sthom21

Just a couple things to consider.... I would not advertise any prices. A year or two from now someone may have a flier with that price and insist you do their job for that price. It could come back to bite you. If you insist on advertising a price, you need to stipulate a limit on the price. $50 for up to 1000 square feet or something like that. Otherwise you will get the guy with a 1000 foot long extra wide driveway and parking for 10 cars that wants it all done for $50. Another thing to consider is how it will look to your potential customers when they call you for a great deal and you show up trying to beat them to death with add ons and upgrades to increase the sale. Nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than those guys. That's not to say it isn't important to offer the add ons and upgrades, but at a starting point of $50, you need to be agressive to get the extra sales to make the job worth the effort. Most people don't like agressive sales people. Once you start to sell based on price, it is very difficult to justify increases in your price. People already have a preconceived idea of what your service is worth because you told them you will work cheap. $50 is cheap by most peoples standards. Once you go down that road, it is almost impossible to start selling based on quality. Good Luck with the business. Hope it works out well for you.

Lowes and Home depot have test kits available for testing existing paint for lead. Ask at the paint counter.

Assuming there is no glaze to be removed on the tiles you are talking about, there are still potential issues with a surface cleaner. The biggest problem I would have is the question of how much water is being forced up underneath the tiles that could contribute to rotting of the underlayment. I would need to see some pretty compelling evidence to convince me that the methods you are describing are not damaging the roof in one way or another. Just because a company with an apparent good reputation uses a particular method to do something, doesn't mean it is the best method. Lots of companies start doing something one way and never bother to learn a better method because what they are doing seems to be working. That's kind of the point we are trying to make here. There are many ways to get the end results you want, but are all of those methods safe for you and your customers property? Post the pictures of the tiles and the roof when you can. It would be nice to have a clearer idea of what we are trying to help you with.

Never use a surface cleaner on a roof. For one reason. it can strip the glaze off of tile due to the pressure needed to operate the cleaner. Another would be that it is dangerous on a slippery slope of a roof and could cause severe injury especially if you lose your balance and fall off the roof. Not to mention that it took about 3 times a long as it should have for that size roof. Using the right tools is key in every profession. There is a ton of information available to learn the safest possible methods for doing this job. Take some time and read up on the topic. Check out some of the bulletin boards that specialize in roof cleaning. Here are 2 that I look at frequently. Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Professional Non Pressure Roof Cleaning and Power Washing Forum & Cleaning Contractor Directory Good luck.

I am not the most experienced contractor on this board, but, I do have extensive experience writing bids for a variety of work. If you disagree with the process and the way the bid is written, take the time to call the person in charge and ask for a meeting at the site of the work. Ask them to explain the short term and the long term goals of the project. Then explain the reasons that their bid will not yield the results they are looking for. Let them know that you can tell them the right way to do the job if they are interested in listening. Let them know you would like to bid the job, buit as it is written you will not risk your companies reputation by bidding the job, because it will not come out as they expect it to. Have good reasons and data to back up any claims you make. Be respectful and courteous and you will probably see a revision that specs the job in a manner you can live with. You may even be able to spec the job for them. I rewrote specs several times when reputable contractors explained why they were withdrawing from the bid process. Just don't leave them feeling like a moron. I have had to write bids for jobs I had no idea how to accomplish. It was the contractors who helped me modify the RFQ that made the final cut in the bid process. Good Luck.

OK, I will risk stepping into the fire here. I am a Newbie. Only my second year coming up, and part time on top of being a newbie. I have done several house washes, a few sidewalks, 3 decks, 1 fence and several roofs. But, I have a whole lot yet to learn. I do not consider myself to be in the same class as most of you here. I feel I have a long road to get there. I really appreciate all the help and information I have gotten from the various BBS's. It has helped me to avoid mistakes I am certain I would have made otherwise. Reading all the comments about lowballers made me very cognizant of my pricing strategy so as not be labelled a lowballer. I have lost more than a few jobs because I wouldn't drop my price, so I am not a lowballer by any means. I have spoken to a few of the regulars here and have gotten great advice from one of my local competitors. I respect him for his willingness to help me, the industry and ultimately himself by sharing information. I say he is ultimately helping himself because I will refer jobs that I am not ready for to him simply because he was so willing to help even though we are technically competitors. I think that takes alot of class and professionalism. You might say it set the "Diamond" standard. I don't expect something for nothing from these boards. When I have something constructive to add, I do. Unfortunately, I do not yet have the knowledge to add something new to most posts because someone with alot more experience has already made the point I was thinking of. In the end, it is up to each of us individually to decide to either help a newbie out or leave them to their own devices and hope for the best. I intend to help others whenever I can. The same way others have helped me.

The situation is definitely a shame. It would be nice to hear Powerwash Pro's side of this. I think most of us can understand financial problems, if that is the reason. But, I agree with Beth, it has been more than long enough for them to address this with you and it is high time to take the next step. It's a tough situation. God Luck to you.

I like it. I also do not break out the various components of the job, but I rarely have any additional equipment fees. It is probably a good idea to have a line specifically for that. According to State Law, I have to have a notice of cancellation rights adjacent to the customer signature with start and finish date information. I need to design mine. I have 3 different estimate sheets I use depending on what type of work I am doing. I need something more basic that could be used for what I need at the time. Guess I have some work to do now.

I used to live in Frisco, just north of Dallas. Gotta love those Christmas Days wearing shorts and T-Shirts. Now I'm in Connecticut where it is snowing right now changing over to sleet and freezing rain later today. What fun we have around here!! Congrats on the work. It sounds like a great job, aside from the sunburn.

I would really like a copy of the Management Guidelines as well. But if I need to wait till spring, that's alright.

We are an LLC mainly for the perception of being "more professional". Being more protected from lawsuits was also a selling point for us. A properly setup LLC with all the correct paperwork and policies makes it very difficult to pierce the veil.

$3.05 this morning at the station I usually go to. Most others around here are at $3.25 or higher. It sucks that it took a practical financial meltdown in this country to bring gas prices down.

Thats funny. My wife didn't want the company in her name, but we are still talking about this topic. There are alot of potential benefits. It's not like she doesn't run things already. She takes care of all of the office stuff while I do the estimating and the jobs. We just lost a city job to a landscaper that happens to offer PW when things are slow, just because the company is owned by a woman. Hers was the only woman business to bid the job. I spoke to our Town Manager about the maintenance of the properties the Fed buys up. He said if he hears anything, he will pass it along. So, if I hear anything, I will pass it along as well.

I couldn't tell from this post if you ever used a drum sander so I would like to put in my two cents just in case. If you have never used a drum sander with 36 grit, I suggest trying it on a couple pieces of old decking or a piece of plywood before using it on a customers deck. 36 grit will take alot of wood very quickly if you are not careful. It is very easy to leave divots and end up with an uneven surface. Practice is key to getting a smooth surface with a drum sander. Even 80 grit can get away from you if you haven't done it before. The processes mentioned above are definitely the right way to go, but be very careful as it is easy to take alot more wood than you may think are taking. A possible alternative: It will take quite a bit more time, but if you have a belt sander, it would be alot easier to contol than a big drum floor sander, and alot easier to fix any problem. Good Luck!!

Fax # 860-512-0046 Thanks Ron.

My suggestion is take this story and your contract to your Lawyer and ask him or her to edit the contract to address all of the issues raised here. It may cost a few bucks, but my guess is, not as much as you already lost on this guy. My sympathies to you on having to deal with this guy. We all have our horror stories, but this is one of the worst I've heard in a while. If it were me, I would go to the mutual friend and inform him or her that there is a problem and things may get ugly between you and the other friend and you do not want them to get invloved, but felt they should be aware. Don't give them any details and let them know you feel this issue is between you and the guy who contracted your services. If they really respect your freindship, they will stay out of it. You are in a tough spot. Best of luck to you.

I checked out your ad from the link you provided. Not a bad start, but in my opinion, a little generic. Unless you pay by the word, or are limited to a certain number of lines or characters, add something more specific. And tell them to Call Today, or Call Today for their free estimate. Assuming you do free estimates. Come up with a couple potential ads and run them all by your close friends and relatives. Ask which one would motivate them to call you the most, and then ask why. It's the why that may help you out the most in finding what will work best for you. I learned alot when I tried this. I did not ask for any help on my first 2 mailing campaigns. I knew what I was doing and what I wanted to say. WHAT A DISASTER!! 2000 postcards generated 3 calls which turned into one job, and I was lucky to get that one. My family tore my postcards apart and gave ALOT of great advice. My next mailing was much more productive. I actually made money!! Good luck.

Could I get a copy as well? Just starting out and would like to see what veterans are using. Thanks either way. thompsonpw@yahoo.com

Sounds like something I could really benefit from. Just starting out and would really like to see someone who knows their stuff in action. I would have attended a paid class, but my start up budget is just too tight to spend the kind of money most are charging in addition to travel and lodging. Just afraid it would leave me too short if something were to go wrong. And We all know Murphy's Law, don't we?

I used to be a network manager at a local school system and they did Locks of Love every year. Every year there were at least 20 kids that donated their hair. Awesome program. Your daughter has alot to be proud of, as do you.

I would really like to be back in Texas. We moved from Connecticut to Frisco, Texas in 1999 to help JCPenney with their Y2K problems. We stayed 5 years, until my wife informed me that she was moving back to be close to family. But, when we first arrived there, I was shocked when total strangers would say "Hey Y'all" when they passed us on the street. It was very different for me. I really miss that. Most people here are not that pleasant on a regular basis. Maybe it's the cold!!

Congratulations Doug!!! I will be opening my business in the spring and I hope to do as well as you apparently have done. It's nice to hear success stories here. It really motivates me to make it happen for myself and my family. Congratulations again, and best wishes for your continued success!!

I would definitely buy a few, depending the final price. I have learned alot so far and I expect I will learn a whole lot more from this board. It is the least I can do to help support the site. Thanks.

I am fairly new to this BB and the business. In fact, my business will not actually be open until April. But, I have been reading and learning alot. I have had a couple of off line conversations with people who did not know me from Adam. But, they were more than willing to offer advise and guidance. This is more like a family than anything else.

For $108K they offered exclusive rights to an area with a population just over 800K. I could have opted for the non-exclusive option for about $20K less. The price included the initial franchise fee, the exclusive rights to my area, equipment, training, initial supplies, initial marketing materials, uniforms and access to their support line and other Sparkle Wash franchisees.