staying afloat

[steve_64]

ive made a lot of mistakes since i started up almost 6 years ago and plan on keeping things running for a long time. but i talked to my old employer today about coming back to work on second shift. i thought about it a few times before but things always turned around and i managed to stay afloat. ive been paying $200 a week in child support for the last 2 years(by choice) and that ends in october. for two years before that i was giving $400 to $500 a week. ive struggled at times but i made it work.

but lately i seem to have more time on my hands and am getting ready to move into a house. i know i can make it financially but im wanting more than just making it. im also bored often now and with winter coming fast i know i will go batty like i do every year. soooo im going to see about working a full time job again. the break was nice and all and this may not be permanent but i think its a good idea. it is a good place to work i can get insurance again which ive been without and ill have extra income for some of the things ive been neglecting. i know i should work the business better and i still plan to but this might be the jump start ive been needing to get me motivated again.

so im just wondering what others think of this. i know some hold full times jobs now and are doing well. it may also be a good time to change my business format. start dropping apartments and market to a higher end client. start charging more since i will have a back up and things like that. start shooting for one job a day for $300 to $400 instead of the $100 average im doing now.

any advice, ideas or just a smart ass comment?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Steve go back to your old job, get your finances heathly again enjoy the security. You can clean on weekends and evening at your leisure r you can hire and train someone to stay on the truck while you work. You can always come back to this business anytime you want.

 

[FB7777]

Based on your post , it sounds to me like you've already thrown in the towel and are looking for us to validate your decision to take the job.

Are you a Bane Clene guy?

 

[Mikey P]

it's all or nothing Steve, as they say.

if the work aint there then yes, time to move on.

later on you can be honest with yourself as to why they were not calling.



It's been my experience it's for a few reason.

1. bad people skills. (you don't know when you don't have the "touch", you just spend more on marketing thinking if you lower the price they will come)
2. poor cleaning skills. (good peeps skills can cause many to overlook wicking and 72 hours dry times but not enough to keep you pumping)
3. you went after the wrong market.(be sure there are enough mercedes in your town if not go after the 1996 corollas and vice versa)
4. don't know the true cost of doing biz.(common sence and calculators skills are a must for the self employed)
5. the mentally and or physically retarded should not be issued business licenses.

 

[hogjowl]

it's all or nothing Steve, as they say.

if the work aint there then yes, time to move on.

later on you can be honest with yourself as to why they were not calling.



It's been my experience it's for a few possible reasons.

1. bad people skills. (you don't know when you don't have the "touch", you just spend more on marketing thinking if you lower the price they will come)
2. poor cleaning skills. (good peeps skills can cause many to overlook wicking and 72 hours dry times but not enough to keep you pumping)
3. you went after the wrong market.(be sure there are enough mercedes in your town if not go after the 1996 corollas and vice versa)
4. don't know the true cost of doing biz.(common sence and calculators skills are a must for the self employed)
5. the mentally and or physically retarded should not be issued business licenses.

Physically handicapped individuals can run a successful business as well as anyone else.

Are you from Mars, Mikey?

 

[FB7777]

It may be the bottle of Pinot my wife and I just killed in record time on the Jersey Shore but IMO that was a brilliant observation Mike...just the right amount of honesty and brutality

 

[Mikey P]

I didnt mean that in the "retard" traditional sense, I meant more like Corky Robison types.


To be blunt, there are quite a few on here who fit the bill. You know it, I know it, their distributors who set them up with 50K truckmount packages know it, their neighbors who volunteered to be the guy's first customer knows it..... they just don't know it.


I'll reword it to this..

5. the mentally and or physically awkward should not be issued business licenses.

 

[hogjowl]

Too late to back out now.

You just wait til Lisa sees that post.

 

[FB7777]

I took physically retarded to mean lacking cleaning skills

 

[Mikey P]

Lisa of all people knows exactly what I meant.

 

[Mikey P]

and she has six divorce papers to prove it

 

[steve_64]

thanks for the laughs and points of view. actually my business has shrunk a little over the last couple years but i knew i was going to struggle when i went throuhthe divorce. ive been supporting 2 households plus helping my mom and brother. i can get along with what im making but i want more and quite honestly im getting bored. my biggest issue is not having a drivers license. too many late nights at the booty bars caught up to me, and no i havent been a good manager of my business.
i wont close my doors, just thinking i will work 2nd shift full time and keep doing what im doing during the day for now. i have a guy ive been training but hes nowhere ready to go it alone. ive got two girls in college and an elderly mom and sick brother whos on disability. ive been getting drained financially over the last 4 years and this will help my bottom line. i still make more cleaning rug than a full time job will pabut im only working about 20 hrs a week on average right now. i know i could make a lot more if i market my business right but i admit im getting nervous with the economy around here. schools are still closing and jobs and homes are still being lost. about every 5th home is vacant in many neighborhoods. its pretty scary around here and im afraid we havent hit bottom yet. i need a boost and i need it fast.
im also in my summer lull right now and im hoping the fall rush hits soon, it usually hits after school starts after labor day. i get nervous when i get slow and a full time job will give me a little security. im still picking up new work too.

and yes i am a bane guy lol.

 

[steve_64]

my market found me. i started out trying to charge $.30 a sq but was getting sticker shock from every bid. i landed a few here and there but soon realized i wasnt going anywhere that way. it took 17 months before i decided to quite the full time job and do this full time. if i hadnt divorced and did all the stupid stuff i was doing i would be sitting pretty. i spent about $30000 in lawyers fees and court costs and fines and not to mention the booze and hookers, i got what i deserve now but like i said im not going away just looking at regrouping. i need to refocus and hope the economy doesnt get any worse.

and yes i left many carpets to wet and had a learning curve but i managed to get through all that. im good with customers and first impressions. i think i charge enough for the way ive been operating, its just i spent to much having fun thinking it wouldnt end, that there was always more money to be made. ive never made so much money and it bit me in the ass. but i am learning from it! the hard way but hell i always do things the hard way.


ive actually built a nice smallbusiness that really runs itself. its part of the problem though. i made it to easy, so easy its boring now. i just hope i dont get burned out working full time again lol

just unloading a little here i guess. thanks for listening. you guys are better than a shrink!

 

[steve_64]

oh when i said this may not be permanent i meant the other job not carpet cleaning. i plan to do this in one form or another till i die. unless i it leads to something more oneday. something less work and more money. might try writting a book or something like that one day. i can tell tale a good story.

 

[steve_64]

i also have a vision of a vacuum sales and repair store along with the carpet cleaning. several full time employees doing marketing and techs and a rug cleaning bay. i have some big dreams but they may not happen in this town. i just need to keep getting my head right. i know it will happen if i push for it. what we feed will grow. i just had to stop feeding the little head.

 

[Mikey P]

#5 is rearing it's ugly head.

 

[steve_64]

#5 is rearing it's ugly head.

i dont need a license a good shrink wouldve done wonders though. or a good woman.

 

[jcooper]

Nice post, Steve. Best of luck!

The fact you stayed in biz with no DL is pretty amazing.

 

[steve_64]

Nice post, Steve. Best of luck!

The fact you stayed in biz with no DL is pretty amazing.

ive overcome so many obstacles. sometimes i think i sabotage myself to keep from getting bored lol.maybe fear of success hmmmm. im determined to make this work though. im to hard headed to know when i should quite.
ive gotten stopped twice without a license. my lawyer gets em reduced to other stuff so it doesnt go on my driving record. he told me he cant get me out of it anymore though. money wont solve it anymore. but ive had a few other drivers including my brother who almost wrecked my van twice. thats when i had started driving again. ive even had my ex drive a couple times lol.

i take it all in stride and am a perfect example of what not to do to succeed. this other job will help me get through this period though. now if i can just stay out of trouble.

thanks jcooper

 

[Dolly Llama]

i have some big dreams but they may not happen in this town.

sure won't happen only working 20 hours a week .

and why/how do you get pulled over so much??...TWICE with no DL???
The only times I've gotten pulled over was for traffic violations .
and I haven't been pulled over in 10-12 ??? years ...and i roll 20K+ miles pr year

lastly, did the crash 'n burn that got your license yanked convince you to stop drinking?
Or were illegal drugs involved too??


Take your job, Dude ...ain't no shame in that.
Run the biz part time (like you've been doing for the last 6 years) and just cherry pick the CC'ing jobs


..L.T.A.

 

[cu]

sounds like you need to make a list and ask yourself some questions
about your life
self employment aint for everybody and some people cant be employees
some can be both. but i never understood how to do that
for me you have to be all in. No "half n half"

 

[steve_64]

sure won't happen only working 20 hours a week .

and why/how do you get pulled over so much??...TWICE with no DL???
The only times I've gotten pulled over was for traffic violations .
and I haven't been pulled over in 10-12 ??? years ...and i roll 20K+ miles pr year

lastly, did the crash 'n burn that got your license yanked convince you to stop drinking?
Or were illegal drugs involved too??


Take your job, Dude ...ain't no shame in that.
Run the biz part time (like you've been doing for the last 6 years) and just cherry pick the CC'ing jobs


..L.T.A.

im in a hick town. one cop wouldnt say why he pulled me over the other said i was speeding but it wasnt possible for him to see me where he said i was speeding. and he wouldnt show me the radar. my lawyer is or was the public defender here and he has told me some stuff thats going on here. hek one judge blew a .23 on her way home from work and another was busted for coke and prostitution, hes the one who sentenced me. they have all been arrested for stuff worse than me.

when i lost my license it was my second in 2 years. automatic revoke in michigan if 2 in 7 years. cop said i was speeding but again wouldnt show the radar. i blew a .09 2 blocks from home second time, blew a .13 first time. yes ive stopped drinking and am going to AA. had a hearing this spring and was denied because of no AA. michigan is broke and this is how they are getting thier funds. but i was drinking and whoring to much. i was bored and lonely. im not from here and only knew the guys i worked with. i was married 20 years faithfully but not happily. lost my dad had a lifelong heart disease fixed got skin cancer lost my brother and started my business all in two years. i was a wreck and suffering deep depression when i started my business.
after the heart surgery i kept feeling pain in my chest. doctor said i needed exercise so i knew i wanted to start my business then. fought with the ex the whole way.
there were times i thought id drop dead cleaning 3rd floor apartments but i pushed on. thought it would kill me or cure me. ive lost 40 lbs and am happier and healthier than ive ever been. i did get help from a doctor for the depression. took meds for that and anxiety. i was considering suicide at one time, thats when i went to the doctor for help. im off the depression stuff, it almost killed me getting off it but i still take a clonopin now and then.
this is just the worst of what i went through, there is so much more but you can see what a mess i have been. the heart surgery was a nightmare. doctor put caffeters in without anastisia because the nurse was late. he litterally tortured me and taunted me. i woke up in the middle of the procdure and had severe pain for months in my groin. ican go on and on but its no excuse for my behavior. im looking forward and am doing good. done a lot of soul searching over the last few years and am almost ready to really break out and be truly successful. just a few more hurdles to overcome.

 

[steve_64]

sounds like you need to make a list and ask yourself some questions
about your life
self employment aint for everybody and some people cant be employees
some can be both. but i never understood how to do that
for me you have to be all in. No "half n half"

i did both under worse circumstances. i want to go balls to the walls with this but i need to proceed with caution. thats what got me in the trouble i am in. the more i made the more i partied. i have an addictive personality and am working on that. i can sell my ass off though when im on my game. i had a couple years, the ones i got in trouble i was working my ass off. by myself making $2500 to $4500 a week my second year in business. it kicked my ass and drinking helped numb the pain. ive had severe back trouble since i was 25 and just learning the trade again, doing everything the hard way took its toll.

running cnc machines is easy money and im better equipped now to deal with the nonsense of that atmosphere. i have trouble sitting still and staying by a machine waiting to spit out parts. that anxiety is nearly gone now along with the adrenaline rushes i use to get from my heart disease. my whole life was one adrenaline rush, its what caused my depression so bad. especially after surgery and losing that adrenaline. my life changed on a dime 180 degrees. it was falling apart but coming together at the same time. its hard to explain. i still dont understand it all but i feel i have a new lease on life and im determined to make something with it. im also still healing from that heart disease. acne since the age of 10 suddenly cleared up,bleeding ulcers and other intestinal disorders are healing. never had a normal bowel movement before. issues with my eyes went away, phantom pains disappeared. the list goes on.

anyway, i think taking the job will be good. hek i get a whole new list of possible clients again.

 

[steve_64]

ive probably made every possible mistake there is to make yet i am still doing this and still kinda growing. im just not working it like i need to. i know i can make so much more doing this but im not ready yet. and after 5 years ive beat the odds. i do everything on paper, i do have a lady helping with the bookkeeping but other than that its a cell phone and yearly schedule i keep with me. i mail invoices and have a po box. ive kept it very simple so far and for good reasons lol.

ive lost some good accounts but have replaced most of them. the reasons vary but mostly pricing or new people in charge. one apartment complex because i cant see red stains some times, another issue ive managed to overcome. im going back soon now that i have a full time driver who can see them lol. they liked my work other than that.

getting this house is a step in the right direction. ive been working out of a one bedroom apartment for 4 years too lol. talk about a challenge. i cant wait to have a 2 car garage again. winters have sucked bad for me leaving my van outside in a carport. its screwed up my equipment a lot.

man things can only get better, i hope!!!

 

[Dolly Llama]

man things can only get better, i hope!!!

once you hit bottom, there's no place to go but up


..L.T.A.

 

[FB7777]

Welcome back Pete Seltzer

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

#5 is rearing it's ugly head.

lol made my day already at 9:45am

 

[steve_64]

Welcome back Pete Seltzer

come on fred, you remember me. we use to talk on procleaners, dans site.

lol made my day already at 9:45am

i know, when i saw that i laughed so hard. mike knows how to call them.

ok im going golfing with my brother. i got him a new set of nike clubs this spring for cleaning the clubhouse. i golf free so this gets me there.

 

[steve_64]

once you hit bottom, there's no place to go but up


..L.T.A.

everybody has a different bottom, just hoping ive found mine.

 

[Dolly Llama]

everybody has a different bottom, just hoping ive found mine.

The key is once you hit bottom, don't skid and bounce along the bottom for too long.
Makes the climb out of the "pit" much harder ....ask me how i know

I've never suffered from depression though..not chronic depression anyway
But have a loved one that does, as well as close friend ...I can sympathize, cause I understand it's an awful place to be


BTW, Valium or Xanex are both better than Colonapin (sp??)
all are in benzodiazepine category , but Valium and Xanex do a better job
Ask your doc to prescribe some instead of Colonapin.... if you haven't tried them already

..l.T.A.