QUESTION: How much new business do you expect next year?

AranServices

New Member
I hope everyone had a safe and sound Christmas!
I trust that Santa was good to everyone!!?
No COAL??
Well, the New Year is at our feet!
May we all make more money! Lots of it!

I have a few questions maybe you can help me learn a little bit here, if you don't mind...

I am curious to see how P-Wash business is growing in other parts of the USA & why.

What was your percentage of new customers to pre-existing customers last year?
Did your business grow 2 or 3%?
...more?
less?
Did it decline? If so why?
Did your customers spend more or less for services last year? Why?
I am interested in finding some patterns in business growth to see how other areas of the country can be stimulated.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks all!

_____________ Happy New Year! _____________

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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 URL: http://easypath.to/pressurewashing
 

Dave Olson

New Member
Hi Aran,

Very few new customers. I am considering hiring a salesman to find some new business next year.

Our gross revenue for 2000 is up almost 20% from 1999.

The only thing that is really consistent with our business is how inconsistent it is!! Some years we have generated 20% of our annual revenue in just a couple of weeks! Sometimes it is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time!

Our revenue for 2000 came from these areas:
Kitchen Exhaust Systems 33%
Industrial/Commercial 42%
Vehicle Fleets 25%

Dave Olson


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Tidy Powerwash Service, Inc. P.O. Box 781, Catlin, Illinois 61817 Phone 217-427-5557, Fax 217-427-2632 We are a commercial cleaning contractor serving East-Central Illinois and West Central Indiana since 1984. http://www.tps-inc.com/preswash.htm
 

Craig Knight

New Member
Aran,

As a new company (beginning fourth year), i am still in the rapid growth stage, so my figures are somewhat misleading. With that said, here they are.

Residential Revenue- up 32%
Repeat Residential Customer base 53%
New Residential Customer base 47%
Average Invoice- up 81 bucks

Residential Revenue increase is due to two yellow page ads and strong push on wood cleaning and restoration.

Commercial Revenue- up 40%
Existing Contract Workload- up 27%
New Contracts- up 25%

Contribute these increases to the booming economy in Houston and referals.

As for next year i expect (hoping for) a 20 to 25% increase in overall revenue contributing this to:

Getting off my butt and doing the things i should have been doing all along such as chamber meetings, home owner association meetings, and cold calling commercially.

Referrals

Accepting Credit Cards

Happy & Prosperous New Year,

Craig




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Craig Knight
www.powerwashunlimited.com
 

AranServices

New Member
Hey Craig!

You mentioned "HOME OWNER ASSOCIATION MEETINGS"

That reminds me... Here is something that some of you folks maybe able to try: A lot of subdivisions around here have Entry signs & brick work. I have been noticing that the ones around herer are REAL DIRTY!
That may be a good place to get a once a year account.
A lot of the ones here also have pools & wood picnic tables - there are concrete & strip and seal jobs to go after!

As far as my business - I only made a bit over 20 grand after expenses.
BUT I do have a brand new Platinum series Landa & another trailer set up with a used (had 84 hours on it) 53G Vortex. Also a lot of other stuff tips, airless, wands, guns, and lawn equipment and the list goes on!
... of course my 'ol Bronco, too! I love them 'ol trucks!

I hope everyone makes a lot more $$$ in 2001!
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:
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
WE HAVE BEEN IN P.W FOR 2YRS AND OUR BUSINESS WAS JUST GETTING OFF GOOD TILL WE HAD A TRUCK WRECK BACK IN SEPT, LOST ABOUT A MONTH OF WORK AND AND NO TELLING HOW MUCH NEW BUSINESS, BUT WE BOUNCED BACK, AND IT COULD"NT BE BETTER,WELL I WOULD SAY ITS PICKED -UP QUITE A BIT,WE ALMOST AT ONE TIME THOUGHT ABOUT GETTING OUT OF PW,ESPECAILLY AFTER OUR WRECK AND TOTALING EVERYTHING, $32,000 INSURENCE PAID EVERYTHING,BUT IT WAS JUST GETTING OFF THE GROUND,SO WE DECIDED TO STAY WITH IT,ITS WORKED OUT PRETTY GOOD FOR US KNOW WE MADE RIGHT DECISION AND WE LOVE WHAT WE DO,FIRST 2YRS EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT BACK INTO THE COMPANY NOW EVERYTHING BUT NEW TRUCK PAID FOR,IT WASN'T EASY, AND YES WE PUT THE FULL $32,000 BACK INTO THE EQUIPMENT,YES WE WOULD SAY ITS ONLY GETTING BETTER,WE DO FLEETWASHING,HOUSES,FLATWORK, IF IT CAN GET WET WE CAN CLEAN IT. NOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION--WE WERE OUT OF WORK TILL LATE OCTOBER BUT SINCE THEN OUR BUSINESS HAS IMPROVED BY ABOUT 50% IF IT KEEPS THIS UP WE ARE LOOKING AT HAVING TO HIRE SOME HELP AFTER A FEW MORE MONTHS. WE WERE VERY BLESSED WITH THE WRECK AND OUR BUSINESS. ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE COME BACK AND BROUGHT EXTRAS WITH THEM.

JIM & shirley

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[This message has been edited by Jim&Shirley (edited January 13, 2001).]
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
Jim and Shirley,

I am happy and relieved to hear that things are going well for you guys.........good to have you back!

Next time you post, do us a favor and tap your caps lock button. It is hard to read in caps, and some people like to consider it as YELLING in the cyber-world.


Take care, and have a great 2001.




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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

Jon

New Member
Hey Mike H.

Come on now, they are not yelling, they are just being sure ol' deaf Jon can hear them!!!!

But yes your right about the CAPS being "yelling", perhaps next time Jim gets Shirley upset with him she won't hit him with the keyboard till after he is done typing.

Now about new business, if this year continues as the last two weeks have business should be 100% more, 3 people approached me from out of nowhere, two turned into accounts. While doing doing a demo yesterday a facility administration manager approaced and wants all his property done regularly too, no it was not his property I was doing to demo for!.

All this because my company name is on the truck, really that is what they saw as I did not have my trailer with me, wife and I were out for the day/evening.
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Jon Fleischer
Oasis Pressure Cleaning
(909) 792-2247
Fax (909) 792-5633

[This message has been edited by Jon (edited January 14, 2001).]
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
Hi Mike,

You are right. Shirley has been trying to convience me of this for a long time but I don't type and can't spell half the time and I thought it was pretty good just getting it on the post. No really I guess I was trying to get Jon to hear me. Actually I did think it just looked pretty good. I didn't mean to be YELLING
Sorry everybody!!!

I am 43 years old and a little stuburn and set in my ways. I guess I just needed someone else, other than Shirley, to tell me that I was wrong. Never too old to learn I guess. I hope that the all caps didn't look too bad. Ya'll have to understand I never got on one of these things till a few months ago and been out of school, what little I went, a long time.

HECK.... I HATE IT WHEN I AM WRONG AND YES I AM YELLING BUT MORE AT MYSELF.....

Jim

Shirley had to type it. Please bear with Jim on his post I am still trying to teach him...But hey, look at it this way you know when it is him or me.


Shirley

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Mike Hughes

New Member
Jim,

If you're more comfortable typing that way, then go right ahead. I just wanted to point it out.....but, if that's the way you know best, it's really no big deal.

ROCK ON.


Mike
 

Craig Knight

New Member
Jim,

You could be like me, i sat down and typed all day on some info for a Promotional Packet, and somewhere along about the time Dan F. called and told me i crashed his computer and my second 6-pack, i rEALIZED I hAD mY cAPS oN AnD tYPED aBOUT a pAGE aND a hALF lIKE tHIS. Thank you Dan, and Miller.
beer.gif



Craig

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Craig Knight
www.powerwashunlimited.com
 

Jon

New Member
Jim,

No one was trying to say you are wrong, no one is putting you down so don't even think we are doing that.

Look at the bright side, look what you have done for yourself, a business, a good wife, you're learning to type.

You have many friends here and should never be ashamed of what you can or cannot do.

Besides if you don't YELL at me I won't know what your saying
smile.gif


Like Mike says, if you feel more comfortable using CAPs by all means do so, just change the color when your truly yelling at us so we know.




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Jon Fleischer
Oasis Pressure Cleaning
(909) 792-2247
Fax (909) 792-5633
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
THANKS EVERYBODY,
NO PROBLEM HERE, I REALLY APPRECIATED MIKE'S SUGGESTION,I DONT THINK ANY OF YOU DID,BUT SOMEONE ELSE COULD TAKE IT WRONG,IT MAY TAKE ME AWHILE TO GET USED TO THIS,BUT I WILL TRY IN MY NEXT POST,SHOULD OF LISTEN TO SHIRLEY LONG TIME AGO,BUT YOU GUYS GOT ME THINKING,IF YOUR GOING TO DO SOMTHING DO IT RIGHT,OR ATLEAST TRY,NEVER TO OLD TO LEARN,JUST A LITTLE INTEMDATED,AND GET AGATADTED,BY THIS COMPUTER STUFF, IF IT WAS'NT FOR SHIRLEY FINDING THIS BOARD, I WOULD NEVER HAVE USED THIS THING,BUT NOW I GET ON EVERY DAY AND LEARN SOMTHING NEW, THANKS TO THIS BOARD AND THE GUYS AND GIRLS LIKE YOU, THANKS ALOT. P.S I ASKED SHIRLEY WHAT ABOUT WORD PROCESSOR AND IT TYPES FOR YOU SHE SAID THAT WONT WORK, SO I GUESS I WILL JUST HAVE TO LEARN TO TYPE, OR THEY SHOULD HAVE SOMTHING FOR THE BLIND??? BUT SHIRLEY SAID MOST BLIND PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO TYPE, even better than her, NO PUN INTENDED I'm serious.

JIM



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Ron Musgraves

Administrator
Staff member
<FONT COLOR="Purple">Text<FONT size="6">a ton


dont know those detailsText</FONT s> </FONT c>

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Ron Marshal Phoenix AZ
1-888-fleetwash

[This message has been edited by Ron Marshal (edited January 16, 2001).]
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
Jim,

They have voice recognition software, where you talk into a microphone, and it types for you. It is programmed to recognize your voice, and the way you pronounce certain words. Pretty neat stuff, costs about $150.

I tried it about a year ago, but I was not happy with the performance.......it was too slow I would talk and it would type like 15 seconds later. Perhaps now that I have a new computer, I might try it again........but, probably not.


Take care.

Hey, any chance we can see a pic of that new rig of yours? We were all impressed with the last one...




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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA
 

Jon

New Member
Mike,

Do you think that voice recognition stuff would understand Bigboy, I mean <FONT COLOR="Red">REDNECK </FONT c>speak is so strange
smile.gif


Bet if it could he might not be to happy but we would unnnastandhimspeakingenglish
laughing.gif


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Jon Fleischer
Oasis Pressure Cleaning
(909) 792-2247
Fax (909) 792-5633
 
J

Jim&Shirley

Guest
Thanks guys
Practice makes for better any-way, so I will just keep trying. IF you all will just bear with me and THANKS- again, besides I have more time than Money!!! and I have to pay for this computer so might as well learn,Besides Shirley is starting to get Iritated with me asking her to help spell and help type,since she is is boss in the house, I have the yard and at work I"m the boss, and its to cold to take the computer out side, guess I need a lap-top, NO!! JUST HAVE TO LEARN.
p.s will have picture in couple days I will ask shirley,heck just learned what shift button does.
JIM

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[This message has been edited by Jim&Shirley (edited January 17, 2001).]
 
L

Layman's P/W

Guest
Randy,

I have been in the P/W business for ten years.. eight of them as a weekend warrior. The first year working full time went well the second year being this last year my gross went up over one hundred percent. About half of my work is accounts and commercial, the other half residential work. This year gross should increase by fifty to seventy percent.This year I will concentrate more on the jobs with higher profit margins and let some of the smaller jobs go to the weekend washers.

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MBryan

New Member
We are a grease exhaust cleaning business in Los Angeles and although we are not considered power washers (more like grease monkeys) most of our jobs are power washed. Anyway here are my answers:


What was your percentage of new customers to pre-existing customers last year?

About 50% (503 new to 1070 existing)

Did your business grow 2 or 3%?

We grew about 50% in number of accounts and income.

Did your customers spend more or less for services last year? Why?

More this year as we did a price increase due to upgrading our equipment and chemicals and quality of service.

I think the entire exhaust cleaning industry is growing as the number of restaurants is growing and people need to eat so dirty exhausts turn in to sales for us. Also the fact that there are a lot of dirty guys in our business (no pun intended) and more and more restaurants are looking for a quality service and are willing to pay for it. Just my 2 cents for whatever it's worth.

Matt

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www.bryanexhaust.com
 

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