Sued and lost how do i come back????

I recently lost a case after two years of going to court. My bond company decided that they wanted to pay the guy because they did not want to pay their lawyer to come to a conference call anymore. The roof was never changed all leaks were fixed BEFORE the judgement. Inspector was on my side, material company on my side but....im screwed. How can I get another bond so I can keep working???I have been completely broke for months and am lost as howto get going again. Anyone have any suggestions? I need to pay 9,500 to the bonding company.

I forgot to mention that I was able to start that roofing business in 1996 because I got tired of being a sub-contractor for local companies ( at low pay ), took a crew of roofers to another state where a hail storm had occurred and worked there for 18 months ( at double the pay ) saving enough money to start my own business when I got back. And no, we weren't beating on peoples doors. We were beating on the roofs with roofing hammers.

You've already started one time, you know how to do it, you know what mistakes not to make and what things to do. you can start all over again. just think of it as, yes, you have a $9500 debt, but this time you don't have to spend any money on tools, learning curve, mistakes, etc. so its a wash.

If I was starting over I would remain small. Bigger doesn't always mean more profit, but it nearly always means more headaches, liability, and more sleepless nights.

I'd run a single crew and eventually have 1 or 2 more guys than needed to run the crew so that I could be away when I wanted.

And here is another idea - the profit margins for roof repairs is a lot higher than for complete roofs. The investment is next to nothing and the work is easy to sell because: 1) The commercial building customer would rather repair than reroof. 2) There is little competition.

I could start over tomorrow patching roofs and doing preventative maintenance and in less than 6 months be generating $1,000/day profit, easy.

Many years ago my dad and I started a franchise company called Roof Patch Masters. We spent $25,000 to create a franchise offering circular, per franchise law, and began selling roof repair franchises. The hangup was that virtually every single one of them turned into a full fledged roofing company. We cautioned franchisees not to become a roofer, but the temptation to grab those $25,000 small roof jobs was just too great. If that interests you, I'll be happy to e-mail you our manual on how to start a roof repair business for free, but it is a fairly large file and pretty basic info.

I will regret sharing this because a certain guy with no ideas of his own will steal it, but it is what it is.

Your just gonna have to arrange your personal bills to be as low as possible and live "below" your means so you can save and work your way back up.

I started a full service residential company in 1996 that eventually grew into quite a machine and held its own for many years until the economy crashed in 2009. It's been quite an adjustment to live without the proceeds that business provided for all those years.

My oldest daughter started college just 2 years after the company went down and it hasn't been easy trying to see her through but I keep on grinding. I decided to try and make it on repair work and this has also proven to be quite a challenge. So far, success or failure is still in question but I plan to be there when it becomes known. Good luck to you! ;)

I guess pain is a good thing then.

Trust me, if you have all your limbs and both eyes, you are wealthy! Everything else can be bought with money and money can always be made.

That's a good idea roofguy. I am and will continue to sub work until I rebuild my credit or save enough to get that bond posted. Yes I moved from Wisconsin to this red tape state they call California (bond required among other ridiculous things.) For now I am workin on keeping an ad in the paper..I used to be in the yellow pages, dad died in 08, stepmom was to stupid and closed my dads company after we built his name for 23 years. Yeah I miss my mentor. Thanks for the encouraging words. I tried a "job" at a production warehouse....I worked 3rd shift and made 8 bucks an hour, temp agency made 4 an hour on my 46 year old body. its not an option to get a job at my age im too used to roofing and love working at different locations.

In 1995 I went though a divorce. I had a little over $20,000 in unpayable supplier debt. The thing I was married to got all of the assets, I got all of the debt. Suppliers got paid eventually I did manage to save most of my tools and trucks and my pre-CBS telecaster. One supplier understood, another told me to get screwed. (Well...hello Menards!)

Later on in the 2008 meltdown my financial advisor would not listen and cost me at least $50,000 in my retirement account. (it is subjective and not hard math, so there is no correct amount). I survived.

In 2010 I overpaid on a piece of property. Ate up my cash. Now 4 years later, I'm a landlord and building a pole barn. But I've stuck with it. All of my trucks and equipment are paid for. While life is very good, I still walk on shaky ground. $9500 is a hill not a mountain.

I've been called a workaholic by people. Accused of being uptight. But I've always done what I had to do. I've paid every dime I've ever borrowed. Every bill that came due. And for many years it was work, work, work and work some more.

I think that bothers some people

To be fair, starting over at this point in life......whew. :S

Don't pay any attention to those roofers who forgot they didn't start at the top or that they had setbacks along the way. I can just about guarantee you, Still loving the pain, that 99% of those reading this have.

First off, don't be so down on yourself; you have been through hell and didn't give up. That's saying a lot about your grit. Most guys give up and go get a job and always wonder what might have been.

Are you in a state that requires a bond? If so, maybe subcontract work for awhile till you get back on your feet.

it is when im broke and went bankrupt in 2010 , not to mention my last two teenagers are growin up and wife divorced me in 2013 its been a challenging 5 years im feeling beatin and havin a hard time getting up!

Seriously, $9,500 is that deep of a hole?

Are You Serious?

So I can only hope to get a loan to payback my 9500. Ive been roofin for the last 36 years and have never seen my dad get into any of this kind of crap....man its frustrating when I want to be legit and it seems like honesty was not my best policy in this guys case...damn real estate people.

Well that's certainly the deal with insurance companies....the only fight they want is the one that raises premiums :laugh:

You could relocate to a state that is still free, like Texas, where the customer gets to decide if he requires a bond or not.

One of our customers probably counted his net worth in the low 9-figures. He owned an old retail chain whose name you would know and kept all the real estate after the chain was sold. Very wealthy, very wise man.

When I first started doing his roof work I told him I'd get him our insurance certificates. He told me: "I don't care whether you have a bunch of insurance or not - in fact, I'd prefer that you're not wasting $30,000 per month on insurance because I know that my share of that gets added to your bid on my work. I have coverage for anything that could go wrong."

Of course, few customers think like that so insurance is a necessary part of it.