Multi Trucker ????

[Kevin B]

We have flirted in the two truck zone off and on for last few years. This year we just ran one truck heavy 5 days a week. This year we are adding a new truck, and tue-Sat technician looking to grab another day of production. My question is, how did you manage that first transition of keeping two trucks busy all day instead of two trucks back to the shop by 3pm. Do you schedule one full then start filling the other? We have a plan to fill it, just want to eyeball my headaches before they get to me.

Thanks!

 

[Shane Deubell]

Spent a whole lot more on advertising, marketing in general.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Yes one schedule on crew full and the second truck caught the over flow and worked big jobs together. As Shane said you need to work on marketing to build sales for it. Just having it around won't drive sales, in fact it becomes more of a burden if you only have the desire for two trucks and not the need for two trucks.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Really never think of it in terms of "trucks" anyway. More of revenue, my thinking is if i want to add $100k-$200k in new revenue then it probably will cost at least 20-25% of that to get there. Or the equivalent hours in salesmanship.

Some people can get away with 10% and others 30%
Depends on the time frame and skill i guess.

 

[KevinD]

Splitting the work among 2 trucks gives more flexibility for more up-sells and add-ons.

Ma'am, is there anything else you would like cleaned while I am here today?

 

[Captain America]

I was told in ccarpet cleaning class 1 truck-40-50 percent profit
2 nd truck will get 20-30 percent profit
However you should have a back up if affordable..you can lose 500--1000 $$ daily on a breakdown
I know some guys making 400-500 k. A year with 3-4 vans but only make about 50 k profit if that??
A lot of headaches when a sole owner can make that with 70-80 k gross

 

[Desk Jockey]

I know some guys making 400-500 k. A year with 3-4 vans but only make about 50 k profit if that??

Those guys are working their way out of business. They need to raise their prices, clean less and make more.

 

[Captain America]

On the other hand 50 k is not bad in small towns of texas as everything is cheaper......
Rent cheaper gas is 1.85$,, Drive time is less...
With the price of fuel almost half here it should increase profits...
I am guessing most sole owner guys are around 20-40 percent expenses on fuel.....

 

[Desk Jockey]

I agree 50K is not terrible but when you put in that much effort and have that much risk, it becomes awful.

That's really pretty sad to work that hard and make that little. They truly should consider changing their model or getting out before the are forced out.

 

[steve_64]

be careful with part time help. my experience is, they care more about their personal lives than your business.

ive had a couple good workers but damn if they didnt test my patience. always wanted to know how long a job would take before i even seen it. last minute no shows because the baby sitter didnt show up. the list goes on.

if i ever get to be a two truck operation ill make sure i have enough work for full time employees.

 

[steve_64]

I agree 50K is not terrible but when you put in that much effort and have that much risk, it becomes awful.

That's really pretty sad to work that hard and make that little. They truly should consider changing their model or getting out before the are forced out.

ive worked a LOT harder for a lot less. the risk is if the company goes under i cant make my mortgage payment or pay bills.
ive been in that range for some time now. i dont work NEAR as many hours and if i need more money i can find the work. i just dont like working that much anymore. i was thinking about putting up a listing for a house and property genny and i are looking at. its crazy what you can buy here for the money.

but, i am almost ready to take things to the next level and start actually taking steps to increase the work load and the profit margin. ive been coasting for wayyy to long.

 

[Captain America]

Yea that's 10 percent profit margin not good....
I believe a sole owner should get 60 -80 percent or more profit margin....after equipment is paid off.
I would like to here from multi truck operators about how much profit margin they actually get...
I believe they told me in class multi truck operators would make about 20 percent profit...

 

[Desk Jockey]

60 -80 percent or more profit margin

60-80%? WOW!

That sounds closer to WDR where there is little labor.

 

[Mark Saiger]

Glad I had a second truck again today as we just got done putting another new fuel pump in it today (last one was in July in same truck)

For us, we do run a second truck on a lot of the same jobs and this helps with our schedule.

I had 2 full time techs going the past few years with 2 Butlers and that was a sweet spot for us.

My son in law is our main guy and our other guys was our youngest daughters boyfriend. He took another job June 1st just when we really got busy....

I decided not to replace him as I paid him for most of the SLOW winter and SLOW March, April & May we had. Those 3 months are usually the start of our busy season which it never quit snowing and never warmed up, so business was DEAD!

Decided to work harder to make up for that loss without doing a hire.

So far, we are good, but will be looking into another helper this Spring.

Running the 2 trucks on the same job site helped me to keep some quality control, but also, we were able to take on all the extras people would typically ask if we had time to do, and some of our jobs were just big enough to warrant them.

We even have days we are just busting tail with big jobs to get everything in, so a second van can be good, but don't break the bank account doing it.

Here is a link to a rocking typical day when we are really busy that I did from September....

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/index....with-saigers-steam-clean.275749/#post-4311497

What it did was found a good used reliable system (or new if you can afford it) and made my current van at the time my backup....then I added that second van in everyday use....

Having a backup was a good thing for me and helped my growth too....

 

[Captain America]

So I am seeing 178 k for each van per year that. 350 k.....that's great...
After subtracting all expense labor office rent van and machine payments advertising supplies equipment breakdown...... About what percent of profit do you have left???
Thanks
Cap

 

[Chris A]

I know some guys making 400-500 k. A year with 3-4 vans but only make about 50 k profit if that??
A lot of headaches when a sole owner can make that with 70-80 k gross

The reason for that low of a net is probably because you can easily do that amount of revenue with 2 full time trucks and 3-4 techs. I think some biz owners that have been around awhile are stuck in the 80s

 

[Mark Saiger]

So I am seeing 178 k for each van per year that. 350 k.....that's great...
After subtracting all expense labor office rent van and machine payments advertising supplies equipment breakdown...... About what percent of profit do you have left???
Thanks
Cap

Hey Cap,

The previous year was a way better year, and with us losing 3 months of good income this year, the numbers are going to be down.....

And, numbers can get skewed when you have the business paying for things that do help your personal side....

We feel we do well (except this year....LOL) so typically we are right around 28-33% profit on paper....but again, there are a lot of perks for us that would put it higher!

I drive some pretty nice rigs around and have a lot of things the business does pay for.

Also, I do buy a lot of nice new equipment when I want....

So....skewed numbers my wife would say





My office view (Pokegama Lake)



Nice having 2 Pimped out Butler High heat vans fully loaded and with Sirius Satelite, back up cams, Bluetooth.....LOADED!


Company Jeep....LOADED




















And we are leaving with this bad boy Jan 1 to Florida, and not returning until about the 25th.....business trip



So....the business has paid for a lot of things we have benefitted from....now, the jet skis are not tax deductible (well anymore since I quit racing them) but being an LLC, S-Corp we took off distributions when we wanted to purchase them....as well as that 50 mph pontoon boat

I really don't know my total numbers for this year yet as "checks are in the mail I am told", but will be going over them and making sure this years goals are put in place and hopefully in action

 

[Mark Saiger]

And I forgot to mention, our business is paying for our retirement accounts as well as we have a very nice Simple IRA going for our son in law as well.

 

[Captain America]

I would say 30 percent with your set up is good......
You have 1-2 workers I think still a whole lot of labor for 2 vans...
Why use the prescriber with the zipper and your setup....
I haven't used agitation or rake in years...
Thanks cap

 

[Mark Saiger]

I would say 30 percent with your set up is good......
You have 1-2 workers I think still a whole lot of labor for 2 vans...
Why use the prescriber with the zipper and your setup....
I haven't used agitation or rake in years...
Thanks cap

We have just 2 of us these days running the 2 vans.

I am on a van everyday and my son in law on the other (1 person in each van)

For a few years there were the 3 of us, which was a real sweet spot for making life easier.

Those pics in the previous linked thread were before we bought our Zippers, but, we still do like using the CRB to make cleaning even faster in some areas and fluff up the pile.

The little CRB is great on stairs for preagitation too (which we wand)

A lot of commercial, we don't need to agitate with the CRB, but if it is unbelievably dirty and ground, the CRB just helps to loosen things up quicker if needed.

We just have a lot of different tools with us and do what will make our cleaning quicker and more efficient on each job....

We do groom out our carpets, (unless low profile type or commercial carpets not needing grooming), but I am really into making sure the job and results looks "over the top" as I charge a premium price for our area.

 

[Captain America]

Ok understandable....
Back to the one owner operation
I can get 60-80 percent profit :
Truckmounts and vans paid off
No insurance for employees or business insurance
Powder per spray only
Few if any breakdowns easy to replace
Kero and gas, pre pray and a few oil changes replace tires and battery. ..is about it

 

[Mark Saiger]

Ok understandable....
Back to the one owner operation
I can get 60-80 percent profit :
Truckmounts and vans paid off
No insurance for employees or business insurance
Powder per spray only
Few if any breakdowns easy to replace
Kero and gas, pre pray and a few oil changes replace tires and battery. ..is about it

Profits can be higher with one person if done correctly....

BUT....what about illness or injury.....

AND....do you have an exit plan from the biz.

I also know there is no way we could service our cliental that we have with just one van and myself anymore, so I have had to go at least this route.

Now, it is about us becoming better at managing what we have to raise our profits....

We also quit doing a lot of restoration work last year, so we are reorganizing and that takes some time to put the new structure in place.

Everything is a learning game at times, but we will figure it out and become a much leaner business yet, and increase our carpet cleaning market more I believe.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Ok understandable....
Back to the one owner operation
I can get 60-80 percent profit :
Truckmounts and vans paid off
No insurance for employees or business insurance
Powder per spray only
Few if any breakdowns easy to replace
Kero and gas, pre pray and a few oil changes replace tires and battery. ..is about it

Do you belong to some kind of owner operator extremist group?

The net is going to be all over the place from 40% down to 4% and everything in between.
We all have different business models and different skills.

 

[Captain America]

Yea water damage has a 2-3 year burnout. If your doing both carpet and water damage....
Anyone can be a 1 owner operator and not wear out if they get this zipper and the right equipment.....
Running a zipper shouldn't be any harder than encap accept for setup....

 

[Papa John]

I love being a muiti truck operation. my profit might be less PER truck BUT my Total profit/Income is Greater then If I was just Owner operator with one TM.. With one truck you are only grabing $$ with "ONE HAND". I'm looking to add my 4th TM so I can Grab $$$$ with 4 hands. I also enjoy making money when I'M Just sitting on My ass.

Here's your homework: Read the "Cash Flow Quadrient"

 

[Captain America]

It all depends if you wants manage or get out inthe field...
I actually wanted to do multi truck with an employee...
But couldn't find the right guy...then Tweeked the truckmount to cut back on labor....
Also most multi truck operatoers here diversify either water damage or replace carpet wood tile.....

 

[Kevin B]

I was told in ccarpet cleaning class 1 truck-40-50 percent profit
2 nd truck will get 20-30 percent profit
However you should have a back up if affordable..you can lose 500--1000 $$ daily on a breakdown
I know some guys making 400-500 k. A year with 3-4 vans but only make about 50 k profit if that??
A lot of headaches when a sole owner can make that with 70-80 k gross

Two years in a row we turned down work all summer long, without any advertising outside of our google seo. We wont let that happen this year! We have a good eddm plan rounding out and probably some specific direct mail also. Im excited, my wife and I have worked hard to get here.

 

[Kevin B]

It all depends if you wants manage or get out inthe field...
I actually wanted to do multi truck with an employee...
But couldn't find the right guy...then Tweeked the truckmount to cut back on labor....
Also most multi truck operatoers here diversify either water damage or replace carpet wood tile.....

We plan on adding restoration, and its almost impossible to be a player without more than one truck

 

[Kevin B]

Here's your homework: Read the "Cash Flow Quadrient"

Ive already read it along with several other books of his

 

[idreadnought]

from a multi truck guy that spent 15 years as a owner operator first I will give some input. First if your on the truck then get off as much as you can. It is better for you to pay someone to run the the second truck and then you focus on selling. I did it by hiring a guy and fighting for any work i could get to keep him busy. When I was up to 1.5 trucks i hired a second guy and didn't clean at all. Every second I had was devoted to peddling my services to anyone that would listen. At this point I hired a woman to answer my phones so I could really focus on sales.

In my opinion the sweet spot begins at 3 vans. Going from 1 then 2 was hell and stressful. There isn't much margin when your growing the business. You have new equipment to buy plus you spend lots of money on marketing. This has been the lowest growth of the last 5 years. I estimated only a 16% growth over last year. the year before was 25. Profit this year has been the highest and honestly the amount of effort has gone down.


If you have any other questions pm me. I have limited greatly the details about my business i post. Shortly after i realized some of my competition visit the boards