Okay, time to wade in with my ramblings. In the Phoenix market there are competitors that many do not even have to worry about. Especially for fleetwashing.
We have Fleetwash, that will target the national companies and get a national contract with them.
We have the Carwashguys who will take a guy that was a stockbroker this week, take $60,000+ from him and make him a professional with thirty years of experience next week.
We have other companies with the same mentality ( I am going to own the world) that will bid on a company such as Fedex and charge $.99 a vehicle, not wash 2/3's to 3/4's of them and charge for all of them.
The one of the three that I actually fear is the last one. The reason is that he views Fleetwashing as a shady business and so he runs it like one. Every account he has he builds room into it to steal something fromthe customer, and ends up making more money than anyone else. Of course, it took him a while to do it, he had to get over three business bankruptcies in the last ten years first.
Now imagine leveling the playing field. Fleetwash, Carwashguys, and their ilk are always going to be there. Maybe not the actual company, but something similar. The last guy is also going to be there all of the time in different forms. If we could set up a training program, and charge a nominal fee, somewhat like Hydrotech does for flatwork, would it work? If we could set up a local or regional organization that actually had a positive reputation with Property managers, Fleet managers, C-Store owners, and restaurants, would it work?
I think that it would. Here is why. In almost every industry there is a trade organization. The tow truck drivers in Arizona have a trade organization that deals with local issues. The Sand and Gravel industry has a huge trade organization that does political lobbying, etc. The Lawyers have the Bar association, Doctors have the AMA. Unfortunately, pressure washing does not have the same professional staus that many of these others do. That is why it is easy pickings for a national organization to come in with a high buck salesman and a couple of Illegal aliens and just start knocking on doors. That is also why it was so easy for so many of us to get in the business. We need to take it to the next level, and develop our professionalism so that companies will seek us out, because we belong to XYZ trade organization.
What this would mean to us is spending money. A lot of it so that we would adhere to the minimum standards set up by the organization.
Let me outline what some of the minimum standards would have to be in order to make it work and develop our businesses.
1. Everyone would have to have a viable means of waste water recovery. In this area we could all help each other out. Face it, it is heading at us like a freight train and if you are not prepared you are going to look like a deer in the headlights when it hits you
2. A realistic training program, with continued training. It ouwld have to be set up in a module system with certain areas of specialty i.e. Fleetwashing, Flatwork, Residential, Vent hoods, Industrial, etc.
3. A discount insurance program administered through the organization. This would include, but not be limited to, Corporate liability, Life, Health, Auto etc.
4. As the organization grew we could include a referral program. This would include a referral fee of 5-10% of any referred jobs that would have to go through the organization. If the organization referred the job it would keep at least 10% to fund itself.
5. Local monthly breakfast meetings that would allow the members of the organization the chance to Network, trade ideas and receive ongoing training.
6. Getting local discounts for equipment and supplies.
7. An organization that is run by contractors for contractors. Out of all of these, this would probably be the hardest to implement. Who would have time to run it? the guy's with the most business experience would be the ones that you would want running it, yet they are also the busiest.
Now would any of this be easy to do?
1. Waste water recovery would be easy because eventually you will have to do it anyway.
2. Certification programs can be easy or hard. It depends on whether you have someone that knows how to teach and verbalize what needs to be done. A boring or bad teacher could torpedo the whole program.
3. Insurance I think would be a piece of cake. I am pretty sure that my insurance agent could handle it no problem. Ron uses the same people, so he could probably verify it.
4. The referral program would depend a lot on contractor honesty and would probably be the biggest problem with the organization.
5. Breakfast meetings, piece of cake.
6. Here the prices on equipment are so sky high, that the discount program would probably hard to implement. If you could get one distributor to buy in, it would be a lot easier.
7. Running the thing could be a nightmare. It would have to be someone that is totally trustworthy and has the time to do it. He is also going to be the lightening rod for any complaints that come up and anything that goes wrong in the organization. All this and little or no money. What a deal.
So these are my miscellaneous ramblings. I do think that it could be done. And, yes Ron, there is the potential for a whole lot more.
Scott
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