Celeste

Actually, what we're doing is for the breed and the sport here - they're going to be trained to retrieve ducks and geese, which by nature, they LOVE to do :) On the Weim end, my sister has one - she's a hoot, very, very smart and she runs the house! Celeste

Joe Walters Insurance has quoted us very fair prices. He specializes in insurance for pressure washing and handles all states. Celeste

Well Lance - thank you for the name (your meaning sealed the deal) "Lexi" she is....and she likes it, which is important as well :) Bill, our Chocolate is an escape artist as well but hopefully he'll improve with his training. Celeste

Once upon a time, when I had employees, I used the QuickBooks Pro payroll feature. It's very cool but you HAVE to read the How To on it. I read it, later, after I had done too much work. The only additional cost that you have to pay yearly is the $179 (I think that's the amount) to update tax figures. If you use it properly, it's very efficient, compatible with online filing, auditors love it...... Celeste Oops.....were you asking specifically about THEM doing it?

Thanks all for the name list! We tried Molly on for size.....she certainly looks like a Molly but doesn't act like a Molly. I think at this point we're between Lexi and Caysey however she's being called "Wild Child" since she's so wide open! The dog is like the energizer bunny...naps for 15 minutes then runs for hours on end. Celeste

One drawback to the microcoatings is substrate cracking....since the overlay adheres to the substrate, even if we're stronger than the concrete, if the slab cracks, we're going with it. I don't think I've ever seen a dumpster pad without at least one crack. On those, I would be far more inclined to do acid staining than overlay but dark colors can be integrated if that were the choice of application. Either would be less maintenance dirtwise, but you'd still have to maintain your sealant. Celeste Celeste

Jake is still the KING around here....the labbies are not getting his place :) As for him daddying, we had those little fellas removed when he was a pup. I had a lab as a youngster....absolutely love the breed and like I said, these two fell into our laps - we more or less rescued them. As for who sells for more, our pups will be sold after having training started so will command a pretty nice figure from hunters in our area :) Celeste Celeste

We had no idea that we were getting into labs either until it happened :) The male belonged to my daughter's friend...the female to another friend of ours.....it all kinda just happened but we have a tiny business plan in mind for these two :) If I'm not off on my dates, we should have puppies ready by next Christmas :) Celeste

Hey Richard..... Is Plumas registered? Celeste

Hey Jim, Is that from GS? Celeste

Hey, even hating cold Chicago weather, I'd come help for those prices :) If you can't catch Jim by phone (probably unlikely :)), Roger does a good amount of brick work as well Celeste

Hey Jeff.....one thing not to lose sight of, especially since you're the pressure washing cheerleader inspirational one we all look to (:)) The amount of money becomes less important when you don't enjoy the work anymore and you're too tied up or stressed by time constraints to enjoy the money you're making! At the end of the day, if the bills are paid and you are surrounded with and enjoying what's important, you've done well. You'll know how to balance it all when the opportunity presents itself :) Celeste PS...Don't get me wrong....I'd love for CPW to routinely make $2K per day!

We prefer powder whenever possible from the accident perspective.....if you have an accident and you have stuff all mixed up it's an instant HazMat situation. Powder can be sucked up with a shop vac! Celeste

Funniest part is after I saw your post....my math brain cells went dead and I about flipped out thinking we had made a HUGE error in a letter I sent out last year! Celeste

Logistics are absolutely going to play into these estimates. For a commercial job in Chicago, no way would I dream of .18/sq. Where Scott is, things are less. I also indicated that .18 had some strings attached, ie, an excellent mason as well as making an assumption that it was a residential job. I'm also putting residential pricing for NC there.....commercial work here does start at .30 and up. Celeste

Actually, Brent, it's about .18 sq ft, which is a little low but if you're coming after a really good mason, is a doable figure. 1000 bricks is approximately 166 sq ft so at .18 / sq, you get 29.88 per thousand. We have decided against using the per 1000 estimate for a couple of reasons. When you get to a new construction site there are broken bricks EVERYWHERE. The mason bills the contractor for bricks used in places that you won't be cleaning (footers) so you really can't ever be sure that the figure you get is going to be accurate. We always measure and use the sq foot rule so that our bililng is fair and to make sure we have enough product. Builders that use a per 1000 billing rate are just doing the quickest math they can do to budget :) Celeste

Oh yeah.....it's always RIGHT NOW - they are relentless, I succumbed and like I said, I'm thinking I'm going to be getting my money back :) Celeste

We were solicited by EveryContractor.com last year. The start up is right at $300 to get listed which includes a written guarantee of 12 qualified leads within the first 12 months. I cannot say that I expected to get leads during the winter, however, we signed up last July....it's now Feb 1st and we've gotten TWO leads, neither of which were qualified to my specification so, I'm expecting a rash of jobs in the next 5 months or a check in my mailbox. If you use this company, or any other prescreened contractor lead provider, my advise is to keep your area tight if you do "small dollar" work, ie housewashes. Be very specific when you list your services - a lot of these companies will combine painting and staining into one category - You must be adamant that you're not a painter (if you don't paint of course). There is also location to consider - our area is a little backward. I told both EveryContractor as well as Service Magic that our demographic was not going to work with their service. Thusfar I have been correct. You have to consider that if you are simply listed under "pressure washing", you realistically have to confine your service area to one where you don't have to charge any additional fees to make the trip worthwhile. Example....I cannot possibly include Raleigh in my service area for housewashes; it's 60 miles away and I know that there are 2 dozen other pw companies closer. I couldn't do a regular rate housewash that distance away without losing money so I'd have to charge more. Now I paid for a lead or accepted a lead (which goes toward their 12 guarantee) that I KNOW I won't get because the leads also go to other contractors. We also get stuff from Contractor.com (we've stayed on the free program with them) Our leads are $30.00 plus but for the most part, our listing with decks gets us "please build this" type jobs. Funny this subject came up because when they "sold" me on their program, I promised that if they did as they promised, I'd talk them up like crazy. I'm not impressed at all and will really be surprised if they pull this off in the next 5 months. Celeste

In our area, residential brick is from between .23 - .26 / sq ft....commercial starts at .30 :) Good choice on the chemical! Celeste

Hey Wesley, Give me a call....we're listed with them :) Celeste

We started part time in September of 03....by late March of '04 the decision was getting easier to think about and in April of '04 it was a done deal. We've never looked back or regretted the decision and now 2006 is looking like it's going to be a banner year! Celeste

I got Roger a new one for Christmas that talks to him to - it's hilarious if we go on a new road (we get new roads every DAY here)....that girl says "Off Course, Off Course! If you guys are looking at GPS's, check them out of EBay - I saved an enormous amount of money by finding my deal there! Celeste

The best Nextel navigation system to use is having another Nextel user at your destination! We also use Garmin GPS system :) Before that, www.mappoint.com or www.mapquest.com is free...used it before every estimate or job :) Celeste

Jeff - you need to talk to Roger! I started labor with one of ours on his birthday and he made me cross my legs 'cause he didn't want to share! Celeste

Hey Russ....can you flip that baby over and let us see the other side? Celeste