PLD

Double wow. I normally get 1%. Which is part of why I started this whiner thread. The hit rates are so far off mark as to be bizarre. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm checking my phone and my advertising to make sure they are on and running. For example: I just sent out 1200 postcards (300k+ homes) this week and last. Avg 1-2 calls per mailing (0.16%). 500 flyers (same as last years), 0 calls. I even did 300 "courtesy quotes". My CQ is a combo ad flyer/quote sheet with services listed and blanks for prices. I walk down the street with a clipboard, eyeball the job, fill in prices, and stuff it in the mailbox. I got one call. In this case, the customer has the message, the number, and even the price for the services right there. Just call and schedule.

Ditto.

SWEET!! That one is going in my book.

Last August I made $14k. This year, It'll be about $2.5k

Ditto. Unfortunately, my online business follows the spring/fall seasons as well...

What do you do during the dead months?

I undestand that, my concern is the degree to to which it has dropped off this summer season. This time last year I had 2 guys working as hard as I could work 'em. 25+ jobs/week. This week I have 3 jobs booked and none looking forward. Doubling your adv budget and still running at 10% of last year is a dramatic change. And I'm not talking about doubling from $50/mo to $100/mo. I will spend over $25k on advertising this year, and I'm barely grossing enough now to cover that expense Someone later in this thread mentioned activity was really rolling for them and they were now taking 4 calls/day. Just for a little perspective; a normal summer day for me is 10-15 calls, booking 50%, and working 3-5 jobs/day.

Paul, That actually works down here since our real frost line is near 0". And, provided the next low spot isn't the basement or under the house. Sell him a "drain rite" drain. Drain rite is the slot drain you see on pool decks that slope toward the house. Cut a 1" wide slot, install the drain rite, fill gaps with epoxy.

100% resi. I count apartments and townhomes as resi, but that' our only commercial work.

Yep, but WD40 leaves a nasty residue on wood. As for kiling them, insects breathe through their skin. Coat them in an oil, and they die.

Well, I keep my political views pretty hush-hush around customers (no, I don't have Libertarian bumper stickers). And I certainly don't call any of them fascists... :) But business is so off that I have considered my workmanship. I am quite meticulous about my works (and the boys), and get lots of attaboys. I think it looks great. But with business down 70%, you doubt everything. So I'm now doing follow up calls to survey, etc. So far, so good. I've even done random phone checks, and triple checked my ads for right phone number, etc...

Mike, but Jesus did get PO'd and physically toss everyone out of the temple....

At it hard now. I need to come and spend a week just watching you sell/close. You are my PW hero!!

Ditto. I have a good painter that I refer to (and use regularly). I send him 1-2 leads a week. In two years, I've only gotten one in return lead. Oddly, it was his sons house for paint prep. And the reason I got that one was it was just too big (3 stories, 5000sq.ft) and he thought it was a bit much for his guys.

Ditto, I was one of the best damn IT people in the SE region and worked *very* hard to be #1. For the first 5 years, I climbed the ranks like a rocket. Each job changed neted a 50-100% increase in salary. Over the next 5 years, I started noticing that kids (many of whom I got started) were catching up to me and/or passing me in the ranks because they had better political skills than I. I deserved the promotion, but they could make the sale and close the deal. My last 5 years were miserable. I had status and money, but I was employed well below what my skill level and experience level merited. Even more depressing, I was not making any headway. I felt under utilized and unappreciated. I had grown to hate an industry that used to be an all consuming passion of mine. My last day ended quite unceremoniously. I was working late (about 8pm), and decided that I was done. Not with the day, with this career. I called my wife and told her I needed to find another occupation. Much to my surprise, she said that if I felt that badly, I should make plans to do so. Having called my hand, I told her I would think about it over the next week and we could talk about it more. Over the next hour and a half of work, I realized that the I had decided to quit long ago. I was just too scared of change to actually jump. I typed up my 30 day notice and placed it on my bosses desk. For good measure, I placed another copy on the President's desk and locked up for the evening. It was a decision I would second guess many times that night. But there was no turning back now. Since I worked in a financial instituion, I could lock up for the night but only an executive could open up. As happened every morning, the President would arrive first and open up. And my notice was the only item on his desk... Do I regret it? Sometimes. When business is booming, I am happier than ever. When business is off (like this summer), I have serious doubts about my ability to pull this off. Like Rod, I do not believe I can never go back. Once you have tasted the fruit, you cannot eat from the trough any longer. I guess if was obviously failing, and my family would suffer greatly, I would go back. But only to spare them the pain.

We called 'em writing spiders. This is a banana spider. I have more than once found a banana spider attached to my face when I walked thru their web while following a dark trail in Florida. I'm not afraid of spiders/snakes, etc but a 3" spider crawling on your face in the dark will make you do the "I'm on fire" dance for sure

Dead in about 5 seconds, no stain left behind.

Dan, I'm glad to see you chime in on this one! In my area, it seems to be the latest fad for the painters who also pwash to use "bleach chalks up paint/vinyl" as a sales tool against us full timers. I actually encounter it alot when bidding against painters. Why they do it, I do not completely understand. Also, I owe you an apology. When you first jumped into TGS, alot of us (myself included) gave you a really hard time because you were a painter doing PW'ing. You have contributed a great deal to this forum, and obviously I was wrong about you entirely. For that I apologize. In my own defense, I can only offer that my opinions about painters have been prejudiced because most painters I have encountered don't care about quality (with respect to PWing). Hence, when you joined as a "painter", I quickly pigeonholed you. Again, please accept my apologies.

Not necessarily worse, but more and more chaotic. It's merely entropy at work.

I don't know about democracy, but we are the 900# gorilla on the block and should count our blessings for what we have here in the USA. And IMHO that makes it a moral imperiative to involve ourselves in any country (including Rwanda) where genocide and other mass atrocities are being commited. Not to do so is like Hulk Hogan pretending not to notice as two punks beat up an old lady for her grocery money. It's just cowardly and wrong. Rape rooms, mass graves, gassing the Kurds? Saddam needed to go. Unfortunately, overthrowing a government means that you have to stay until the place is stable again. And since you must establish a new government, might as well be democratic. If the people really prefer communism/dictatorship/monarchy, they can just vote it in once we give 'em the keys.

You guys are disappointing me here. This one is real simple. For a few weeks, put a bright yellow diesel can and a bright red gas can on the truck and fuel them backwards from the labeling. I'd also get a small can for 2 stroke gas and put thinned polyurethane in it with a little 2 stroke oil for color. Tell your crew, and get a big kick out of killing several pieces of equipment at once. Philip

Yep, you just killed a harmless little pest eater... When we were kids, the urban legend was that when it wrote your name in it's web you died. FWIW, brake cleaner spray kills spiders/bugs faster than anything I have ever seen and w/o staining most surfaces. I keep a can handy for carpenter bees and black widows.

If you are reeling, 100ft. Rolling, 50ft. I understand (and was loyal to for years) the reasoning behind 50ft hoses, but I find that I NEVER have a hose fail anywhere but a crimp. So, I'll never own another 50ft'er and I'm seriously thinking about custom cutting 300ft on each reel.

Yep. At first it's a pain, but after your first season you'll back under it so it drops on the ball with just a nudge from your thigh.

Adam and Jamie are my heroes. What I wouldn't give for a job as an intern there... Ouch... It's the *release* that's important! I still shoot bottle rockets from my hand and occasionaly on the 4th I'll entertain the crowd with a shot from the teeth. No, not the big broom handle stick type. The 144 for $2.50 kind.