SLCVE Opportunity for Builders

Greetings, SL Building Community:

We at the SL Chamber of Virtual E-Commerce are looking to create listings of as many builders as possible. This is purely to promote the business community within SL and give new (and seasoned) visitors to SL a guide to where they can go to get done what they want done, whether that's a texture, a building, a necklace or a victorian chair. We'll be visiting your creations and including reviews in our listings at the SLCVE.

If you are interested (and really, this will amount to free marketing for you and promote a great organization), please reply and post the following:

Name
Builder Type: Architect, General Fabricator, Jeweler, Texture Artist, Sculptor/Painter, Landscaper
Typical Fee
SL Work Experience
Examples: give location of shop or of items/buildings you have created

Thanks, and we look forward to building a great business community.

Yellan Howl,
SLCVE Business Consultant

Don't bother...

It'll be unfair for people who doesn't have all the skills get a job in SL because "YOU" redirect them to better people who can already easily make more money in a heart beat.


It's good that you're trying something, but try something better.

I'm not sure how to interpret this statement. The two candidates I have are:

1) It's unfair to less-skilled builders because the commissioning public will become aware of better alternatives.

or

2) It's unfair that less-skilled builders might take away work from others.

Personally, I think it's a reasonably benign idea, and if it helps a few people find work, so much the better. I'll sign up.

i don't see any unfairness, if i have to hire someone i will choose the best my budget allow.

it is a pretty distorded notion of fairness, fairness doesn't mean everybody can get the same job, it mean that everybody will get the job they deserve according to their capabilities

I second Matt's statement. I have no idea what you're trying to say here, Vincent. How exactly could creating a directory be "unfair" to anyone? The OP's stated goal is to include as many builders as possible. It doesn't say anything about assigning any value judgments to any of the names.

If I wanted to create a list of professional athletes, would you say I'm being "unfair" to all the people who are not good at sports? Of course not. That would be ludicrous.

Well, the same principle applies to this proposed directory of builders. Those who are in the building business may choose to put their names on the list. Those who are not builders won't. It couldn't be more simple.

Just for the sake of argument though, let's say your assumption is correct, and that the list will somehow serve to recommend certain people over others by setting some sort of minimum ability requirements or even by passively calling attention to the quality of people's previous works. So what? That wouldn't be "unfair" any more than life is "unfair".

In RL, it goes without saying that those who don't have the skills to do a certain job can't succeed in that job. The same is true in SL. That's just how the universe works. There's nothing fair or unfair about it.

Now, if you want to talk about what actually would be unfair, it would be to do the opposite, and assign some sort of communist-minded forced equality, promoting the completely unrealistic belief that everyone can and should have the exact same accessibility to every potential job. That would be extremely bad for everyone concerned.

First, when someone's making a hiring decision, he or she has every right - no, make that every OBLIGATION - to choose the best, most qualified person for the job. It would be unimaginably unfair to hide from a customer/employer the relevant facts about each person's abilities out of some misguided, bass-ackwards sense of "fairness" to all applicants.

Second, allowing someone to do a job for which he or she is not well suited can only lead to disaster. The worker will inevitably end up very unhappy. Sure, he or she might be initially contented at the prospect of getting a paycheck, but as soon as the actual work begins, and the demands of the job exceed the person's abilities, he or she is only going to experience stress, embarrassment, resentment, and tension. Over time, that can lead to serious self esteem issues.

People can get seriously hurt emotionally, physically, financially, and otherwise when the wrong person is in the wrong job. In RL, for example, a contractor who tries to operate outside his particular skill set can end up in civil court, or even in jail, after doing shoddy work. In SL, it couldn't quite go that far, but the principle is the same. Only those who are actually good at what they do, or at the very least show legitimate promise, should ever be hired for any job.

Those who are not well qualified for a desired job should either invest the necessary time and effort to get their skills up to snuff (just like the rest of us did) or they should find something else to do. Again, that's just how the universe works. There's no good, bad, right, or wrong in it. It simply is.

The bottom line is that while all people of course deserve to be treated as equals in a social humanistic sense, people are inherently very unequal when it comes to task-specific abilities. That's why different jobs exist in the first place. The idea is that someone who's good at a certain thing should do that thing while someone else whose talents lie elsewhere does something else. It's called division of labor, and it's the only "fair" way to do it.



Well said, Kyrah.




Yellan, I think you've got an interesting idea. Just so you know, I don't think it's the first time someone's tried to do something like this, and I think most have failed just because it's a bitch to keep up with it as the world grows and grows and grows, but if you feel you can make it work, great. Feel free to add me to your list. Here's the info you asked for:

http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=105767&sort=Pictures.PictureID+desc&Name=Margot+Abattoir


COUNT ME IN! (Think Margot sent in her waterfall portfolio to you too.) So, get at it, pal
Don't think it's a great idea to put our price structure on forum. There's some sort of 'stroke survivor's' group here, and I'd rather not increase its ranks.
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PAYABLE ONLY THROUGH PAYPAL

By the way, I work for Nic Nicholas who runs the SLCVE. One of the key reasons she hired me was because this is an ambitious project that requires a lot of research. There are some realities here.

1. Those who run a business, run a business. I am interested in treating people well, but I don't treat people fairly. What I mean by that is when I look for a a graphic artist or fellow writer for a project in real life, I will often try out amateurs IF they have a way of showing some promise. If not, I go with the people who have a fascinating body of work. That's real life and Second Life. If you are not good at what you do, get better. If not, you won't succeed. That's simply a fact of life and translates into the business world.

2. I am not here to create an elite society of builders, artists or whatever. Like any Chamber of Commerce, we want to promote commerce in all its forms at every level. This means that if you want to commission a work from a well-established sculptor, you will pay more for his work. Waaaaaayyy back in the early 1980s, I read Donald Trump's "Art of the Deal." In it, he talks about visiting a painter friend of his who picked up a bucket of paint and flung it at a canvas. The artist then said, "Look, I just made $25,000." That's because his reputation and work is in such demand, he can get great prices. HOWEVER, not everyone can afford to run out and buy a $25k painting, so a lot of artists who are selling $25L, $100L and even $1000L pieces are going to get work and we want to give people a central place to find them.

3. We want to make businesses successful. Many of the SLCVE are business owners as well and we want to keep an open forum and be an advocate for fair taxes (in RL), contracts in RL/SL, and good business practices. We want to know when business owners are operating in a shady manner so that we can advocate for those who provide consistent and positive service to their customers.

Personally i think this is brilliant. At least unknown Builders can now display and play with the big boys. Personally I think it's great. I'm signing up


Name : Haden Divisadero
Builder Type: Architect, Landscaper, Furniture (just started)
Typical Fee : Variable but 200 - 600 for a low prim custom houses(25-60). I also produce prefabs which sell at a lower price because they won't be originals.
SL Work Experience
Creator of Althorp Towers. (I'll get back to you on the location because SL is down.)
I've a few works on sample at Althorp Towers Reception which is one of my vendors.

Cheers
Haden

Sounds like a nice idea. I've been building in SL for over 2 years now and I never advertise. Most of my business is by word of mouth or people flying by one of my projects. Must be working because im constantly working on something new or taking on new projects in addition to my wedding business in SL. I see this maybe as an opportunity just for people to see my creativity and how much I enjoy making things.



Name: Jade Opel

Builder Type: Architect, General Fabricator, Texture Artist, Landscaper-friends call me the dream builder, I have a way of understanding people's visions and an over active imagination to give it that little extra. I can also do minor scripting work and work with particles.

Typical Fee: Dont usually have a typical fee however I try to quote low because I enjoy building and working for people that may become a friend or recommend me for other projects. Prices I usually base on size of the project but as in some cases the cause outweighs the fee and I have done many projects for no fee at all just as a donation towards the cause (ex. The Blioxi Lighthouse Project-donated a replica of the Biloxi Lighthouse towards relief fund for Hurricane Katrina Victims) You will receive a written quote from me at the start of the project with an estimate of time to complete the project... any changes to plans will be discussed and additional fees discussed as well if necessary.

SL Work Experience: For the best place to see a comprehensive photo display as well as artist notes on all of my builds, please visit my gallery at my main store location in Hogback listed under Jade Opel Designs (can be found on my profile or in search under Jade Opel Designs)
some noteworthy larger projects include:

Central Park Sim- done for Anshe Chung (some things have changed over time but for the most part you can see a lot of the original work I did there)

Cameo Island Sim- my main buisiness sim designed and built with my partner Almitra Blair

The Grove, Point of No Return- 1/2 a Sim next door to Cameo Island (the large castle and country setting)

1/4 sim project in Tenifere-large mediterranian house built for Bartiloux Desmoulins-house with the land currently for sale.

Full Sim project on Vincenti Dynasty Sim- 2 custom cartel-type houses, landscaping, mall and beach areas (owner changed a few things to accomodate a new project venture on the island after I completed the Sim)

and many more smaller homes and landscaping projects acrosss SL

hurly Burleigh

Type: Architect/general fabricator/jeweller/sculptor/Texture artist(learner)

Typical Fee: negotiable depending on the size/complexity of the build. I build for fun not profit generally.

SL work experience:Just over 1 year

Examples: Sinsation Casino/apartments (sinsation) .. several castles.. Japanese dojo's ..
Persian pool and store .. modern building (jodis)
altars and thrones.. jewellery.. toys and many more.
you name it will try to make it.lol
IF YOU WISH TO SEE ANY BUILDS IM ME INWORLD. (I have snapshots of a lot of my builds but dont know how to upload them here)

Sounds like a great idea to me too I'll jump in!

Name: Almitra Blair

Builder Type: I specialize in Victorian architecture, this is my "love" in building but is not my only style of architecture. I like to create a rapport with my clients, to ensure that what they 'see' for their new home or build, is what I 'see' as well. At the end of the day, if my clients aren't happy with their home, I'm not happy.

Texture Creator: Many of my builds will include custom made textures. As well as the textures used on my antiques.

Furniture Builder:I build antique furniture, seen at both my antique store in Hikuelo and on Cameo Island, see my picks in world for Landmarks to both locations.

Prefab builds: I have a small sampling of prefabs homes at my Hikuelo store, mostly for the "Newbie" market, priced reasonably and generally low prims to allow set-up on smaller parcels of land.

Typical Fee: My fee's vary, depending upon the complexity of the build, time constraints, prims to be used, architectural style, etc. I do not take every custom home interview that I receive and I don't do rush jobs! My SL time is very valuable to me and I don't want to rush through a build for a client just to have it look like something they could have purchased as a prefab. My clients usually tell me that I don't charge nearly what I'm worth, but I'd rather be happy with what I deliver than rich The jobs that I do take, I provide 100% satisfaction. I provide a baseline estimate at the beginning of the job, and ask for a 1/3 down, 1/3 during and 1/3 at completion fees. If my build goes over the baseline estimate, I notify the homeowner of the increase in fee's and give an amended quote. I work very closely with my clients and solicit their input on a nearly daily basis as I work on the project.


SL Work Experience: I've been building in SL for over 2 years.

For examples of my work:

You can see a selection of Victorian style stores that I built on Cameo Island, developed by myself and my partner, Jade Opel.

I developed and built the Passion Sim, home of the Gorean House Iaomai. Admin. building, Tavern, Housing, Learning Center, and assorted outbuildings.

Another Private Estate was recently built in Caledon Cay for Ms Heidi Pieterson.

I have many many many more projects that I have pics of. Some are still in world, others have gone the way of the do do bird but are alive in the hearts of some. I would be happy to show these to anyone interested in seeing additional projects I've been involved in.

Great Idea!

Name: ArchTx Edo, VRchitecture
Builder Type: Architect, General Fabricator, Sculptor/Painter
Typical Fee: Commenserate with the needs of the project.
SL Work Experience: Building in SL since Feb. 2005, Numerous of prefab homes and other objects. Joint ventured on Club Koilos (gone) a large cave complex, club and environmental build.
Examples: VRchitecture Model Homes, Shona (60, 215), see also the SLExchange and SLBoutique websites (URL's below). Photos also at http://www.pbase.com/cptinrn/sl
Qualifications: Architect in RL, 25 years of experience. Master of Architecture, B.F.A. Studio Arts (sculpture & painting). Last project completed in RL, US$50 mil City Hall.