just a quick question ihave been shaping now for a few years and i occasionally give lessons to people though i do ask them first if they are going into business then its a big no if they are as i live in a small country with only a few shapers so i have to protect my interests.
now i gave out a lesson to a guy and he was just going to make a few boards for himself now he has decided to start shaping boards for people (customs)
now i saw a few of his boards a few months ago and as a beginner they were what you would expect.
now i called him and told him he was doing it the wrong way with a big add on a surf site and that all the people thought he was a big time shaper, now pretty much he blew me off saying he would give it a try. even though i told him if he was going to do it just make few boards and try and sell them.
Burn his house down. No wait, I’m just kidding. You’re over it, why are you wasting your time even thinking about it? In my town (Santa Cruz Ca.) there are tons of shapers, and alot of them are kick-ass. Don’t see me bitching about it. Nothing like a little competition to make things fun if you ask me. -Carl
charge more money than he does because your boards are better ,do not fix any of his damaged boards any one who buys a board from you gets prompt ding repair on your boards only and do not even look at the other guys boards lest you be confused by his alternative approach…make the best board you have ever made every board…ambrose…zen shape the team bpards
I have thought about this also, but from the other side. I know a few shapers that I look up to and would love to sit in on, but I have no intentions of becoming a production shaper. So if you ask a shaper that, wouldn’t he be shooting himself in the foot. Mind you my level will never reach theirs. How would you go about doing this? Just be straight forward and tell him your intentions?
its a fact of life that a kid learns to build boards and then wants to start his own business ive got 8 other shapers within 30 minutes drive who all started with me and another 3 who are a safe distance away to have no impact at all…when the first guys moved on i was devastated and almost felt betrayed ,but then i realised i had done the same thing to the guys who trained me ,you just have to except it …when a guy would first start ,one of my comments were something like this<<<"i realise you probably wanna start your own business one day ,but i need something back for the effort i put into training you ,so id like you to treat it like an apprenticeship and commit to a certain amount of time working here "…
my approach was to make them feel that they owed me a few years of service in return for giving them a start in the industry,i think you really cant ask for much more…