What really gets me - Steve told me he had lots of contracts in place and he asked me for a price list - so he could sub some out to us.
It is now more than obvious he has used the price list to undercut us - funny thing is - it was way too cheap! We have doubled our prices (thats why we get no work I suppose) and now it seems that he is simply working at extremely low prices and not really running a business as he claims to be.
Hopefully he has just cleaned the environmental agency solar panels - the company we cleaned them for last year - changed their business name - as they couldn't pay anybody - we took 8 months to get paid - and then they asked us to clean them this year using a different company name - we told them to sling their hook
I think Steve does OK - he advertises well - using adwords - and his adwords costs should now go down as we have pulled out. His problem will be trying to "grow" the business - employing peopl - paye - vat - insurances - new vans and equipment etc etc etc - there won't be enough profit at current prices to afford all of this
I really think the Solar Panel cleaning could have been a great business to get into for many window cleaning companies - but current prices quoted are way too low to make this a viable business opportunity. Maybe it is just OK for the stand alone window cleaner?
Steve has proved this by cleaning 100,000 panels and not even hitting the VAT threshold - what his customers think when he claims to be a national company after receiving his invoices is anybodies guess.
We never knowingly try to be cheaper than our competitors - any fool can work cheaper - for me I am only interested in making profit from the business and not just a working wage. No real point in being a busy fool - not for me anyway.
Steve - Increase your prices - and your business will prosper and grow - good luck to you.
You got your popcorn Deegee?
That comment was funny mate!
Here we go:
Hi Darran. I have a golden rule and that is NEVER discuss prices publicly, so I won't. However, I will try to comment honestly on the points you mentioned.
I dug out your price list to refresh my mind. It was sent in January 2013. However, your vat factor was a problem at the time and also, when we were looking to sub jobs out, we could get them done cheaper by others who were not VAT registered. Let me be clear that your price list was not required for us to compare to our own. We already had jobs for the prices we wanted. I wanted them done properly, but for a reasonable price so that I could make my margin. Not being able to claim your VAT back at the time was going to eat into another 20% of my profit. Now that you have doubled your prices I guess you will naturally get less work.
We are not working for extremely low prices, but prices that work for me AND the clients.
We will see if we get the EA stuff and get paid. I will keep you posted.
It depends what you mean by 'grow'. No, it's not easy to put a fleet of vans out there yet because this is still a new thing in the UK. Maybe it will come in time, but it is not my model anyway.
I disagree that it is not a viable business opportunity. Perhaps it just does not fit your idea of what an opportunity is.
Out of interest, how many guys on here set up their business and had it VAT registered in a year? Very, very few I would venture to guess.
I do agree with your last point though. As Jim Rohn says "Profits are better than wages." To make a wage is fine. To make a profit is superfine.
I also agree about not being a busy fool. In fact, since my little part time venture into solar panel cleaning, I have been able to reduce my working week from 5 days down to 4. Not bad for a bloke who many on here think doesn't have a clue what he's doing. Again, how many blokes on here have managed to be in a position to only need to work 4 days a week aged 34? Again, I would venture so far as to say very, very few.
I will bear in mind your advice to increase my prices though. I'm on target to only need to work 3 days a week 12 months from now. With a price increase, maybe I can do it by the end of the year. Wouldn't that be nice?