More Progress

[HCBailly]

First, some good news. I just got finished going over the numbers for the second quarter with my accountant, and I managed to survive without having to dip into my savings. Perhaps that’s not a fastlane mindset, but I’m relieved to know that my tax burden was relatively minimal beyond social security.

I have a couple new ideas for developing my carpet cleaning business. Tell me what you think.

1) I’m considering a radical offer to carpet stores in the area. Obviously, they’re hurting for business like anyone, and need a way to get some leverage over the competition. I can do that by giving them coupons for free carpet cleaning on any carpets they sell. The idea is that most places charge for such an offer, so mine would be irresistible. Of course, I would put a limit on the offer, like it must be cleaned within the first 12 months of purchase, so the store would have to sign and date the coupons. Obviously, I would be losing money on the first cleaning, but it could be a way of getting new clients for relatively little effort on my part. The only problem is, “How can I make the offer?†Most stores around here say No Soliciting, and the owner probably isn’t working the store.

2) Reluctantly, I’m considering a price-based marketing campaign. In the past, I’ve been trying to promote the benefits of my cleaning, which doesn’t seem to attract a lot of attention. Given the state of the economy, perhaps advertising on price might be a better idea. The problem with that strategy is that it makes my price very comparable to my competition and someone will always always always undercut my price.

Another aspect to my marketing dilemma is that I just simply need to get a lot of clients, even if I’m losing money on the first job. The idea is that I will then make more money on repeat business and referrals, since I’ve tapped out my existing client base. That means that I need something that can hit a massive amount of people. However, I’ve also heard that in order to succeed in marketing, you need to be where no one else is. It sounds like a contradiction. I want to hit a lot of people, but not be where everyone else is.

On a separate note, I’m strongly concerned about my ability to survive the next winter (my slow season). I had to dip into my savings considerably last winter, and I’m not sure I can survive another one like that. Of course, the optimal solution would be to increase business, but having a backup plan is mandatory at this point. What else can I do?

First, I’d like to thank everyone who helped me implement ideas to reduce my expenses. At this point, I think I’ve eliminated the vast majority of my optional expenses. Currently, I’m living in a house that is bigger than I need, only because my dad gave me 10% of the equity in it.

I’ve been trying to get my brother and/or fiancee to move in with me to contribute to the bills, to no avail. At this point, I’ve given up on them. I’m very reluctant to renting to a stranger. I’d rather sell my home at a loss and get a 1-bedroom condo.

If I can’t get business to improve, I suppose I could consider a part-time job. From my experience in the past, I would only do that if it became absolutely necessary, because it really made my life a living hell. Maybe I could do something with snow plowing? Though, I have no experience in that area, and I would imagine it would require extensive training. Not to mention terrible hours.

What do you think? Thanks for your help.

 

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