2010....best year EVER.....

[joe harper]

Time to DoWnSiZe.... :shock:

 

[Jay D]

Ok, elaborate :roll:

 

[joe harper]

"Its NOT what you MAKE...It's what you KEEP."

It was my son's 1st year with TOTAL control of the company.

He worked his ass-off...! Worked the crews to the bReaKinG pOinT... :!:

Many 12 hr days "back to back"...!


He took on the APPROACH...of if we are working .."We are making money"... :idea:

WRONG...."He could have..STOPPED working the end of September.." And made more
mOnEy... :shock: "Labor cost .."ATE HIS LUNCH"....

I let him do it .."HIS WAY"...he learned a very VALUABLE ...lesson... !gotcha!

 

[Mikey P]

And I took you advice on labor costs...

Great.

 

[dealtimeman]

Skilled labor costs will tear your numbers up!

 

[Doug Cox]

My wife only costs me purses and shoes.

 

[Dolly Llama]

is Brian going swallow up this thread and make it disappear into his room too???



..L.T.A.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

is Brian going swallow up this thread and make it disappear into his room too???



..L.T.A.

You know taking a shower and brushing your teeth are marketing literally. Anything that has to do with your image is marketing. Robison doesn't have to move everything to the marketing room.

 

[joe harper]

I think Brian knows better than to move my threads... !gotcha!

This is an "AniTi-mArkEtinG" thread...

I hope the discussion can EVOLVE into some of the real reasons ..young businesses
will fail.. :idea: There are some CRITICAL accounting factors that need to be discussed.!

You need to KNOW what your profit margin is on EVERY JOB...You do NOT want to be
working just to be BUSY....Every job must generate a PROFIT...!

I ShUttEr...when some of you guys come on here and BRAG...I just cleaned 10k sq.ft.
fof $800.00... :roll: and in the same breaTh...justify the price by saying it only took
me 4 hours... :roll: ..."I made $200.00 per hour"... :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

THIS BUSINESS CAN NOT BE PROFITABLE ON AN HOURLY BASIS... :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I guess I'll delete my post if Yankem is going to follow up. :roll:

 

[Royal Man]

Does this mean you'll have to re-think the "wisdom" of 3 guys on a truck.

I found that one hard to grasp.

 

[Jay D]

OT is what killit the profit harPO? :roll:

 

[Doug Cox]

I think Brian knows better than to move my threads... !gotcha!

This is an "AniTi-mArkEtinG" thread...

I hope the discussion can EVOLVE into some of the real reasons ..young businesses
will fail.. :idea: There are some CRITICAL accounting factors that need to be discussed.!

You need to KNOW what your profit margin is on EVERY JOB...You do NOT want to be
working just to be BUSY....Every job must generate a PROFIT...!

I ShUttEr...when some of you guys come on here and BRAG...I just cleaned 10k sq.ft.
fof $800.00... :roll: and in the same breaTh...justify the price by saying it only took
me 4 hours... :roll: ..."I made $200.00 per hour"... :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

THIS BUSINESS CAN NOT BE PROFITABLE ON AN HOURLY BASIS... :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

As much as I am happy to make 200 bucks an hour w/ me and my wife knocking out a job, I sure the hell would not do 10k sq.ft. @ that price. I would be looking at 2k or better.

 

[joe harper]

Does this mean you'll have to re-think the "wisdom" of 3 guys on a truck.

I found that one hard to grasp.

No Dave,
Their is a possibility of 4 on the truck... :shock:

There were "rookie"...mistakes of not paying attention to the operating cost as well...
BIG trucks demand profreneny to maximize profits...

Joey took on work "Out of Our normal areas"...drive times were NOT taken into
consideration..! Holiday traffic metro areas "EAT-UP"...profit.... !gotcha!

More Later........Cooking dinner.... 8)

 

[Steve Toburen]

It was my son's 1st year with TOTAL control of the company ... I let him do it .."HIS WAY"...he learned a very VALUABLE ...lesson... !gotcha!

Wow, Harper. Passing control of an established business is one of the proudest moments of any founder's life ... and can also be one of the most frustrating and difficult periods too. Sounds like you are encountering both!

One procedure that might be of value to your son would be what we called in my business our Weekly Flash Report. This was a one page form that was on my desk every Tuesday morning when I walked in. It let me know on just one sheet exactly where we were on the work done over last week including both the HOURS and DOLLAR AMOUNT of overtime worked!

The problem with the traditional P & L is two-fold. a) It comes too late as in like one or two weeks after the previous month which means you are up to six weeks or more downstream from when the "sins" were committed which is an eternity in today's business environment plus b) a P & L is waaaay too much information for me. I wanted a "quick and dirty" State of the Union Report on a weekly basis. I'm going to try and cut and paste what we used. (Don't know how well it will format)

Flash Report for the week of _____________ through _____________

1. Cash on hand in operating bank account: _______________

2. Available funds in other accounts: _______________ Specify account(s): ________________

3. Credit line balance: _______________ Specify accounts(s): ________________

4. Current accounts receivable: _______________ Specify due next week: ________________

Due over next 30 days: ________________
5. Current accounts payable: _______________ Specify due next week: ________________

Due over next 30 days ________________
6. Large foreseeable expenses: Item: _______________ Amount: ___________
Item: _______________ Amount: ___________
Item: _______________ Amount: ___________

Sales % of total
Itemized sales for last week: Fire: ___________ _________
Water: ___________ _________
Commercial: ___________ _________
Residential: ___________ _________
Stay Beautiful: ___________ _________
Total sales for last week: ___________
Commercial Residential
New signed “Stay Beautiful” contracts: ___________ _________

Insured Projected amount % completed Notes
Current restoration jobs: ________________ ________________ __________ __________________
________________ ________________ __________ __________________
________________ ________________ __________ __________________
________________ ________________ __________ __________________

Pending contracts/ restoration work: Job Next step Date needed Assigned


Number of referrals received during the week: ________________

Cheerleader index numbers: ________________________________________________________________

Employee/equipment issues: Hours $ amount
Total payroll for last week: ________________ Amount overtime worked: _________ ____________

Total number of callbacks received: _________ Note: Attach a copy each completed Customer Concern Sheet

Itemize all broken/damaged equipment: ______________________________________________________

Current employee “issues: __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

If you want this all in a editable format may I post a link without getting beat up by the board police? http://sfs.jondon.com/1917/resources/pa ... ash-report The download is free.

Steve Toburen
http://www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Harper, it sounds like your son is doing a good job. And you are too by giving him room to run. But I like the analogy of letting a compressed spring release in your hand. You can do it all at once and it will fly off out of control and land who knows where. OR you can let it go slowly and even when it is loose it is still there in control. If you and your son implement a weekly Flash Report (you may already have one for all I know) he'll be able to come to you for input and you both will have a common forum for dialogue with current information to act on. Just an "idear".

Oh, BTW, my 31 year old son and I have worked together in business now for almost 15 years. So I know a bit about the "generational transfer" issues. We've had our moments but working with Matt has been (and is) one of the most gratifying things in my life.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Harper I don't get this thread.

I thought you were making well I mean your son was making bank.

With your pricing and expertise, Joey should be able to work 5 days per week with one assistant to pull hose, run a second tool, drive etc, for a weekly salary (350-400 per week), and net well over 6 figures are more realistically closer to 200k.

Maybe anything less than a million is a complete failure to you. :shock:

What do I know though? I am a bdcc loosing my azz just like you.

All he needs is one cargo truck with the 650hp.

Do you really think it is worth having the extra labor, weight and decreased fuel mileage, maintenance, and insurance, just to do a few extra tile and carpet jobs?

Why not just let the two guys knock the tile out first, then dual wand or even single wand the carpet?

In the long run that has to be more profitable.

I'm curious what you have to say.

Sounds to me like you need to lower your overhead (labor).

Hire a cheap hose puller that can actually clean and make that money.

 

[Royal Man]

I don't know your pay structure. But, if long driving times and unproductive labor are are killing your Son he may want to consider a commission based pay of some sort.

That way the more productive the truck is are the more the company makes and if they are less productive it has less effect on your bottom line regardless of down times, driving times and how many are on the truck.

Also,It's not uncommon to charge a couple of bucks a mile (Or what ever)for out of area calls.


Thank's for being man enough to cry out for help on this forum.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Dave I need some help too.

 

[joe harper]

Wow...!!!!!!!

I can't wait till my dinner guest leave....

I am amazed how "SIMPLE"...some of you gentlemen are... :shock:

We don't LOSE money... :idea:
We LOST...un-realized profit.....!!!!!!!

Our standards are HIGH...We have a VERY proven system...!

My son has had partial control of the company for over 3 years...
I INCREMENTIALLY...increase his responsibility's each year...
His job average's...actually "SCARE ME".... :!:

I allowed him to restructure some of the pricing methods this year... :idea:
They increased the volume of work substantially...And grew our customer base...
Beyond the point of a reasonable "slow & steady" growth... !gotcha!

He was not prepared for the "TAX BURDEN" that he would be LIABLE for.... thathurts

When I say ....he could have worked 9 months & made more PERSONAL money.... :idea:
I am speaking of the InEXPerIaNcE...of taking advantage of certain deductions such as
the 179 provision... :!:


I am EXTREEMLY proud of him....!!!!!!!!!

But when they think THEY know everything... :roll:
You have to let them LEARN THE HARD WAY.... !gotcha!


ps Steve, thanks for the form suggestion... 8)
However...you know how there is a "FINE LINE" that must be walked in a family BIZ...
Joey and I have a GREAT relationship.."IT REQUIRES A MUTUAL RESPECT"....as you know..!
I was VERY hard on this KID....HE knows how to do it right...!!!!
We try to always SEPERATE BIZ & FAMILY....So in some situations..."YOU have to let them
WalK inTo the fIrE".....I want ALWAYS be here for him....He has to educate himself NOW...!

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I'll sleep better tonight knowing your still the man.

You had me fooled with those slight of hand accounting practices.

 

[Danny Strickland]

i sold some equipment to a guy here and then worked for him for a short time. He hired myself and two other guys to handle an increase in biz (accounts i brought in since he purchased the equipment). When his first payroll tax for the increase hit he freaked, and all of a sudden he didn't need me any longer it seemed. He wouldn't return my calls and then accused me of quitting???

He could have told me that he couldn't afford my services any longer (he really didn't need me as the guys he hired on could easily handle the work) and as an owner i knew it was costing him more than just my salary.

The more you make, the more THEY want!!!