Celeste

Oh, yeah....I forgot about the non-compete agreement. They wanted me to sign one without even knowing who was included in the thing. After I saw the list of their clients in our area I didn't have problem with it as most were interior mall companies who would never need our services anyway. If they were trying to get us to do work that fit into our job description, I probably would have declined the contracts. Celeste

We did some awnings for them at a large mall in one direction and then had some off the wall water wall cleaning in another direction. Neither of them paid what it cost us to go do them. They wanted us to clean windows INSIDE a mall - told them no thank you very much. The additional insured thing....they said they'd pay up to $50 in premiums charged and I never saw it but I sure paid the extra $100 I got charged for that piece of paper. Celeste

Oohh Oohh - we have! What kind of work do they want you to do? They pay 54 days later (after receiving their work order back all signed off on) They'll cost you extra on your GL because they have to be named in a certain way. What they were wanting us to do just wasn't worth it for us to continue so we fired them. Some of the folks are pretty decent to work with, others should never be allowed in Customer Service - ever. Celeste

This lapse in contact from a homeowner poses yet another good question - Follow-ups? Do you check back after a couple of days, weeks, ever? If you are just blown off (which, no disrespect to you Lou, I would think is the case after three months), how do you handle it? Celeste

Hey, I've been playing with that one for a day or so now.....I got an email list started last night at our Home Builders function so am already planning some quarterly newsletters to homeowners, real estate agents, & builders. Celeste

Ken, Have you looked at Constant Contact? They have templates in their repertoire for Press Releases......you can check it out for free :) during the trial, unless you're already using it for newsletters. Celeste

Aw c'mon Grant......send one of your pics for us to put in there. This is just some happy fun :) Celeste

Hey Jeff, for obvious reasons (multiple employees means higher payroll) your WC is increasing.....did your GL go up because of the high rises you're working on now? Celeste

BACK AWAY FROM THE EMAIL! I forwarded one just like it to PayPal and they told me it was a no no ! Just as Mike stated, they won't ask for that through an email. Celeste

I have one in my back yard if you want to come get it out! (Wired up tank that is:) ) Celeste

Agree with John, the hot water will handle most anything. The only reason for scraping drywall for us is the STUPID huge piles we contend with, I'm talking 3 lbs of drywall dumped in the garage from the end of the mudder's day. These pop off very easily. When you just try to "melt" them, it makes a bigger mess to rinse! We actually work faster with the surface cleaner but as evidenced in many aspects of this industry, what works better for some, doesn't for others. Your first job or two will let you know where you'd stand. A surface cleaner does offer more risk to new concrete if you're not careful - swirlies might look cute but they are definitely NOT the goal :) In reading John's post again though, I'll bet you could do the "popping" with your wand, like gum. Celeste

Jeff, yes on carefully scraping the drywall mud, mostly just to pop the large pieces off - hot water will generally take care of the rest. Latex paint will also usually easily rinse away with hot water from garage floors. Main thing is not too much pressure or too close to the concrete - does your surface cleaner have an adjustable deck? Celeste

That looks like the opportunity of a business-time Jeff - Congrats on your predicament! I have some ideas running around my head on how you might look at it, but am not able to get it straight on paper yet (been a long day!) I'll send you something in an email or maybe I'll bump into you this week in SC Celeste

Anyone with kids has to know of this movie - if you don't and love a "little guy making a huge difference" kind of story, go get it anyway! There is an awesome message to be seen in this movie - Goin' to watch it again! Celeste

Hopper - a bullyish Grasshopper who leads the rest of his swarm to terrorize the colony of ants at Ant Island. Every year, Hopper and his band of grasshoppers demand that the ants provide food for them. Hopper believes that ants are put on earth to do his bidding, serve his needs but are worthless for anything else.

Flik, just a worker ant who's had a few things go "not quite right" in his attempts to do good things for his colony.

Jeff, if you could focus on one person in the back of the room, would that help - What if your wife accompanied you and placed herself somewhere in the room where you could see her the whole time? My deal is leaving my house - once I'm out, I'm fine, but it nearly takes an act of Congress to get me through the front door. Sometimes you just have to have your security go with you :) Celeste

I'm still of the opinion that for the money, you'd be better served to join the Home Builders Association - this type org is stuffed full of realtors, bankers, closing attorneys, BUILDERS, etc... Although it's designed for the "building" community, all of those successful real estate agents can be sold on curb appeal, all of those lovely lawyers own homes.....We paid $350 for a year. Within the first month our return paid for membership for 15 more years. Go figure :) Oh, and also at these meetings, along with the socialization, they have planned speakers and other industry specific things that sometimes can affect our profession. Celeste Other thing....not knocking the Chamber get togethers, but our Chamber gatherings don't feed us dinner once a month! For those of you with kids, you'll appreciate being able to take the wife out, have an open bar, good meal and network with people who NEED to meet you on 10 different occasions for $35.00 a time :)

Jim, I actually hesitated about posting in this thread because of the polar differences in circumstances of what the thread was originally about. We applied the WTW to a screened-in Ipe floor mid-year lat year. The application was successful from the standpoint of the wood accepted it beautifully (no sign or "rejection"). The homeowner's response was that it looked better than the hardwoods in his house. :) We indicated to this homeowner at the time of application that we may need to do maintenance within the first year due to the nature of this dense species. We have maintained communications with this homeowner because of work upcoming on his concrete and there has been no indication from him that the stain was fading or failing in any way. I do have photos of the floor but they are not up the quality of photo that I prefer to display...my camera was dying and due to the time of day they were taken, excuse, etc... I'll put one in the gallery if you want. Also, if you are interested, I am more than happy to post updates on the performance. Celeste

I loved the one where the kid got tattooed! Celeste

Brent, we have used Wood Tux successfully on Ipe flooring if that helps :) Celeste

Partnership LLC - started that way by accident, stayed for paperwork purposes but accountant is changing us to Corp. Celeste

I was so glad to read somebody messing with those folks who email you telling you that they want you to handle 50 bajillion dollars for them.....I bet I get a dozen of that kind a week. I might just have to mess with them now :) Those letters are too funny! Celeste

Roger & I are branching into another little sideline. We've recently come into two wonderful Labrador Retrievers, one chocolate male, 16 months, and a yellow female, 11 months. Our male Cayden is currently at Hunting Bootcamp so the girl is still here. Problem is......she has no name! She'll be heading for training pretty soon as well and it would be really nice to be able to tell the trainer her name! Can I get some input ? Don't want anything really cutesy, like Blondie or Princess.... Take a look at her and let's get some names going!

Which do you need worse? Are you doing more flatwork or vertical heights? Celeste