harryhides
Member
Have we started something here?
What do you think ?
Will this place grow to a community of 500, 1,000 2,500 members? It's up to us, if we build it, they will come. Don't be a Lurker that contributes nothing.
Post your ideas of what you'd like to see happen here and lets make this place really rock.
After 29 days, this BB is running at 217 Posts per day and ICS averages 203 per day.
In the 20th Century the Trade Associations were the only place to get educated and they collectively developed the classes and criteria for the best education available at the time thru the IICRC. Then one day, for reasons, quite beyond explanation, their Reps ( supposedly working in the best interests of their Associations and members) gave it away to the suppliers to become the main source of education. They have suffered both financially and in membership ever since. The classes do provide a valuable service to CC'ers starting out. But there is tons of really good info, on a whole raft of subjects that are not taught - management, marketing, hands on in many cases and comparisons of equip and chems etc. This is the kind of info that lately has become available to us all thru the boards, albeit boards that are run or controlled by suppliers with their own agendas.
Below is some interesting info that I saved from somewhere in the last couple of years that may help to put this community that Mike has started, into a perspective that perhaps you hadn't thought of before.
What we have here is a medium - the first one that is NOT designed to serve any manufacturers/suppliers, where we can all contribute to make it into what we want it to be - something for us and by us.....unless Mikey becomes a goof or a Fascist, in which case we'll all just go away.
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The IICRC, is currently owned by 16 non-profit trade associations.
Trade associations must have at least 50 active members to be stockholders in the IICRC.
Approx Trade Association membership numbers - based on 2005 Cleanfax article.
Mickeys BB Community after 6 months 1,200 members. Also 140 supporting members
NCCA National Carpet Cleaners Association UK 412 members
CFI Carpet & Fabricare Institute 340 members
ISCT International Society of Cleaning Technicians 326 members
FIOCCFD Floorcovering Institute Ontario, incl Retailers - 204 members
CCINW - Carpet Cleaners Institute of the Northwest 164 members
MSPCA MidSouth Professional Cleaners Association 137 members
NUCCA National Upholstery & CC Assoc Australia 103 members
NEIRC New England Institute of Restoration & Cleaning - 90 members
PCUCA Professional Carpet & Uph Cleaners Assoc 85 members
AWCC - Association of Wisconsin Cleaning Contractors - 70 members
NYRCI New York Rug Cleaners Institute 55 members
TRSCA Tri-State Restorers & Specialty Cleaners Ass 54 members
PRCA Professional Cleaning & Restoration Alliance 35 members
CRCII Carpet & Rug Cleaners Institute of Illinois 27 members
Number of members required to vote at BOD meetings - 50 members ?
Total membership approx 2,200 members
Total US membership approx 1,400 members
Associations that don't own stock in IICRC:
ASCR - 1,400 members - pulled out of IICRC a few yrs ago
LMCCA - 230 members
What some anonymous industry leaders and carpet cleaners are saying about trade associations:
Associations have a habit of taking great volunteers and killing them with work, instead of making operations a group effort.
There are only a few carpet cleaning trade associations in the United States that are really active enough to be noticed:
ASCR, ISCT, Mid-South, CFI and CCINW.
Four (had to merge or make changes to survive): ACT and UCCI merged with ISCT to better serve their members. CCINW and New York Rug are working with ASCR.
The IICRC requires [an association to have] so many members to maintain its seat on the IICRC board.
I know of at least three trade associations that had to give away memberships or drop prices to only a few dollars and beg for members in order to meet that member requirement.
I'd bet at least six [associations] are close to being inactive. I won't name names, to protect them.
Why would I pay money for something my distributor gives me since I buy my stuff from him
I personally find that even though I was raised in this business I could still learn something at every single [association] meeting that has benefited my business and my life.
We've asked our members to tell us what to do to keep them from dropping away, but it doesn't seem to matter. They're leaving anyway.
I predict some associations will not die off at all many will just have to be under one management or merge to survive.
Of course, contention loves a shining mark and there are a lot of people who aren't willing to work, or who have a parochial agenda who are quite vocal. I simply tell them to step up to the plate and roll up their sleeves.
The fact is that those who are willing to work, long and selflessly, are the ones who wield influence in this or any other industry.
What do you think ?
Will this place grow to a community of 500, 1,000 2,500 members? It's up to us, if we build it, they will come. Don't be a Lurker that contributes nothing.
Post your ideas of what you'd like to see happen here and lets make this place really rock.
After 29 days, this BB is running at 217 Posts per day and ICS averages 203 per day.
In the 20th Century the Trade Associations were the only place to get educated and they collectively developed the classes and criteria for the best education available at the time thru the IICRC. Then one day, for reasons, quite beyond explanation, their Reps ( supposedly working in the best interests of their Associations and members) gave it away to the suppliers to become the main source of education. They have suffered both financially and in membership ever since. The classes do provide a valuable service to CC'ers starting out. But there is tons of really good info, on a whole raft of subjects that are not taught - management, marketing, hands on in many cases and comparisons of equip and chems etc. This is the kind of info that lately has become available to us all thru the boards, albeit boards that are run or controlled by suppliers with their own agendas.
Below is some interesting info that I saved from somewhere in the last couple of years that may help to put this community that Mike has started, into a perspective that perhaps you hadn't thought of before.
What we have here is a medium - the first one that is NOT designed to serve any manufacturers/suppliers, where we can all contribute to make it into what we want it to be - something for us and by us.....unless Mikey becomes a goof or a Fascist, in which case we'll all just go away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The IICRC, is currently owned by 16 non-profit trade associations.
Trade associations must have at least 50 active members to be stockholders in the IICRC.
Approx Trade Association membership numbers - based on 2005 Cleanfax article.
Mickeys BB Community after 6 months 1,200 members. Also 140 supporting members
NCCA National Carpet Cleaners Association UK 412 members
CFI Carpet & Fabricare Institute 340 members
ISCT International Society of Cleaning Technicians 326 members
FIOCCFD Floorcovering Institute Ontario, incl Retailers - 204 members
CCINW - Carpet Cleaners Institute of the Northwest 164 members
MSPCA MidSouth Professional Cleaners Association 137 members
NUCCA National Upholstery & CC Assoc Australia 103 members
NEIRC New England Institute of Restoration & Cleaning - 90 members
PCUCA Professional Carpet & Uph Cleaners Assoc 85 members
AWCC - Association of Wisconsin Cleaning Contractors - 70 members
NYRCI New York Rug Cleaners Institute 55 members
TRSCA Tri-State Restorers & Specialty Cleaners Ass 54 members
PRCA Professional Cleaning & Restoration Alliance 35 members
CRCII Carpet & Rug Cleaners Institute of Illinois 27 members
Number of members required to vote at BOD meetings - 50 members ?
Total membership approx 2,200 members
Total US membership approx 1,400 members
Associations that don't own stock in IICRC:
ASCR - 1,400 members - pulled out of IICRC a few yrs ago
LMCCA - 230 members
What some anonymous industry leaders and carpet cleaners are saying about trade associations:
Associations have a habit of taking great volunteers and killing them with work, instead of making operations a group effort.
There are only a few carpet cleaning trade associations in the United States that are really active enough to be noticed:
ASCR, ISCT, Mid-South, CFI and CCINW.
Four (had to merge or make changes to survive): ACT and UCCI merged with ISCT to better serve their members. CCINW and New York Rug are working with ASCR.
The IICRC requires [an association to have] so many members to maintain its seat on the IICRC board.
I know of at least three trade associations that had to give away memberships or drop prices to only a few dollars and beg for members in order to meet that member requirement.
I'd bet at least six [associations] are close to being inactive. I won't name names, to protect them.
Why would I pay money for something my distributor gives me since I buy my stuff from him
I personally find that even though I was raised in this business I could still learn something at every single [association] meeting that has benefited my business and my life.
We've asked our members to tell us what to do to keep them from dropping away, but it doesn't seem to matter. They're leaving anyway.
I predict some associations will not die off at all many will just have to be under one management or merge to survive.
Of course, contention loves a shining mark and there are a lot of people who aren't willing to work, or who have a parochial agenda who are quite vocal. I simply tell them to step up to the plate and roll up their sleeves.
The fact is that those who are willing to work, long and selflessly, are the ones who wield influence in this or any other industry.
