Hi all!! just wanted to pop in real quick and say hi and appologize for not being involved as much as i used to be. life has just gone crazy in the last few months. most of you know after getting laid off in august i decided to open up a fab shop based on a big contract i got from marriott hotels for a prototype and production run that would have set me up for quite a while. once the prototype was complete and paid for they never put in the order. i was fortunate enough to get some exposure through the jeep club i'm in which is also a forum and about 3000 members stong which is 90% all locals. i have been building cages, roof racks and all sorts of other things. with some exposure from craigslist as well i have been blessed since opening the doors to be booked consistently about 2 weeks out. much to our surprise, after complications with pregnancy, my wife delivered or fist child 6 weeks early. the neo natal hospital that is the best in the valley was 50miles from our house. i was driving over 100 miles a day from the hospital, to the shop, to the house to get cleaned up, then spending the night in the hospital... i was working 12 hour days and it was exhausting. Lincoln made it home after a grueling 3 weeks in ICU and has continued to thrive since then. gaining weight and reaching milestones as he should. the 6 day weeks with 12 hour + days have continued and i praise the Lord every day i get home exhausted to have so much work during the current economic climate that continues to decline. one friday i came in at my usual 7am, worked until 4.30am saturday morning, took a 4 hour nap in my truck out front and worked until 1pm. this was to meet a customer's deadline and also to free up a full sunday to spend with my family. the shop has been succesful enough that jennifer was able to walk away from her corporate position with one of the leading home builders in the valley and get to be a stay-at-home mom!! she just submitted her letter of resignation yesterday as i said before we have been blessed and continue to thank the Man Upstairs. in such a short time we have progressed from a small shop with no business license and a cell phone and huge fear of failure, to a legitimate Limited Liability Company with full resale benefits and proper license and a vanity phone number 623.939.WELD . i've even got the giant check book i feel so much more professional when i pull that out rather than pulling cash out of pocket. with the missus staying at home she has relieved my burden of dealing with paper work. she is a financial analyst and has taken over the book keeping and set everything up with remote desktopping to stay on top of it all. the changes all came with the new year, and after writing a check this morning i spent 10 minutes trying to enter it into quickbooks and finally gave up, she can do it... lol. so, in closing, since i have to get to work, i'm sure my time here will be just as limited as it has been the last few months, but if you guys need anything or have any questions that you think i can help with, don't hesitate to catch my attention with a PM or sending me an email to stonesoupmetalworks@gmail.com. and i'm sure it's in my signature, but feel free to take a look at my latest projects and you will certainly understand my overload of work
Completely understand Milt! Thanks for taking the time to give us an update. Good to hear everything is going well and hope to hear from you again soon. -Greg
Milty, Milty, Milty I am headed your way again in about 2 weeks. Got to get some more trucks in Calif. I'll stop by and you can buy me lunch with that Big O Check Book. I knew you would make it happen. Rock n Roll ! Terry
