RCBill

You get an opportunity to bid a job from a neighboor who is the ops manager. You get the job, at no great margin. Everything goes pretty good. Do you give the manager a few $$$?

Mr. Gonzales, You are a class act. Bill Lightner

I know you guys hate the 'P' word, so let me just say I have work booked to Feb 8th. Now it certainly isn't the triple digit per hour work everyone here is doing, 'in-season'. But, come March I'll have positive cash flow, a new trailer, and some inspired marketing investments heating up the Cape Fear for Carolinas Clean. Just for the record, nobody likes painting (Whoops! the 'P' word). If I wasn't getting paid I wouldn't do it.

AAAAaahhh, meat! Great topic, great responses. More, more, more.

I've read that electricity is out for hundreds of thousands in twenty degree weather. Can anyone in the midwest post? Concerned

You're a smart guy to start thinking twenty years out like you are. Writing your goals out, and thinking about them a bit makes reaching them much more likely. (A vision + a plan) x discipline = whatever you want.

Well Chris, I'll be 75 and my dream is to be crusing the Keys with your girl too.

Modified for the benefit of my sister who received her degree last year at 53. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong woman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends herself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if she fails, at least she fails while daring greatly. So that her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

Hey Mike and Ken, This works as a numbers issue when you have labor that is not getting the Rev per hr. that PWs get. Ken you have painters. It would be easy for you to send a guy over to fill out a day on these. Or a helper. The sale is easy. I like it because I already spent the money to get the lead. I hate to leave money on the table. And I leave a happy homeowner. I'm writing about the shutter treatment. Now if you were going to do the entire house. Then I'd have to call you painters. And I'd bring white pants for you to wear at the Spring roundtable. Just so everyone knew what you're doing now. Mike, you'd be a painter that I'd like.

Guess I had the cleaner wrong. It's been a while. But the question remains the same.

Hey John, I did a wash this summer after which I applied the low lustre to the shutters grattis. It was too dull. My bad. But the homeowner was pleased, and it was easy to see the upsell. The kit comes with a Sodium Hydroxide solution for cleaning. I use a complex mix of chems for cleaning, including a couple degreasers. While I don't know what your engineers want to do with the S. Hydroxide, I believe that I've cleaned the shutter pretty good with my housewash. So, I don't want to buy the cleaner, or the brush. I would like to buy quarts. The retailer I purchased the kit from charged me a price that I feel is pretty expensive. These guys are Custom Colors in Wilmington. Good outfit, no gripes with them. Why is Restora priced higher than the highest priced paint?

Without getting into a bunch of detail, I would like to know if there is any interest in doing a group kind of thing, putting together a business plan. The idea is to build a plan along with others for several benefits. We would set milestones for progress. I am using Business Plan 2007 software. I would want to converse with others using this or a similar framework. I don't want my plan out to the universe either. We would do a lot of communication off line. And telling others sensitive stuff isn't necessary. This would not be a place to look for a lot of business guidence. A participant would work to keep pace. If you think may like to be a part of this; post. If there is interest we can etalk further about nuts and bolts.

Jon, you are the kinda man I want to associate with. I understand paralysis, it is common to my personality type. But I don't see this thing we're doing putting out a lot of how-to stuff. If you don't have a business plan on paper, dis is da place to be. My job will be to move everyone to a documented plan. Now you know there are plans, AND THERE ARE PLANS. The Business Plan 2007 software includes a book by some know-it-all who writes about minimum requirements for a plan. As we are closing in on the end of the year, that may be the goal. But we'll make that a group decision. This is what knows everything suggests; Have a cash-flow projection Have a plan to reach goals The cash-flow stuff is pretty easy. I have a template if you need one. It just takes sitting down with a P and L and entering data. A plan for what you want to do is another matter. My goal for the year is getting out of the bucket. A plan answers; "So, what does getting out of the bucket take?" I need revenue, so I need sales, so I need leads, how am I going to get the leads? Do I need another truck? How much is that going to cost? You get the idea. To me, a plan with pretty good cash-flow numbers and documented answers to 'how am I going to reach my goals' is a pretty good effort. There may be more important understanding of one's future, but I don't see it. Just one more thing. I know there are a lot of people reading this that do not have profitable businesses. This is a message to you. Take your lumps. Admit to yourself that what you're doing is not working. Everyone that grows has growing pains. Ken Fenner is doing a lot of good things, and he is interested in this little effort. This is how he grew. He does the work. While I look forward to talking business with Ken, he wasn't in my thoughts when I started this thread. I was thinking of the large percentage of people who struggle to earn a living running a business. You need to get into another circle of influence. And it isn't just a technical or managerial thing.

Sounds good Ken. Another with good credentials has expressed interest. Three is good enough for me. Let's talk with Beth over the weekend. We may be able to use the Grime Scene privately. Look forward to meeting you.

Yes, I've known people that seem to 'spend' all their time talking about working. Thanks for the heads up, I wondered what happened to you. ****** I got to know very successful contractors via membership in Certified Contractors Network. One guy had a million dollar marketing budget and one guy was in year three of turning his bankrupt siding business into a profitable one. I never knew his numbers. But he could have been at a half million in revenue. Met a Canadian landscaper that was crusing through seven figure milestones. Initiation at the time was $3,500, monthly dues $700. I went to a sales school that cost $3,500 for a week. I've heard that costs have increased and that contractors are lined up to join. This is what I saw in these men and women. Nothing special. This is what CCN gave them; with a couple exceptions, nothing special. But these people never considered themselves landscapers, painters, or roofers. They saw themselves as Presidents of marketing firms. And they did the basic business school work; business plans, marketing plans, budgets, cash-flow reports, etc. They have a business planning boot camp scheduled. I'll bet they are getting $5,000 for a weeks work. Guaranteed that they are building business plans and personal time management systems. Nothing special. What is special is that they leave their businesses and families for a week to have someone tell them to write a plan to reach their goals. What would be the value in participating in this group thing I am suggesting? Feeling compelled to do the work, to keep up. Maybe having someone to bounce ideas off of. Getting some value for the time on this and other boards. Now, I have no vested interest in this other that having someone to bounce ideas off of and the Grime Scene staff were looking for something constructive to involve people in. I thought this would be something worthwhile. I'll get my plan done with or without company. I want to be like the people I met at CCN. If you're growing a good business maybe you don't need to invest the time in a business plan. If things could be better, a business plan is fundamental to a successful business.

Take Visa?

YEeoowww. One for fourty-four. Talk about a hot topic! :lgtear:

I can't get help resolving a problem I have with my Honda. I suspect the Honda people would want me to have a good machine. This thing is under warranty still. Should you have a point of contact with someone at Honda, I'd appreciate you passing that info on to me. TIA

Thank you everyone. I have GX390. I've posted on this in the thread 'Honda is tearing me up.' May 13, 2006. Russ, your reply #471 on the value was correct. The warrantee shop here has replaced two cams. Each time the mechanic told me that a 'flag' on the cam was broken. The machine has zero hours on the latest cam. I'm doing a bigger job Thursday or Friday. It could fail in five or ten hours. At any rate I have no confidence in the machine or the shop. The purpose of my query was to be prepared for a new course of action. I don't want to go back to the guy here. I think he'll just keep throwing cams in it until the warrantee runs out then shrug me off. In reading the Tearing me up thread, I gotta laugh at myself. How you guys struggled to tell me to install a ball-valve. LOL. Bob at PT set me up with one and the pressure hose swivel. Made him work too. I can be pretty viscous. Russ, what should I do? TIA

Drafted in 1970, volunteered for another tour in '79. Always combat arms. Never fought. My wife is retired Navy. My father-in-law retired Navy. My brother former Marine.

The market is getting ripe for buying. Investors get in the neighborhood of 4.5 times market appreciation. If you want to be a part of the next up cycle, now is the time to count your marbles.

Within each geographical market are a number of other markets defined by price, use, etc. So, even within a city, high-end homes could be in one phase of movement while entry homes are in another. It is incorrect to generalize. Full-time RE agents with good firms will know what is going on. And their information will be current. If you don't know an agent, you need to get out of the house more. It is my experience, and I've read something somewhere that cycles are 'in general' a couple years down, then maybe six years appreciating. While this down cycle is getting press now, here in Wilmington the market for high-end got soft quickly last late fall, lower-end slowing this summer. All the agents that were buying Beamers two years ago are looking for employment now. I certainly agree that there will be nice opportunities provided by those that used creative financing. I buy and hold low-end and put renters in. (Not that I have a big portfolio.) So, if I get in a little early I don't sweat it. Furthermore! I was pushed into my first investment. Owning RE was not in my paradigm. I was thinking of younger people just getting started when I made the post. My thinking was that someone who was like me in my twenties may need some time to chew on this idea. Then maybe some time to get financing, then find a good investment. This could be six months or a year or even more. I think that the market that I'll be shopping in will be close to the bottom in the Spring. If it drifts a little lower, I don't care. The outfit my wife works at believes this market will pick up again in 08. They are a billion dollar producer. ***** I am familiar with several types of RE investing. I buy and hold entry level homes and rent them to people. I don't flip, snip, or creative anything. Some of you are doing pretty well with your businesses. If you are smart with your money, you could be doing pretty good with your investments in twenty years. And you don't need to be real savy either. Common sense and a little reading will give you all the know-how you need. Keys; Spend less than you make so that you can invest. Pay yourself first. Use other people's money. Compounding is a beautiful thing. This post is in honor of Richard Kaller who gave me similar advice and changed my life, RIP.

Scott has this right. On top of the skill needed to do the door well, you'll need to deal with traffic. It doesn't matter that the restaurant will be closed, people will want to use the doors. This isn't a wood job like those written of here. It is a furniture job. Don't work for carrots. No business is better'n bad business. Learn on something that you'll see again. I did a local Applebee's front doors. I'll take a day off before I work for a restaurant again.

This year has been a formative year for me. I entered the year working for a lying SOB. Realized how good I had it on my own. Quit him, and put the painter's whites on again. As many here know I'd been learning to get surfaces clean without damaging things. That hasn't been the smoothest of efforts. My fence looks like hell, I continue to scratch at chemical burns, and my Honda tries to dislocate my shoulder. But to me this is all good learning. The new year will welcome a new business to the Cape Fear. This business will have a cleaning orientation, but offer several maintenance services. I'll post the new name when I get confirmation from the Sec. of State. I am in process of building plans and systems that I want in place when things get humming in the spring. Much of what I'll be doing is directed by the E-Myth literature. Should anyone want to do this work in some kind of conjunction with me please PM me.

Well, I received my Articles of Amendment and now my company is named; CarolinaS Clean. The name change better positions me to do the roof washing that I want to do. I had become a pretty good painter. By attending workshops given by well respected decorative painters, and paying dues, I've become a pretty good decorative painter myself. But frankly, working for princesses got old. Tip-toeing around delicate egos gets a bit tedious. I'll still do this work. I'll work all winter. But I'm looking forward to spreading the love in the spring. Not that I'll limit my offering to roof washing, I don't think my market would support that. The plan is to do washing and decks in the spring and fall. Then generate inside work in the winter and summer. I appreciate the generosity of many here. The beer is always on me. Bill, loving the Cape Fear, Lightner