John T

:lgkeyboar Happy New Year

Eat good foods with a Good Merlot or Cabernet Wine and a nice fat Cigar and a Cognac Drink afterwords. Then go to the Gym(Golds) the next day to burn it off. THe problem of course is I don't get to the Gym enough but I sure don't miss to many good dinners. Can you see where my priorities are :)

The hardest part of Powerwashing in the Northeast is right about now. My business is pretty much shut down for the winter months because I lost my 2 nice size Commercial accounts this past year. So for now my business is doing ZERO hours per week. This is where I am happy that I have my "Other" job and the Ap't that I rent out because I am continously getting a steady paycheck. I also know of a couple of Powerwashing People who are in big trouble this time of year because there business has slowed alot and they don't have enough Money to keep themselves afloat much longer...in less of course there luck turns. For you guys in the Northeast that do this business fulltime and make it thru the winter months without much problem I tip my hat to you. That is my goal in the future and I know its going to be a tough one.

In season we can go on average 41-50 hrs a week with some weeks we can work all 7 days. Today my business is pretty much at a standstill because the Residential end is closed and the Commercial end I lost some accounts. I can't wait to get back from the PWNA Convention next March and get back into the $$$$ again.

To stay healthy and make more money so......I can spend more money :)

I agree......and disagree with some of the above...so that makes me confused :) Seriously I do believe some people are natural born leaders and they are lucky..but the greatest leaders are the ones that lead by example and that my friends is a LEARNED trait....so yes I agree that you can be born with leadership qualities and for those type of people they are very fortunate but out of some of them you get the Charles Mansons and the Hitlers of the world. The ones that lead by example such as PAT TILLMAN the football player who died in Iraq,Hellen Keller who had to learn just about everything and many many others are and should be considered great leaders themselves. SO once again I vote for both sides of this debate......Does that make me a follower :) Think again..............

Robert, So from what your saying then a Sole Proprietorship is both a leader and an entrepreneur because he started the "Turn Key"Business and he also manages it. On top of that he does all the work also....So that makes him superman :) I'm just having fun but I agree with your view.

JD, Another option would be to by a nice used Van such as what I did on Ebay from a very reputable person. THis is what I got for $5800. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2491145469&category=6224

My Day time job is Powerwashing and my nite time job for almost 18 yrs is Law enforcement. I work 12 hr shifts and after vacation days are used I only do about 125 nites a year and I have a little control over my scheduling where I move my nights around when needed. So I consider myself lucky because my day and nite jobs work perfectly together. I still am not exactly sure which way my future is heading but I can tell you this every year I make more and more money Powerwashing and if I can do it then most anyone can. :)

The first picture is of me and my wife a few years ago. The second Picture is of me in Mexico 2 weeks ago and it looks like I ate the whole Damn place.....and I had fun doing it

I voted for most of the above except for corporate status, Years in business and Leadership. I know plenty of people who may not be great Leaders but they do top of the line work and they are not any type of corporate head. Also some people are natural learners and there better then most in a matter of no time. We all know people like that who are very good in just about everything. As for having a part time business and not be considered professional it depends on what you consider to be part time. I know a few guys that gross in the millions with there "Part time job" and are still civil servants as there fulltime job.(Know I'm not one of these...yet:) 2 of those guys are in the construction business. This conversation came up before and just because one does this Part time it doesn't mean that he can't be much better then the person doing this business fulltime. It all depends on the individual. There are some fulltimers in any business that do crap work and that is pointed out on our local news channels in the "Shame on you" stories that bring the crooked and corrupt contractors out for all to see. So I would emphasize "The Individual" when it comes to "What constitutes a 'Professsional' "

From my family to yours.

I'm trying to post a few pictures that I scanned and are in my downloads. When I try to post them here I am getting an invalid type. How do I post pictures that are the file type below?? Nicole and Brianna.tif: Invalid File Type

Hey Ron, Thanks for the facts and being direct. I hate when people beat around the bush and thats one thing that you never do. Carry on mate:)

Ron, I case you missed it on *** since that bb is just about dead(Sorry for being blunt) Happy Birthday and many many more. Come to the PWNA Convention in Ohio next March and I'll buy you a drink.

Hey Mike, I'm not sure if the prices for the Convention have been set yet either. I can tell you that if your a PWNA member you do get a discount price for the Convention. As soon as Beth and any of us find out anything further we will have it posted here and on other bb's. You can also call the PWNA headquarters to see if they have the prices set-up yet and to see if they can send you any info that you need such as the Convention registration etc. There phone number is 800-393-7962

Ok I never look at these since I've seen a few from my other profession but I took a peek and you got me

I also plan on going to the Convention in Ohio next March. Great to meet the people who have similiar goals and beliefs that I do in this business. Crap its 11:45am and I have to leave to catch my flight for Atlanta in 30 minutes and of course I didn't pack or shower yet. This is my life.......I wouldn't change it for a second.........

Keep looking cause they will be out there soon enough. So many people bail out of this business at this time of year for one reason or another. I bought a used Hydrotek rig set-up 2 yrs ago that came with a Hydrotek Service cleaner. It was only 2 yrs old and cost over $10,000 new. I paid $5000 for it and it has worked great. So keep looking because there will be great deals to be had in the near future. Good Luck

My estimates will always be free. It's just the nature of the contracting business in my eyes. What I will do is raise my prices If I feel its necessary so I don't lose any money since time is money. ITs all about the sales pitch and if you can back it up. I never nail 100% of anything and my % of getting the jobs is probably below 50% because I charge more then most...but I feel my customers get the best possible job when they do hire me. This is my philosphy which some others I'm sure will disagree with. OF course do best with what works for you........

Here's a couple of pictures of my Powerwasher coming off my Bucket truck and the Van its going to go into.

The bucket truck will not have anymore powerwashers installed in it. That truck will tow a trailer when I need a powerwasher with it. As far as gas prices go here they are creeping up again. I think regular gas cost about $2.10/gal. I just raise my prices up a hair to make sure they offset the gas and other increases that occur while I'm operating my business. The goal is to not lose Money no matter what I do. I just wish I could make more of it because you never have enough:)

For Commercial work and accounts I will travel 100+ miles. I also Powerwashed a few commercial accounts in my neighboring state NJ but gave that up last year. Residential work is usually at most a 50 mile radius.

Right out the back. When I complete this I will show some pictures. I use to have this Powerwasher installed in my enclosed trailer but I ran into problems. I didn't have enough airflow in the trailer since I didn't have a side door.

Here's some pictures of the Powerwasher in the van. There's still alot more for me to do such as venting the Powerwasher out etc. It should be up an running sometime Tomorrow. I snuck in a picture of my "Equalizer" parked in the garage.