1. What do you think it will do for the trade? Raise its profile/ Raise customer expectations/ promote price wars etc....
2. What are you doing about it? Stepping up and bringing your A game/ Not bothered/ Worried/ Encouraged?
However saying that, and I genuinely mean that, what I do wonder is with such small (relatively speaking) outlay and overheads (I spoke to a hairdresser the other day and was shocked at their break even figure) are we approaching saturation point anytime soon and if we are with what results.
1. I think our profile will be raised. If people are truly professional then there's a hope they might just
raise prices, as they'll understand it isn't price that wins customers, it's quality of service. For us 90% of it is turning up and cleaning their windows when you say you will. The other 10% is what differentiates.
2. Always improving what we do. Always looking for ways to do it better.
3. The outlay and overheads aren't as low as it looks from the outside and that'll bring a few of the new starters up short. I don't think we're anywhere near saturation (though that could depend on where you are in the country). I've not seen any tailing off at all of the response rate to my leaflets. In fact, we're so full we really shouldn't be taking anyone new on.
Andy makes a good point above. Remember, most businesses are gone within five years - I don't see our business being an exception. From the outside
any business looks an easy way to make loads of money. Look how many restaurants have opened and closed near you in the past five years. All those people sank loads of money into their sure-fire winner.
A guy around here started with a sign-written van, worked at it for three years then gave up two winters ago. One of his friends said he couldn't understand it, but I can. Bumping along as a windy is easy. Making a success of it is a completely different game. Whatever your goal is - shorter hours, more control, more money, whatever, long-term success won't come unless you can succeed running a business. Not in the daft Alan Sugar testosterone televisually exciting way, just doing all the stuff that you have to do come rain, shine, light, dark, cold, rainy... Keeping accounts up to date, always being positive with customers, planning so you don't run out of anything and have to wait a week, remembering to fill the van, getting up when your body is crying out to stay in bed as you're aching with all the first cleans when you've just started, and a hundred other things you get right when you've been doing it a while....
Plenty of the new guys won't be equipped mentally for that and plenty will fall by the wayside. The remainder will be good to have in the industry.