members of the community

[KUTradition]

you could also consider calling them out in a public forum…like a city council meeting

it wouldn’t even have to be by name

[pdub]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

not that I'm aware of, because theoretically, citizens can call them in and half the time they have no clue about the rules and procedures. But, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

And yea, It's shitty....now instead of having a productive week and focusing on completing work and making money I have to deal with this bogus shit.

Of course, they know that, and that also works to their advantage.

in the future, can you prevent them from even touring your sites?

i don’t think retaliation would be wise, as much as you might want to and as gratifying as it might be. i’d try to insulate myself from their nonsense to the extent possible, while also continuing to build your reputation and ingratiating yourself with the non-douchbag members of the community

Yea, i'd be nervous from the sounds of the good ol' boys if they have connections to try and start something with them. Odds could be very well stacked against you.

[japhy]

you could also consider calling them out in a public forum…like a city council meeting

it wouldn’t even have to be by name

Yeah, NO.

[japhy]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

not that I'm aware of, because theoretically, citizens can call them in and half the time they have no clue about the rules and procedures. But, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

And yea, It's shitty....now instead of having a productive week and focusing on completing work and making money I have to deal with this bogus shit.

Of course, they know that, and that also works to their advantage.

This affects the Owner as much as it does you. Make sure the developer knows what happened and who is responsible. I had a sub come in and do some HVAC work. They took it upon themselves to snoop around my building and call the State Plumbing Inspector and get the job shut down.

I confronted the HVAC guy and he denied it but I have witnesses. I told him to finish his job and get the fuck off my job site. He told me that "I would need him some day" and regret that. Nope, I have had no problem getting subs to come over from Pueblo ( 3 hours away) to do work. Money talks, and if you treat people right word gets around.

One of the biggest developers in Colorado is my next door neighbor. I was talking to the project manager on their adjacent project site and told them what went down. Guess what HVAC contractor didn't get a call when they did the developer started their $2M renovation in town? Developers don't like subs or GCs who start shit on job sites. It's bad for business.

This doesn't help you right now, but know that what goes around comes around.

[BiggDick]

Re: touring your sites, if they didn’t have permission to be on private property, isn’t that technically trespassing?

But that too much be a double edged sword

[DeletedUser]

Ahh, small town life.

We get a bit of it with our kids school district. We live in a city, but in a neighborhood on the edge of town in smaller/rural school district.

Thankfully my wife and I are in with some of the "good ol boys and girls" from that small town, so we haven't gotten the bad side of that coin, yet.

I'd just go on about your business, deal with the city accordingly, and ignore them as much as possible. People suck. Good luck.

Probably a good thing you're not close to retirement, otherwise then you could be a real dick and retaliate. Probably not worth it if you're going to have to exist in proximity to these assholes for another decade or two.

Maybe the owner of the building will take issue since the work has been delayed?

[Overlander]

are there any repercussions for filing a false report?

that all sounds so shitty

not that I'm aware of, because theoretically, citizens can call them in and half the time they have no clue about the rules and procedures. But, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

And yea, It's shitty....now instead of having a productive week and focusing on completing work and making money I have to deal with this bogus shit.

Of course, they know that, and that also works to their advantage.

If you treat people right word gets around.

This.
Just continue doing the quality of work that you are known for.
Keep doing business the right way, it will pay off.

[dolomite]

Sounds a little like the small Morman town I once lived in for a short while. If you’re not Morman then you’re lucky if you get a contract for work. If you need work done then Mormans are first in line.

[jhawks99]

Sucks that this is happening TDub. I don't know what is wrong with people. I hope it works out for you.