2009 may be a slim year

Jim@Garagecleaning

Jim@Garagecleaning

banned
Just got word from 2 national corps that I work with closely. They informed me that next year they will be cutting their pressure washing funds for next year by 50 to 70%.

If you have a contract with them for this year, try to work out a deal for a new contract starting today. Even if you have to cut your pricing, it is better to work and make something than nothing.


Some facility directors and property managements have not gotten the word as of yet, from what I understand. This is inside info.

You know if the big guys are doing it , the others will soon follow.

Take this info for what it is. Plan ahead. If you are sitting on yearly contracts for 2008, do not assume that those contracts will be there in 2009. Make adjustments in you marketing plan.


Jim
 
I thnk you might be right on this as vacancies go up and their cash flows go's down, I just got back from looking at one property that they called me on and I not sure why they are looking for a new contractor, it has to be price because the work is not that bad on it. This place is 2 miles around and a Quarter mile across I just drove it seeing how big it was and how much time it will take to clean it, to say the least it is overwhelming size wise and they have more to look at here. I will have to buy more stuff to even do them because of there size. But it has to be price they are looking for at this time.
It's a National Chain that called me so I know the must be trying to cut back on spending.
 
And so it begins !! Service is normally the first thing to get cut back. So far so good here, but this is just starting to roll down.
 
08 has been rough, lots of restaurants want to put off the service because they aren't doing as much business. They are also taking much longer to pay which hurts cash flow. Nobody wants to pay for clean up services, everyone that calls just wants to get a better price on their current service. This quarter that is ending is the worst in 5 years. The good news is it can only get better from here.:D
 
I was a hair away from pulling the trigger on launching a grand scale commercial division. Nick, our conversation about that company in Jersey came at the perfect time. After watching the economy steadily slide, I got cold feet over investing $60K in equipment and diversifiying my work force. I'll stick with resi work for the time being. I know I'm not going to hit the half mil gross I wanted for '09 without adding commercial, but I know the residential market and I'm good at that. I'll see how this shakes out for you guys.
 
We've had to tighten the belt on some. Some are contracted, which stay the same. We take REAL GOOD CARE of the regular paying customers. We do those little things which help with retention. Some of the PITA customers we collect the last check and let someone else service them. Overall we are growing, but just not as fast.
 
Great info guys, thanks.

I was wondering how everyone is doing around the country.
 
At this point anything can happen, stocks are weird, companies are going belly up, banks and loan companies are having a rough time. Then we will mix in a new president. I have a friend that works at a bank, they said when the stock market took a dump the otherday, many many people came in and started to cash out C.D's Bonds and pull there all there savings.... A very bad thing to do right now.... Lets sit back and wait!
 
Palmetto Roof said:
At this point anything can happen, stocks are weird, companies are going belly up, banks and loan companies are having a rough time. Then we will mix in a new president. I have a friend that works at a bank, they said when the stock market took a dump the otherday, many many people came in and started to cash out C.D's Bonds and pull there all there savings.... A very bad thing to do right now.... Lets sit back and wait!
Click to expand...


Let's sit back and wait? Yea they said that in 1929, and i think Enron said that same thing in a meeting with his Stock Holders...I rather have a little bit of not much left, than nothing at all..
 
We are set for our garages for the next 3 years. However, I thought that some who may have not been able to secure 5 year contracts need to start securing something now. I am glad to hear that most of you have already secured the contracts for next year.

I am not one to talk about lowering prices. I have been on this site promoting raising the prices on garage cleaning. I still feel that way, however, I do realize that not everyone has the contacts or the resources to weather the storm that is coming. I thought for those of you who are in that situation, you may want to hold off on buying that new equipment for now.

Just a thought, take it for what it is....
 
All you need to worry about is having your 3 B's together. Bible, Bullets and Beans. Silver and gold dont hurt either.
 
pressurepros said:
I was a hair away from pulling the trigger on launching a grand scale commercial division. Nick, our conversation about that company in Jersey came at the perfect time. After watching the economy steadily slide, I got cold feet over investing $60K in equipment and diversifiying my work force. I'll stick with resi work for the time being. I know I'm not going to hit the half mil gross I wanted for '09 without adding commercial, but I know the residential market and I'm good at that. I'll see how this shakes out for you guys.
Click to expand...

Curious, what did the $60K equipment investment consist of?
 
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