How long were you at it before you were "comfortable" financially? What was it that changed when your business started to bear fruit? What were the 3-4 things that got you through the rough start up period? Now that you're making a little (or a lot of) money what is different about your business now compared to it's infancy? Lets hear your story... Leave the details in please.
When did your business take off?
- Thread starter Jeremy
- Start date
TimP
Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 4,055
I'm still waiting......I feel I'll start making decent money when my dang TM is paid for...... This is my second year and I think I'm going to break even finally. I got some large commercial jobs I'll be doing each year and it is enough to get me past my slow months. I hope next year is even better......
You need to make sure you constantly market your business and network, spend the money or your competition will. Keep up to date and do your job properly. Know your competition and what they are doing the best you can, and charge enough to make money. Treat your customers right so you can keep them as clients and to make them cheerleaders. Always show up and on time, or at least let your customers know you're running late. Be professional and present yourself in a clean manor in addition to your equipment.
Mistakes I made are buying equipment beyond what my business is prepared to afford. And not getting out as much as I should to market when slow.
You need to make sure you constantly market your business and network, spend the money or your competition will. Keep up to date and do your job properly. Know your competition and what they are doing the best you can, and charge enough to make money. Treat your customers right so you can keep them as clients and to make them cheerleaders. Always show up and on time, or at least let your customers know you're running late. Be professional and present yourself in a clean manor in addition to your equipment.
Mistakes I made are buying equipment beyond what my business is prepared to afford. And not getting out as much as I should to market when slow.
Becker
Member
Are you still thinking of taking Mikeys advice and sell oranges on the side of the highway?
Desk Jockey
Member
I'll let you know as soon as we get there!
I hope we're getting closer! :wink:
I hope we're getting closer! :wink:
I am not as humble (I don't know if anyone noticed)
People kick my ass day in and day out for my marketing but I am against a wall for 1 full year now. My slowest week in all this time for numbers of jobs is this week but I will still bill over $2200 in 4 days. My slowest week was $1300 in feb and my biggest week was around $5500 but I have averaged around $3500 each week this year.
The ammount of time it took me to get there is 9 months. I don't negotiate, I give pohone quotes they call and I book. Nothing has changed except I made a commitment to what works and dumped what didn't. I wasted alot of money in dumb ad venues. My community involvement has made me a household name
People kick my ass day in and day out for my marketing but I am against a wall for 1 full year now. My slowest week in all this time for numbers of jobs is this week but I will still bill over $2200 in 4 days. My slowest week was $1300 in feb and my biggest week was around $5500 but I have averaged around $3500 each week this year.
The ammount of time it took me to get there is 9 months. I don't negotiate, I give pohone quotes they call and I book. Nothing has changed except I made a commitment to what works and dumped what didn't. I wasted alot of money in dumb ad venues. My community involvement has made me a household name
Desk Jockey
Member
Greg that's really impressive!
Good luck keep pushing, you're doing something right! (about time!)
Good luck keep pushing, you're doing something right! (about time!)
Jim Martin
Supportive Member
I am in my 6th year.....it took off about 3 years ago......
a side from the dell lap top give away ( and to tell you the truth that was more just screwing around) pretty much put the breaks on advertising about 2 years ago.......
a side from the dell lap top give away ( and to tell you the truth that was more just screwing around) pretty much put the breaks on advertising about 2 years ago.......
Desk Jockey
Member
Jim some of the pieces that you and you wife have developed have certainly helped get you there.
Wayne Miller
Member
We were financially comfortable pretty much from the beginning. After about ten years, though, things were getting tight. Our business took off when Gena got involved and I didn't have to do it all myself anymore. She could do some of what I was doing and even more of what I wasn't.
diamond brian
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2007
- Messages
- 973
Hit $100k my 2nd year in business. Knew then, that it was gonna work out for me.
hogjowl
Idiot™
My business took off from the start, but that was because I did insurance restoration for the first 6 years and I had a good contact in the insurance industry. Once I quit doing all insurance work, let all my people slowly drift off and went solo, it took me about 5 years to fully recover financially. I was a profit during those five years, but to get back to where I was before took about 5 years.
I could have probably done it quicker, but I didn't want to have to do any advertising. I'd had telemarketing crews working for me during that first 5 year period and that experience caused me to go completely the other way and avoid all advertising. So ... the word of mouth thing took longer.
I'm getting bored with this thing now, and am starting to take the steps to push things up a notch. Not only to overcome the boredom, but to make way for bringing on my son. The crumb-snatcher is in college now and will soon be smarter than me, and everybody else in the world, and will want to come to work for me to shoe me how I've done it wrong all these years.
I can't freaking wait ... :roll:
I could have probably done it quicker, but I didn't want to have to do any advertising. I'd had telemarketing crews working for me during that first 5 year period and that experience caused me to go completely the other way and avoid all advertising. So ... the word of mouth thing took longer.
I'm getting bored with this thing now, and am starting to take the steps to push things up a notch. Not only to overcome the boredom, but to make way for bringing on my son. The crumb-snatcher is in college now and will soon be smarter than me, and everybody else in the world, and will want to come to work for me to shoe me how I've done it wrong all these years.
I can't freaking wait ... :roll:
Marty,
your starting to sound like Duane now.
First it's your son........then your son-in-law............now it's your son again???????? How bout making up your mind.
I didn't start making the big bucks till ole Joe Polish himself showed me how. Twenty two years after I started.
your starting to sound like Duane now.
First it's your son........then your son-in-law............now it's your son again???????? How bout making up your mind.
I didn't start making the big bucks till ole Joe Polish himself showed me how. Twenty two years after I started.
hogjowl
Idiot™
Damn Steve .... no reason to be so harsh with me.
Desk Jockey
Member
oh now porkbellie is sensitive? Wimp!
Jim Williams
Member
My third year was pretty good, but now I'm in my fourth year and business is absolutely booming with my only form of advertising being my website.
This is the first year i have been in great financial shape. I could never have survived the first 3 years without another source of income which was provided by my real estate investments and I kept my lawn care and chimney cleaning businesses part time and slowly dropped those off.. I poured alot of money into advertising the first 3 years. $15,000 first year, $11,000 second and $9000 the third.
One thing that is different now is that I don't have to compete on price as much. I have proven myself to enough little referral circles who want quality. Once the snowball effect takes ahold you can't stop it. I am booked out 3 weeks and the phone just keeps ringing. Gotta love it!
This is the first year i have been in great financial shape. I could never have survived the first 3 years without another source of income which was provided by my real estate investments and I kept my lawn care and chimney cleaning businesses part time and slowly dropped those off.. I poured alot of money into advertising the first 3 years. $15,000 first year, $11,000 second and $9000 the third.
One thing that is different now is that I don't have to compete on price as much. I have proven myself to enough little referral circles who want quality. Once the snowball effect takes ahold you can't stop it. I am booked out 3 weeks and the phone just keeps ringing. Gotta love it!
Dolly Llama
Number 5
some where between year 3 and 5 I felt like I had "arrived"
the biggest problem happened when i started cherry picking and then "coasting" along.
I wasn't agressive about getting new custys, dumped evening and night jobs simpley because I didn't like working evenings/nights. :roll:
By year 10 that lack luster, lazy azz attitude started to catch up big time.
Took 4 years or better to get things "some what" turned around and headed the right direction again
If i could afford to, I'd of fired me long ago...
..L.T.A.
the biggest problem happened when i started cherry picking and then "coasting" along.
I wasn't agressive about getting new custys, dumped evening and night jobs simpley because I didn't like working evenings/nights. :roll:
By year 10 that lack luster, lazy azz attitude started to catch up big time.
Took 4 years or better to get things "some what" turned around and headed the right direction again
If i could afford to, I'd of fired me long ago...
..L.T.A.
Becker
Member
I started over just before 9-11 in 2001.
That 1st 12 months I did over 500 jobs.
Most carpet cleaning businesses fail because of lazyness on the owners part.
Some like to credit their success to JP or HP or some other. But what those programs did for the owner is got him off his ass and got him doing something to get more clients.
Funny how many think they can just buy equipment get a phone and start working.
Other do all the work, but dont have the personality to work a service business.
You can be the best cleaner in the world, but if your clients dont trust you, or like you.. You will fail!!
1st impressions are key.
Don't show up in clothes you slept in the night before, with JBL hair. ( but honestly you wish it was JBL hair )
Don't stink! No Mrs. Home owner wants to smell you all day while you are "cleaning" her house.
Others will fail because they just plain suck, they take no pride in what they do.
Some are not cut out to run thier own business, or work alone. Some need direction and don't have the discipline to manage themselves.
We all have seen plenty come and go over the years.
Some have been hanging on by a spider web for years. Why they hang on I have no idea.
That 1st 12 months I did over 500 jobs.
Most carpet cleaning businesses fail because of lazyness on the owners part.
Some like to credit their success to JP or HP or some other. But what those programs did for the owner is got him off his ass and got him doing something to get more clients.
Funny how many think they can just buy equipment get a phone and start working.
Other do all the work, but dont have the personality to work a service business.
You can be the best cleaner in the world, but if your clients dont trust you, or like you.. You will fail!!
1st impressions are key.
Don't show up in clothes you slept in the night before, with JBL hair. ( but honestly you wish it was JBL hair )
Don't stink! No Mrs. Home owner wants to smell you all day while you are "cleaning" her house.
Others will fail because they just plain suck, they take no pride in what they do.
Some are not cut out to run thier own business, or work alone. Some need direction and don't have the discipline to manage themselves.
We all have seen plenty come and go over the years.
Some have been hanging on by a spider web for years. Why they hang on I have no idea.
F
FB7777
Guest
Becker said pretty much what I was thinking... only he typed it with less of an edge. 
you will live up (or done) to your own expectations in this business.
It is ridiculously easy to make it in this business if you are hungry enuff and not lazy or afraid to take marketing chances by trial and error
I netted over 20 grand my 1st year in biz 20 years ago and hit my stride 3 years in... mostly by advertising in ValPak, ADVO and YP advertising. Added a 2nd truck in year 5 .
I under promised, under charged and over delivered from the beginning and gained referrals from day one.
you will live up (or done) to your own expectations in this business.
It is ridiculously easy to make it in this business if you are hungry enuff and not lazy or afraid to take marketing chances by trial and error
I netted over 20 grand my 1st year in biz 20 years ago and hit my stride 3 years in... mostly by advertising in ValPak, ADVO and YP advertising. Added a 2nd truck in year 5 .
I under promised, under charged and over delivered from the beginning and gained referrals from day one.
davegillfishing
Supportive Member
1st year we did 105k 2nd year we did 149k we will break the 200k mark this year hopefully. we will fell secure in our 3rd year if things keep going as they are.
best thing i did was to hook up with frank..you cant do it all yourself, it is best to line yourself up with people that can cancel out your weak spots. we are close to the next step..the 3rd truck.
my apprentice is pretty much ready to fly from the nest..he is doing great. that is the key. you cant do it yourself. you must surround yourself with others as good or better than you.
dave
best thing i did was to hook up with frank..you cant do it all yourself, it is best to line yourself up with people that can cancel out your weak spots. we are close to the next step..the 3rd truck.
my apprentice is pretty much ready to fly from the nest..he is doing great. that is the key. you cant do it yourself. you must surround yourself with others as good or better than you.
dave
RandyHilburn
Member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 230
Got up each morning and worked my plan. After two years the referrals began to propel the business to unexpected highs. Year three, I knew we were on to something. Never looked back.
Ron Werner
Member
Mine took off after 6yrs, in 2000. I knew nothing of marketing and business, went to a Polish Bootcamp, talked to a couple cleaners who convinced me to up my price/sf. Surprised me when I got back and immediately booked 2 jobs at 25% increase.
