geobet1

Haven't posted on this site lately, but occassionally drop by to keep abreast. Didn't know where else to post this, or even if anyone would be interested, but here goes. Although, at 59 I'm probably older than most of you - but, this advice is critical especially if you're in your 40's and older. GET YOUR PSA LEVEL CHECKED!! Its a simple blood test. At your ages (assuming that most of you are in your late 20's and 30's) you need to establish a base line for your PSA to monitor if it is increasing as you get older. I just found out (Oct. 17) that I have Prostate Cancer. I just completed a CT and Bone Scan this week to see if it has spread. If not, then total prostate removal, if so - then all bets are off. Chemo and Radiation plus surgery. It doesn't just happen to us "old" guys. On another site I belong to, one guy in his late thirty's and another who just turned 40, just found out they also have Prostate Cancer. Running your pressure washing business is a real challenge - you don't even want to think about the challenge of fighting for your very life as well. So please, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of your family - get yourself a PSA test ASAP! And do it EVERY year!! Best Regards; George

Jon: You're right on target. Thanks for the comments. Ken: Certainly, no offense taken. I agree with your characterization, re; Idea People. I gotta admit, I much prefer the journey in reaching a goal than simply "thinking" about it. More hands on and much more satisfaction! Guys, please keep in mind that, as I intimated earlier, I have no intent to take my goal to a global application and save the world. But, by good fortune and circumstance, I can certainly devoted some time to try and make my own small piece of it - should I dare to say it? - a more level playing field. And, by the way, Jon - Mike is bullet proof. He's a bit over an hour away and outside my turf - but I did check. This quest is a continuing saga. But like I said earlier, I really, really, realllllllllly enjoy the challenge! I haven't had so much fun lately. I'll post the good bad and the ugly.

Jon & Ken: Good responses. I appreciate the effort and opinions. I'm flattered by the references to Miss Rosa. I'm old enough to personally remember her challenges and sacrifices. I'm certainly not deserving of the comparison. I understand the intent, so I'll consider it a compliment and ignore the cynicism. Ken, as to, "Why would you trade that (real estate) in for a business where you cannot compete and cannot make any money?" Ouch!! Come on, Ken, pull in the talons and stay outta that knife drawer! However, to briefly answer the question, I'm fortunate to be a young energetic, goal oriented retiree. I don't endorse retirment without a purpose - it sucks! I'm very blessed and fortunate indeed. I never said I can't compete and as for making money, well revenues are a bit ahead of where I projected them to be when I started late last year and surprisingly, expenses are somewhat less than expected. This is but one of several retirement ventures that I've been blessed with the resources, opportunities and a generous allotment of time to pursue. And, obviously, I'm passionate about certain aspects of it. And, I gotta admit, yes, I love taking on the "bullys-on-the-block"; the lowballers who think they're above playing by the rules everyone else is obligated to. As for "trading the real estate business for this", even a blind hog can find a acorn once in a while. Meaning, it doesn't take too long to discover that real estate investments and acquistions generate more return (and risk - who doesn't love the risk joy ride?) and can subsequently be much more lucrative than commissions. Just simple math. Now, having said all that, who else can I turn in for worker's comp non-compliance? God, I love a challenge! Makes ya feel so young and alive. I keep hoping for the state to institute a bounty - yet another way to earn a buck.

In the "Red Neck" venacular, "Dazzle the Client"! Just spit-balling, and at the risk of over simplification, consultative sales technique, for the uninitiated, and the catch phrase challenged, (and other "newbies" who may be tuning in and wondering what the h*#@ are they talking about), simply implies a mantra of dialogue, either via phone or in person, to determine the clients' wants, needs, affordability, etc., and to determine if a cohesive match exists for your service and at a given price. Hopefully you're presentation was articulate enough to have been successful in cementing your company's profile, and its superior level of benefits, in the clients mind. To the point that your presentation has established a "high-water" mark from which to judge all other competing bids. And hopefully, you won. Now that we've not only beat this horse to death, but taken it out and shot it, then hung it to be sure it's dead - maybe back to the point of "fingering" lowballers, huh?

Whoa, Hoss(s)!! Someone opened the gate, let my point out and it got lost. Let's try this approach. Who has the price advantage - You or the lowballer? If your operating costs include the sum total costs of your Insurance, License AND Worker's Comp., and your competitor is a lowballer who, maybe has Insurance, might have a license but probably doesn't have Workers Comp., the lowballer has the pricing advantange from the get-go! Forget about whether he's legal or not. Forget about how much more sophisticated your sales and marketing strageties are compared to his. His embedded operating costs are lower, period! Because he's illegal, he can afford to lowball the bid and could probably care less that his sales approach isn't as unique as yours. Why should he. He's just got another Job. Yours! The playing field isn't level! That's my premise point!! Now, to your point about salesmanship; "If a customer formulates his decision making based upon price, you have failed as a salesman." I could argue that alleged "truism" seven ways from Sunday. In fact, I often did with my instructors. Suffice it to say that, I beg to differ! There are simply too many variables and intangibles involved in the intricate and delicate dance of the customer negotiation processes to qualify that statement as a true narrative of ones' sales effort let alone as an valid indicator of the degree, or lack thereof, of success. I'm not unfamiliar with all the warm and fuzzies about sales and marketing techniques and how their proper and enthusiastic implementation can overcome customer objection, at nauseum. Gets to be sorta like a cult religion, with all the slang, catch-phrases, secret handshakes, etc., As a Realtor for a number of years, I was baptized up to the eyeballs with all the latest and greatest. For simplicity purposes, think about it this way; if you, me and a lowballer were each competing for the same housewash job from a retired client with only X dollars to spend, and we each had the same volume of Dale Carnige crap ozzing out of all our bodily cavities and pores, I could slug it out in the mud with you toe to toe all day long and wouldn't feel bad if I lost the job to you. You simply outsold me! You out manuvered and outshined me! Way to go! You deserved the win and the job. You've proven to be the better salesman. But, if the job went to the lowballer, who doesn't have the same imbedded costs as either you nor I, then, yes, I'd be a bit ticked! Could it be that one of the three of us had an unfair advantage - imbedded cost? It wasn't you and it wasn't me, and it definately wasn't a level playing field!! Had to be the lowballer! The premise of "If one focuses on the larger issues of illegals and low ballers and tries to tackle them from the top down, they will fail", is not my intended point at all. And it could quite possibly create an unfair damper for other "newbies" (god, I HATE that word!, it's defamatory, degrading and tantamount to walking around with a neon sign on your forehead flashing, "look at the no-brained Newbie!") that are anxious and enthusiastic about effecting changes in their new business environment. Certainly, "attacking the problem from the top down", wasn't my goal. Too big an issue! But, if we'd attack the problem from within our own area of operation - the magnitude of the problem shrinks - the numbers reduce. Unless your area is the size of Pa. My operational footprint is two counties - certainly not the entire state of Florida. And probably pretty representative of most contractors. So, yes, I think I can make a difference. All it takes is a phone call, the issuance of a case ID number, the investigators name and a little perseverance better known as follow-up! You already do it with your customers. Do it with your illegal competitors. Another way to look at it - eliminating illegal competition thins out out the ranks, creates a level playing field and improves the odds. It ain't rocket science. At the risk of over simplifaction, this ain't rocket science and definately not cynical. Richard, I'm not sure I even understand what "If you spend more time qualifying, and counceling,you'll spend less time trying to close the deal.You also need to know when to shut up and just ask for the order!", means. At the risk of misinterpretation, if you spend more time "qualifying and counceling" wouldn't that alert you to whether you have a deal at all? Wouldn't exploration of these indecises also provide additional clues as to when to "shut up and just ask for the order"? And when would one recognize that they have arrived at that decision point to, just ask for the order?"

Once you decide what you want, where you want it and what price you want, (the three W's) make the purchase contract contingent upon satisfactory out come of BOTH WDO (wood destroying organisms, i.e., termites) AND HOME INSPECTION. As a Realtor, I used to use a clause such as this for my buyers protection: Your Realtor, if you as a buyer, choose to hire one, (known as the buyer's agent) will help you with this. Or, your lawyer will guide you. In any case, a bonded title company can handle the closing, but, as mentioned, a lawyer specializing in real estate settlements is a good idea. Buyer reserves the full right to recind, cancel and or modify the offer tendered to the seller(s), with full remitance of any depost or escrow funds, or any other such funds or monies obligated to and/or for the purchase of the property described in this contract, in the event the WDO inspection AND Home Inspection detect WDO intrustion, either active or dead and / or damage to the structure caused by such WDO intrusion or anyother damages, related or non-related, exceeding $_________ (fill in the amount). Hope this helps.

Thanks for your response and insight. Policing the industry is perhaps beyond our collective scope. However, policing our own small individual footprint, within this industry, isn't. Forget about lobbying local and state officials. The results at best are ineffective. It takes time, money and contacts. And, PWNA, as a lobbying entity, pales in size compared to groups and lobbyists actively engaged by fortune 500 companies and associated labor groups lobbying both state and local officials. But, do hold the department responsible for policing enforcement for licensing and workers comp accountable! That's what they are paid to do. If they aren't responsible- call your states' elected representatives and begin registering complaints. Put the heat on! Esculate the complaints. But, do whatever it takes to make them responsible and hold them accountable for enforcing their own defined policies and procedures. I don't mean to convey that we should attack the problem by applying a remedial approach with a "blanket" mentality. I am, however, suggesting that we assume a more aggressive and dynamic posture by taking a more myoptic, surgical approach to effect a remedy, rather than simply relying on lobbying, continuing to educate the public, etc., etc. That approach apparently ain't working! Maryland probably is a bit more varied in its approach in dealing with illegal contractors than Florida. Then again, Maryland probably doesn't still have whole neighborhoods of homes with blue tarps for roofs almost two years after major hurricanes ripped them off. Not to mention tons of seniors ripped off by illegal contractors who are still waiting on roofs and other repairs they've already made deposits on while the illegal contractors have carpet bagged it out of town with their money. That's why Florida has become so aggressive in compliance enforcement. Perhaps, in your case, your operational footprint could reasonably consist of the entire state. And, I fully recognize the unique challanges involved. However, for the main body comprised of us "little guys", if each of us would merely focus on "thinning out" the illegal contractors in our own small geographical or operational areas, in the manner I suggested, sooner or later results would become apparent. Essentially, clean up our own backyards first and foremost. By the way, the "illegals" I turned in today were received with the upmost interest by the investigator I spoke with. Plus, she even offered to call me back with the results of the inspection. Now, that my friend is policy enforcement in action. None of us, as legally compliant contractors, should settle for anything less.

I've read numerous posts here and on other boards about low-ballers. I've also discovered that the universal approach on this and other boards, in dealing with them, is to simply take the high road, i.e., explain to the client the benefit of your services and that your higher embedded costs for your business vs the unlicensed, uninsured and obviously worker's comp deficient "low-baller" is greater. HELLO! . . . anyone thinking that the playing field isn't level? Convincing the client that your services cost more, because you're legal bases are "covered", is, in my experience, at best ineffective in my operating area. It apparently falls on deaf ears. In calling back on several lost bids, I've discovered that price alone was the real motivating factor for their decision. And, in the client's words, their rationale was, "Don't you all do the same thing anyway?" In other words, they don't place a premium on the core supporting values and associated costs that are fundemental in driving an effective, legally compliant business. Such concerns are not on their radar. They're price shoppers. Obviously, shame on them! They should know better! Especially as a result of all the media coverage concerning prosecutions of illegal contractors that have and still are progressing due to our past hurricanes. They simply wanted the "lowest" price. And, before you speculate otherwise, these clients are affluent retirees and can well afford any of our prices. And, guess who got the jobs . . . the low ballers driving around in a moss covered pickup truck with hand lettered cardboard signs duct taped to the doors , or a yugo with three bald tires and a donut, hauling a "Harry Home owner" pressure washer banging around in the back seat! From documentation posted on this and other boards, the majority of pw'ers appear to be educated and articulate. And in most cases have built their business from scratch and are very proud of their accomplishments. But, as saturated as this market is, as a group, or at least as individuals, we should become much more proactive. Legal competition is one thing. We each expect it and deal with it daily. But the competition presented by the low ballers isn't only unfair, it's illegal. In my mind, simply taking the high road, educating our customer base and hoping the low-ballers will eventually fail on their own, while our bottom line is not improving, or worse yet, erroding, is not an effective counter action strategy. Competition is heathly for our industry and the consumer - but only if the playing field is level to begin with. Having painted all this as a background, here's my suggestion to mitigating the problem. As long as we're content with status- quo, taking the high road, and the low-ballers go unchallenged, there will never be a level playing field. Fight for your piece of turf - don't roll over and hope it goes away. Don't let the low ballers eat your lunch. Get proactive and challenge them! Obviously, it's tough to verify a low-baller's insurance coverage, but doable. And, in my investigations, even if they have no insurance, most, if they've got an once of grey matter, will have a county occupational license, if its required. Here the cost for a county license in either nominal or simply not required. If it's required, it is verifiable. So, if the low ballers can portray themselves to the public as licensed and insured - verify it! Start with your own operational area and check to see if they are. If they aren't - drop a dime on them! Don't sit there and let them feast at YOUR customer base. Worker's comp is another area to hammer them with. It is easy to identify them. Hopefully your state has a web site where contractor coverage, by the public, can be verified. I know Florida has one. It is very user friendly. If your state doesn't have one, then call and ask how you can verify coverage. As noted earlier in this post and in one yesterday, the auditors for worker's comp in Florida have been given a clear mandate - get rid of the non-compliant contractors. Drive them out of business, issue stop work orders on the entire construction site (not just the work they contracted to do) until they get coverage, confiscate their inventory and records and fine or jail them. And the fines are designed to be more than just a slap on the wrist. Treble costs of what the actual coverage would have been for a min. of one year, plus prosecution and court costs. Now, that's hammering down with a passion! Essentially, for our purposes, it is open season on the non-compliant pw contractor(s). Shame the states don't post a bounty, it could be lucrative. But, shame on each one of us as compliant contractors if we don't start reacting. As for me, I've identified several in my area and having spotlighted them, I intend to not just drop a dime on them, but smack'em with heaviest hammer I can find - workers comp compliance auditors! Enough editorializing - hope my post has prompted some thought on the issue.