plainpainter

Yes you would, you'd say 'now there is a guy fit enough to paint my dog house'

Only 11,000 jobs were cut in our country for the month of November, unemployment went back down from 10.2% down to 10.0%. Things are really starting to roar back into the positive direction - I have a lot of enthusiasm in the days ahead. I can't wait until the jobs saved figure on the recovery.gov website gets updated, it's last update was Oct. 30 with 640,329 jobs saved or created. Man if we can get the jobs saved to up over a million, unemployment back under 10% and a health care plan all done by President O'bama's next state of the union speech - man wouldn't that be awesome!

Oh come on, even I'll give you your ad is better than my yard sign - heck you did 3 mil in sales, and I did 30k. So that's a 100 fold difference, but then again if I put a hundred signs out like mine - who knows?

I don't know Chris, I was always taught from early on in grade school that sentences that ended in a question mark was interrogative - which clearly my post has. Or does it? LOL

Jon - BlueBook is a directory for mostly commercial contractors - here is Chris' ad

I wasn't spreading rumours, Chris, I was asking you - is there harm in asking?

Chris, not to go off topic, but was that you who emailed Archibald from Newburyport High school computer and told him he sucked at wallpapering? Supposedly the email went something along the lines of 'You call yourself a hanger? I wouldn't pay you to wallpaper my doghouse'. We all think it was you. LOL!!!!!!!

Chris, I know about the bluebook - even met with those guys. But I don't have the know how to approach commercial work, first of all I would have to learn how to estimate from blueprints - and I'd rather not think about that now. Perhaps your perspective is correct that a true painting business is one that does commercial work, and the residential guys are just a bunch of hobbyists. I'd like a few years with a few reliable guys working for me before even thinking about commercial.

Before you start reading for the next month - just throw out all your chems and buy a bunch of oxiclean, you won't get half bad results with the methods you are using now. I am not saying that it is totally professional - but it will get that next deck on your schedule done ten times easier.

Chris you've been in business how many years? Possibly even a 2nd generation painter if I am not mistaken? You've taken the route of doing commercial large projects and all - and that takes time to build up to that level. But I've seen plenty of big guys in the last year that were doing millions in commercial work from all different trades - and they lose that one account - and they're all done. I know a guy that made millions running cable for Comcast, after having a very successful landscaping company, then someone came along and underbid him by a couple tenths of a penny per mile - and now his truck sits stagnant in some commercial lot - while he is passing out fliers for snow plowing, hoping to make a few bucks this winter.

What do you care? I'll give you this bone, I made a $10.80 investment in this one advertizing and made about 7-8k back - LOL!!!!!! My website was free and the hosting was as well - and did about 20k from it.

Do you know how cheap my van costs to run? A new van would cost me quadruple the money each month from the loan. I figure I can use the difference in more advertizing and I am way ahead of the game.

Jon - I know wall street doesn't reflect our real economy, I was talking about the unemployment figures - and some of the facts of jobs created/maintained due to the recovery act. Although I do find it amusing when I was saying how bad it was last year, and everyone told me I was negative - now it's the reverse. Why does everyone else now get to *****? I thought everyone told me it was my imagination? That said - I made quite a few milestones this year and beat my sales in every category over last year.

Don't encourage, Mr. Toscanos.

You have entered the twilight zone, Scott. LOL.

Why? Because they are the greatest thing that's ever happened to the Democratic party. Why do I say this? Well look at all these guys on the news and financial websites - they are constantly saying what the Dems and O'bama did is failing miserably, the stimulus package is a failure - that everything is in the dumper. Yet when you look at the facts the improvements in economic data keep coming slowly but surely. And what has this translated to? The most stable non-volatile, slow but steady growth in the Dow that I have ever seen. We're getting that kind of growth that the Feds can only dream about, without having to raise overnight lending rates to keep the markets from growing out of control - and the negative side-effects about raising interest rates. I strongly feel - had there not been this strong cognitive dissonance from the republican party always bashing the president - that the market would have grown much faster on some of the positive news we have been having since mid-summer. And had that happened - when he had negative news, the markets would have crashed. In effect the republican bashing has prevented the markets from going into a 'Double-Dip' recession, by reigning in the growth rate with all their negativity. Thank you Republican Party for keeping the stock market growing at a much much slower speed than it would have without all your negativity on the air-waves. Because of you -the markets have much more breathing room and 'digestion' time as positive economic data slowly filters in over the next coming months. Without you guys, I feel we would have definitely gone into a 'double-dip' recession thus ruining O'bama's presidency and the future of our country and future health of our economy. thanks!!!

If this ain't a selling point for restoration, I don't know what is? Folks can get their deck restored 15 times before equaling the cost of rebuilding.

All that van needs is a tow hitch, LOL. I think it's cool

yeah that sounds good - looking forward to the photos.

take photos of them all, I might be interested in another 24' - is it the model that has equal width base and fly?

Well that ends that, you have nothing else to say. Have a great year next year.

Scott the only thing missing from the equation is leads, and a company that starts with 0$ - I've had to enjoy a very slow growing company. But I grew on all fronts this year. I don't worry about absolute numbers anymore - I only care about percentage improvements - and finding ways to keep it going. If I can close 60% at my high rates, and I have a plan to increase my sales 20% each year, then I refuse to sweat things anymore - it's all about percentages.

My posts aren't low, Rick, what are you talking about? Please come up with examples in the last 12 months. I think you are defamatory and generally in a world of your own. Just because Rick, you say I am 'low' doesn't make it so. For some god unknown reason I started getting attacked in this thread. I haven't done any complaining. I am actually quite happy with what I achieved this year. I don't entirely feel a low self worth at all - I don't know where you come up with this stuff.

What brand? How much? Have a pic?

Again people, what are your closing rates? I looked at my numbers for the year, and I have been closing at the 60-70% this year - I doubt anyone beats that without being much much cheaper.