Question for Ron

Ryan/Ron,
I have no dog in this, however, I want to share what I’ve actually witnessed with other operators.

I went out for a couple of days with two different Heaven’s Best operators back when I was considering buying into Heaven’s Best. Although I really didn’t know enough to be sure they were thorough at the time, I now know that they were indeed doing a very thorough job.

One of them brought in $725 for one day with me helping. That day was almost 9 hours with about a 30 minute lunch.

The other guy usually picked up his daughter from school at 3:00, so he almost never worked a full day. He managed his schedule so that he could be home by mid-afternoon. He brought in a little over $500 one day that I was with him. Actual working time was about 5 hours.

I honestly don’t know if I sped them up very much. I actually worked to help with the vacuuming and such, however, I was also peppering them with questions.

Some relevant info: Both were charging by the sf. and were at $.25 per sf. One charged $1.50 per stair and the other charged $2.25 per stair, so they charged from $20 – $30 per stairs. Neither was selling any protector or other add-ons while I was with them.

I did ask both of them about their normal pace and both thought they were working at their usual effort and pace.

I am not aware of how Ron charges. I believe I have heard that a lot of the operators in AZ charge by the room, but I don’t know how much.

I have not yet been able to do as well per actual hour worked, however, my business has built up rather slowly and I’m still getting faster. I occasionally compute my average revenue per hour and I seem to be improving, albeit slowly, as I get more experience.

Ron has obviously had a tremendous first year and has many an hour behind his vacuum and buffer by now. After working with those two operators previously, I believe Ron could actually do more. Of course I have not seen him work. Using his Nov numbers, he is doing about $600 per day, which seems quite reasonable for someone who has gotten their routine down pat.

Based on what I have seen and heard on this board, I think we all work at a different pace and reach a different potential at different rates. I feel my speed is coming a bit slowly, but it doesn’t bother me. But I am confident that other operators hit a good stride with their routine and can easily bring in the revenue numbers Ron posted.

Mike

Ask Dan Child how much money can be made with 1 truck and no employee’s. I am still fairly young (31). I’m a big guy, strong, and can handle the physical aspects of this job. That doesn’t bother me. I can work 7 days a week for weeks without it affecting quality work. I’ve actually worked over 30 days in a row.

I do charge more than most I believe and yes Ryan I get very good responses from my customers. I get a load of referrals to boot. I’m not going to apologize because I’m doing well with my business. I’m not new to carpet cleaning either, as I’ve been in this business before. I have a Marketing Minor so I know a little bit about how to present my company to the public. I will also say that I owe A LOT of my success to a few operators out there. JoAnn Loveland, Brian Sutton, Dave Hillman, some of the AZ guys and especially David & Lisa Jones.

Do you wonder why I have the most post on the boards? I ask questions, and a lot. I am not ashamed to ask or embarrassed. I figure for every small tweak I make to my business and/or business processes I am becoming more efficient. Ask Cody how many times a week I call him. I call a lot.

I want to know everything there is about this business because I know that very soon I will have employees and the moment that I don’t know something or can’t explain something to an employee their performance will be affected. I get out there and bust my ass every single day. If the only time a customer can have me in their home is midnight then I’m there at midnight. I’m there at 5:00pm on Sunday. I’m there because I know that that is one more customer added to my clientele and one more customer that will call me back. I’ve created relationships with many realtors, teachers/principals, government leaders, significant business owners. I’m not anything special; I’m just “making” it work. I’m sorry that you aren’t doing what some other operators are doing but I’m sure you will soon.