The other day I was talking to a former subcontractor. She had just moved back to Houston from another city because illegals are taking all of the painting work where she was at.
I found this comment humorous. The zip code in which I have my office has about 80,000 residents. Of these, I would estimate that at least half are illegal. The streets around my office are filled with day laborers from dawn to dusk.
My point is, I am at or near ground zero on this issue. And I laugh—albeit a sad laugh—at those who use illegals as an excuse. If it weren’t illegals, it would be something else—the economy, cheap customers, sun spots, the phase of the moon, or something equally ridiculous.
Despite the plethora of illegals in my area, I have serious doubts that they have cost me many jobs. Perhaps one here and there, but not enough to worry about. You see, the customers I market to and serve aren’t looking for the lowest price. I market to the value shopper.
Illegals, and those who hire them, do not offer the same values I offer my customers. In short, they focus on a different market. I seriously doubt that Lexus is concerned about what deals Yugo is offering. So why should I worry about the Yugos of our industry?
If you worry about what others are doing you will have no shortage of issues to occupy your mind. And the sad thing is, you really can’t do anything about what they are doing, except whine. And whining is neither pretty nor effective.
If you think illegals are taking all of the work, maybe you are in the wrong line of work. Maybe you aren’t offering enough value. But that’s not my fault, nor is it the illegals.
hey, nice blog…really like it and added to bookmarks. keep up with good work