I am drowning help

I am at my breaking point you guys. I don’t know what to do anymore. I have no money to invest in marketing. my business is a mess I need some type of program to organize my clients and follow up with them. I want to provide a excellent service but I’m overwhelmed. I am not getting jobs anymore, I have a website, its a nice website and ranks #1 in my area. I also have the most 5 star reviews out of anyone in my area! I think people in my area simply just don’t want their house washed or windows cleaned. ive applied for a job to drive a garbage truck in my area…I just don’t know what to do anymore I’m out of ideas. how do you guys keep your phones ringing, how do you organize past clients and follow up with them. how how how!

Knock doors man. Knock on doors. I built my business in the beginning by knocking doors. Go to a pool house in a neighborhood and look on the bulletin board. Usually has contact info for HOA president or management company. Offer to clean pool house for free if they get you 5 houses to wash in the community. Knock doors

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This is what I was doing a year and a half ago. See pic below. 4 nights a week from 5 to close. Mostly Thursday to Sunday. Then I was getting up, loading the truck, knocking on doors, putting door hangers everywhere. Cleaning a lot of gutters at $79-$99 a pop.

Even did some small carpentry work here and there to pay for the door hangers. Being a carpenter in a past life paid off. Spent winter working 3 days a week with KC Custom Closets and would’ve worked more except I was unwilling to give up hunting season.

Sold a 4runner I really liked to put money in the business account.

Then I sold a trailer I used when I was a contractor (too big and too rusty to belong to a professional cleaning contractor anyway) to a carpet company.

This year has been the most financially abundant of my life since I left finance, but last year was a complete struggle.

Knocking on doors, door hangers, selling stuff I didn’t really need, and part time jobs kept me afloat.

Keep hustling, hang in there, expand your market. Illinois is a tough state to be in economically right now, but there’s always someone who needs something.

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Paper flyers man they are dirt cheap and you should expect to get calls. You have to get your boots dirty. Every day after I leave my 7-3 I deliver flyers from 330-530. It’s all about being seen people need to see you.

Try Facebook Craigslist those are free advertising as well.

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awesome idea I love it. thank you

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thanks man I appreciate it. I just have no business background and the mess of customers I have stored in my iPhone gets overwhelming. I store jobs in my iPhone calendar. its a cluster fck. I got bills up the ass (full time single dad, legally have full custody of my 18 month old daughter, $800 in rent, insurance for a van and a truck and both need repairs, day care is $175 a week. I have $892 in my business bank account and $1.75 in my personal account) I know this isn’t really anyones concern I just gotta vent man. its so overwhelming. but I got this I’m just going to go full hustle mode. there is just never enough hours in day when you have to keep the house cleaned and pick baby up from daycare at 5pm! ughhhhhhhhhh

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thanks buddy I have door hangers I’m just running out of neighbor hoods to hit. I’ve hit all high end neighborhoods twice now.

You can do it man! We’re pulling for you here.

The good news is you used a calendar. That’s all you need. That’s all I used until a few weeks ago when I got Housecall Pro. Before that I went back to the jobs I did last year in July and called all of them July 1st to check in and see if they needed anything. House wash, window cleaning, gutter cleaning?

Open your calendar and start dialing! You’ve got leads in your phone!

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I can’t remember where I read/heard it, but marketing takes 7 touches typically before it turns into a lead. You’ve only got 5 more trips through those neighborhoods.

Are you doing 5 arounds?!

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okay well that’s good news, I see all these fancy programs that I just cant compete with and it gets discouraging honestly

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probably not doing 5 arounds if I have no idea what 5 arounds are lol

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As much as I truly despise the middlemanning companies (Angieslist, Thumbtack, etc), they MIGHT be an option to consider. Also, you can use “lost leader” services to get some pocket change and a foot in the door. I did a few $59 dryer vent cleaning specials (actually only gave me about $30) when I started full time, but they gave me a nice introduction to some really great, appreciateive, well-paying customers.

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oh that is perfect! I actually do that I just didn’t know it was called that. my door hangers were made professionally and actually read on one side “we just cleaned your neighbors windows!” or “we just power washed your neighbors home!”

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Screw fancy programs. Joist and a mountain of yellow pads worked. You’ve got everything you need right in your hand!

Two quotes I’m stealing because I don’t know who said them:

“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away.” Simple is best, especially when all the fancy programs will make it easier to procrastinate on the things that really matter like being seen. Aka knocking on doors, door hangers, etc.

“Businesses, like men (and women if anyone is uppity about their PC), are revealed to themselves and often forged in times of great adversity.”

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Which fancy programs are you referring to?

that’s an idea, I feel I do enough “lost leader” work with my commercial route work (window cleaning). however, I try not to think about it because cleaning some windows, I landed a $2500 job one day, beginning of summer. it was a happy day for me. as far as angieslist and sites similar, don’t they require you to submit a criminal record? I’m what they call a “reformed bad-boy”

Don’t forget, August is a very slow month for most of us, most years. Use the down time to research and learn. September will come and the phone will ring. Don’t forget about being a month or two ahead of the curve, either…i.e. what are you doing NOW to get some gutter cleaning jobs on the books for November?

One more thing: if you do gutter cleaning, gutter protection (the actual, really good stuff - see SlimGuardUSA.com) is a pretty easy, high profit upsell that you can feel confident about standing behind.

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They don’t require a record check, as far as I know. Some do, but AL doesn’t…they’re waaaay too greedy to care about that!

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ill have to look into that for sure. I need to research how to do deck cleaning or anything wood restoration. I’ve had to turn down a couple jobs hence my lack of knowlege