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anthony szabo

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Posts posted by anthony szabo

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Who here is a bankruptcy educated?

    It is normal business to build a empire like a casino then file whatever type of bankruptcy? and still operate?

    It cleans off all their debt and they restructure in another name. It's just seems not fair to me. But, is that how big big big business really works up to a certain point?

    MGM group of what ever holdings they are has done this before in the past and how many times? Come on! its Vegas and its a casino. If they file bankruptcy they need to board up the doors and shut the place down......(peroid)

    Does this lay the ground work for a small business to do the same?

    Please somebody with educated knowledge of bankruptcy give some thoughts here!

    Tony

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Good post Tom,

    The customer market varies from town to town, state to state.

    We are so close in distance, and our markets are so different. I like several products for different customers, different woods, different looks, different application issues, different prep work, different deck structure................................and so on.................................every market and decks are different.

    My spell check is not working! How did I do?

    Tony

  4. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    You are putting yourself thru to much pain and to much efforts. Make your decks easy and profitable.

    When you come across those Behr and difficult decks sell your customer on the correct way and why the correct way. Then bid according for the job. If they want a cheap job they need to understand the out come will be cheap.

    Move onto simple and easy products that give good results and yield less head aches.

    There is not room for mistakes on deck jobs! one mistake and a unwanted call back you will loose the profit.

    I understand your issue, but either get the right ammount to do a PITA deck, or just don't do it. The cost of your time on a PITA deck you will be able to go out and do two other normal decks with nice profits!!!!!!

    Hope I did not dodge your question?

  6. Posted · Report reply

    John,

    I have known you for a real long time now. Your busting my ball'* here. What are you thinking. How many times do I have to give you sound advise here?

    I'm telling you put your efforts into your own business. Its to exhausting, expensive, and stressful, to try to change this industry and you know this first hand. Your efforts are understandable and motive is to help, but be prepared my friend.

    If you want to spend monies invest in me and I will help you grow!

  8. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    Ok, I'm in right................?

    My wife has given me the ok to go to this event. 9-20-09 is her birthday and I did not want to go because of that reason. She has allowed me to be gone on her birthday, just as long as I hopefully win something.

    See you all this weekend!

    Tony

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Trex decks along with any other composite decks are made up of plastic and saw dust. Now when the decking gets wet the wood in the decking absorbs the waters, snow, etc.

    Now, we all know what normal outdoor wood does in the weathering process, it turns gray because its a form of mildew.

    Well, the same thing is happening here with composites, but its actually leaching out from the inside of the composite structure.This is why you see the black spots on composite decks. The Black spots is the wet wood mildew trying to leach out, but it also has plactic that also involved in the making of composite structure.

    So just like Ken says, You have to clean and kill the mildew and now seal the composite to keep the water out from attacking the wood in the composite.

    Just always look at a customers composite deck, and under the soffet area of the house you will see nice beautiful composite clean deck. Or look at a area where water does not get on (like under a umbrella base).

    This is the same as wood stains on wood decks. The wood stain will look beautiful on areas of the decking that does not see the weathering process and is protected from the Rains, Sun, Snows, Mother Nature, ETC.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks Tom,

    For the words of hope! Kinda getting of subject but my wife and I are having a hard time just going to church, because her Father and Mother always sat with us and now its just her Mom. The Church was my father-in -laws pride.

    As for the K-1 to clean, Rod's advice is what I would do. My post above is saying not to use large quantity's of K-1.

  14. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    Another Story,

    A pressure washing contractor (low baller) always used kerosene as a degrease because its old school on degreasing. The contractor would spray kerosene on a equipment then pressure wash off. Well the contractor done this for many months before one day the engine compartment caught on fire and it cost the company over $100g's to rewire the machine.

    The company did not know the low baller was using K-1 to do his work. Needless to say we picked up a nice account using bio-degradable degreasers and using hot water to clean.

    Fuel is fuel, fuel is not a cleaner! Be-careful! and think of the ground contamination you just created by using fuel as a cleaner.

    Both these cases were using excess k-1 as a degreaser and I'm positive Rod is giving good advise. But we all must not forget everyone can see what you are doing by doing a search on you.

  15. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    kerosene!

    Rod has been in business for many years and has a ton of great advise. Just want to share a couple of K-1 stories with you all.

    All I can say is make sure your insurance is paid up. If it is paid up, you better hope your insurance agent and the underwriters don't goggle you and see you are cleaning with a Fuel source.

    Here is a quick story

    A customer of mine had a friend that was having a hard time to get a certain sealer to work properly on his newer deck around a pool. This man was talking with the chemist that help develop the sealer to fine the right answer. They were both at their Witt's ends on dealing with the product including removing it off the deck.

    The chemist told the home owner to strip off the deck with a flammable raw solvent, and guess what it worked.

    The home owner was not home a few days later and returned to his home completely burnt down. The flammable material used not only soaked into the wood but the electrical wire around a pump was bad and the entire home was a loss.

    A multi million dollar law-suit was filed and the home owner won.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Thank you Beth for the kind words,

    This all boils down to "just be careful who you are chatting with".

    I had concerns a few years back on "newbie" people doing education at round tables and conventions. It raised some controversy and good points were brought up. To this date some of these people are the leading for front of their specific niche in the pressure washing industry. Some of them are completely gone and not to be heard of again.

    If you are going to follow the leader make sure your leader is creditable.

    If you are going to have disciples and help them out make sure they too are creditable.

    This is all from experience!

  18. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    Dan,

    You make a good point. Let me share my story.

    We have been a Pressure Washing Service contractor for over 17 years now, and you just need to be careful who you help.

    Our location is Northern Illinois but we work in about 20 States thru out the years, and still do on certain projects commercial and residential. Yes, residential hundreds of miles from home. All of this is based on volume by another customer.

    I helped a long distant popular BBS person that is well know on these Boards. They were about 1,000 miles away and we have been doing work some what close to them, but they knew nothing of us servicing my big customer which brought us in the area.

    Anyway, they wanted to kinda get involved in the work I was doing and I helped them with information on how to get started and profitable ideas to make some good money. Well that persons approach to the Big customer was all wrong, and said well "You do this for Tony, why not myself". I got all my benefits cut and lost all jobs outside my area because I helped someone I trusted because of these BBS's.

    Now, the big company changed everything Nation Wide and a lot of Pressure Washing Contractors also loss their benefits as well, because of myself trying to help another Contractor who I thought would never play a bad card against me because I was helping them out to maximum best management on this type of work.

    This person blew a good thing for alot of people in the Pressure Washing Industry.

    The INTERNET and these BBS's are powerful tools and you do not know the real motive behind some people on thses boards. This is where you need to go face to face events and dig/research before you help someone. If not you may get you throat cut by someone who you thought had honest business ethics and then lose a great customer because you helped out someone who had a big BBS spotlight.

    Don't disagree with Dan too much here guys! This story hit the pocket book HARD!!!!!!!!

  23. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    Good reading guys,

    We advertised our brochures first week in August, sent out about 6,000 pieces for these types of reasons. The schedule was already tough to keep up with, but the idea was to keep the schedule so full that we just would book jobs for spring of 2009. The worst thing is that our season got cut short with cold weather so now the spring list is well over 40 residential and commercial jobs to start with. This is not to mention the 10,000 brochures we will send out this spring 2009 to keep the schedule full.

    Hope this helps,

    Tony

    I seen some Car Dealerships offering a two for one deal. Or buy one and get a second Truck for FREE!

    Texas I think?

  25. Posted · Edited by anthony szabo · Report reply

    Sounds like Seal Maxx. Or it is Seal Maxx operating under a different name because of all their law-suits. A insurance agent bought into the Seal Maxx for the same kind of money you are talking about $100,000 for a territory. He did well for about two years selling their theory to customers never seal again, and he was charging between $3.00 to $5.00 per square foot and getting it. Then about two years of him being in business he has customers suing him to the point where he is completely broke, divorced, and has no credit to buy a gum ball!

    This guy was a super pleasant person but he was suckered in with the Seal Maxx people and he bought about three territories totaling about $300,000 and the products failed and now his customers are hunting him down. It got so bad he had to move to a different State. The Seal Maxx company destroyed this honest man's life every way you can think about it.

    This type of business oppoturinty will pray on the person that has no back ground in the business like they did to the Insurance Guy.

    The most positive thing came about it was he gave me all of this customers list of about 300 plus customers and ask me to market them to help them solve their decking issues.

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