I know I know...this is probably super secret information but it's a big ocean out there and there has to be enough work to keep us all fat and happy, right? so..... I have searched and searched the internet for sources on obtaining contract design work of the satellite flavor and haven't had a tremendous amount of success. What's the secret? How does one go about finding contract work? I have a website...www.xyzengineering.com spent hundreds sending out trifolds, got one call for a retro machine design that didn't pan out, getting ready to send an email ad to a chunk of names but I hate to resort to "spam". What's the magic answer? I don't need much, just a nice steady flow of work of the Gage, fixture, and machine design variety. Help me daddy! ;0) TIA
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I've been struggling to find work ever since September Eleventh.
If you guys get too bored, you can always watch the 9/11 commission talk about how there just was no way of conceiving such a scenario (like the one shown here on March 04, 2001)...
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Meanwhile, I'll get to work on exposing that secret information (of finding work that is)
Yeah, GWD must have been watching the Simpsons with the other Bush league cabinet that night?
Now,.. where are the WMD,.. must be in GWD's coke brian cells!???
Hmm,.. does GWD have idiot popup windows to remind him where/what/when/who... to answer questions at news conferences... because it sure looked like he was reading some popups yesterday!?
hmm,.. not enough information,.. no time/date/place,.. and no silver bullet or smoking gun... and too many foreign names on the reports GWD couldn't pronounce... never mind,.. say no more,.. case closed!... blame it on the other previous administration!!!??? That's the ticket!
I gather that all the questions had to be posed well in advance so that somebody could write up "answers". Heard it sounded like one "reporter" did not quite stick to the script. That's the last time that they are invited back I suspect.
"White House Press Corpse" .... follow this guy's rules or get booted I heard. Perhaps worse.
Is there a SW users group in your area or an ASEE, SME or ASME parent section around? Also is their a small business group (Better Business or Chamber of Commerce) in your community that has morning meetings, you could bring the donuts and talk about what you do. At the SW users group meetings, I try to help out designers with one or two person companies by setting up a table and talking about what they do to other users. Bringing previously machined parts and or drawings is a good idea. Engineers like to pick up parts.
You could even volunteer as a speaker for a SW local users group as to what tips you have found out about using SW from the designer's perspective to the machinist's perspective. Check out SolidWorks web site for the users groups in your area. I am certain the coordinator would love to have a presentation by you. Networking is a big part of starting a business. You also have to market what you do to other people.
I am not a daddy, but I am a mommy. I hope this helps.
Alright i will spill the secret to the answer: 1) its called networking, one job leads to another and another, people referring your work is the best advertising out there plus it is free. 2) You have to take the first job at a loss or break even point typically to get your foot in the door. 3) Work closely with both the marketing and engineering staff, dont overly focus on purchasing people. The ones who will get you the chance to bid on a project are the engineering and marketing people. After that then you can haggle with purchasing. 4) Try to understand a potential clients product. 5) Nice looking cad designs dont always translate to a product that will actually work. Remember unless you are an engineer or someone with experience on designing a specific part or project you will need help from the clients internal engineering or production mgmt.
3d: It is a very tough time out there. Like someone else that posted "been doing it since 9-11", I too had rotten timing. But when people asked me if I've been successful, I say "YES" because I've put in the 80-100 hour work weeks that are required in this economy in order to make the $30K that will pay my bills. Have I gotten rich? NOPE. Have I had to uproot my family and move to Timbuktu to get a job? NOPE. Am I approaching burnout? Hell yes.
Here was my strategy: => system integrators are running on a razor's edge, they don't want to hire people in this economy, so they contract out. Currently, they contract at much lower rates than I would like. So what? It's money, the rates won't last forever.
=> The trifolds don't work...it's like SPAM. Screw your bellybutton in tight, develop a very thick callous, and work on your cold calling techniques because you must get through those 59 "Hell, no!" answers for that 60th "well, maybe" that will keep you afloat.
=> Network, network, network. Attend every ASME, SME, IEEE, IIE meeting you can find and schmooze like a used-car salesman. Contact local technical schools for leads. I talk to Automation Component Distributor salesmen on a regular basis because those guys are speaking with customers every day....use them as free salesmen or free sources of leads.
=> Beg. I've done it, and it works sometime. Hungry kids are a great motivator and pride-destroyer.
=> When I cold call, I explain I do "little stuff" in order to get my foot in the door. This follows the strategy of an electrical friend of mine. He goes into a factory and talks with the technicians to do PLC programming, DVT vision camera work, etc. Small jobs, a few hundred dollars. That earns him the respect of the technician and the technician recommends him to the Mfg Engr decision maker who can turn him on to the larger jobs. It worked for him, it worked for me.
=> Treat any customers you get like Jesus. Nurture them, stroke them, shower them with affection, take them out to lunch.
=> Never hesitate to spend money on a lunch with any potential customer. Insist on it, if you have to. Email & trifolds are "cold", face to face meetings will put a human face on any situation and will earn empathy from the client.
=> Be absolutely, resolutely professional. Dress the part, lose any accents, never speak badly of any former clients or jobs. It is so ferocious out there that one cannot afford to pass on ANY negativity to a potential client.
Enough preaching, I have to get back to work. Good luck.
I have been on my own since '94 and faced tough times but I think this has to be the hardest I've seen for a lot of independents, especially since
9/11. Manufacturing has taken a pretty big whack in this area (N.E.) and rates are lower but you take what you have to to stay in business. There have been some bad weeks/months in the past couple of years. Currently I can't complain; things have been pretty steady but I was in the right place at the right time and I have to admit that luck had a hand in it.
I don't think there's a silver bullet here that will get your next assignment. But M,L & C are right about one thing: get your mug in front of some one you really want to work for. Make a short list of targets and most of all get a portfolio together. There is nothing like having cold hard proof of your abilities and hard work. They say a web site is mandatory but I look at one as an extension of my biz card and/or portfolio. It's nice to look at but I haven't gotten a single contract off the web even though I'm linked to the SW Partner List. I'd be interested to know if anyone has and how they did it. Maybe I'm an old timer but I can't see someone doing a Google search for a machine designer and giving them a job based solely on web content. How could a manager possibly validate a decision like that to his/her boss: " Oh, he has a nice web page". When pigs fly.
Be prepared to be on site as much as necessary. Most work you may be able to do independently but you have to get a handle on the a client's capabilities and focus. Additionally it is a great way to network your industry.
I did the tri-folds, the Business directory search, the mass mailing. It's pointless unless you follow up.
STUDY the local papers, not just the engineering classifieds. I find a lot of clues that sometimes give me an idea of who's busy, who got a contract etc., who might be gearing up because they just added on 2000 sq. ft. or hired a new V.P. of Eng. Someone you know gets the the annual Rotary Club Award, call and congratulate them.
Maybe we all get together and get a cooperative effort going. Who know's maybe SW might cough up some of that subscription money to seed the thing. Yeah, like on a cold day in hell.
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