Just wanted to take a second and thank any and all of you who contribute to this site! I have been unemployed for a little over a month now but thanks to the advice of a friend who had considered this profession I have been taking notes and reading, reading, reading, and am now convinced that this business is where I am being led.
As a single father with three kids (two in college) $ is EXTREMELY tight. It looks like I will be in a postition to order some goodies after this weekend and Lord willing I will be spraying shortly thereafter. I will become a premium member just as quickly as I possibly can for nothing more than to show my appreciation for the info I have already obtained, and I say that knowing that I don't really know chit yet.
Thanks!
I did windows roughly nine years ago so I still have most of what I need. I do need to order new rubber and a few extra blades.
The weather here is rarely a factor. Sunny 70 today with a low in the upper 40's. Cake weather compared to what you must have to deal with.
Go for it Shawn. My advice is to not cut corners on equipment, especially your roof pump. I regret starting with a 3 gpm 12v pump and 3/8" hose. it works but its slow slow slow and i can't get much height.
I would enjoy a chat with you if you have any questions regarding equipment. I can help you a great deal by showing you how to make some of your own assemblies....and you are reading my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Craziness! You are on my phone right now!
Shawn-if you need any help feel free to email or call me. I admire your courage and your weather is just a bit better than mine. I'll be more than happy to walk you over to the Premium side.
Shawn-if you need any help feel free to email or call me. I admire your courage and your weather is just a bit better than mine. I'll be more than happy to walk you over to the Premium side.
Thank you, I have tons of questions but I certainly don't blame anyone for being sceptical. I appreciate the welcome.
I was forced to go full time 3 months into my choice to switch to this profession, it was extremely hard to get business, but I was really naive thinking it would just come to me if I did good work. We scraped by for 2 months and I got another job until I was ready to go full time.
Some advice knowing what I know now:
* Work a full 40 + hour week, whether it's selling or working, you should be doing something to keep the business flowing. This could include keeping your name in front of people by handing out post cards or walking business to business talking to them about how you can help them. Don't be lazy! * Get a website and work on it until your customers can find you based on the services you provide and where you provide those services (Research SEO). * Learn as much as you can about what you are selling, you want your sales pitch to come out easily and you want to show enthusiasm and confidence in your product, this makes closing the deal much much easier. * I can't stress enough how important it is to to talk to people about your business as much as possible. Talk to friends and family. Definitely leave your information to neighbors of your customers and talk to them if possible.
As Ed said, cleaning is pretty easy in most cases, it's getting the phone to ring and keeping it ringing that is tough to do, especially in the first year and especially in the winter for a lot of us. However, it can definitely be done and there are several people here who have had much success in their first year and can credit a lot of it to this very forum.
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Roof Cleaning and Pressure Washing in Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland