Great year....

[plainpainter 217]

....not. I think after the rains finally cleared we had maybe one month of summer this year? Well that's ok - seems to always balance itself with an unusually mild winter. Well that idea is shot with snow a couple of days ago. Looks like I will be doing lots of work on my website and marketing this winter - as it seems I've got a full 5 months of unemployment to look forward to.

And to make matters worse - I can't seem to make a dent in SEO optimization for painting. This is going to be a looooooonngggg winter.

[PressurePros 249]

Yep.. all said and done I am down about 15%.. all due to weather. I would have been down 30% but a few condo projects saved my behind. Now we have temps that are off average by 20+ degrees.. a fitting end I suppose. I still have three decks we haven't even touched yet and 6 house washes on the books. I think I got two calls the last 5 days. This is when I strongly dislike my residential dominated model.

I was bidding jobs in May for post July 4th and people were not biting. The typical response was "we are ready to go with you but that is the middle of summer, I'm sorry". I could have had ten crews but Mother nature wins. I have to reevaluate this deck resto model. I didn't plan on a season like this. Its a big ouch. I will personally make $20,000 less salary this year. I don't make so much money that that amount doesn't hurt. I have to adjust my lifestyle a bit for winter. Not a great year to shut down RAD to regroup either. It is what it is. I tout the mantra about the strong surviving. I'm tasting that medicine. But, not crying, I'll be back in 2010 with a stronger business model.

Hang in Dan. I wanted to share that with you so you know you are not alone.

[Mathew Johnson 123]

....not. I think after the rains finally cleared we had maybe one month of summer this year? Well that's ok - seems to always balance itself with an unusually mild winter. Well that idea is shot with snow a couple of days ago. Looks like I will be doing lots of work on my website and marketing this winter - as it seems I've got a full 5 months of unemployment to look forward to.

And to make matters worse - I can't seem to make a dent in SEO optimization for painting. This is going to be a looooooonngggg winter.

Dan,

I hope you arent packing it in for the winter. There is a lot fo good weather yet to come. You can generate a lot of work this time of year cleaning gutters and such... Of which have are some of our highest per hour work and we quote them over the phone...1$ per linear foot 1st story and up accordingly, min 120.00 to get a crew there.

I agree, the weather was crappy but we are getting used to it here upstate. We washed houses and prepped decks on days the weather channel called for 30 percent or more rain and srainf on days 20 percent or less rain forcast. We used the 10 day forcast to assist us in scheduling and it worked well..... we got burnt only 2 days all year.

Good luck with your down time. We do the same as you and market our a$$ off all winter so we can hit the ground running in March,

MJ

[plainpainter 217]

Ken - I am beginning to think there doesn't exist a business model in the trades, perhaps get back into exterior painting for the 'down' months. You can always schedule an exterior months and months in advance for the lull times. But that's equally susceptible to weather. If there was any respect in the painting trades - I think all year round interior painting is the best model so far.

Mathew - I am with you on the gutter cleaning. I don't know about having guys - but so far by myself I have done pretty well cleaning gutters. I am glad to see your pricing - I started seeing what others were charging over on ptstate and I started getting miserable. I am pushing more for gutter cleaning this year - which includes pushing my newspaper advertizing longer - more online coupons - and some SEO for my gutter page. But alas - my marketing advertizing always seems to be a very long term very slow and steady rise. I never seem to come charging out of the gates.

As to the marketing like crazy this winter - the only thing that really sets me back is how Google treats your rankings - if you start optimizing in Late December - you'll already be old news by late March. It seems you have to let the website rest and then re-optimize just a few weeks prior to the season starting. But I have a lot better focus on what to do.

[TNRoofCleaner 16]

Daniel keep changing it up. change a photo of just move it to another location. They like to see things constantly updated. Reword a paragraph or two.

I would think snow would be a good thing with all the snow clearing you can get paid for. Put the pressure washer awa for the winter, grab the mukluks and the snowblower.

Sorry but I love the cold. 9 years in Alaska did it for me. Love it.

[plainpainter 217]

I can't figure out a snow cleaning model - I am max'd for equipment parking - I can't spring for a truck to do plowing. I could get snow blowers and load up the van - but that takes a lot of dedication to get up at 4 AM to do $35 driveways. I figure it's just better tighten the belt and just focus on marketing for a few months - do all my own illustrations, get all my graphics ready to be printed for flyers and mailers. The downtime last winter in retrospect saved me from total bankruptcy - had I worked hard snow blowing all winter and just relied on last years advertizing and didn't get my website up. I'd be dead in the water this year. Everything I do seems to have lots of inertia - I am just glad next month my website will be up one year. I also have other areas in my marketing that need attention that I didn't have time to do this year. I just get anxious when money stops flowing - even though I can ration what I have until spring - it still really bugs me.

[Mathew Johnson 123]

I do not rely on SEO rankings and internet acquired jobs at all in my business model. I pick up some work from the net, but it is above and beyond what I target.

We have gotten good rankings on the net, but I target my multidisciplinary marketing program to my service area and it seems to be working pretty well on the return. This year we planned on spending 10 percent on marketing based on projected sales. We actually only ended up spending just a hair under 7 percent, 6.8 to be exact, due to the increase in total sales - year to date.

[PressureWashE 14]

I can't figure out a snow cleaning model - I am max'd for equipment parking - I can't spring for a truck to do plowing. I could get snow blowers and load up the van - but that takes a lot of dedication to get up at 4 AM to do $35 driveways. I figure it's just better tighten the belt and just focus on marketing for a few months - do all my own illustrations, get all my graphics ready to be printed for flyers and mailers. The downtime last winter in retrospect saved me from total bankruptcy - had I worked hard snow blowing all winter and just relied on last years advertizing and didn't get my website up. I'd be dead in the water this year. Everything I do seems to have lots of inertia - I am just glad next month my website will be up one year. I also have other areas in my marketing that need attention that I didn't have time to do this year. I just get anxious when money stops flowing - even though I can ration what I have until spring - it still really bugs me.

Dan, If during the winter your planning on "tightening your belt" and not pushing work, Your not making anything. If you snow blow, $35 a driveway may sound like crap, when you know you can pressure wash a house in an hour and make 300, but look at it this way, You make some cash to hold you off, But all the while building customer relationships, spring comes and now your snow blowing customers want you to wash and paint the house.

Thats is how I look at it

[zhamilton89 14]

if you get the right setup for snowplowing/ blowing driveways you can easily make 100/hr if not more. Get one person on a street and go from there, make yourself visible to people leaving for work in the mornings and get them as they leave. It goes without saying but do a great job and they will talk. I picked up quite a few landscape jobs from the houses I snowplowed and vice versa

[TNRoofCleaner 16]

Also it gives you a little cash for that spring marketing campaign. Rent a storage unit to park some of that equipment in.

You need to read Think and Grow Rich and quit being so negative. My site has not been up for a year yet but now when I search roof cleaning in my town I come up 9 of the 10 returns on the front page. I don't know anything about this SEO but I must be doing something right. Now to work on all the other stuff.

[TNRoofCleaner 16]

Oh and as far as getting up at 4 am.....

As the saying goes "The early bird gets the worm"

[PressurePros 249]

Ken year 1: What would you do to stay afloat?

A: Whatever it takes as long as it doesn't mean dropping price.

So I painted, I worked for Comcast as a subcontractor, I stayed up at night reviewing my business plan, I added free upgrades that didn't dip too much into profit margin.

Same question year 6 doing mostly residential work.

A: I am exclusive as to who can be my customer.

Tying that in to my post above. I need a humility tip. That's not to say I need to radically change my business model but after some reflection tonight, i need to work on my "attitude of gratitude" and get back some of that assertiveness that these new guys show. I have always said to get performance from someone, keep them hungry. I lost a little of that.

Dan, you have been in the trades awhile. You too have lost it. Find that male pride and do what you have to do.

[gutterdog 14]

I got a snow thrower i got in trade for work. I live in wash dc area. got the thrower a couple of years ago. Its way faster than shoveling! only used it once. (just got it out to play with it! did my whole street!) Temps are supposed to change here mon or tues to 60 + again thank god! Temps been lower 40 round here almost a week now with rain. Others say they can wash houses n roofs in the rain at these temps, I'm scared to try! Wasted money in gas and labor and my time. I picked up 4 more estimates yesterday. Plus the big one waiting on closing on the house the 22nd.

Just play it by ear and DONT buy (improve equipment) anything else till spring.

Luckily I'm originaly a gutter cleaning company. So I got that coming up.. In my area they wait for the last leaf to fall sooo

Got a book coming! Its on the way. forgot the name and author. Subject: quality sucks, customer loyalty is gold. Or something like that.

Once again this winter I'll be cleaning gutters when they are thawed. (gutters are like bridges, they freeze quicker, and unthaw slower) Work on SEO. read read read. Next year I'll be there with you guys! 2010 is my year! I'll be going to roundtables! Pay my membership to *****! (im an unpaid member now) With no benifits and it sucks. Get in with PWNA! Join the chapter in my county!

There are so many forums here for us. This seems to me to be the most visited by guyslike us.

2010 is gutterdogs year!

[gutterdog 14]

I'd like to add I really love talkin shop! If it to help me or help someone else! I love work!!!!

[gutterdog 14]

Ken year 1: What would you do to stay afloat?

A: Whatever it takes as long as it doesn't mean dropping price.

So I painted, I worked for Comcast as a subcontractor, I stayed up at night reviewing my business plan, I added free upgrades that didn't dip too much into profit margin.

Same question year 6 doing mostly residential work.

A: I am exclusive as to who can be my customer.

Tying that in to my post above. I need a humility tip. That's not to say I need to radically change my business model but after some reflection tonight, i need to work on my "attitude of gratitude" and get back some of that assertiveness that these new guys show. I have always said to get performance from someone, keep them hungry. I lost a little of that.

Dan, you have been in the trades awhile. You too have lost it. Find that male pride and do what you have to do.

Ken I whole heartedly admire you and how you use thes statistics. How do I do that? I've taken alot of your advice. How do you do that? Computer software I dont have?

[gutterdog 14]

Ive even offered my advice on diy on my website and in a fourum in my area and I'm gettin hell from them that I'm trying to sellnot help. That is not true! If they want to do it them selves do it the right way.

Check this out!!! one person said they washed their house including clorox and the clorox tore the screen. I replied " what tip did you use to wash that window n they went on about window manufacturers saying bleach was bad for screens...

I'm catchin hell tryin to educate people.

[PressurePros 249]

I was making one last pass at the forums before bed. Michael, I'll be honest with you man to man.. as much as you can do that on a forum anyway.. I didn't really know what to think of you when you first came onto this forum. One thing I have come to like about you is your tenacity. That's just a fancy word for nothing really stops you or gets you down. You keep bouncing back. I've always admired that ina person. Its a trait of successful people. What you haven't had the oppotunity to experience is good business guidance. I was lucky. god put a couple of guys into my life at different times who were awesome mentors. So I guess what I am saying is there is hope for you after all (just playing with you).

Down to your question.. It would take me the rest of the night and a few pages worth of what would end up sounding like a really boring book to answer it. Your making good progress on your own so far. I don't know what your future holds. You may be able to grasp the business end, you may not. As long as you stay open minded and keep reading..

Get that e-myth book!

.. you'll become a stronger business man. Pressure washing is easy.. learning how to keep a company afloat is the part that makes the difference. I will jump in on the forum when i can to help.

[gutterdog 14]

Ken you Henry and Rick 2 are my mentors. I only had one before. Long story short he has a court date. He was a plumber. No hope for him and i've not answered his calls in a while. Sad for him...I'm better than that and always have been. Just no direction. No help til this year.No friends.

Edited October 18, 2009 by gutterdog

[Rick2 42]

I can't figure out a snow cleaning model - I am max'd for equipment parking - I can't spring for a truck to do plowing. I could get snow blowers and load up the van - but that takes a lot of dedication to get up at 4 AM to do $35 driveways.

I plow snow in the winter. Driving that truck for 8 hours sucks but the money is real good.

[plainpainter 217]

you guys all have trucks - I have a rear wheel driven van, not exactly a winter vehicle, let alone for pushing snow.