Winter is upon us, so?

[plainpainter 217]

So how do you plan for next year? What kinds of decisions, goals, interpretations do you make and how do you make 'em? Or do you just sort of go with the flow and try a few things here and there ad hoc? How do you plan to grow, or do you not really make those decisions?

I'll admit I've been 'winging' it for 5 years now - but this winter I will sit down and look at the past 3 seasons data on how much business I did and where I got it. The sort of decisions I will be making is where to expand my marketing and by how much I am willing to invest. I am going to resist much of all print media advertizing for a while, until I feel comfortable I have a bigger budget to afford it. I'll sit down and systemize a plan for consistent marketing for every job I go to. I think I will want to appropriate perhaps another 2k next year and backwards engineer what that will afford and just stick with that.

But I will still be 'winging' it on several fronts. I still don't have confidence that a 10k budget in marketing will produce any meaningful returns. I think it's easy to 'throw' money away, not all marketing is effective. So it's a slow and steady pace to find what works and what doesn't

[Adrian 155]

Can you snow plow in your area in the Winter?

I would actually like to snow plow just to say I have done it.

But don't you get snow every Winter?

We never get it here. But I have an automatic ice maker.

[plainpainter 217]

I don't want to snow plow - I only have a rear wheel drive vehicle. And snow plowing beats up front suspensions big time. I've found most guys after 5 years give it up, they all say it isn't worth it after all the expenses it creates. Municipal snow plowing is the worst, supposedly, towns will let snow pile and pile before ordering guys out in an attempt to save money - and then it's so deep it really beats up front suspensions. Highway/State/Federal is a different story - it's very systematic, the snow pile doesn't accumulate past a certain point, multiple trucks at once doing just a 'slice' of the road.

[Rick2 42]

Can you snow plow in your area in the Winter?

I would actually like to snow plow just to say I have done it.

But don't you get snow every Winter?

We never get it here. But I have an automatic ice maker.

Every year I say I'm going to give up plowing but never seem to. If you have someone riding in the truck with you it's not too bad but if you're alone in that truck for 8 hours it can get pretty tough.

The money's great but many times it doesn't seem worth it. I hope my son wants to plow when he grows up.

[James 625]

Dan, don't you have maintenance plans in place for the decks you done over the last 5 years? It wood be time to do many RE-do's in the spring. Haven't you created relationships over the last 5 years with any of your clients who have a need to have things cleaned again? It's time! The start of spring is started with the Maintenance of loyal clients.!" Your Future depends on your Past".

[plainpainter 217]

Deck maintenance is the one thing I haven't gotten any of - people frequently move, or in one instance didn't like my price hike from $750 to $2,440. I have one loyal guy, this spring at the one year mark - I gave a gentle cleaning and did some touch ups for $75. This year should have been my first real big wave of deck customer repeats, but it came and gone. I am hoping I will get maintenance work next season - and part of my plan is to have a mailer designed and ready to go for all those persons.

But to be honest Jim, I see most folks - they want their deck/porch stained and they want to forget about it. From the trend I am seeing my average customer will get their deck totally restored like every 4-5 years, and I will keep in contact with those folks. But for the most part that's enough time to watch folks move out of their homes.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

You should always get maintenance work. But you have to contact people to get them to do it. Otherwise they will forget you.

Beth

[plainpainter 217]

You should always get maintenance work. But you have to contact people to get them to do it. Otherwise they will forget you.

Beth

This is absolutely true! Part of my ambivalence this year was the fact that the majority of work done 2 years ago was with woodtux. And every deck I looked at was in horrible condition - one lady I even gave an estimate, but she had fell on hard hard times being in southern nh, where the economy is less than spectacular. I just didn't have the heart to pursue it. At least next year I don't have to fulfill any contractual obligations.

I am still leery of how A.C. will perform in the long run? Heck my over-the-counter stain I use to buy for $21/gallon still looks spectacular on spindles after 4 years. After two years woodtux on the spindles really looks old and worn out, and I don't have high hopes for A.C. - I am crossing my fingers.

[James 625]

Dan ,I have a load of yearly maintenance, Many every other year and every 2. Dan, you live in a very very good area for this business . Ready Seal is better suited than any other product to set up maintenance plans for wood ?

It is up to you to develop a Maintenance plan thats different and works better than whats out there. I maintain 95 % of the wood I have restored by coming up with something different and more effective.

[plainpainter 217]

James, I'll have to come and hang with you or something and see how you approach wood. I am not a big fan of the way readyseal looks, but I also am seeing that a true surface coating doesn't lend itself to maintenance. I love my profit margins with my present deck restorations - but at the same time it just doesn't seem viable to get that kind of money from a homeowner repeatedly. My warrantees are really written as maintenance plans, but that's mostly what I am finding to protect me from folks that want me to come back for a period of 2 years to touch up every little thing under the sun that they would perceive as 'warranty' work for free.

But something that was cheaper but yet annual at the same time coupled with an upsell for an entire house wash or gutter cleanings seems to me to be better suited for long term business.

[Alexy 85]

The only people who make money off of snow storms are the transmission shops and the suspension shops.

18 Years ago VA did a study on plowing snow and the costs associated with it. It showed that any snow over 8 inches that covered 1/3 or more of the state the state would loose almost 10% of thier truckes per day when plowing snow due to mechanical failures and accidents. When the figured in the fleet costs and repairs it was obvious theat VA should own the plows and spreaders and contract out the plowing to other private entities. Since then that is exactly what they do.

My neighbor owns a fleet service for trucks and a snow storm is absolute gold for them. Also any truck you buy that has a plow package you are looking at that is used. make darn sure you check the trans clutch and U joints for play and jack the front up and check all the bushings on the front suspension as well one curb hit with a plow can destroy a front end.

[Rick2 42]

Soooo not true in my little corner of the planet.

[TNRoofCleaner 16]

So Dan you don't want to use your van to plow? Well I have a cheap alternative for you and you can throw it away at the end of the year and get another one next season.

Honda Civic Snow PlowVideo

[Doug Dahlke 114]

I guess he has the hatch back open to act as an air foil.

[offduty 25]

Dan, I told you to come and work with me this winter. You'll make money, work on your website at night, and go home in April with money and a game plan.