Keep a Digital Camera in your tool box

[RAAM]

Last Christmas my wife bought me a digital camera and I have not let it out of my sight since! Whenever we go "antiquing" or out for a drive, to a craft show, or wherever, I always have the camera ready to take a quick picture of my next woodworking project. I also use it in combination with a computer drawing program to show my clients what their finished home improvement project will look like when completed. I simply take a picture of what is to be changed about thier home and then add the additon, deck, or whatever. I now provide a little "before and after" album of each project for my clients, which is a big hit. This is a tremendous marketing tool for those of you who are contractors and it is also helpful when doing estimates.

I have also found it very useful when dismanteling a tricky electrical hookup, or any other system. I just take a picture of how it was before I started taking it apart, so I can put it back together the same way.

[Mark]

One of my colleagues had a good idea about his digital camera, similar to the b-4 & aft album you provide your customers, and he used it to make the camera pay for itself! In addition to general woodworking and furniture restoration, he takes small home wall repair jobs from delivery services (you know, the delivery guys bang up the walls; he goes in and touches them up). What he did was to offer the delivery companies a set of b4 & afts of the damage/repair for a small fee, which they can then file for insurance claims or for evidence when it comes time to dock the driver's pay! Went over well and he had paid for the camera in just a couple months!

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"You are a creative problem solver"
- Mark, www.mybldg.com (http://www.mybldg.com)