What advice have I given then?
Anyone?
I think that some apart from having a very poor grasp of business theory, have got literacy problems.
The best tool that you've got DJW is your brain, and at least you are asking the right questions.Of course different strategies work. Matt's is okay, he aquired a 20yr old round that is mainly in one street, trads the bottoms, and is prepared to have a cuppa with 80yr olds that don't see a soul from one week to the next.(are these the same ones that send him home with a guilt complex when it's raining?).
So different strategies work, and some work better than others. What drives our business at the minute is change. The internet for one, with widespread broadband and online payments you no longer need to collect. Changes in technology- although wfp has been around for about ten years it has now gained widespread acceptance and the kit is cheap and it works. Changes in legislation WAHD means ladders are no longer the first option. I could go on.
Dia, and Matt, and Me, and you are all beneficaries of this. But which of us really takes advantage? Dia in his £350 van? Matt with his make do pole?
Buying a 30k setup isn't an option for you at the moment, and it's an extreme example, but it is something you should aspire to.