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Jeff

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Posts posted by Jeff

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Ron no these were building washes. When I do parking garages machines are on the outside and we just run hoses in

    As for monitoring comany I call the GM each morning & she calls monitoring company. The last day she admitted she forgot, thats why FD came, thats on her and the check is on its way per PM no prob

    As for the plywood I have 15 sheets in half, I give many the option if they stress concern, then when I give them cost, they say just drive on grass its OK. I do write up in contract in detial about grass & lift, I tell them may leave impressions and I am not resposible for ANY damage. Ive been surprised thay HOA's or GM's havent called me and said e arent agreeing to that, but they havent. Only one time someones complained and it was a deep hole near a retaining wall and I put a little fill dirt and some sod. I could have pointed the to the line in the contract & said not my problem, but I made the hole so i fixed it.

    As for the water main the PM told me they had a regular board meeting and they said no problem for me I cant see under ground and they are going after old plumber. The pipes were to be 4 feet under and they werent

    Just been one of those weeks, just something you have to deal with. I hate problems, but they do come up

    JL

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Life is Good but can be stressful also

    Today one of my guys said at the end of the day yesterday he sunk the lift in the grass a little. I told him no big deal we'll look at it. When we turned the corner there was water bubbling up from the ground. I said OH S--- I called the PM and told her. The sent irrigation guy , then fire sprinler guy, Well after about an hr and 7 or 8 more guys they finally got the water off. Im thinking they are going to try to lay this on me. My lift My problem> It was the main to building. Now they have to go in 26 units and turn of water heaters etc It a 4" main reduce to a 3" and it was ONLY 6" under ground and on top of that the fill that they used was crap there was a rock about a fot long and wide right on top of the pipe. Im talking with const. super and said your not trying to lay this on me. Plumbers show up and laughed how shallow it was. Long story short they fixed it put it lower and told me not my fault COOL

    Now Monday we were finishing high rise we were on the bottom floor and fire alarms starts going off, GM calls and said it was because of US. I said maybe but we have everything covered with tape, nothing more we could of done. The 2 fire trucks come screaming in. Im like OH S---. Well I hear on maint. radio, That yes he(we) have everything covered. No problem not our fault!!

    You know I hope nothing else happens this week, I cant handle something else thats not our fault

    Other than that both jobs are going well , this big jobs going real well

    Except for the 35MPH winds that blew mix all over the windows we already cleaned, Thats another story. we'll take care of that tomorrow

    At least there good $$$ jobs, always something, just got to go with the flow

    JL

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Yea your right!!

    Just a ??? How do you decide who gets a e-mail and Where do you get their e-mail address at???

    Fullblast some I have on file, but origanally I just look them up on the internet. Verizon SuperPages quite often they will post web sight and quite often will have namse, email & fax # or at least one of the 3

    When Im doing nothing I look

    JL

  6. Posted · Report reply

    March seems like a strange time to be thinking about winter work, but thats what Im doing. Like Mom & Dad always said "think ahead"

    So I'm trying to line up work for the Fall & Winter. My area is a tourist & retirement area. The tourist part is what Im thinking about. So I'm pushing the the parking garages and hotel building washing also gutter cleaning of complexes geared towards vacationers. With vacation hotels and such they cant have us working with everybody around. So one of my new fliers states we work around your schedule, book cleaning now for the fall & winter.

    I have a few parking garages lined up for the winter, these are jobs I already did once

    Just a thought when someone says this is a bad time to do the work, tell them sign now and you'll guarantee the price for all of 2006 if they sign now.

    For the colder area of the country you can be looking at complexes to clean gutters or building & flatwork weather permitting. These might be areas that are busy in the spring & summer

    Just a thought, trying to think ahead

    JL

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I'm surprised he didn't mention his barrel tile experience!

    cheers,

    /neil

    Funny thing,

    Monday afternoon a paint contractor called me and asked me to look at a job on the blvd. Went and met him and it was a small building, with barrel tile:lgtear: He needed it done in a week, told him I was booked solid. Oh darn lol

    JL Pressure Washing & Asphalt ( no tile ) Roof Cleaning

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Sent out some emails on Sunday evening after the post above, Only about 3-4 that were targeted to the decision makers(had names & email addresses). Got a call and email Monday morning at 8:00 asking for pricing on a project for a company that I have wanted to do work for, for some time now. They should be worth about $20k/ year to me.

    Hey Jim

    Since I sort of gave you the idea to email these companies do I get a percentage of that 20K? :lgsideway

    JL

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Well its time to hire some more help. After my big American Workers speech on another post, Im thinking I should of shut up, because I'm dredding putting a help wanted in the paper. I have all March & April filled up and thats not including any residential. So I have to hire 2 more guys. Yesterday we were working a job and I had a mexican guy come up to me and ask for a job , he spoke broken english, but spoke so I could understand him. So I figured after everyone said mexicans work great and i was so negativ, Id give him a try. Well he didnt show up today, just my luck, I got the one unreliable mexican. Im never listening to you all again LOL

    So the help wanted, goes in this week. Oh fun

    Wish me luck, hope I find a good guy or 2

    JL

    Anyone know anyone looking for a job. $11-$12 hr and I buy lunch

  11. Posted · Report reply

    HEY What Does The Fax For Property Managers Say

    Hire Me or Else, lol

    Heres some of the fliers I fax & mail, real simple. I send them to Pm's Ive never worked for and ones I have. It keeps my name in front of them. I know it works, Ive gotten calls that said I was thinking about calling you, then I got your flier/note. I send these every 2-4 months or something like it. I change them up all the time. Not pretty and not expensive, but effective

    JL

  12. Posted · Report reply

    After reading your post I got to thinking about some things (yea, I think sometimes). I was thinking about following up on bids, leads, and calling old customers. I thought this would be a good thread to mention it in. after reading your thread and thinking about this, I have records of all my faxed quotes from 2 years ago, so I just refaxed all of those people a simple note to let them know that I was still in business and was thinking about them. one thing that made me feel good was that one of the numbers I faxed was no longer any good. I was thinking maybe it was a good thing I did not do a job for that guy. Not wishing him any bad luck, he could have just changed his fax number. I also emailed a group that I had targeted a while back. It has been said that it takes 7 times for some one to recognize you. I also got to thinking a little more. The next idea that I will share is this. I have all of these guys in a particular folder for email. I am going to send them and email and picture every time I finish a job. This way it keeps my name in front of them and it also shows them the work that I am doing.

    Another thing that made me think about sending these faxes was a called that I received and the guy asked me if I was still in business and cleaning. so i thought I would keep letting everyone know that I am around and maybe at some point they will remember and eventually do some work with them.

    I work in the construction market and it may be different for other aspects of pressure washing but sounded like a good idea to me.

    I remember when Jeff went full time, he told then and tells me know to go full time. My wife has been at home with our children for the last 6 years and she just returned to work recently. she is selling real estate now. so hopefully with her returning to work it will ease cash flow and allow me to go full time soon.

    Anyhow everyone keep posting ideas, even if you think that what your are posting is mindless blabbering some of us may think that it is not. I feel like I have been blabbering long enough.

    Jim keeps telling me, He's going to be the King & me the queen. I dont know about Jim , He called the other day and asked if I wanted to go see Brokeback Mountain:lglolly: ONLY KIDDING

    Jim with all your connections and the great work you do on new brick. You be the King of brick & beyond. Once the wife starts selling a bunch of homes you'll be fulltime and love it, everything has its time.

    Good Idea to contact the old contacts, I bet you get some calls and $$$$$ out of just something as simple as faxing & emailing. Go for it man

    I'll be talking to you

    JL

  14. Posted · Report reply

    I sure did enjoy spending some time yesterday with Jeff. It was one of those drenching rains. Today in MB was COLD...much colder and windier than yesterday. He's the real thing. We all know that, though. Need more Jeff's in this world. I'm surprised he didn't mention his barrel tile experience!

    cheers,

    /neil

    It was cool meeting you Neil, I cant wait to see you get the ball rolling big time, your a smart man, you'll be an assest to PWing in your area. Cant wait to see your trailer & rig all set up

    I mentioned the tile roof in another post, Neils talking about the job we started Saturday. I had to get up on a tile roof to get a little steeple. Well I just had never been on a tile roof. Its was like walking on flippin egg shells. Im used to running around on roofs, Sure cant do that on tile roofs, I swear Im never doing one of those Damn tile roofs, I'll end up owning the roof when Im done breaking them all. Don P and the rest of the Florida guys can have them. If I ever get a complex of tile roofs Im subbing it out

    JL

  15. Posted · Report reply

    I use Steve Rowletts RPC 2000 concrete cleaner for parking garages. its good product. I get it in 55 gallon kits, its 4 parts 1 powder & 3 liquid 5's It cost $269, plus $20 Hazmat fee and its costing $106 for shipping.

    I'm looking for a product that is just as good or better that will cost me less money, the shipping cost is alot. Is there products out there that are just powders that you mix with water, I figure less shipping that way.

    What do you all use for garages, oil etc. I xjet it

    Any help appreciated, trying to work on the bottom line

    Thanks

    JL

  16. Posted · Report reply

    I'm glad it was you folks that met up with this man today, with everything you know about biz, you'll be a great asset to this young man. Its so scary & aggravating wanting to do some things, but just dont know where or how quite to start

    People are suppose to help other people, its a good thing your willing to do. It also turned a dreaded trip to the mall into a good trip.

    Whats the biz he wants to start?

    Tell him you want stock options when he's the King of his industry LOL

    Congrats I hope his dream comes true

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Being Incorporated will protect your personal assets and as you grow will help with tax advantages etc.

    Best bet is get a good accountant that has knowledge of construction/service trades. Mine also does my payroll, Id be lost without him. Theres just to much for a novice to know when it comes to accounting

    I'm an S Corp it fits well for our type of biz

    Good luck its a great biz!!

    JL

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Often times it is not the guy that is fast out of the chute that is done. He will burn up and die quick. It is often the guy that puts one foot in front of the other, learns a little bit at each job and keeps on going. That is the guy that knows it is going to take work and is willing to put out the continuous effort.

    This is a very true statement!!

    You have to cultivate your customers, you have to build on a relationship. Just because you get a good lead & you do the job great, doesnt mean your going to be the only one a PM or any customer will call. It can be a long slow process.

    Just like any friendship or relationship, trust is one of the hardest things in a relationship. Its just like the man or women thats had bad relationships (Not me all my exgirlfriends love me, Ya right lol), they are'nt always trusting of that next person they date, we'll customers, many people have been burnt by contractors, you hear the stories all the time.

    So when your talking to customers , PM's, builders you have to start off thinking these people may like what your saying, but can they really trust you in their mind. Be professional, give a good impression the 1st time you meet with someone and every other time you meet & talk with them.

    Like Scott said the guy fast out of the chute, who comes on strong, promises the customer the world and doesnt deliver will burn. Be honest and sincere, always make sure you can deliver on what you offer, always be professional and always do good work and do it when you say your going to do it and you can & will be a success

    I've told you all before I've had more than a few PM's tel me they can trust me. I was floored the 1st time I heard this from a PM that works for a very large PM company. Someone saying they trust you I think is one of the biggest compliment a person and/or a company can get.

    So when your out there trying to secure work, think of the job, the customer and the sales pitch, but think of the word trust. If you gain the trust of your customers over time, the sky is the limit

    Man all the nice comments you all have said to me on these stories I write, is going to my head. Maybe I'll become a Motivational speaker, go to businesses, colleges, auditoriums, WORLD TOUR!!!!

    OH YA I'm afraid to talk in front of a crowd, NEVER MIND:eek:

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I'm looking for a good drum pump for my 55 gallon drums to siphon chem out of drums into my buckets. I now use these inexpensive little siphon type plastic pumps, theres a little squeeze pump with plastic tube, there OK but dont last to long

    Looking for real good ones that can handle caustics, & one for 12.5%. Something manual thats easy to use, but will last

    Anybody know of a good pump, could you post a websight or picture and were to get

    Thanks

    JL

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Good glad someone the U.S.A. had fun today!!!...because I had a redo today. Lgangry

    The guy was a fanatic!!!!!!!!!!!

    Did the job in 2 days instead of 3 like he thoght it should have taken and I (the boss) was not there the whole time.

    Man the realy rips me off.

    Had a very confusins day on thur. This fanatic called and said bla bla bla and said that so and so washing co. was better then us.

    2 hours later I talk to another customer that has the same kind of work talking about scheduling another washing, and I say that man I', terribly busy right then (really don't like doing this work) and the man say ah come on we like your wash quality better than the other companies... the same people that the other fella had just got done runing in the dirt!!! We talked for awhile and come to find out that I was $1100 higher then the other washing co. but he still wanted us. Go figure!!!!

    I guess momma said we woud have them days!! Just makes you feel like crap!!!! :banghead:

    Sorry I got off the topic here, but had to air out somewhere!!!

    I'm ready for sping and more :sunshine:

    Thanks for sharing Jeff!!! Love your posts!!!

    Thank God there's more good days than bad. Tomorrows another day, Have a good one!!!!!

  24. Posted · Report reply

    There's nothing like waking up on a Saturday, sitting down at the computer with a 'Hooters' cup full of coffee and reading one of Jeff's big ass speaches. Jeff, your speaches always inspire me because it's all from the heart. Sometimes when I read your speaches I'll express certain words louder and with a deep voice and stand up and start yelling like a motivational speaker would. My wife thinks I'm nuts but it's all in fun, but I tell her that will be me someday I just have to keep after it and not give up. Thanks for sharing all your experience for us to learn from.

    Thats funny Barry, your wifes right, you are nuts!!!!!:lgwave:

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks everybody, I just thought Id post this now, because its getting to be that time of year for most. Spring is coming and its CLEANING TIME. Beth 100% that says it all!!!

    You know something was said to me today from one of the guys from the BB. Me and my crew were working the big project we just started today, there I was me, my 2 guys and a day laboror. We busted hump all week on the high rise and now started this job on a Saturday. It started raining at about 11am, not a downpour but enough to make it uncomfortable, we kept working because we are on a limited time frame to get this job done.

    Well Neil from Ashville stopped by, he was in the area buying something and visiting family, and he stopped by to see me. Never met him before, nice guy!!!

    Now we were talking about PWing for a minute and its still raining @ 2pm I'm soaking wet and Neil said PWing is FUN, you know he's right.:dance: Here I am soaking wet and I really didnt mind it at all, I was having FUN, PWing isnt hard work, you have hard long days but it is FUN and thats why I love this biz, I can have FUN doing the work, FUN getting positive feed back from the customer, FUN to be able help support my workers & their families, FUN to accomplish something, FUN to collect the money.:lgmoneyey

    Thanks Neil for mentioning FUN to me on this rainy day

    What a great day

    Man it takes me some time to get to the point LOL

    JL

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