Nobody wants to talk about Wood??

Mike Hughes

New Member
Seems like the posts on this board are getting few and far between. Who out there is doing wood restoration or intends to next year??

I will be at least doubling the amount of decks I do in a year in 2001 because I just started a yellow page ad under decks. Previously, I was only listed under "Building Cleaning" in the book.

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

Clean County

New Member
Mike, Wood restoration is also a part of my business. There is good money to be made when staining is added to powerwashing. The one thing I don't do is painting. My work is done outside of homes, never on the inside because that can be a real pain if you know what I mean. I'm curious to see how you do with your add in the yellow pages. I only advertise in town papers and the more towns I advertise in the more expensive it is. Do you have a town paper? And did you ever advertise in it? My add goes under the home improvement section. To me this seems like a better way to go then using the yellow pages but hey I could be wrong. Hopefully I am because I make decent money with my advertising but I'm always looking to improve my business.

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JR Wood

New Member
My ads are in "Deck cleaning and waterproofing" "building cleaning exterior" "painting contractor" "gutters and downspouts" "asphalt Maintenance" and "snow removal service". For deck cleaning I have an eight line ad,for building cleaning
I have a five, all the rest are one liners(phone # plus one line().I have these adds in 6 phone books,covering 3 counties..next season I will be adding crews and adding more counties.I still send out flyers all the time and having your name in the yellow pages adds legitamacy and credibility to your company when the customers goes to get another estimate they see your name there.I always say "Look for us in the yellow pages"Under the heading I am advertising on my flyers.
Mike you might want to put a 1 line ad under painting contractor saying:
"DECK FENCE SIDING CLEAN SEAL STAIN"
This says it all! I got at least 20 calls from this and it cost about $35 a month for all 6 phone books.

P.S I wouldn't worry about the posts going dry, this always happens at this time of year.Don't worry in a month there will be an onslaught of newbies,who will ask the same basic questions over and over again,Until you feel like screaming but it is our job to help them out just like we were helped out when we first started.Get ready!!!

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[This message has been edited by JR Wood (edited December 27, 2000).]
 

Rick T

New Member
Mike,J R is right.This time of year those of us in the north aren't sealing decks nor washing houses.Our inquiries have slowed down somewhat.I'm sure that everyone is getting prepped for the upcoming season.I just put up an inquiree about gift certicates in another section of the board. I am also prepping to add a web site before I have new business cards made up.Not sure yet what I want on my web site.I also am trying to figure out a good flyer to start putting out in February (is that the proper time or too early)?
As J.R. said,newbies will be posting here before too long so that is when this board gets active.


RICK

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Mike Hughes

New Member
JR..........I'm ready for them! Also, thanks for the tip about the painting ad........I will consider it, but I spend so much on YP ads already! Currently I am in 5 books, 3 headings in each book, all ads are between 1" and 1.25" tall. I am just starting snow plowing this season, so, I will probably add a one liner in the book for that.


Rick T., Go ahead and pick (register) your domain name for your website. You can do that months before you ever actually build the site. Get the name before someone else does, get your new business cards made up, and then worry about the site.

Building my web site is something I intend on spending alot of time on this winter, after I get a few other major projects out of the way. My site has been a piece of crap for over a year now......i just have no time to get to it, and I refuse to pay someone to do it..........mostly because I want to be able to make necessary changes on it by myself without needing anyone else's help.

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
John,

I don't do any painting either. And I don't do solid color stains.

I have been in the yellow pages since day one, and have done very well with it. It is expensive, but I think it is worth it. I keep increasing my prescence in the books.........they give you discounts for multiple books, so it gets cheaper as you go. You don't need any outrageous ad in there, just keep it simple and to the point.

I do advertise in papers like you are talking about, with Home Improvement sections. I did not do much advertising in 2000 compared to '99, except for the Yellow Pages. I think I only advertised in the paper for maybe 5 weeks of the year.

I have gotten great results from ads like you are talking about. Good luck with it. In my opinion, the people that are shopping in those little newspapers are NOT the same audience that is flipping through the yellow pages........so, I think if you added an ad in the yp, you would get more calls.

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

Hit the Deck

New Member
JR,
I like to be called a rookie..........newbie just doesn't sound right. The rookies would do alot better if they would just read all the posts at this great site. I've got a bunch of notes that I write down on alot of stuff you guys post. Mike has been a great help too. Mike has called me up on his own time to help me out. Thanks again Mike...........I can't wait to get going this spring. I'll have more questions for you guys down the road, but first I'll check the previous posts to see if anybody else asked the question. A little research goes a long way.........take care guys.......Cliff

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If you stop to think to think and stop, you'd stop and think to think and stop.
 

JR Wood

New Member
Using the search feature on this site is extremely helpful when you are inquiring about a certain subjuct,a tip though, only search through one forum at a time,or else you have to wait for it to go through everything.

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J.R WOOD POWER WASHING 1-800-782-9919
ABACUS DECK CARE 1-866-7ABACUS
J&B SNOW PLOW 1-973-328-6650
SHOWCASE LAWNS OF NEW JERSEY 1-866-SHOCASE

"DID SOMEBODY SAY DIVERSIFY!"



[This message has been edited by JR Wood (edited December 28, 2000).]
 

AranServices

New Member
He! He! He!
I am looking at doing some TV ad's this spring for wood , concrete, structural washing, commercial & residential, and commercial grounds maintenance.
... but I got lucky! I found an employee who is good in many talented money making ways! Even though I can't pay as much as he is worth yet, I am going to get him the Blue Cross company med ins. I think I'll probably pay at least most of it! To me this is to coin a phrase from an article that Mr. Flynn posted in the liabrary section of this BBS is a big part of "How To Make Networking An Art"
A lot of people try to network their own talents where I try to hire the talent that is marketable so I can network more options. As long as I can keep him, he'll grow with me. This guy is not just another 8 hour employee. He has more talent than I am currently able to use (for now).
Part of the reason I mentioned all of this is because there was a comment about not being into painting.
With this guy here, I can be! ...and he will be in charge of (at least)the wood sealer part of my business.
Hope EVERYONE can find a good one like him!

Good Luck!

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Cleaning America - One Job At A Time!
Once this shell of a body is vacated, may the Great God above know that I have tried to do better than I did the day before!

E-MAIL: aran@bellsouth.net
OUR WEBSITES ARE:
 

rvagnoni

New Member
Mike,
Soon the @#%& will hit the fan concerning wood...don't worry.



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Rick - Deck Care Plus
 

Mark

Moderator / Sponsor
Based on my sales in the last 4 years of Wolman Deck Care Products, in my neck of the woods any how (Northern California) the deck care business picks up around Easter, and go pretty strong through the summer.

It wont be long guys hang in there!

Best Wishes to all of you for a Happy & Prosperous 2001!

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Call or e-mail me if I can be of assistance!

Mark McIntyre: AKA: Pressure Washer Zone Man.
PressureWasherZone.com EasyCleanSystems.com
Mark@easycleansystems.com

916 638-0828
 

Dakotawash

New Member
Hey guys!
It's great to see some faces to those names! Talking about yellow page ads, I had one but the cost was very expensive for the amount of calls I got from it,and I pay for it year round ,but can only use it 6 months out of the year. So I flood the local papers and shoppers with decent size ads for the spring to fall months. I also do home shows and the like. I have incresed business every year. I have no employees,so its about all I can handle.I do paint exterior homes as well,after customers asking if I do it. It is a great addition to the business. This winter I have started a carpet cleaning business as well to get me through the winter and fill in any gaps in the summer(rain). I can cross reference my existing customers for the carpet cleaning,and new carpet cleaning customers ,I can offer to do their deck in the spring,so far its working out great.
Thanks again to everyone who has answered questions for me in the past and in the future. This site has been a wealth of information and its nice to learn other trick of the trade,-never done learning-
Have a great year everyone!
Jerry
Dakotawash Deck & Siding Restoration


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Mike Hughes

New Member
My whole purpose in making this post was to point out that just because we are not actually working on decks at this time of year..........doesnt mean we can't talk about it! I just found it odd that no one had anything to say about decks.

I can't wait for spring!

Mike

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

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