DJ Carroll
Member
Thats Exactly MY Point
Steven, very very valid points, not all of my customers care but i eliminate the threat of it every comping up by not hiring them. IT COMES DOWN TO I JUST DO NOT WANT THAT IMAGE OF MY COMPANY!!! i dont want to be the white owned Hispanic ran lawn company like every other one you see!!!
Another thing that most lawn companies and landscaping companies don't understand is that a profit margin is a percentage. Here is a little analogy
Company A does a job for $50 because he uses a mexican at $5 an hour which is half of what Company B pays their guy ($10/hr) so there for he can be half Company B's price and he figures he will get the job . . . Company B bids the job at $100 . . lets look at the price break down
-----------Company B---------Company A
total price-----50-----------------100
Hours--------- 2 ------------------2
Labor cost----10------------------20
Net Money----40------------------80
Hmm. . . Ya buddy Company B is saving alot on the labor but he's a D-A because he dropped his pants because he uses Mexicans and he thinks that lowering price is the only way top sell a job! This is where you get that mentality that you have to use them to "keep it affordable". If all LCO would see this and raise their prices i wouldn't have a problem with them using illegals or robots or what ever they wanted to use but i'm not going to be connected in any way shape or form with the hacks . . . Thats where i stand now and where i will always stand unless sh!t changes!!!!
Interesting discussion...
I am in the US on E-2 Treaty Investor Status, so it is a million miles away from immigrant workers or jumping the border - there is a set criteria you have to meet to qualify:
Requirements: Treaty Investor
The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country;
The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise;
The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment;
The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States;
The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed; and
The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.
This immigration status is issued for certain time periods - how they decide on the time periods.... pull it out of the hat?!?! no one knows. They are allowed to grant between 2 and 5 years, from my understanding they are only giving out 2 years to UK citizens - so basically that's 2 years to "have a significant economic impact in the United States"... hmmm, how many of you guys made a significant economic impact in your first 2 years of business?
Like I said in my previous post, I know the process I face and know what I need to do... so no complaints - the system does suck though... I could go on, but this thread isn't about me!
... I was tempted for all of .000001 of a second, but then I remembered, I can't work for anyone on my immigration status... lol
DJ, I would never dream of telling you how to run your business - by the sounds of things your approach is working great, business is growing and you are developing your company - more power to you. However, I live in a pretty upscale neighborhood (no reflection on me!!!!!) and the majority of homeowners have hispanic/mexican lawn and landscape guys... from my experience, all they care about is getting the job done and the job done right... is my lawn cut, edged, trimmings blown from paths, closed the gates, didn't leave a mess... happy customer.
Some of the landscape trucks that I see pull up are beaten up, the 'uniforms' are dirty, guys unshaven - not really professional, but they get the job done and do it well.
I am not trying to convert you or change your thinking, just commenting on your viewpoint to immigrants... For Example, If you come across a hard working mexican/latino/hispanic (?) and you train them, they listen and learn, you provide them with your sharp looking uniform, teach them your professional expectations with regard to conduct and manner and they are using your shiny new tools to get the job done - is that really 'cheap work price wise'. You have spent time and money hiring, training, outfitting your employee and they are using the same equipment that a US citizen employee would be using to do the same job. I really hope your customers are not that narrow-minded, that would be a shame.
... I'm rambling, I guess I'm not in your neck of your woods and you know your customers better than I do - I just hope you would not lose out on building an excellent team to help your business grow because of you 'customers prejudices'. My customers buy my service, they can be content in the fact that whoever delivers that service meets CleanFast USA standards, regardless of color, nationality, religion, etc., etc.
one last thing, when I first came to Florida and bought my Pool Service business I had visions of revolutionizing the service proposition - afterall, I came from high-end recreational facilities and leisure complexes, where I was dealing with commercial swimming pools and water features. I was going to add all sorts of bells and whistles to make the service experience something more than it needed to be. Basically, after testing a few electronic and automated communication methods and customer access points - I came to the conclusion that I was wasting, time, effort and money.
WHY?
The customer just wanted a clean, safe swimming pool - no hassles, no problems - just a clean, safe swimming pool.
Are your customers really that bothered about WHO cuts their grass?
Steven, very very valid points, not all of my customers care but i eliminate the threat of it every comping up by not hiring them. IT COMES DOWN TO I JUST DO NOT WANT THAT IMAGE OF MY COMPANY!!! i dont want to be the white owned Hispanic ran lawn company like every other one you see!!!
Another thing that most lawn companies and landscaping companies don't understand is that a profit margin is a percentage. Here is a little analogy
Company A does a job for $50 because he uses a mexican at $5 an hour which is half of what Company B pays their guy ($10/hr) so there for he can be half Company B's price and he figures he will get the job . . . Company B bids the job at $100 . . lets look at the price break down
-----------Company B---------Company A
total price-----50-----------------100
Hours--------- 2 ------------------2
Labor cost----10------------------20
Net Money----40------------------80
Hmm. . . Ya buddy Company B is saving alot on the labor but he's a D-A because he dropped his pants because he uses Mexicans and he thinks that lowering price is the only way top sell a job! This is where you get that mentality that you have to use them to "keep it affordable". If all LCO would see this and raise their prices i wouldn't have a problem with them using illegals or robots or what ever they wanted to use but i'm not going to be connected in any way shape or form with the hacks . . . Thats where i stand now and where i will always stand unless sh!t changes!!!!
