[*paul_moss]

When I first started this game I would do a carpet for £19 a through lounge £29 h/s/l £19 a 3 piece suite £50.
I worked hard with loads of work for £500.I had fair to med equipment.But that was the early days even though I had done the training courses an could deal with most situations,I did not understand the marketing/selling part of the business.
Now I work just as hard but with not quite as many jobs but I have invested in better machinery,more trainning and have learnt to sell my self and market my business better
Last week I earned £3500, this week it  will be more.

So when guys like Mike, Dave,Len and Rob say they do the same you can take it from me that it is true because over the past 3 years I have taken all the relevent tips from these guys and used them.

And yes it does work,cos as Rob said earlier

                                                                    MAKE IT HAPPEN
                                                                              

[Liahona]

Francis, most people who know me will understand what I meant when I posted.  When I mean a thousand a day I am refering to each person on site.  Not charging 250 and working for 4 hours.  These next few days which will add to I guess 72 hours will be charged for at £7,200 or more.

If it needs clarifying then here is the clarification.

Each operative of a machine whatever the machine is used for is £100 an hour or more, but for now we will leave it at 100.

 For pressure washing the 250 would be 200 for 2 machines an hour and 50 an hour for a lad to help sweep the slurry and anything else other than the use of a machine.

I hope this now makes sense.

Please note and note well, I dont charge a lot more than some people.  In some cases I charge the same.  The difference is the jobs I go after take a dxxm long time to do.  I will get 1200 a day per machine which is not excessive, just remember that is 12 hours non-stop save a mars bar or 3 and an odd bottle of fruit juice.  For the 12 hours it will take the machine will run for at least 10 of them.  Allowing 2 hours for the above mentioned mars bar and the moving of the machines as well as set up.  Its no different a cleaner making 5 or 600 a day but only working half a day or 6 hours.  I just do two days work in one day.

I must admit I wish I had decided to pressure wash a lot earlier in business.  Its a doddle compared to the cleaning I do.  Nothing shrinks, no colour run, no coffee or tea stains again what a dodle.

Oh yeah what a visual difference too.  Before and after pressure washing pictures are incredible.  The work is easier to do and it pays more.  What more can I say.  Best, Dave.

[Liahona]

Paul, I just saw your post.  I think you were writing the same time as I was.  Anyway, thats awesome news about your last week.  Even better you will do it again next week.  As we talked about on the phone the other day, I said it was out there, you just have to go find it. YOU DID, well done, now if everyone else does we wont have to see these kind of posts again.  Having said that I think this post is doing well, best, Dave.

[John Gregory]

Thanks for the replie Mike ive just done a search on google to find out what a hydrafilter is i cant find what you mean, i wound be grateful if you could tell where to get one from

Thanks John

[Mike Halliday]

lots of places sell them Chemspec, Hydramaster, prochem etc

[*paul_moss]

John it is a inline filter that fits on the extraction pipe and collects all the crap before it hits the tank.Its good because the customer can see all the crap out of the carpet,but it does slightly restrict the vacuum and needs to be emptied regularly on really dirty jobs.
You can buy them from most suppliers like Hydromaster,woodbridge etc.
Cost around £150.

[John Gregory]

Thanks

[Steve Chapman]

A very interesting read on this post, and would just like to add that after about

12 years carpet cleaning i've come to realize that at leats 50% of the business is

to do with marketing, if you don't think seriously about that then you will be just

grafting for few hundred pound a week!

I've implemented a good few of the ideas i've scrounged from the web and

here!  and Ithink it would be a good idea to have a section or at least some

good post about marketing and what can be done to grow a business.

Unless you've done fasttrack or the like it can be one of the important things

about this business you miss.

I'm in the process of spending more time looking for decent clients and focusing

on my marketing and letting others do some of the graft, now the business

seems to be growing and making some decent money

It seems though some may be lacking in this area as i was or just not knowing

how to go about it!

Those pointers I think can be just as important as the cleaning itself!   -  I did a

newsletter recently, inspired by Ian Harper and I can tell you i was amazed at

the response it brought, just from my regular customers

The moral of the story is (for me anyway) is that intead of looking constantly for

new customers, looking after the ones you've got gives you the confidence to

charge those higher prices, because they want YOU and nobody else.

Regards to all

steve

[francis]

Liahona

I was not trying to throw any doubt on your figures. I was only trying to clarify what you had posted and this you have now confirmed.

Obviously you have built up a lucrative pressure washing business. Can I ask, whereas I am prepared to work 12 hours non stop because it is my own business, I find it impossible to get employees to do this no matter what I pay them. How do you incentivise your operatives to do these kind of hours?

Can I also ask how long it has taken you to build up this pressure washing business, as you say that you wished you had got into this line earlier yet in your previous post you say you have been pressure washing for years

[Liahona]

Francis, I didnt think you were questioning thats why I just clarified.

I pay 80% of what I charge and Paul who works for me knows what I charge.  So he makes 800 or so a day but is prepared to do the hours.  He works for a couple of days, in this weeks case 3 and doesnt do bad out of it.  He can have Thursday and Friday off having earned a good weeks wages.

I understand it not being clear about the pressure washing side of my business.

I mentioned I had been pressure washing for years but it was only as an odd add on now and again.

So although I have cleaned hundreds of "things" it has never been the foremost of the business.

Other than that it has taken me a month to get the jobs that I am getting now to pressure wash.  It was fairly easy to get into as it was for an existing client.

I also have a big mouth and a lot of front and accordingly I am not afraid to ask for what I want.  I convince as Mike has mentioned that I am the best thing or company that they (the client) should use.  They trust me for the work that I already do so are more than happy to have me do other works, saving them having to find someone who may or may not be trust worthy.  I emphasise again, its not that I charge a lot for what I do, its that I do large jobs.  But thats what I go after, I have never said I work a lot of days, I have always said purely that I get paid well for when I work and so I should.  And so should everyone else. 

Best, Dave.

[spindle]

len

do u know who was offering day rate.............he is local to us........

the sink is empty.........,

[Len Gribble]

Chris

Probably and probably a bit peeved what I was paying him! thinking he could do better, which he may, but he will have to work for it.

Len 

[spindle]

he also has some great special offers