This summer is slow...

[aquabob 14]

Last August I made $14k. This year, It'll be about $2.5k

14k in one month resi....thats damn good. ive had several 6k months. hell i made 2k in jan, only 900.00 for august, july and august are always slower but this year is ridiculous.

[Jeff 232]

Sorry some of you are slow. as we know August can be a slow month. I'm busy usually year round now and have work for my guys all through August althou it did slow from the busy busy days we've had all year.

I go hunt the work, maybe you need to look at what your doing to get work, go back to some of the basics. Make the phone calls expand on your area, solicit neighborhoods you usually dont.

I started seeing that August was going to be slow I called all my regular PM's and plain out asked them for work, Im honest I tell them Im getting slow and have some open time that Id like to fill. Ive had a few decent jobs that I wouldnt have had if I didnt make the calls.

My area is better than most, but I see it getting slow I go back to the basics, knocking on doors and calling. Be aggresive and expand, if residential isnt doing it like it used to I suggest going after commerical and a wider area or demographic. I may get slow sometime real slow , I hope not, but I'll be knocking down doors if I have to

Good luck to everybody

JL

[Georgia Pro Wash 14]

I agree. This July and August were much slower than last year and from what I was expecting. Things are picking up now with house wash and commercial account.

[PLD 14]

You get a 7.5% return rate handing out flyers? Wow.

Double wow. I normally get 1%. Which is part of why I started this whiner thread. The hit rates are so far off mark as to be bizarre. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm checking my phone and my advertising to make sure they are on and running.

For example: I just sent out 1200 postcards (300k+ homes) this week and last. Avg 1-2 calls per mailing (0.16%). 500 flyers (same as last years), 0 calls.

I even did 300 "courtesy quotes". My CQ is a combo ad flyer/quote sheet with services listed and blanks for prices. I walk down the street with a clipboard, eyeball the job, fill in prices, and stuff it in the mailbox. I got one call. In this case, the customer has the message, the number, and even the price for the services right there. Just call and schedule.

[PLD 14]

Interestingly, John W sent me this:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=pressure+washing

Atlanta is the #1 location to search "Pressure Washing". IIRC, does that list not also look like the top 10 cities with the most PWers per capita?

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Lets see that flyer AJ. Phil, your itchin for a huge fine (federal) going in mailboxes.

[PressurePros 249]

The stat may be skewed by local dialect. Type in "power wash"

[JohnW 14]

You like that Phil? It's obvious I have a little too much time on my hands at my full time job sometimes. I don't know how it is referred to up in the northern part of the US, but down here, it's referred to as pressure washing, and rarely power washing.

I've had 2 of my customers tell me they found me on the internet. I was a little shocked, but both times, it was a female who was at work and searched for pressure washing in Atlanta.

My next venture is probably Google AdWords. I've been researching them a good bit. You guys should take a look at it when you have some time.

John W.

Superior Pressure Washing

Fayetteville, GA

[PLD 14]

your itchin for a huge fine (federal) going in mailboxes.

Just an expression. It's actually on the post. FWIW, both my parents are 30yr postal employees. It's very rare that ever really gets a big fine. Typically, they just approximate the number of flyers and charge you $0.37 each.

[PLD 14]

My next venture is probably Google AdWords. I've been researching them a good bit. You guys should take a look at it when you have some time.

Very familiar with adwords. In fact, I spend about 600/mo on Adwords and 500/mo with Yahoo for my online business. PPC is a good thing, but get in the water slowly until you learn the ropes. Unless managed will, PPC can cost hundreds/day and net nothing of value.

#1 rule, know your acceptable cost/acquisition and bid based on that. DO NOT bid based on being #1 ,2,3 by itself. #1 is the best place to be of the available positions, but it's a terrible place to be if you're making no profit on each sale.

[PressurePros 249]

I agree with Phillip. SEO and PPC marketing is not for the faint of heart. I have spent about a hundred hours or so researching and learning what works and what does not and balancing those findings against an effective advertising budget.

Sorry about :topic:

I have yet to pull the triger on Google PPC. I am worried about fraudulent clicksm overbidding click rate etc. I have instead tried to optimize my website and strategically link to it. Thus far it has had excellent results on MSN and Yahoo (I get first page placement). I get about two hits per day from Google and that is when someone keywords "restore a deck" Phillip, any advice you can offer is appreciated.

[PLD 14]

I can write a book for you on PPC, but I won't. Here's a few pointers.- Start looking and start bidding. You need to jump in and learn firsthand. But, start small at $5-10/day.- Don't bid on general terms like "pressure washing". The conversion rate is very poor for such a broad net. Instead, bid on "pressure washing fayetteville georgia"- Start at 5c and work up. From there work up to your cost/acq.- Write a different ad for each keyword. If the keyword is "quality widgets", then the ad headline neads to say "quality widgets". Your target page must also clearly state (and address) "Quality widgets"example:KW: Quality widgetsHeadline:Buy Quality WidgetsCopy:Quality Widgets and otherwidget related items.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Just an expression. It's actually on the post. FWIW, both my parents are 30yr postal employees. It's very rare that ever really gets a big fine. Typically, they just approximate the number of flyers and charge you $0.37 each.

Cool, I'll start stuffing tomorrow.

[Chappy 138]

Back on topic,

you can tell how slow every one is based on the number of new posts in the last 24 hours. and the time of day their posted.

This post is case in point.

[Rfitz 14]

at least for us, we have been fairly busy since march, doing OK not great, or even close but OK, luckily we landed a few commercial jobs in august and that helped carry the load, but residential in august usually sucks, that is when I schedule my maintenenace jobs from existing customers from past years..

What hurts our industry the most is newbies, start - ups.. and this applies to everyone on this board, so you all better perk your ears up and pay attention to what I will try and explain to you, because it affects us all, all the time every month, every year, and forever.. until legislature changes our business..

Most new guys buy a $500 power washer, a small Pick up, and sya Im now in biz as a pw company, they wash houses for $125.00 and decks for $400 BIG ones, soon they lose money, screw customers, and go out of business, within a year or less, then when that same customer calls a proffessional company

like us and realizes that their deck will, cost 5-8 times what that newbie charged FREAK OUT at our bid, but that is for quality work, insured, bonded etc.. and will look for that next sucker newbie to get their deck done for as cheap as possible, or house wash, and get screwed again by cheesy low down crappy work, until we can get rid of these idiots we are doomed as an industry, just my opinion, for example look at lawyers or doctors, pricing, they are educated and know what it cost's to run a biz, therefore their pricing is all similar,

Hope this helps...

[John T 744]

at least for us, we have been fairly busy since march, doing OK not great, or even close but OK, luckily we landed a few commercial jobs in august and that helped carry the load, but residential in august usually sucks, that is when I schedule my maintenenace jobs from existing customers from past years..

What hurts our industry the most is newbies, start - ups.. and this applies to everyone on this board, so you all better perk your ears up and pay attention to what I will try and explain to you, because it affects us all, all the time every month, every year, and forever.. until legislature changes our business..

Most new guys buy a $500 power washer, a small Pick up, and sya Im now in biz as a pw company, they wash houses for $125.00 and decks for $400 BIG ones, soon they lose money, screw customers, and go out of business, within a year or less, then when that same customer calls a proffessional company

like us and realizes that their deck will, cost 5-8 times what that newbie charged FREAK OUT at our bid, but that is for quality work, insured, bonded etc.. and will look for that next sucker newbie to get their deck done for as cheap as possible, or house wash, and get screwed again by cheesy low down crappy work, until we can get rid of these idiots we are doomed as an industry, just my opinion, for example look at lawyers or doctors, pricing, they are educated and know what it cost's to run a biz, therefore their pricing is all similar,

Hope this helps...

You know I have an answer to that which maybe unpopular here but in a nut shell I'm all for Licensing, All for Org.s, All for Certifications and all for having standards set and to be adhered to in this industry. So another words Education Education Education. That is why the Lawyers, Doctors etc. get the big bucks as do Engineers. But I can hear some people right here say anyone can Powerwash and stain. Yes anyone can but can anyone do it well.

You know on my other job you now need two years of college and you also must get thru a 6 month long Academy before you can hit the streets. Truthfully you learn a ton more on the streets then you ever can with College or the Academy...but..when you make those the requirements then you get the better person most of the time who are dedicated enough to do a fine job.

In this Industry untill the standards and requirments are raised you will always have the hacks out there destroying the reputation of our industry. The Lawyers and Doctors and so many other professions keep raising the bar for themselves which in turn cause them to make alot more money over and over again...but us in general just keep saying the same old thing that we can teach ourselves this business and so what we scar a bunch of decks in our learning curve. For some this kills our reputation and I think that is the point that Rifz above is making.

[squirtgun 122]

We have beat the horse to death on Cert's,Org's and licensing in the past.Are we going to beat the cow now?

Licensing to be in business is a requirement in most cities I know of.We all know insurance is a must,but there are those whom choose to forge ahead without it.God bless them.

However,requiring Cert's means even more govenment invasion(state or federal) into our businesses and I don't feel it will stop to lowballer hacks who destroy other peoples properties.

I agree education is the key,but if we rely on the government or Org's to get the massage to the public we will wait a very long time to see it happen.We are in the position to teach every person we come in contact with that there is a difference between the splash/dash and experienced companies who have the proper knowledge and equipment to the job in the proper fashion.

[John T 744]

We are in the position to teach every person we come in contact with that there is a difference between the splash/dash and experienced companies who have the proper knowledge and equipment to the job in the proper fashion.

Scott that is true but when there not required to know how to do whats right in this field then they can more or less do whatever they want like go out and splash and dash or blow and go. You know where I stand on these issues as I know where you stand so there aint no point about us beating this old horse to death.

I'm wondering where RFitz stands on this.

[Chappy 138]

I agree with licencing. Certification, and the works. Its why I joined the PWNA. need to have standards.

That still wont eliminate those who do unlicenced work. But some people will only hire licenced painters, even though the unlicenced guy has just as much experience.

[PLD 14]

Licensing to be in business is a requirement in most cities I know of.We all know insurance is a must,but there are those whom choose to forge ahead without it.

Scott, You and I both know that licensing here in GA is a JOKE. $75, fill out a 3x5 card, and you are licensed. It may be a requirement, but so is an ink pen and neither means crap to a customer.

As for insurance, I sell it and other criteria of a "legitimate" business hard. Less than 1:20 customers give a serious thought as to whether or not I have insurance. Less than 1:200 want a certificate. Granted, every once in a while a customer will actually ask, but as long as I answer yes the subject is over.

Back to the professionalism thread that we pounded to death this spring; Most customers are of the opinion that pressure washing is like mowing the lawn. They can buy either at HD (or walmart),so any idiot can do it. And if they had any doubt, HD will be glad to dispel the myth that it takes skill. That said, they view you and your company as nothing but hired labor and rented equipment. The only reason they hired you is because they didn't want to do it themselves. And if you are too expensive they will find another idiot.

[squirtgun 122]

Scott, You and I both know that licensing here in GA is a JOKE. $75, fill out a 3x5 card, and you are licensed. It may be a requirement, but so is an ink pen and neither means crap to a customer.

As for insurance, I sell it and other criteria of a "legitimate" business hard. Less than 1:20 customers give a serious thought as to whether or not I have insurance. Less than 1:200 want a certificate. Granted, every once in a while a customer will actually ask, but as long as I answer yes the subject is over.

Back to the professionalism thread that we pounded to death this spring; Most customers are of the opinion that pressure washing is like mowing the lawn. They can buy either at HD (or walmart),so any idiot can do it. And if they had any doubt, HD will be glad to dispel the myth that it takes skill. That said, they view you and your company as nothing but hired labor and rented equipment. The only reason they hired you is because they didn't want to do it themselves. And if you are too expensive they will find another idiot.

Yeah licensing isn't hard to get.Except mine runs about $135 a yrs.

I also use the fact that we are insured as a selling point.Nope it doesn't seem to matter to the vast majority of customers I meet.

I have never been asked if I'm certified.Not once.I did have my beagle pass the Wolmans test for me and my wife but people just don't care if we have a piece of paper.That is where I take my chance to sell them my knowledge an skill.

Does it always work?Nope

Why doesn't it work.They were price shopping from the get go or they just don't care.

If cert's and stricter licensing become something that is required.Who sets the standards?Does anyone get grandfathered in?Who certifies the certifiers?

I have submitted bids this year that were compared to bids written on notebook paper and written in pencil.It's a cycle that will never change no matter how hard we try.Why?because like anything else there isn't enough man power by licensing or certifying agencies to police the standards.

I know a large part of our slow down this summer has been strict water restrictions set by the state.They don't have any impact on our businesses,but homeowners seem to think it does.Some have even expressed fears that their neighbors will call the police on them if they have us do work right now.I try to schedule cleaning on the same days they can water to help combat their fears.

This is a perfect example of how an agency(in this case the state of Ga) can not get the entire message out to the public.is it lack of man power or ignorance I don't know,but it has affected the bottom line this year.

[Jeff 232]

As for certs and orgs I don't ever think there will be one that is recognized nationally. I almost dont care, my area I am going to just keep making every PM or company, business know that I am a professional. I will build my own reputation without anyones help other than referalls.

I don't care what my competition does. I am just going to make a name for my self by offering great workmanship, good rates & on time service. Im just going to keep knocking & kicking on doors and use references to get through to all the PM's I can find. Its a challenge I enjoy pretty much

I just did my $$$ #'s up to Aug 24th and I'm over $13,000 more than I did last year and I still have over 4 months to go in 2006

I figure go after the market in my area that needs me and that I like. I like condo complexes, towers and parking garages, so thats what I target. I'm not real thrilled going after residential its to time consuming in many ways so I dont go after it. I dont like wood work for a couple reasons so I dont go after it, Im not real thrilled about roof cleaning these days so I dont go after it either. I figure find out what your area needs and fill that service. So I figure within a few years I'll be the Pressure Washing King Of Myrtle Beach, all by myself and my employee's and just providing a good honest service thats needed

I Love this Biz

JL

[Jeff 232]

Proper insurance around here is becoming a big thing. Ive had several of my PM'scall and ask for my insurance cert and many have asked if I have Workers Comp and a few asked if i was covered under the comp, they werent aware I was a Corp. I've gooten a couple big jobs because I have the proper insurances and my competition didnt.

Just in the past 6-8 months Ive been getting the calls for insurance certs. I asked a couple PM's why they are asking all of a sudden and basically they said they cant afford not to have covered contractor and they're dropping ones that arent, which is great for me

[FCPWLLC 233]

Proper insurance around here is becoming a big thing. Ive had several of my PM'scall and ask for my insurance cert and many have asked if I have Workers Comp and a few asked if i was covered under the comp, they werent aware I was a Corp. I've gooten a couple big jobs because I have the proper insurances and my competition didnt.

Just in the past 6-8 months Ive been getting the calls for insurance certs. I asked a couple PM's why they are asking all of a sudden and basically they said they cant afford not to have covered contractor and they're dropping ones that arent, which is great for me

I'm seeing that more also. After all the payouts after the hurricanes last year, premiums are up and people are seeing how hiring an uninsured will affect thier own premiums. However, I am not seeing it get me anymore work. I suppose commercial work is different in other areas. Here, I get maybe 1 out of 50 bids for commercial work. I guess that's why I like Residential bacause it seems commercial only wants cheap and splash-n-dash. They all tell me that My price is double the other guys. I just feel it would be silly to charge less for a service than I can get doing a residential job. If I am making $150+/hr doing a Vinyl Siding Clean, why would I charge less to do a Sidewalk clean in front of a store? But these commercial guys are going with bids that would only come out to about $35/hr. I'm finding though that the bid winners are only doing a quick rinse.

Am I too High? Or is commercial work just one of those things that only pays good if relying on volume? I personally don't see the money in it based on what is being paid here. Maybe it's just my area.

I priced a bank drive-thru the other day at $130 and the Bank Mngr says that he is getting it done for $45. And the bad thing about it is that the $45 job looks good.

[PLD 14]

If cert's and stricter licensing become something that is required.Who sets the standards?Does anyone get grandfathered in?Who certifies the certifiers?

First, let me preface my statement by saying that I am a flaming libertarian. And for those who do not know, licensing is philosophically wrong to a libertarian.

That said; I am not sure that a strong push for overbearing licensing and certification is not the best thing for us (me) right now. This profession suffers *greatly* because there are no barriers to entry and the startup costs are near zero. Any Joe who can afford $300 and some flyers is the latest pressure washing company. There are a new crop of these yahoo's every year, and by their efforts they are setting the perceptions of our potential customers. We can try to re-educate them, but it becomes damn near impossible when you are outnumbered so badly. The avg Fayette Co. customer sees 10 ads for "PW any house $125" in any given week. Based on observation alone, I speculate that there are at least 25 skid/trailer owning (PT&FT) PW companies operating in this county of 32k SFD homes. Lord knows how many "truck and portables" there are.

Bottom line, unless we can manage to build substantial barriers to entry, professional PW may become nothing more than a sideline business...