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I am considering going full time with my business after 8 years! Just a couple of questions. Is the century unit worth the investment. Does anyone use the spot dyeing kit and make money using it? Is the stair buffer worth the investment, also
I have a pretty good client list right now considering I don’t advertise. Looks like I am going to start, so next question is newspaper vs yellow pages? If you do a search on google for carpet cleaning in New Hampshire you will find me. I have done this for a couple years and it has gotten me a few jobs. I know this is alot but any info would be appreciated.Reason I was not full time before, I had a good job with good benefits and good pay. I kept working the carpet cleaning because I enjoyed it and it put my daughter through college!
Den,
I love the stair buffer! Much, much easier than cleaning by hand or extracting them and most the time still dry in one hour. As far as the century unit, I had one and sold it to another operator (to me it was heavy & bulky), the upholstery mate is the best ever for cleaning upholstery! The paper -vs- the yellow pages is different in each area. Yellow pages is a must. Just pick a size of ad your can live with. The paper is nice because you can select the days and the month. When I did newspaper, I ran the ad the same day the grocery stores had inserts (biggest circulation day). Welcome to the full time gig!
Hey Den
What are you currently using for extraction? If you already have an Upholstery Mate you should be fine, Spot dying is a problem solver for your customers and can make you the expert in their eyes. Hasn’t been a “profit center” for me. Stair buffer is back saver also works great in RV’s, boats and other small areas. Won’t make you money but can make your life easier.
Re: your switch to full time, a few questions I would have for you first, what size of area are you in? population and density? As well as what are the demographics, age? income? white coller? blue? You have a client list? How many on that list? You have been in business 8 years, FYI, probably the last thing I would do is conventional advertising. Such a waste of money when there are SO many ways to grow for free or next to it. My opinion, YMMV
Den –
As far as the Yellow Pages and newspaper go for advertising I do not believe these channels provide the ROI they used to in the past. Both have experienced declining readership for many years. Some may say “oh, you gotta be in the yellow pages”. That is old school way of thinking. You can still be in the yellow pages with a free listing. These days it is all about the internet when it comes to advertising. You will find a greater ROI with the internet vs print media. Make sure you have a decent website with content as content is one of the keys when it comes to rankings. I used to manage my own PPC campaigns but over time it became cumbersome. I am sure you, like many of us, have received phone calls from companies who claim they can get you on the front page of Google etc. These companies are a dime a dozen. The key is to find an honest and reputable company you can trust to manage all of your internet advertising. The company that designed my website also manages my SEO and PPC. At the end of every month we have a conference call to recap results determining what worked and what didnt and make adjustments to ads and/or budgets. I find these calls to be useful for me and it also tells the company I am looking for results from their work. If you want to run print I have had great success with HOA’s especially the 55 and older communities. Whenever I run print I always push the advertisier for exclusivity. They do not always want this but I have found it can be negotiated. Just last week I met with an advertisier who back in December quoted me a price via email for a 1/2 page ad every month all year. In our meeting the price was higher. In the end, I am paying the higher price but I will now be the only advertisier positioned on the back cover every month throughout all of 2011. In this publication I am also the only carpet cleaner. Good luck and let us if we can assist further
The best place to advertise in a magazine is:
Inside the front page/cover, the back of the cover, inside the back page/cover, and then on the right side of the page.
Thanks guys, appreciate you taking the time to answer!
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