hawk

I have just made it ONE YEAR FULL TIME. The attached slide show is not great, but I landed this job because I sounded more educated about what I was doing than anyone else. There is no way I could have done that without TGS and the many PRO'S that contribute to the success to people in this industry. My Prices may have been low for other areas, but I bid $575 for siding and gutters. They got bids at $375 and $475, but turned them down because of the knowledge that I have aquired from you guys. The owner showed up towards the end of the job and we stood there silent looking at her house until she said WOW! I could have never, and I mean EVER done this without the years of hard work and knowledge that you people share everyday. Y'all are the Best Hank J Place.pdf

I took my time on this. It is in a nice neiborhood and I wanted some exposer. If I would have busted it it may have taken 3.5 hrs. I had to clean out gutters that had little trees growing in them, then they were black and had to brush them pretty good. Also I cleaned the east side of the roof. So, it was a little more than just the house. I had offered to do the back patio, driveway and sidewalk for a total of $675 and they turned it down.

This is the biggest structure I've cleaned so far. I'm only cleaning the columns and skirt. They are cover in algae. The surface is DIFS. I have a Hot/3500/4 gpm. I will have 12%/Simple Cherry. I could add Borax if suggested. I downstream, but today I should be receiveing my Delavan and well be able to set that up if I can use it. I'm trying not to rent a lift. I do have a 0040 tip that shots a good 25-30 feet. How would you guys clean this. I'm not going to tell them I won't because it is DIFS, It is owned by our local University that I invoiced for $12,000 last year and don't want to lose the account. BTW, My price was $2340. I figured a max of 16 hours, plus a $170 lift rental fee.

How has your website helped your business and how have you used it to produce more business?

This has got to be 1 of the best B4 and After Pic's ever. In my earlier thread about how would you, I had this big building and asked for recommendations. When I went back to take afters, this is what I found. In the first Pic, the building is green and the Caddy is white, in the after the building is white and the Caddy is Green and in the same space.

Thanks Scott.

Beth, How do I do that?

Live and learn, Thanks Beth

It wouldn't let me upload them again, they are in my first and last post on How would you-Thread

Here are some after Pic's. The first Pic has got to be one of the greatest after pic's. In the B4 pic the building is green and the Caddy is white, In the after Pic the building is white and the Caddy is Green.

Jeff, I was looking at a towable Boomlift from HD. Its a 30ft lift. I was hoping I could clean this without renting it. It would be my first time to use a lift. Thanks for your response, Hank

Jarrod, Thanks, Its actually one large building with a Center entrance and 4 wings. They only are having me clean North side of 2 wings and the north wing, plus all of the skirt. The back side skirt will be a breeze.

More Pic's

Thanks for clearing up Ricky. It will never be the same. They must have not used the same coaching methods in Canada.

Jarrod, I have learned alot from your posts, just like others. You were also very helpful on the phone. I look forward to following your lead. Have a great year, Hank

Clell, Call Bob, at Pressure Tek. I know he is going to have this turn key set up at the RT, but he will walk you through what you need. I just spoke with him yesterday about the same subject. He will not try to just sell his stuff, he will tell you what you can get from him and where you can get everything else to get started. I know there are several roof specialist on here, but I'd like to thank Chris, Tim and Bob for their time and sharing their knowledge.

I have approached a couple of Daycares about cleaning their playgrounds. They liked the idea. I'm wanting to know if anybody does this. If so, could you share information. I'm looking for frequecy, average charge, what (if any)chemical, does hot water alone disinfect the surface. I know a bleach mixture would kill bacteria, but I wouldn't want to endanger the kids, if for some reason it didn't get rinsed off. If this goes well I can see going to the hundreds of elementary schools and get them on yearly contracts. I would like to be able to market it as being able to keep children from passing colds to each other as much or allergies from pollen settling on the equipment. If you did this just before school started for the year, then every month or 2 it might not be a bad cash flow service. Any thoughts, Hank

I have had someone show interest in getting into the business with me. They have a relative that is also in the PW business and has a 3 rig company, ( not in this area ). This person would have contacts and a good work ethic. I've only been in business for 6 months. Has anyone ever had this come up? How would you handle this? We are going to meet next Saturday to discuss the posibilities. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Hank

Thanks for the replies. I will give it a lot of thought. It sounds good, but the results sound bad. Hank

I am going though my 1st winter in the business. I understand things can get tight, so what type of marketing is done this time of year. I'm in Arkansas, so the weather is OK most of the time to get things done outside. Thanks for all of the knowledge that YA'LL share, Hank

Thanks guys, I'll look around on the board. I'll be calling soon, also.

I have a PO# for 1 job at a local Univ. (foot in the door) I have also meet with 1 of the Asst. Facility Mgrs. and he has $$$$ to spend on cleaning. He is trying to pin me down on a pricing structure so he can decide on what to clean know and how much. He was given this assignment from The Physical Plant Mgr. that I meet with last month to get the ball rolling. We drove around the campus and he showed me what he had in mind and there was such a variety it was almost impossible to give a consistant price on the projects. Examples are the ceiling of an entrance to a building with heavy spider webs at 20x30, the next might be 4x4, then it was a front that had a little mold/mildew, then the major part of a building. The projects were so peice milled that I found it very hard to give him an idea of what I would charge. I also was pointing out areas that nobody had thought about, and that added to the 3-4 pages he already had. I suggested a blanket PO and we could work on this year round. I still don't know how to charge them for total package work. I talked about, by the hour $75 or sq ft 10-15 cents. I may be to low on the sq ft. I talked about a maintance program for certain areas, i.e. fountians, signs, cafe, a columns. He can spend $5000 every 35 days on like work, without bidding it. I have the option of doing 10K in work then billing them at a later date. As you can see I'm close to hitting a home run, (for me) and I don't want to screw this up. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I'm a 1 man show w/hot water and a surface cleaner. I have more confidence than experience. That fact may get me in trouble one day. Thanks in Advance, Hank

Scott, Thanks for your reply. If you don't mind I may call sometime. Hank

John, Don't set at home and feel sorry for yourself. I'm not saying that is what you are doing now, but it can happen. Go out and make cold calls to commercial accounts. You will accomplish several things. You will learn how to sell yourself, what approach fits you, what rejections you will get and how to over come them, and how 1 YES out of 10 no's will make you feel like you are the MAN. If you can pull your rig, do it. Give free demo's and watch their mouth drop open. The most important thing is that you have your family behind you. Good Luck and kick A$$. I'm also getting a FT operation up and going. It's fun and scary. Hank

Better to get more than you need. It is very hard to get more after you have used up you current policy. I just got mine 1mil-2mil. I hope I don't jinx myself by telling this, but my premium was $271 for the year. It's through a regional underwriter. Hank