Brian Robison on the Hot Seat.

[Greg Cole]

Becker you want to visit my company I will pay your plane ticket, as long as you hang out with me and the boys

Crowley,

I'm in, provided you then come down here and shadow me for 1 day.

 

[Greg Cole]

It has always seemed a fair arrangement for a carpet cleaner to split jobs 50/50 with a contractor who gets the work if they are providing a steady flow of customers.

I can dig it, Art.
I wasn't questioning what's "fair".
If both parties agree, that's "fair" enough for me
(even Cole for that matter)

I was questioning Brian's implication that their "costs" were equal .
They're not and he knows that

At the time I was advertising pretty heavy along with everything else.
Now I've substituted time for money in aquiring jobs which is just as expensive.

thanks Brian
so the answer is no.
your costs are nowhere near "equal" the Sub's
..L.T.A.

I am a numbers guy, plain and simple. 50/50 splits on an advertising based model is a going out of business plan. The company cannot afford to provide the infrastructure to provide quality personell and quality control that is necesary for a sustainable business. The reason that most discount companies go out of business is because they don't understand this. They want to pay what they "feel" is fair, rather than what is affordable and margin sensitive.

There are two ways to increase profit margins. 1. Decrease costs 2. increase sales while maintatining costs.

I choose to do both.

 

[Brian R]

It's funny how price is always an issue. I think we can all agree that no service will cost the same every time, every place for every industry.

A waiter in that steakhouse will get paid more than the Denny's waiter and yet they both just bring food to the table.

How much more is it to replace a heart than remove an appendix?

Do you want an around the world or just a happy ending? :shock:

 

[XTREME1]

You don't need to see my business Greg but I certainly would love to come see yours

 

[Brian R]

That's because Cole actually HAS a business Greg. J/k

 

[XTREME1]

Yep because I don't. I don't even have a car I have to drive my bike around, I am almost destitute

 

[Dolly Llama]

If a sub makes $100.00 per hour....what do I get for my time Mr. Larry?

Are you saying my time is worth nothing?

NOPE, that's not what I'm saying at all, Brian
This has nothing to do with what you think your "time" is worth.
My question has NOTHING to do with what you or anyone else thinks is "fair" either.
I don't have problem with what you charge for your time and efforts

What i said was, your "costs" (expenses) are less than the sub's .
You KNOW appx how much insurance , vans, TMs, gas, maintenance, and chems "cost"

now PLEASE STOP with the chem-lie way of rationalizing deception as not being bullshit, 'kay?
it makes you "look like" a shifty mother f'ker
and I know you're not


let's try this again.

do you "genuinely" know that your "expenses" are equal to the sub's?


..L.T.A.

 

[Art Kelley]

If a sub makes $100.00 per hour....what do I get for my time Mr. Larry?

Are you saying my time is worth nothing?

NOPE, that's not what I'm saying at all, Brian
This has nothing to do with what you think your "time" is worth.
My question has NOTHING to do with what you or anyone else thinks is "fair" either.
I don't have problem with what you charge for your time and efforts

What i said was, your "costs" (expenses) are less than the sub's .
You KNOW appx how much insurance , vans, TMs, gas, maintenance, and chems "cost"

now PLEASE STOP with the chem-lie way of rationalizing deception as not being bullshit, 'kay?
it makes you "look like" a shifty mother f'ker
and I know you're not


let's try this again.

do you "genuinely" know that your "expenses" are equal to the sub's?


..L.T.A.

Remember when you first started out Larry? You had equipment but needed customers. It took you a lot of time and money and effort to get those customers. For me it involved passing out flyers, tens of thousands of flyers, by myself and with the help of friends I paid. I would get maybe one job a day from ten man hours of effort. The effort was worth it eventually, but it took many years to grow my business. After maybe ten or fifteen years my customer base was large enough that the business became self-sustaining.
My point is getting customers is a huge part of what I had to do, and it is well worth paying 50% to someone for them if you just want to spend your time cleaning and making money.

 

[Able 1]

My point is getting customers is a huge part of what I had to do, and it is well worth paying 50% to someone for them if you just want to spend your time cleaning and making money.

Seems like you would be cleaning and making someone else money.. If Brian Gets 50% of even the repeat custys (which I think he does) that's a fast way to kill a biz. (even faster then leasing equipment :shock: )

I've done at least 400,000 flyers myowndamnself in 5 years, there is NO way I would have paid anyone 50% of what I charged.. I would have been tempted the first day I had my truck mount if someone told me they could get me 5 jobs a day with a $200 average ticket though...

I'm not trying to knock Brian and I think his deal could work for some guy's.. Thing is if you would do nothing but deliver quality looking flyers(very cheap even with glossy paper) when you were slow you could build your biz. quickly, and keep the money in your pocket (if you have the drive to do it).

Of course It's hard to start a business, but after you get rolling with repeat and referral work you would be pissed to give %50 to anyone other then your lead guy with his helper while your out fishing on the lake. !gotcha!

 

[Brian R]

If a sub makes $100.00 per hour....what do I get for my time Mr. Larry?

Are you saying my time is worth nothing?

NOPE, that's not what I'm saying at all, Brian
This has nothing to do with what you think your "time" is worth.
My question has NOTHING to do with what you or anyone else thinks is "fair" either.
I don't have problem with what you charge for your time and efforts

What i said was, your "costs" (expenses) are less than the sub's .
You KNOW appx how much insurance , vans, TMs, gas, maintenance, and chems "cost"

now PLEASE STOP with the chem-lie way of rationalizing deception as not being bullshit, 'kay?
it makes you "look like" a shifty mother f'ker
and I know you're not


let's try this again.

do you "genuinely" know that your "expenses" are equal to the sub's?


..L.T.A.

It's called business Larry ...not rationalizing.

Really it's relative to the situation.

If a guy has his TM and van and equipment paid for and then does a job for me....he is making out better.

No offense, but I'll have to listen to Cole on this one. Because he has done it mo bettah than us or anyone else I've seen post on this board.


I will say before I turned over the Sacramento area that the "checks" I was writing to create jobs for just one truck were probably less than his expenses on that truck....I say "probably" because I don't track the expenses of those trucks...I can only go by what I used to spend when I had a van/TM.

But what did it take to get to that point?


You're arguing semantics instead of looking at the whole picture cousin Larry. !dork!

 

[Dolly Llama]

My point is getting customers is a huge part of what I had to do, and it is well worth paying 50% to someone for them if you just want to spend your time cleaning and making money.

no disagreement there , Art


..L.T.A.

 

[Dolly Llama]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCawqpNb2xI
No offense, but I'll have to listen to Cole on this one. Because he has done it mo bettah than us or anyone else I've seen post on this board.

no offense to me.
I do believe Cole has a VERY large monthly marketing budget as well as office staff


..L.T.A.

 

[XTREME1]

If a guy has his TM and van and equipment paid for and then does a job for me

As a business man you do realize that is one of the dumbest statements made in our industry.

 

[Greg Cole]

You don't need to see my business Greg but I certainly would love to come see yours

shoot me an email with a couple of dates you are available in July and I'll compare it to my schedule.

 

[Greg Cole]

[quote="Brian R":1gdict3j]


If a sub makes $100.00 per hour....what do I get for my time Mr. Larry?

Are you saying my time is worth nothing?

NOPE, that's not what I'm saying at all, Brian
This has nothing to do with what you think your "time" is worth.
My question has NOTHING to do with what you or anyone else thinks is "fair" either.
I don't have problem with what you charge for your time and efforts

What i said was, your "costs" (expenses) are less than the sub's .
You KNOW appx how much insurance , vans, TMs, gas, maintenance, and chems "cost"

now PLEASE STOP with the chem-lie way of rationalizing deception as not being bullshit, 'kay?
it makes you "look like" a shifty mother f'ker
and I know you're not


let's try this again.

do you "genuinely" know that your "expenses" are equal to the sub's?


..L.T.A.

Remember when you first started out Larry? You had equipment but needed customers. It took you a lot of time and money and effort to get those customers. For me it involved passing out flyers, tens of thousands of flyers, by myself and with the help of friends I paid. I would get maybe one job a day from ten man hours of effort. The effort was worth it eventually, but it took many years to grow my business. After maybe ten or fifteen years my customer base was large enough that the business became self-sustaining.
My point is getting customers is a huge part of what I had to do, and it is well worth paying 50% to someone for them if you just want to spend your time cleaning and making money.[/quote:1gdict3j]

Great post!

 

[Greg Cole]

[quote="Art Kelley":2bpmkhyd]
My point is getting customers is a huge part of what I had to do, and it is well worth paying 50% to someone for them if you just want to spend your time cleaning and making money.

Seems like you would be cleaning and making someone else money.. If Brian Gets 50% of even the repeat custys (which I think he does) that's a fast way to kill a biz. (even faster then leasing equipment :shock: )

I've done at least 400,000 flyers myowndamnself in 5 years, there is NO way I would have paid anyone 50% of what I charged.. I would have been tempted the first day I had my truck mount if someone told me they could get me 5 jobs a day with a $200 average ticket though...

I'm not trying to knock Brian and I think his deal could work for some guy's.. Thing is if you would do nothing but deliver quality looking flyers(very cheap even with glossy paper) when you were slow you could build your biz. quickly, and keep the money in your pocket (if you have the drive to do it).

Of course It's hard to start a business, but after you get rolling with repeat and referral work you would be pissed to give %50 to anyone other then your lead guy with his helper while your out fishing on the lake. !gotcha![/quote:2bpmkhyd]

Great post! We all start businesses and grow them with the intention of being able to kick back and collect the proceeds from all the hard work we have put in for years. If i wanted to be paid for the work I am currently doing immediately- I would get a job.... Instead I "Johnnie-Appleseeded".
a 50% payout when you have fixed expenses will NOT work. The tech will profit more than you and eventually you will figure out that you are working for either peanuts or for free.....

 

[Greg Cole]

Here are my thoughts on what Brian does.
He is providing work for people that can't provide for themselves. He is doing it on a national scale using internet technology. Distributorships I assume are his next step? I've never seen anyone else do what he is doing.
I do know that he posts ALL the time on here.

I feel that many here are threatened because he is "playing on their turf". Sadly, it is impossible to own the internet so I see ALOT of companies like his popping up in the next few years in MANY industries.

The more he posts- the more people hear about him. It's smart marketing and all the time he spends posting should be calculated as a marketing expense. Sadly, there are a ton of good cleaners who are terrible at marketing. The smart ones realize they need help and get it. Kudos to Brian for seeing an opportunity.

I still get 3-4 people a month calling and offering to pay me to handle their marketing and I rarely post anymore. Occasionally, I do it on a consulting basis and take a permanent piece of the business as payment (usually 4% of the gross). I can only imagine the calls Brian gets.....

 

[Brian R]

If a guy has his TM and van and equipment paid for and then does a job for me

As a business man you do realize that is one of the dumbest statements made in our industry.

Esplain please?

 

[Greg Cole]

If a sub makes $100.00 per hour....what do I get for my time Mr. Larry?

Are you saying my time is worth nothing?

NOPE, that's not what I'm saying at all, Brian
This has nothing to do with what you think your "time" is worth.
My question has NOTHING to do with what you or anyone else thinks is "fair" either.
I don't have problem with what you charge for your time and efforts

What i said was, your "costs" (expenses) are less than the sub's .
You KNOW appx how much insurance , vans, TMs, gas, maintenance, and chems "cost"

now PLEASE STOP with the chem-lie way of rationalizing deception as not being bullshit, 'kay?
it makes you "look like" a shifty mother f'ker
and I know you're not

let's try this again.

do you "genuinely" know that your "expenses" are equal to the sub's?

..L.T.A.

Sorry for all the posts today. WTF does Brian's costs vs the costs of the contractor have to do with what he should make on the job? Seriously? Let's explore this concept: a city decides to build a bridge and after the bidding process picks BOB the contractor. BOB then goes to his sub contractors and says:"I need quotes for building the bridge". He picks STEVE. Steve's own business has been suffering lately and he is having a hard time making his mortgage payments. He REALLY wants this job! Steve calculates out he wants to make $150K on the job. He feels this is enough and will seriously help his family out. Granted this makes his rate WAY below the other contractors who want to make $250k profit. STEVE gets the job. BOB makes a quick $500k. Steve does all the work, and BOB is kicking back on his boat.....
Sadly te reason why BOB has the $500k is because he was smart enough to BID on the job for the city. While STEVE and all the others were focused onthe job at hand, BOB was looking ino the future and MARKETING.
Should BOB give more to STEVE because his costs are lower? Of course NOT - STEVE entered into a contract for a fixed amount of money. OF COURSE BOB went with the less expensive guy to build the bridge. THIS IS BUSINESS - NOT CHARITY!

 

[XTREME1]

Don't have time to explain. I am working. It should be easy to figure out. In my yearly break down truck, machine and equipment ownership isn't very high I would say if I were going to get 7 yrs(never held onto one that long but many do) The total cost for 3 machines, 3 vans and equipment would be less than $250.00 a week. My costs are fuel, taxes, payroll, incidentals and insurance.

Anyone who buys equipment outright and doesn't put the money back is cheating themselves. I know a couple guys "I paid for it all up front so I made X amount" well no you didn't you started in the hole and you have to dig yourself out of the hole before you actually make anything. Those are just a few reasons why it is a foolish business statement.

 

[Dolly Llama]

WTF does Brian's costs vs the costs of the contractor have to do with what he should make on the job?

pay attention Cole

and read my lips...I DON'T GAF WHAT BRIAN CHARGES
If both parties are agreeable, it's all good...same for YOUR subs
I don't GAF if they get 2%...if it's all above board and they agree...it's a legit deal


my POINT was, is and always has been, Brian telling the subs his expenses are equal to theirs .

I'm not talking about YOUR expenses or anyone elses .
I'm talking SPECIFICALLY about BRIAN'S expenses ...nOT what he "charges" a sub for his services, but the implication he makes that his expenses are equal to the sub's



..L.T.A.

 

[Ken Snow]

What kind of poopy equipment you running Greg? Mine is almost 200 per week just for the butler purchase, if spread over 7 years. They bring in 4-7k per week.

How you doing 3 plus other equipment for only 250 a week?

 

[XTREME1]

you need to look at all the information Ken

 

[Brian R]

WTF does Brian's costs vs the costs of the contractor have to do with what he should make on the job?

pay attention Cole

and read my lips...I DON'T GAF WHAT BRIAN CHARGES
If both parties are agreeable, it's all good...same for YOUR subs
I don't GAF if they get 2%...if it's all above board and they agree...it's a legit deal


my POINT was, is and always has been, Brian telling the subs his expenses are equal to theirs .

I'm not talking about YOUR expenses or anyone elses .
I'm talking SPECIFICALLY about BRIAN'S expenses ...nOT what he "charges" a sub for his services, but the implication he makes that his expenses are equal to the sub's



..L.T.A.

I realized that's what you were talking about a post or so ago but I have to stick by the fact that every sub will have a different expense from another sub.
So it IS hard to say it's "exactly" equal....but I hope that was inferred.

I'm just sayin that all things being equal....all things are equal or at least should be.

IF some dumbass wants to buy a Vortex then yes...his expenses will be more than mine.

If he wants to run a portable out of a pinto (just an example Crowley) then his expenses will be less than mine.

Does this help at all with what's been said Larry?

 

[XTREME1]

Ken I have 3 vans own a fourth waiting for a TM. The most I paid for any of them was $12,600 and the average miles was 45,000 with v-8s and were passenger vans. The truckmounts 2 were approx $16,500 and the other was $8,500 throw in $20,000 for tile tools, air movers, wands, rotovacs, 175's etc you have $99,300 divide by 7 yrs you have $14,186 divide by 52 and you have $273

 

[Ken Snow]

Got it- though if they were that inexpensive they were already 5-7 years old meaning they will be 12-14 years old over the 7 year math. I would think that there will be a lot of higher maintenance costs.

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[XTREME1]

all had about 1000 hrs and maintained beautifully. I have run the Apex for 3.5 four years and the Everest for 1.5 and no problems time will tell on the bruin.

I bought them from a company that uses them for about 900-1200 hrs and turns them over. I knew the mechanic well and he redid everything hoses, belts, fuids etc at turnover. I would expect if I bought one of your headed out butlers that I would be getting a decent machine. My guess is 1,000 hrs for a bigger company maybe a year or two old

 

[Ken Snow]

I.was talking about the vans.

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[XTREME1]

Vans have all been 3-4 years old and about 45,000 milkes as previously stated

 

[Ken Snow]

I saw the miles but not the age anywhere. Those are good prices for the age and miles.

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