Beth n Rod

Wow... lots of clicks no responses... Beth

Hydrotek You won't regret it. Beth

Although I cant approve of the use where this product is concerned, I am just waiting for the call that has someone on the other end telling me about the problems they are having and can I fix it...Yes I can $$$$!!!! Any more diy'er products out there? Bring em on. The call comes in sooner or later. In the meantime... Rod!~

I can believe it is possible. We have seen with 2 crews and a 6 month season 300k. Out in California where there season is year round, it should be quite attainable to do a mil +. Rod!~

A surfactant is an ingredient found in most cleaners that creates surface activity so that the cleaner will work longer and more productively. The surfactant perse' is proprietary for the most part in the majority of formulations. It may be very difficult to find outright but you can be certain it is in there...like ragu! Rod!~

In addition to what others have posted, bleach is an ingredient in a solution of other ingredients. It can be mixed with detergents, rinse aids and degreasers to create a formula for a specific purpose. I would also add that it is not recommended as a stand alone mixed with water. The reason is that bleach can leave a residue behind which can dull finishes and be reactivated by rainfall. Without a surfactant (an agent which creates surface activity) it is left to act by its nature as an oxidizer (react with oxygen) and mildewcide. [*Hazard note* when experimenting with different mixes, avoid mixing bleach in any form with an acid. This mixture creates Chlorine gas which is toxic and if it is done in a sealable container; will result in an explosion] The drawback to leaving an oxidizer's residue behind is that it can continue its action unchecked after you have left resulting in the scenarios others have mentioned in the thread. This is a liability for you the contractor. A surfactant helps to limit anything applied being left behind. A rinse aid helps to get everything off faster by making the solution cohesive (sticks to itself) and avoids adhesion (sticking to others) to the surface being applied. Finding a detergent or butyl based cleaner that works on the pollutants most commonly found on exterior home surfaces in your area is a first step. Combining it with bleach to kill mildew/algae on the surface is next and based upon the causticity of the cleaner you are using. Less caustic, more bleach concentration. More caustic, less bleach concentration. The mix is supposed to work in concert to attain the results you are looking for. The last but not least important ingredient is heat. Hot water can make your solutions work better at lower concentrations, the results faster and the rinse more complete in less time. This enables you to work in colder conditions extending your work season as well. Did I miss anything??? Next! Rod!~

How To Beat The Competition 1 I am going to do a series of articles here on TGS based upon what I have learned from various marketing gurus, my personal experience in the corporate and business world and what I have read from various contractors. This first article wil be an overview and the next few articles will dive more into details. The only thing you need to bring is an open, coachable mind. Every business owner faces the same dilemmas. • How do I keep that phone ringing? • How can I hire help when I am not even sure I can keep myself busy? • Where can I spend the least amount of money and get the best return? SELLING ON PRICE If anyone is from the same school of thought as I, then they understand that price is only one variable in the selling of service. It is a slippery slope to start undercutting and seling on price. Here are some things I have read on here and various BBS's. "If you tried to get those prices down here, you'd get laughed at." "All people are interested in around here is the price" "Those HOA's.. it's always just about price" "I'm competing against guys that advertise $99 house washes, what am I supposed to do?" "The Yellow Pages suck, it's just a bunch of cheap people calling for the best price" These are alll valid concerns but to a large degree, they are all false. Sure, people consider price when making a decision but not merely in the way you may think. The largest budget consideration for a consumer is not whether or not you are the most expensive, it's whether or not they think they can afford the service. Their answer is always "no". You're answer should be "you can't afford not to". More on selling the value of a service later. If you are skimming this article, read this next line and paragraph a couple of times. _____________________________________________ People shop on price because they do not know what else to base their decision upon. It is your responsibility through marketing and sales to educate the public. People want to be sold. They don't want to be pressured, but people get high from buying goods or a service. I can tell you from the experience of being the highest guy in my marketplace that if you take the time to educate a person as to what they should be looking for, you will get the sale. Increased sales at higher profit margins means more advertising money to hinder your competition. ______________________________________________ I have heard this statement made and it's very accurate. "If you want to see what, where and why Joe Smith buys, see the world through Joe Smith's eyes" Joe Smith knows not to trust contractors. Joe Smith knows that the job he gets will probably be mediocre. Joe Smith knows that regardless of the price he is going to be ripped off. Why the hell would Joe Smith want to pay me top dollar when he knows all of these things? Is it because I am a better washer? No. What I am better at is making my customer feel at ease with his purchase and delivering on everything I promise. Mr. John Smith, do you want: • Your initial call returned within 12 hours? • A clean cut person in company logo'd gear to come to your home for the estimate? • A company representative that will listen and make suggestions based upon a detailed exterior evaluation of your property? • The presentation of professionally designed literature that outlines services along with a full portfolio of before and after exterior restoration pictures? • Toll Free numbers with automated extensions, direct cell numbers, logo'd trucks, the right equipment to start and complete the job, polite employees that speak clear English and wear ID badges? • A company with a customer database that allows monthly follow up with newsletters letting you know what's going on with that company, local laws governing washing your car and a discount coupon for being a loyal customer? These things cost Mr Homeowner and he knows it. If you are targeting a higher income demographic like I have seen many people suggest, these are the things he is looking for and is willing to pay a reasonable premium for. He sleeps well at night knowing the few extra dollars he is spending on my service means far less aggravation in the future. Some old timers or newbies that insist it's still about price and will continue to sell based upon fear of learning and implementing new ideas may eventually stagnate, shrink then disappear. Think of any large company with which you have done business.. How many of those companies /stores /contractors (that sold unique products) did you give repeat business to? Were your decisions based solely on price? Do you drink the soda that comes in three liter bottles for 49 cents? Do you buy the least expensive paint knowing it could (and probably will) look like crap? Would you hire a homeless guy that stands at the mini mart near your home to cut your lawn or paint your fence? Why not? He is cheapest. How about that doctor that went to Upstairs University as opposed to the guy from Johns Hopkin's? Will you let him operate on your kid if he offers a better rate? A home is a person's largest expense in the course of their entire lifetime. New roofs cost $12,000. New Flagstone patios cost $8,000. New decks go for maybe $10,000. An exterior painting can set you back $3,000+. Everyone reading this that owns a home pays these prices. Why on earth would you sell yourself short and offer $150 whole house washes with gutter scrubbing? What makes you think that someone wants to hire a hack (which, until you educate them, is the way you are perceived) to possibly damage what they have worked so hard for? Educate..remove their fear and apprehensions..make yourself different! Your goal is to make the customer believe that he would be CRAZY to hire anyone else. That he he will have absolutely no issue with work performed, your honesty or your business integrity. My hope is that this message has reached one person. If you still doubt the validity of what I wrote I will list for you single crew service businesses doing $500k per year in Florida, Texas, and Arizona. __________________ Ken Fenner

I also like Molly... or Missy or Cissy or Penny or Sam ( short for Samantha)

We sure can! Ken would you like to put a copy of your post in the Library Forum? If it is too much trouble say the word and I will do it. Beth

Celeste, Thank you for the review. very insightful, and helpful! Beth

It's in the efforts of helping others develop an msds binder to keep in the vehicle(s) that this is here. Besides being a useful referrence, its also an osha and dot/hazmat regulation to have these available upon demand to your employees or an inspector. Rod!~

Sunbrite has a degreaser called Power House that has both sodium hydroxide and sodium meta-silicate in addition to butyl ingredients. It makes an excellent house wash. In addition to the other ingredients, I use about 16oz per 3-2/3 gal of water. It acts with the bleach to work on mildew and algae faster so I don't have to use such a strong bleach concentration. This is how I get by on 6-7% bleach. Rod!~

Exactly. And remember the music is the property of the musician who also has a right to get paid. Just because you have to ask permission doesn't mean they will say no, or charge you an arm and a leg either. In my opinion better to ask, than not ask. Beth

I thought if might be interesting to list our most and least favorite services. I'm sure we all have our likes and dislikes....please share ... :groovy2: Beth

Thank you Mathew! Beth

We started out slow and I was working pt at nite for the first year in addition to all day each day. As winter drew in, I went back to full time at my regular job and once spring hit again, I gave notice and left my ft job and went ft self-employed. I have never looked back but I have always been looking forward remembering what I went through and kept the pitfalls in mind so I didn't hit them anymore. Beth was not ft either until 2 years into it. The one thing that has been a difficult obstacle has been employees. The amount of time spent interviewing and hiring, training, terminating/releasing has been a tremendous time consumer and is rather disappointing because of all that goes into it just to find one or two people (out of a couple of dozen) but you lose them at the end of the season to school or winter. We are getting ready to launch a new set of job descriptions which includes other managerial/supervisory positions to handle the extra crews. This is going to be a challenge because not many people know much about the pw'ing business to be able to bring much in skill where this is concerned to the table. So it is pretty much on the job training unless we get lucky and find someone who has a 5-7 year background in this field. There is a bright side. Its called critical mass. Its a point at which you have enough of a repeat customer base plus a steady influx of new clients that you reach a point of self sustaining work just for the regular season that simplifies the estimating side of it and allows more latitude for development of other lines of work to keep the winter crews running. More to come on that. ;) Rod!~

The only advantage I can see in the larger hose is the chem draw aspect if you are downstream injecting from the pump. You get a better draw from a larger hose due to the flow through it. Other than that, I don't see any benefit. It's a bit more weight to pull around and I have done just fine with the 3/8's size. .02 Rod!~

Doesn't that stink? A couple years back we had a rather loud local compeditor do this to us. This person blew it off and refused to pay us the money they wasted on purpose for pulling the stunt. Happend twice, once on his account once on his wife's. Sometime it's really irritating when others continually poke their nose in your business. I help people but at times the few who make waves do make it hard to want to continues. Don't let the few win. Beth

We use the least expensive of all...ADC maps for only 12.00/(depends on when you need a new one) I myself do not like to become dependent upon technology any more than is necessary. I can understand the attraction to it by others and the possible need for it in some circumstances, but it is not so frequent enough to warrant buying one. I have looked into the other features Nextel phones have like "Cheetah Tracks" which tracks other Nextel gps capable phones and gives you real time location. This is helpful when keeping tabs on employees with one issued. It will even show you a history of the days travel which can come in handy in the event of a problem on a site where the employee is blamed for something and the history can show whether or not they were there at the time in question. Rod!~

I have only one wish on my list this year and it is getting bigger each time. ***RELIABLE EMPLOYEE'S*** Rod!~

Look at it from an ethics standpoint. Then ask yourself if your customer might look at it like that too. What is their perception? Beth

Anyone thinking of putting one of these together should consider using music that is royalty free. If not, be sure to secure the Artist's permission in writing, and don't forget to include it in your credits. To get an Artist's permission you need to contact the music company that handles their music. Beth :groovy3: :sunshine: :dancing:

Winds of 5-10 mph between buildings can increase to 15-25 mph just by trying to squeeze through them. The wind gets condensed and becomes pressurized causing the increase in wind speed. I have seen this many times in between townhouse complexes where out in front the breeze is calm but in between the buildings it is windy. Temperatures that are cooler due to shading can contribute to this too. If the winds become to strong as I have illustrated, then we reschedule. Rod!~

How do we control costs? Evaluation, training, time sheets, mileage register, regularly maintain equipment, buy in bulk as possible, plan, structure, establish check lists, protocols, regulations, delegate responsibility, ensure accountability and even keep inventory. These all have a part to play in helping us to control costs and they all come under frequent evaluation and modification for the changes that come out of the field. It is all part of keeping the reins held loosely but not letting go. Power washing and wood restoration in particular are very hard to get a line on cost structures in relation to demand. No two jobs are alike and that makes it erratic for lack of a better word. Scheduling and estimates are the hardest to do when trying to control costs. Rod!~

Thats funny stuff. Rod!~