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Beth n Rod

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Posts posted by Beth n Rod

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Rod's favorite is a pump up believe it or not. I would never ever suggest running it through the pump, nor would I suggest using something like an x-jet for HD-80. (EFC-38 is another matter)

    Why? Well, there are a few reasons....

    1. Chems are not good for your pump. Good way to ruin the pump.

    2. injected with an x-jet, HD-80 or ANY other sodium hydroxide based product can do serious damage. You need to control the application carefully. It's not water.

    3. dilution ratios are an issue when applied with downstream in jection, regardless of the chemical. To maintain proper ratios you need to control the application.

    EFC-38 can be used on house washing and applied downstream, no problem. But it's not the same chemical as HD-80. The two have....different levels of user friendliness, plant friendliness, property friendliness. EFC is alot more friendly that HD.

    Hope this helps.

    Beth:)

    p.s. Electric sprayer with a shurflo pump works well too!

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Ron,

    As a writer I encourage anyone who shares the love of language and the written word and who values content to write, write, write. The interesting thing to me, is that writing is an art. You can write about absolutely anything at all. You're painting with words, regardless of if it is fiction or non-fiction.

    Ron if I can ever be of any assistance to you, just let me know. You certainly have alot of knowledge to share, and it's obvious you have done your research! :)

    Good luck, and don't get frustrated if you get writers block. Just walk away and then come back later. Also write when the thought or urge hits you and keep a note pad to jot things down. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't.

    Go for it! Start writing!

    Beth:)

  7. Posted · Report reply

    We're really excited that yesterday on Seminar and Demo day the BBS hit 100 members! It's exciting to see the growth of the community.

    For those who are lurking and have not joined, just remember, you don't have to post after you join, you can still lurk, but you'll be getting members only saving offers once a month.

    Membership equals savings!

    Of course, no questions are stupid ones, and we encourage everyone to post and share information and ask questions. We will not tolerate bashing here, or putting the new guys down. So please let us all help you grow and become successful in your chosen area.

    Also don't forget to check the other BBS's out there. There are WONDEFUL BBS's with a wealth of knowledge on them. VISIT THEM ALL. Check out the Hot Links page on our home page www.thegrimescene.com to find them if you are new. The content on BBS's varies. The people who post to them varies. They are all worth bookmarking. Think of it as an online library that is growing...for you.

    Searching any BBS is easy for research. Basically, key word searching is taking a few important words that you would use to discuss the topic you're interested in, and usine them to search.

    An example might be ' house washing aluminum oxidation' in order to find relevant threads. You'll get a results list back that you can read through and then post to. The nice thing about it is the folks who posted often receive notification via email if a new post is added and will jump in and help. That's one quick way to get help.

    Another, is just post a new thread. If you are new to BBS's it never hurts to post a new thread, and the members will help and also refer you to sources of info you can use for your research.

    Thanks for joining, let us know if we can offer anyone any help or point you in a particular direction. We're here for you.

    Beth & Rod

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Actually, yesterday we learned from Russell that HD-80 does effect the chemistry of the sealer, which it why the sealers will fail and melt when they come into contact with it. It effects the petroleum base in the sealer.

    Beth

    P.S. Yesterday everything went well, and the soap nozzle for rinsing was all that was used at first to blow off the pallet. The only thing that Rod needed to put a little pressure to was the Wolman Extreme, and it sliced right through it and flew off the board. That one won't just rinse, you have to help lift it after it separates is the best way I can describe what I saw.

    It's acrylic, but it was a little different in how you worked the product. For other acrylics, it may not be the solution, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts Extreme Solutions is working on something that will do it for you.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Well yesterday we had continental breakfast for those in the seminars, with danish, muffins, and cinnamon rolls, then we had a full lunch and afternoon sugar snack with oversized cookies and soda.

    Had to keep the energy up!

    Folks loved the Extend-A-Wand that was demoed, we had a customer pick one up and everyone tried it.... Well, I think if we had had another 3 wands here, we might have sold them. I have a feeling folks will order them once they decide which one they want. Everyone tested the 18' footer on the house.

    The Wood Tux demo was great, and we began testing one other thing.... the formulation for it allows you to put it on wet although it had not been tested to be applied that way. We began yesterday in the demo with dry wood, then we went to the freshly stripped pallet and applied some to the wood there. It took it! It dove right in. We'll be watching it and Extreme Solutions plans to do more testing on it as well. We would love to be able to say you can apply it wet, but for now, we're going to say dry only even though the formula was designed to do both.

    It was a wonderful day. Russell Cissell answered alot of technical chemical questions for those who attended and everyone learned something.

    We will be doing this again in the future, date to be determined. And the hope is that Russell Cissell will again be present.

    Again we wish to extend our thanks and gratitude to Russell from Extreme Solutions for coming out and sharing his time with us for the benefit of those here. It things like this that truly help the contractors out in the field. Thank you Russell!

    Beth & Rod

    :) :)

  12. Posted · Report reply

    We saw the brush demoed, but it was demoed with water not sealer. It had a fine mist that shot out from around it when you lift it from the surface. It could be a wonderful idea. I wish SunBrite had done a demo of it with sealer during product demo time. I would ask about overspray and see what response you get. It's a great idea, and the unit looks easy to work on and repair etc.

    Hope this helps.

    Beth:)

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Written By Beth Borrego, previously printed in BlastMaster Magazine

    ===========================

    Have you ever found yourself watching TV and saying to someone “I love that ad” or “have you seen that new ad for _______”? Have you found it difficult to create flyers, ads, postcards and the like or even wondered if they were worth using to begin with? Well, they are, but creating an ad that works isn’t easy. It’s work. It takes time and a truly creative thought process. If you don’t understand the audience you are targeting, you won’t get their attention. The American Association of Advertising Agencies says that each day consumers are bombarded with more than 1,600 advertisements. Only 80 or so are consciously noticed and only 12 create a reaction. Wow. What a perspective. That alone should speak volumes to you. Advertising touches the needs or wants the consumer has and persuades him or her to act. But it’s getting to those needs on a personal level that’s the challenge.

    It’s important to know how to reach the consumer. That is, where are consumers in your area likely to look when they need your product or service? Don’t know? Don’t worry. We’re going to go over that. In fact, we’re going to go over quite a few things. We’re going to look at the various types of print media, and talk about them. You’ll see why staying in touch with prospects is important to your business. We’ll talk about targeted campaigns and go over ad layout. So go get a snack and grab a pen and paper. We’ve got work to do.

    I’ve listened to folks banter back and forth over what the best form of advertising is. Back and forth they go, focused on the one thing that works for them, and shunning the others that didn’t work. What’s wrong with that? They are focused on the ONE thing that works for them. Never, ever, put all of your eggs in one basket. Let’s look at a few of the things we have to work with:

    Flyers

    Post Cards

    Business Cards

    Phone Book Ads

    Newspaper Ads

    Print Ads (magazine style)

    Coupon Mailers

    Ok. Now we have a short list of print ad types. Remember the eggs? If you’re thinking about using only one of these then you’re only hurting yourself. You’ll limit your company’s exposure. Trust me on this. And your name recognition won’t increase nearly so well.

    Did I mention MS Publisher? I’m pretty sure I have in other articles. Did you get a copy? Shame on you. Go pick up a copy when you’re done with your reading. You’ll need it to design all of these things. It has easy to use templates in many styles. You’ll have all of your ads, flyers, and cards uniform in no time. For now though, let’s look at those print ad types.

    Ah, flyers. They get stuck in your door, and sometimes under your windshield wiper. They’re usually either really good, or pretty bad. Many flyers lack the information a consumer looks for and create cautious feelings in the consumer. A well-designed flyer should provide the consumer with enough information to get them to call. The drawback to flyers is that they are time consuming to distribute, and work best where homes are in close proximity to one another. You might consider placing flyers on the street where you are currently working for example.

    Craig Lawrence of American Pressure Wash in Binghamton, N.Y. asks, “I just wanted to know if you have ever sent out post cards in just black and white print? I have never tried direct mail, and was wondering what you thought of this plain card approach.” Post cards have less advertising space, but can have a high impact on the consumer. A post card on glossy stock will get readers attention. Even a card that isn’t glossy can accomplish this provided that the words chosen for the ad grab the attention of the reader. Graphics and photos work effectively on post cards too. Make sure to ad some color to your cards, at least one or two, if not four colors. Color catches the eye, and a picture, so they say is worth a thousand words. I wouldn’t print just black on white, as it may get overlooked more easily. Check out www.twigonestop.com . Their prices are reasonable, and they use a four-color process.

    Business cards are critical. Hand them out to everyone you talk to. Make sure the card has your standard company information on it but is not too busy. Leave the back for the person to make a note on if they need to, or put a coupon on it. Include things like company name, your name and title, company logo, phone and fax numbers, bullet points for services you offer, credit card symbols if you take them, or organizational names or symbols you are members of.

    Of course you’ll want to make sure you have a presence in the yellow pages. While it’s true that you could just list your business name and phone number, you might get lost in the sea of box ads that way.

    A 2” wide x 2 ½” high display ad is a good place to start, and 4” wide x 2 ½ “ high should be plenty. You really don’t need a half or full-page display ad, or a cover ad to get the attention of your audience. Color isn’t really necessary in the yellow pages, although it is nice. Given the quality of the paper, it doesn’t print that well. Save the money you would have paid for color and do something else with it. The most important thing to remember about the phone book is your ad will be there for a year. Before you run the ad, sit down and look through the book under different headings like decks, power washing, pressure washing, contractors, or anything else you can think of that describes what services you offer. Now when you are doing this, look to see which heading have the most advertisers and large ads. See where I am heading? That’s where the consumers will typically go. It doesn’t hurt to list yourself in more than one area, especially if you do more than one type of business. Make sure you are listed where the customer is most likely to look.

    Unlike the yellow pages, the newspaper gets recycled every week. But, there are some very effective newspapers out there to advertise in. Look through all of the newspapers you get, both the subscription ones and the free ones that litter your driveway. Believe it or not, around here I like the freebies. Why? Well, there is a section called Ask the Pro’s, and it has classified ads by category. Homeowners can find you with ease. Look for a paper near you that has some type of contractor’s area in it, and look through the ads to see if any of your competition from the phone book is in that newspaper. Did you find one or two? I know I did.

    Display ads are another wonderful way to advertise. There are some publications that print ¼, ½, and full-page ads specifically for advertisers in a magazine type format. Many consumers know to look for them in their mailbox, and purchase from the advertisers. These ads tend to have coupons with expiration dates ranging from 1 month to 6 weeks out. We have actually gotten calls as long as 3 months later from this type of ad, which is an amazing shelf life for a mailer. Many use a four-color process, some on newsprint and some on a glossy stock.

    Much like the magazine type mailers, the coupon mailer is another popular way to advertise and the advertisers often use coupons to get the reader to call for service. Coupon mailers will often print one or both sides of the insert in either two colors or four. There is usually a price range depending on the number of times you run, and how many coupons you mail, and of course the price varies depending on if you are running one or two sides and in four color or not.

    While we’re on the subject of coupons, let’s talk about them for just a minute. Coupons can be a real sore point for many companies, and many don’t use them. Just remember, the consumers who use coupons simply react to advertising differently than consumers who don’t bother with them. Personally, I think you are missing the boat if you don’t give them a try at least once. A few articles back I asked you to gather up competitive information and make a file. Did you do it? What do you mean no? If you did, go pull it out, you’ll need it. Take a look at the coupons other companies are using. Look for similarities. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Stick to the basics.

    Before you discount any of these options, just remember that different consumers react to different ads in different ways. What one person will read another will throw in the trash. There is no such thing, as 100% readership. Don’t ever believe it if any sales rep tells you everyone reads their publication or opens their coupon packet. It’s simply not true.

    What kind of follow up advertising are you doing? Do you send out a mailing to customers when it’s time for service again? Why not? Keeping in touch with your customers is an important part of growing your business. People don’t necessarily remember who washed their house or treated their deck last time they had it done. Don’t assume they will. Make sure they remember you and call you again. You probably have a stack of proposals you didn’t win along with the ones you did that same year too. Mail them something. Maybe the company they went with last time didn’t do a good job, or maybe they don’t remember them. Maybe, just maybe, the other company isn’t going to mail them anything. Remember those postcards we discussed earlier? “Reminder” cards are great ways to add on services, and keep consumers coming back to you.

    So now that you’ve got a few ways to advertise, the next question is, how do I find the market? It’s all about focusing on the segment of the market you are after. The more you know about the group of individuals you are targeting, the better. Things like age, gender, income, marital status, location, and occupation can all be important depending on what it is you are trying to achieve. If you want to do business in neighborhoods with homes in excess of $250,000.00 only, then you’ll need to know where they are. If you will be doing your own mailing, I suggest getting Select Phone by InfoUSA. The CD’s have all the business and residential listings in the United States. You’ll need to know a little about the area, such as the zip code for example. You can create mailing labels and mail them yourselves. One word about mailing labels, make certain you add one more line to the spreadsheet you will be creating the labels from that simply says “Or Current Resident”. Otherwise you’ll end up with mail returned to you, instead of the new owner seeing it.

    But it’s also important to know these people. No, I don’t mean go door to door, I mean look at what they buy, and where they shop. What types of ads do they respond well to? Is the area upscale and preppy or yuppie? Does it have a busy Starbucks nearby? Who cares about coffee? They do. It’s marketed in an attractive way. It fits their lifestyle. You need your image to have that type of appeal too.

    If you plan on using a coupon mailer or newspaper rather than doing it yourself, you will quickly learn about zones. And wouldn’t you know it, all of these wonderful publishers will break them up strategically so to hit a whole area of interest to you, you probably need more than one zone. Brace yourself, and have an idea of which areas really mean the most to you.

    Now you’re ready to think about your ad layout. There are a few things the ads may contain. They are called:

    Visual – choose a photo or graphic that would interest the majority of the target audience.

    Headline – very often at the top, and in bold print

    Body copy – information about the services you offer. Be brief. Use bullet points or short sentences.

    Border – you don’t have to have one, or you could. Sometimes less is better.

    Call to action – “Call today!” or “Act now!”

    Starburst – try putting “Free Estimates!” inside one of these.

    Make sure you cover the basics, company name and logo, slogan if you have one, phone number and credit card symbols for example. Use bullet points to list your services. Believe me, there is a lot more than just this, but these basics should have you well on your way to a successful ad campaign.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Depends on the the cost of the product, and the way you're applying it as to what you'll want to charge. Figure out your costs.... then figure out how long it's going to take to do it. How much do you want or need to make an hour? That's the type of thing I look at. Also you need to factor in all your operating expenses as overhead for a percentage of the job... lots of folks neglect that.

    We charge different prices for differnt products we apply, based upon easy/difficulty of application and cost of product.

    Beth

    p.s. you need to know what's on the can before you try to strip it....

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Pam,

    There is a link on our site to get a kit, just put your info in it. I'll be printing the thread and keeping everything together that way. :)

    http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=124

    We have a toll free number for ordering and product support. 1-877-H2O-WASH (877-426-9274) and once you get the kit I would be happy to help you with the products. Since you're new I'll give you the standard "lecture" now...

    Be safe. Never take shortcuts.

    Wear protective nitrile gloves

    Wear safety goggles

    Wear a respirator.

    Now I know that we ladies like to look good, but you know what? These chemicals should only be used when you're properly equipped.

    So....do it. Several years back I got a little TINY bit of Oxylic acid on me and WOW did that hurt.

    The Wood Tux samples will be fun! :) The colors are great, the product is wonderful and it's easy to apply.

    What stain is on the deck? What is on the cedar siding? I can tell you what you'll need for the whole job, once I know that.

    You also mentioned heat being an issue, and you're right! You have to be careful to avoid heat stroke. We also sell Camelbak hydration systems that allow you to drink as you work, which in many cases would otherwise be hard to do.

    go to www.thegrimescene.com and click Shop Online, then click the category for Saftey. You'll see them there.

    Give me a call when it's convenient for you, and let me know what's on the deck and house.

    Beth:)

  25. Posted · Report reply

    ....Rid the basement of junk.....

    Hmmm.... I might have to try that this winter instead of painting. Can I paint the junk?

    We did get new kitchen appliances last year, Rod even found time to install them.

    I have found that if I actually use the schedule book to schedule him for honey -do, .... they get done. Problem is, they're supposed to be work hours.

    By the way, who irons sheets? All you do is sleep on them, and you don't see the wrinkles. Heck, they get crumpled from that alone. So why bother doing that either?

    Beth

    p.s. If I buy Easter dinner and goodies by Good Friday it'll be a miracle.

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