WCBO Issue 3

ISSUE #3

Pro Window Cleaning Spotlight

Josh cronin balances his family and his business pg 06

Squeegeenomics

Baiting the koi

pg 22

Making it in the Commercial Window Cleaning Jungle pg 15

Manufacturer Spotlight with Wagtail pg 28

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T HREE C O MMO N PO WER WASHIN G PRO BLEMS T O WAT C H FO R

This fungus gets its name by firing spore masses in the air for as little as two feet to a maximum distance of thirty feet, speckling siding, down spouts and windows. The longer these spores have been in place, the harder they are to remove. In most cases, we can generally remove half of the shotgun fungus. The water pressure will usually "skin" the outer surfaces of the spore. This leaves the spore exposed to the sun, which will then "bleach" them off of the siding. There is no product that kills shotgun fungus, but you can keep it at bay. Consider switching to inorganic mulch, such as stone or pea gravel. Prior to the application of inorganic mulch, we recommend the complete removal of the existing mulch in order to lessen the chance of reoccurrence.

OXIDATION When metal is exposed to rain or humidity, it slowly deteriorates and causes oxidation. A prime example of this type of oxidation occurs on your gutters as the aluminum is exposed to the elements of the weather, such as rain, snow etc. The metal starts to stain a grayish film, which during the hotter months of the year bakes onto the gutters.

Power washing works wonders on vinyl siding, but does little to remove the oxidation that can be found on most trim and gutters around the home. Nothing short of a long and grueling hand scrubbing will take care of a tough case of oxidation. You can attempt to wash gutters down all day, and never succeed at removing any of the oxidation. This is one of the most difficult stains to successfully remove.

RUNOFF Occasionally, when power washing your home a small amount of water will get behind the siding. Hours after we have left, the water will start to make its way onto the exterior surface of your siding. As it drips out, it will usually pull some dirt out with it, resulting in a mark down the side of the home.

This problem can be remedied by simply giving the runoff area a quick spray with the garden hose to rinse away the mark.

At All County Window Cleaning we strive to provide our customers with the best possible service. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or comments.

service. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or comments.

At All County Window Cleaning we strive to provide our customers with the best possible

a quick spray with the garden hose to rinse away the mark.

This problem can be remedied by simply giving the runoff area it, resulting in a mark down the side of the home. your siding. As it drips out, it will usually pull some dirt out with water will start to make its way onto the exterior surface of of water will get behind the siding. Hours after we have left, the Occasionally, when power washing your home a small amount

RUNOFF removing any of the oxidation. This is one of the most difficult stains to successfully remove. attempt to wash gutters down all day, and never succeed at scrubbing will take care of a tough case of oxidation. You can around the home. Nothing short of a long and grueling hand remove the oxidation that can be found on most trim and gutters Power washing works wonders on vinyl siding, but does little to the year bakes onto the gutters. starts to stain a grayish film, which during the hotter months of elements of the weather, such as rain, snow etc. The metal occurs on your gutters as the aluminum is exposed to the and causes oxidation. A prime example of this type of oxidation When metal is exposed to rain or humidity, it slowly deteriorates

OXIDATION chance of reoccurrence. application of inorganic mulch, we recommend the complete removal of the existing mulch in order to lessen the but you can keep it at bay. Consider switching to inorganic mulch, such as stone or pea gravel. Prior to the exposed to the sun, which will then "bleach" them off of the siding. There is no product that kills shotgun fungus, shotgun fungus. The water pressure will usually "skin" the outer surfaces of the spore. This leaves the spore remove. In most cases, we can generally remove half of the these spores have been in place, the harder they are to speckling siding, down spouts and windows. The longer as little as two feet to a maximum distance of thirty feet, This fungus gets its name by firing spore masses in the air for Sphaerobolus Stellatus". expelled from the fruiting bodies of fungus know as for insect feces, they are actually the mature spore masses your siding, are about impossible to remove. Often mistaken Shotgun fungus, those "tiny black specks" that appear on

“SHOTGUN & ARTILLERY FUNGUS”

PRO BLEMS T O WAT C H FO R T HREE C O MMO N PO WER WASHIN G

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“SHOTGUN & ARTILLERY FUNGUS” Shotgun fungus, those "tiny black specks" that appear on your siding, are about impossible to remove. Often mistaken for insect feces, they are actually the mature spore masses expelled from the fruiting bodies of fungus know as Sphaerobolus Stellatus".

Window Cleaning Safety Manual

2011

06 10 11 12 15 Commercial Sales

16 17 18 19 21 22 26 28 32 34 35 36 37 38 WWW.WINDOWCLEANINGBUSINESSOWNER.COM

06 10 11 12 15 16 17 4

Pro Window Cleaning Spotlight Leadership Inspiration Manage Commercial Window Cleaning Commercial Sales Sales February - March 2011

18 19 21 22 26 28

Budgeting Your Expenses Customer Service Marketing Marketing Again Web Manufacturer Spotlight

32 34 35 36 37 38

New Products On The Road Safety Window Cleaning News Twitter Litter Fun

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A Special Thanks To all of our contributors to this issue of Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine.

Starting from the top left, going left to right. Kyle Ballweg, Brett Bailey, Karl Robinson, Joe Stellwag, Bruce Ferguson, John Webb, Stacey Jack, Kevin Dubrosky, Tony Evans, Paul McQuillan, Dan Wagner, Sean Dolan, Alex Lambrinides and Copy Editor Lowell Stevens.

Not pictured: Editor and Chief Chris Lambrinides and Stephanie Testa, Layout and Design.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

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Pro Window Cleaning Spotlight trades and a master of none but I want to be able to offer other services that are needed by people. We do window cleaning, screen repair, gutter cleaning, and rain flow. We don’t just do window cleaning, so it’s kind of a fitting name.

Chris: So how long did you operate your business out of your house before you got the office that we see in your Biz Show?

Josh: I got the office last year at the very end of 2009 so I did have a couple of years out of the house. There are pros and cons to both of them. It’s nice with the larger truck that we have to have it all on site and together instead of having it in storage units, and not to mention our city frowns upon having people show up to your house to work. If you’re working out of your house it’s got to be a home office, and there were just a lot of little things that kind of pushed us to do it.

Chris: Yeah, you mentioned in one of your Biz episodes, it’s a nice separation. I found that as well. It was just great finally getting out of the house and then around 7-8 PM you don’t get wrapped back up in work.

U.S.I.S Window Cleaning 29 year old Josh Cronin became a window cleaning business owner in 2007 and hasn’t looked back since.

Chris: How did you get involved in [window cleaning]?

Josh: Actually, my wife and I just had our first daughter and I had 5 weeks off for paternity leave. Being home was getting to be too much and my wife basically said “Please just go do something.” So I went out and worked with my brother in the painting business just to get out of the house. On one of the jobs the homeowner said, “Hey I also want you to clean my windows when you guys are done.”

At the time I used a big jug of windex and a gas station style squeegee/scrubber thing.

You know, the one on the wooden stick. To

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clean all of the windows with the spray bottle, it took me about 3 hours. It was fun, and I thought “Well, this is kind of cool,” When I started looking online and seeing that people had this as a career, I thought “Man, this might be something kinda fun.” I took it from there part time and eventually went full time with it.

Chris: How did you come up with the name USIS? What does that mean?

Josh: It stands for Universal Services Inc. It’s basically because we don’t just do window cleaning. I don’t want to be a jack of all

February -March 2011

Josh: Yeah, it is. The whole thing about it is that if it’s out of your house and you’re taking lunch with your family, things don’t work like they should. All of a sudden some little school issue comes up or the wife wants you to do something or the kids want you to do something. I just don’t feel as though you can dedicate as much of yourself to your business when it’s out of your home unless you have some sort of separation. I know some people have it in their basement so at least it’s far enough away so that it’s like, when I’m there, I’m working and you can’t talk to me. At the end before I got my shop that was kind of the rule and it wasn’t to be a jerk about it. It was just so that so I knew I could get what I needed to get done, done.

It’s hard when you lose your train of thought on something else.

Chris: So how many employees do you guys normally have in the peak season?

Josh: In the busy season we have about six.

Chris: Do you have enough work to keep them busy year around, or do you lay guys off in the winter?

Josh: I’m from Wisconsin so we get a lot of snow and it gets very cold in the winter time so we do get slower. We end up dropping one guy on employment, one guy still works www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

full time, and then we have the other 3 of them go down to part time. It’s basically to have people on, so when you do get those on call situations we have staff. We also find other work for them to do.

many people and so many applications in one day it’s mind boggling.

Chris: Are the guys happy to have the time off?

Josh: Each of our crew always has what we call a crew chief. That person is responsible for basically everything that is involved.

All of the paperwork, our introductions, the main talking if somebody has questions or wants things done a certain way. They’re going to go through everything with him or her, the crew chief. They’re also going to be in charge of making sure their truck is clean and it has enough supplies. At the end of the day they’re the ones that have to bring the binder to me and go over any issues that happened during the day, turn in checks and turn in satisfaction notices.

Josh: Yeah I guess the guys consider it lucky to get laid off. It all depends; I personally don’t like to tell someone this is what’s going to happen. So we have a few meetings before it gets too cold to get a general consensus of what everybody really wants to do so that all of the employees are happy. If they’re happy they’re going to stick with me even if they end up getting the longest end of the stick.

Chris: So you mentioned at one point you ran your employees through a temp agency, do you still do that?

Chris: So with your six workers there, what’s the structure?

Josh: You know, I’ve found the most weirdos and the best employees from Craigslist. You get such a wide variety of them. You get so

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Josh: A sale’s a sale. It all comes down to finding that right person to talk to. Finding who’s going to get you an answer, not “I have to talk to someone else.” Once you get those people, the sales basically fall on you.

Then you have to sell yourself, you have to show them why they need to use you, why you are the best or the fastest or the cheapest. So it’s kind of like window cleaning, it’s just a different service.

Chris: What were they doing, just commercial stuff, popping into buildings?

Josh: Yeah, it does work out in the end.

Chris: So what do you think is the absolute best way to pull employees? Which method have you found?

Chris: How do you typically acquire that type of work?

Josh: No. We did have a salesperson for awhile and it worked out quite well. He ended up leaving to follow a different career path. We haven’t had anybody since then, but it really increased our sales by having somebody just dedicated to it full time.

Chris: It sounds like you get the good end of the deal.

Josh: No, I prefer not to go through the temp agency as an actual temp agency. I like to hire people myself just because I can pick who I want. I don’t have to pay a company to find somebody for me, and I’m going to want to interview the person anyway. Even if they said they were good I want to see what they’re all about. So what I’ll do is post ads myself on different venues like Yahoo Local and Craigslist, sometimes even in the paper.

Josh: That is an add-on to pressure washing, but as of right now it’s not full time enough to have somebody going out 5 plus days a week all night long and having them taken care of.

Chris: Do you have a salesperson at all?

Josh: Yeah, we still do that. I find it easier than doing it yourself, but it’s more expensive. The only upside to it being more expensive is the workers’ comp is so much lower going through this temp agency because they have the across the board workers comp for everybody. We pay 38% for everything which includes their paid holiday, paid vacations, disability, all the benefits, plus all of their workers comp and all of their state and federal taxes.

Chris: So when you need to hire somebody, what do you do, do you just call the temp agency and say “Send me interviews,” or how does that work?

going full time?

Chris: Do you try to keep them on the same schedule as you? Are you there to open up every morning and are you there when they come back to the shop?

Josh: Yeah. As far as window cleaning, I’m always here for them to come in and go out, but we do have overnight pressure washers that go out. That’s the only time I’m not here.

Chris: What type of overnight pressure washing do you do?

Josh: We do flat surface, concrete, store fronts, some commercial applications like gum removal where we need to be there when people aren’t. We normally start between 10-11 at night for that.

Chris: Do you have enough for that to be

Josh: Yeah. They were doing all of commercial because we really wanted to increase our commercial. It’s also easier for a salesman to sell commercial in my opinion then going and doing houses. I know I don’t want to be a representative door knocking like a vacuum salesman at people’s houses. He was just dropping in and out of businesses, blanketing areas that we’ve done and areas we wanted to get into. He was talking to people and letting them know that we’re out there and that we could possibly save them some money, get great results, we’re reliable, and all of the great sales techniques.

Chris: Do you use any type of technology in your business, like GPS tracking systems for your vehicles, routing software, or CRM software. What are some of the things you use?

Josh: I think when we continue to grow we’ll start getting more into that, but we don’t really use tracking software. I’ve looked into doing vehicle tracking, but as of now we don’t really use anything super fancy. All of the scheduling is done by me and a Yahoo Calendar type program, where it’s an internet based calendar where I have to look for an

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opening, I have to find out how much time is available and put that person in for a certain block. I think the bigger we get and the more help I’ll get for that, we’ll start getting into more of that scheduling software and some of the bigger programs.

Chris: That’s good. So what would happen if you wanted to take a vacation for a week, would it still function?

Josh: Yeah, I was actually just gone on a hunting trip in Wisconsin for a few days and everything ran smoothly. If you have good people that know what they’re doing they don’t bug you. I try not to go for too long, because the first day it’s fine, the second day you start missing your business and by the third you just feel like you’re wasting time because nothing is getting done.

Chris: [Laughs] I know that feeling very well.

So what’s the breakdown of your work? Do you do 70% residential, 30% commercial?

Josh: well, we do actually about that. It is about 70/30 with residential being 70% and commercial being 30%. This past year we did go and make a big push for getting more commercial just so that we had better preparation for commercial. We’ve almost tripled our commercial over that one year, but we’d still like to have more. I’d like there to be a dedicated crew to commercial and a dedicated crew to residential.

Chris: What other add-on services do you offer?

Josh: We do Rainflow [gutter protection], regular gutter cleaning, we do a little bit of screen repair and pressure washing.

Chris: So out of all the services that you offer, what do you think gives you the best profit margin?

Josh: Rainflow does real well. Screen repair is probably our worst but I think Rainflow would be our best.

Chris: How do you handle the screen repair, do you just bring stuff back to the shop and have a guy fix it on the side?

Josh: Yeah, we have screening tables set up in the shop. We used to do them on site but it just got to be too much of a headache.

People liked it but you couldn’t charge enough for the headaches, and as you know every hardware store around replaces screens in general. That’s why people like our service. We pick them up, bring them back to our shop, fix them and then we’ll

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deliver them back and install them again so that the people don’t have to go anywhere.

We do charge a little extra for it but it’s one of those necessity services.

Chris: What about all of your residential work, where does that come from?

Josh: We’re one of the people that actually get very good results from Service Magic. I know that’s always a big topic if it’s good or bad or what. We do quite well with Service Magic, We also get a lot of referrals, and

February -March 2011

we do ads in our newspapers, which also do pretty good for us. We’ve tried Craigslist; we’ve tried Angie’s List, pretty much all the different marketing outlets. Houses are a different beast than commercial. I think more houses come to you then commercial would come to you.

Chris: Do you use water-fed poles in your business?

Josh: Yeah, we have 3 WFPs now and we use one powered cart now. We have a 54’

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pole, a 45’ pole and an 8’ pole.

responsibilities.

Chris: How many days a week do you think they get used?

Chris: Is she happy you got it out of the house finally?

Josh: Our regular residential truck always has our 45’ pole and the cart is brought along with that. We probably plan on using it at least 2-3 times a week but it could get used more than that.

Josh: [Laughs] Yes. She did say a couple of weeks ago that she really does like that I leave every now and then. When you work at home you spend a lot of time together.

Little things get on each other’s nerves when you’re there all the time. So it is nice.

Chris: Are you the only one in the office or do you have anyone in there helping you?

Josh: No, I’m usually the only one in the office. We do have part time office help that will work for a call list and for some of our Christmas mailings that we send out, but full time I’m the only one in the office.

Chris: What are your growth goals for the company? Are you comfortable at the level you’re at? What are your aspirations for the future, what’s on the horizon?

Josh: Well, I’ve always believed that if you’re going to stay where you’re at then stay

Chris: So I was watching some of your Biz shows this morning to get caught up with you and get refreshed, and the one I really liked was the one that was about putting family first. You only work 8 hours a day, and family time is family time. That was probably just about 6 months ago, are you still sticking to that?

Josh: The family always does come first. I have two little girls and a great wife, but somebody also replied during that show that do you think that you could give as much attention to your business doing it that way as you should? And the answer is no, if I was single and didn’t have a family or other family responsibilities, I would be that workaholic, that would be at work more than I should more than what would be healthy, but my business would be in a different place then it is now.

In my opinion when you choose to have a family you have to keep them on a pedestal.

It’s just certain responsibilities you need to keep. The family exists because I have the business. I make money with the business that helps pay for everything that the family needs, so there has to be a kind of a balance between them. But you have to give equal amount of time to both.

Chris: So does your wife play any role in the business? Does she ever help out or does she kind of just do her own thing?

Josh: She is not business savvy. If she talks to somebody she’ll give me referrals/leads and things every now and then in casual conversation, but she has basically zero part in the business. It’s kind of my avenue.

She does have her own job, and her own

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where you’re at, but if you decide you’re going to grow anything, there’s got to be a non-stop growth plan. And that’s where we are, I’m not necessarily happy where we are now, I don’t think anybody is, everybody wants to make more money.

I’d like to see us continue to grow and our company will grow as long as we can keep getting new clients and new companies to go with us. We’ll just keep growing to meet those needs.

Chris: Close your eyes right now and picture what you’re company looks like in 5 years, what do you see? Do you see more people working in the office, more crews out, what do you see?

in five years I’ll be in the seven figure range, and that’s my goal: that’s where I want to be.

Chris: Nice. I think you can get there; you’re well on your way, for only being in business since 2007.

Josh: Well, I also want to own a hovercraft someday and the only way I’m going to get that is by making that money.

Chris: [Laughs] So for the most part Josh we’re talking to people that have aspirations to get where you’re at, to get their office out of their house, to have 6 employees, to have a couple of crews going out, to have diversified services like you do. Do you have any tips for the people we’re talking to today, something that may benefit them?

Something that they could do to improve their business and start getting closer to where you’re at?

Josh: I think as far as having a shop or an area that is not in your home that part can wait as long as you physically can.

There are a lot of expenses that go into that that aren’t necessarily needed right off the bat. But as long as you’re out there selling every day, and you’re selling not just a new account, you’re selling yourself, you’re selling your business; you’re going to continue to grow. As long as you’re always going in that direction, I think with time and a lot of hard work anybody can do anything.

Chris: Do we have more episodes of the Biz coming anytime soon? People love them.

Josh: Yes, yes.

Chris: Well, thanks for your time today Josh, this has been great.

Josh: Cool. I appreciate it. Bye. _______________________________ Check out a another one of Josh’s great Biz episodes.

Josh: Yes! In 5 years I want to have dedicated commercial and residential crews, but I also want to have a full time salesperson if not a staff. By having a salesperson that that’s their only job it really, really helps get a lot more sales. As far as dollar figures go,

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Leadership “Humility is an ingredient that allows confident leaders to understand their limitations”

The term leadership can be an elusive concept. As we progress through life our understanding of what a leader should be may change. The skill of being a great leader is not something we are born with, it’s a trait that must be developed through life’s experiences.

I believe there are three unheralded aspects of leadership. These uncommon, yet vital, aspects of leadership are humility, gentleness, and kindness.

In our world today, there exists many examples of leaders and the routes these individuals have taken to become respected leaders.

While some may agree to disagree on the underlying characteristics’ to become a leader, one thing is clear to me – leadership is about relationships.

Humility Humility might be the most important aspect of leadership. A truly humble leader does not ask about the forth comings they will receive, but rather what everyone around them will receive.

For many people, the word humility means weakness and timidity. In fact, humility is a quality that seems to be disappearing in today’s fast paced world of globalism and competition.

Take a closer look at humility and you will notice it does not relate to weakness and timidity. We find that humility means the absence of arrogance, a posture of openness, and a kindness of heart.

In today’s society we experience examples of people attempting to act with humility, only with the hopes of a fiscal gain on the back end.

Treating your clients and others with humility in hope of receiving a sale in return is not an example of true humility.

A truly humble person helps others with whatever they may need without hoping for something in return. I believe that humility is a necessary quality that enables leaders to engage with others, both at home and around the world.

Humility is an ingredient that allows confident leaders to understand their limitations.

Humble leaders stay in a listening and learning mode. They understand the importance of continuing education and how that can impact the way they conduct their daily lives. In order for education and learning to take place we must first listen. This is something that all of us can do if we practice it in our daily lives.

can help. They forget to listen first in order to better understand the needs of others.

Think about this for a moment, how can we help someone solve their problem when we do not take the time to listen to their problem first?

Gentleness and Kindness Gentleness and kindness determine how we treat other people, maybe even how those people treat themselves.

These two aspects of leadership are difficult for most people to express, remember to be a true leader we must put our egos aside for the betterment of others. This can be difficult to do and easy to forget but if we want to truly be leaders it is something we must conquer.

You may be asking how do I be gentle and what does that even mean? I believe gentleness is not something you can express physically, rather mentally and emotionally.

Gentleness comes when we listen and learn from others. By doing this we can better understand the needs of others, and work towards fulfilling those needs.

Kindness is the aspect of leadership where we simply treat others as we would like to be treated. Being harsh towards someone has never solved any problems. It only endures bad feelings. It is difficult to reach your life’s goals when we treat people unkindly.

Having a kind heart will grow your network tenfold. Kindness begins with the eyes: noticing the needs of others around us.

Everyone wants to leave behind a legacy of some kind. It does not have to be great or magnificent. Each one of us will leave behind our own unique thumbprint. It is up to you how large of a thumbprint you leave.

By Kyle Ballweg Clear Vision Cleaning www.clearvisioncleaning.com

Most business owners want to jump right in and talk about how they

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February - March 2011

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There was a guy we will call “Jim”. He worked a menial job and sang in a band at night, dreaming of becoming a rock star.

One day he heard that American Idol was having auditions in his state and he knew that he had to try out. He was a goodlooking guy with a rock star look and a voice that was amazing, and an attitude he thought was unique. He was quiet and introverted and he knew that was going to be his weakness, but he was willing to overcome this to follow his dreams.

Jim went to the auditions and waited in the long lines for a couple of days to get his few seconds with the judges. He sang his heart out for them, managing to impress two of the three judges, (I think we all can figure out who wasn’t impressed) and after a short discussion the judges decided to give him the coveted gold ticket and send him to Hollywood. Jim worked harder than he ever had in his life. He perfected his voice, his style and his look and did whatever it took to be on top every week. Looking at the votes, it was obvious that America loved him and he was definitely going to end up at the top of the competition. He even managed to impress Simon during competition.

In the end, Jim ended up in third place. Of course we all know that the top five usually end up moving on to bigger things in their careers and Jim was no exception.

Jim started recording songs, making music videos and went on tour across the country living his dream and the crowds loved him. It seemed like every town he went to saw a bigger and louder crowd cheering him on. If you talk to any rock star they will tell you that the energy and excitement of the crowds is what they live for. Jim was an overnight sensation. A very close friend of mine played guitar for him and told me that not only was Jim a great musician, but he was a genuinely nice guy. But unfortunately, that didn’t last long. One night after a show in Hollywood California, Jim moved backstage with the band. My friend looked over at him and said, “Hey man, great show.”.

Without losing a beat, Jim turned to him and said, “Of course it was, I’m Jim, what did you expect?”

My friend told me that it seemed like from that moment, things started going downhill for Jim. He had conflicts with his label; he quit making videos and writing new songs. His music was being played less and less on the radio and the crowds at his shows were getting smaller.

Oh sure, his videos have millions of views on You Tube, and you can hear his music while shopping, but his popularity is waning quickly.

He went from being confident to downright arrogant.

I was thinking of Jim one day while working. I was taking a break from work and I saw one of my competitors driving by. I smiled and waved at them, but they gave me a grimace back. This company

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was once the top window cleaning company in the area. They have incredible work trucks that are the nicest I have ever seen to this day. The employees wear expensive uniforms and are very clean cut and the model of professionalism. Not to mention they do a great job of cleaning windows and pressure washing. At one point they were running twenty-seven trucks in three counties. I truly aspired to make my company like theirs some day. But, their popularity soon diminished. You see, they were charging more than twice what all of the rest of us window cleaners in the area were charging. When word got out to their customers that they could get the same service for much less money, their customers would question them why they are so expensive. Their response was that they were the MercedesBenz of window cleaning, and if you wanted the best you had to pay handsomely for it. Their attitude ended up backfiring on them. Their customers left them in waves. At first, they didn’t care because they had such a large customer list, and could afford to lose some without losing any sleep over it. But more and more, as customers switched companies, they started to feel it. Today, they are running two trucks and are trying to undercut other window cleaning companies on small mom and pop storefronts just to keep busy.

There is nothing wrong with confidence in business. In fact, it is a great sales tool. But arrogance will kill all that hard work that got you to the point of success. Remember when you first started cleaning windows? You were so grateful for customers that would take a chance on letting you into his or her house and you made sure to let them know it. Your customers were impressed not only by your work and professionalism, but also by your demeanor, and they made sure to tell their friends to use you.

The economy is showing signs of recovery and in the next few years we will all see our business grow. We will have our schedules booked up and money in the bank. Things will be amazing compared to what they have been over the past couple of years. But let’s all make sure that we don’t become arrogant. Appreciate each and every customer and make sure before you leave their house that you let them know it. You are a window cleaning rock star!

By Brett Bailey Bailey’s Window Cleaning

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“

Manage Discover the profit producing power of this one number “Oh yeah man, I make $1,500 a day in residential . . . by myself” Have you ever heard this type of response in conversation with someone at a trade show? $1,000, $2,000, it could be any number that makes you feel like you’ve missed the train in window cleaning, big time. Then you think maybe this guy only made that much that one day on that one job from that one customer 3 years ago. You think of what you make in a day. But do you even really know for sure? Let’s find out how . . .

In service businesses where accounting standards can be anything but standard based on who’s doing the talking, there is one way to break things down to know exactly what’s going on in your business and to be able to track your progress.

This is a next step to what we discussed in the last issue, utilization of days that can be worked in a year. We learned that on average, you can expect to only work about 85% of the full time work days in a year. Now let’s talk about one powerful number to have a clear understanding of. One number that says a lot about your business, your pricing, and your pace. And no, we’re not going to talk about how to get more $ out of 8 hours by running to the truck, and setting up your ladder this way and drinking less water for less bathroom breaks.

year-end numbers and divide by 12 months its even lower than the individual months you are missing the mark.

You have a “gut feeling” of what you or your guys can do in a day. But some days the dollars are low and the hours high and others the hours are low and the dollars high and then there is every mix in between. Averages help but just don’t tell the whole story since each day can be so unique and the hours are all over the place.

Look at the chart. Wild mood swings is a pretty appropriate title isn’t it? Is there a way you can know for sure, at a glance, which day is better than the other?

By digging deeper we are going to see how we can actually generate an equally comparable unit to use. After all we want to get your house in order to move forward more efficiently. We have to know where you are now to make progress and know where we are going in the future and we need “something” we can use that is always the same.

That something is the “8 hour equivalent”.

One number that tells a big story.

First things First Let’s start by taking what you make in a day.

What do you say you make in a day on average? _________ (A) OK, now do you have your last 12 months revenue number? ________

The situation You are a solo operation looking to add employees soon, or you currently have 1, 2 or 3 trucks on the road but you just aren’t seeing the profit you keep figuring you’ll get.

Perhaps you are just doing some simple math in your head: Example 1: $600 a day * 5 days = $3,000 a week * 4 weeks in a month = $12,000 a month But you are not seeing $12,000 a month, you are seeing much less and when you get your

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Oh yeah man, I make $1,500 a day in residential . . . by myself

If you don’t, why not just use last year’s tax return gross revenue amount from your schedule C instead. ______________ Let’s divide that by 260 (52 weeks of M-F work days) What do you get? ______________ (B)

out in last issue’s article.

But there’s a further step of adjustment to work with now. When you followed the last article and actually totaled the number of days you worked in a year, now you have something to work with.

2010 total revenue / 2010 number of man days worked = Avg daily amount “Wait, some days I worked more hours and some days I worked less hours!” Ahhh, now we’re talking! First, what do you think of this number? High, low? Are you satisfied with it?

What is it? ________ (C).

So what do you or your employees make in a day? Can we really figure out an accurate daily amount that can be compared apples to apples all the time? The 8 Hour Equivalent is the answer.

Log your days Let’s start with the definition of a work day: 8 hours, right? If your business survival is built on your employees making a certain amount of jobs every day, but a “day” is 10+ hours all the time, all year you will likely be facing employee burn out, your own burn out, higher turnover, and more employee absences. And is really a symptom of pricing that needs re-evaluation. So we’re going to work with the 8 hour national standard. As always, what I recommend working with is the standard 40 hour work week, 8 hour day.

First, why should you be killing yourself for free in a 60 hour workweek in the field? And you want to set up correctly for an employee situation since you know they won’t put up with working for free for a minute

Are you seeing a difference in the two results (A) and (B)?

We have to track our days. If you’re solo, you’ve got to track your own day just like an employee would. Come on, just do it for a week then, it’s not that bad and once you see what we can do with it, you’ll be hooked to use it to reach your goals.

“But winter is in there and a lot of lost work days, I make way more than that in a day!”, you might respond. Exactly. The simple math figuring referred to example 1 is way off and can’t be relied on for accurate use as pointed

If you have a couple employees you already have a log of payroll hours. No doubt this includes when they left your shop until when they got back. This would all be included if you worked at Big Corporate Co., so why not

February - March 2011

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use it for ourselves to set our companies up right?

Let’s work with one man in one truck, whether an employee or yourself. For simplicity, I am going to just refer to a solo operator but the principle is same for whatever “unit” you are analyzing: company wide totals, single employee, employee teams, operator and employee teams, etc.

Each day log your: Start time - from when you leave your home office, shop whatever, to go to your first job.

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Lunch - start and stop time of lunch Stop time - the time you get back to your home office, shop or whatever.

Non field time - did you run an errand or anything else not what an employee would do?

Keep track of start and stop times Non job time - did you do any marketing, sales, estimates? Keep track of start and stop times

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Calculate your total payroll hours: Take your total hours and subtract your lunch, personal and non job time to get your total “Day Payroll Hours”

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I work in tenths, like 8.1 or 7.3 (every 6 minutes is a tenth), you might just work in 15 min. increments for now, if you like: .25, .5, .75.

Pretty simple stuff, I know, just reviewing what the number we’re going to work with is going to include.

So, we have, let’s say 7.3 hours in the field and made $500.

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But what could we have made in a whole 8 hour day, if we had work to fill it to the top?

1.1 is our multiplier here

Now, Look Over My Shoulder First we need the percentage of an 8 hour day that was worked, so we can get a multiplier to use to adjust the actual hours worked.

Here’s how we calculate that: 8 (full work day) / 7.3 hours actually worked = 1.1 (8 is 10% more than 7.3)

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To get our result we take the day’s $ total and multiply it by this multiplier like this: $500 actual $ made in day * 1.1 = $550 So in this example our pricing, geographic distance, job type and our work pace is at a $550 a day result.

Whoa, did you catch that? Our pricing, geographic distance, job type and work pace produces a result that can be summed up in

one number! One number that we can use to now track future progress and set goals for.

This is good stuff, absorb it, think about it for a moment.

A further detail is that your own individual work pace is a net result itself of a combination of health, age, skills, experience, desire and hustle.

Many variables go into this number. Did you realize how much it actually represents? This is why it is so valuable to work with when properly calculated in a uniform and equally

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13

Wild Mood Swings- What A Mess!

revenue goals

• All facets of projection trucks, routes, income

• Scheduling more effectively

1400 1200

1000

800 Day Total $ Payroll Hrs (*100)

600

400

200

“What if I work more than 8 hours in a day?”

Then your multiplier will be less than 1 to reduce (sorry, way it goes) the $ of a day.

Say you did $700 in 9.2 hours: First: 8 hour day / 9.2 actual hours worked = .87 This means 8 hours was .87 or 87% of your total 9.2 hour day.

What was your 8 hour equivalent? $700 day total * .87 = $609 8 hour equivalent So in this example, even though it was a longer day, you still did better than previous example of $550.

Now that’s some good stuff! See how you can compare the two days to see which one was better by being more productive in an 8 hour time span?

Now ask, what made one day better than another?

• The job type?

• The job distance?

• The job pricing?

What could you do to make this 8 hour number go up?

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• Market more to a better job type?

• Market more closer in your service radius?

• Raise your prices?

Now just think if you kept track of this every day for a year. The goals you could set, the “live” progress feedback you would get each day.

Now you know how to compare apples to apples. Going to back to the opening line of $1,500 a day, what do you think? What’s missing? A lot of details!

“What’s your 8 hour equivalent?” you ask.

Too bad, you’ll get a blank stare from them since you are the only one who will have this powerful answer from reading this article.

Lessons for us:

• What someone else thinks of as an average day total can be far different from what you think an average day total is • An equally comparable unit needs to be generated • An 8 hour equivalent represents many variables in your business in one number • 8 Hour equivalent is very valuable to track progress on

Practical Application:

February - March 2011

This becomes an anchor point to work from for so many other calculations. Like those huge white “X” s painted in the street for surveyors that are anchor points that they take other measurements off of.

So, let’s combine this with the utilization lesson in the last issue and answer the question, “Is my pricing correct as I add an employee?”

0

comparable unit.

Now let’s start seeing how valuable having this 8 hour equivalent figured out is by working with it in some projections.

First, let’s . . .

(To be continued in Part 2) --------------------------------------------------By Bruce “number crunch” Ferguson Is there a specific projection you would like seen broken down into steps? Is there anything window cleaning business related you are trying to understand better or solve that a formula, calculation or chart could help with?

Did you like this article? Did it help you out in some way? Please e-mail me at: numbercrunch@verizon.net.

Does the thought of tracking this stuff sound like a headache, too hard and too complicated to you? I’ve made it easy for you! Just released with this issue and available only at the WCR store is the 8 Hour Equivalent spreadsheet template. Calculations are all done for you, even time fields are included so all you do is input your start and stop time for the day and your day total. You don’t even have to calculate your total hours for the day! See your progress and averages “live” on a chart. All set up for one whole year’s worth of data. See how amazing and eye opening this is as a planning tool for your growing business. Just Search “8 hour” and use offer code Free8hour to get it today!

• Setting, reaching, exceeding

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“Do we approach a potential new account like we’re lost, scared of people?”

Over the last few years while reading threads and posts on window cleaning forums such as Window Cleaning Resource I’ve noticed that while a number of Window Cleaning companies stick mainly or strictly to residential, quite a few also spend a lot of their time and effort developing and maintaining commercial accounts. Understandably so because they are easy to maintain for the most part and can be a reliable, predictable source of income year round. Not surprisingly, as storefront and shopping mall locations seem to be the most popular starting points for the glut of new WC businesses, they tend to be the most difficult accounts to attain and/or keep for your own over the long haul.

The challenge for us who make commercial window cleaning a significant part or our income and want it to be profitable is to either convince the prospects we are working on that our price is worth more than the other guy’s price, or serve our existing customers in a way that makes it unthinkable for them to entertain other offers. So how do we do this?

We often read in marketing articles that value is what we want to focus on when we present ourselves and our services. This will help sometimes with commercial prospects, but not as often as it does with residential.

Too often all the decision maker cares about is price, especially when a district or national office makes budget decisions. It certainly can’t hurt to zone in on our quality guarantee as well the fact that we are insured, very safety oriented; sensitive to the importance of their customers and their busy times, and also that we are reliable. But if our value “spiel” means nothing, we still have the opportunity to make a great first impression. This starts from the appearance of our vehicle as we enter their view, our demeanor as we walk toward our “target” and not least of all: our dress and grooming.

Further on first impressions: It’s not a do-

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or-die issue whether we roll in with a 2011 Sprinter or a 1990 Subaru wagon. Certainly a newer, larger, or prettier vehicle gives a favorable first impression, but we work with what we have at the moment. Is it clean, lettered if possible, in good repair as far as the body, oil leaks, exhaust etc.?

Do we approach a potential new account like we’re lost, scared of people? Or once we’ve psyched ourselves up, do we make a straight path as someone who is on a mission? Are we polite and considerate, mindful that whether we think so or not- their customer is more important to them than some salesman or vendor who just showed up? Are we neatly dressed in a professional manner, whether wearing our actual work gear or not? How about the appearance of our head and facial hair? Is it neat, no matter what style or length? It’s a fact of life that many people are predisposed when it comes to ones grooming as to what kind of person he is by his hair length and style, no less his clothing. Don’t forget hygiene! A lot to consider when making a first impression! To put this all in perspective, we’ll optimize our chances to make a good first impression if we don’t come off as scary, a nuisance, or a vagabond. In this case calling less attention to ourselves will probably open the doors wider for us up to the actual moment we make contact with our prospect.

And not forgetting the value angle, there are still plenty of business owners who see the big picture as we do. Having appropriately dressed, real professionals on their property who are polite, unobtrusive, safe, insured, and reliable like clockwork is worth the premium paid. These are the accounts we most want to seek out and they tend to be more loyal as well. The thing is we may have to tell them that is what we are in a discreet way of course. And when we give them the value price, we give it in a confident, matter-of-fact tone, never an apologetic one.

Now what about making it unthinkable for our existing customers to replace us with a lower-priced window cleaner? This too is easier said than done. Yet, it can be done.

Why not make the effort to graduate from just making regular business transactions with them to being their friend, sympathizer, and cheering section? We appreciate hearing kind, encouraging words when things are tough and tend to surround ourselves with such ones. So does everyone else including our commercial customers. So when a company comes around and says about us “He’s ripping you off. I’ll do it better and cheaper” or “He’s not reliable like me”, we have their loyalty in place and these words will mean nothing. And rightly so, because they are nothing in our smart customer’s reality which we’ve engendered.

As mentioned earlier, though, too many see absolutely nothing but the immediate dollars and cents impact when making their decisions and will throw objective thinking to the wind. I say let the window cleaning “sharks” waste their energy, gas, and time on those accounts.

One other thing to consider about getting the Cheap Charlies to pay you what you’re asking: Why not give them a price and write it on a quality business card or company stationery. Don’t forget to keep a record of this and show up once in awhile so that you’re not forgotten. The time may come when one of these price shoppers reconsiders the value angle.

In conclusion, while it can be tough to make commercial window cleaning a substantial and profitable part of your family of services, it can be a rewarding, reliable and a good change of pace from residential.

By Dan Wagner Dan Wagner Window Cleaning www.danwagnerwindowcleaning.com

“What about making it unthinkable for our existing customers to replace us?”

February - March 2011

15

Commercial Sales

How Much Should You Pay Your New Commercial Sales Rep?

have been asked many times in the past what I am paid per year.

As in the past, I will not be disclosing that information today. That being said I’ve also been asked by many window cleaning business owners how they should pay the new sales rep they are hoping to hire. I have always felt the best model was the one that we followed when I was hired by Chris, going on, eight years ago.

Chances are if you are looking to hire a sales rep, it is probably because you are simply becoming too busy to wear every hat that business ownership entails. Sales are a major component of growing in any and all businesses. Without growth you will be perpetually spinning your wheels. Hiring a motivated sales rep will ensure that growth and the success of your business.

First things first, how much should you pay your new sales rep? That is another question I’ve been asked over and over again. And to put it bluntly, I cannot answer it for you without intimate knowledge of your business. What I can offer is an example. When I was hired as an outside sales rep by All County Window Cleaning I had zero knowledge of the window cleaning industry aside from the fact that a friend of mine, Chris, operated one. I was brought in and told I would train with the current outside sales rep. I know many of you are looking to hire your first, so your current outside sales rep is probably you. I earned a very low weekly base pay while I rode along learning the ins and outs of commercial window cleaning sales. If my memory serves correctly it wasn’t more than a few hundred dollars.

We canvassed our territory so I could see current accounts and get an idea on pricing and made face to face cold calls so I could get an idea of what spiels worked best. After about two weeks I had made a few sales and was confident enough to hit the streets on my own.

My weekly base pay went up a bit and continued to rise as I proved my worth with every new account that was brought in at the end of the day. What do I make today? Well I’ll answer that by simply saying, I’m still here. You really have to take into consideration that reps value to you and your company. If they are constantly earning than they are worth spending more money on. Putting an exact dollar amount on that is completely up to you and your budget.

The next thing to consider would be their commission scale. Every sales rep will want to know exactly how much commission they will be making on every new sale. It is the driving force in sales. If it is an attractive model, it will keep them producing. Ours is a fairly simple map to follow. First off, we have a recurring accounts commission schedule. For any weekly, twice a 16

February - March 2011

month or once a month account, I or anyone who brings in a new account to ACWC, will receive that accounts first months full value, e.g., an account performed weekly, completed four times that month at a value of $20.00 per service, would bring an $80.00 commission. An account completed once per month, at a value of $120.00, would bring just that, $120.00. If an account is to be performed every other month, that commission is paid out as half of the first month’s full value. If the value is $60.00, it pays out $30.00. The next step down would be a quarterly account. These are calculated by taking the first months full value ($xxx.xx), multiplying by 4 (the amount of services per year) and dividing by 12 (months per year). So, a $500.00 quarterly account would pay out $167.00. To a motivated and driven sales rep, this model can make for some very lucrative commissions.

Now there are some other types of accounts that we have set up to only pay out a percentage of the job cost. These include any of our services performed once or twice per year for any commercial property. This one is simply 5 – 10% of the total job cost. The percentage varies depending on how much time was spent to finalize the sale and get them scheduled or by the actual dollar amount brought in.

The more time spent and the more money brought in the higher up that percentage scale. This model is especially lucrative when dealing with larger commercial office buildings and can be a good motivator for your sales rep to go after such accounts.

Once you have all this down the only task left would be to find the right sales rep. Their starting pay should be based upon their experience in sales and not just window cleaning.

To be honest, they don’t really need any window cleaning experience at all. Most good sales professionals can sell any product or service with little training in the field. It didn’t take me long at all to pick it up.

Set up goals for them to meet each week, month and quarter. Sales people are goal driven individuals and enjoy the challenge. But they also enjoy those commissions; if the money is there for them they should stick around and help you grow your business for years to come.

By Sean Dolan

All County Window Cleaning Salesman For more amazing sales tips visit: windowcleaningresource.com/vBulletin/salesman

Salesmanship

name and you will develop a lifelong relationship with a customer that will help you both get what you want.

The next great principal in salesmanship is the ability to listen. For those of you who are married hopefully you learned early in your marriage that many times your wife just wants you to listen to her.

Being men we are problem solvers, so we immediately start coming up with a way to fix her, when all she wants us to do is listen.

There is a true art in listening. When a customer or potential customer talks to you, focus on what they are saying. Don’t let your mind start to wonder on what you are going to say next or how your product is a perfect fit for them. Focus on every word they say and show genuine interest in them as a person. People are not interested in what you are saying unless they know you’re genuinely interested in them. I have made more sales using this principal than any other. Most people will tell you exactly what they want to buy, if not ask lots of questions. Look people in the eyes when they are talking to you. Show them you care about them as a person and their needs as a customer.

There have been many great books written on salesmanship.

These two principals (the way you see others and the art of listening) have helped me become very successful as a salesman.

By John Lee John Lee Window Cleaning mwcoa.com/KnoxvilleTennesseeWindowCleaning

My very first sales job was working for an Exxon car wash at the age of 14. Cars would pull up and I would try to sell them the deluxe wash with the spray-on wax treatment. 39 years later and I have learned a lot about how to be a good salesman.

Zig Ziglar once said, “I believe you can get everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want.”

And at another time, “I believe man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.”

One of the greatest principles in salesmanship is the way you see others. Several years ago an analysis of 100 self made millionaires from young and old revealed that the one thing they all had in common was the ability to find good in other people and in every situation. What you send out-comes back. What you sow you reap. This is true in dealing with people. Salesmanship is all about relationships. The universal truth is that you treat people exactly like you see them. How do you see your customers? Do you know their name, what they like and dislike, do they have kids and what are their names. People love to hear their name, it makes them feel important. Giving people compliments is one of the most effective ways to start a relationship with a customer.

Practice seeing the good in people and calling them by their

Budgeting Your expenses

ow that we have showed you how to track your expenses, let’s put that information to work for you. In this article we will teach you to learn from that data to forecast your future expenses. There is a significant advantage to this for cash flow purposes that play an important role in your ultimate success or failure. Whether you are just starting out, or have been in the business for years, accurate expense tracking will absolutely benefit your success for forecasting your cash flow crunch months; pricing services and products and helping you budget properly for your company’s growth and success.

Let’s review expense tracking. You recorded every penny and recorded those expenses and revenue into each category and then into each month of those categories.

Expenses: consider advertising, auto, insurance, rent, taxes, phone, utilities, equipment, payroll, etc.

Sales/Revenue: consider each service or product you sell.

Expenses

Jan

Feb.

March

Utilities: Electric Gas

Rent

100 50 1000

100 50 1000

100 50 1000

10000 5000

14000 3000

11000 1200

Sales Window Cleaning Gutter Cleaning

Now that we have that we want to budget for 2011 using these numbers. We can use actuals but for 2011 forecasted figures we will add another column next to each month to show our new actuals as we go along for 2011 (see diagram). Be realistic, if you overestimate it will cause you problems. Sales and revenue forecasts are typically based on a combination of your previous sales history and how effective you expect your future efforts for your business. What is your cost for sales and revenue? You will now see based on 2010’s costs where you will have most of your expenses, and be able to control your cash flow during these months. Once you stick to your budget and actually see your expenses and income, you can work out how much money you’re making, and can subsequently look at your overhead to work out ways to reduce it in cash flow crunch months. Always spend time reviewing your budget, and use your last year’s figures as a guide to give you a good indication of what to expect and when.

By Stacey Jack CFO of All County Window Cleaning

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February - March 2011

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Customer Service

For most of us, a typical window cleaning day goes something like this: We or our employees go out on service calls, deliver the work that we’ve been hired to perform, and leave behind a happy and satisfied customer.

If you’re like me, I’m sure that ninety-nine percent of your jobs go off without a hitch.

However, we are all aware that no matter how hard we try to provide excellent service, sooner or later we will have to deal with a difficult customer.

There are varying degrees of difficulty when it comes to customer behavior. Keep in mind, a client that is hard to deal with is not always in the wrong.

There are some that just want to see that you give a little extra to ensure that you have earned their business. Let’s call them just a little picky. We all have a few of these types of clients. At the end of every service they always seem to point out just a few flaws in our performance. Perhaps a little something needs to be wiped from a sill that we’ve missed or we’re asked to take a look at a few panes that could use a little more detailing. No problem, not that difficult.

Then there is the constant complainer. This is the type of customer that would never give you the satisfaction of letting you know that you’ve done a good job, even if they believe that you have. While they always seem to pay at the end of the appointment, they have a way of conveying that they are more than just a little disappointed with the service that your company has provided. This situation is a little more stressful, but again not that difficult to deal with. Besides, you get the feeling that the friends and relatives of this wonderful human being have it much worse than you.

Not to be outdone is the manipulator. This is the client that wants a lot of little extras done but makes it clear that they are not expecting to pay for it. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not averse to going the extra mile to satisfy a customer. However, there is a big difference between “Can you change a few light bulbs while you are cleaning my chandelier” and “Would you mind painting my ceiling since you’ve already brought the ladder in for my foyer window?” I once had a client who would greet me at the door with a list of chores she wanted me to complete for her while I was there for her window cleaning appointment. I made the mistake of throwing in these tasks for free the first time I had done the job. The list grew every year that I would return. I had tried to be nice and she sensed that she could take advantage of my kindness. When the list grew to include flipping her king sized mattress and storing her patio furniture, I finally put my foot down. This type of customer can become tough to deal with, but only if you let the manipulation get out of hand.

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Perhaps the most difficult customer to deal with is the angry customer. Let’s say a client calls up screaming that you or one of your employees trampled one of her favorite flowers, or cracked a window pane and left without telling her. No one likes to get yelled at, be it in person or on the phone. It would be easy to let your emotions get the best of you, fly off the handle and escalate the situation into an ugly argument. However, this would only make the problem harder to resolve. The best thing to do is stay calm and allow the customer to vent their frustration. Don’t interrupt until you feel they are done making their point. This portrays that you are listening and genuinely concerned. Even if the problem doesn’t seem to justify their level of anger, never belittle their complaint. Apologize and discuss the options for the best way to remedy the situation. Once they feel you are sympathetic to their displeasure, calm is restored and usually a compromise can be reached that is acceptable to both parties.

You may go weeks or months without encountering these types of issues. As I stated previously, there is only a very small percentage of your appointments that won’t be an easy if not pleasant experience.

You can be sure though that a few problems eventually will arise.

Keep in mind that a pleasant demeanor, an empathetic attitude towards your customers concerns, and keeping your emotions in check will help to ease the pain of dealing with these stressful situations.

By Joseph A. Stellwag Prizm Window Specialists www.prizmwindowcleaning.com

February - March 2011

19

Faster Easier Award Winning

Wagtail

Introdu

cing th

e Swoo

p

Available at www.shopwindowcleaningresource.com/manufacturer/wagtail.html

GAME OVER ver the past few months I have talked to a lot of business owners and one thing they all share is that they want to grow their business. Me too! What happens next is I ask them the hardest question to answer- how? They do not see this as a difficult question, at first. The answer is usually “Advertise more.” I’ll then ask them if they have employees. Most say “Heck no, they’ll ruin my business!”

These two answers are conflicting as the business owner has made a subconscious decision to not grow too much. He in no way wants any part of the burden of employees. My final question is “What is your end game?” Nobody has answered that question with any certainty.

The fact is the majority of all small businesses run a reactive business model. They allow what is happening today to effect what happens next year. Think about how most of us wake up worrying about how we’re going to keep the sales coming in. The problem is we usually have no strategy beyond “Put out more ads.. Will just any ads do? Most will say “I’ll make better ads that bring in more customers.”

I say, “How?” This is how most of us plan: we are reactionary to our current situation. When you say you’ll advertise more, how will that affect your revenue? What if you advertise more and your results don’t increase? Can you afford large advertising campaigns that fail?

Nobody wants to think about failure until it’s casting a dark shadow across their doorstep. Yet this is what we end up doing. Now we fall into a total state of chaos and create desperate ads or slash prices.

Sometimes when you look at your business in reverse it puts it in perspective. Let’s take the guy who doesn’t want employees, and therefore has to do all the work on and in his business. When he starts getting older and can’t work anymore, then what?

Is he then going to hire an employee without ever having any experience with the personal or business side of an employee? Can he train them properly? (I’ve met awesome window cleaners who are really bad teachers).

Or, does this business owner feel he can just sell his business and retire in style? Sadly customer lists have little real value, so selling a list of customers is almost worthless. These are not just simple issues to be dealt with later; these are catastrophic problems that could land you living off the government. Do you want to be a 60 year old cart gatherer at a grocery store? How will you not become one?

If you can’t tell me how you’re not going to end up like that, specifically you have nothing but a weak prayer and not enough faith to launch it. You are not in control and that never works out well. Let’s start today on how you will make tomorrow better. You may be afraid to look ahead as most small business owners are. Nobody wants the pressure of living up to what is needed to be successful. This is why so many do not succeed.

You may have an assortment of excuses ready to crush any of the inherent fearful questions you need to answer. Just like the guys

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who won’t hire because they think these employees will ruin their business. Now find me one successful company without employees.

One person can only do so much and what we sell is our time. There is only 24 hours in a day, and even if you work twelve hours a day, every day for 10 years, you’ll still be in a dire situation.

Not only that it is near impossible to get that much work and since you will have zero time to do anything but work, where do the customers come from? How will you optimize your business if all you do is work and sleep? When will you live life, when it’s over? You will hate your business far before 10 years with that strategy. I have yet to see a good business being run by someone who can’t stand it.

Since the owner does the work, it will show.

I want you to do some homework now that will help you massively later What are you going to do to be more successful this year? (be specific) What actions will you need to take and what will it cost to implement?

Can you afford the time and money to implement? (you must be honest and you must use last years numbers as a reference. You can’t predict it will be better).

What did not work last year? (Get rid of it and evolve. That money can be used elsewhere).

What do you hate doing in your business and who could do this for you?

What are you bad at in your business and who could do it better?

Every successful window cleaning business I know is far more effective business-wise than how they clean windows. In fact some of them are not very good at cleaning yet managed to gross $1 million+ in sales last year. What separates them from those struggling is they put the right pieces in place. Bill Gates was once asked how he became so successful. His answer was “I surrounded myself with the right people”. There are a lot of areas of your business you can assign to someone. Most of these burdens can be taken care of inexpensively. Change your strategy, change your results.

By Paul McQuillan Looking for some more marketing tips for your business?

Visit: www.onslaughtmarketing.com See what a little marketing can do for your business!

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Your increasingly ADD world has changed the game for you and your business. Your prospects are constantly looking for something new to arrest their attention. Anything to provide a stimulation fix, and they want it in 9 seconds or less. Otherwise, you’ve lost them.

Attention is a scarce commodity.

Forget Plutonium or Iridium, Attention is where the real value is. Unfortunately, there is less and less of it going around, and what’s left is being fought over by more and more hungry marketers.

What might surprise you is that even a hundred years ago, P.T. Barnum understood the importance of snatching attention. Barnum wrote: “The great secret of success in anything, is to get a hearing. Half the object is gained when the audience is assembled.” If it mattered in 1891, it matters a hundred times

Sally Hogshead, Persuasion Researcher, commented in her book Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers To Persuasion and Captivation, “A hundred years ago, our attention span averaged 20 minutes: one minute for each year of age, up until age twenty.” Contrasting that with a report from BBC News, she continues: “The addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of 9 seconds - the same as a goldfish.”

Did you catch that?

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Even if you are the best window cleaner in your city, with the most amazing window cleaning experience money can buy, no one will hire you unless you can get their attention and tell them what you’ve got. Build the world’s best mousetrap and the world will not care.

Not until at least a few people buy one off of you, and start talking about it.

And they’re not gonna buy one unless you first capture their attention.

In other words, Embrace the Koi. Acknowledge the temporal nature of attention in today’s crowded market climate, and work harder at arresting it. Take it from Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi: “Job number one for any marketer is competing for attention.”

The solution: Bait the Koi.

Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide (one of the world’s most respected and successful advertising agencies), makes a similar observation: “People are overwhelmed by the choices they face. Forget the information economy. Human attention has become the new currency.” Marketing expert Marty Neumeier states in his must-read book ZAG, “Today’s real competition doesn’t come from direct or even indirect competitors, it comes from the extreme clutter of the marketplace.”

tion. If your window cleaning business can’t capture attention, you are dead in the water. Believe it. (The rest of the acronym stands for Interest, Desire, and Action)

Could your current marketing tools pass as Koi-bait? If not, then consider it job number one to fix that.

The reality is, Koi-bait has never been more important. As reported by researcher Marty Neumeier, according to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, despite the thousands of marketing messages we’re exposed to daily, the average consumer can only truly absorb less than 100 of them per day.

Less than 100 will break through the noise, reach the heart, and make an impact.

In case you haven’t done the math yet, that’s only 3%. The other 97% are ignored, lost, and forgotten.

more today. The world’s oldest advertising formula - AIDA - begins with the word Atten-

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How exactly can you capture the attention of your target market, then?

How can you fight to move your marketing messages into that crucial 3%?

Two specific ways:

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1. Focus on the consumer.

2. Fight off the me-too trap.

1. Focus on the consumer.

America’s favorite radio station is WIIFM What’s In It For Me? Chris Brogan explains in Trust Agents: “Most people see themselves as the star in their [own] life’s story.”

No one cares about your business, they only care about what you can do for them to make their lives easier and better. Whenever you communicate with your market, therefore, obsess over them and how you are going to deliver real, concrete benefits that will help them.

For instance, instead of saying “We have been in business since 1999”, tell them that “If you have tricky windows to clean, count on our 12 years of expertise to get your home sparkling clean no matter how challenging your windows are to handle.” Instead of saying “We carry $1 million liability coverage”, say “Sleep easy tonight, knowing that your home and peace of mind is completely protected by $1 million of liability coverage from Royal Sun & Alliance.”

Focus completely on your prospects, and how what you’ve got can help make their lives better, easier or more affordable. Remember that no one cares about you, they only care about what you can do for them.

And before you cast the first stone at these self-obsessed consumers, stop and realize that you’re exactly the same as them.

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Take this article as an example.

violated every day by scores of writers.”

You’re not reading this article because you want to do me a favor. You’re reading it because you hoped and figured it could help you. As the guy who wrote this article for you, I don’t resent that at all. It’s simply the way it is.

Next time you use the headline “Window Cleaning” across the top of your flier, don’t say I didn’t warn you when you get only 4 jobs from a 3,000-piece flier distribution.

Instead, use a headline that is about them, and how their lives are going to be better. If possible, try to use the word “you”, “your”, “yours”, or “yourself” too. If the Koi has to spend more than 9 seconds trying to figure out how what you’ve got is going to be able to help them, then they’re going to slip off your hook.

Unless you have a money tree in your backyard, you don’t throw money at everything that crosses your path. You spend money only on solutions to your problems.

Are you feeling hungry right now? You’ll probably spend money on food in the next few hours. Are you feeling tired? You’ll happily exchange dollars for a hefty caffeine boost. Are you feeling stressed? You’ll consider shopping for a relaxing getaway vacation. Or, if you’re like my wife, you actually never stop shopping for a vacation.

The more specifically you can focus on how your window cleaning services are solutions to people’s problems, and not just features of your services, the more appealing and entrancing you will become to the Koi. As world-class copywriter Joe Vitale says: “Get out of your own ego, and into your readers ego.”

Especially is this true with headlines. The legendary copywriter John Caples once wrote: “Try to get self-interest into every headline you write. This rule is so fundamental, that it would seem obvious, but it is

Having trouble coming up with some meaningful benefits?

Let’s say that you are awesome at window cleaning workmanship, but aren’t sure how that is of specific benefit to your client base.

Maybe this is what you’ve come up with so far: “XYZ Window Cleaning offers you the highest quality window cleaning workmanship in the tri-state area”. Now what?

Here’s a trick from Joe Vitale: Try adding the words “so that” to the end of the sentence, and then complete the sentence again.

For instance “XYZ Window Cleaning offers you the highest quality window cleaning workmanship in the tri-state area, so that your home will look and feel as great as it possibly can for your backyard barbecue bash this weekend!” Sometimes you can even add “so that” again, and get something

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like this: “XYZ Window Cleaning offers you the highest quality window cleaning workmanship in the tri-state area, so that your home will look and feel as great as it possibly can for your backyard barbecue bash this weekend, so that your brother-in-law finally gets off your back!”

Cool, isn’t it? Okay, now you try a couple of these so that exercises: “XYZ Window Cleaning always provides written estimates, so that __________________________________.”

“XYZ Window Cleaning only sends professional, uniformed crew members to care for your home’s window cleaning needs, so that __________________________________.”

Good. Now do this for your company, too.

Whenever you get stuck on trying to find a benefit that appeals to the Koi, try the “so that” trick.

purchase decisions, but it is a great, timetested way to arrest attention and cut through the noise in the world of the Koi. 2. Avoid the me-too trap.

As much as you would like to believe that your window cleaning company is the undisputed best option for your local market, chances are that you are operating a me-too company. To see whether or not you are, try the following test: Pull out your last few marketing pieces, and see what happens if you replace your company name and logo with your competitor’s name and logo. Does the message still work? Could they claim to offer the same stuff as you?

Here’s another test: Write down the 5 most important benefits that your window cleaning company offers your target market. Now ask yourself: Does my competition also currently offer the same thing?

Do you ever find it easier to come up with this kind of stuff for other people’s businesses, instead of your own? If so, try using “XYZ Window Cleaning” as the guinea pig when brainstorming for your company’s value propositions, and then just switch your company name back into the copy at the end. It’s a good way to trick your own creative juices into flowing stronger.

How did you do? 0 for 5? Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. But you are definitely running a me-too business right now, and me-too businesses are boring. They’re also dangerously vulnerable. According to Marketing Expert Seth Godin, “Boring is always the most risky strategy. Smart business people realize this, and they work to minimize the risk from the process.” Have you ever thought of a bland window cleaning marketing strategy as risky before? You should, because it is.

Self-interest is certainly not all that drives

Question:: If you are running a me-too win-

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dow cleaning business, how do you fix it?

Answer: Find a way to make it remarkable to the Koi. Sometimes it’s as easy as switching the ending on some words. Are you trying to be friendlier than your competition, because your target market seems to be very responsive to that particular characteristic? From now on, obsess over becoming the friendliest! Subtle spelling difference, but huge attention difference.

“Er” words make you invisible; “est” words make you remarkable. Take all the “er” words out of your current marketing, and try to make them “est” words, instead. Anything that you can’t make into an “est”, stop talking about.

Are you faster at getting back to clients?

Become the fastest.

Are you better at your workmanship? Become the best.

Are you more careful inside someone’s home? Become the most.

Do you carry more liability coverage? Carry the most.

Do you have a better website? Create the best.

Do you offer a better guarantee? Offer the best.

Do you have better looking crews? Assemble the best-looking.

Do you have better vehicles? Get the best.

Do you use better equipment? Use the best.

Can you reach more windows? Reach any window.

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Are you easier to do business with? Become the easiest.

Find a way to make your window cleaning company remarkable. When it comes to remarkability, there are no points for second place. Second place is invisible.

Marketing expert Marty Neumeier agrees in ZAG, “You need more than differentiation. You need radical differentiation. When everybody zigs, zag.” Neumeier provides a quick and easy way to find and define your differentiation. Simply complete the following fill-in-the-blank sentence: ”We are the only window cleaning company in our local market that _____________________.”

How did you complete that sentence? Is it accurate or are you stretching the truth? Is it noteworthy or boring? Does your target market care about this unique angle? If so, then congrats, you’ve made yourself some Koi bait.

And beware confusing effective marketing with awareness. Sergio Zyman, the marketing genius behind much of Coca-Cola’s rebirth, points out that two of Coca-Cola’s most well known commercials - ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’, and ‘Mean Joe Greene’, sold not one more bottle of Coke. Sure, they entertained people and got lots of media attention, but they did not produce a measurable increase in sales volume.

That’s a nice way of saying they were marketing failures. Sergio is reported to have joked that they should have reworked the song lyrics to be ‘I’d like to teach the world to drink’.

In short, awareness is overrated. To quote Sergio’s words: “K-mart has plenty of brand awareness. So what?”

You can either pump out me-too marketing all year long, and hope for the best, or you can find a way to become remarkable instead. One is easy and invisible, and one is challenging, effective, profitable, and fun.

Create a window cleaning service offering that is noteworthy, interesting, and worth talking about, and your customers will look after much of the marketing for you. Go for broke and earn the right to own the “est” words.

In his insightful book Buying In, Rob Walker explains how being remarkable in your marketing and service experience affects

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the brain of the person being exposed to it: “Novelty that breaks a familiar pattern can suggest potential reward - inspiring anticipatory spikes of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that is often associated with sensations of pleasure...any perceived source of surprise can activate the part of the brain that is equipped with dopamine receptors.”

Of course, what you choose to focus on depends on the market you are selling your window cleaning services to. For now, though, understand that determining what your target market cares the most about, and becoming the absolute industry-leader in that specific category is powerful Koi-bait.

It never stops, either. “Yesterday’s remarkable is today’s really good, and tomorrow’s mediocre”, muses Seth Godin. Especially when barriers to entry are so low in our industry, and anyone with a few hundred bucks, some ladders, and Photoshop can give you a run for your money almost overnight. Marty Neumeier agrees in ZAG, “If you’re not zagging, you’re lagging.”

Ray Kroc, the legendary CEO of McDonald’s, once observed that their in-house promotions were consistently copied and rolled out by their competitors within 3 weeks of publication. How do you survive in the face of that kind of cutthroat competition? Whine and kick and scream and complain that it’s not fair?

Of course, not. So why are you complaining when your competition starts copying all your great ideas and strategies? Take a lesson from McDonald’s. For Kroc and his team, the only answer was to keep innovating, so they did, and in the process, built the world’s highest-grossing and most famous restaurant company.

Sometimes, innovation can create a category of one, where you are the only option. Imagine what kind of window cleaning service experience you could create if you started with the question: “What would blow the minds of every person that hired us?” Well, guess what? That question is allowed. Make the answer the blueprint for your company, starting today. (See figure 3-4) Innovative marketer Hugh McLeod asks in Ignore Everybody: “Is your plan unique? Is no one else doing it? Then I’d be excited.”

Ironically, the more remarkable and buzzworthy your service offering, the more thought and careful planning you’ll need to invest in your “experience supply chain”, as Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery call

it. “It takes long-term deliberate focus...to produce instant delight and gratification for your customers.” If you think that sounds like something that will require effort, you’re right.

I guess that’s why they call it work.

Take a page from Howard Schultz’s (the genius behind Starbucks) book. Realize that you are not in the window cleaning business at all. You are in the experience business, and the portal to that experience is your window cleaning company’s services. How would it affect the design of your customer service experience if you set out with the goal of being the most loved window cleaning company in the world? What would it take to make that happen? Do your clients continue to use your services because they have to, or because they want to?

If you went out of business next month, would they care? In Do You Matter, Robert Brunner & Stewart Emery summarize, “The worst form of arrogance is thinking the customer’s experience isn’t your teacher.

What your customer values might come as a surprise to you.” Again, your focus needs to be customer-centric.

The next time you make a decision that affects your clients’ customer service experience, ask yourself: Who benefits? If it’s not the consumer, then why am I doing this?

How can I find a solution that becomes a win for them, too?

Obsess over these kinds of questions, and you rivet the Koi. With the Koi fully engaged, now you need to look into those big bulgy eyes, and make it feel something.

You have to move it’s heart. But you better hurry. The clock is ticking.

How do you move the heart?

Your next issue of Window Cleaning Business Owner magazine will tell you all about it.

Kevin Dubrosky is the creator of the brandnew “Squeegeenomics Marketing Training System”, and host of the Window Cleaning Industry’s first-ever Marketing Conference, called “Squeegeenomics 2011”, held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, January 14-15, 2011. He is also the author of the brand-new 255-page hardcover book “$600/hr – The Ultimate Window Cleaning Marketing Guide”. Please Google him to learn more.

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Hosting

Which Language Do I Use?

So you’ve already bought your domain name and now you’re ready to move and choose your hosting account. As you began your search for hosting your website you probably noticed a couple of things.

That really is a matter of preference. I personally started by learning HTML and c#, so naturally I chose to use asp.net when I started building websites. I had to teach myself PHP later. If I had it to do over again, I would have chosen to learn PHP first. Why?

1) You can have a Linux Operating System on the server you’re going to be using, or 2) You can have a Windows Operating System.

So which do you choose and why?

Windows or Linux?

Does it really matter what operating system is on the server?

I learned c# so I could build software as well as build websites. And, while that’s nice to be able to do that, there is a lot more support for anything php. As I’ve already mentioned Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal (the 3 most popular Content Management Systems) are all built using PHP. If you’re interested in building your own website, or are going to have someone do it for you, I recommend you use PHP. PHP is much better documented and is even simpler to use.

If you have a static HTML site then it doesn’t really matter but if you want your site to actually do something then; yes, it does matter.

There are programming languages that will only work on a Windows server. Anything built with asp.net (which includes languages such as c#, vb.net, j# and others) has to be run on a Windows server. You can tell an asp.net file because it will end with .aspx.

I Want To Use HTML, Javascript or Flash On My Site – Which Type Of Server Do I Need?

Classic asp files will run on either Windows or Linux. It’s a bit more work to run on a Linux server because it was designed to run on Windows, but it can work. So if you have a site built or are going to have a site built in either asp or asp.net you need a Windows server. You can tell a classic asp file by the .asp extension.

I Need A Database For My Website – Which Server Do I Need?

PHP can run on either Windows or Linux; however, it was designed to run on Linux so it runs a little smoother on a Linux server. You probably use a lot of websites that are built using php and you may not even realize it. If you’ve ever used a website built with Wordpress or Joomla then you’ve used a PHP website. So if you plan on using one of those systems with your website then I suggest you use a Linux based server.

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The great thing about HTML, Javascript and Flash is that they work no matter what server you’re on. You can use either Windows or Linux.

Do you already have an existing database that you’re transferring to your server? If so, you need to find out which type of database it is.

If it’s an Access or SQL Server database then you’ll need a Windows server. If it’s a MySql database then it should run on either Windows or Linux (check to make sure your hosting company will support MySql on Windows; they should).

If you’re starting fresh with a database, I would go with a MySql database. It integrates perfectly with PHP and is free. So while most hosting companies limit you to 1 or 2 SQL Server databases, they will allow several MySql databases (mine allows 25).

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Find out how quickly the hosting provider responds to technical problems. You will have them, it’s just a part of owning a website; the trick is to get them fixed as fast as possible. Anything over a day is unacceptable (even then it’s pushing it).

Summary

I Have More Than One Website – Do I Need More Than One Hosting Package?

You shouldn’t have to buy more than one hosting package for multiple websites. Look for a hosting provider that allows for hosting “multiple domains”. Once you have a hosting package for multiple domains then creating different websites is almost as simple as adding a new folder to your server.

What Should I Look For When Choosing A Hosting Provider?

One of the first things you should look for is “up time” (the amount of time a hosting provider is online and functional). The more down time from your hosting provider the more your website will be down.

Don’t just rely on what your hosting provider says their up time is, ask around. Ask others who have used that hosting provider, read reviews, whatever you can to find out their up time.

In review: A Linux server is probably your best bet unless you have asp, asp.net, Sql Server or Access files. Make sure your hosting provider supports more than one website by looking for ones that provide hosting for multiple domains. And make sure the hosting provider has the servers working the majority of the time (at least 9999.9%). And make sure that problems are dealt with quickly.

By John Webb

Visit: johnwebb.info for more info or custom web design.

Search ShopWCR for “Window Cleaning Calculators”

Manufacturer Spotlight

rken, ith Willie E Interview w window perator of o d n a r e n ring ow manufactu ly p p u s g in clean agtail. company W

as well – some of which you can read about below. Many window cleaners don’t know that his tools are also famous for cleaning floors as well as cleaning windows. If you haven’t tried one yet, you can find Wagtail tools just waiting to be bought in the WCR shop. Don’t delay, these tools will UP your speed and give you increased earning power over the competition and embarrassingly so, as well.

Karl: When did you start window cleaning and when did you leave to become an inventor of squeegees?

Willie: I started window cleaning in 1979 after I returned from a two year working holiday in Europe.

Karl: Do you still keep your hand in and go out window cleaning in Sydney with your brother Peter now and again?

Willie: Once a year I go out window cleaning with my brother’s crew and once a year with my friend Eugene from “No Streaks Window Cleaning.” The sole purpose is to keep up with techniques and try out new inventions.

When I was asked to interview Willie Wagtail, owner of Wagtail Pivotal Tools, it was like asking a soccer fan if he’d like to interview Pele or a baseball fan if he’d like to meet Babe Ruth! I’ve owned every one of Willies squeegee’s since they’ve arrived on the scene and I’m besotted with them! It’s now my squeegee of choice – I always carry an 14” and 18” Wagtail on every job when I’m not using a water-fed pole. The time saving that window cleaners gain are tremendous and without the loss of quality to boot. The French/Colonial windows I used to hate cleaning have now become enjoyable to clean using just one of his tools, the 6 inch “Flipper” and I’m finding a whole range more of possibilities when I normally reach for the water-fed pole. They are that rapid! Being relatively easy to master, they are the must-have tool for any window cleaner worth his salt. The range of Wagtails are usually mastered within an hour even for the slowest window cleaner.

When Willie mentioned on one of the forums that he had signed up a booth for the ISSA show in Amsterdam earlier in 2010, it was my excuse to go over and meet him. You couldn’t meet a nicer guy, his excitement for the products and people he meets shows through. It was a hard task to get to talk to him because his booth at the trade show usually had around twenty people queuing up waiting to try out his Wagtails. He had some pretty impressive prototypes on display

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Karl: So the Wagtail squeegee was named after a famous Australian bird? Does it have a deeper meaning?

Willie: It definitely has a deeper meaning; the Wagtail bird constantly wags its tail similar to the action of my squeegees. Secondly, my nick-name since birth was Willie and the bird is properly named the Willy Wagtail.

Karl: What was your thought process behind designing the Wagtail squeegee?

Willie: Since I was primarily a shop window cleaner, the use of poles was essential. To get a perfect result, continual horizontal strokes were needed i.e. the S - stroke on a pole and also by hand. From this, the Wagtail Pivot was invented!

Karl: The switch to make Wagtails to a lighter plastic more than traditionally used metals was a touch of genius. Was that a Eureka moment?

Willie: I started window cleaning in my 20’s and by the time I was 30 I started getting arm and wrist strain due to the heavy tools, so I started buying really cheap lightweight squeegees and converting

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them to be strong and durable. My Eureka moment came when I was using one of these squeegees and my new invention “the multi-lockable pivot” broke and resulted in this loose constant pivot.

Karl: How did you come up with the idea for a pivot handle?

Willie: I saw the advantages of a swivel handle but I was unimpressed with these as a hand held. They were either too loose or too tight, so I obsessed with the idea of a controllable pivot.

Karl: Was ergonomics a major process in your thinking when you designed the squeegee or was it solely for speed?

Karl: Where do you keep all your international trophies and awards for the Wagtail? Above the fireplace?

Willie: I had five guys working for me and we were all about 40 when we all developed different forms of arm strain. My carpal tunnel was so bad that I sold my business to these guys and opened up a retail store with Indonesian furniture and artifacts. This store was unsuccessful so I needed to return to window cleaning. I was 40 years old, broke, injured and aging so I needed an edge to regain my window cleaning business.

Within a week I developed the Wagtail Pivot; I gathered my brother Peter and a team of professionals and entered a business plan competition at a local university. We won the five thousand dollar first prize and my invention was selected to be exhibited at the new technology museum in Sydney (Powerhouse Museum).

Willie: I keep my gold medal in an Antiquarian Leather Book Case but all the other awards are in a box ready for when we own a factory with a beautiful foyer.

Karl: I see the Wagtail is banned from speed window cleaning events; are you annoyed?

Willie: The Wagtail squeegee is undoubtedly faster than any other squeegee so yes, we are extremely upset. I was even prevented from entering a T.V. Show; “Guinness World Records” after the producer was informed by the Guinness Book that only fixed squeegees can be used. In one way it is proof that we are the unfair advantage by providing a pivot.

Karl: Thousands of window cleaners now have relief from wrist, shoulder and arm pain – is this something you would like to be remembered for?

Willie: My father was a doctor and so to develop a tool that prevented injuries was the pinnacle for me being “the black sheep of the family.” Unfortunately he died just before we won the business plan and International awards.

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Karl: Would you say a Wagtail is all a traditional window cleaner needs in his arsenal to clean windows?

Willie: Absolutely, they are lighter, faster and more versatile. Sometimes when there is pole work on narrow windows above thirty feet you need to tighten the pivot for the straight pull. For this reason we developed the adjustable tension in the pivot mechanism.

Karl: High-rise window cleaners cottoned on to the Wagtail long before the rest of us. Why? Willie: My brother Peter owns a large high-rise window cleaning company and he became very successful due to the fact that all his employees outperformed competition due to using the Wagtail. Peter will state that reach is all important when you are abseiling and the Wagtail has more reach than any other squeegee.

Karl: The Burj Khalifa in Dubai (tallest building in the world) started using your squeegees – that was a coup! Did you send them Wagtails?

Willie: In Australia most high rise window cleaners use Wagtails and it was an Australian company that was commissioned to clean this building first. Luckily, they used their Wagtails for the television reporting of the cleaning of the building’s windows.

Karl: How many variations of the Wagtail squeegee do you have now?

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Karl: How long has the “one pass” Swoop Wagtail been tested for?

How much quicker is it than the previous Wagtail design? Is this a “game changer” for window cleaners?

Willie: Years of research have gone into this tool but we have only field tested this since the release of a very successful launch at ISSA Amsterdam of just the prototype!!

It is faster and more versatile than all previous models. I think it is the pinnacle of all the tools designed by Wagtail.

Karl: How long does a product you invent take to get from drawing board to release normally?

Willie: Orbital, Blue Ribbon, Flipper, One Pass, Whirlwind, and Swoop makes six.

Karl: I thought the “Blue Ribbon” squeegee was a major improvement over the previous. Why the change in design?

Willie: Although the first Wagtail was lighter than other squeegees, it was still a little heavy for older window cleaners like myself. Also the channel was wider and did not fit into the BOAB so I set out to design a strong, ultra-light squeegee that was capable of using other brands of channels.

Karl: The Wagtail “Whirlwind” came with a change of pad. Was that a design change to provide more scrubbing power?

Willie: The jury is out for this one, the Whirlwind is really good at scrubbing and water retention however it is slightly heavier than the Flipper. I think the Whirlwind is the ideal tool for the really dirty windows encountered on high-rise and residential windows.

Karl: You have a new “one pass” squeegee (the Swoop) about to be released, how does this differ from previous Wagtails?

Willie: Apart from weight I think that glide is very important to prevent what I call cigars (little water lines at the end of a swirl). The new Swoop, provides more glide and hence more washing power in a single action. I believe this to be the Holy Grail of the squeegee. Additionally there is always a need to pre-wash the very top edges and corners of a window, and for this we provide the pad to flip in front of the squeegee blade, similar to the Flipper. This new tool will wash and wipe simultaneously, due to the one inch wide base extension.

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Willie: The “Pivotool” (a dual purpose domestic window/floor tool) took three years of constant design (in house university trained designer) and prototype work. Prototypes were more than ten thousand dollars and tooling were tens of thousands of dollars. This tool failed in the television infomercial world and all that money was lost. Now it is my job to make prototypes and we only go to a designer when we are absolutely sure of its potential. It takes now about a year to get into production since our “Pivotool” misadventure.

Karl: Who is your tester for Wagtail products? Does he work with your brother Peter in Sydney?

Willie: New inventions are tested comprehensively by a professional window cleaner in Sydney for domestic homes and storefronts and the “Window Cleaning Company” of Sydney for high-rise. However most of my friends are window cleaners with very interesting backgrounds. One was invited to and rejected Mensa, another quit university after receiving distinctions and my brother Peter studied Engineering in Switzerland. When I give these guys my latest inventions I get amazing feedback.

Karl: I’m a big fan of some of your other products, namely the “Angle Arm” and the “Bucket Clip.” Why do window cleaners not hear about these so much?

Willie: The “Angle Arm” is a huge success for us, but we are not noted for our marketing and when a product is not received well by our distributors - like the “Bucket Clip,” we are unable to get it into the hands of a window cleaner. The “Bucket Clip” is my most underestimated invention as it serves two huge problems; one keeping the bucket handles higher, thereby not having to bend down too far to pick up the bucket and the built in extractor holds the squeegee or applicator upright and extracts water when needed.

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Karl: I’ve actually tried the Wagtail “Whirlwind” on floors myself – it became huge in Australia – why not the rest of the World?

Willie: Standards of floor cleaning around the world are appalling if you think about it compared to window cleaning. I believe hospital diseases such as MRSA are due to poor floor and bench cleaning hygiene. We have some really large organizations and hospitals interested but they take forever to change their habits, one day the world will clean floors with a squeegee.

Karl: The Wagtail “Pivoting Wet Scraper” is another time saver, what sizes are they supplied in?

Willie: The “Pivoting Wet Scraper” is being trialed and if successful we will introduce the final version and in different sizes.

Karl: When I saw your new “bucket-on-a-belt” prototype at the ISSA show in Amsterdam you were thinking of calling it the “close to me bag,” because of its snug fitting. We laughed because it could get known as the Colostomy bag. Have you got a new name for it yet?

Willie: Funny, we did not have the courage to call it the “Close to Me bag” but all the guys using them call it this! The official name is “Hip Dipper” and it will be released later this year with new stronger plastic.

Willie: I would really like to divulge this one but there are too many creative window cleaners out there. Being obsessive I am working night and day on something really simple but to engineer it is a nightmare. I have made working prototypes but manufacturing this concept is the sticking point.

Karl: If you weren’t a window cleaner/inventor what do you think you would have ended up doing?

Willie: Stockbroking or a real estate agent was my goals.

Karl: Where do you see window cleaning in ten years time?

Willie: The future of window cleaning is what I work on day and night so I can only see the Wagtail pivoting tools being the major window cleaning equipment for the professional.

Karl: What do you find time for outside window cleaning?

Willie: We live right on the Sydney harbor, so most of my spare time is either on our kayaks, walking the dogs or I take my daughter Hannah to Equestrian competitions. I also own and deal in antiquarian books specializing in leather bound English authors.

Karl: Do you clean your own windows? Or do your daughters get put to use?

Karl: This will be the lightest “bucket-on-a-belt” ever seen – did you plan it this way?

Willie: Believe it or not I do clean our windows at least twice a week but not for the view, just to test new concepts.

Willie: Weight is always important but the squeezing of solution to the middle of the mop is the best quality of this invention. Comfort of a flexible bag also was important.

Interview done by Karl Robinson of Robinson Solutions BlogSpot.

Karl: Who do you admire in the window cleaning world?

Willie: Other manufactures are not my idols, they just copy, but guys like Karl Robinson, the Lambrinides brothers and Mark Henderson are taking the profession of window cleaning to new levels.

Karl: What’s the one window cleaning invention you wished you had thought of?

Willie: I really struggle with this one but I suppose the whole water fed pole industry is moving at great new levels each year. I wish we were more involved.

Karl: Are there any other tools that you are working on for the immediate future?

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

February - March 2011

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New Products Aqua Dapter MK II

In the Beginning

Back in July of 2010, WCR introduced North America to the Aqua-Dapter. The Aqua-Dapter was a revolutionary addition to most any water-fed pole that would save you time, water and money by allowing you to start and stop the flow of water with just a tug of the water fed pole hose.

The window cleaning community fell in love with the AquaDapter. Installing the Aqua-Dapter was a cinch, all you needed was a hack saw and about five minutes and you will be up and running.

New and Improved However, there were a few holdouts who would have loved to try the Aqua-Dapter but were not too fond of the idea of cutting their water fed pole to fit this new addition.

There had to be a better way, an easier way, a way to get this great device atop one’s pole without taking a saw to it. Those holdouts were right: in October 2010 the AquaDapter MK II was introduced to North America. The MK II had some noticeable differences compared to its older counterpart that set it apart. The MK II is available in two models, one specifically for Gardiner and Assassin water fed poles and the second model will fit all other European water fed poles. The MK II is now threaded to fit on the water fed pole, so cutting is a thing of the past. Installation takes half the time it took to install the original Aqua-Dapter, and that’s pretty good considering the original could be fitted in about 5 minutes.

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Buy Now

Featured Product

IPC Hydro Tube At the November ISSA show IPC Eagle introduced their newest pure water cleaning system, the Hydro Tube. The Hydro Tube is a portable DI / RO system weighing in at an amazingly light 28 lbs. The design of the Hydro Tube is unlike anything IPC or any other company has ever come out with. Standing at 57� high and 13� wide, the Hydro Tube will make passerby stop and stare.

The Hydro Tube uses only incoming water pressure and does not rely on a pump to produce pure water up to 3 stories using one water fed pole. The weight, wheels and lack of power source dependency allow the Hydro Tube to work where others may have some trouble getting to. This unit will produce water standing upright or laying down without issue. Other features include a mounted TDS meter for frequent water testing and easy change filters that require no tools.

The Hydro Tube will produce between .53 and .79 gallons per minute, costing the user a very modest $.03 per gallon. The savings and convenience of the Hydro Tube will make it an excellent addition to your business.

On The Road event was the Glass Renu system which most of the contractors in attendance had never seen or heard of. Sun Brite Supply donated and raffled off a hot water, skid-mounted pressure washer valued at $11,000; this was surely the big prize of the event. Everyone in attendance had a chance to be entered to win the skid, but only one lucky contractor left with the prize, and they would not have had that opportunity if they had not attended the 2010 National Cleaning Expo.

By Alex Lambrinides Window Cleaning Resource .Com

2011 National Cleaning Expo Schedule: July 2011 Sunday

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harleston, South Carolina, a town rich in history, beautiful sights and great food, hosted the 2010 National Cleaning Expo. The National Cleaning Expo was dreamed up, orchestrated and hosted by the Pressure Washing Institute’s Ron Musgraves. Ron put together a great two day event for pressure washers, roof cleaners and window cleaners. It was safe to say that one main theme of the event was marketing, with Kevin Dubrosky delivering the keynote speech and teaching a private class the second day of the event. No one starving for marketing knowledge went home disappointed.

The day was stocked full of educational talks: there were experts in every facet of the pressure cleaning business. Additional classes included graffiti removal, rail-car cleaning, wood certification course, fleet washing, selling to property managers, roof cleaning and soft washing to just name a few. Also in attendance was Sheila Smeltzer representing the IWCA, there to give a safety presentation. The PWNA also had representation at the NCE in the form of Mike Hilborn. Mike was there to spread awareness of the PWNA and to recruit new members. If you were a cleaning contractor and you were in the Charleston area, you were at this event; and if you weren’t, you missed out.

Demos, demos, demos galore at the National Cleaning Expo, it seemed that every few minutes, everyone’s attention was drawn outside for another demonstration. Surface and sidewalk cleaning, water and chemical reclamation, soft washing, pure water window cleaning and scratch removal were among the many demos.

WCR was in attendance and exhibiting along with water fed pole salesman, John Lee. John helped WCR sell pure water systems, water fed poles and even scratch glass repair systems as well as help with outdoor demos. WCR’s big demo and sale item for the

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www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

One of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard when it comes to ladder safety is, “There are two kinds of ladder users, those who have fallen off a ladder and those that will.” While you may not like the either-or scenario of that statement, it is sadly all too true. If we use ladders long enough we can find ourselves on the wrong side of an accident.

But as window cleaners, ladders are an essential part of our equipment. What can we do to minimize the risk?

Location, Location, Location!

While most of us would recognize this adage as something to do with real estate, it is a vital element of ladder safety. Where we place our ladder is the most important step we take in using it safely. We need to make sure that the ground we are setting our ladder on is solid. The ladder should also be set at a 75 degree angle. How do we know if we have it right? There are simple ways to check. To establish the angle simply set the ladder where you need it, now with your arms stretched out straight, your hands should land on the rung straight in front of you, then you have the proper angle. As for the stable ground, when the ladder is set, simply stand on the bottom rung and bounce a little. If the ladder doesn’t sink unevenly or deeply then you’re ready to think about climbing. What about uneven ground or getting on a roof?

Every Ladder Needs These I have found 2 ladder accessories to be invaluable when it comes to ladder safety – a standoff and the Pivit tool.

We use a Werner quick click standoff (some guys call them bullhorns) every time we set up the extension ladder. It keeps the top of the ladder away from the wall, which gives you a better angle to clean the window. It also gives more stability to the top of the ladder which is especially beneficial when going from the ladder to a roof. We also use the Pivit tool which looks like a big black wedge. It is designed as a leg leveler as well as a plank support for interior scaffolding. Whatever you use, a leg leveler is a must when you need to make sure the ladder is always straight, never climb a ladder that is leaning to one side, even if it’s only by a couple of inches.

To Use a Ladder or Not If you live in an area where you may need to use a ladder in the winter, you may run into snow or ice where you need to set up. If there is no other option, then make sure to clear the surface of any snow or ice before setting your ladder. Of course there are other options, like extension poles or using different techniques to clean the exterior from the inside. Another great way to reduce the risk of using ladders is to not use them. We use water-fed poles as often as possible to keep ladder use to a minimum. Whatever you decide no job is worth taking an unnecessary risk with a ladder so really analyze your options beforehand and remember the only safe ladder is the one you never use!

By Tony Evans - A New View Window Cleaning www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

February -March 2011

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Blog News consideration. This is perhaps the reason why the UK use “Risk Assessments” and “Method Statements” when carrying out work. Risk assessments are used to anticipate risk on the job and method statements show how you will actually carry out the job in each unique circumstance. These are law for any company that uses employees and it would be no bad thing for the US market. In any case it is good practice, and something maybe window cleaners in North America could adopt? “More paperwork,” I hear you cry--yes, but at what saving?

One of the most notable news items posted over the last few months have been to do with electrical hazards in the workplace when using water-fed poles. There were three sad news stories concerning these. I hope you learned to benefit from others mistakes. One was in Canada, another in the New York area and a third earlier in June of 2010 in Orinda, Santa Clara. The Orinda incident was fatal, with one of the operators dying later from his burns and the company fined while using a cherry picker and water to clean windows. The Canadian water fed pole user in Victoria, B.C. happened to touch an overhead power line with his Tucker water fed pole and was only saved by the quick action of rescue crew in a very nearby hospital. As did the Tucker pole user in New York, which was heavily publicized due to Nick Genovese surviving a massive 33,000 volts rushing through his body. Even his socks were burnt away. Tucker, for their part, have a safety warning page stating “Tucker® Pole Systems should not be used anywhere near, nor allowed contact, with electrical wires.”

Just a month before the New York incident I posted a blog entitled “Arc Flash: What Every Window Cleaner and Water Fed Pole User Should Know.” There are some pretty impressive videos of how kiln dried lumber, ladders and even kite string conduct electricity. The contaminated rubber boots also tested show how the integrity of the boot is compromised by dirt, not to dissimilar to a water fed pole that has washed a dirty window and the contaminants are dripping down the pole. A common mistake is for some water fed pole users to believe that because they are using pure water (with no minerals) that somehow they will not be at risk because the water initially was non-conductive. Don’t think that using a fiberglass water fed pole will save you either! Contrary to popular belief “ladders, whether aluminum, fiberglass or wood, also conduct electricity, ultimately leading to electrocution.” The video is also worth watching just to know how a normal US overhead power line functions and which parts do what.

While scanning the law concerning usage of water poles at height, the stated US figures according to IWCA/ANSI I-14.1 is working a minimum of 13 feet away while using a cherry picker for avoiding power lines and 11 feet by hand. The UK fairs no better, with a 2 meter (just over 6.5 feet) as being a safe reasonable distance to work near a power line as stated by the federation of window cleaners. Surely it’s about time for a change in the law, as the New York incident was caused by wind blowing the pole on to a power line (stated by the operator). In all cases bad judgment was used by the operator/s, and the immediate vicinity was not taken into 36

February - March 2011

The ultimate responsibility for safety and health is usually vested in the senior management of any company in the UK. Identifying hazards in any work place is all about identifying accidents that could occur and weighing up the risks for the operators and machinery or equipment used. Where possible you should eliminate the hazards and reduce the risks before you rely upon a safe system of work. This is why all legal operating companies in the UK have a health and safety training program in place either ‘in-house’ or using a qualified teacher. A work method statement, sometimes called a “safe system of work”, is a document that details the way a work task or process is to be completed. The method statement should outline the hazards involved and include a step-by-step guide on how to do the job safely. The method statement must also detail which control measures have been introduced to ensure the safety of anyone who is affected by the task or process of carrying out window cleaning duties.

I will be posting both “Risk Assessment “ and Method Statement” forms in the WCRA forum for members to utilize. These will be an added benefit to any company who would like to move forward and have control over their systems of work for the safety of their employees and also making their company safer.

As you may have seen, I’ve posted a number of links to bogus windows cleaners over the months attempting to steal or extract cash from a number of poor old folk. It’s as well to know their tricks just so you can point out to your clients that you and you only are the one to collect all money owed and if you change your routine that you would always notify them before hand. Perhaps a newsletter or using your preferred method of communication would sit well with your client?

There is nothing like a trusted tradesman!

One of my favorite quotes from the latter part of last year was when a court in Seychelles had handed out 22-year jail terms to nine Somali nationals charged with piracy, amid a drive to seek convictions for suspected boat pirates. A senior member of NATO said and I quote: “When we come across a boat with ladders on board, we can be sure they are pirates,” “After all, there are no known window-cleaning operations in the Indian Ocean.”

Work safe, all the best, Karl Robinson

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

wtf

window cleaning twitter litter Ever wonder what people are really saying about window cleaning? Now you can see! Check out these real responses when we decided to search “window cleaner” one day on Twitter. vvanessawilsonn: The awkward moment when the window cleaner watches you whilst you eat toast and watch friends... D: kayleighhunter: LMFAO. I just whipped open my curtains and pulled my D: face at the window cleaner. He screamed and almost fell off the ladder :’) HAHAHA! libertyrose: Really disturbing to wake up with the window cleaner grinning at me...

EmmaLouiseuk: Omg I’m so embarrassed there’s me doin my work out DVD in the front room and when I look up there is my window cleaner.

Tahbepet: Wonder if it keeps raining if I can assume the window cleaner is not coming today, and therefore can go to baby clinic this pm? kategiffard: Just got the shock of my life window cleaner at the lounge window and me in pj’s!!

M_Tivzilla: Ok, so the window cleaner is cleaning my bedroom window right next to me, it feels soo awkward!

Freyeliza: My window cleaner is like the hottest thing ever, the one person i dont mind peepin’ threw my windowssss!

NikiBH8: The window cleaner just smashed my sisters window.. and its raining!!! hahaha NayNayBootaay: Gonna flash the window cleaner coz he’s a masssssssssive babe. trickyshirls: Thanks Mr Window Cleaner....for leaving my gate open. Lazy fooker.

AlexandraSmithh: Awkward how I heard a noise out my window so I opened my curtain and I was face to face with a window cleaner great I’m still in my jammies. solongsparky: I really want to press my face against the window as the window-cleaner goes past our floor...I have a feelin’ it might be frowned upon? bookshopsara: Don’t give our window cleaner any ideas - short skirts n long boots wouldna go wiv his beard. briabtw: Window cleaner is flirting with my mother yet again :’) had to come upstairs so he didn’t hear me laughing. craigcullum: Okay after buying a squeegee and spending all day cleaning my windows I now count myself as a window cleaner. clairey67: Window cleaner will earn his money this month. Glad I gave Xmas tip at

last visit. quietdean: Typically, the one Saturday a month where we have nothing to get up early for is the one Saturday the Window Cleaner bangs on our windows. gazedd: Woken by the window cleaner peering through the window while I slept, shouldn’t HE be paying ME this month? miggyluv: We need a window cleaner that cleans 2nd floor apartment windows! zestedmandie: Love the way I’m suddenly referred to as ‘the missus’ when husband talking to window cleaner.

Jordan_McLeod: Where art thou window cleaner?

MsKittyCullen: looked like I was ignoring the window cleaner this morning when actually I was just looking for money to pay him. anniestanford: Got woken up by the window cleaner (which we don’t have), looking suspiciously like a burglar, at my bedroom window this morning! hcastleton: Love getting changed and the window cleaner appears from nowhere

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1. The building with the most windows in the United States 4. Type of pole used for Pure Water Cleaning.

6. Gutter Protection 8. It’s not a coupon it’s a _____.

9. Best Window Cleaning Service- CA. 10. Manufacturer named after a famous Australian bird.

12. Bucket on a Belt 14. “Cleaning Windows” is a song title on which famous artists album?

16. The newest Aqua-Dapter.

18. Use this type of rubber in warmer climates.

2. Screen cleaning solution you can’t live without.

3. Inventor of the single blade window cleaning squeegee in 1936.

7. Mark the Window Cleaner is known for what window cleaning show on WCR? 10. Newest Window Cleaning Association.

11. Total Dissolved Solids.

15. Squeegee Rubber is also known as a _______.

13. Use this type of rubber in colder climates.

17. Handle designed for reaching deep set sills.

19. In 2009 WCR was the first U.S. supplier to carry this type of towel from the U.K.

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Scratch Repair System Not Working For You?

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Window Cleaning Resource Association