Maint. Program

[Jeff 232]

Alright here goes, I'm not really sure of my questions so I'm just going to explain what Im working on and ask you all with experience and everyone else with good ideas to chime in & help me figure out how to go about this.

Thanks ahead of time!!!

I work for several property management companies and some I do some of their work and some I do most of their work, its all great

Well now I was asked to set up a maint. program & schedule for a property management company that Ive worked for for a few years. This is going to be a huge undertaking. This property management company is the 1st or 2nd largest in the area when it comes to condominium buildings & towers.

I was approach by the owner of this corp and the 2nd in command

They offer all their properties more than most PM companies and they have a select vendors list and now they asked me to take over all their PW & gutter cleaning work exclusively. We are talking 60+ properties LARGE properties Condo towers, parking garages, condo complexes etc etc etc.

The way they want me to do it is within the rest of 2006 they want approx half these properties on a program and the rest within 2007. Now not all the properties will want everything done or they might not be able to afford everything but most in time they say will come on line for this program in part or whole WOW

They want prices for the whole property, now many of the towers will be done as needed, but all the other surfaces/areas they want on a regular schedule. Like entry ways, sidewalks, pool decks, signs etc etc. Now on the condo complexes say the 1, 2, 3, 4 story buildings the want the buildings done every 12-18 months depending on what I recommend, now they also want a 1/4ly. bi annual & annual price to clean out the gutters depending on the need for it. They also just gave me a property with 17, 3-story condo buildings I will clean the buildings every year and clean out the gutters every 3 months

Today I got the OK on 2 parking garages for them 1 is 93K and the other is 200K and they want them done 2 times a year and then another one we just did 35K once a year. Now this is just a drop in the bucket

Now like I said Im not sure of my questions to all you other than HOW THE HELL DO I GO ABOUT THIS!!!:idea: All on these BBS have got me to this point now you have to get me through this LOL

I know I'll take a group of these properties and look at them , figure out what needs to be cleaned and when and write it up for them. I need to figure how to wrie it up, many of the project will be on a schedule say do thes 10 buildings every March, but other surfaces like pool areas, clubhouses , entryways will need to be done every 6 months or like the entries every 1 or 2 months

I really dont know what Im asking from you all but some help on figuring this out.

Are there any helpful hints or tactics you could give me on how to tackle this.

I'm not afraid of this task to get it set up and acually do the work. Im just hoping you all have some ideas for me.

I know I'll be hiring more people & buying some more equipment as this all starts to unfold along with all the other work I have. Im ready for the challenge and look forward to taking JL Pressure Washing to a different level, but if any of you could chime in on hel.

The Future Pressure Washing King of Myrtle Beach

Me, JL

Thanks everyone!

[Celeste 341]

That looks like the opportunity of a business-time Jeff - Congrats on your predicament! I have some ideas running around my head on how you might look at it, but am not able to get it straight on paper yet (been a long day!) I'll send you something in an email or maybe I'll bump into you this week in SC

Celeste

[Doug T 19]

Jeff,

Sounds like you already are the p/w king of MB. Good going

Doug

[Russell Cissell 65]

The first thing you must do is relax. You've got this covered, you are a professional. They know this and thet is why you've been asked to bid.

Next check yourself. Quiet your mind and be very honest with yourself about everything you know. Make notes that reflect as closely as possible what was discussed in your conversations. Try and recall the subtal feelings that you had during the actual conversation. Sometimes after the fact, we can get excited and forget about what our gut told us.

Treat your bid as if it were any single project. Sometimes we have the tendency to want to discount heavily for large jobs. There is rely no sound reasoning in this, especially at the front end of a contract. If you are in business, you should expect to work everyday, just because a project is going to fill more days does not mean your overhead and operating expenses suddenly diminish. Try to remember they are lucky to control that much of your time. You could be making your good services available to more people if you were not so dedicated to them.

If you have specific questions about how to price certain parts of the bid, feel free to post specific questions. I will assume for now that you know how to bid everything.

Once you've completed the bid for each property at your normal full scale rate print it out.

Now you can take each separate bid and determine what percentage of your time it will occupy. From there you can consider a discount that would not exceed the amount of marketing and sales it would take to fill that same time slot.

Print your discount on a separate form then you can let the management company know that for each additional bid they accept you can apply the previous discount. For instance if they accept your bid for three properties, the discount would apply to the first two. In this way you are not risking your profit if they do not follow through with additional work.

As needed you may want to contact your professional accountant for advise on how to strategically plan new equipment purchases, leases and etc. The idea is if you are entering into a known growth cycle you can makes decisions that will allow you to maximize you purchasing power and take advantage of tax incentives.

Other than that Have Fun! If you are not having fun it is a clear sign you are doing something wrong. Make adjustments as needed.

You've got this!

Best of Luck

Russell

[Jeff 232]

The first thing you must do is relax. You've got this covered, you are a professional. They know this and thet is why you've been asked to bid.

Next check yourself. Quiet your mind and be very honest with yourself about everything you know. Make notes that reflect as closely as possible what was discussed in your conversations. Try and recall the subtal feelings that you had during the actual conversation. Sometimes after the fact, we can get excited and forget about what our gut told us.

Treat your bid as if it were any single project. Sometimes we have the tendency to want to discount heavily for large jobs. There is rely no sound reasoning in this, especially at the front end of a contract. If you are in business, you should expect to work everyday, just because a project is going to fill more days does not mean your overhead and operating expenses suddenly diminish. Try to remember they are lucky to control that much of your time. You could be making your good services available to more people if you were not so dedicated to them.

If you have specific questions about how to price certain parts of the bid, feel free to post specific questions. I will assume for now that you know how to bid everything.

Once you've completed the bid for each property at your normal full scale rate print it out.

Now you can take each separate bid and determine what percentage of your time it will occupy. From there you can consider a discount that would not exceed the amount of marketing and sales it would take to fill that same time slot.

Print your discount on a separate form then you can let the management company know that for each additional bid they accept you can apply the previous discount. For instance if they accept your bid for three properties, the discount would apply to the first two. In this way you are not risking your profit if they do not follow through with additional work.

As needed you may want to contact your professional accountant for advise on how to strategically plan new equipment purchases, leases and etc. The idea is if you are entering into a known growth cycle you can makes decisions that will allow you to maximize you purchasing power and take advantage of tax incentives.

Other than that Have Fun! If you are not having fun it is a clear sign you are doing something wrong. Make adjustments as needed.

You've got this!

Best of Luck

Russell

Russell great advise, thank you.

Having fun I am, I'm excited about this

Good advise on pricing. My pricing will be very close to the same as if this was a one time cleaning, my prices/rates are fair. Were they will save is if they do it on a regular basis. a big part of the reason they want me is because I'm a reliable contractor who does good work, is on time and has fair rates, their words. I will of course give a discount for a contract on a 2 or 3 year basis

For example around here for parking garages say over 25K sq ft its between $.08 & .06 a sq ft. This company Ive been charging $.08 on the 100K & the 35K parking garage I already did for them.

I have a 200K garage and the pricing is going like this. 1st intial cleaning of garage deck is for $.08 following cleanings every 6 months will be $.06 now if it was only going to be once a year it would remain at .08 or I may discount it $.07 at most to show a discount, either way its real good money

I'm also offering to do the exterior every 18 months and the walls & stairwells every 12 months

My discounts arent going to be drastic Now if they want an entry way done once a year and say Id charge $250 it takes 2 1/2 hrs first time, but if they want it done 1/4ly I give them a 10%- 15% discount, now if its every month I discount it 25% its easier to clean and now only takes 1+ hours tops. Im thinking thats fair and I still make the good money. And then Im doing the same for several of their properties the same day it all good.

Russell thanks again, these maint contracts are fairly new to me and some of these are premier properties around here and all are pretty large

I am very excited and its a good thing and my accountant always knows when Im doing things I talk to him often and get advise

Thanks, every paragraph GREAT ADVISE. I love this BB

JL

[Jeff 232]

Jeff,

Sounds like you already are the p/w king of MB. Good going

Doug

Getting there Doug, a few more years, thanks. Ive worked hard for these opportunities and its paying off

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Jeff, If you want to sub or call me in to consult I would be happy to provided the profit was right.

You need free advice just call.

[Russell Cissell 65]

If you seal the flatwork you can save both time and chemicals on the subsequent cleaning. If you can demonstrate a long term savings to the management company, that could be a nice upsell. It sounds like you are in a position of trust with them. If you haven't already, it wouldn't hurt to write them a proposal.

If I were in your position I would take the time to call Jay Tarantino. I've known him for a number of years, he's got a genuine passion for concrete sealing technology and he represents many of the finest choices in surface treatment products.

Be prepared to take notes if you call him. I've learned from talking with Jay most everything he says is practical and applicable. He understands the business of concrete sealing as well as the technology.

Jay Tarantino

The TARA Distribution Group

1-740-389-9600

[RCBill 14]

Hey Jeff,

Sounds like you've got a lot going on.

If I were in your position I would begin to do two things. I would audit the properties, recording the data in a spreadsheet. And I would begin to create management systems.

The spreadsheet will allow you to view at lot of information, determine where you need to increase capabilities, and create a budget for yourself and your PM. The PM will love you for the budget.

The systems will automate your activities and provide instruction for subordinates. An excellant read is E-Myth, by Michael Gerber.

It may be time to get out of the bucket and become a full-time manager.

Congratulations on your success. It is easy to see that you've earned it.

Bill

[JFife 14]

RCBill:

(for the record, I always enjoy your posts and they are always enlightening. Come here more often!)

Can you go into your spreadsheet theory again?? I guess, please SPECIFICALLY define what it is you are telling Jeff to do, and how exactly you'd go about it. And please expand on what you are saying about creating a "budget" for the PM, and why this would be so meaningful to them, and why they would appreciate it so much.

I am working on a similar type proposal, where essentially the ruling body is telling me, "tell us what all needs done, how often, and how much it will set us back." While the freedom is nice, this type of thing can be intimidating without parameters. Am I over-shooting their budget and over-maintaining?? Am I not producing as much for my company as I could by being too cautious in my proposal??

[JFife 14]

I agree Bill, "E-MYTH" is the best read a guy in our line of work can get their hands on.

Jeff--might be money well spent to fly Ron M. into town for a consult. Get him to sign a non-compete beforehand:) j/k

[RCBill 14]

Thanks Jon,

I don't have much experience PW. As that is the topic generally, I do not have much to offer. But I've been in business for a while now. Which means I've taken a lot of lumps. But more importantly, I've been fortunate to be exposed to a number of successful contractors and business gurus. So, from time to time I can offer something.

I'll post on the speadsheet and budget matters in the near future. Right now I have a Tee-time with a good friend. This guy built a chain of 350 carpet stores.

Later,

Bill

I got the spreadsheet idea and much of the budget stuff from the guy that organized www.thenapp.com. He tracked man hours.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

If you seal the flatwork you can save both time and chemicals on the subsequent cleaning. If you can demonstrate a long term savings to the management company, that could be a nice upsell. It sounds like you are in a position of trust with them. If you haven't already, it wouldn't hurt to write them a proposal.

This statement is true, but only the high traffic areas. DO NOT ATTEMPT this on the whole project.

[RCBill 14]

Jon,

I'll start a thread in Business Matters.

[RCBill 14]

Jon, I just lost a long, long post on creating a meaningful budget. I am just too frustrated to start again now.

Bill

[JFife 14]

aarrrgggghhh, DON"T YOU HATE THAT!!! That happened to me on Deckguide today, and I also gave up. About as disheartening as it gets. Would you PM me your #?? I'd like to call you tomorrow, I'd like your take on proposing a budget to decision makers. If that doesn't work, let me know a time to call you, thanks,

[Mountain View 14]

I am a total newbie to the PW trade but I have been a project manager in other industries. There has been great advice so far. Don't let excitement cloud your judgment, pick one or two key employees and treat them very well (you'll be delegating to them), and remember that the client must be happy with your work or they wouldn't have presented you with this opportunity. Stay professional and remember that you provide a service that they need. Your skills at organizing will be a key factor to your success.

Good luck!!

[Jeff 232]

I am a total newbie to the PW trade but I have been a project manager in other industries. There has been great advice so far. Don't let excitement cloud your judgment, pick one or two key employees and treat them very well (you'll be delegating to them), and remember that the client must be happy with your work or they wouldn't have presented you with this opportunity. Stay professional and remember that you provide a service that they need. Your skills at organizing will be a key factor to your success.

Good luck!!

I hear you. I get excited when I get a call for a couple big house washes thats just me, but I do and will stay focused. Luckly I have a couple great employees and can rely on them. Organizing this will be a big challenge, I'll do it thou

They called me again today and asked me to look at a few of there complexes when Im estimating them, they want me to see about cleaning the exterior of the dryer vents while Im doing the jobs with a lift. Cha ching

I looked at several of the properties these past two days, going to be alot of paper work

Thanks everyone

JL

[Jesse 15]

They called me again today and asked me to look at a few of there complexes when Im estimating them, they want me to see about cleaning the exterior of the dryer vents while Im doing the jobs with a lift. Cha ching

I have been considering adding dryer vent and hose cleaning to my services. It may be another nice add on for you if you already have the lift up there.

It sounds like you have found thje goose that lays the golden eggs, I am happy for you.

Good Luck,

Jesse

How do we clean dryer vents? We perform two types of cleaning: "Routine Cleaning"and "Problem Cleaning".

Routine Cleaning: All dryer vents are cleaned from the outside using a high pressure, compressed air tool - a jet-snake. The jet-snake shoots down the vent like a rocket, blasting loose lint, debris, and nests, sending it to the outside, where we catch it in a special bag. It will normally turn 2 or 3 corners, cleaning to the flexible hose behind the dryer. No lint enters the dryer or residence. "Routine cleaning" is usually performed on large quantities of vents at apartments and condominiums.

Problem Cleaning is performed when an individual dryer is not drying clothes fast enough. We disconnect and pull the dryer out, install a large blower on the vent, and blow, brush, vacuum and/or dismantle - whatever it takes to get the vent clean! Commercial dryers in central laundry rooms are also cleaned this way.

[Jeff 232]

HUGE UNDERTAKING!!!!!, Let me tell you looking at these properties and doing proposals for them is time consuming, but is already paying off Ive looked at and measured out 9 properties already and have submitted proposals for 6 of them already. We got some or all of the work proposed on 4 of the properties already and the PM is working on the others. One we did not get, couldnt compete with a lowballer already with the one property

Like I said its time consuming, with all the work we have to do. Im not complaining AT ALL, this is GREAT and The PM is on top of this. As one of his emails said after he gave me the ok it said "More to come" got to love it

JL

[CleanPortland 14]

I have been considering adding dryer vent and hose cleaning to my services. It may be another nice add on for you if you already have the lift up there.

It sounds like you have found thje goose that lays the golden eggs, I am happy for you.

Good Luck,

Jesse

How do we clean dryer vents? We perform two types of cleaning: "Routine Cleaning"and "Problem Cleaning".

Routine Cleaning: All dryer vents are cleaned from the outside using a high pressure, compressed air tool - a jet-snake. The jet-snake shoots down the vent like a rocket, blasting loose lint, debris, and nests, sending it to the outside, where we catch it in a special bag. It will normally turn 2 or 3 corners, cleaning to the flexible hose behind the dryer. No lint enters the dryer or residence. "Routine cleaning" is usually performed on large quantities of vents at apartments and condominiums.

Problem Cleaning is performed when an individual dryer is not drying clothes fast enough. We disconnect and pull the dryer out, install a large blower on the vent, and blow, brush, vacuum and/or dismantle - whatever it takes to get the vent clean! Commercial dryers in central laundry rooms are also cleaned this way.

I have to complete a bid for cleaning the dryer vents, where would I find one of these machines to purchase or rent, and what is fair bid for something like this. I have a three story condominium project that is 21 buildings 93 units. any more information would help. Thanks