Hi Frank (I hope I can call you that - not to diminish the faithful part at all
).
Thanks for following me to this thread and giving me further input. Much appreciated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by faithfulFrank
You can print your own very easily now just using your computer.
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Yeah...I've been working on my new cards for a few days. Have to get them just right before I print them out on my laser printer (you should see me lugging that into a McDonald's to use their power outlet LOL).
Quote:
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I know some of what you were concerned about from the last post, and as I suggested there, if you put your business license number on your card, along with stating that you are insured and bonded, (if indeed you are) then your card will promote trust. You can also become a member of the BBB, and state that on your card. This will instill a level of trust. People want to feel like they can trust who they are hiring....there are a lot of "fly by night" types of businesses out there.........you want to show prospective customers you are legit.
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That all makes sense Frank...well generally speaking. They certainly are good things to do. No doubt about that.
But some may be a problem for me to implement. Not to diminish at all the wisdom of what you said Frank but I wonder if most of the things you mention are generally accepted as good business practice but not really neccessary?
You see...and I venture into this just for the discussion if anyone is interested in commenting...for the last four years of building my business (actually about 3.5 I guess) I have had no insurance, have not been bonded, have not been licenced, and have not been a member of the local BBB. In fact I started out without even a business plan. I still don't have one.
Not one single customer in all that time has ever asked me about any of that. A couple of potential clients did but that was all. And they only asked me about insurance and licencing. I win a great percentage of my estimates. I mean something like 80-90% or more! I kid you not. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's my honest face or approach or something.
I just walk up to doors (when I am not getting a lot of referrals and need to generate more business) and just say "Hi...I am in the window cleaning business and was wondering if you would like a free estimate?". The person at the door either answers "yes" or "no". If not I move to the next house and knock on it. If they say "yes" I count their window panes, multiply by my magic formula and give them my figure - adding a few other secret statements as to what kind of window cleaning I do and why I do a better job than most (those statements vary depending on whether the prospect seems inclined to know more or not).
Once I give them a price...about 80-90% schedule a cleaning. Now I don't just go into any ol neighborhood and I just don't go up to any ol house. I pre-qualify them by selecting my neighborhoods carefully based on the type of roof shingles they have, whether they have aggregate driveways, what kind of cars they might have, whether there are cars lining the roadside in the neighborhood or not (if so - the neighborhood is full of young working families - not usually a good neighborhood for window cleaning), and so forth. I've developed a feel for good neighborhoods over the years.
But again I have not been licenced, have no insurance, do not belong to the BBB, am not bonded (some clients with multi-million dollar homes leave me alone in their house while they go shopping).
So I guess what I am saying or wondering Frank is that those things may not be as important as they may seem. At least that has been my experience. I do not believe they would have made any difference at all in my case where I am. My "sales" are immediate in the sense that people either say "yes" or "no" on the spot. They rarely cancel outright after that. Sometimes I have had to reschedule a customer something like 4 times (I think that is my record) and they still don't cancel on me.
Could be the area of the world I live in. I don't know. It's hard to get help up here. Window cleaners - all the one's I know...are so busy they can't handle all the work.
As to a business licence and why I don't have one...I believe in paying for one if I can but...I inquired about getting one for two years running and was always told I couldn't get one because I live in my truck LOL.
On further inquiry I was told that if caught without a licence I would most likely be given a warning to get one.
So...I just kept window cleaning without one and figured I could take the city to court if they ever fined me for not giving me one when I tried to get one (perhaps I was deluding myself on that one
).
Now that I am getting ready to come to Florida in a couple of months I don't want to get one (assuming I could get one) since I would have to pay for a whole year of nothing. They only sell licences for a year at a time here.
Again none of my customers have ever asked me if I am licenced or not. I'm not even in the phone book.
Go figure.
What I am beginning to sense from the input from you and others is that the US might be a bit different. In the sense that so many people down there have been ripped off or something. There are so many con men and women down there.
Here in Canada people are much more trusting I think. Way more trusting.
I will have to figure out how to overcome that lack of trust. Perhaps trying what you suggested Frank - if it's a problem.
I do want to be licenced but there is another problem that I will encounter initially. I don't know exactly what city I will end up in. I am leaning toward Orlando but once I get a vehicle down there and start window cleaning I am going to want to "try" different communities for a week or two to see what kind of response I get to my solicitations. Once I hit on a good city I will then get licenced but it makes no sense for me to paying for licences all over the place. I'll go broke real quick.
As for insurance...the only insurance that people look for a business to have up here is General Liability. The irony is that this type of insurance does not cover the customer at all. It covers me - in the event that I damage something of the customer - that type of thing. Most all window cleaning companies have the same insurance which doesn't do the customer one iota of good. So that's a mute point I think from the customer's standpoint - though I think a lot of people think that such insurance protects them in some way. It doesn't. I mean...having insurance sounds nice...but when you read the fine print in the policy it only serves the interests of the window cleaning company...not the customer...so it doesn't matter if your window cleaner is insured or not - at least with the usual insurance most have.
I've developed techniques - and scientifically so - that allow me to do most all my window cleaning from the ground by the way. Much, much safer for me and it allows me to clean my customer's windows much better than others with a squeegie alone. So my need for insurance (even of the kind that only serves my interest) is greatly diminished.
Carlos
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Can I get input on my business card for Florida?
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