Wow, I'm surprised the see this thread opened up again also. I voted on this thing quite a while back and it's sad to see that we've only had 86 posts on the subject. Does that mean that most people don't care enough to vote? Kinda like what happened last week in the election isn't it? I don't want to drag the political race into this poll so lets just list the facts.
There have been 81 votes on this thread
86 posts, plus this one.
1,898 views of the topic.
How many members are on this BBS? Surely everyone can take the time to click a button or two right?
Let me recap a previous post of mine.
I personally don't feel that I "need" to have an organization to run my company and make money. But, it isn't hurting me either. Sure, I may be a member of PWNA and I may pay a couple hundred a month for dues.
But, it's one more thing I can list for my clients when I'm bidding a job. I'm also a wolman certified contractor and I don't even use their product anymore.. You better believe I list that qualification though. If PWN, PWI, Deckguide and other boards or distributors came out with certifications I was interested in I'd take them also! I may not think these certifications will teach me much but for the average guy that bought his own sears powerwasher, I'm going to look like the all knowing power washing guru.
If you think being able to list numerous affiliations, certifications and qualifications won't help you when bidding a large job or doing a highly visible job (Like a monument or something) that will get your name out there to people, you may want to think again!
We all have to make ourselves look the best we can in person and on paper. Being affiliated with PWNA and doing the Clean Across America project has gotten my company name out there and people call me all the time asking for suggestions on power washing. I've also had some newspaper writers contact me for information on an article they are writing. They also tell me that what I've done on the CAC project is great and they would like to cover it next year and be around when I do some of my projects..
I may not know everything there is about power washing and I may not be the largest, most money making company on these boards but if the local media are looking for someone with numerous affiliations, certifications and qualifications I'm going to stand out above many of the other small companies in the area. Around here there are only maybe four companies that are about the same size and out of them, I have more experiance with the work that I do and if thats what makes me the local expert, that's fine with me!
Getting exposure from the media for free is always huge boost. Getting attention for projects that we do for free to help people and the community is even better, because I believe in giving back to my community and helping people out when I can.
My community, hard work and dedication got me where I am, if being a part of an organization and helping them out can take me further...
COUNT ME IN! after all, what do I really have to lose? A couple hundred bucks? So what! The jobs I've gotten from being able to list all this stuff on my forms and ads has definetly overcome any money I put out to get them.