Online vs Offline Business

[MidwestLandlord]

I came up with a usp that states that I will clean your carpet and if you aren't satisfied I will pay you yuur money back

I'm involved a little bit in real estate. You know what would be great in my area?

A carpet cleaner that answers the phone and shows up when they say they will.

Seriously.

I would worship them like some kind of carpet cleaning messiah, I would refer them to everyone I know, I would pay more per room than any of their competitors. I'd be their biggest fan.

Ever notice something about service companies/professionals?

People refer to them possessively.

"I gotta call MY plumber"

"MY lawyer"

"MY dentist"

"MY electrician"

"MY carpet cleaning guys"

"MY web guy"

There's a study I read once (and can't find on google right now haha) where people were able to recall from memory an average of 7 brand names in consumer goods categories (7 car brands, 7 soda brands, whatever) but on average were only able to recall *1* service brand name per category (1 electrician, 1 lawyer, whatever)

The reason why people could only recall 1 is irrelevant. The point is BE THAT ONE.

How?

1) Strong lead generation efforts

Marketing, networking (realtors and property managers!), referrals, etc.

This is where a USP would come in. It doesn't have to be gimmicky though. Maybe the first room is free. Maybe if it's a property management company, the first HOUSE is free (put in a room limit haha)

All you have to do is let them know you exist (hint: pick up the phone and call!), make them feel comfortable trying you out (reduce their risk), and make the entire process as easy on them as possible (reduce their hassle). Simple. (note I didn't say easy)

2) Strong customer retention efforts

Great customer service. Not good service, which is forgettable, but GREAT service. And at least in my area, the bar is set very low for what constitutes "great"

Great actual service too. You know, actually get the carpet clean?

Long story short....

Is carpet cleaning the right biz? Who knows? Certainly not me.

But who discouraged you? The same ones that don't answer their phone when a potential customer calls? Likely. (so does their opinion matter? does anyone's opinion matter except your customers'?)

Sometimes I think people don't realize just how low the bar is set in some industries, and how many value gaps there actually are, because they focus too much on doing something "no one else has done" (it doesn't have to be that complicated)

Does that make sense?

 

[MTF]

What type of business in your opinion would better fit you?

Both online and offline businesses offer road to financial freedom. This isn't about what's better, it's about what's better for you.

 

[IceCreamKid]

I think the answer depends on your personality. If you enjoy the idea of funnels, optimizing ad campaigns, creating e-mail campaigns, etc then go the online route.

If you like face to face business and talking with new people daily then go the carpet cleaner route. Btw the highest grossing Stanley Steemer van in the country averages $900k a year in revenue...one van. With that said, I’ll say this: most carpet cleaners don’t make much money at all, but the ones who do really make a killing.

You have to think of yourself as a marketer who happens to sell carpet cleaning services. Otherwise you’ll always be like everyone in the industry who struggle to hit 6-figures. If you search truckmountforums you’ll find a case study where the owner showed how he started up in a new town and got to $700k/year revenue after year 2.

The secret is to learning how to provide and communicate what I call the Ritz Carlton Experience. That means:

- a text message 30 minutes before arrival including real-time GPS location

-all technicians are properly dressed, clean shaven and wearing booties when entering home

-laying out drop cloths to avoid scratching hardwood floors

-wearing white gloves when carrying furniture

-a follow up call 48 hours later then a handwritten thank you card 1 week later; Chocolates during the holidays for the A+ customers

-a customer retention system

-a rewarding referral system

-most importantly a damn good cleaning

Communicating and providing the Ritz Carlton Experience allows you to charge far more than what everyone else is charging. By charging a lot more, you’ll have better margins to be able to pay your employees well and keep them happy while you scale. Never compete on offering the lowest price.

Good luck.

 

[WealthChaser]

@Andy Black helped me with a similar thread to this. Try shifting from the "online vs offline" mindset to the "Value add" mindset. Find something that is painful for you, or family, or a trend you spot and fix that issue. Focus on adding value rather than starting a business. If you decide at the start "I am going to make an online business" you very well may miss excellent opportunities that could be held offline.

Of course this is MUCH easier said than done as I am in this stage as well. All the best!

 

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[eliquid]

I'm involved a little bit in real estate. You know what would be great in my area?

A carpet cleaner that answers the phone and shows up when they say they will.

Seriously.

I totally get this and agree.

I live in a rural-ish area, so getting good people to even come is a huge hurdle.

Then, they only want to do new construction.. not repairs. Another hurdle.

Once you finally find someone, they never show up and never call to tell you they can't come because of XYZ. You have to chase them down and find out when they will come next.

I had a roofer tell me they would be there Sunday. I stayed home all day and they never showed up so I texted them and they were like.. "had issues, will be there tomorrow".

Tomorrow came and I stayed at the house and they never showed. No calls or texts again until I finally text them.. "had more issues, will be there tomorrow".

That day came.. no show again and no call/texts.

I call someone else and they showed up in hours and fixed my small roof issue I needed done.

Guess who is getting my new roof business 30 days from now? Hint, it's not the first guy.

I shouldn't have to call and text you to hunt you down and find out why you didn't come and wasted my day.. I shouldn't have to call 20 different people to get 1 job done.

The 2nd guy didnt have a USP, other then he showed up.

 

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[eliquid]

I'll offer up my flavor of advice on this.

I agree offline or online doesn't matter.

However, for me personally I found that online provides more options and opportunities ( if you can use them ). But that's because for me I am not a people person ( INTJ ).

How many possible people can you reach with a bricks and mortar plumbing service?

Now, how many people can you reach if you sell widgets online?

The numbers are vastly different. Doesn't mean you will sell more or make more money, but I don't like to limit my options out of the gate....

Also basing your choices on values that represent you will help a lot too. Thanks to @PizzaOnTheRoof for putting up my podcast on the subject.

 

[Crexty]

I own a local service business. I hate to say this. But I haven't really added much value other than providing good quality. I haven't done anything extraordinary, and i'm just focused on staying simple and scaling.

Not saying you shouldn't add value. But some of these businesses are just plan ol' raw business. Nothing special about them, just business.

 

[WealthChaser]

Yup. Andy is great

But I guess I get discouraged .
Let me give you an example .

I put alot of thought into going into the carpet cleaning business . I came up with a usp that states that I will clean your carpet and if you aren't satisfied I will pay you yuur money back

I thought that this usp adds value as it gives customers peace of mind that they aren't risking their hard earned money

I posted this idea in the carpet cleaning community and got sh*t on laughed at ridiculed

People said I was stupid that I would be out of business within six months etc

I said that my initial prices would start off at 115 per room and people said that I was crazy and that there are people that clean carpets at 50 dollars per room.

So I was like ok. Here I am trying to add value but I guess maybe I'm not ?

Trust me I get it, I am in the same stage as you are. Your anxiety and head banging are not done alone. I have a rather large dent in the shape of my forehead on my wall that I have been adding to for a while now. I have had multiple failures already.

In my failures I have asked: Did the value add justify a new service to be created? (For your example, was a money back guarantee enough of a value add to justify creating a new business? Could you have added more value or targeted another underserviced area of cleaning?)
I know I can personally vow to the fact that I do not want to use a 'cleaning service' to get my floors done etc, but I would absolutely pay for someone to clean up my messy apartment for me, maybe there are other niches not being properly serviced or advertised to?

As far as price goes, I don't think I can add much value past what the book talks about. It is dangerous to get into a price war for 'like goods'. Instead trust that you are adding true value into the product and the market will echo if your value add is enough to justify the cost. It is not a bad thing to be the most expensive, but you better be bringing a ton of value for the price if you have lots of competitors.

Another question to ask yourself is did you actually get the value proposition out to a large enough sampling of the market to determine if the business is actually needed or not. If you only ask 3 people to use your service and they all say no, that is NOT a very large sampling of the market and you could be basing your conclusion that the service is not needed off of faulty or incomplete feedback.

The only success I have found at this game so far is that there is no 'right answer' and you just going to have to tweak and pivot until the market says you have a winner.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

I'm involved a little bit in real estate. You know what would be great in my area?

A carpet cleaner that answers the phone and shows up when they say they will.

Seriously.

I would worship them like some kind of carpet cleaning messiah, I would refer them to everyone I know, I would pay more per room than any of their competitors. I'd be their biggest fan.

Ever notice something about service companies/professionals?

People refer to them possessively.

"I gotta call MY plumber"

"MY lawyer"

"MY dentist"

"MY electrician"

"MY carpet cleaning guys"

"MY web guy"

There's a study I read once (and can't find on google right now haha) where people were able to recall from memory an average of 7 brand names in consumer goods categories (7 car brands, 7 soda brands, whatever) but on average were only able to recall *1* service brand name per category (1 electrician, 1 lawyer, whatever)

The reason why people could only recall 1 is irrelevant. The point is BE THAT ONE.

How?

1) Strong lead generation efforts

Marketing, networking (realtors and property managers!), referrals, etc.

This is where a USP would come in. It doesn't have to be gimmicky though. Maybe the first room is free. Maybe if it's a property management company, the first HOUSE is free (put in a room limit haha)

All you have to do is let them know you exist (hint: pick up the phone and call!), make them feel comfortable trying you out (reduce their risk), and make the entire process as easy on them as possible (reduce their hassle). Simple. (note I didn't say easy)

2) Strong customer retention efforts

Great customer service. Not good service, which is forgettable, but GREAT service. And at least in my area, the bar is set very low for what constitutes "great"

Great actual service too. You know, actually get the carpet clean?

Long story short....

Is carpet cleaning the right biz? Who knows? Certainly not me.

But who discouraged you? The same ones that don't answer their phone when a potential customer calls? Likely. (so does their opinion matter? does anyone's opinion matter except your customers'?)

Sometimes I think people don't realize just how low the bar is set in some industries, and how many value gaps there actually are, because they focus too much on doing something "no one else has done" (it doesn't have to be that complicated)

Does that make sense?

Love this post. You hit the nail on the head.

I (as well as Andy) disagree about needing a USP.

You don't need a selling point you just need to be in the room.

They just need to know you exist, and you need to be there ready to help.

 

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[ryanbleau]

My father owned a fleet of 14 carpet cleaning vans when I was a kid. Love the smell of carpet cleaning solution. The big thing to get into is get your osha hazmat certifications for biohazard and for industrial waste. You will get nasty jobs but those are the ones A: no ones wants to do and B: pay the most.
And its usually an insurance company footing a bill or a municipality. Meth lab cleanups can net you 150 an hour per person and a suicide cleanup can be around 2500 for gunshot vic. Good luck

 

[eliquid]

I wouldn't charge less.

Someone is always willing to go out of business faster than you.

I'd advertise more value in some way before I would lower the cost.

One cleaning company I know did this, and then had to raise prices when min. wages in that city went up. It's just always a bad idea to lower prices. Someone will come in and undercut you at some point.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

Nothing is too saturated get break into, that just means more competition and noise.

I recommend listening to this podcast from @eliquid on core values and making decisions that will make you happy: Podcast 9 - Core Values And Your Success

Also, you don't need a USP, just be the closest person to them, make sure they know you exist and be ready to pounce.

"Overthinking is the art of creating problems that were never there."

 

[biophase]

This question probably gets asked alot in this forum and I'm still trying to take the plunge but don't know what to pursue.

Ultimately my ideal goal is to attain financial freedom and get away from the 9-5 rat race. I want to be in control and my ideal income goal falls within the range of 200-400k profit pretty year.

I hear both arguments. Online is saturated, offline doesn't scale, online has too much competition, etc.

But in your guys opinion what business side offers the best road to financial freedom?

Have you calculated how many carpets you’d need to clean to make $200-$400k?

 

[biophase]

$50 bucks a room(about $45 profit)- about 4500 carpets a year to make 200k
about 13 carpets a day, every day of the year.

Sounds much worse than getting a job. LOL

 

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[biophase]

That's why you have employees based on commission. 4 vans going out every day can do 20 carpets a day each. that's 80 carpets a day 6 days a week. Pay them $20 a carpet. pocket $25 per. You now are making over a half mil a year after investing maybe $200k in Assets. Spend 20k-50k in advertising per year in a high population area and you can see more than a mil a year if you treat the big clientel right and make the little ones feel like they are important. Not to hard to get in front of it.

Hi Ryan, I totally understand what you are saying. I posed the question because I don’t think the OP did any calculations when thinking through potential businesses.

Saying I want to make $200-$400k and I want to get out of the rat race and then saying I’m thinking of a carpet cleaning business doesn’t quite go together.

 

[eliquid]

good quality

This in itself could be value

 

[yyes]

This question probably gets asked alot in this forum and I'm still trying to take the plunge but don't know what to pursue.

Ultimately my ideal goal is to attain financial freedom and get away from the 9-5 rat race. I want to be in control and my ideal income goal falls within the range of 200-400k profit pretty year.

I hear both arguments. Online is saturated, offline doesn't scale, online has too much competition, etc.

But in your guys opinion what business side offers the best road to financial freedom?

 

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[yyes]

What type of business in your opinion would better fit you?

Both online and offline businesses offer road to financial freedom. This isn't about what's better, it's about what's better for you.

That's the problem, I don't know what I'm good at . In a nutshell hopefully this tells you a bit about me

• I have an iq of 115
• I work in the IT industry as a support specialist
• Before graduating with my bachelor's , I was in the plumbing painting and landscaping industry
• I worked for wells Fargo as a banker for five years and developed great customer service skills.
• I'm an introvert but a great listener
• I have a bachelor's in business which frankly feel is worthless .

I feel like the only good thing I'm good at is playing soccer but I don't want to make a job out of the only thing I enjoy

I guess I'm good at blue collar work but I don't want to be a worker I want to manage my business

 

[yyes]

Trust me I get it, I am in the same stage as you are. Your anxiety and head banging are not done alone. I have a rather large dent in the shape of my forehead on my wall that I have been adding to for a while now. I have had multiple failures already.

In my failures I have asked: Did the value add justify a new service to be created? (For your example, was a money back guarantee enough of a value add to justify creating a new business? Could you have added more value or targeted another underserviced area of cleaning?)
I know I can personally vow to the fact that I do not want to use a 'cleaning service' to get my floors done etc, but I would absolutely pay for someone to clean up my messy apartment for me, maybe there are other niches not being properly serviced or advertised to?

As far as price goes, I don't think I can add much value past what the book talks about. It is dangerous to get into a price war for 'like goods'. Instead trust that you are adding true value into the product and the market will echo if your value add is enough to justify the cost. It is not a bad thing to be the most expensive, but you better be bringing a ton of value for the price if you have lots of competitors.

Another question to ask yourself is did you actually get the value proposition out to a large enough sampling of the market to determine if the business is actually needed or not. If you only ask 3 people to use your service and they all say no, that is NOT a very large sampling of the market and you could be basing your conclusion that the service is not needed off of faulty or incomplete feedback.

The only success I have found at this game so far is that there is no 'right answer' and you just going to have to tweak and pivot until the market says you have a winner.

Thats the problem, I havent even tried it yet. I have a lot of issues that are holding me back:

• Indecisiveness is a big one.
• Self discipline is another one.
• Fear holds me back from taking action.

In the carpet cleaning example I have allowed people to tell me that it cant be done, before even trying to do anything.

In the online sector, when trying to start Amazon FBA, I also allowed people to tell me that the market was too saturated and that it was more trouble than it was worth.

Im glad im not the only one that goes through this. haha

 

[ryanbleau]

$50 bucks a room(about $45 profit)- about 4500 carpets a year to make 200k
about 13 carpets a day, every day of the year.

 

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[yyes]

Wow, thank you guys for all your responses. I'm just being real with myself, I definitely lack action.

There are so many things holding up me back. Yesterday I stayed up all night and asked myself :

• What am I gonna do when winter comes since carpet cleaning is a seasonal industry
• Should I get into the lumber industry?
• Should I get into the tree removal industry since I live in the city of trees?
• But then again, I have never removed a large tree.
• Should I instead get into the painting industry since I worked in that for a couple Years
• But painting is also seasonal.

And on and on and on. Am I really over thinking or are my concerns actually valid??

 

[ryanbleau]

Crime scene cleanup is a year round industry. You'll also deal with industrial accidents as well.

 

[yyes]

It's real important to block out the noise and take a chance. Think this "What's the worst that could happen?", on the other hand remember that if you do nothing, then nothing changes. This realization made me suck it up and do it. Look, scrutinize those people's lives and where they are...chances are they are not successful. Chances are they take no risks and live safe, boring lives, everyday the same, acceptance of defeat.

But how do you decide what to take the dive on?

For example , I personally struggle with what business to endeavor in and flip flop alot. For example, carpet cleaning is an industry that interest me but so is painting and junk removal.

What catches my eye about junk removal is that it's more a necessity whereas carpet cleaning is a luxury.

Junk removal seems the safer option because waste management is not something people like to do,, it's unsexy.

But like I said, I'm constantly flipping flopping and it's something I hate about myself

 

[WJK]

That's the problem, I don't know what I'm good at . In a nutshell hopefully this tells you a bit about me

• I have an iq of 115
• I work in the IT industry as a support specialist
• Before graduating with my bachelor's , I was in the plumbing painting and landscaping industry
• I worked for wells Fargo as a banker for five years and developed great customer service skills.
• I'm an introvert but a great listener
• I have a bachelor's in business which frankly feel is worthless .

I feel like the only good thing I'm good at is playing soccer but I don't want to make a job out of the only thing I enjoy

I guess I'm good at blue collar work but I don't want to be a worker I want to manage my business

If you do put together a blue-collar business, you can start out doing the work and then later hire people to do the "hands-on" stuff. Building from the ground up may make you get your hands dirty for a time. If you ever become too good to do the work, then you can count on losing the business soon afterward.
My standard is that I'm NOT above doing any job in my businesses. The fact that I know how to do the different jobs and I'm willing to jump in to help when needed brings me a lot of respect.
Even with an online business, there's still "grunt" work.

 

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[Duane]

$50 bucks a room(about $45 profit)- about 4500 carpets a year to make 200k
about 13 carpets a day, every day of the year.

There is no way your profit will be $45 per room unless you're cleaning them yourself, getting gas for free, fixing your cleaning vans for free, and etc. Always start from the get go including everything into your calculations.

If you average $50 per room and want to profit $200k, you need to be grossing around $700k. That's 14,000 rooms per year. I google searched this, but your average house cleaner can clean 13-15 rooms per day. Lets be really conservative and say they clean 3 3-bedroom houses per day for $150 each (a low price for my area). They can do this 5-6 days a week and lets stay being conservative at 5 days a week, you're looking at 15 houses a week or 750 houses per year (giving two weeks of no cleaning a year). That's $112k gross per full-time employee or around $33k profit per year per employee. So you need 7 cleaning vans (a backup cause a van will always be breaking down), probably around 12 cleaners, a secretary, a solid manager, and 90 houses a week being cleaned in order to reach your goal. That is doable from one location in a major city. You could run the business from a house with a garage until you have like 4 cleaning vans tbh.

Carpet cleaning is a hard service business because you're dealing with minimum wage workers that are constantly coming and going, and you need some serious volume in order to actually make something (cleaning 90 houses a week is going to be tough to manage).

Coming from someone that's in the service business, there is a trade off. It's that you're out in the field sweating and dirty until you get enough consistent work to hire employees. Then you're managing the employees and doing all the office work until you are getting enough volume to cover hiring a virtual assistant company or a secretary/manager. That takes years and a bit of capital, but you don't need to have multiple locations to run a million dollar cleaning company. Just having one location in a large city can be enough business to get you to that point. There are thousands of houses being cleaned every week in every major city.

 

[WJK]

Everybody I know, online or off, who own successful businesses, start out working their a$$ off -- 60 to 70+ hours per week. They do it without knowing the business will take off. I don't think you will be exempt. It's just part of the normal business cycle.

 

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[WealthChaser]

I posted this idea in the carpet cleaning community and got sh*t on laughed at ridiculed

Oh also I wouldn't pay any mind to the "you can't do it" esp. from potential competition. They don't want you taking market share so of course they will nay say. Let the market decide if it is viable.

 

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[WealthChaser]

I am glad you got some people who have actually gone through the process weigh in on this thread. take their advice and run with it. I am more moral support at this stage. But rest assured, your not alone in this struggle. All the best. Ill be checking in on ya!

 

[ryanbleau]

That's why you have employees based on commission. 4 vans going out every day can do 20 carpets a day each. that's 80 carpets a day 6 days a week. Pay them $20 a carpet. pocket $25 per. You now are making over a half mil a year after investing maybe $200k in Assets. Spend 20k-50k in advertising per year in a high population area and you can see more than a mil a year if you treat the big clientel right and make the little ones feel like they are important. Not to hard to get in front of it.

 

[ryanbleau]

If you make your cleaning guys 100% commission they will actually generate more revenue. If they are in a house for one carpet they often can get more than 1 done by just talking to the home owner. But make sure your payment system is app based so they don't try to undercut you.

 

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