[pcloy]

looking to bring business forward . thinking of putting another van on . what is the
best way to do this some people say (GO FOR IT)

[Matt Lindus]

i fink u will d o weally well.
matt

[Matt Lindus]

Please excuse my spelling, was in a rush for the loo!!

I think you should be looking to expand more to accommodate more that 2 vans. Ideally you would be better off putting around 5 vans on the road, this will create more % return on capital than using just small fry 2.
Firstly you need to free up some working capital if you don't have the funds to start the business, this will keep you floating until you start pulling good clear profit. Try these  https://www.debtbustermortgages.com/mortgageapplication1.aspx?R=GOLDBM165 If things are looking bleak and things aren't looking too rosy try these http://www.mayspawnbrokers.co.uk/ they will accept your personal goods for instant cash, you can always buy the stuff back at a later date at an interest inflated rate. Failing this you can do this  http://www.debt1.co.uk/debt_management.asp?gclid=CPe_pbb3n4oCFSoMQgoddk3Vnw write off your debt and start a fresh with your wife as the company owner.

Hope this helps
Matt

[AquaMagic]

I think the important thing here is the figures,

How much would a second van cost to set up.

How much would it make in Profit

Have you got spare cash to pump in our would you need to use one of Matts methods.

Id look at it like poker, whats in the pot?, how much will it cost you to call?, and what are your chances of winning?
If whats in the pot is a lot then a bigger gamble is worthwhile unless its going to cost you so much that what you win isnt really that great, however if you have a great chance of winning then its an easy gamble.

All boll*^ks i know, but ive had a few tinnys.

Dene

[Ken Wainwright]

Rather than jump straight in with a new van/kit/technician, many would prefer to take on a new trainee/tech to work with them off one vehicle.

This route will allow you to train the new tech to YOUR standards and you'll be able to monitor their skills, punctuallity, people skills (absolutely vital), loyalty, honesty etc. etc.  Also, as a two man team, your production rate can be almost doubled so should be a cost effective way of building your business. You will also have time for "kitchen sink" marketing.

A worse case scenario is to have a new tech, new van & new kit, find the tech is no good and then end up having to continue to pay off loans for kit that aren't earning.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[the red carpet]

before even thinking of putting a new van on the road i would make sure you are making the most of the first one.

Could you maybey increase prices on the van you are allready running?
How about employing a tech to work nights or weekends and start aiming at commercial work? that way you could have one van working day and night.

The best way to expand isnt allways more vans

One well run van can make the same as three sloppy run ones

[Shaun_Ashmore]

There was a CC in the states who was 1 of the first Joe Polish guys, he had himself and 1 other on the van and turned over $300,000 in 1 year!!

He and his Tech cleaned and he sold add ons ie protector, extra rooms on the same visit, booked in next clean got referals.

He eventually came off the van and hired another tech and the 1st tech got paid commision on what extras he sold.

I had 2 vans on the go and went out cleaning, it's too hard to keep your eye on the ball. You need a very good tech and you need to go and sell and do the odd job. I personally would look at selling at a higher price if you are getting too much work because if you are, you (in your customers eyes) are too cheap.

Shaun

[calmore]

How about contracting the work to someone..?

There's a place down this way that will set the contractor up with a carpet cleaning training course, machine, tools etc. For this the contractor pays around £3k-£4k.

The contractor gets about 30% of the money for each job but out of this are deductions for insurance and rental on a liveried van etc.

The employer (ie you) feeds the contractor with jobs to do, pay for chemicals and advertising out of the 60% of each job you receive.

I'm not saying that you should follow this model exactly but it might be a good way of getting extra vans on the road but minimising your outlay.

If the contractor doesn't work out you just stop supplying work and take the van back and employ someone else.

[Ian Rochester]

It's always the dilemma:

 - do you turn business away because you can't keep up?

 - do you remain as a sole operator and know that you are going to stay busy all year round?

 - do you bite the bullet and take someone on to work with you?

 - do you invest in a new vehicle, equipment and hope that you have enough work to keep them busy?

We currently have 3 vans on the road and 6 staff, however they are not all doing carpet cleaning (we don't get enough work to do that)

We have one van (mine) that is solely carpet cleaning, another that is solely window cleaning and a third that does a bit of both as and when required, this one is also used for office cleaning work.  We are also probably looking to put another on the road, soon, before year end.

I also subcontract out some cleaning work to other cleaners, mainly domestic cleaning, pressure washing and oven cleaning.

You need to work out how busy you are and how much work you are turning away, the problem with carpet cleaning as opposed to office cleaning, domestic cleaning and window cleaning is that generally if you are mainly domestic, it is not guaranteed repeat business and what you did last month may not be the same next month.

I would recommend that before investing in new vehicles, you firstly look at getting someone to work with you, this seriously speeds up your times by up to 50% in many cases, especially if you are using a porty.  Their wages should be more than covered by the extra turnover created.  Even consider taking them on only part time for when you have the bigger jobs on.

Secondly you could look at investing in a different machine, TMs are reputedly faster than portys in most cases, however, we still use portys at the moment, (but JK is working on me to get a Prowler!!)

Remember that if you take someone on, along with a van, then this set up needs to be creating enough work each week to cover its overheads, ie:

Wages
PL/EL/treatment insurance (massive increase from sole operator)
Vehicle purchase
Vehicle insurance
Fuel
Equipment investment
Chemical costs
etc, etc

To really make it worthwhile that vehicle needs to be generating in the region of £750 turnover each week to make it cost effective and make you some reasonable profit.

You could look at using the extra van to diversify your business into other cleaning related areas as we have done, especially the more regular, guaranteed work.

[Mike Roper]

I would have thought one of the main concerns was getting the right person to eventually be a tech, then holding onto them !
I know of 2 long established truck mount businesses who have lost their tech whos been with them for years , and its caused huge problems. you cant replace those people overnight especially if you run truckmounts.
As ive worked on my own for 17 yrs I personally couldnt bring myself to send someone else to do the work.
Mike

[ianharper]

Guys

This has to be the most curfull thing you do.

first you dont want to show some person how to become a carpet cleaner only to see how much you make and then setup in the same town as you.

when my time comes to do this i will be look at one van with two part time women working it. less risk all round. most times they are not the main bread winner so the pressure is not on themto earn as much as they can and if ones off the other can cover.

get yourself a contract and get it checked out by a lawer. this will give control over them if they leave. just like franchises do. you can do this as well.

one drawback with the fast track is these guys put out a message in the form off a consumer warning on how to choose a carpet cleaner then they go out and pull some guy off the street and put him out on a van after a week or so. i seen this happen.

the job itself is easy and can be picked up in no time but its the differant problems we come up againist and how our experance tells us to deal with them that makes us a good carpet cleaner. how can this be learnt in a week or so?

one way is running a two man van and for you to set upsell targets each day. this is how some cleaners do it in the usa. selling protection do a five around. where you now have the time to do it properly. measuring up areas that you are not doing and offering them at a special price. will pay for the second cleaner and then when the time is right give them a van.

how can you get to know someone so quck that will be repersenting you and your business in your town. how do they react under pressure.? are they a risk taker. these things can only be found out over time. the big one is can you trust them? only testing them will answer this, and it should be at your risk and not the customers.

anyway if i was to choose a man. then the type would be a train spotter type and not some jack the lad that gives you answers that he know you want to hear.

plus when you do send them out on there own. most people dont make time to check their work. first how great will this look when you turn up and check his work to the customer and second he will know that you are checking and this will kepp standard up when you are not behind him.

remembering that reconmendation is the most cost effective way to build a business. you dont want to have spent years building it up in your town only to send some untrained guy in to mess it all up.

you would think someone like robert at alltec would have a training course that addressed this issue. just think off it like the old system where you worked four days and when to school for one. with the internet and phone conferancing it would be so easy to setup. and make who ever did loads of money.

plus i think it would take carpet cleaning in the UK to a differant leval, as many more cleaners would start to add second vans, because they would have some back up and help.

Above i know i pointed out fast track but its not just them francises do the same. i was on a woolsafe course at servicemaster and asked how they trained new guys. just basic and out they go, was the answer. risky in my eyes

respect

Ian Harper

[Mike Halliday]

 If I was looking to expand Id go onto a 12hr day (7am-7am) 6 day week,  booking all the OAPs who get up at 5am every morning for the first appointment and busy yuppies for the  last appointment.

each job would be surveyed and all the uncomplicated easy jobs be scheduled for my *helper* to do alone ( usually these are the OAPs who just want the basic clean) so would be the first job.

we'd then work a split shift system, so the T/M is working 12hrs but we would only work 8hrs individually, the big jobs would be a joint effort.

 I'd be doing the work of 2 vans without the expense

Mike

** why cant I write a-s-s-i-stant whith out it being eddited :

[Shaun_Ashmore]

looking back that's how I would have done it Mike, to run a decent van with a TM in it costs at least £125 a week and that is without ant purchase payments.

Shaun

[pcloy]

thanks for your replys .(I WAS AWAY ON HOILADAYS )i have a man wooking with me. but got some good ideas i will put a van on doing windows and carpet