Grime Dawg

Just did a home like this myself. The only way to get those vine attachments off is to scrape and repaint. Just let the home owner know right up front that they are not coming off with general cleaning. No need for embarrassment, no one else is getting them off either.

Interesting read on Carlos Castaneda The Straight Dope: Did Carlos Castaneda hallucinate that stuff in the Don Juan books or make it up?

Rick, This isn't your 'typical' metaphysical stuff. It is actually quite thought provoking for those who read it. But as stated earlier...it's not for everyone.

For those on a quest for further enlightenment and truth here is a very good link to investigate... Amazon.com: Three Magic Words: Books: Uell S. Andersen If you have been indoctrinated into a 'specific belief' system, then this will be of NO interest to you. This is not meant to be an insult, it is simply to warn those who are not open to other opinions that this information will be contradictory to your present belief system. I am only posting this for those who wish to continue their search into ALL possibilities of that which MAY be truth. Click on the link and simply read the reviews. You will know whether this is of interest to you or not.

Cognitive dissonance!

Be sure and investigate any "Work at Home" offers with a fine tooth comb. Most are scams. Don does your wife have any experience with bookeeping? If so, you basically put together a list of experiences along with some promotional materials and start promoting her biz. Many small businesses, like most of us, would love to be able to pass the monthly 'shoe box' over to someone who could keep it organized. That way come tax time, it's a breeze.

I thought the name Grime Dawg would be self explanatory. But you wouldn't believe the number of people who come up to me and ask..."Excuse me, what is Grime Dawg!" At first I thought, wow what a big mistake with that name. But then the marketer in me kicked in and I thought WOW... how many other people actually have potential prospects coming up to them and ASKING and WANTING to know about their company? An accident that just may warrant some consideration for those in the process of choosing their name.

Bush is way coool! I love Bush so much I wrote a poem on that very topic. I love Bush in the morning, I love Bush in the afternoon, I love Bush in a heatwave, or even in a monsoon. Bush can make you a nice man, Bush can turn you mean, Bush can make you blow your mind, Bush can make you dream. Bush will lift your spirits, Bush will set you free, Bush will make you act like a monkey, Swinging from tree to tree! BUSH IS GUUD! But every now and then a change is good too. I'm thinking of visiting Brazil soon.

J-Rod...It may be too late for you bud. Hopefully you'll be fine after 'shedding' those unwanted M&M's. We're all keeping our fingers crossed. Someone get that dang toilet unplugged. Can't you see what it's doin to him? In a day or so your head should return to normal. Congrats on your new 'position'. Alright now, bend at the hips and look down toward your feet.

mailto:sales@mobicleaninc.com His link is missing the 'e' in clean!

Sorry, I just read some of the other posts. Duh! But YES, the Postal Service has been caught dumping mail. And not just one or two letters, we're talking dumpsters full. Many very big mass mailers, use several post offices to mail from just to avoid ALL of their mail being potentially dumped. Also, if you have a valid reason to hand address your envelopes you can always try to find someone locally that you pay (per piece only) to do it for you. Let's say .10 - .15 each. Stay at home moms can do this while watching soaps and make a few easy dollars. And if they are really worth hand addressing, the extra cost shouldn't really matter.

And believe it or not, many probably won't, BUT both mail houses and the good ol U.S. POSTAL SERVICE have been caught red handed THROWING your mass mailings in thee dumpsteer! As far as hand addressing, it's a waste of time unless you are sending a 'personalized letter/envelope' package. To hand address a Post Card is utter (or is that udder) foolishness;) Since the Post Card already conveys a...mass mailing!

That would be Duane Allman!

It is always best to address directly to the home owner. But if that isn't possible...think... 'Affinity Group' [a group of like minded people or people with similar interests] Attention: Summer Glades Resident Dear Sweltering Oaks Homeowner URGENT: Boy Scouts Local 121 Get the idea?

Jarrod, From your personal results, it is obvious that mailing to a fresh list is your best bet. One question I have is what do you mean by 'did really well'? How many homes were mailed to and what was the overall response? You don't have to provide the numbers. The reason for asking is that if the sub-division has 300 homes and your mailing produces say 2% (forget profits for now, we are assuming you made good $$$). The 2% response would be considered great by most direct mail standards. Still, that is just 6 homes out of 300. Are you saying that only 6 homes out of 300 would be interested in your services? If your mailer is producing much better, say 10% or so, then you have definately penetrated that sub. Barry was right in that what works for one doesn't work for another. My goal is to dispense of 'predisposed' ideas and open the 'box' for people to be able to find what is best for them. Your point is valid! Maybe for people just getting started that is the best approach. What about those people that want to farm an area and be known as the 'go-to' company for PW? Those people that are trying to 'brand' themselves within a certain radius from their home? How about using a totally different mailer on the second mailing? Everyone responds to different 'hot buttons'. Maybe your mailers 'hot buttons' are limited to a certain segment of people. It could be that a post card is not the most effective way to reach some of the residents in these areas. Even with your great results, could your mailer be improved to increase your response rate by just another 1/2%? That's 1 1/2 more jobs for the same initial aquisition cost. Jarrod, from your posts you are obviously a very knowledgeable businessperson. In fact, you are probably one of the few that take a methodical approach to tracking your results. You are WAY ahead of the game than most. Take the above information for what it is, another view point, a different perspective that could help improve what you've already got going.

Just having some fun at your expense Greg, it's all good natured though. I have to go through my posts several times to correct my spelling errors. Sorry, I don't do fleets, so can't help you there.

Jarrod, Most ads ARE intangibles for the most part. Though some people may save your ads, many more won't. There are different opinions on whether to remail to the same list or not. Here is my take. If you mail to a certain list and get what YOU would consider is a great response. I would mail it again, maybe 2-3 weeks later. If it was still considerably profitable. Try mailing again. If it was borderline profitable, don't remail. Everyone has different time frames when they want work done. They may not be ready on the first mailing, or maybe didn't even pay attention to your ad on the first mailing. It has been proven in direct mail, that as much as 50% of your total response will come from your subsequent mailings. So as long as your mailings are profitable, you should keep mailing (use common sense here). The other option is mail to list #1. On your second mailing use an entirely different list but include 25% of the first list with it. Keep using this technique if profitable. You must track your profits and know which list your jobs are coming from to know whether it pays off or not. Regardless of advertising medium, as many as 7 exposures are generally required to maximize your response (profits). To me 'responses' don't mean anything. Only actual profit dollars matter. Keep in mind also, that if your ad isn't killer like Jarrods, your responses will suck wind or be non-existant. And if you are using a 'demographic non-prequalified' type mailing list, as most of us do, your % will be much lower than if you had a prequalified list. When it comes to newspaper ads, daily's don't seem to work as well as weeklies. Daily papers have virtually NO 'shelf-life'. Money Mailer and Val-Pac are for newbie business owners that don't know any better or for those business owners that like to sell rock bottom to the cheapest customers in the marketplace. Not entirely, they probably work OK for mechanics and those types of businesses, but not ours.

I've been conching out on my Fried Choche;)

Danny, Having come from a supply house background in the underground water and sewer business I was taught that... Teflon tape should NOT be used on a plastic 'female' threaded fitting, due to the fact that the plastic could be easily distorted and leaks created or have the plastic crack. Now having said that, you are right, most everyone here uses teflon tape for everything. I do NOT! I use tape more often than I do the paste, but I DO use paste whenever PVC threaded fittings are being used. I use it on both male and female threaded pvc fittings. Thus far, for umpteen projects including but not limited to my PW rig plumbing, I have not had a single leak from the paste. I have had some leaks from the tape by either not applying enough wraps or not tightening enough or tightening too much. Overtightening is also a reason for leaks. The tape is much cleaner (you've got to be careful when using paste, it can get all over everything) and easier to use for most fittings. I use the TEFLON PASTE. I don't like the regular pipe dope that most HD and hardware stores sell. I prefer Rectorseal brand because I've always had great success with it.

Since we're on the topic of advertising, be sure and check out this post. It will become apparent how valuable this information could be at a later date. http://forums.thegrimescene.com/marketing-advertising-sales/9565-what-your-ltv-anyone-know.html

Ken Do you know which ad produces more, the one on the left or the one on the right? Just curious!

Envirospec North Hose Whip- With Swivel & Coupler # 6199-077 About 3/4 of the page down.

John, There is no doubt that once you are well known, it helps to keep your contact information in the YP where someone can find you. Are you getting primarily 'new' customer calls or 'repeat' business calls from your YP ads?

Go with the small 2oz. kit Ryan. I bought the larger one thinking I might 'offer it' as a service and I've got enough to probably do 15 more cars. I left my lenses on. As I was working on the truck a neighbor lady came by and asked what I was doing. I told her I was polishing my lenses with this new product I had bought. She said, "does it work"? I backed up so she could see that one side was done and one side wasn't and said "You tell me"? She said, are you kidding me, that is fantastic. I think you'll find the same thing. It does take a little patience and elbow grease, but it's easy to do.

That's a great return on YP ad Jon. Why did you stop running it? My belief is, if it's making you a good ROI then keep running it. In areas without a lot of competition in the YP, it may be worth a try for some folks (small ad first of course). You tend to get overshadowed in the larger books.