This list will be short and sweet with a few reasons to do them.
1. Make a list of items, supplies and equipment you need to buy or replace for next year.
Why, because some may be small enough (a new roll of hose) that you can buy them now before year end and be able to write it off on this years taxes. Second you can see if any item might be on sale now to save you money next year. Third give you ideas and costs to plan and budget for during 2010.
2. Reconnect with friends and collegues that are in the business.
Why, because they might have something you need that they want to sell or get rid of (again saving you money). You might have something they need that you want to get rid of (making you money). Discuss what worked or did not work for them this past year, might clue you in on changes for yourself next year. Make sure you share your sucesses and failures as well so they will be more apt to help or send you business.
3. Look for places to find free or nearly free information for your business, like blogs and product websites.
Why, because these places can give you ideas on how to do your buiness better without having to leave your house (or where ever your computer is). Information is always changing and being in the know can sometimes make or break your business. Even go to look at sites of products you do not currently use, say a stain brand you know of but costs too much for your normal clients. These site's information could still be worth while no matter what brand of stain you use.
4. Add content to your website. Why, because adding content will improve customer loyalty, impress new customers, and move your site up in searchablity ranking so new customers can find you. And if for some reason you still do not have a website. GET ONE NOW! Many you can start are free for the asking.
5. Create a list of CRAZY goals for 2010. Why, because if you write down goals you would like to happen in the next year, say get 20 contracts over $10,000 each, have 5 crews working for me, etc... rewrite and revist this list once every three months, you might be supprised how many of those crazy goals you closed in on in 2010. Create your own reality for a great 2010 now before 2009 ends.
Happy New Year.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Changing advertising trends for 2010!
To continue on the topic of our last few posts; I follow a number of advertising gurus and web marketing folks and here is what I have been hearing about the trends that will be going into 2010.
1. The Internet, especially Google will still hold the highest return of homeowners and businesses that search for cleaning services. The numbers of these searches far exceeds any other service including those by phone book companies such as yellowpages.com, and does not come close to the hard print phone books. So you need to not only be on the internet with a well equipped web site but keep up with SEO to improve your placement and search ability for customers to find you. Affiliate sales opportunities may also be worth looking into for your buiness.
2. Social Media will continue to increase significantly throughout 2010 and companies that can incorporate things like Twitter, Facebook, MerchantCircle, YouTube, Hot Frog, LinkedIn and others will bring you new clients at little cost. Like I have mentioned before try to spend at least a few hours per week blogging, linking and changing content on your site to drive search engines and new customers to your business.
3. Direct Mail, is not dead, this media will be abandoned or greatly curtailed by many which will make it more profitable for those that continue to use it. Your message will start to stand out instead of being buried by similar companies. Especially to existing customers, postcards, newsletters and sales special flyers may be the most important thing you do in 2010 to keep your repeat business. Also printers and marketers may run more deals and specials as so many other companies cut spending in these areas.
4. E-mail offers, will start to lose its luster next year. With the expansion of many businesses that have finally heard the word that e-mailing is fast, inexpensive, and labor reducing especially through third party facilitators, e-mails will start to get lost or buried in the in box. This does not mean you should stop using them but try to cut back to only really important messages that your customer will want to open and do not depend on them to bring you the bulk of your new customers.
5. Yellow page phone books, as stated above they will continue to lose a large part of the market share and you should not be spending large amounts here. If you have an ad, think about downsizing, moving those dollars to the internet, yet keeping yourself visible to the older, over 50, customer that still tends to rely on phone books and print ads. You may have to keep what you have only if you are in a very competive market where you are still getting a large number of your leads and new customers from using them.
6. Newspapers and other print ads, although the numbers for these have declined somewhat over the past few years there is still use and value to be found in them. Again older customers tend to be the ones that are reading the newspaper and print ads like in local publications and direct mailers like Valpak will continue to work. You just need to gauge your past success with current ones and make changes accordingly.
7. Billboards, Radio and Television are all big ticket items that may be marketing opportunities this year. Check your area for special deals they may be giving to small business to make up for the losses they are feeling from big business cut backs. Look for a company that has a presence in all three medias in your market to find the best deals. This may only work for those in large city markets but keep your options open. One month of well combined media advertising can win big, especially if right at the beginning of your target season.
Now is the time to make sure you do not lock your business into spending money that will not give you enough of a return or chance to make you money in 2010. Happy New Year.
1. The Internet, especially Google will still hold the highest return of homeowners and businesses that search for cleaning services. The numbers of these searches far exceeds any other service including those by phone book companies such as yellowpages.com, and does not come close to the hard print phone books. So you need to not only be on the internet with a well equipped web site but keep up with SEO to improve your placement and search ability for customers to find you. Affiliate sales opportunities may also be worth looking into for your buiness.
2. Social Media will continue to increase significantly throughout 2010 and companies that can incorporate things like Twitter, Facebook, MerchantCircle, YouTube, Hot Frog, LinkedIn and others will bring you new clients at little cost. Like I have mentioned before try to spend at least a few hours per week blogging, linking and changing content on your site to drive search engines and new customers to your business.
3. Direct Mail, is not dead, this media will be abandoned or greatly curtailed by many which will make it more profitable for those that continue to use it. Your message will start to stand out instead of being buried by similar companies. Especially to existing customers, postcards, newsletters and sales special flyers may be the most important thing you do in 2010 to keep your repeat business. Also printers and marketers may run more deals and specials as so many other companies cut spending in these areas.
4. E-mail offers, will start to lose its luster next year. With the expansion of many businesses that have finally heard the word that e-mailing is fast, inexpensive, and labor reducing especially through third party facilitators, e-mails will start to get lost or buried in the in box. This does not mean you should stop using them but try to cut back to only really important messages that your customer will want to open and do not depend on them to bring you the bulk of your new customers.
5. Yellow page phone books, as stated above they will continue to lose a large part of the market share and you should not be spending large amounts here. If you have an ad, think about downsizing, moving those dollars to the internet, yet keeping yourself visible to the older, over 50, customer that still tends to rely on phone books and print ads. You may have to keep what you have only if you are in a very competive market where you are still getting a large number of your leads and new customers from using them.
6. Newspapers and other print ads, although the numbers for these have declined somewhat over the past few years there is still use and value to be found in them. Again older customers tend to be the ones that are reading the newspaper and print ads like in local publications and direct mailers like Valpak will continue to work. You just need to gauge your past success with current ones and make changes accordingly.
7. Billboards, Radio and Television are all big ticket items that may be marketing opportunities this year. Check your area for special deals they may be giving to small business to make up for the losses they are feeling from big business cut backs. Look for a company that has a presence in all three medias in your market to find the best deals. This may only work for those in large city markets but keep your options open. One month of well combined media advertising can win big, especially if right at the beginning of your target season.
Now is the time to make sure you do not lock your business into spending money that will not give you enough of a return or chance to make you money in 2010. Happy New Year.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The 5 reasons why it is important to advertise your service business during a down turn in the economy.
1. Advertising lets customers that have never needed you before know you are here and available.
Many people do not seek out services until they need them. All funeral directors know this and your business has to be advertising so when these new customers need arise, you are on their mind. Most people gravitate to the company whose name they have heard about or seen more often, no matter what their performance record is. It is your quality of service that will make a repeat customer and makes your next word of mouth advertiser.
2. Advertising shows customers that your services are needed and stand the test of time.
When people see that you are advertising and can identify with the services you provide, they are more likely to remember you when that service need comes up for them. If no one owned a car then no one would need an auto repair shop, but most people do, so knowing that a repair shop is in their neighborhood will at sometime come in handy for that business in the future.
3. Advertising lets your previous customers know you are still in business.
Repeat business is a large part of every bottom line and if your previous customers are unsure that you are still around, because they have not heard from you in a while, they might go to someone else they have seen advertising that they know are available and use them instead. People are lazy and many times will take what they currently know instead of taking the time to find out for them selves, like looking up your number and placing a call.
4. Advertising lets new customers know you have been around and will continue to be here.
New customers that can see by your advertising that you have been in this business for a period of time will feel better knowing you are not a fly by night operator, that you must have a level of quality associated with your service, and that you should still be around to stand behind your service in the future. That is why testimonials are very important in service advertising.
5. Advertising keeps you working while others are not.
Businesses that are sitting back waiting for an old or new customer to come to them because they do not want to spend the money for advertising during a down turn time, may just be waiting until they close their doors for good. If you are not out there looking for new business, contacting past customers to ask for their work and competing for the few available dollars customers have, you will be holding an empty money bag at the end of the day, week, month or year.
Here is to hoping you had a good 2009 and that you will have a very prosperous New Year in 2010.
Many people do not seek out services until they need them. All funeral directors know this and your business has to be advertising so when these new customers need arise, you are on their mind. Most people gravitate to the company whose name they have heard about or seen more often, no matter what their performance record is. It is your quality of service that will make a repeat customer and makes your next word of mouth advertiser.
2. Advertising shows customers that your services are needed and stand the test of time.
When people see that you are advertising and can identify with the services you provide, they are more likely to remember you when that service need comes up for them. If no one owned a car then no one would need an auto repair shop, but most people do, so knowing that a repair shop is in their neighborhood will at sometime come in handy for that business in the future.
3. Advertising lets your previous customers know you are still in business.
Repeat business is a large part of every bottom line and if your previous customers are unsure that you are still around, because they have not heard from you in a while, they might go to someone else they have seen advertising that they know are available and use them instead. People are lazy and many times will take what they currently know instead of taking the time to find out for them selves, like looking up your number and placing a call.
4. Advertising lets new customers know you have been around and will continue to be here.
New customers that can see by your advertising that you have been in this business for a period of time will feel better knowing you are not a fly by night operator, that you must have a level of quality associated with your service, and that you should still be around to stand behind your service in the future. That is why testimonials are very important in service advertising.
5. Advertising keeps you working while others are not.
Businesses that are sitting back waiting for an old or new customer to come to them because they do not want to spend the money for advertising during a down turn time, may just be waiting until they close their doors for good. If you are not out there looking for new business, contacting past customers to ask for their work and competing for the few available dollars customers have, you will be holding an empty money bag at the end of the day, week, month or year.
Here is to hoping you had a good 2009 and that you will have a very prosperous New Year in 2010.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Are you part of the new digital age?
I hate to text, I even have texting blocked from my phone. I never saw the need to twitter, yet I just got us signed up before going to Texas and have sent out some tweets, but I do have a personal facebook page besides our business one and business listings on Linkedin.com and MerchantCircle.com. But there are some new social networking ideas that I think every business person should atempt even if they are not a big player in this new digital wave.
I spoke before about a company Bookfresh.com, and they just asked me to join their group on MerchantCircle.com. A business to business only site not unlike facebook.com and very close to Linkedin.com. Merchant Circle puts you in touch with other local business that might use your service or that could help you network to find new customers. Bookfresh is doing something like what I had mentioned in a previous blog about getting a virtual office to take calls and make appointments for you and your business.
They also use the social network feature of linking you into facebook that allows new customers to find you and book jobs right from thier facebook page. How cool it that. You do not even have to pay for the marketing to find these new customers, your freinds and their freinds on facebook does it all for you! And if you still have not made yourself a website like I have written about in other blogs, they have a simple single web page for you that you can customize or if you already have a web site (good for you) that you can link to, increasing your exposure for SEO.
Another great new thing that just came out late October is an 'app' to Valpak.com. Here is an article that tells about it. http://blog.kudzu.com/?p=1775. Many of you might already use or know about Valpak, a national company that sends out local coupon sheets in a blue envelope to homeowners in the zip codes you want to market too. Well they have recently added an on line version and are giving out this free app to link phones and hand helds to Valpack on line to instantly get their users coupons. Go here to see it or get it. www.itunes.com/appstore/. What a great way to be on top of the list when a customer deceides that they need their house washed, deck, driveway or roof cleaned, or maybe even help with holiday light instalations (if you offer that) here is how to contact them http://www.valpak.com/advertise/index.jsp.
Also you do not have to be using the local Valpac blue envelope program to use the on line one. You can do them separatly or together.
Here's to you, your business and better marketing the digital way in the new year.
I spoke before about a company Bookfresh.com, and they just asked me to join their group on MerchantCircle.com. A business to business only site not unlike facebook.com and very close to Linkedin.com. Merchant Circle puts you in touch with other local business that might use your service or that could help you network to find new customers. Bookfresh is doing something like what I had mentioned in a previous blog about getting a virtual office to take calls and make appointments for you and your business.
They also use the social network feature of linking you into facebook that allows new customers to find you and book jobs right from thier facebook page. How cool it that. You do not even have to pay for the marketing to find these new customers, your freinds and their freinds on facebook does it all for you! And if you still have not made yourself a website like I have written about in other blogs, they have a simple single web page for you that you can customize or if you already have a web site (good for you) that you can link to, increasing your exposure for SEO.
Another great new thing that just came out late October is an 'app' to Valpak.com. Here is an article that tells about it. http://blog.kudzu.com/?p=1775. Many of you might already use or know about Valpak, a national company that sends out local coupon sheets in a blue envelope to homeowners in the zip codes you want to market too. Well they have recently added an on line version and are giving out this free app to link phones and hand helds to Valpack on line to instantly get their users coupons. Go here to see it or get it. www.itunes.com/appstore/. What a great way to be on top of the list when a customer deceides that they need their house washed, deck, driveway or roof cleaned, or maybe even help with holiday light instalations (if you offer that) here is how to contact them http://www.valpak.com/advertise/index.jsp.
Also you do not have to be using the local Valpac blue envelope program to use the on line one. You can do them separatly or together.
Here's to you, your business and better marketing the digital way in the new year.
Monday, November 9, 2009
How to forcast marketing, Tea leaves, crystal balls, or data?
This problem is one that I am working on here at Soap Warehouse and one that I am sure most of you have to deal with at least a few times a year if not monthly. Where do I spend the money I have on advertising? How to I figure out what is working and what new to try?
I read this short article yesterday that got me to thinking of a plan of action.
BUSINESS MARKETING: Tea leaves, crystal balls, or data?
Maybe it can help you as it hopefully will help us here at Soap Warehouse.
This along with a program I love FreeMind, these I hope will help keep our marketing fluid, impactful and as cost effective as possible.
With the FreeMind application I will enter in all the options we have found this year for marketing. I will put in all the dates (when I have to have work orders in or closing dates) and costs of all the opportunities we might want to try this year. Even if I doubt we will be able to afford a few of them. At least they will be on the radar as ideas to shoot for later.
Then as the year progresses and results are measured with each marketing program I will be able to see if something worked and we need to continue on this path, that will cause us to negate other programs, or if we will stop one method or avenue, leaving open the time and money to try another tack on our marketing course.
This way I can start out this year with a set budget but not a definite place where all the resources will go so that we can make changes during the year or even each month as things change.
I hope these can help you as well.
I read this short article yesterday that got me to thinking of a plan of action.
BUSINESS MARKETING: Tea leaves, crystal balls, or data?
Maybe it can help you as it hopefully will help us here at Soap Warehouse.
This along with a program I love FreeMind, these I hope will help keep our marketing fluid, impactful and as cost effective as possible.
With the FreeMind application I will enter in all the options we have found this year for marketing. I will put in all the dates (when I have to have work orders in or closing dates) and costs of all the opportunities we might want to try this year. Even if I doubt we will be able to afford a few of them. At least they will be on the radar as ideas to shoot for later.
Then as the year progresses and results are measured with each marketing program I will be able to see if something worked and we need to continue on this path, that will cause us to negate other programs, or if we will stop one method or avenue, leaving open the time and money to try another tack on our marketing course.
This way I can start out this year with a set budget but not a definite place where all the resources will go so that we can make changes during the year or even each month as things change.
I hope these can help you as well.
Monday, November 2, 2009
What have you learned this year?
I am one of those people that think you should try to learn something new everyday. And if not everyday at least look to find new information or things to learn 2-3 times a week.
If you are not learning you are not growing as a person or in your business. So take a minute to ask your self "What have I learned this year?" If you don't have an answer, or don't think you learned enough maybe you need to start looking for things to learn and places to learn them.
I hope many of you took advantage of the trade shows and coventions offered this past month or this year.
That you are on at least one forum chat room that puts you in touch with others in your field of business.
That you tried to find new ways to do your jobs more efectively, less costly or faster.
That you learned ways to improve getting you & your business in front of customers with advertising.
Soap Warehouse wants to help you learn and to grow. Because face it, the more you grow, the more product you will need and the more we will grow with you. We only want to give you the best in products and in knowlege. So if there is a topic you would like more information on or resource links to, just let us know and we will be happy to spend the time, you may not have, to find the information you need to learn and make it available to you.
One great site I found this year that I have been letting all my car detailers know about is a site called Book Fresh http://www.bookfresh.com/. Now this site can be used by more than just car detailers and if you have been trying to find other ways to increase your customer base or if you have too many empty days to fill this may be it.
BookFresh is a service that you join and they get a cut for their service. With one system they offer, you fill out a list of your own service information for the jobs you are willing to do and lets you put prices to them. Then potential customers go on line, look at what you offer at the price you list and then deceied if they would like to book your services. It also lets you tell the customer when you are available to do the jobs. So say Tueday and Wednesday is always a slow day for you, you can leave those days as the only ones open for new customers. Each job has a time limit set with it, say roof cleaning under 1500 sqft 3 hours, and you have open three time slots per day. The new customer goes on line, finds the day and time they like, places the order, pays for the service and recieves a coupon. You then get an email notice of this new customers information, order and payment. You know you have already been paid before you even load up to drive to their home. Once there you take the coupon and do the job. Of course you should have already called and spoken to them, made sure the job falls in the specs you put down for the job and may even possibly up sell them for other services that they can pay for once you get there.
Don't want to pre-price your services, Book Fresh has another service to book free consultations for job bids. They place you on search engines like Google & Yahoo locally to find you customers. Take a look http://www.bookfresh.com/resources/handyman-business-marketing-software/.
Book Fresh gives you a website (even if you do not already have one) for customers to see your work, read testamonials, it even lets you link to any other website you already have, and offers many free business services for paying clients.
I think this service is a great idea that can move any business, that is not yet on line, into the computer age and open up new possiblities to gain the newer computer savey customer. More than 70% of new customers go line instead of picking up a phone book these days and you need to be where the customers are looking.
I hope you all keep learning and that this site can help some of our customers businesses.
Please let us know if you use them and how it works for you.
If you are not learning you are not growing as a person or in your business. So take a minute to ask your self "What have I learned this year?" If you don't have an answer, or don't think you learned enough maybe you need to start looking for things to learn and places to learn them.
I hope many of you took advantage of the trade shows and coventions offered this past month or this year.
That you are on at least one forum chat room that puts you in touch with others in your field of business.
That you tried to find new ways to do your jobs more efectively, less costly or faster.
That you learned ways to improve getting you & your business in front of customers with advertising.
Soap Warehouse wants to help you learn and to grow. Because face it, the more you grow, the more product you will need and the more we will grow with you. We only want to give you the best in products and in knowlege. So if there is a topic you would like more information on or resource links to, just let us know and we will be happy to spend the time, you may not have, to find the information you need to learn and make it available to you.
One great site I found this year that I have been letting all my car detailers know about is a site called Book Fresh http://www.bookfresh.com/. Now this site can be used by more than just car detailers and if you have been trying to find other ways to increase your customer base or if you have too many empty days to fill this may be it.
BookFresh is a service that you join and they get a cut for their service. With one system they offer, you fill out a list of your own service information for the jobs you are willing to do and lets you put prices to them. Then potential customers go on line, look at what you offer at the price you list and then deceied if they would like to book your services. It also lets you tell the customer when you are available to do the jobs. So say Tueday and Wednesday is always a slow day for you, you can leave those days as the only ones open for new customers. Each job has a time limit set with it, say roof cleaning under 1500 sqft 3 hours, and you have open three time slots per day. The new customer goes on line, finds the day and time they like, places the order, pays for the service and recieves a coupon. You then get an email notice of this new customers information, order and payment. You know you have already been paid before you even load up to drive to their home. Once there you take the coupon and do the job. Of course you should have already called and spoken to them, made sure the job falls in the specs you put down for the job and may even possibly up sell them for other services that they can pay for once you get there.
Don't want to pre-price your services, Book Fresh has another service to book free consultations for job bids. They place you on search engines like Google & Yahoo locally to find you customers. Take a look http://www.bookfresh.com/resources/handyman-business-marketing-software/.
Book Fresh gives you a website (even if you do not already have one) for customers to see your work, read testamonials, it even lets you link to any other website you already have, and offers many free business services for paying clients.
I think this service is a great idea that can move any business, that is not yet on line, into the computer age and open up new possiblities to gain the newer computer savey customer. More than 70% of new customers go line instead of picking up a phone book these days and you need to be where the customers are looking.
I hope you all keep learning and that this site can help some of our customers businesses.
Please let us know if you use them and how it works for you.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Are you going to a Convention this month?
October is a great month for the Pressure Washing Industry and starting next week there will be one event a week all month. In fact there will be so many taking place it would be very hard to get to them all or sometimes to even choose between them.
For some the choice is easy, if you sell equipment as well as do pressure washing work you might be going to CETA the 18th-20 out in Reno, NV. If you live in the North Central area of the country and have been a member of the PWNA for a long time then you will probably attend theirs near Chicago next week the 8th-10th. But there is a new one this year that many contractors might want to take a look at and that is the UAMCC (United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners). This is their very first convention that will be held in Orlando the 22nd-25th later in the month. It will be packed with speakers and programs geared to better your business. Even if you have not planed to go to any of these it is not too late, especially for the UAMCC. Please try to make it to at least one of these.
I wish I could go to all of them but in fact I unfortunately will not personally be able to make it to any of them. But Soap Warehouse will be participating and supporting them in small ways.
At the UAMCC we have sent 3 $100 product coupons to be given away as prizes at their event. We have contacted the PWNA to offer them the same thing but as of this posting we have not heard back if they will accept this donation. We are also offering all members of these groups a special offer on product for this month and next, wether you are a current customer or not. Either 10% off the product cost of one order with proof of membership or attendance at one of these events or a free 5 gallon container of any one liquid product item, found in our exterior or degreaser tab section of our website, with any other purchase for one order. One only offer per customer.
These events are a great break for you after a very difficult season, for great networking and an opportunity for learning to improve your business. Here is hoping these events help you have a good end to this year.
For some the choice is easy, if you sell equipment as well as do pressure washing work you might be going to CETA the 18th-20 out in Reno, NV. If you live in the North Central area of the country and have been a member of the PWNA for a long time then you will probably attend theirs near Chicago next week the 8th-10th. But there is a new one this year that many contractors might want to take a look at and that is the UAMCC (United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners). This is their very first convention that will be held in Orlando the 22nd-25th later in the month. It will be packed with speakers and programs geared to better your business. Even if you have not planed to go to any of these it is not too late, especially for the UAMCC. Please try to make it to at least one of these.
I wish I could go to all of them but in fact I unfortunately will not personally be able to make it to any of them. But Soap Warehouse will be participating and supporting them in small ways.
At the UAMCC we have sent 3 $100 product coupons to be given away as prizes at their event. We have contacted the PWNA to offer them the same thing but as of this posting we have not heard back if they will accept this donation. We are also offering all members of these groups a special offer on product for this month and next, wether you are a current customer or not. Either 10% off the product cost of one order with proof of membership or attendance at one of these events or a free 5 gallon container of any one liquid product item, found in our exterior or degreaser tab section of our website, with any other purchase for one order. One only offer per customer.
These events are a great break for you after a very difficult season, for great networking and an opportunity for learning to improve your business. Here is hoping these events help you have a good end to this year.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Why you need MSDS books?
Well September is here and with it the last quarter of the year. Now is a good time to look and see what business goals you set back at the first of the year still have to be done, evaluate things you have tried this year so far to see if you want to continue with them next year or put on the front burner things you still need to do before this year runs out.
So far we have done all the major products we had planned like putting out a monthly newsletter, writing in this blog at least once a month, trade shows and new advertising campaigns in new channels. But even I still have some things that got pushed aside that I need to get done and marked off my to do list.
One big one is to contact every customer to make sure they have a copy of an MSDS for every product they have purchased from us. This one item is very important for you, for your business and for your employees if you have them. This needs to be done and checked at least once a year. So very soon you will be getting either an email or letter in the mail with a list of the MSDS's you should have on hand especially if you still have the product at your house, on your truck or rig.
MSDS's are always sent out by us the first time you buy a new product, when the product contains Hydrofluoric acid or when it is requested by you, our customer. You can get a needed copy by calling 800-762-7911, emailing us or downloading it from the website.
By law (OSHA either federal or state) you need to have a book made up of all MSDS for every product you use routinely in your work that you or employees can be exposed to. So many more products than just ours should be in there. They need to be cataloged in alphabetical order; by letter tabs are even better. You should probably have more than one MSDS book in your possession. The first should be at your home or office where the bulk of your chemicals are kept. And the others should be carried out on the road with you in your truck or on your rig itself. And if you have more than one truck or rig, one for every one of those as well. It is also best for at least the ones on the road to be kept in a waterproof binder with the pages inserted in plastic page covers so dirt and water will not mess them up. If you do not have these books in place yet, this is a great time of year to get them at the lowest possible cost, while back to school supply sales are happening.
If you do not know what is found in an MSDS, or all the sections of an MSDS, now would be a great time to learn. You can go here to learn everything you need to know about an MSDS, like why you should have them, what are the different sections of an MSDS so you know where to look if the situation comes up and you need it. During an emergency is not the time to wonder if the health cautions or first aid directions are found in section III or VII! Plus if you ever get asked for your MSDS by OSHA, the DOT, a police officer or even a customer to prove what is or is not in a product you are using at their home, this will help your business look professional and possibly not be fined for not having them.
The most frightening calls I have gotten are when customers call us frantic with an injured employee and they do not know where an MSDS is or they did not keep the MSDS we sent them and that employee needs immediate emergency care. I hope you never have a need to open your MSDS books but it sure is important that they are there if you ever do.
So far we have done all the major products we had planned like putting out a monthly newsletter, writing in this blog at least once a month, trade shows and new advertising campaigns in new channels. But even I still have some things that got pushed aside that I need to get done and marked off my to do list.
One big one is to contact every customer to make sure they have a copy of an MSDS for every product they have purchased from us. This one item is very important for you, for your business and for your employees if you have them. This needs to be done and checked at least once a year. So very soon you will be getting either an email or letter in the mail with a list of the MSDS's you should have on hand especially if you still have the product at your house, on your truck or rig.
MSDS's are always sent out by us the first time you buy a new product, when the product contains Hydrofluoric acid or when it is requested by you, our customer. You can get a needed copy by calling 800-762-7911, emailing us or downloading it from the website.
By law (OSHA either federal or state) you need to have a book made up of all MSDS for every product you use routinely in your work that you or employees can be exposed to. So many more products than just ours should be in there. They need to be cataloged in alphabetical order; by letter tabs are even better. You should probably have more than one MSDS book in your possession. The first should be at your home or office where the bulk of your chemicals are kept. And the others should be carried out on the road with you in your truck or on your rig itself. And if you have more than one truck or rig, one for every one of those as well. It is also best for at least the ones on the road to be kept in a waterproof binder with the pages inserted in plastic page covers so dirt and water will not mess them up. If you do not have these books in place yet, this is a great time of year to get them at the lowest possible cost, while back to school supply sales are happening.
If you do not know what is found in an MSDS, or all the sections of an MSDS, now would be a great time to learn. You can go here to learn everything you need to know about an MSDS, like why you should have them, what are the different sections of an MSDS so you know where to look if the situation comes up and you need it. During an emergency is not the time to wonder if the health cautions or first aid directions are found in section III or VII! Plus if you ever get asked for your MSDS by OSHA, the DOT, a police officer or even a customer to prove what is or is not in a product you are using at their home, this will help your business look professional and possibly not be fined for not having them.
The most frightening calls I have gotten are when customers call us frantic with an injured employee and they do not know where an MSDS is or they did not keep the MSDS we sent them and that employee needs immediate emergency care. I hope you never have a need to open your MSDS books but it sure is important that they are there if you ever do.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Texas was Great!
Well we are back home from the Great American Truck Show and even with a few hick ups before we started we had a great response and met some great people that we hope will become new customers. Here is a photo of me at the booth just before opening on Thursday August 2oth. I do not have an official head count yet from the show but I know over 10,ooo came by just our booth because our neighbor booth scanned around 6,ooo individuals and they did not get everyone.
I spoke to a little over 200 attendees personally about how they are washing their rigs and fleets and discussed our product line with them. We had 9 attendees that sent in a prize registration to us pre show and one of them, Bill Harlow won 5 gallons of Big Rig Brite. We also had one winner, Gregory Gipe, that won one of the Fox Fury Headlamps stop back by the booth the day after his name was drawn to pick up his prize and have his photo taken.
Here is a list of all of our winners:
8/20
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Ladd Winkleblack – Mount Pleasant, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Larry Williams – Jacksonville, AR
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp – Ervin Van Beck – Apple Valley, MN
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Ladd Winkleblack – Mount Pleasant, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Larry Williams – Jacksonville, AR
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp – Ervin Van Beck – Apple Valley, MN
8/21
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Richard Herrington – Garland, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Bill Harlow – Applegate, OR
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp - Gregory Gipe – Pearl City, IL
8/22
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Marcus Deal – Alvarado, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Russ Cross – Kirbyville, TX
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp – Bryan Fontenot – Brookshire, TX
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Richard Herrington – Garland, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Bill Harlow – Applegate, OR
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp - Gregory Gipe – Pearl City, IL
8/22
12:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Marcus Deal – Alvarado, TX
2:30 Big Rig Truck Brite – Russ Cross – Kirbyville, TX
4:30 Fox Fury Headlamp – Bryan Fontenot – Brookshire, TX
Thank you to all of the nearly 100 people that entered. And if you went to the show you have until Monday Sept 21st to purchase from us with the show specials we offered.
I got a real treat when I got the chance to meet Alex Debogorski from the History Channel's 
show "Ice Road Truckers". He was a lot of fun and spent time with everyone that lined up to see him during all three days of the show. He is just as nice in person as he appears on the show and was traveling with his wife Gene, his sister and two sons of his eleven children. The country singer Tracy Lawrence also did a show for attendees Friday night, but tickets were limited, he did not stay and sing as long as promised and would not sign autographs so everyone I spoke to on Saturday was not that pleased with the performance or with him but everyone was saw was very happy they stopped and met Alex. I guess that is why I saw 20 Alex T-shirts to every 1 of Tracy's on Saturday. Being a nice person pays.
show "Ice Road Truckers". He was a lot of fun and spent time with everyone that lined up to see him during all three days of the show. He is just as nice in person as he appears on the show and was traveling with his wife Gene, his sister and two sons of his eleven children. The country singer Tracy Lawrence also did a show for attendees Friday night, but tickets were limited, he did not stay and sing as long as promised and would not sign autographs so everyone I spoke to on Saturday was not that pleased with the performance or with him but everyone was saw was very happy they stopped and met Alex. I guess that is why I saw 20 Alex T-shirts to every 1 of Tracy's on Saturday. Being a nice person pays.Friday, August 21, 2009
Here at the Show/
Well we made it to the Great American Truck Show with a few set backs but the start is going well.
We were to have 5 staff at this show but the owner of Soap Warehouse got a badly infected cyst on his hand and had to stay back in GA in the hospital to have it taken care of. So down 2 members from that. Then on Wednesday right before 5 pm we had an email from our models staffing company Statementmodles.com that our model decided she did not want the job she was paid a month ago to do and they were refunding us our money. Thanks a lot! So down to 2 staff members. Thank goodness we have friends here in Texas. We called and got a local friend that has done other kinds of trade shows in the past, although not for industrial soaps to drive over to help us at the last minute.
So far we have had a good response, seen some new owner operators that had sent in their drawing entries in early to us, some that read about us in the GATS newsletter or saw our ad in the Land Line magazine. We hope to have the next two days to be just as good. Will update everyone on how the whole show turned out along with a list of all our prize drawing winners at the end of the show.
We were to have 5 staff at this show but the owner of Soap Warehouse got a badly infected cyst on his hand and had to stay back in GA in the hospital to have it taken care of. So down 2 members from that. Then on Wednesday right before 5 pm we had an email from our models staffing company Statementmodles.com that our model decided she did not want the job she was paid a month ago to do and they were refunding us our money. Thanks a lot! So down to 2 staff members. Thank goodness we have friends here in Texas. We called and got a local friend that has done other kinds of trade shows in the past, although not for industrial soaps to drive over to help us at the last minute.
So far we have had a good response, seen some new owner operators that had sent in their drawing entries in early to us, some that read about us in the GATS newsletter or saw our ad in the Land Line magazine. We hope to have the next two days to be just as good. Will update everyone on how the whole show turned out along with a list of all our prize drawing winners at the end of the show.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Great American Truck Show is almost here!
Well it is almost time to leave for Texas and I can tell you even though I have been getting ready for three months I think I will still be doing things until the minute we pull out of the parking lot!
We will be located in the left show room as you enter near the Pride and Polish areas at booth 14049. If you see the Trek Bikes you have found us, they are right next to us. Should be a big draw if they don't run over folks in the aisles!
We will be giving away prizes three times a day all three days of the show. Three Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamps and Six - 5 gallon pails of Big Rig Brite.
We will also have booth gifts of microfiber towels, dash sticky pads and sample sizes of our Odor Out neutralizer spray for drivers to use in their rig cabs. And one special item for Soap Warehouse customers that stop by to say hey. We will also have show only product specials.
The Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamp is a great item for truckers or anyone that has to work out at night and needs to have their hands free to work. It has 20 LED lights in a two row bar that fits across your forehead, with three different settings to adjust the amount of light you need for a task; from 4 center lights, 8 or all 20. It also has a red rear light to warn anyone coming up from behind you that you are there. Perfect for when you are walking outside of the truck checking on the trailer.
I have also just signed up for Twitter and if I can get service inside the Dallas Convention Center I might even take the time to send out a few tweets.
Well we sent out all the tickets people asked for a also a few extra to customers that buy a lot of truck wash that could possibly have folks they know going to the show, so if you get some in the mail and can not go please send them on to some one or some trucker that may like the chance to have that free $10 entry ticket paid for.
Have a great next 10 days and if I do not have a chance while at the show I will write again once we all are back here in GA. Remember the office will still be open while we are in TX so keep they orders coming and we will get them shipped out!
We will be located in the left show room as you enter near the Pride and Polish areas at booth 14049. If you see the Trek Bikes you have found us, they are right next to us. Should be a big draw if they don't run over folks in the aisles!
We will be giving away prizes three times a day all three days of the show. Three Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamps and Six - 5 gallon pails of Big Rig Brite.
We will also have booth gifts of microfiber towels, dash sticky pads and sample sizes of our Odor Out neutralizer spray for drivers to use in their rig cabs. And one special item for Soap Warehouse customers that stop by to say hey. We will also have show only product specials.
The Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamp is a great item for truckers or anyone that has to work out at night and needs to have their hands free to work. It has 20 LED lights in a two row bar that fits across your forehead, with three different settings to adjust the amount of light you need for a task; from 4 center lights, 8 or all 20. It also has a red rear light to warn anyone coming up from behind you that you are there. Perfect for when you are walking outside of the truck checking on the trailer.
I have also just signed up for Twitter and if I can get service inside the Dallas Convention Center I might even take the time to send out a few tweets.
Well we sent out all the tickets people asked for a also a few extra to customers that buy a lot of truck wash that could possibly have folks they know going to the show, so if you get some in the mail and can not go please send them on to some one or some trucker that may like the chance to have that free $10 entry ticket paid for.
Have a great next 10 days and if I do not have a chance while at the show I will write again once we all are back here in GA. Remember the office will still be open while we are in TX so keep they orders coming and we will get them shipped out!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
What to do in this economy?
I am sure many of you are asking that question and to stick with the Car Wash theme I would like to end this month by sharing with you a great article I found. It is The Economic Impact Study in regards to professional car washing and detailing.
If this is part of or your main business go here and take a look: http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6637242
This web site http://www.carwash.com/index.asp is full of information for all you automatic, self serve and hand wash car wash and car detailers. This site also includes for members, and it is free to join, a bulletin board forum, information from their magazine where back issues are archived.
Soap Warehouse also just joined http://www.carwash.com/ as a vendor and we hope to pass information we find interesting and helpful on to our customers here as well but please take the time to check them out and possibly bookmark them as a future resource.
We will be busy getting ready for the Great American Truck show starting on Aug 29th so if any of you are involved in big rig fleet washing please try to drive to Dallas and check it out. We will be at booth 14049 near the Pride and Polish area.
If this is part of or your main business go here and take a look: http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6637242
This web site http://www.carwash.com/index.asp is full of information for all you automatic, self serve and hand wash car wash and car detailers. This site also includes for members, and it is free to join, a bulletin board forum, information from their magazine where back issues are archived.
Soap Warehouse also just joined http://www.carwash.com/ as a vendor and we hope to pass information we find interesting and helpful on to our customers here as well but please take the time to check them out and possibly bookmark them as a future resource.
We will be busy getting ready for the Great American Truck show starting on Aug 29th so if any of you are involved in big rig fleet washing please try to drive to Dallas and check it out. We will be at booth 14049 near the Pride and Polish area.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Great American Truck Show
I can not believe we have only three weeks until August 20th and the Great American Truck Show in Dallas, TX. It will be running from Thursday August 20th at noon until Saturday August 22nd at 6 p.m.
We have been working very hard to make Soap Warehouse's first major trade show a success and we want all our customers and friends to share that success and be a part of it.
Please let us know if you would like a free pair of tickets to attend the show. Normally $10 a ticket for entry you can be our guest for free. Just call or email us and we will be happy to send you some. There will be free tractor parking, and many activities like a Free Concert by Tracy Lawrence. Please use this link to visit the GATS home page for all the info. http://www.gatsonline.com/
Myself along with the owner of Soap Warehouse and other staff will be on hand to meet you at our Booth #14049 to discuss our great line of truck washes and aluminum brighteners that will be the focus of this show. We would love to meet any of our current customers in person or any possible future customer that would like to introduce yourself to us. When you come by to see us make sure you let us know who you are, because all of our current customers that stop by will receive a special item just for coming by to say hello. We would love to hear stories of how our products have or are working for you and your business too. We will also have other booth only items to give-a-way to any attendee that stops to talk and discuss our products with them. We will have show only pricing specials as well as coupons for future purchases with us.
You may fill out a prize entry form before you even get to the show to have the first opportunity possible to win one of our daily booth prizes. You will find the link on the front of our website http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/ fill it out and fax it to 770-939-5501 to be entered.
We will be giving away every day of the show a Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamp
and two 5 gallon containers of Big Rig Brite Truck Wash. The Fox Fury Headlamp has a retail value of $90 and the truck wash will be delivered to the winners location a value starting at $70 or more including the shipping.
These as well as our in booth give-a-ways are just some of the reasons to come meet us and enjoy yourself at the show.
The office in Georgia will still be open to serve our customers during the show, taking orders and shipping out product but please be understanding if the phone does not get answered as fast as usual or if someone has to call you back since we are leaving the front office just a little short staffed that week while the rest of us are in Texas.
Again we hope to see you at the show and please call us for tickets and fax your entry in for our prize drawings.
We have been working very hard to make Soap Warehouse's first major trade show a success and we want all our customers and friends to share that success and be a part of it.
Please let us know if you would like a free pair of tickets to attend the show. Normally $10 a ticket for entry you can be our guest for free. Just call or email us and we will be happy to send you some. There will be free tractor parking, and many activities like a Free Concert by Tracy Lawrence. Please use this link to visit the GATS home page for all the info. http://www.gatsonline.com/
Myself along with the owner of Soap Warehouse and other staff will be on hand to meet you at our Booth #14049 to discuss our great line of truck washes and aluminum brighteners that will be the focus of this show. We would love to meet any of our current customers in person or any possible future customer that would like to introduce yourself to us. When you come by to see us make sure you let us know who you are, because all of our current customers that stop by will receive a special item just for coming by to say hello. We would love to hear stories of how our products have or are working for you and your business too. We will also have other booth only items to give-a-way to any attendee that stops to talk and discuss our products with them. We will have show only pricing specials as well as coupons for future purchases with us.
You may fill out a prize entry form before you even get to the show to have the first opportunity possible to win one of our daily booth prizes. You will find the link on the front of our website http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/ fill it out and fax it to 770-939-5501 to be entered.
We will be giving away every day of the show a Fox Fury Command 20 Headlamp
and two 5 gallon containers of Big Rig Brite Truck Wash. The Fox Fury Headlamp has a retail value of $90 and the truck wash will be delivered to the winners location a value starting at $70 or more including the shipping.These as well as our in booth give-a-ways are just some of the reasons to come meet us and enjoy yourself at the show.
The office in Georgia will still be open to serve our customers during the show, taking orders and shipping out product but please be understanding if the phone does not get answered as fast as usual or if someone has to call you back since we are leaving the front office just a little short staffed that week while the rest of us are in Texas.
Again we hope to see you at the show and please call us for tickets and fax your entry in for our prize drawings.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Pricing how to avoid the mistakes.
Pricing is a big issue right now for us and for many others. We just finished an in depth mid year review and have found that the overhead costs that have been sneaking up on us over the last year or so have really affected our bottom line. So like many others we are going to have to adjust our pricing upwards to keep things moving. No we are not in trouble or anything and in no danger of having to close like so many others including some of our customers this last year but we realized that in some cases we were giving away the farm and not leaving anything for the company. Every business needs to at least keep up with the cost of living and doing business and so far this year we have been going in the other direction. Very soon you will be seeing an across the board price increase. While we are cutting and trimming costs in areas that we can you should be pricing your products and services avoiding these mistakes to be sure you keep your business healthy too.
All pricing is, is risk. The risk of setting a price you and your customers can both live with and continue to do business. But most risk can be managed with good information.
1. Low ball pricing and undercutting your competition. For some businesses this is a strategy, but not a very good one for long. Pricing yourself and your services too low all the time may bring in great sales numbers but not the bottom line profit to stay in business. You do not have to get all of the price conscious customers there are out there. Know what your service costs you to offer it and price accordingly.
2. Using the same margin for everything. No one says you must make the same % of profit for everything you do. You may need to decrease the margin on less time consuming work, and increase the margin on the infrequent or costlier jobs. You can afford a smaller margin on the higher sales volume of the quicker jobs. Say a complete strip, stain and reseal job for a 3000 square foot deck at the back of the house vs. the quick concrete driveway cleaning at the front.
3. Knowing the difference between markup and margin. Markup is based on your costs and Margin is based on the price. If you price a service with a 20% mark up on the cost of the products you use for the job and then offer your customer even a 10% discount on the total service you may end up with not making the margin you need to run the business.
4. Not taking all costs into account. Every job priced must cover all your costs. Not just the cost of the soap, water and gas to get you there but also some of the cost to purchase equipment, operate and maintain it along with all your bookkeeping and other costs it takes to get and process the job. Every business needs to know its basic hourly overhead for a whole month even if you do not do a single bit of work for that month.
5. You need to know what the competition is charging for the same work. That does not mean you follow the price they charge but you need to find out what value they give vs. what you offer and price accordingly. If you use a better machine, better soap and give superior service include those costs in your price and be able to defend those prices by showing and explaining to the customer why you cost more.
6. Discounting instead of giving added value. Every 10% discount you give means you have to do 50% more work to make the same profit if you had not given the discount. You can discount yourself out of business. So make your discounts mean something when you give them, use them sparingly and try and give your customer added value instead. Give the customer an added service for free as an incentive instead of a discount. Clean the gutters with every roof cleaning, clean windows with a house wash etc. Most of the time you would be right there doing the first job anyway so the labor cost is very low, the material cost could also be next to nothing so why not put a price on the extra service and give that to the customer instead of a cash discount that mean cash not in your pocket.
I hope this helps you price your work to your customers to keep you running a healthy business and that you understand when we have to reprice our products to keep our business healthy too.
All pricing is, is risk. The risk of setting a price you and your customers can both live with and continue to do business. But most risk can be managed with good information.
1. Low ball pricing and undercutting your competition. For some businesses this is a strategy, but not a very good one for long. Pricing yourself and your services too low all the time may bring in great sales numbers but not the bottom line profit to stay in business. You do not have to get all of the price conscious customers there are out there. Know what your service costs you to offer it and price accordingly.
2. Using the same margin for everything. No one says you must make the same % of profit for everything you do. You may need to decrease the margin on less time consuming work, and increase the margin on the infrequent or costlier jobs. You can afford a smaller margin on the higher sales volume of the quicker jobs. Say a complete strip, stain and reseal job for a 3000 square foot deck at the back of the house vs. the quick concrete driveway cleaning at the front.
3. Knowing the difference between markup and margin. Markup is based on your costs and Margin is based on the price. If you price a service with a 20% mark up on the cost of the products you use for the job and then offer your customer even a 10% discount on the total service you may end up with not making the margin you need to run the business.
4. Not taking all costs into account. Every job priced must cover all your costs. Not just the cost of the soap, water and gas to get you there but also some of the cost to purchase equipment, operate and maintain it along with all your bookkeeping and other costs it takes to get and process the job. Every business needs to know its basic hourly overhead for a whole month even if you do not do a single bit of work for that month.
5. You need to know what the competition is charging for the same work. That does not mean you follow the price they charge but you need to find out what value they give vs. what you offer and price accordingly. If you use a better machine, better soap and give superior service include those costs in your price and be able to defend those prices by showing and explaining to the customer why you cost more.
6. Discounting instead of giving added value. Every 10% discount you give means you have to do 50% more work to make the same profit if you had not given the discount. You can discount yourself out of business. So make your discounts mean something when you give them, use them sparingly and try and give your customer added value instead. Give the customer an added service for free as an incentive instead of a discount. Clean the gutters with every roof cleaning, clean windows with a house wash etc. Most of the time you would be right there doing the first job anyway so the labor cost is very low, the material cost could also be next to nothing so why not put a price on the extra service and give that to the customer instead of a cash discount that mean cash not in your pocket.
I hope this helps you price your work to your customers to keep you running a healthy business and that you understand when we have to reprice our products to keep our business healthy too.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Summer is heating up is your business?
Already it is June, kids out of school and temps are rising and hopefully your jobs and profits with it.
We all know it was a very slow start to this year with the bad winter hanging on in the Northeast and the rains in the South and Midwest. But things are starting to slowly pick up.
I was hoping that I could get a discussion going on what each of you are seeing in your area, good and bad so you can see that there are others out there just like you.
For us at Soap Warehouse the economic, environmental regulation and weather issues that effect you directly effect us.
We also want to bring you information that will help you meet these challenges and hopefully aid you in over coming some of them. Here are some links to information that may help or at least inform you during these times.
For environmental regulation info go to http://www.washwater.org/ or http://www.epa.gov/
For business building join one or more networking groups. Here is an article about Kudzu:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/september/196302.html
Links to different sites are here:
Kudzu http://www.kudzu.com/
Merchant Circle http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/
Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/
Is that Yellow page ad just not bring you in the business any more try other places:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcolumnistkimtgordon/article199484.html
I hope some so these ideas help you reve up your revenues this summer.
We all know it was a very slow start to this year with the bad winter hanging on in the Northeast and the rains in the South and Midwest. But things are starting to slowly pick up.
I was hoping that I could get a discussion going on what each of you are seeing in your area, good and bad so you can see that there are others out there just like you.
For us at Soap Warehouse the economic, environmental regulation and weather issues that effect you directly effect us.
We also want to bring you information that will help you meet these challenges and hopefully aid you in over coming some of them. Here are some links to information that may help or at least inform you during these times.
For environmental regulation info go to http://www.washwater.org/ or http://www.epa.gov/
For business building join one or more networking groups. Here is an article about Kudzu:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/september/196302.html
Links to different sites are here:
Kudzu http://www.kudzu.com/
Merchant Circle http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/
Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/
Is that Yellow page ad just not bring you in the business any more try other places:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcolumnistkimtgordon/article199484.html
I hope some so these ideas help you reve up your revenues this summer.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Lots of work in the Bahama's
As some of you may know Soap Warehouse sells products across the US but we also sell to customers in places like Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. So far we only have a few customers in these places and we sell only a few things like airplane cleaner, house and car washes. So when I had the opportunity to travel to Treasure Cay, Green Turtle Cay and Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas last Thursday and Friday to visit some golf cart rental companies I went for it.
I was amazed at the opportunities that are there that no one has tapped into. So if you ever are considering a place to slow down and retire but still do some work once in a while these little islands are ready and waiting.
In the larger cities like Nassau things are about what they are here in the US just slower, but once you get over to some of the little islands, things are drastically different. These islands are too small for many cars, so they use golf carts! These islands thrive on tourism and they know
one way to make a tourist pick them over the competition is appearance. For example: If you had the choice of renting a four person golf cart between 2-3 different companies and they all are together in the same area at the dock when you landed, would you go to the one where you saw carts up on blocks obviously in need of repair with others with stains on the vinyl, or to the one with scuffs on the cart bodies with pealing decals OR would you head for the one that had gleaming clean carts all nicely parked in a row? Well you guessed right the clean ones rent first.Even the Police use golf carts!
I spoke with some cart shop owners who admitted that some times a new customer will come in and ask to rent a certain cart by just its looks and only later ask the price or if it is electric or runs on gas? They already know what I was trying to sell them on. Appearance sells or in this case rents. The same also goes for the rental houses and cottages. Most are found only by being listed on the Internet and can only be seen first on line before they are rented out, but if real life does not measure up in person to the photo there can be trouble.
Same goes for your business. You may ask how can she compare my business where I am to something in the paradise of the Bahamas?
Well it is simple. If you pull up in a sparkling clean vehicle with a clean rig just like in your ads or on line this new customer will be happy you are here to do work for them. They have the perception that their property will come out as nice. Also if you have before and after photos on your web site they also have in their minds how clean their property should be once you are done and are obviously ready to pay you to get it.
Always look at your self and business as if in a mirror and see if you like what you see?
Have a great week and I am glad to be back home, 
but it sure was pretty to look at.
but it sure was pretty to look at.Friday, May 1, 2009
New Web Site
Well Good News,
We are finally getting the new Web site up today Friday May 1st, 2009. It is a few months behind schedule from when we wanted it and there are still many additions and changes to be made but for the most part the basic system will be up and running.
New features include a new tab layout which allows you to go to the type of work you will be doing to see the products we recommend using for these jobs. That does not mean you may not use a product that is not on that drop down but these are the ones most used or recommended for the task.
Then on each tabbed page that is opened you will see the products description, sizes and prices. Current customers will still be able to go to the private customer log in area to see or print out a complete current price list so jumping around page to page to find pricing will not be necessary.
Coming soon will be the option to place items in a shopping cart order form. Although it will not be able to figure freight costs, since there are too many variables, it will send your order request to us here at Soap Warehouse where we will calculate the freight according to the order form and we will contact you back with the exact amount and departure shipping information for you.
There will now be a front page area we will place major announcements for anyone to see, links to our Blog, resource materials, our e-mail sign up button, and every month a link to our current Newsletter. This way everyone can come to the site and see the Newsletter instead of us trying to send out multiple batches of e-mailed newsletters just to clients we have e-mails for. We will still for a while send out e-mail notices when the new newsletter is available on the site.
Coming soon too hopefully will be photos and videos from our bi-monthly product contests. If you do not know about these contests please call and ask for the link to the forms and instructions. You could win product credit on your account by just sending in photos, videos and testimonials about the products you buy and use from Soap Warehouse. The link will be on the site as well shortly.
We will also have a page showing photos and information on previous and up coming events Soap Warehouse has sponsored or exhibited at. Right now these are only available at our intuit website at http://soapwarehouse.intuitwebsites.com/index.html there on the More Info page.
We will still have the private current customer only log in area with special offers and information, just for current clients.
We are adding a MSDS page listing for all products, right now it is just one large down loadable file but soon each tab page will have a link with each product to its own MSDS and in the future a technical product data sheet.
I hope that the new changes will make visiting our site easier and more enjoyable and we would love to hear any ones comments or suggestions about the site. Please send them to linda@soapwarehouse.biz. We are sending this out as an e-mail and are also posting this in its entirety as an entry in our blog.
For those of you who have never looked at our blog please take this chance to do so, you find some valuable information there. We also want to use the blog to answer any customer questions so please send us some.
Have a Great Weekend and Thank you for being a Soap Warehouse Customer.
We are finally getting the new Web site up today Friday May 1st, 2009. It is a few months behind schedule from when we wanted it and there are still many additions and changes to be made but for the most part the basic system will be up and running.
New features include a new tab layout which allows you to go to the type of work you will be doing to see the products we recommend using for these jobs. That does not mean you may not use a product that is not on that drop down but these are the ones most used or recommended for the task.
Then on each tabbed page that is opened you will see the products description, sizes and prices. Current customers will still be able to go to the private customer log in area to see or print out a complete current price list so jumping around page to page to find pricing will not be necessary.
Coming soon will be the option to place items in a shopping cart order form. Although it will not be able to figure freight costs, since there are too many variables, it will send your order request to us here at Soap Warehouse where we will calculate the freight according to the order form and we will contact you back with the exact amount and departure shipping information for you.
There will now be a front page area we will place major announcements for anyone to see, links to our Blog, resource materials, our e-mail sign up button, and every month a link to our current Newsletter. This way everyone can come to the site and see the Newsletter instead of us trying to send out multiple batches of e-mailed newsletters just to clients we have e-mails for. We will still for a while send out e-mail notices when the new newsletter is available on the site.
Coming soon too hopefully will be photos and videos from our bi-monthly product contests. If you do not know about these contests please call and ask for the link to the forms and instructions. You could win product credit on your account by just sending in photos, videos and testimonials about the products you buy and use from Soap Warehouse. The link will be on the site as well shortly.
We will also have a page showing photos and information on previous and up coming events Soap Warehouse has sponsored or exhibited at. Right now these are only available at our intuit website at http://soapwarehouse.intuitwebsites.com/index.html there on the More Info page.
We will still have the private current customer only log in area with special offers and information, just for current clients.
We are adding a MSDS page listing for all products, right now it is just one large down loadable file but soon each tab page will have a link with each product to its own MSDS and in the future a technical product data sheet.
I hope that the new changes will make visiting our site easier and more enjoyable and we would love to hear any ones comments or suggestions about the site. Please send them to linda@soapwarehouse.biz. We are sending this out as an e-mail and are also posting this in its entirety as an entry in our blog.
For those of you who have never looked at our blog please take this chance to do so, you find some valuable information there. We also want to use the blog to answer any customer questions so please send us some.
Have a Great Weekend and Thank you for being a Soap Warehouse Customer.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Be Just 1% Better!
I just read some very interesting but true advice I would like to pass on to you.
It is better to be just 1% better for 100 reasons than to be 100% better for only 1.
If you take that philosophy with your business you will see that even little changes make a big difference.
For example if your biggest competitor is always giving a 10% discount to new or referral customers and makes a big point of it in their advertising, then you offer 11%.
Now sometimes you can not out do someone or something by even 1%, take "available by phone 24 hours as day" for an example. But you can offer a faster response time either for a call back or actual booked appointment. But you must be able to follow through on your claims so chose carefully. You could offer a superior brand of stain for deck work instead of the run of the mill that everyone else carries, this does not mean that you do not charge for it, just that you carry and market it as the best in the industry. You can offer discounted window cleaning with a house wash or complementary gutter cleaning with a roof cleaning. Anything that the customer perceives as you giving that extra 1% over and over during your job for them will make you stand out, get you referrals and more jobs.
Always leave the owners property better then you found it, and I do not just mean on the job you are being paid to do. I mean make sure you pick up all of your trash or even their trash that your cleaning uncovers, within reason. If your service included furniture removal and replacement for a deck or patio cleaning be sure it is put back correctly or better than you found it. It may cost you only a few extra pennies to rinse off those plastic planters, deck chairs or cushions to make them look better. Of course you can always offer side services for a complete through cleaning job on these items first. And you must be willing to do these sort of small jobs that take up extra time before you offer them to the customer. It does you no good to advertise that you offer these services and have to later, while on the job, refuse to do them because you have booked your time so tight that you can not accommodate them. No matter how much pre-planning you do or questions you ask something else will always come up.
But if you do that extra 1 % for the customer over and over it will pay off 100 times over.
It is better to be just 1% better for 100 reasons than to be 100% better for only 1.
If you take that philosophy with your business you will see that even little changes make a big difference.
For example if your biggest competitor is always giving a 10% discount to new or referral customers and makes a big point of it in their advertising, then you offer 11%.
Now sometimes you can not out do someone or something by even 1%, take "available by phone 24 hours as day" for an example. But you can offer a faster response time either for a call back or actual booked appointment. But you must be able to follow through on your claims so chose carefully. You could offer a superior brand of stain for deck work instead of the run of the mill that everyone else carries, this does not mean that you do not charge for it, just that you carry and market it as the best in the industry. You can offer discounted window cleaning with a house wash or complementary gutter cleaning with a roof cleaning. Anything that the customer perceives as you giving that extra 1% over and over during your job for them will make you stand out, get you referrals and more jobs.
Always leave the owners property better then you found it, and I do not just mean on the job you are being paid to do. I mean make sure you pick up all of your trash or even their trash that your cleaning uncovers, within reason. If your service included furniture removal and replacement for a deck or patio cleaning be sure it is put back correctly or better than you found it. It may cost you only a few extra pennies to rinse off those plastic planters, deck chairs or cushions to make them look better. Of course you can always offer side services for a complete through cleaning job on these items first. And you must be willing to do these sort of small jobs that take up extra time before you offer them to the customer. It does you no good to advertise that you offer these services and have to later, while on the job, refuse to do them because you have booked your time so tight that you can not accommodate them. No matter how much pre-planning you do or questions you ask something else will always come up.
But if you do that extra 1 % for the customer over and over it will pay off 100 times over.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Bio Barrier
The next product I would like to discuss is Bio Barrier. I wrote about this product last year but I will mention it again after speaking on Citrus X-terior earlier this week. Bio Barrier is a great follow up product to any cleaning where molds and mildews have been a problem. Like with roof shingles - once the black Gloeocapsa Magma algae has been killed and removed, or with vinyl siding or wood decking- once the green, yellow, or black mold and any mildew has been killed and removed.
Bio Barrier needs to be applied right after a through cleaning of the surface has been done and the area to be treated is thoroughly dried. Bio Barrier is not a mold or mildew killer but rather a growth inhibitor. Bio Barrier protects a surface it is applied to from the harmful micro-organisms that cause odor and mold growth from coming back. A properly treated surface will have effective protection for 6-12 months depending on the environment and frequency of exposure to direct water or indirect moisture.
Bio Barrier does not have to be used on the whole house, roof or deck. You can locate, mark or document, like with photographs or a drawing of the problem areas before cleaning is done to easily locate them later for treatment. Bio Barrier is used straight, not diluted. It can be sprayed, sponged or wiped onto the surface for treatment just so a light but complete wetting of the product is applied to the surface material. Bio Barrier does not have to be used to soak, saturate or be allowed to run down or pool on a surface to be effective.
Bio Barrier can be used as an add on to your normal cleaning as an added value, additionally priced service. For just pennies you could be able to give a no growth guarantee with your cleaning that would be a perceived added value to your customer.
Say for instance you clean a house and a few days later come back to apply Bio Barrier just to the problem areas. If you have left a sign in the yard stating your company name and number, plus left cards with your current customer with a referral offer, you may very well be coming back to that area to do a new job besides doing the Bio Barrier treatment and moving your sign to a different house's yard in the same neighborhood.
Bio Barrier will make you look good to your customers and if you did a quality first cleaning job it should bring you added word of mouth business as well when the mold does not grow back in just a few months. It also gives you a leg up as to why you should come back on a yearly basis to clean the house and retreat for the mold.
Bio Barrier is available in 1 gallon bottles and 5 gallon pails. You can call to order Bio Barrier at 800-762-7911 or go to our web site http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/ where you will find a Data Sheet and other valuable information about Bio Barrier.
Bio Barrier needs to be applied right after a through cleaning of the surface has been done and the area to be treated is thoroughly dried. Bio Barrier is not a mold or mildew killer but rather a growth inhibitor. Bio Barrier protects a surface it is applied to from the harmful micro-organisms that cause odor and mold growth from coming back. A properly treated surface will have effective protection for 6-12 months depending on the environment and frequency of exposure to direct water or indirect moisture.
Bio Barrier does not have to be used on the whole house, roof or deck. You can locate, mark or document, like with photographs or a drawing of the problem areas before cleaning is done to easily locate them later for treatment. Bio Barrier is used straight, not diluted. It can be sprayed, sponged or wiped onto the surface for treatment just so a light but complete wetting of the product is applied to the surface material. Bio Barrier does not have to be used to soak, saturate or be allowed to run down or pool on a surface to be effective.
Bio Barrier can be used as an add on to your normal cleaning as an added value, additionally priced service. For just pennies you could be able to give a no growth guarantee with your cleaning that would be a perceived added value to your customer.
Say for instance you clean a house and a few days later come back to apply Bio Barrier just to the problem areas. If you have left a sign in the yard stating your company name and number, plus left cards with your current customer with a referral offer, you may very well be coming back to that area to do a new job besides doing the Bio Barrier treatment and moving your sign to a different house's yard in the same neighborhood.
Bio Barrier will make you look good to your customers and if you did a quality first cleaning job it should bring you added word of mouth business as well when the mold does not grow back in just a few months. It also gives you a leg up as to why you should come back on a yearly basis to clean the house and retreat for the mold.
Bio Barrier is available in 1 gallon bottles and 5 gallon pails. You can call to order Bio Barrier at 800-762-7911 or go to our web site http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/ where you will find a Data Sheet and other valuable information about Bio Barrier.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Citrus X-terior House Wash Cleaner
I will be writing some entries this year about certain products that we carry, depending on when they are the most popular or when I may have been asked about them by a customer. So I will start with this newer Soap Warehouse House Wash "Citrus X-terior" for the Spring cleaning season.
The Citrus X-terior product has some great features: nice citrus scent, it can be used with bleach, it is very economical in price, but is still a good cleaner even when using at the top of its dilution rate of 1:50, non hazardous or DOT regulated, and it is biodegradable.
The advantages of using Citrus X-terior instead of using just straight bleach with water for house washing are the following:
One, you can use less bleach than you would normally use if you where just house washing with bleach and water alone. This reduces the effects bleach alone can have on plants and grass, without reducing the reason you are using bleach, which is to kill molds and mildews while removing the colored stains that come with them from the surfaces of the house.
For an explanation of how bleach works please take a look at the article I wrote on bleach for the "Cleaner Times" magazine. http://www.cleanertimes.com/pdfdocs/2009CTMag/Clearing%20the%20Air%20on%20Bleach%202009-02.pdf
Two, you have the advantage that you are truly using a soap cleaner to wash and remove dirt, oils and other harmful residues from the surface of the house, not just changing their chemical makeup to become invisible. This will extend the life of the paint, vinyl, hardy plank or brick surface of the house while improving its appearance.
Third, the clean citrus scent masks the strong bleach odor and leaves the customer with a more pleasant lasting reminder, than that of the just bleach.
Now Citrus X-terior is not for every job you may have, especially with the extremely dirty or neglected homes, but for a general once a year house cleaning product, Citrus X-terior is a very good one to have available and will make you money.
Citrus X-terior is available in a 1 gallon bottle, 5 gallon pail or a 55 gallon kit. Call the office to order 800-762-7911 or for current pricing, or go to our website: http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/.
The Citrus X-terior product has some great features: nice citrus scent, it can be used with bleach, it is very economical in price, but is still a good cleaner even when using at the top of its dilution rate of 1:50, non hazardous or DOT regulated, and it is biodegradable.
The advantages of using Citrus X-terior instead of using just straight bleach with water for house washing are the following:
One, you can use less bleach than you would normally use if you where just house washing with bleach and water alone. This reduces the effects bleach alone can have on plants and grass, without reducing the reason you are using bleach, which is to kill molds and mildews while removing the colored stains that come with them from the surfaces of the house.
For an explanation of how bleach works please take a look at the article I wrote on bleach for the "Cleaner Times" magazine. http://www.cleanertimes.com/pdfdocs/2009CTMag/Clearing%20the%20Air%20on%20Bleach%202009-02.pdf
Two, you have the advantage that you are truly using a soap cleaner to wash and remove dirt, oils and other harmful residues from the surface of the house, not just changing their chemical makeup to become invisible. This will extend the life of the paint, vinyl, hardy plank or brick surface of the house while improving its appearance.
Third, the clean citrus scent masks the strong bleach odor and leaves the customer with a more pleasant lasting reminder, than that of the just bleach.
Now Citrus X-terior is not for every job you may have, especially with the extremely dirty or neglected homes, but for a general once a year house cleaning product, Citrus X-terior is a very good one to have available and will make you money.
Citrus X-terior is available in a 1 gallon bottle, 5 gallon pail or a 55 gallon kit. Call the office to order 800-762-7911 or for current pricing, or go to our website: http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Storm Damage
Here is just a few of the reasons Soap Warehouse was out of power, phones and Internet from Monday April 13th around 10:15 AM until Wednesday at 6:30 AM.I am sure all of you know how frustrating it can be when things beyond your control come crashing into your life. Atlanta is a beautiful city and is not called the city of trees for nothing, but it can have it's downside.
Our Warehouse and office are located in an small office park that backs up to a huge golf course and Old home neighborhood in Dekalb Co. We had crews working on a main side road for over 24 hours practically moving only 20-30 feet at a time restoring the downed lines to get our small area back up. With the major drought followed by this month of heavy rain and the new leaves just coming out catching the strong winds, all these reasons together made Monday's thunderstorm look like we had a tornado come through here.
We appreciate every ones understanding and patience in allowing us time to get back to being able to receive and fill orders. And for the few customers that were worried when we did not answer our phone, fax or e-mails until I got home Tuesday night and was able to retrieve them off site and answer them, thank you for your concern.
Photos courtesy of the Dekalb County Champion Newspaper.
With this delay our new website should be up by early next week and I will be sure to let everyone know when that event takes place.
Thanks again and everyone take care.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Taxes
One of the most dreaded words of the small business owner.
I wanted to share a few tips we have found to pass on along with some other links that may help some of you.
First tip: Get some professional help. I do not mean to have to pay a fortune for this help but too many small business owners think they can do it themselves and find out only years later after an audit, that they either owe money they don't have or wasted money they could have gotten back, but is now too late to recover it.
Even if you just read up on the subject, go on line for a self help like at Entrepreneur.com or pay for a tax filing program you will be ahead of the game.
Here is a link to a great lady I know Diana Crawford. She did these tax audit videos for a client and it has helped many people. Besides just being an accountant with a CPA degree she is an Intuit QuickBooks expert. So if you use QuickBooks (I suggest you use some type of computer program) and have a problem give her a shout. She will help anyone or at least steer them to a local person that can. She teaches QuickBooks small business classes for free and does Beta testing for Intuit on new versions of QuickBooks and is an Intuit Trainer. If you already have QuickBooks there is a wealth of free information just through Intuit on line.
http://www.expertvillage.com/expert/2239.htm (cut and paste the link)
dcrawford@cmccpas.com This is her e-mail. Please indicate on the subject line or in your e-mail you are a Soap Warehouse customer. She is also available to do any ones businesses taxes, her firm handles clients across the country.
Right now we are planing to start recording her free "How to set up your small business with QuickBooks" sessions so she will have more time to devote to hosting other advanced classes. We are also discussing with her to possibly make a video just for pressure washing businesses to address their specific needs to put on our site. I will let everyone know as soon as new sessions are available.
Next make sure you are tracking every expense. Do you give out coupons or give discounts for services to customers? You need to track that money as cost of advertising, this expense is to be taken against the money you made. If you list your total income minus cost of labor and supplies but forget this amount it could be costing you hundreds of dollars a year in tax savings.
Mileage vs actual cost: Always keep a log book in your company vehicle listing the beginning millage on Jan 1. on the first page and then keep a millage log to and from every customer or stop. List every dollar spent on gas, oil changes, tires, tune ups, repairs etc. I also suggest putting this information into a spreadsheet at least once a week or so. This way at the end of the year you can evaluate if you should take the flat mileage rate of the miles you drove for work or the actual costs of using your vehicle for business. Don't forgot the mileage on your personal vehicle either especially if it is used to do other errands like deposit money in the bank or pick up office supplies. Keep an estimate book in your family , so if you meet someone, hand them a card and give them an estimate, you can write off some of that mileage as well.
Even something as simple as doing your laundry can save you money. If you spend the few extra dollars to put a company name patch on your clothes you are then able to write off not only the cost of the items, but the cost of the patch and cleaning them for the entire year. Because they are then considered a uniform not just personal apparel, but I suggest wearing them sometimes even when you are not working to promote your business name. I will sometimes wear our Soap Warehouse business tag out just to try and start conversations and get new leads. Even putting a sign with your business's name and number on your personal car will allow you to write off the costs it takes to do it plus gives you the added advertising. I have even lent a set of magnetic signs to friends to put on their vehicle when I know are going on a long cross country trip to generate calls. I never know where my next customer may be coming from.
Good Luck dealing with Uncle Sam this year.
I wanted to share a few tips we have found to pass on along with some other links that may help some of you.
First tip: Get some professional help. I do not mean to have to pay a fortune for this help but too many small business owners think they can do it themselves and find out only years later after an audit, that they either owe money they don't have or wasted money they could have gotten back, but is now too late to recover it.
Even if you just read up on the subject, go on line for a self help like at Entrepreneur.com or pay for a tax filing program you will be ahead of the game.
Here is a link to a great lady I know Diana Crawford. She did these tax audit videos for a client and it has helped many people. Besides just being an accountant with a CPA degree she is an Intuit QuickBooks expert. So if you use QuickBooks (I suggest you use some type of computer program) and have a problem give her a shout. She will help anyone or at least steer them to a local person that can. She teaches QuickBooks small business classes for free and does Beta testing for Intuit on new versions of QuickBooks and is an Intuit Trainer. If you already have QuickBooks there is a wealth of free information just through Intuit on line.
http://www.expertvillage.com/expert/2239.htm (cut and paste the link)
dcrawford@cmccpas.com This is her e-mail. Please indicate on the subject line or in your e-mail you are a Soap Warehouse customer. She is also available to do any ones businesses taxes, her firm handles clients across the country.
Right now we are planing to start recording her free "How to set up your small business with QuickBooks" sessions so she will have more time to devote to hosting other advanced classes. We are also discussing with her to possibly make a video just for pressure washing businesses to address their specific needs to put on our site. I will let everyone know as soon as new sessions are available.
Next make sure you are tracking every expense. Do you give out coupons or give discounts for services to customers? You need to track that money as cost of advertising, this expense is to be taken against the money you made. If you list your total income minus cost of labor and supplies but forget this amount it could be costing you hundreds of dollars a year in tax savings.
Mileage vs actual cost: Always keep a log book in your company vehicle listing the beginning millage on Jan 1. on the first page and then keep a millage log to and from every customer or stop. List every dollar spent on gas, oil changes, tires, tune ups, repairs etc. I also suggest putting this information into a spreadsheet at least once a week or so. This way at the end of the year you can evaluate if you should take the flat mileage rate of the miles you drove for work or the actual costs of using your vehicle for business. Don't forgot the mileage on your personal vehicle either especially if it is used to do other errands like deposit money in the bank or pick up office supplies. Keep an estimate book in your family , so if you meet someone, hand them a card and give them an estimate, you can write off some of that mileage as well.
Even something as simple as doing your laundry can save you money. If you spend the few extra dollars to put a company name patch on your clothes you are then able to write off not only the cost of the items, but the cost of the patch and cleaning them for the entire year. Because they are then considered a uniform not just personal apparel, but I suggest wearing them sometimes even when you are not working to promote your business name. I will sometimes wear our Soap Warehouse business tag out just to try and start conversations and get new leads. Even putting a sign with your business's name and number on your personal car will allow you to write off the costs it takes to do it plus gives you the added advertising. I have even lent a set of magnetic signs to friends to put on their vehicle when I know are going on a long cross country trip to generate calls. I never know where my next customer may be coming from.
Good Luck dealing with Uncle Sam this year.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Changes for the year.
First I would like to say we had a lovely time in Savannah GA for the PAMA Seminar (Professional Aviation Maintenance Association). We where a Bronze Supporter of this event and it was very nice to meet Aviation Maintenance personal from all over GA and the South. Some knew of our product "Top Gun" but many were introduced to it for the first time. We look forward to work with as many of these great people and companies as we can in the future.
We want to congratulate Mr. Charles Wilson of Luthersville, GA on winning our "Top Gun" product package at our booth. We also want to thank the attendees that bid and won our "Top Gun" product in the PAMA silent auction.
I hope that at least some of our Northern customers get to attend this weekends Pressure Washing Seminar in NY. Soap Warehouse is a Silver Sponsor at that event.
(ADDED LATTER: We wanted to congratulate the four winners of our 5 gallon product door prizes at the Seminar and to Joe Torres the winner of our Exterior sample pack in our drawing from the fax entries we received after the Seminar.)
We are also looking forward to our next event that should be in May over in Charleston SC for a local PWNC (Pressure Washers Network of the Carolina's).
Next we are moving closer to putting our new web site on line. It will have new tabbed features to make navigating through the web site easier. It will eventually allow customers to place orders, choosing the products, sizes and amounts they want with us following up by contacting them back with the total including shipping and expected delivery date.
You will be able to see what the product total will be when you send the order to us and we will then calculate any shipping charges according to the filled out request.
You will also be able to see MSDS info for each product on their product page or find it in the MSDS table listing. Prices will be listed with each product but an inclusive price list will still be available only by logging on to the customer only area or by a request that we send you one by mail, fax or e-mail.
We will have this Blog, Links and other information available to help our customers.
If there is any thing you would like to see on our site please contact us and request it.
We want to congratulate Mr. Charles Wilson of Luthersville, GA on winning our "Top Gun" product package at our booth. We also want to thank the attendees that bid and won our "Top Gun" product in the PAMA silent auction.
I hope that at least some of our Northern customers get to attend this weekends Pressure Washing Seminar in NY. Soap Warehouse is a Silver Sponsor at that event.
(ADDED LATTER: We wanted to congratulate the four winners of our 5 gallon product door prizes at the Seminar and to Joe Torres the winner of our Exterior sample pack in our drawing from the fax entries we received after the Seminar.)
We are also looking forward to our next event that should be in May over in Charleston SC for a local PWNC (Pressure Washers Network of the Carolina's).
Next we are moving closer to putting our new web site on line. It will have new tabbed features to make navigating through the web site easier. It will eventually allow customers to place orders, choosing the products, sizes and amounts they want with us following up by contacting them back with the total including shipping and expected delivery date.
You will be able to see what the product total will be when you send the order to us and we will then calculate any shipping charges according to the filled out request.
You will also be able to see MSDS info for each product on their product page or find it in the MSDS table listing. Prices will be listed with each product but an inclusive price list will still be available only by logging on to the customer only area or by a request that we send you one by mail, fax or e-mail.
We will have this Blog, Links and other information available to help our customers.
If there is any thing you would like to see on our site please contact us and request it.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Time to Stock up
I can not believe this is March already!
We have been very busy planing for this year.
We are currently working on designing a new web site that we hope improves our customers enjoyment of our site.
This has been a very cold snowy Winter for many of our customers and as such a slow start to the new year. But with signs of Spring finally peaking through now is the best time to make sure all of your equipment and supplies are ready for the Spring boom.
If you are reading this blog and have not yet given us your e-mail address, please take time to do so. You miss out on so many opportunities when we can not keep you up to date. E-mail your address to soapwarehouse@hotmail.com, subject: add address.
Last December we started a monthly Newsletter which includes information on special offers, contests as well as things you should be aware of such as price changes, up and down.
This year we plan to get out as much as we can to meet current and new customers. We are supporting both the Mid America Truck Show the middle of this month & the Northeast Pressure Washer Seminar in NY at the end of this month. We plan on attending a PAMA seminar in Savannah, GA on the 21st of this month, going to and exhibiting in the PWNC meeting mid May in Charleston, SC and later in the year going to TX to exhibit in the 2nd largest Truck Show in the country; The Great American Truck Show in Dallas TX, Aug 20,21 & 22nd. And if we are lucky we will finish out our show year in October exhibiting at the PWNA meeting and supporting again the AOPA Expo in November. Please make plans to come and see us and attend these great events. We will send out more info as the year goes on.
Here is wishing you all a great month and start to the beginning of the pressure wash year.
We have been very busy planing for this year.
We are currently working on designing a new web site that we hope improves our customers enjoyment of our site.
This has been a very cold snowy Winter for many of our customers and as such a slow start to the new year. But with signs of Spring finally peaking through now is the best time to make sure all of your equipment and supplies are ready for the Spring boom.
If you are reading this blog and have not yet given us your e-mail address, please take time to do so. You miss out on so many opportunities when we can not keep you up to date. E-mail your address to soapwarehouse@hotmail.com, subject: add address.
Last December we started a monthly Newsletter which includes information on special offers, contests as well as things you should be aware of such as price changes, up and down.
This year we plan to get out as much as we can to meet current and new customers. We are supporting both the Mid America Truck Show the middle of this month & the Northeast Pressure Washer Seminar in NY at the end of this month. We plan on attending a PAMA seminar in Savannah, GA on the 21st of this month, going to and exhibiting in the PWNC meeting mid May in Charleston, SC and later in the year going to TX to exhibit in the 2nd largest Truck Show in the country; The Great American Truck Show in Dallas TX, Aug 20,21 & 22nd. And if we are lucky we will finish out our show year in October exhibiting at the PWNA meeting and supporting again the AOPA Expo in November. Please make plans to come and see us and attend these great events. We will send out more info as the year goes on.
Here is wishing you all a great month and start to the beginning of the pressure wash year.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
New Year, New Prospective
Happy New Year!
Sorry I am a bit late but we have been busy planing great things for the new year for our business and you should be doing that as well.
I know how everyone is down and depressed about how last year went, the economy, a new administration and the uncertainty of what this new year will bring for us all.
So let us make plans on the positive side. How many of you know what a SWOT Analysis is?
Well a SWOT is a very simple but helpful tool for you and your business.
S - Strengths
W - Weaknesses
O - Opportunities
T - Threats
Now that you know what the letters stand for let me explain how to use this to analyze your business or any problem or question you come across during the year in running your business.
SWOT analysis provides insight at a point in time - like a snapshot, of whatever you want to analyze. It could be business as a whole, like whether you should add another rig to your business, or even if you should stay in the business line you are in, say house washing or maybe expand by adding window or deck washing, reduce it by doing gutters only or change all together like going into kitchen exhaust work.
This is how it is done: start by dividing a page into four quadrants with a vertical line and a horizontal line.
The top two analysis quadrants are Strengths and Weaknesses. The bottom two quadrants are Opportunities and Threats. Let us say the Question is "Should I add a new rig this year?"
So then with what ever your question is, start to list the things that belong in each section.
You could list in the Strengths that having another rig can increase the number or kind of jobs you do. So in the Opportunity box you could then figure exactly what that number could be and the income opportunity that would bring. Then in the Weaknesses area you may list the extra personal it may take to run it or the limit of use you could get out of it during the year and in the Threats of course would be the cost of the rig, also its cost of operation including the cost of the personal to run it.
This way you can see what this could do for your business or if it would be even a good idea at all. And the question does not have to be a large one. It could be as easy as should I increase or change my cell phone plan or carrier?
Too many times the small business person sees what somewhat else is doing thinks "Hey I can do that", or "That is a great idea" and goes off spending time and money without really taking into consideration all the facts.
Here at Soap Warehouse we have lots of big new plans for you and our business this year, but with each one there are steps we have to take to be sure we are getting the results we want and need from these changes.
I wish all of you a very good new year and I hope all your plans are fruitful.
Sorry I am a bit late but we have been busy planing great things for the new year for our business and you should be doing that as well.
I know how everyone is down and depressed about how last year went, the economy, a new administration and the uncertainty of what this new year will bring for us all.
So let us make plans on the positive side. How many of you know what a SWOT Analysis is?
Well a SWOT is a very simple but helpful tool for you and your business.
S - Strengths
W - Weaknesses
O - Opportunities
T - Threats
Now that you know what the letters stand for let me explain how to use this to analyze your business or any problem or question you come across during the year in running your business.
SWOT analysis provides insight at a point in time - like a snapshot, of whatever you want to analyze. It could be business as a whole, like whether you should add another rig to your business, or even if you should stay in the business line you are in, say house washing or maybe expand by adding window or deck washing, reduce it by doing gutters only or change all together like going into kitchen exhaust work.
This is how it is done: start by dividing a page into four quadrants with a vertical line and a horizontal line.
The top two analysis quadrants are Strengths and Weaknesses. The bottom two quadrants are Opportunities and Threats. Let us say the Question is "Should I add a new rig this year?"
So then with what ever your question is, start to list the things that belong in each section.
You could list in the Strengths that having another rig can increase the number or kind of jobs you do. So in the Opportunity box you could then figure exactly what that number could be and the income opportunity that would bring. Then in the Weaknesses area you may list the extra personal it may take to run it or the limit of use you could get out of it during the year and in the Threats of course would be the cost of the rig, also its cost of operation including the cost of the personal to run it.
This way you can see what this could do for your business or if it would be even a good idea at all. And the question does not have to be a large one. It could be as easy as should I increase or change my cell phone plan or carrier?
Too many times the small business person sees what somewhat else is doing thinks "Hey I can do that", or "That is a great idea" and goes off spending time and money without really taking into consideration all the facts.
Here at Soap Warehouse we have lots of big new plans for you and our business this year, but with each one there are steps we have to take to be sure we are getting the results we want and need from these changes.
I wish all of you a very good new year and I hope all your plans are fruitful.
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