Just A Few Thoughts

Larry Millette said:
Thanks for the pat on the back guy. I do have a take on the subject but I am on my phone at the moment. I will post my take a little later.
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Larry you don't need a pat on the back. I think most know that you're probably one of the most knowledgeable Contractors around, and yet you've chosen to "Keep It Simple" by that I mean you could have crews working for you but you chose not to and do the bulk of the work yourself.

Larry is IMHO one of the good guys. He gets calls all the time from guys all over the U.S. seeking advice on roof cleaning and other aspects of washing, giving his time freely to benefit people he has never laid eyes on or may never meet. Just saying Buddy.
 
Great post Guy. This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make. I also enjoyed doing the work and I remember having a Conversation with Beth Borrego years ago where I actually felt like and artist when it came to wood restoration. I could not get it out of my head that no one can do it better then me. My small customer base liked the fact that I was there doing all the work...but.... One day I'm talking to this business friend I have and he says to me this and it has stuck out for me........ He says "So your the greatest" big deal. No body is going to remember that when your dead. He also says all I do is work and life is going to pass me by and to top that off he tells me my body is going to break down because I wanted to do this until I was at least 70. I really love to Powerwash.

The problem basically is to get to that next level you have to "Release the control". I always worked with someone but I stayed behind the wand for at least 10 yrs which at that time I was around 44. Then slowly I started to release control. I went thru numerous guys but I kept at it untill I found the 2 steady guys I have today. I just starting to refuse to get behind the wand. IF it meant I made no money that day because I was short of work I still kept my 2 guys busy so they could continuously make money. Thats a tough thing to do but I just kept at it. Now I still have these two guy and I hire part time guys or I bring in other companies to do the bigger jobs.

A big thing for me was to get my wife involved also and that was huge. She now does all the office work and deals with all of my old and new customers while I chase the work with her in the car sometimes. Today I have work schedules and my guys come and take them and off they go. They collect most of the residential money and the big jobs I come around to collect.

These guys are great and they made my life so much more enjoying to spend alot of time with my family. At times its nerve racking like last month when they were stuck up on a lift and I was a few states away with my family but business is a risk and on that case it all worked out.

The money is much better with employees as long as you can hustle hard enough to get the work.....and today that is what I like to do. Once again this week I'll be catching a ferry to check a large job in another state and when I land these jobs once in a while....it makes it all worth while.

End result you have to release control of the wand if you want to get to that next step.... but if your content to stay behind the wand then thats great to because being content is a nice feeling if you can ever get there.
 
Guy Blackmon said:
Larry you don't need a pat on the back. I think most know that you're probably one of the most knowledgeable Contractors around, and yet you've chosen to "Keep It Simple" by that I mean you could have crews working for you but you chose not to and do the bulk of the work yourself.

Larry is IMHO one of the good guys. He gets calls all the time from guys all over the U.S. seeking advice on roof cleaning and other aspects of washing, giving his time freely to benefit people he has never laid eyes on or may never meet. Just saying Buddy.
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+1...he is usually the first guy I call, he always makes himself available to help others out.
 
AC Lockyer said:
someone should sell a great disability insurance plan then. If you cant get out from behind the wand you might get hurt and cant get the work done. Something to think about.

AC
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Valid point AC, David V. would be a good example of this. He got hurt last year. It costs $600 a month for insurance for my Wife and myself.


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Russ Spence said:
Man I cant do it either, I have spoken with Scott Stone on several occasions over the years on this subject, my main problem is that I actually enjoy the work.

It makes me feel good to go home after a good day and relax, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment like nothing else.
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There's alot to that statment that true, coming home after getting everything done was always a great feeling. I remember how good it felt after 15 days on the road to hit the GO HOME button on the GPS !!
 
Make your system as bullet proof/fool proof and easy as it can be, that comes from doing the work yourself, and will help with the quality of work by employees. Awesome sales and work just good enough to not get fired is a very successful plan in commercial (not just powerwashing) - can you stomach that? We would want awesome sales and great work but honestly I think the sales is more important.
 
Russ Spence said:
Man I cant do it either, I have spoken with Scott Stone on several occasions over the years on this subject, my main problem is that I actually enjoy the work.

It makes me feel good to go home after a good day and relax, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment like nothing else.
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I felt the same way 4 years ago Russ. Now that I've hit 50 I feel like slowing it down a bit, but if I slow down so does cash flow. It's a whole different ballgame being a full time washer.
 
tomtucson said:
Awesome sales and work just good enough to not get fired is a very successful plan in commercial (not just powerwashing) - can you stomach that? We would want awesome sales and great work but honestly I think the sales is more important.
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Tom could you expand on that? You peaked my interest.
 
Take a look at the guys who are off the wand. What do they have in common? Most of them specialize in 1-3 things and don't mess with much else. That keeps is simple and makes it easy to train employees.

Looks like I might be getting off the wand pretty soon. Yesterday we stopped at a hot springs swimming pool and I tried to make it from one side to the other swinging on some rings and grabbed one while falling and apparently tore some tendons in my wrist/forearm. I can't close it all the way now. That will certainly limit my wand use when I get back.

Fortunately I have specialized and even if I have to bring in a couple of new temps to take my place I can have them up to speed in about half a day.
 
Tony Shelton said:
Take a look at the guys who are off the wand. What do they have in common? Most of them specialize in 1-3 things and don't mess with much else. That keeps is simple and makes it easy to train employees.

Looks like I might be getting off the wand pretty soon. Yesterday we stopped at a hot springs swimming pool and I tried to make it from one side to the other swinging on some rings and grabbed one while falling and apparently tore some tendons in my wrist/forearm. I can't close it all the way now. That will certainly limit my wand use when I get back.

Fortunately I have specialized and even if I have to bring in a couple of new temps to take my place I can have them up to speed in about half a day.
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Tony is absolutely right. I could never imagine doing all that say Russ and Nick do, from shopping centers, homes, condos, roofs, hospitals, fast food and not be washing and supervising. I use to do that when I washed myself and was lucky to have another guy that were self starters. I could do it all, people say its just spraying water, but you have to be smart to know all the different applications, what to watch out for etc etc etc. Not many employees are that smart and even when they are pretty smart, they are not YOU.

Why do I specialize in multi unit properties....repetition My foreman Derek can do just about anything I was able to do but he still has to call me on occasion and ask what I think are sometimes from smart to stupid questions. Plus, I am the one that looks at all the jobs and write up the proposals and contracts, so they dont have 100% of the knowledge of what and how I bid it.

I would go nuts if I did like Russ & Nick doing so many types of washing services, I would have to be on every job, darn close to every minute.

I enjoy being off the wand, want nothing to do with actual washing.

In my earlier posting I talked about how I do office , sales etc caveman style. The reason I explained it is because people are right YOU have to have systems in place to get off and stay off the wand. You have to stream line things. Like I said if I was better at office stuff, my business would be bigger and better. I you want off the wand and you want to keep growing, you need TIME, you can't be wasting your precious time, you get off the wand and then find yourself still working 6-7 days a week, not enough time for family & fun. I was getting like that and I did get some systems that helped me, not what I know they could be, but some time saving things

There's a reason I call myself the Condo King, its because I never with employees be the Condo King, Shopping Center King, Roof King, Residential King. Like Tony said most guys specialize and its for a reason. Very, very few employees can do the job like you do and remember that.

Good luck all.....I understand not getting off the wand because you like doing the work. me I like doing all the other work and I don't get wet LOL. I like sales, you get infront of the customers, which doesnt happen a ton, but if I do get in front of them, I usually get the job, do the job and they want to use JL Pressure Washing
 
I am in agreeance jeff I hate washing now. Keep it simple, specialize, and hire, hire , hire. You will go through guys faster than socks until you get a system in place for training and how to do the job. It can be as simple as spray the first chemical, spray the second chemical, then rinse. If not clean then brush. Simple as that.
 
And don't forget some of us are becoming old geezers. I think I should of won that hose rolling contest back in 2009 at the UAMCC Albany RT. I figured one of the young guns did me in.... man was I wrong.. It was Jack Kramer who is around 55. He showed them and he won $400 in the process to. When I think about it I didn't see him much that night...hmmmm he must have been soaking in some Hot tub for maybe....hours afterwords:shocked2:
 
The age thing was my number one reason to hire someone. I love to wash. I really enjoy it. But I have so many sore parts. I have every brace McDavid makes, from ankle to shoulder. It got to be a running joke with the neighbors.
Any way, after reading some of these posts, i realize that some of my attitude is from fear. Im afraid they will miss something. Im afraid to give the guy the keys to my truck with his bad driving record. Im afraid to have more vehicle expense especially after spending 25k upgrading equipment this last 18 months.
But slowly Im getting past the fear and taking steps to run my business as a business. Maybe its time to move a little faster.
 
Chris Tharpe said:
I am in agreeance jeff I hate washing now. Keep it simple, specialize, and hire, hire , hire. You will go through guys faster than socks until you get a system in place for training and how to do the job. It can be as simple as spray the first chemical, spray the second chemical, then rinse. If not clean then brush. Simple as that.
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I agree Chris, except the hate washing part. I actually love doing the washing part. But, I keep hearing comments "Nobody Can do the job like I do" "or nobody is as detailed as I am" and things like that and I just don't buy it. My question is, why is that? My belief is that Yes, someone can. But it has to be the right person and he/she has to be trained properly. We were all trained at some point or, eventually just got it, or just picked it up, but to say that no one will ever do it as good as me just can't be true.

To me it's all about repetition. You train someone and have them repeat the processes and procedures and they eventually get it. Some it takes more time than others. Sometimes it really works out great that they are actually better than us.
 
jon chapman said:
The age thing was my number one reason to hire someone. I love to wash. I really enjoy it. But I have so many sore parts. I have every brace McDavid makes, from ankle to shoulder. It got to be a running joke with the neighbors.
Any way, after reading some of these posts, i realize that some of my attitude is from fear. Im afraid they will miss something. Im afraid to give the guy the keys to my truck with his bad driving record. Im afraid to have more vehicle expense especially after spending 25k upgrading equipment this last 18 months.
But slowly Im getting past the fear and taking steps to run my business as a business. Maybe its time to move a little faster.
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John, you get off the wand, but still oversee everything. I stay on top of it all but now after the first 15 -60 minutes I am usually off the job each day and when I have crews working in 3 seperate areas I can't check them all out. I send guys to where they need to be, where their strengths are. Certain guys are better at gutters and walking roofs, some can knock out the little stuff better I send the go to guy, where he needs to be.

I'm not worried really hardly at all, I just oversee. I have a talk almost every day about quality & customer service. I show them bad emails saying something went wrong, I show they all the good emails, shows them what the back end of the biz is like and what their actions result in

Get the work and get off the wand, you're just way to old LOL
 
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