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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.