Managing our industry

[anthony szabo 14]

This is just a brain Fart with a idea!

Some of you may know me and other's may not. I try to stay away from all the other bb's because their are just to many any more. Beth has done wonders with her site and grabbing the professional traffic to this site.

Great Job over the years Beth!

Is there or could there be a advisory board with only a select bunch of people offering advice to the new comers? Or a complete web site just for the Teaching of this industry for the correct advice. We can police the best actuate information for new people getting involved in the Pressure Washing profession.

In order to be a on-line advice column the one's giving the Professional advice must meet the criteria of how many xxyrs experience, gross sales to be xxx,xxx for so many years, has insurance, has been on a console or done something to help change our industry towards a positive movement, for examples, as the application should read.

And all of this must be prov en on paper and tax returns that way no one bull sh**s their way in.

These are just thought and ideas.

With something like this we know that all the new people trying to break into the Pressure Washing Profession are getting solid and correct information.

Thoughts

[Tegrey 121]

anthony,

I may be wrong, but. I have learnd allot from what we call "trunk slammers" in the painting business. If you watch your copmpetitors, you will learn. You may learn the right way, or the wrong way. This is for you to determin. If you set up a Board of Professionals, you may lose some folks. They may look at the board as to high to reach. I have friends who do 6 million in painting. I don't believe they have all the answers. I also have friends who are a one man shop, making allot less. They also answer questions for me. I totally agree that this site is very professional. I enjoy the info shared and sharing ideas with people who take their business very serious. Talking about who got drunk or who got sick doesn't interest me. This is kids play and nothing to do with my business. I believe the additions to this site are watched over? I know there is money invested and I'm sure it needs to be kept clean and professional to grow? You do have a great idea. My 2 cents. Thank You.

[anthony szabo 14]

Just having a lot of time on my hands this time of year.

You see year after year people breaking into the Pressure Washing profession and using the Net for sound advise, and boom they are in business.

Can we put something together with a proven strong helpful people to guide these new people in the right direction?

Help save the name of "Pressure Washing " as a painted picture of all of us?

[John Doherty 126]

How about an advisory board that selects who the newcomers are that get access to what type of information?

You want to know what I use to clean a roof, provide me with an insurance cert. That shows you've made at least that much of a commitment to the industry.

You want to know about the business in general, great, you get access to all that info you want.

Anything more specific and you need to prove you are at least responsible enough that if you damage someone's property it'll be taken care of.

[HotShot 34]

Anthony.....great name by the way ;) This is sorta what we are doing at The Grease Police in the kitchen exhaust cleaning biz.

I think having a criteria that has anything to do with money is bad though. There are some HUGE companies out there that do some of the worst work you have ever seen in your life. We chose pictures as one of the way to police our members. Yeah, you can lie and photoshop stuff and take pictures at angles that may hide certain areas, but it would take more work to do all of that than just doing the job correctly.

Great brain fart though dude, keep thinking and figure something out for the pw industry. I think it can be a success.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

I agree with John Doherty.

So who would be in charge of deciding who gets to check out the credentials of a "Professional"? Who will check on the credentials of the "Advisory Board"?

And who will be in charge of trying to get all the newbies to go to the advisory board vs all the other boards out there?

[anthony szabo 14]

Alan

This was just a idea I had. I'm not a leader type of person when it comes to these type of positions, but I will help out any way I can to help orginize something. I'm a pure idiot when it come to some computer stuff. I'm here to help!

[Don Phelps 85]

Hi Anthony,

In my humble opinion, I don't think it would work.....at least not in the way it was proposed. That being said, I think it was still some great "outside" thinking. Too many egos, agendas and discord in general for success, but a novel idea all the same.

Maybe one day it'll be a doable thing.

:lgkick:

[Adrian 155]

Don't we already have this, what you speak of, in TGS?

[newlook 265]

Tony,

Sorry we missed each other in Vegas!

Can't find your email address...can you send it to me at newlookpowerwash@aol.com ?

Talk to you soon!

[Scott Stone 604]

Don't we already have this, what you speak of, in TGS?

I dont think that TGS is what Anthony is thinking of. There is no verification of the experience of anyone offering advice on these boards, or the relative success and or knowledge that they have. I can cite many instances of people that have been on these boards that are not what everyone thinks they are, and yet, they are thought of as industry guru's. For instance, would you rather get marketing advice from someone whose business is barely grossing 200k per year, or someone who is netting 200k per year? I know of plenty of people that are thought of as marketing genuises that do not have financials that I would be proud of, yet, they are the ones offering all the advice. It would be just a way of verifying their success and often, with success comes experience and knowledge.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Tony S.,

Thank you very much for the Kudos. I'm glad to do what I can. We try to hold TGS to a high professional standard. We don't want it to be a bar or locker room, but rather a place where pros come to talk and learn and hopefully grow. We try to keep in mind that there are many eyes on the net, and those may include your clients.

Have a great day!

Beth :cup:

[PressurePros 248]

There is one small issue that is being overlooked. The information on a BBS is FREE. That makes it worth as much as you pay for it. Tony, I understand what you are getting at and can see how it can make sense on paper. But what you are talking about, in my opinion is the qualification for a business. If one were selling advice, then yes, it would be perfectly acceptable to ask that person or company to qualify itself.

Look around though.. This isn't the billionaire boys club. See anyone that is publicly traded and running national companies posting here? This is a bunch of guys with small businesses sharing information and helping each other. For every thousand guys grossing less dollars than my company, there are probably a thousand guys grossing more. If financials are the determining factor, then a guy that makes $40,000 is qualified to give advice to a guy that makes $20,000. Yes? A guy that has one month sober can sit with a guy that is still shaking from a bender and say "here is how I got my month clean". This is how things get done through sharing.

Why not trust the average person that visits these boards to be smart enough to discern for himself what is valuable information and what may be nonsense? Advocating censorship based upon one group's self righteous definition of success is dangerous territory. Would you like your government to do that for you? After all, the government has billions of dollars, unlimited resources and thousands of educated men. Surely they are qualified to tell someone how to live their lives or run their businesses?

[newlook 265]

It is hard to determine where people are on that "map" from a BBS environment as there is no checks and balances for verification purpose ~ nor do I think there was ever a purpose or a reason to do that. That is not a role a BBS plays and it would be difficult to determine where a particular person or business is at on the "food chain" just from their presence on the board. To understand and appreciate any individuals "business know how" to advance their company or offer services to assist companies in that endeavor I am firm believer that you must get to know that company and or service provider beyond your normal BBS interaction.

Case in point - I recently traveled to PA to the ACR RT. Met alot of great folks that I have known from the BBS's for many years. This enounter allowed me to "gel" our relationship one step further beyond our BBS relationshiop into a more business like affair. I was impressed with many folks business aptitude and their overall opionions on industry realted issues.

For example, I met Ken F. and had the opportunity to spend several hours with him over breakfast. Up until that point, he was nothing more to me then just as a internet BBS person that presented well thought out answers on some of the post or threads that I read. It was not until the "meeting" part was when I found out that the experience and talent that he displayed on the boards spilled over into our breakfast meeting and it was a natural migration. Same thing with meeting with Beth/Rod ~ John T ~ Rob Sanchez.

Just my .02

I

[Tegrey 121]

I've already added my 2 cents. I'd like to add a couple more.

When you restrict who gets to add anything to a site as this, you may be hurting everyone. Remember, where did you start? Did you know what you know now, or make the money you make now? Based on what you have learned from this site and others, how are you doing today vs. yesterday? We all started somewhere other than where we are today. A board specifying who may speak, or what may be said is a dead end. Even the new person starting out, may have the right question to make your company grow. Do you think it may be good to help the lowest company in our hierarchy to become better? They will learn and grow, able to charge the right price. Make their company stronger and we all grow. It is said we don't trust posters because they will steal our information. Where did we get the information? I know I'm not that smart to know everything. We all have trade secrets don't we? That is not bad. Keeping basic secrets on what equipment or products we use cannot help anyone. If I were a Vendor and the site I paid for good advertising were to close down everything except to the BEST, I'd go somewhere else. Does any Vendor discriminate who buys from them? I am aware what you want to do. I agree we learn more from the best businesses. I find the answer to this is to surround myself with the best company. Having a specific group is possible. There are many out there right now. I would associate myself with the best. Maybe start a new group of businesses who meet your criteria. Charge a fee to belong and disseminate information only for the group. This is very possible. It would be powerful and you would grow. Getting the very best and doing the best does exist. I believe it is called MENSA. I do not belong because I don't meet their criteria! LOL

Welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other's company and participating in a ...

Thank You.

[anthony szabo 14]

Carlos has a good point because I to seen Ken F. that way until I met him in St. Louis. I can relate better to him after meeting him. Although we did not talk much in Pa. rt.

Not knocking the bb's for good sound advise because it is here, and income is not a deciding factor if that advice is good or bad take that qualification out if we need to. Kinda boils down to who is leading our industry, and are they qualified to do so. I know that the net is not the best accurate knowledge all the time.

Tony

[Adrian 155]

To me, it seems like the Kingpins are Carlos in the west, ********** in Southwest, K. Fenner up North as well as Beth & Rod for Northern King ( & queenpins), in the East there is Lecours and Celeste who rule the kingdom. I certainly have learned alot from their post' over the years. As far as the Gulf east region goes, Russ in Alabama, I consider the same.

Doolittle ruled ATL when he was in biz, and have yet to see anyone with his knowledge fill those shoes.There's also Cujo, and Alan that where a crown.

I always like to be considered anally professional but certainly not a Kingpin. ( Not yet anyways). But I have helped many get started in this biz with what I have picked up from the bbs. I will own H-town in the future and hopefully acquire the brass buttons that those I speak of have. I am in a position now to take on help as my name grows around here but I refuse to do that until I get so backlogged that I can't keep up. But it is because of this board. I have work with folks that claim themselves as a 15-20 yr. vets that have yet to match my professionalism and skill with less than 6 yrs. I have seen 30 yr. painting vets that think they know all there is to know about PW, but yet it takes them 3 men and a day and a half to to clean a single ranch style. Jeez..... to my 45 minutes and just under 6 yrs. So it just goes to show the variety of "Pros" and difference in time taken to learn the trade. Differnt goals I guess. But yes I want to be the best at what I do and to be sought out, as one of the best, which is starting to happen this season.

I just don't know if one can make a living in consulting.

Who really would decide which contractors are the best anyways, other than our own personal takes on them?

Sorry to babble, no sleep.

I love my deck- jet and x-ster

......what?

[anthony szabo 14]

I thank everyone who has read and posted to these thoughts. That speaks for itself and we have a concern in one way or another, of helping guiding new comers entering our industry. Trying to find a way to direct them to good solid information with out all the icing on the cake, along with using the correct tools to put the icing on the cake is a huddle to over come. Providing strong solid information and education is important for the future of us all in the Pressure Washing profession.

We all know from way back in the day "Pressure Washing" was not a career choice and today it is so much that with ad on services related.

I'm not ab-anding this post but I will be away for about a week or better with out Internet service. Please keep thoughts and ideas rolling.

Thank you for you time.

Tony

[Scott Stone 604]

I understand what you are all saying and can even identify with it. I think that Anthony has seen what I have so often seen. Guys that are completely unqualified giving advice that they have knowledge of because they have culled it from posts from the net on this and other boards. That is dangerous because that kind of specialist does not fully understand the ramifications of the advice that he is giving. That is part of the reason that many of the truly seasoned people that have been at this for more than ten years and have million dollar businesses do not give advice on the boards. Because they realize that there are a lot of people on here that do not have the ability to use the knowledge that is available to them, or worse, will misuse it and hurt themselves, someone else or the industry. I used to be far more open with the advice I gave until someone that had only been in business a couple of months misused the information and caused problems, and worse, they wanted me to bail them out. So now, the answers are fewer, and far more generic, until I am certain that I know what kind of person that I am dealing with.

[Tegrey 121]

anthony,We'll keep it going! LOLAdrian,I enjoyed your comments about the King & Queen pins! I always thought I knew who was the biggest & best in the painting business. I met folks who have 250 employees, bring in 6 million a year, paint Disneyland. I soon found out, they are only in a different group then me. They are only a few of what is really out there! It is un believable how much some companys bring in on PWing alone. It would be in the millions. There are people who have more employees then we could imagine. The people you speak of are the best we know of. I'm sure they would admit there is always some one bigger and more prosperous than they are. We are very lucky they are willing to share with us. Their experience and knowledge will better us all. I thank them for letting us be part of their lives.

[Jeff 232]

To me, it seems like the Kingpins are Carlos in the west, ********** in Southwest, K. Fenner up North as well as Beth & Rod for Northern King ( & queenpins), in the East there is Lecours and Celeste who rule the kingdom. I certainly have learned alot from their post' over the years. As far as the Gulf east region goes, Russ in Alabama, I consider the same.

Doolittle ruled ATL when he was in biz, and have yet to see anyone with his knowledge fill those shoes.There's also Cujo, and Alan that where a crown.

I always like to be considered anally professional but certainly not a Kingpin. ( Not yet anyways). But I have helped many get started in this biz with what I have picked up from the bbs. I will own H-town in the future and hopefully acquire the brass buttons that those I speak of have. I am in a position now to take on help as my name grows around here but I refuse to do that until I get so backlogged that I can't keep up. But it is because of this board. I have work with folks that claim themselves as a 15-20 yr. vets that have yet to match my professionalism and skill with less than 6 yrs. I have seen 30 yr. painting vets that think they know all there is to know about PW, but yet it takes them 3 men and a day and a half to to clean a single ranch style. Jeez..... to my 45 minutes and just under 6 yrs. So it just goes to show the variety of "Pros" and difference in time taken to learn the trade. Differnt goals I guess. But yes I want to be the best at what I do and to be sought out, as one of the best, which is starting to happen this season.

I just don't know if one can make a living in consulting.

Who really would decide which contractors are the best anyways, other than our own personal takes on them?

Sorry to babble, no sleep.

I love my deck- jet and x-ster

......what?

Thanks, but its about helping and being apart of a community of somewhat like minded people. I'm no King, its just something I put out there for fun, there are better minds out there than mine for sure. Other than the BS posts I do on politics etc, I really enjoy these BB's its my get away and heck I like to brag a little, not just to brag, its because I really get excited and sometimes cant believe how some kind of marketing has actually worked

I dont know a lot, but I have learned a lot and one of my biggest joys is to help others when they call, I never have all the answers, but I figure if I can help someone a little, thats actually a lot.

BB's should stay just how they are. Theres some BS out here, I know but dont really care unless its going to hurt someone, some way or another. BB's are a great place to interact with others who PW and thats it. I love my BB's, Xjet and my Biz

Adrian, its funny who you post as the kings, its the ones who post the most and have the biggest mouth, me included LOL

I was thinking of starting my own BB and call it "The world according to the KING' LOL. That would ber one messed up BB. No downstreaming allowed or off with their heads

Maybe someday, accreditation or an org will work well, I am just going to sit back and see.

Adrian, continued success on your biz. Hope 2008 is a great year

[PressurePros 248]

Oh geez yeah.. I am very small potatoes and an infant in this industry. I am confident in my ability and proud of my achievements but I would have to spend a few more very aggressive years and add divisions to even get to the $1 M gross sales mark.

[Adrian 155]

LMAO guys......... listen, if it weren't for you guys I would still be doing malls with a 9 horse and a turbo nozzle. You are all tops in my book. Thx a million.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

No worries, someone will eventually form a panel of expert and write the information in black and white.

Its evolution and its gonna happen.

Ken, there are plenty of heavy hitters posting hear and ***. I think not as much but they still look and they do post sometimes.

YES, dont be affraid to Share and to recieve. Be responsible and be safe.

I have heard this argument over and over, its happening and your not going to stop it. INFO sharing is happening, join it or be left behind.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

I'm currently working on a network of contractors leads. It will valuable to new and old contractors. We will share dead leads, Leads that dont mean anything to us and get ones that do.

Stay Tuned, its around the corner. My daughter whos attending college will be helping me with this to work her way thru college. The experience she will recieve to take with her will be valuable on her resume in her future.

[Celeste 341]

Aw c'mon Jeff.......I kinda liked being the Queen for a moment - how am I supposed to be a Queen if the King abdicates? LOL