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Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

SEBASTlAN

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ilrein

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@IceCreamKid awesome thread, superb value.

Love this part particularily:

The best way to evaluate competition is this: park outside of their warehouse and just watch. How many vans do they have? How many go out each day? When do they leave and come back?

Then call them up and make an appointment for a carpet cleaning. I'll go deeper into this when I have some time, but buying someone else's service/product can expose you to their entire marketing campaign which they've tested and optimized. I'm not saying to steal their marketing word for word, but use it as a baseline that you can work from.

Especially like the stressing of mindset over specifics. A proper entrepreneur mindset is one that can see through the bullshit.

Perception -> Carpet cleaning is highly oversaturated and you'll make no money
Reality -> 90% of your competition has poor marketing, poor customer service, poor branding, poor technological automation

Bringing agile workflows, studying the existing competition, assessing the market total, and using modern marketing tools can help even the most ordinary business become lucrative.

Also, I love how you don't want to scale it past two trucks, and realize your attention span won't outlast a few months at most. Very similar to how I think. Thanks again for the awesome thread.
 

SenGracic

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Wow, excellent thread, thanks !

I have a few questions :

1. Do you buy your cleaning products on large quantities or do you just go to your local Home Depot to get the stuff you need ?
2. There are many carpet cleaning machines... what would be the most ''universal'' one that could do most of the jobs ?
 
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Unfettered

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You want to know the truth? EVERYONE has some type of limiting belief inside of them. People somehow have this perception that I am some invincible dude that plows through obstacles with ease. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

I am human. I feel fears just like you. I feel uncertainty just like you. The moment I “overcome” some limiting belief, I discover another one. Hah!

The major shift for me occurred when I changed my beliefs on what it means to be a man.

MOST MEN ARE FULL OF CRAP

Most will never admit that they need help. They’re full of crap. I was one of them.

If you were to ask me not too long ago what it means to be a man you would’ve heard stuff like, “bold, fearless, strong, blazing your own path like a beastly warrior, 100% zero F*cks given”.

In reality, I had this fearless outer shell but I was deeply insecure about how others perceived me. The simple thought of asking somebody else for help was painful for me because it meant that I was unable to achieve my goals on my own accord, which I interpreted as a sign of NOT being a real man. This is all BS. Ego. Pride. Bravado.

Then one day I had a 2 hour long talk with a guy I highly admired. Many of you are familiar with his name. He was running a $120k/mo SaaS biz in the real estate niche. This guy flipped everything around for me. He had all of the qualities that I perceived a real man has: strong, powerful, confident, successful, blazing his own path. BUT he also possessed many traits that I formerly perceived as beta male/weak: patient, loving, humble, willing to openly admit REAL flaws and personal failures to the world.

There are guys whose humility is their form of pride then there are guys who are genuinely humble. Who is this guy? How is he so different?

He introduced me to his biz partner. The partner was also the same way. I had never seen successful guys on that level being so ridiculously honest about their weaknesses, failures, hopes, and dreams. It was the most empowering thing I’ve ever witnessed. Somewhere along that line I subconsciously finally gave myself permission to act in a similar light.

I can think of a handful of men in my network who are ultra successful, but deep down they’re unhappy and aren’t asking for help because we live in some bullshit society that tells men that we’re weak if we talk about our deepest insecurities and failures.

We ALL need help once in a while. We ALL need somebody to lean on.

I don’t know anything about you, but I know me…and I’m just a regular guy who has his ups and downs like everybody else. I’m learning and growing everyday. I’m not who I was. The beginning of wisdom starts by saying “I don’t know”.

If success means having all the answers and having everything sorted out then I’m not successful and very much at peace with that.

It's all about them priorities. You need to ask yourself, which do you want more - to earn your financial freedom or to earn it alone. One is significantly harder, with the same end result as the other.
 

IceCreamKid

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1. Do you buy your cleaning products on large quantities or do you just go to your local Home Depot to get the stuff you need ?
2. There are many carpet cleaning machines... what would be the most ''universal'' one that could do most of the jobs ?

1. My cleaning solutions are a proprietary mixture made from multiple ingredients that I buy in large quantities to save money. I don't even tell the employees what's in that stuff. The primary cleaning agents in it are the acid from beets and carbonate salt. I also add hydrogen peroxide to act as an oxidizer for protein stains. HP makes the carpet really POP when it becomes bone dry. You have to be careful where you use HP though because it can bleach the carpet if used incorrectly.

Why did I choose to use a proprietary mixture instead of something that can be bought off the shelf? So that I can advertise that nobody has what I have to offer. Unique=special=higher perceived value=higher price=higher profit margins.

The stuff at Home Depot is consumer grade and doesn't really do a good job IMO. Rug Doctor is junk. Weak cleaning solution, low suction power, weak all around. You have to go to a carpet cleaning supply store in your area if you want to find stuff that makes the customer say WOW.

I wouldn't recommend buying in large quantities when starting out because you haven't even validated demand in your area yet. Your initial goal should be first to validate demand in your area. That would suck if you bought huge quantities of cleaning products and spent $50k on some fancy van then later realized that the market doesn't support what you have to offer.

2. 175 RPM floor buffer. You can probably get one used on Craigslist for $200. That machine will serve you well for 90% of the jobs. After you've built up a stack of cash, add a steam cleaning/HWE machine to your arsenal.

The golden duo is to use both a buffer and steam cleaning machine together. This allows you to charge more because it gives you a deeper, more thorough clean.
 

Bila

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Very nice thread @IceCreamKid ...Speaking of systems...i struggle with that...i struggle "finding" a system, implemting it, following it...everything about "it" . .... How did you start that part ?
 
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SenGracic

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1. My cleaning solutions are a proprietary mixture made from multiple ingredients that I buy in large quantities to save money. I don't even tell the employees what's in that stuff. The primary cleaning agents in it are the acid from beets and carbonate salt. I also add hydrogen peroxide to act as an oxidizer for protein stains. HP makes the carpet really POP when it becomes bone dry. You have to be careful where you use HP though because it can bleach the carpet if used incorrectly.

Why did I choose to use a proprietary mixture instead of something that can be bought off the shelf? So that I can advertise that nobody has what I have to offer. Unique=special=higher perceived value=higher price=higher profit margins.

The stuff at Home Depot is consumer grade and doesn't really do a good job IMO. Rug Doctor is junk. Weak cleaning solution, low suction power, weak all around. You have to go to a carpet cleaning supply store in your area if you want to find stuff that makes the customer say WOW.

I wouldn't recommend buying in large quantities when starting out because you haven't even validated demand in your area yet. Your initial goal should be first to validate demand in your area. That would suck if you bought huge quantities of cleaning products and spent $50k on some fancy van then later realized that the market doesn't support what you have to offer.

2. 175 RPM floor buffer. You can probably get one used on Craigslist for $200. That machine will serve you well for 90% of the jobs. After you've built up a stack of cash, add a steam cleaning/HWE machine to your arsenal.

The golden duo is to use both a buffer and steam cleaning machine together. This allows you to charge more because it gives you a deeper, more thorough clean.

Thanks for the answer, it makes to make your own cleaning product but like you said you better know how to mix those chemicals together.

How did you validated demand for this particular service ? It's not like having your store and people come in to buy products, did you had people doing door to door pre sales or ? Or better yet , if you had to start this from scratch now how would you validate demand in that kind of business ?

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk
 

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How did you acquire the knowledge to make your own proprietary cleaning mix?
How does that process work when you know virtually nothing about carpet cleaning?

Hypothetically if i was all of a sudden interested in getting into that i would:
1)do a shit ton of googling about it to learn the basics of carpet cleaning.
2)buy a bunch of different cheap carpets of different types based on my research
3)buy the basic tools needed to clean carpets based on my research
4)Actually practice on those said carpets so that i don't accidentally F*ck up a client's carpet(THATS A SCARY THOUGHT)
5)I live in NY, so i guess i can print out some kind of leaflets or something and leave advertisements on building doors??? clueless here...
6)over time as i get more experienced i can experiment with carpet solutions indoors and accidentally create a toxic byproduct that kills me. Fastlane achieved.

I don't have a drivers license though so that's a big problem lol... id have to get one ASAP to be able to do my job, i assume theres various carpet cleaning devices that take up lots of space...

HMM maybe i should just invent some new devices!! LOL
 
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IceCreamKid

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Very nice thread @IceCreamKid ...Speaking of systems...i struggle with that...i struggle "finding" a system, implemting it, following it...everything about "it" . .... How did you start that part ?
The older I get, the lazier I become. Back when I first started I would try to build my own systems from scratch. It would take FOREVER to get something that was streamlined and running like a well oiled machine. Now I just ask successful people what systems they use to automate their biz then find some way to apply that same methodology to mine.

The most important one IMO is the marketing system because that's what generates leads. No leads=no business.

So, your cleaning folrmula is your USP ?
Yes and no. The USP is one of the most misunderstood concepts in business. Most people think it's a sentence that you'd put in an ad.

Does Starbucks have the best coffee in the world? Absolutely not.

But they give you the entire experience. It's the smell of freshly ground coffee beans when you walk in. It's the carefully chosen audio tracks playing in the background. It's the beautifully decorated walls, vintage looking furniture, it's the attitude.

The USP is the entire experience. This is what allows them to charge ridiculous prices for what was formerly a commodity that was sold for 50 cents per cup.

So what is the USP for carpet cleaning? Proprietary cleaning solutions that give you a more thorough, deeper clean. Licensed and certified employees that care about the work they do. Faster drying times. Friendly customer service that calls 1 week after the cleaning just to make sure that you were thrilled with the work done. We send you 2 physical letters in the mail after cleaning just to say thank you and to ask for referrals. We don't treat you like a number. We treat you like a friend and actually show it. We care. We care. We care.

That's what enables you to charge higher premiums. Showing that you care and are willing to go the extra sMile for the customer.

It's the bigger picture. The entire experience.
 
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IceCreamKid

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How did you validated demand for this particular service ?
For this specific niche, you don't need to validate demand. If there is already competition then it means the demand is there. Now all you have to do is study marketing so that you learn how to differentiate yourself like how I described in the Starbucks USP above.
 

IceCreamKid

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How did you acquire the knowledge to make your own proprietary cleaning mix?
How does that process work when you know virtually nothing about carpet cleaning?
I basically did a ton of lurking on the truckmount forums. I made sure to keep track of what the big guys were using in their cleaning solutions. Most of them would reveal only 1 part of their entire formula. They'd leave tiny breadcrumbs of info.

After a while I had a list of 10 parts of different formulas, enough breadcrumbs to combine and make my own loaf of bread.

I had enough breadcrumbs to make loafers for myself. Made in Italy.
kl4K2.jpg


If you live in a big city there's a very good chance that there are local 2-day classes being offered. I didn't bother with them, but it's available to you if you want.

Beware, most of the guys on those carpet cleaning forums are struggling because they are carpet cleaners who think like small biz owners. You have to think of yourself as a marketer who happens to offer carpet cleaning. The marketer generates the leads while the quality of the cleaning keeps them coming back.
 
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IceCreamKid

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Are you thinking about franchising ? If not, why ?
Nope because I'm not passionate enough about the industry.

If you wish to become ultra successful at something, you must be able to put out amazing quality work. The best way to put out amazing quality work is to be passionate about the project in front of you. That's what separates the billionaires from the millionaires.

Another reason why I wouldn't want to franchise is because it's extremely time intensive. My primary reason for getting into biz in the first place was so that I can set myself up to be there more often for my future kids. My dad hardly spent any time with me because he was always working and I hated it. He never asked me, "How are you?" until I was 25. Any time spent with him wasn't quality time because he was tired. He was present, but not present. I'm 29 now and the ripple effects of my childhood experiences are still felt.

My aim is that when I do have kids, I'll be 100% in the Investor quadrant already with all of my monthly cashflow coming from real estate and stock options.
 

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Great thread @IceCreamKid, Thanks for the valuable info.

There is definitely room for people to get into these industries because 90% of the competition is extremely lacking in multiple things a big one being customer service. Property maintenance, bond cleaning, carpet cleaning etc are all good ways to make some great money if you put the time in and out do your competition which isn't all that hard to do.

Companies turning up on time is another big thing for customers, the amount of unreliable people out there makes it that much easier to stand out.

Another great area to get into if you are in this type of business is with real estate rental agencies. When anyone moves out of a property they have to get the place professionally cleaned (at least in Australia they do) and if you get in with a few agencies they do the marketing for you. They normally send out an end of lease pack including flyers of there preferred tradesman to do the cleaning/ repair work. One large agency can net you 10's of thousands a year without much legwork.

I have a property maintenance company and I constantly get other agencies contacting me to do work from word of mouth referrals from the one agency I do most of my work through. They are crying out for decent companies that do great work and are reliable.

It's very interesting to hear you talk about being passionate about your business to keep you motivated. I have been struggling with that recently so good to see I'm not alone! Setting up systems to automate as much as possible definitely keeps me going and it is great to see the end result and keep improving upon it. I did think about getting out of the industry but there is so much room for growth it is unreal. I just need to find that spark again in some area of my biz and keep pushing forward.

Cheers, Mike.
 
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MikeAU

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Also another big thing having spoken multiple large real estate agencies is having a bundle of services. For example bundling property maintenance, bond and carpet cleaning into one company. They would much rather have one company they can work with that is reliable and does great work than multiple smaller companies.
 

luniac

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Also another big thing having spoken multiple large real estate agencies is having a bundle of services. For example bundling property maintenance, bond and carpet cleaning into one company. They would much rather have one company they can work with that is reliable and does great work than multiple smaller companies.

thats what the company i work for does, they call themselves "one stop shop" all the time....
 

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Love this thread. My first foray in self employment was with carpet cleaning back in the 80's (yeah getting old but I was still a teenager back then).

I was just doing the cleaning work. Carpets, upholstery and curtains. Scotchguard was a nice upsell back then too.

The jobs came through the firm I was contracted to. They also supplied the machinery (they had a nice line of extra profit selling us the tools and chemicals).

The company that were providing this work set up shop by employing school leavers and students en mass. One days sales training then half hit the phones with a local directory each for leads. The other half were taken out into the field to cold call and leaflet door to door. Ad's in the city's daily paper added to the mix.

Once someone showed interest they were given a quote based on how many rooms and the rough size of the job. Someone would then coordinate the job pool. We would phone in for 2-3 jobs at a time, get them done then phone in for some more. They had 6 self employed guys like me working our socks off. I can't remember if we got 50% or 70% of the take. I do remember it was hard graft and non-stop 10 hours a day with maybe a mars bar for lunch if I had time. Within weeks I lost any fat I had and they had nicknamed me Rambo as you had to apply so much pressure to the wand to get as much dirt and water out of the carpet as possible it was like doing an arm workouts 8 hours a day. I hope the machinery is better these days.

I've worked in homes where the carpets looked new and others that were so threadbare I had difficulty stopping the machine tearing the carpet up.

I gave it up as I became allergic to the chemicals within 3-4 months and not long after that the company did a moonlight flit leaving a trail of bills in their wake (including a huge phone bill).

Turns out these guys (a 3 man team) would set up in a different city every year. Ride the business hard spring through autumn then disappear for the winter only to pop up somewhere else come the following spring. The typical fly-by-night cowboys.
 
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IceCreamKid

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I gave it up as I became allergic to the chemicals within 3-4 months and not long after that the company did a moonlight flit leaving a trail of bills in their wake (including a huge phone bill).
Guys if you are looking to start a carpet cleaning biz, make sure to check the MSDS for the chemicals that you are using. Manufacturers are required by law to disclose the ingredients in their cleaning solutions and whether or not they are hazardous.

You don't want to destroy your lungs just to make money. Not worth it.

I do remember it was hard graft and non-stop 10 hours a day with maybe a mars bar for lunch if I had time. Within weeks I lost any fat I had and they had nicknamed me Rambo as you had to apply so much pressure to the wand to get as much dirt and water out of the carpet as possible it was like doing an arm workouts 8 hours a day. I hope the machinery is better these days.
Damn. You definitely have the work ethic, my Rambo friend.

I was still a baby in the 80's so it's hard to make a direct comparison, but what I can tell you is that some of the chemicals these days are so effective it's almost laughable.

After the solution has been sprayed on, 80% of the spots magically disappear within 5 minutes. The remaining 20% are what we'll spend some time on.

A $300 job can literally be finished in 30 minutes with excellent results, but we try to extend it to $150/hr for theater purposes. The show is what the customer sees so if they paid $300 for 30 minutes of labor they'd be like, " WTF did you even put any effort in?". Truthfully, very little effort is put in because of how effective the cleaning solutions are nowadays. This is what keeps the employees happy because they don't have to work that hard and still get paid a decent wage. The cleaning solution does 80% of the work for them. The one exception is if the carpets are absolutely trashed by a tenant. Some people will spill soda on the carpet and not even attempt to clean it up since they don't own the property.
 

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Im pretty sure no one asked this yet.

What has been the biggest problem you've had to deal with with this business?

How did/do you train your staff?

Do you have someone that sets up the routes?

Have you thought about FB advertising at all since its still cheap compared to adwords?
 

IceCreamKid

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What has been the biggest problem you've had to deal with with this business?

There are many problems and horror stories to tell about this biz, but I think almost all businesses will tell you that their biggest challenge is generating more leads. I am always keeping my eyes open for new methods for generating more leads. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any biz(unless you’re backed by investors) so customer acquisition has always been my #1 priority. Delivering an insanely good product/service is right behind that.

It took a lot of testing and optimizing to get to the point where every $1 spent would bring back $3-7. Thank God for the skills I learned from my affiliate marketing days. I know AM gets a bad reputation on here, but I’ve seen a lot of guys utilize what they learned as an affiliate and apply it to their future fastlane biz. It’s a really good skill to have.

Other problems…

Realtors. They are the bane of my existence. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered a realtor that has tried to screw me.

The worst one was a $1,500 job cleaning a really big house that was about to go up for sale. The realtor told me that the cleaning would be paid out through escrow after everything closes. Escrow closed. No payment received. I called the realtor and she gave me the classic, “The check is in the mail” line.

1 month passed. Nothing. The owner of the home had moved out of state. I left multiple voicemails for the realtor, but no response. I sent her a final e-mail playing stupid saying, “Hey I guess you guys must be having problems with the escrow. I’m going to be calling your broker by the end of the week to see if he can help you”.

2 days later the check magically appeared.

Be extra alert whenever you’re dealing with someone who is representing your customer. I’ve had far too many realtors try to disappear as soon as they get their commission. When dealing with representatives I now require payment upfront, no exceptions. I don’t have the patience to deal with BS behavior like that even if it means losing a couple sales.

Other problems…

Indians that refuse to at least acknowledge American culture. Sorry if this offends anybody. I have a couple thousand customers in my database at this point and I have yet to have a smooth transaction with an Indian. This is primarily due to the cultural differences and the caste system.

Blue collar workers are viewed as the bottom level of society in Indian culture. They have no clue that there are millionaire carpet cleaners. If there is an appointment set for 3pm, the carpet cleaner is expected to come at 3 but the homeowner is likely to arrive at 3:30 or 4. This is one of the many ways that they show superiority within the caste system. It’s their way of subconsciously communicating that they are the ones in control. When you’re paying employees by the hour, it’s a huge hassle when customers are not available at the scheduled time.

Another cultural difference is how much of their income they save. In America it’s standard for people to spend 100% of their income. With Indians, they aim to save 50% or more.

So what ends up happening is you have people that treat you with zero respect due to the caste system, they show up late for the appointment on purpose(costing you money), and they bargain like crazy on the cost because they’re trying to save money. To top it off, the actual process of cleaning usually takes longer because curry stains are one of the hardest to clean…sometimes permanent. Man I love chicken tikka masala though. If I was stuck on an island with only one food to eat it'd be tikka masala fa sho.

I train my employees to give clients the “Going Away” price quote if the client is excessively disrespectful. It doesn't matter what ethnicity they are. You have to respect everyone. Basically it’s a price that is ridiculously inflated it’s almost a guarantee the client will decline and go with another carpet cleaner.

I want clients who are hassle free and care more about quality than getting everything for the lowest price. That’s where the highest profit margins are.

I’ll answer your other questions tomorrow. Time to go to bed.
 
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RazorCut

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You don't want to destroy your lungs just to make money. Not worth it.

Amen to that. I developed eczema which sorted itself out once I left the trade. Sounds like the cleaning agents are a world apart from what we used to use.

A $300 job can literally be finished in 30 minutes with excellent results, but we try to extend it to $150/hr for theater purposes.

Yes I used to use the same tactic even though it grated sometimes as I could have moved on to another job by then. Time=Money after all. Focusing on customer satisfaction can't be beat though. That's what I love about your posts, that focus.
 

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Thats gold information about the indian culture and realtors. Thank you! Im dealing with Indian's in Bangalore right now for a web app I'm building for someone. Obviously I don't have the same issue because we are dealing with different countries and niches haha.

I love the fact that you train your employee's to actually give them a higher price than usual to avoid being their customer. Get them to say no to you.

Do you get any leads from your website? do you have separate phone numbers to track this stuff?

And how did you hire the person that takes incoming calls, do they do other tasks as well? Did you have to write a script for them?

sorry for so many questions im so curious :greedy:
 

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Do you rely mainly on direct marketing ( mail ?) or do you use adwords too ?
Do you hire a copy writer or do you do it yourself ?
I am expanding my services to the English speaking market in my area. Was thinking i should maybe hire a professional to write my ads.
 
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IceCreamKid

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How did/do you train your staff?

Do you have someone that sets up the routes?

Have you thought about FB advertising at all since its still cheap compared to adwords?

Employees go on a 2-day apprenticeship to learn on the job at a real customer's house. The best way to learn a new skill is through immersion, not through some book or classroom. The general cleaning solution will clean 95% of stains. Stains such as rust, pet urine, blood, coffee, tea, and wine require their own specialty cleaner.

Yes I have someone that sets up the routes. The goal here is to outsource as much as you can so that you can focus on high leverage activities.

I haven't tried FB advertising. The only guys that I personally know who have done 7-8 figures on FB have done it with sketchy offers requiring the use of cloakers to bypass FB's advertising guidelines. I have no interest in constantly playing a cat and mouse game with FB or Google because one week you can be making $10k/day profit then the next week your campaign has been blacklisted.

Slow and steady is the game I want to play. Patience pays dividends.
 

IceCreamKid

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Do you get any leads from your website? do you have separate phone numbers to track this stuff?

And how did you hire the person that takes incoming calls, do they do other tasks as well? Did you have to write a script for them?

sorry for so many questions im so curious :greedy:

No need to apologize, I actually enjoy talking about this stuff. In the real world most people's eyes glaze over whenever I start talking biz.

I occasionally get leads from my website because of traffic coming from Yelp, but the vast majority of the leads come either through my direct mail marketing campaigns or my referral marketing systems. I push the referral marketing system hard because I really do believe in what I have to offer.

I don't have separate phone numbers to track where the leads come from. One of my goals is to always keep unecessary overhead expenses as low as possible in order to maximize cashflow . To track where the leads come from, one of the questions a client is always asked is, "How did you hear about us?". You'd be surprised, there are some old folks out there who still use the PHYSICAL yellow page books lol.
 

IceCreamKid

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Do you rely mainly on direct marketing ( mail ?) or do you use adwords too ?
Do you hire a copy writer or do you do it yourself ?
I am expanding my services to the English speaking market in my area. Was thinking i should maybe hire a professional to write my ads.
I have many marketing systems in place, but the major 2 are the direct marketing system(Every Door Direct Mail) and the referral marketing system.

The customer retention marketing system is super important too. 70% of the jobs come from former customers and sometimes you have to constantly remind them that you exist. I read somewhere that 80% of the responses to debt collection letters come after the 3rd follow up. Response rates rise drastically after each letter is sent. This is one of the keys of direct response marketing.

I have a few other marketing systems for acquiring commercial clients and real estate offices, but residential is still my favorite.

I briefly tried adwords, but had no clue what I was doing and quickly burned through $3k in one week and got zero leads from it. I set it to target a specific area, but I was somehow getting clicks from all over the world like Egypt. Where is that guy Andy Black when you need him. Not all heroes wear capes.

I do the copywriting myself. If you are inexperienced in this area then I'd encourage you to either hire one or look at someone else's ad who you know for sure is successful and use that as a framework to work from. How do you determine if someone else's ad is successful? If they have been mailing out the ad for months or even years then you know it's a profitable piece for them. The difficult part though is that they MIGHT actually be losing money on that specific mailing, but making up for it on the back-end with recurring revenue in the future, upsells, or cross-sells.

Direct response marketing is all about making sure that your LTV is greater than your CAC. The lifetime value of a customer must be higher than the customer acquisition cost.

The most important elements to any marketing piece are this:
  1. Headline: attention grabbing.
  2. Who you are: show that you are human. You are real. There is only one Bila.
  3. Why should I trust you: credibility, experience
  4. Testimonials
  5. Sexy promise: Keeps your brushes wet and ready to use in between coats.-Paint Brush Cover Boy
  6. Drama: Before and after pics. Pics of happy clients.
  7. Risk reversal: free 2-day shipping, 365 day money back guarantee, only pay if you're satisfied
  8. Bait: free sample, 14-day trial of Amazon Prime, 7-day trial of Netflix, free 1 hour consultation
  9. Deadline: creates scarcity
You don't need to have all of these elements in order to have a winning ad. It's just something to consider.
 
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tminch55

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Dude, I can't even put into words the positive impact this thread has had on me. It's so refreshing to see someone preaching basic fundamental business ideas and practices. At times, I get overwhelmed trying to find the next big thing. I'm not a guy who's going to create the next Facebook or invent the next iPad. Happy to see someone having some success going back to the basics! Thanks, ICK.
 

Cascade

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Love the nuggets you have been sharing. Thank you. Thank you. Especially the mindset stuff.

Do you mind to dive deeper into some areas you shared?


DIRECT MARKETING

1. What elements of copy-writing did you "get right" before you saw results?

2. Share how you worked-out the appropriate metrics to know ROI on advertising?

3. Using a Freemium hook (1 free room) how do you control sunk-cost creep from destroying margins? What's the way to improve Lifetime Value of client?

4. How do you improve client stickiness?

5. What system checks that mailers are received? What are the core parts that make the system?


THE BUSINESS

1. This is type of business dependent on muscle power which comes with HR headaches. What were ways you solved this?

2. When everyone on the block is selling (prostituting) on price and yesterday's customers are only loyal to ?? How do you position on everything BUT price? And away from price? My industry has a large number of "blind" customers who get a kick out of squeezing every last cent they SEE but pay ridiculous hidden charges. Don't see any value in exposing the pricing models of my competitors. uncomfortable with going the hidden charge path.

3. Love how you observe and make job offer instead of do interviews. Do you have more thoughts on this for more skilled type of jobs where observing in a alternate workplace is not so straightforward?

4. I've had some struggle with adapting successful systems and have lost time and effort in adapting things which are unique to another person but I was too stupid to have figured it out before throwing time and money down the drain. When you consider how to adapt another person's succesful marketing system how do you know if what works for that guy can be easily transferred? and which parts of it are not useful?
 

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