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Jeff

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Posts posted by Jeff

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I have a concrete/landscaping company who wants to possibly sub a condo complex job to me its 20+ buildings, his son has done it the past couple years and is no longer in the PW biz. Ive never done sub work for anyone before.

    The company is a local company and Ive seen him around, but thats all I know of him. What precautions should I take with a company/person I know little about, how should i write up a proposal/contract to insure I get paid & paid within a timely manner

    Thanks for any help on this, unless its an PM or HOA, I'm not very trusting and i want to make sure I dont get burnt

    JL

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks as always for the feedback. Sometimes when your up on a two story roof sraying chlorine and the wind is just right you get a big whiff of that 12.5% and you start thinking about where you are and where you are going.

    Every day I wonder what the next step is for my company that will launch it to the next level. It's been 12 months since we started and I want to make our second year stronger and progressive. I would love to be able to have enough business comming in that I could just bounce from crew to crew monitoring what they are doing and have time for real commercial chain marketing.

    We won't need any more equipment for a while and I have enough different chemicals to choke a horse. I just organized my chemical and equipment inventory and took my year end physical inventory for taxes.

    I have every ad company from the Yellow Pages to Home & Ranch magazine trying to sell me ad space. I don't want to spend money that has no return but I don't want to miss that GOLDEN marketing campagn that pushed me to the next level either...

    Ka sara sara, What ever will be will be.

    Doris Day

    Not that I am a fatalist, I belive you make your own destiny, but you can only do what you can do, then you have to let the chips land where they may and go from there..

    Ken, I like your attitude, its says alot of how i look at it all, except the Doris Day stuff, never really liked her that much, now Ann Margret:lgbugeyes lol

    Good luck to you

    Jeff

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I have a question, Im starting to add up all may reciepts and invoices for Corp. Taxes. If I did a job in 2005 but didnt get paid for it until 2006 do I include that payment on 2005 taxes

    God I hate this stuff, I basically do everything on paper, what a moron, I cant wait to have Derek come in and get this computer stuff set up and working

    I said last year Id do all my reciepts each month, WELLLLLL I got Jan & Feb and then the rest of the year went in that big darn box, what a nightmare:lgtear:

    I'll get it done, but it wont be FUN

  5. Posted · Report reply

    My guess is this...

    (I am not a Dr. by a long shot) but the thought occurred to me that she may have suffered a mild stroke. Strokes tend to affect the centers of the brain associated with speech and motor functions. This could have been onset by the trauma of the operation, stress, or the diabetes itself.

    I would suggest the Dr's run some tests on her for more conclusive evidence but from what I understand about diabetes this is very much a possibility.

    I pray for her health and your strength.

    Rod!~

    I also was thinking mini stroke, my dad had a few we never knew about until some test althou we dd notice some changes, we were surprised that it was strokes

    Now with my mom everything is totally the same with her, she has no other problems, her speach is great, clear, no real signs of what Ive seen in stroke victims. she's just not talkative and it was right after surgery

    Thank you much

    Celeste, it was basic lung cancer, what I was trying to find on the web is ??? is it common or does it happen that after some surgeries can some one go through what I described with my mom. Like something like a side effect

    Thanks and I want you to know its not real bad its only my mom not talking much other than that we have fun with her and she's a productive smart women. Life is good and I want to help improve my mothers life. I just will be happy when we build our house and moms with us

    Thanks

    JL

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Hey folks maybe you can help me. I know this is a PW BB, but theres alot of intelligent people here and maybe you have gone through what Im going to talk about. Ive tried to do a little research on the web, but Im not great at searching the web,

    This a serious matter about my Mother and maybe you could help with info.

    OK my mother isnt the same as she use to be and I think/I know its directly because of surgery she's had. She doesnt talk much anymore, she doesnt show any real excitement anymore. Before this surgery she was a talkative, pretty out going lady, she would laugh & joke and start conversation like everyone else. Now she just doesnt. If she was with you or at a gathering she could talk away now she basically will answer a question directed to her with a minimium amount of words. My mother realizes this is happening , but cant chamge it.

    My Mom has no mental or real physical problems that we know of that is causing this, its weird its just since her surgery

    Let me give you some history. My Mom is 69 yr old, basicaly healthy with recently diagnoused(sp) diabeties, not a big problem it is being monitored.

    Alright she's be through alot these past few years. The love of her life my father passed away late 2004, prior to my dads death he had cancer, started with Colon cancer, got rid of that then lung cancer, got rid of that and finally it just took over. Now my Mother has always been a very strong lady in her personal & biz life. She went through a very rough 3+ years trying to help save my Dads life and taking care of all his needs, she just never gave up, taking care of him. She never complained and when someone mentioned puting him in a nursing home, she wouldnt have it. She actually loved the fact that she was here to help my dad.

    Well Dad died in their house with my mother & son by his side and of course she was devistated, sad & lonely, it was a very rough time and 3 years. BUT my mom was still talkative and could hold regular conversations any time. Yes of course she was depressed, but still was outgoing, we could get her to laugh and she would still talk up a storm

    Then in early 2005 wefound out my Mom had lung cancer. it was found pretty early with a routine Xray. We were all sad & amazed that she had it because she hadnt smoked in 35 years. She had some great doctors and she had surgery at MUSC in Charlestowne about 9 months ago, they removed a lobe of her lung and the surgery was a great success, per what all the doctors said. She was very strong after the surgery, taking very little pain mads and had a real quick recovery. All the follow up visits the doctors were real pleased. She is now cancer free and has a great chance of not getting the cancer back of any kind. the 2 year after surgery ar the most important time. if she get through these 2 year cancer free, she may never get cancer again, hopefully

    Now since this surgery is when she started not talking & joking. Its weird and hard to describe what is going on. ITS LIKE THE SURGERY TOOK HE PERSONALITY AWAY. now my uncle had lung surgery a couple times and he says he was like this, but it was short term say a few weeks.

    We've talked to doctors and I am going to talk to her doctor about this in a few weeks. We/ my family thought this would pass, of course mom has changed but we all thought with time she might get back to her old self some what, but she isnt. I know this is bothering her alot and everyone notices the change and Im very close with my Mom and we have talked about this several times. She knows its happening and cant change it. Ya sure she depressed some, being in her big home alone, but she stays at our house 1 or twice a week , she only lives a few miles away

    I dont know how to better describewhats going on, other than saying the surgery basically took her voice, personality and her just being regular self away.

    Sorry Im going through all this on a PW BB, but i thought maybe some of you folks know or heard of something simular to this. Its like its a side effect of surgery and doctors really havent said much about it. She's a healthy women that just doesnt say much anymore. I will be going with her to her next doctors visit and I will be stressing to the doctors whats going on and try to get some answers

    Thanks everybody and if you know something about this please share it and if any of you folks no anywhere I could read about this on the web , please share it with me

    I dont care if my mom didnt want to talk Im just happy to have her near me, my wife and Joshua. Joshua has been a god send, he has helped my mom and my dad when he was alive. Josh broke up the rough times and is my moms best friend she watches him 2-3 days a week. But even with Josh, she'll read him book after book , but no real conversation after its weird

    Sorry for the long post and sharing all this with you folks, but your a good group of people that have seen alot in your lives

    Thanks

    JL

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Richard, If its moldy painted wood and its rotted, it would be replaced. But if its not rotted yes you would clean it prior to repainting with PWing & chems

    I do work for some painters, Paint Prep. I'll clean the exterior of a house/building so you remove dirt, mold, mildew to give the painter a clean surface to repaint. Its a must so the paint will adhere to the wood surface.

    Many paint contractors will do their own pressure washing to prep for paint

    In many cases Ive washed houses and people were going to paint say the trim of the house that was covered with black mildew and after we cleaned it, they realized it didnt need painting it was just dirty with mildew. This is one reason PWing is needed to remove the dirt, mold & mildew so you dont have to paint as often and so it doesnt rot the wood

    Maybe that building could be your 1st PW job

    JL

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Jeff,

    Congratulations on your hard work! Your efforts look like they're paying off. It's miraculous in this business how a little effort can go so far. I've experienced similar results here in the Desert and I'm really happy for your success. Keep up the good work!

    Thanks Celeste & Craig. I think this going to be a WILD year and your right a little hard work & prep can pay off.

    Hey Craig whats your market there, what kind of work do you do most?

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Congrats Jeff! You should be proud of yourself. Just make sure that in the heat of all of this, and all the support that this pm co. is feeding you, your prices don't drop. Just because you now have a 100 property worth of sidewalks to do it doesn't mean that 0.02/sqft is an acceptable rate. You still need to feed the family.

    Good luck with the surgery, the recovery and then tackling this monster of a task.

    WAY TO GO!

    Thanks it will be a monster of a task, as far as rates I will charge, I already know my rates will basically stay the same which are fair rates for me or any property. The way a property can save is to do the Total Package, then I 'll show them some kind of discount. Im looking at this a one property at a time, which it is

    Thanks again

  12. Posted · Report reply

    I wrote a thread about how to get to prop. managers. I want to share whats been going on with that targeting. I like to tell about my successes with this because it may help others, plus I get excited when it works and I just want to tell someone:banana: :banana:

    The couple letters I put up as examples in the other thread actually look like they might be paying off and in one case paying off big time over time.

    I worked for 1 prop mang. co, last year on one project in the spring and hadnt got any other jobs. So I kept writing & faxing. The I checked their websight a few months ago and the Prop manager no longer worked for them , so I started targeting the 2 new Prop Managers. Well I got a call last week for a job, not huge but it was a start. It was a couple brick entrance walls & signs, then they added a clubhouse, a quick clean of a gazebo & a small security building. I asked this new PM how she heard about us. She said she got my fliers, letters and newsletter and the other PM also told her about my letters. THE TARGETING WORKS!!!! They had a guy that did alot of their pressure washing, but he has become unreliable and she also told me his prices went way up. For just the 2 walls he wanted $800, well i bid them as a package deal and my figure on the walls was $440, they took just over 2 hours to do, from set up & break down. Well we did the work Wed. and the PM came to the job 2 times to see how it was going. I had the chance to talk with the PM, I told her what we had to offer and I told her I wanted all their work. It was a real good conversation. The PM asked me to go look at another property entrance walls and I also got that job. Well the PM called yesterday and asked for a price on 24 buildings, that the other guy does annually. We'll see how that goes!!!!! Letters faxes WORKING

    Now the other letter I posted. Looks like its really may pay off BIG TIME. Ive done many jobs over the past few years, Actually the 1st complex I ever did was for this PM company along with others like the parking garage I just did a few weeks ago and I just picked up another 93K parking garage for them. I got a call from the director of operations for this PM company, real nice guy that Ive dealt with before. He asked me to come in and talk with him. I Talked to him yesterday and the owner of the PM company.

    They wanted to ask me if I wanted to go on their Preferred Contractor Program. Now let me tell you about this company 1st. They are the single largest PM company in the Myrtle Beach area for condo towers and condo units, they do some other properties, but they specialize in oceanfront towers and other condos for HOA's, investment companies and builders. They mang the properties on alot of rehabs of hotels that are converting to condos and new construction properties along the beach. Theres a building boom now on Condos & towers on the beach that you wouldnt believe, tearing down old & putting up new and this company is in the middle of it all.

    Ive always had a good working relationship with this company, but I also kept targetting them. I always send the letters, faxes etc. and would call often!

    My letters would always target the the preventive maint. angle and how I would like all their work.

    Their Preferred Contractor Program is a selling tool for them that works. They offer it to present HOA;s builders etc, but this is a selling tool for them when going after new properties. They have banks that give them better rates because of the volume of customers they have and many different types of contractors that are on the program and now because of our always good work they want to add us to the program.

    It goes something like this. They dont want anything like a percentage from the Preferred contractor. They offer to HOA's & others a list of contractors & busnesses that offer services they will need. If the properties want the services, they sign a 2 to 3 year contract for the services. Now not all the properties want all the srvices offered, but many do and the others use the contractors as needed. I know quite often the HOA's will go buy the PM's recomendation

    In my case for PWing they are going to give me a list of ALL their properties and they want me to work up proposals to clean all the properties. Now this alone is going to be a time consuming process for me, but the pay off could be and Im sure will be huge. I have to look at all properies and tell them what needs cleaning and recomend a time table/schedule to do the work, They want it all written up seperately and as a package deal. So I have to write it up seperatly , say the building so much$$$, sidewalks $$$, parking garage $$$ pool areas$$$ clubhouses$$$ decks & fences$$$ etc etc etc. Now the HOA etc can choose what they need the most or the total package. They want me to recomend when these surfaces should be cleaned and putit on a schedule to do the work. This all is mind boggling to me because they manage 100's o f properties. Now on may of the properties like the High rise condo towers not much will be needed to be cleaned. The High rises/buildings may never be cleaned or partial cleaning of only areas tha need to be cleaned, but I would get say the walkways or parking lots, pool areas etc. etc. On multi building complexes say 2, 3, 4 stories I would get more of the buildings and all the other surfaces. Now these oceanfront properties are high dollar, your talking 200K up to 2 million +$$$ for 1 condounit. As they told me thesepeople that own or invest need to keep their investments maintained.

    As it was explained to me. This is one of their major selling points to HOA's. They tell the HOA's you get the best contractors , the best rates tc etc They want to offer more than any otherPM company can offer, I guess this is why they are the largest.

    While I was meeting with the Director of Ops The owner of this PM company came in and told me they get all my letters etc and the positive feed back they get from the properties Ive cleaned is why THEY WANT MY COMPANY on their list. I gave her an overview of what we can offer. I explained how very important PWing is to a property. Told them both that the preventive maint. will save money, I told the a clean prop is a property everyone will want to buy & live at, I told them how we can go in and get the work done quick so to reduce the time on a property , which means less hassle for the property.

    Im telling you this meeting was fun, exciting and maybe the BIG ONE I've been waiting for. This all will take time, but the pay off in the long run could be great. I meet back with them after my surgery and get the list the end of this month. I'll be traing my Brother in law on how to estimate too, I'll need the help

    I might be bragging a little bit on how my targeting has & is working, but Im proud of my efforts and i wanted to share this with you folks. I've been having my wife pat me on the back all night LOL. Its funny the 2 letters I posted on the other thread are the 2 companies that called this week.

    Im lucky this area is a condo capital.

    If your thinking how can you get more work i hope this helps, WRITE, FAX, CALL over & over again. SELL, SELL, SELL:lgmoneyey . Just dont target one company target them ALL !!!!!

    Got to love my long post SORRYYYYY

    JL

  15. Posted · Report reply

    This thread really shows the differences in housing between regions.

    I'd estimate that the calls for houses here break down like this: 1 story...30%, basic 2 story....60%, and high in the sky.....10%.

    On the "high in the sky" houses, many of the gutters are 2.5 - 3 stories up, and are too high for any brushes I have. Also with the fancy roof lines, and dormers, etc, I too have a hard time with those. In these cases, where the gutters are too dangerous to reach, I tell the customer up front that I'll clean those the best I can, but they won't be perfect. I then explain the saftey issues as to why that is. Actually the higher gutters are usually not as noticable as the lower ones anyway, so if I get the reachable ones completely clean, and the uppers half as clean using just my xjet, it normally looks very acceptable in the end.

    For me the bottom line is eduacating the customer exactly what I can do, and paint a picture for them of the results, so there is no surprise. In doing so they can better understand why my prices may be higher than other estimates they get. Almost always, the customers tell me I explained my processes very well, and most of the other competitors didn't even discuss those things, or the results to be expected.

    This is a great thread!

    Residential house washes around here

    70% 1 story

    15% 2 story

    15% 2.5 or more, stilt homes etc Ive done some stilt homes that are 4 & 5 stories high

    Now all my condo work is usually 2 to 17 stories high. I use a brush on the 17 story job, I just use a real long extension pole LOL

    Some condos I have to brush gutters and I figure that in the total package. I hate when I have to brush condos it can add a lot of work and its a PITA

  16. Posted · Report reply

    It's wild how the area you are in will dictate what you can make in certain specialties. Housewashing here is very profitable. I would abandon all other forms of service if I could keep a couple of crews busy 6 days per week doing them. They are fast, they are easy, they have low detergent cost, and the upsell list is endless.

    How true!! Im from Boston Ma originally and in the late 1980's I use to get $200 - $250 a house part time. I know the size houses I do most around here would be at least double or triple the money up north. You got to go with what you have to work with. At least we can PW 12 months ayear, that helps. This is why I like the condos, commercial stuff

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Jeff,

    I understand about the time spent talking about the grass growing!!! I need to work on that.

    From what I can tell of your posts, you seem to have a good system working for you. I am continuing to find what works and what does not, which is why I asked for a little more discussion on the topic for those that could spare the time......Thanks to all that shared!

    I do things the same & different from alot of the more experienced guys here. When it comes to most of the house washes around my area you just cant waste time & money, because the money for house washing isnt that great, except the higher end homes. Id say 75 percent of my house washes are on homes 1000-1900 sq ft

    I love to talk to homeowners but I learned it doesnt help my bottom line on the little stuff

    Keep asking questions this BB is GREAT, Ive learned so much from this BB and others

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Like I said I upsell gutter black streaks, but i should explain, if its just a little bit of gutters say just 15 - 25 ft like most homes around here its all included in the price. But if its guters all the way around , 2 story or just alot of gutters, thats when I upsell. Because it is alot of extra work and the house washing rates around here are tough. So I explain to them the house wash & bleak streak cleaning. I very rarely have the HO walk around with me, its just to time consuming, they want to talk about this or that. In the busy months Im doing dozens of estimates and I cant spend the time 15-20 minutes with each of the homeowners for a simple house wash. I dont ignore them but i just walk around real quick get back to them and explain whaat the process is. To many retirees that want to talk & talk. If I have to upsell then I'll take them out and walk & talk

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Facia is cleaned with house wash, but if a home has a lot of black streaks on the gutters I upsell it. I give the homeowner the option. I tell them the ext. of the gutters will be cleaned but the house wash mix generally will not remove the black steaks I explain I use a specialty cleaner and brush the gutters for more $$$. Usually 85% of the people will pay to remove black streaks the rest dont even care about the streaks

    JL

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Richard, these are some pictures of the Xjet in use. They're not real close ups but you can get the picture. The Xjet is attached at the end of the gun/wand. The first pic is an Xjet attached right to the gun with quick connects

    You'll see there is a hose coming off the Xjet that is the hose that draws/sucks up the chemical from a bucket. my hose is about 35 ft long. That is the major draw back about an Xjet, you have to carry the hose around & a bucket, but other than that I love the Xjet. The bucket & hose dont really bother me, when rinsing I pull the hose off, I'll coat a big section with chem, pull hose off and rinse. Sometimes I use a 5 gallon bucket with the chem or a 15 gallon drum and walk it around on a 2 wheeler dolly. The Xjet draws more chem than other ways and thats what I also like about it. The newer M5 Xket comes with an adjustable fan head, it closes up to a more direct pattern or opens to a nice size fan. The Xjet can shoot 20-30 ft tops, much less when the fan is open. The adjustable fan is great for when your in close areas. The chemicals only go through the Xjet, not the pump, hose or even the wand. It has a shut off valve close to the tip so you can turn the chemical on & off ass you need it, shut it off and you r rinsing with just water, turn it on and you have water chem mix. In a five gallon bucket you would use about 2 gallons of 12.5% chlorine/bleach some soap and the rest water, there are some other additives you can mix in such as wax, rinsing agent

    The Xjet is a handy tool, Hope the pics help show what it is & can do

    Good luck

    JL

  25. Posted · Report reply

    I Bought a 5gal. pump from northern tool which worked just fine for me, I only needed to add a longer hose to reach the inlet while keeping the container secured to the bed wall. Item #169471-2601 - $18.99

    Was this the same one you got?

    Rod!~

    Thanks everyone!

    Rod, It was simular but cheaper.

    Roger from Carolina Pro Wash called and told me to check out www.jegs.com They have the tall racing type cans w/vent and handles. Im going to order a couple and build a cage so they wont tip over. I think they'll reach in perfect

    Thanks

    JL

    Thanks Roger I like those cans

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