Why No One Respects This 19-Year-Old Window Cleaner

WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.131 --> 00:00:03.835
Today, we're in Utah, visiting Kai from Homey Window Cleaning.
2
00:00:03.915 --> 00:00:07.418
If Leslie's giving us a problem, though, call her, text her, blow up her phone, and get a yes or no.
3
00:00:07.458 --> 00:00:08.520
I don't want to worry about her anymore.
4
00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:09.721
Kai is 19 years old.
5
00:00:09.801 --> 00:00:13.204
He is shooting for $500,000 in revenue this year.
6
00:00:13.344 --> 00:00:14.686
My goal is in five years to sell it.
7
00:00:14.706 --> 00:00:17.108
But cash is low, and he doesn't know his numbers.
8
00:00:17.268 --> 00:00:18.850
Why don't we have any revenue reports?
9
00:00:19.050 --> 00:00:21.052
I didn't pull it from my last software.
10
00:00:21.132 --> 00:00:21.773
Super big mistake.
11
00:00:21.833 --> 00:00:25.755
Kai had six employees last year, but only one lasted five months.
12
00:00:25.875 --> 00:00:27.796
And he's gonna leave in three days.
13
00:00:27.816 --> 00:00:29.497
Turn was a big problem with your team last year.
14
00:00:29.597 --> 00:00:31.117
I was hiring a lot of older guys.
15
00:00:31.137 --> 00:00:33.378
It's harder for them to listen and work for a 19-year-old.
16
00:00:33.418 --> 00:00:34.659
Our training wasn't very good.
17
00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:36.600
I've been here for about one and a half, two weeks.
18
00:00:36.620 --> 00:00:38.781
We offer at least eight to 10 different services.
19
00:00:38.881 --> 00:00:40.102
I'm just in the middle of learning them all.
20
00:00:40.142 --> 00:00:43.083
That stinks if it takes me two months to train them on all these services.
21
00:00:43.243 --> 00:00:47.105
Also, very few of his customers come back after their first service.
22
00:00:47.225 --> 00:00:48.905
Our service when we were working together wasn't the best.
23
00:00:48.985 --> 00:00:50.206
We weren't getting many repeat clients.
24
00:00:50.246 --> 00:00:51.426
We just didn't seem very legit.
25
00:00:51.487 --> 00:00:53.187
This is the Business Turnaround Show.
26
00:00:53.267 --> 00:00:54.428
My name is Mike Andes.
27
00:00:54.568 --> 00:00:58.830
I'm the founder of Augusta Lawn Care, where we have over 175 locations around the world.
28
00:00:58.890 --> 00:01:01.571
And I travel the country fixing struggling businesses.
29
00:01:01.711 --> 00:01:08.794
Our goal is to give Kai a strategy to turn around the company in the next six weeks and take control of his business.
30
00:01:19.704 --> 00:01:21.925
I don't have any sort of P&L, I don't have a balance sheet.
31
00:01:23.105 --> 00:01:24.645
And so we're kind of flying blind.
32
00:01:24.665 --> 00:01:28.126
We're also just taking at his word the fact that he did $250,000 last year.
33
00:01:29.047 --> 00:01:35.669
So it just makes it more difficult to actually diagnose the problems because I can't see how much he's spending on labor, how much he's spending on marketing.
34
00:01:38.850 --> 00:01:41.450
There's so many holes in his story.
35
00:01:42.831 --> 00:01:43.511
I just don't know that.
36
00:01:46.032 --> 00:01:46.592
What's up dudes?
37
00:01:46.773 --> 00:01:47.253
How's it going?
38
00:01:47.333 --> 00:01:47.853
What's up man?
39
00:01:47.893 --> 00:01:48.354
Nice to meet you.
40
00:01:48.374 --> 00:01:48.574
Kai?
41
00:01:48.774 --> 00:01:48.974
Yeah.
42
00:01:49.174 --> 00:01:51.336
I'm Kai, I'm the owner of Homey Window Cleaning.
43
00:01:51.396 --> 00:01:52.877
My passion isn't cleaning windows.
44
00:01:53.017 --> 00:01:57.981
I do love the managerial side of it, the sales side of it, and like just kind of the problem solving mainly is what I love.
45
00:01:58.121 --> 00:01:58.861
What's up, and Marlon?
46
00:01:58.961 --> 00:01:59.121
Yeah.
47
00:01:59.141 --> 00:02:00.382
Good to meet you, and I'm like.
48
00:02:00.522 --> 00:02:01.803
My name is Marlon Jones.
49
00:02:01.883 --> 00:02:03.765
I've been here for about one and a half, two weeks.
50
00:02:04.065 --> 00:02:04.866
This is our van.
51
00:02:05.186 --> 00:02:05.546
Nice.
52
00:02:05.646 --> 00:02:08.108
And this is all the stuff that we keep in like, day to day, I guess.
53
00:02:08.309 --> 00:02:10.050
The pressure washing, do you rent that right now?
54
00:02:10.070 --> 00:02:10.951
That's at the church.
55
00:02:10.971 --> 00:02:12.612
We're not pressure washing today, we're just window clearing.
56
00:02:12.632 --> 00:02:12.832
Got it.
57
00:02:12.852 --> 00:02:13.993
Do you own the pressure washing?
58
00:02:14.013 --> 00:02:14.514
Yeah, we own it.
59
00:02:15.214 --> 00:02:16.155
We got a trailer.
60
00:02:16.395 --> 00:02:16.796
Sweet, dude.
61
00:02:17.356 --> 00:02:17.636
Let's go.
62
00:02:17.656 --> 00:02:19.738
And then you just put this out whenever you're out and about?
63
00:02:19.878 --> 00:02:21.259
My goal is in five years to sell it.
64
00:02:21.299 --> 00:02:22.861
We'll build it up to like one to two million.
65
00:02:22.941 --> 00:02:25.663
I've always been like super fascinated in real estate and building.
66
00:02:25.763 --> 00:02:29.166
And so I want to kind of get into construction and building with that money.
67
00:02:29.226 --> 00:02:31.369
I think everything today is pretty straightforward.
68
00:02:31.429 --> 00:02:32.731
It's all just external stuff.
69
00:02:32.771 --> 00:02:37.218
Yeah, if Leslie's giving us a problem though, call her, text her, blow up her phone, and get a yes or no.
70
00:02:37.418 --> 00:02:39.180
If she says no, like, yeah.
71
00:02:39.641 --> 00:02:40.703
I don't wanna worry about her anymore.
72
00:02:41.043 --> 00:02:41.864
All right, thanks guys.
73
00:02:41.884 --> 00:02:44.388
So what got you into window cleaning?
74
00:02:44.668 --> 00:02:45.248
Social media.
75
00:02:45.368 --> 00:02:49.209
I saw on social media some guy just kind of posting his numbers and he didn't seem too legit.
76
00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:50.149
He was just kind of doing it on his own.
77
00:02:50.169 --> 00:02:51.750
And I was like, I think there's a lot of growth in this.
78
00:02:51.790 --> 00:02:55.531
And so I started it just to kind of prove the concept with my buddy, just us knocking doors.
79
00:02:55.651 --> 00:02:57.451
So was that Max that you started doing it with?
80
00:02:57.551 --> 00:02:58.191
No, no, no.
81
00:02:58.251 --> 00:02:59.151
It was my other friend.
82
00:02:59.232 --> 00:03:01.732
And honestly, our service when we were working together wasn't the best.
83
00:03:01.752 --> 00:03:03.433
We weren't getting many repeat clients.
84
00:03:03.453 --> 00:03:05.133
I chose to just kind of move a separate way and then
85
00:03:05.533 --> 00:03:09.735
Hired a guy off Indeed and like in the beginning, it was like my job was to knock doors and fill his schedule.
86
00:03:09.835 --> 00:03:14.397
Went pretty well, some of my buddies wanted to come and like work for me and so we just kind of grew our door to door team.
87
00:03:14.517 --> 00:03:18.839
I started with my buddy, I saw like a TikTok on it, saw some guys making a lot of money so I thought I'd give it a shot.
88
00:03:18.899 --> 00:03:21.520
That really motivated me to be like, I can do this myself.
89
00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:24.002
I assume that most of your equipment you can keep in the van.
90
00:03:24.142 --> 00:03:30.768
We try not to just because at the spot we parked, like we've gotten gas like taken and stuff so we don't want the van to get broken into.
91
00:03:30.808 --> 00:03:31.969
So you keep the van separate then?
92
00:03:32.110 --> 00:03:34.612
Yes, yeah, it's parked at a church that we clean quarterly.
93
00:03:34.772 --> 00:03:36.233
And then in here we keep all the stuff.
94
00:03:36.454 --> 00:03:39.296
I meet the guys here every morning and we just kind of like go over the day.
95
00:03:39.356 --> 00:03:40.437
We've got our tanks.
96
00:03:40.477 --> 00:03:42.199
I'm actually working on a couple at my house right now.
97
00:03:42.359 --> 00:03:42.739
Let's go.
98
00:03:42.779 --> 00:03:44.060
You actually don't need a ton of stuff then.
99
00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:51.626
We're kind of trying to add more services, and so with that, we added pressure washing, driveway sealing, we need more equipment for that, but we don't need a lot of stuff.
100
00:03:51.666 --> 00:03:54.048
Like our shop is definitely not too big right now.
101
00:03:54.248 --> 00:03:57.911
Once we get more advanced, that's probably when I'm looking to get into more of a shop space.
102
00:03:58.011 --> 00:04:00.273
Two years ago, you were doing basically part-time, right?
103
00:04:00.293 --> 00:04:03.616
Two years ago, it was pretty much me and my buddy.
104
00:04:03.716 --> 00:04:05.917
Just like, I would knock doors, he would clean windows.
105
00:04:06.618 --> 00:04:12.483
And then last year is when we really kind of move into, I guess, a business where I wasn't the one out on the doors.
106
00:04:12.803 --> 00:04:16.466
In the very beginning, it was just me and my buddy knocking in the summer, so school wasn't really hard then.
107
00:04:16.606 --> 00:04:20.669
But the second year, I kind of saw the potential with it.
108
00:04:20.729 --> 00:04:24.532
I luckily actually had all my credits done my junior year, so I just didn't go to school my senior year.
109
00:04:24.552 --> 00:04:26.133
I finished up all my credits and graduated early.
110
00:04:26.213 --> 00:04:29.696
And then my senior year was when I really started to kind of hire guys on.
111
00:04:29.996 --> 00:04:31.257
And, yeah, school wasn't an issue then.
112
00:04:31.297 --> 00:04:36.979
And then this year, I wanted to move to zero door knocking, just all marketing, all branding and recurring clients.
113
00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:41.240
And so that's kind of our goal for this year, is just to just start getting established in the market.
114
00:04:41.320 --> 00:04:44.702
It's been super awesome being able to bring my friends on to help work with me.
115
00:04:44.742 --> 00:04:48.323
We'd all meet at my house, just kind of go over the day, and then just go out and just make a bunch of money together.
116
00:04:48.343 --> 00:04:52.024
Having that opportunity for all of us to work together has been super, super awesome.
117
00:04:52.044 --> 00:04:54.265
And my parents always have clean windows too, which is pretty cool.
118
00:04:54.385 --> 00:04:55.145
When does it start picking up?
119
00:04:55.185 --> 00:04:57.166
Is this the time it's starting to ramp up now?
120
00:04:57.326 --> 00:04:58.686
The winter went pretty long this year.
121
00:04:58.706 --> 00:05:01.567
I think like two weeks ago is when it- It's still freezing.
122
00:05:01.587 --> 00:05:04.068
Yeah, Max, like two weeks ago, we were still wearing jackets, right?
123
00:05:04.448 --> 00:05:04.689
Yeah.
124
00:05:04.729 --> 00:05:05.949
Yeah, there was still snow on the ground.
125
00:05:06.029 --> 00:05:06.869
It just started to pick up.
126
00:05:07.029 --> 00:05:10.791
Phones being crazy and I'm starting to realize that I can't be the only one doing all that stuff.
127
00:05:10.811 --> 00:05:11.391
Yeah, that's good.
128
00:05:11.451 --> 00:05:13.011
So then right now it's just the one truck.
129
00:05:13.311 --> 00:05:17.713
So if you have like two jobs, is all three of you going in one truck or how's that working?
130
00:05:17.773 --> 00:05:19.894
Yeah, so I'm actually not on the job sites anymore.
131
00:05:20.274 --> 00:05:22.294
It's just these guys and we've got one van.
132
00:05:22.514 --> 00:05:31.097
I'm starting to realize that it's probably gonna be more efficient if they start working solo just because our routes aren't condensed enough and it's just, we're wasting a lot of time with drive time.
133
00:05:31.637 --> 00:05:33.358
And so I'm gonna get another truck pretty soon.
134
00:05:33.578 --> 00:05:34.698
How far up do these go?
135
00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:37.359
30 feet?
136
00:05:37.499 --> 00:05:38.579
That one goes 40 actually.
137
00:05:38.599 --> 00:05:39.660
The shorter one goes 40.
138
00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:40.180
Let's go.
139
00:05:40.460 --> 00:05:43.621
We're doing this new thing where we actually give you a roadmap here.
140
00:05:43.641 --> 00:05:44.221
There we go.
141
00:05:44.501 --> 00:05:45.462
The homey thing is cool.
142
00:05:46.142 --> 00:05:46.362
Yeah.
143
00:05:46.963 --> 00:05:49.325
At first I was like homey, like, oh, we're homies.
144
00:05:49.465 --> 00:05:50.466
And I was like, oh, no, I get it.
145
00:05:50.626 --> 00:05:52.127
It's a homey feel, and I like it a lot.
146
00:05:52.347 --> 00:05:58.972
What we'll do is we'll kind of identify in the 4-0 framework, so I'm like, here's the problems or opportunities, and then what do we want to try to do in the next six weeks?
147
00:05:59.372 --> 00:06:04.076
To summarize the framework, we take liquidity, or cash, and we go spend it on advertising.
148
00:06:04.096 --> 00:06:04.656
And what do we do?
149
00:06:04.876 --> 00:06:05.797
We get more leads.
150
00:06:06.157 --> 00:06:08.378
When you get a bunch of leads and you turn them into customers, what do we need?
151
00:06:08.398 --> 00:06:11.140
We need more laborers to actually go do the work and a bunch of employees.
152
00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:13.321
But once you get 10, 15 employees, what do you need?
153
00:06:13.521 --> 00:06:14.302
You need more leaders.
154
00:06:14.482 --> 00:06:17.604
You need management to be able to run the business and continue to grow.
155
00:06:17.984 --> 00:06:22.667
But when you get leaders and you get people in overhead and doing office admin and all the rest of it, what does that cause?
156
00:06:22.727 --> 00:06:24.788
A liquidity crunch, less profit margins.
157
00:06:25.068 --> 00:06:28.911
And this is the cycle that every business goes through to be able to grow.
158
00:06:28.951 --> 00:06:32.753
From a liquidity perspective, my big focus is we just need to know our numbers more.
159
00:06:32.813 --> 00:06:35.276
We only have his bank statements, so it really doesn't tell me a whole lot.
160
00:06:35.616 --> 00:06:37.819
I don't have any sort of P&L, I don't have a balance sheet.
161
00:06:37.979 --> 00:06:43.445
Like for all I know, I'm gonna walk in there today and be like, we don't have a leads problem, because he said that he doesn't have a problem getting leads.
162
00:06:43.726 --> 00:06:45.308
Why don't we have any revenue reports?
163
00:06:45.808 --> 00:06:47.110
Because I either got a bank statement.
164
00:06:47.250 --> 00:06:47.390
Yeah.
165
00:06:47.410 --> 00:06:48.752
It's very hard to come in.
166
00:06:49.072 --> 00:06:52.296
So like, is it just a matter of you haven't had to spend enough time in that software yet?
167
00:06:52.596 --> 00:06:58.218
I think I haven't spent enough time in it and I didn't pull it from my last software.
168
00:06:58.338 --> 00:06:59.958
Super big mistake, I forgot to bring that over.
169
00:07:00.178 --> 00:07:01.698
Right now, do you have QuickBooks set up?
170
00:07:02.179 --> 00:07:03.439
I would really recommend setting it up.
171
00:07:04.039 --> 00:07:13.782
Right now, as you begin to scale past 250, the reason at 250 you've been able to make it work is you still are so involved, you're producing revenue, you're making sure the jobs are being done right.
172
00:07:14.242 --> 00:07:18.223
As you get to 500,000 and you're not in the field, you've gotta know where the money's going.
173
00:07:18.583 --> 00:07:21.925
And like right now, we don't like if I asked like how much you spent on marketing last month.
174
00:07:22.166 --> 00:07:22.706
We don't really know.
175
00:07:23.226 --> 00:07:23.447
Right.
176
00:07:23.907 --> 00:07:24.747
It was a thousand dollars.
177
00:07:24.767 --> 00:07:25.148
Right.
178
00:07:25.168 --> 00:07:26.349
It's like knowing what that was.
179
00:07:26.369 --> 00:07:27.870
And then, OK, what was the return on that?
180
00:07:27.890 --> 00:07:30.692
Like only comes from having a good set of books.
181
00:07:30.712 --> 00:07:30.892
Yeah.
182
00:07:30.972 --> 00:07:38.337
I think whether you just categorize once a week on the weekend in QuickBooks, like all as the transactions come in, I would do QuickBooks ASAP.
183
00:07:38.477 --> 00:07:40.098
OK. Like you've got to know where the money is at.
184
00:07:40.138 --> 00:07:42.340
And then if you're in QuickBooks, you might as well just run payroll through there.
185
00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:49.204
So from a liquidity perspective, like cash in the bank right now, the problem that I see is like we are low, but you have low expenses.
186
00:07:49.524 --> 00:07:50.384
And I know what it's like to be there.
187
00:07:50.404 --> 00:07:51.205
You probably live at home still.
188
00:07:51.345 --> 00:07:51.545
Yeah.
189
00:07:51.565 --> 00:07:51.925
Let's go.
190
00:07:51.945 --> 00:07:56.348
You don't need a lot of cash, but technically we want one month worth of revenue in the bank.
191
00:07:56.608 --> 00:07:56.868
Okay.
192
00:07:56.948 --> 00:07:59.970
So if we could get 20 grand in the bank, that'd be like most ideal.
193
00:08:00.450 --> 00:08:02.231
Just so you can breathe a little bit easier.
194
00:08:02.292 --> 00:08:04.053
You have the capital if something goes wrong.
195
00:08:04.413 --> 00:08:05.934
You have the money for the second truck.
196
00:08:05.954 --> 00:08:09.257
Like right now, we have, what, like three or four grand in the bank-ish?
197
00:08:09.437 --> 00:08:09.597
Yeah.
198
00:08:09.897 --> 00:08:13.540
So let's just call it like 4K in the bank.
199
00:08:14.281 --> 00:08:14.901
That's an opportunity.
200
00:08:14.921 --> 00:08:18.744
So like in the six-week plan, if we could be able to like get that even to 10.
201
00:08:18.764 --> 00:08:20.105
I don't see that being a problem at all.
202
00:08:20.125 --> 00:08:21.006
Because we're going into spring.
203
00:08:21.126 --> 00:08:21.306
Yeah.
204
00:08:21.346 --> 00:08:24.108
We're doing like $1,500 to $1,800 in revenue a day right now.
205
00:08:24.128 --> 00:08:24.469
Sweet.
206
00:08:24.489 --> 00:08:25.449
And leads are coming in.
207
00:08:25.509 --> 00:08:26.430
Yeah, that's true.
208
00:08:26.450 --> 00:08:27.991
So let's just try to get it to where it should be.
209
00:08:28.031 --> 00:08:28.932
It's like 20 grand a month.
210
00:08:29.292 --> 00:08:34.157
So if we can get to 20 grand, 20K in the bank in the next six weeks.
211
00:08:34.518 --> 00:08:40.944
When it comes to the liquidity in the 4-0 framework, we're trying to get at least $20,000 of cash in the business checking account.
212
00:08:41.044 --> 00:08:44.648
Now, typically I like to have at least one month of revenue in the bank account.
213
00:08:44.728 --> 00:08:47.610
Anyway, what about expenses or what about one percentage of payroll?
214
00:08:47.690 --> 00:08:50.092
Most business owners, including Kai, don't know their expenses.
215
00:08:50.253 --> 00:08:52.895
They don't know a lot about the numbers, but they do know their revenue.
216
00:08:52.995 --> 00:08:57.078
And so I try to get at least one month of revenue in the bank account for reserves.
217
00:08:57.178 --> 00:09:03.444
Right now, if you get at least 20,000, it make me feel a lot better than right now, when it only has three to $4,000 in the bank.
218
00:09:03.804 --> 00:09:07.687
That would probably then give us the freedom, like a little more flexibility to go out and get the second truck.
219
00:09:07.807 --> 00:09:09.629
Are you financing that you think or what are you thinking there?
220
00:09:09.869 --> 00:09:10.769
Are you doing truck, van?
221
00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:14.010
I'm gonna get a truck and I'm thinking of buying it cash.
222
00:09:14.251 --> 00:09:19.312
I've got some money saved up that I know I can get back if I buy the truck, so probably just take it alone from the personal.
223
00:09:19.372 --> 00:09:23.434
Got it, so a personal loan, taking the truck, and it would be a pickup truck then?
224
00:09:23.894 --> 00:09:24.054
Yeah.
225
00:09:24.194 --> 00:09:26.635
And so is that so you can throw more stuff in there?
226
00:09:26.715 --> 00:09:27.655
Or do you want to stick with the van?
227
00:09:27.675 --> 00:09:31.877
Yeah, it's nicer to pull the trailer because pulling it with the van is a bit sketchy.
228
00:09:32.017 --> 00:09:33.357
I think trucks just kinda look cooler.
229
00:09:33.477 --> 00:09:36.338
It's just kinda better for pulling the trailer, I guess, when there's a lot of water in there, it gets heavy.
230
00:09:36.358 --> 00:09:37.098
All right, so then what would you do?
231
00:09:37.118 --> 00:09:38.659
I think having one truck and one van is probably good.
232
00:09:38.819 --> 00:09:41.441
Okay, so second truck, we're going to be able to get that.
233
00:09:41.661 --> 00:09:47.226
It's very rare that I recommend someone actually go finance a vehicle or get a brand new vehicle and get it leased.
234
00:09:47.386 --> 00:09:49.568
Usually I say, hey, go get a cheap used vehicle.
235
00:09:49.668 --> 00:09:52.330
But Kai has already proven that he knows how to get customers.
236
00:09:52.410 --> 00:09:54.692
He's proven that he knows what his cost per lead is.
237
00:09:54.752 --> 00:10:00.056
And I would rather have him spend money on that instead of just going and spending all of his cash on a brand new truck.
238
00:10:00.177 --> 00:10:01.217
Anyone can buy the truck.
239
00:10:01.277 --> 00:10:05.541
So why dump a bunch of cash into that, then be cash poor going out and getting more customers?
240
00:10:05.661 --> 00:10:09.602
Yeah, so second truck in the next six weeks, that would then allow us to expand more.
241
00:10:09.622 --> 00:10:10.823
Okay, cool, that's liquidity.
242
00:10:11.063 --> 00:10:14.904
Leeds, on your site, are we going to just actually focus on just windows?
243
00:10:15.064 --> 00:10:29.608
I'm gonna run a pressure washing app because a lot of companies in Utah do kind of mix pressure washing with window cleaning, and I think that if we can make that blow up, that'd be huge, but I will take off all of our extra little services off of the website because I think that is a bit distracting.
244
00:10:29.768 --> 00:10:34.073
If you're getting a lead from Facebook for 10 bucks, that's treasure.
245
00:10:34.213 --> 00:10:35.034
Yeah.
246
00:10:35.054 --> 00:10:37.216
There's nothing else we should be doing but that.
247
00:10:37.356 --> 00:10:45.986
Initial thoughts are like, he almost every other entry level home service that requires, has a low barrier to entry I should say, adds way too many services in the beginning.
248
00:10:46.026 --> 00:10:51.507
So he's doing pressure washing, house cleaning, gutter cleaning, window cleaning, landscaping, lawn care, Christmas lights.
249
00:10:51.867 --> 00:10:54.388
Like he's just adding a bazillion different services.
250
00:10:54.528 --> 00:11:06.511
And so I'm a big fan of having services during his off season, which is still he's having Q4 collapse, but I want him to focus ideally on two or three services because I can guarantee you in Salt Lake City, there is a million dollar window cleaning company.
251
00:11:06.531 --> 00:11:08.071
There is a million dollar pressure washing company.
252
00:11:08.091 --> 00:11:09.672
There's a million dollar gutter cleaning company.
253
00:11:09.692 --> 00:11:11.752
So like pick one of them and focus on that.
254
00:11:11.832 --> 00:11:13.633
If I had to look at like the whole business,
255
00:11:14.273 --> 00:11:16.856
And we said like pressure washing, window cleaning.
256
00:11:17.336 --> 00:11:18.577
What's the breakdown of revenue?
257
00:11:18.597 --> 00:11:20.439
Like, because the last year was like $2.50.
258
00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:22.501
We just added pressure washing this year.
259
00:11:22.521 --> 00:11:22.841
Oh, okay.
260
00:11:22.881 --> 00:11:24.883
We've probably done five to 10 jobs.
261
00:11:24.943 --> 00:11:26.505
By far, window cleaning.
262
00:11:26.665 --> 00:11:27.866
We did gutter cleaning in the fall.
263
00:11:27.966 --> 00:11:29.268
We did Christmas lights in the winter.
264
00:11:29.308 --> 00:11:30.509
That's just absolutely crashing bird.
265
00:11:30.569 --> 00:11:33.391
But by far, window cleaning, probably 90% of our revenue.
266
00:11:33.411 --> 00:11:37.415
I mean, I know it was a lot more difficult because you have inventory, you have...
267
00:11:38.196 --> 00:11:39.876
probably snow around that time of year, right?
268
00:11:39.956 --> 00:11:43.738
We actually got pretty lucky, and it didn't start snowing heavy until December.
269
00:11:44.298 --> 00:11:50.619
And so we installed October, November, but we just found that it's so price competitive here.
270
00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:55.321
Most of my quotes, they're like, I got a quote for $2.50 per foot, and we're trying to charge 10.
271
00:11:55.541 --> 00:11:58.201
I wasn't able to build in a value to charge four times as much.
272
00:11:58.301 --> 00:11:59.602
But basically, unless it is
273
00:12:00.642 --> 00:12:02.164
Freezing outside you can do the windows, right?
274
00:12:02.725 --> 00:12:03.345
Yes, yeah.
275
00:12:03.485 --> 00:12:06.549
But then all your leads come in in the spring rush.
276
00:12:06.869 --> 00:12:13.056
Right, nobody really wants them done in the winter, but what we do is for our quarterly plans, when their winter service comes around, we switch to interior only.
277
00:12:13.076 --> 00:12:13.737
Okay, cool.
278
00:12:13.877 --> 00:12:15.579
And that's kind of like my pitch with quarterly.
279
00:12:15.599 --> 00:12:20.725
It's like we'll do three services on the outside when they get dirty, winter we'll come in and do inside, that way both sides of the windows are clean.
280
00:12:21.065 --> 00:12:24.348
So why are we adding pressure washing and house washing and the other stuff?
281
00:12:24.428 --> 00:12:28.011
Because it sounds like you can do interior still with the window cleaning.
282
00:12:28.051 --> 00:12:30.033
My thought is like, if we just focus on that.
283
00:12:30.453 --> 00:12:34.196
Because even when I get to your site, it looks like you do all those services.
284
00:12:34.837 --> 00:12:39.260
And I'm okay with adding more services to your existing customers and upselling them.
285
00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:43.944
But when it comes to like the dilution of your marketing, that's what I am seeing.
286
00:12:43.964 --> 00:12:49.589
Like even your Facebook ads and stuff, if you're saying, hey, we do pressure washing, we do window cleaning, versus just like, we do window cleaning.
287
00:12:49.729 --> 00:12:51.050
We crush window cleaning.
288
00:12:51.090 --> 00:12:52.231
It's in the name of our business.
289
00:12:52.732 --> 00:12:53.572
And that's all we do.
290
00:12:53.973 --> 00:12:55.194
And then you get way more.
291
00:12:55.314 --> 00:12:58.156
Your cost per lead will go way down because people are like, oh, they're a window cleaning business.
292
00:12:58.537 --> 00:13:00.318
Versus they're a handyman service.
293
00:13:00.558 --> 00:13:04.221
Like when I go to your site, I think like, okay, homie, they do everything in my home.
294
00:13:04.301 --> 00:13:05.102
They'll clean my house.
295
00:13:05.202 --> 00:13:06.023
They'll mow the grass.
296
00:13:06.043 --> 00:13:06.844
They'll do landscaping.
297
00:13:07.044 --> 00:13:09.506
Like that other services tab there will throw people off.
298
00:13:09.766 --> 00:13:12.807
Most customers are only spending a few seconds on your website.
299
00:13:12.867 --> 00:13:18.048
So if we don't deliver a very concise and clear message very quickly, we're going to lose out on customers.
300
00:13:18.168 --> 00:13:28.831
Right now, when you get to Homie's website, it's a little bit confusing because I got gutter cleaning, landscaping, lawn care, window washing, pressure washing, staining, like there's so many services he's trying to pitch.
301
00:13:28.951 --> 00:13:32.172
Instead, I just wanna be the best window cleaner in this county.
302
00:13:32.292 --> 00:13:36.473
This is evidenced by the fact that more than 80% of his revenue is coming from window cleaning.
303
00:13:36.513 --> 00:13:40.174
So why are we spending all of our time and energy trying to market these other services?
304
00:13:40.294 --> 00:13:43.195
It's diluting our marketing and it's confusing our customers.
305
00:13:43.635 --> 00:13:46.496
It makes you feel like you are just, I'll do anything.
306
00:13:46.696 --> 00:13:50.177
And then it's hard to market, like we are the window cleaning experts.
307
00:13:50.437 --> 00:13:55.599
I just think that if it made up 80%, 90% of revenue, I would just like, let's just focus on that.
308
00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:57.580
Yes, we can do driveway sealing.
309
00:13:57.660 --> 00:13:59.001
Yes, we can do pressure washing.
310
00:13:59.321 --> 00:14:04.445
But those are gonna add more inventory, more equipment, training more crew members, which is the big problem.
311
00:14:04.845 --> 00:14:10.769
Versus we do one simple service, we wash windows, and we figured out a way to get customers doing that, whether we're knocking on doors or doing ads.
312
00:14:10.969 --> 00:14:12.430
And then we just scale that.
313
00:14:12.830 --> 00:14:14.832
Because I don't think you have a seasonality problem.
314
00:14:15.232 --> 00:14:16.793
Because you can do the windows interior.
315
00:14:17.033 --> 00:14:18.273
That's like the kicker.
316
00:14:18.513 --> 00:14:21.454
For us, as soon as it goes cold outside, we don't do anything inside.
317
00:14:21.694 --> 00:14:22.755
So we have to do Christmas lights.
318
00:14:22.775 --> 00:14:23.855
We have to figure out something else.
319
00:14:23.915 --> 00:14:27.496
But like if you need a thousand customers on window cleaning, that's an interesting business.
320
00:14:27.756 --> 00:14:28.417
It's recurring.
321
00:14:28.617 --> 00:14:29.497
It's simple services.
322
00:14:29.537 --> 00:14:32.318
As soon as you get into like pressure washing, there's way more liability.
323
00:14:32.418 --> 00:14:34.859
Like if you increase your liability insurance for pressure washing yet.
324
00:14:35.099 --> 00:14:35.279
No.
325
00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:39.701
Like as soon as you say the word pressure washing to an insurance agent, everything goes through the roof.
326
00:14:39.741 --> 00:14:40.881
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
327
00:14:40.901 --> 00:14:43.762
Like if I'm marketing at all, I won't seem like a pro in any of them.
328
00:14:43.962 --> 00:14:48.625
Once you add another service, let's say you're doing a million, and you're like, okay, I want to add pressure washing.
329
00:14:49.005 --> 00:14:54.048
Well, now that next year, it becomes $150,000, $200,000 business, and you have one truck set aside just for pressure washing.
330
00:14:54.588 --> 00:14:57.910
And when it comes to training an employee, I train them on pressure washing.
331
00:14:58.030 --> 00:15:00.331
I don't have to train them on five different services.
332
00:15:00.451 --> 00:15:03.893
We do pressure washing, the deck washing, concrete ceilings.
333
00:15:03.913 --> 00:15:06.415
We'll do screen cleaning and calcium removal.
334
00:15:06.435 --> 00:15:07.095
We'll do all that.
335
00:15:07.215 --> 00:15:10.417
I know we offer at least eight to ten different services right now.
336
00:15:10.437 --> 00:15:11.758
I haven't been here too long, so...
337
00:15:12.158 --> 00:15:13.339
I'm just in the middle of learning them all.
338
00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:15.341
I know the churn was a big problem with your team last year.
339
00:15:15.741 --> 00:15:17.983
So let's just assume they say two, three months on average.
340
00:15:18.443 --> 00:15:21.506
That stinks if it takes me two months to train them on all of these services.
341
00:15:21.786 --> 00:15:27.591
I could care less if it takes them two days to figure out how to wash windows, and then I can be profitable on them for two or three months.
342
00:15:27.811 --> 00:15:29.612
the training on it is way more intense.
343
00:15:29.652 --> 00:15:29.872
It is.
344
00:15:30.193 --> 00:15:30.613
Yeah.
345
00:15:30.633 --> 00:15:31.714
You already started getting on it.
346
00:15:31.854 --> 00:15:32.094
Yeah.
347
00:15:32.154 --> 00:15:33.535
I've noticed it's much, much harder.
348
00:15:33.615 --> 00:15:38.138
Our systems for window cleaning is like plug the hose in, water starts coming out and then you scrub the window down for this.
349
00:15:38.198 --> 00:15:42.260
It's like different types of chemicals, different amounts of that chemical for different.
350
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.863
The amount of pressure, if it's wood, if it's stucco, it's brick.
351
00:15:46.023 --> 00:15:47.163
The list just goes on.
352
00:15:47.203 --> 00:15:48.664
And then like what happens if you mess up the grout?
353
00:15:48.744 --> 00:15:48.905
Exactly.
354
00:15:48.925 --> 00:15:50.205
What happens if you mess up the seal?
355
00:15:50.225 --> 00:15:52.787
Like there's a lot of more liability.
356
00:15:52.827 --> 00:15:53.327
Yeah, for sure.
357
00:15:53.427 --> 00:15:54.068
Down the road.
358
00:15:54.368 --> 00:15:56.369
Not a bad idea to add the surfaces, because you can increase that.
359
00:15:56.389 --> 00:15:57.149
For right now, scale one.
360
00:15:57.169 --> 00:15:57.769
I just scale one.
361
00:15:57.909 --> 00:16:01.250
You can always add more surfaces and make sense of it, because it will add more revenue.
362
00:16:01.270 --> 00:16:05.312
Like, you will get some pressure washing jobs, you will get some driveway ceiling jobs.
363
00:16:05.652 --> 00:16:08.153
Like, driveway ceiling, we can't do but for six months of the year.
364
00:16:08.193 --> 00:16:10.374
That's just gonna cause more seasonality problems.
365
00:16:10.594 --> 00:16:13.815
But the window cleaning, we have this unique way of getting inside the house.
366
00:16:13.955 --> 00:16:17.680
I think if you've already figured out how to sell 140 contracts recurring, let's just get a thousand.
367
00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:18.681
How many people in your database now?
368
00:16:18.821 --> 00:16:19.362
I think a thousand.
369
00:16:19.462 --> 00:16:20.063
Dude, let's go.
370
00:16:20.223 --> 00:16:22.425
If I was you from a Leeds perspective, Windows is my thing.
371
00:16:22.465 --> 00:16:23.527
I don't even think you need Christmas lights.
372
00:16:23.547 --> 00:16:24.128
I really don't.
373
00:16:24.348 --> 00:16:24.608
Okay.
374
00:16:24.928 --> 00:16:25.990
You can do interior.
375
00:16:26.050 --> 00:16:28.453
It'll slow down a little bit, but it's not like a huge drop off.
376
00:16:28.493 --> 00:16:28.673
Yeah.
377
00:16:28.873 --> 00:16:33.379
And you can schedule like the third and fourth one to kind of like go into the winter a touch.
378
00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:43.464
The problem with that is our two times a year clients and even a lot of our three times a year clients, when it comes around to their winter service, they'll be like, can I just push it to the spring?
379
00:16:43.604 --> 00:16:45.125
Or they'll be like, can I just get it in the fall?
380
00:16:45.465 --> 00:16:57.871
So there's this like December, January, February time where November we're doing exterior, but December, January, February, our only interiors were quarterly, but the interior window cleaning, we were maybe doing like one job a day.
381
00:16:58.472 --> 00:17:03.034
It did really slow down because it was just the quarterly people that were like, okay, I'll get that interior one.
382
00:17:03.394 --> 00:17:09.438
Yeah, what I'm trying to prevent is having to buy Christmas lights, train our guys on Christmas lights, ladders, insurance, like a whole other thing.
383
00:17:09.518 --> 00:17:14.942
My thought is why not when we're selling the like, hey, this is quarterly, we just, it is part of the package.
384
00:17:15.502 --> 00:17:16.363
It's just interior is part of it.
385
00:17:16.383 --> 00:17:17.784
Three exterior, one interior.
386
00:17:17.844 --> 00:17:21.446
It's not like some of our clients like this and it's not even optional.
387
00:17:21.506 --> 00:17:26.549
If I was a customer, it makes total sense that you clean my outside three times and then you also need to make sure the inside looks good.
388
00:17:26.570 --> 00:17:26.970
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
389
00:17:27.370 --> 00:17:29.631
So I would just be like, hey, this is our standard package.
390
00:17:29.671 --> 00:17:36.434
And even if you created three different types of packages, the best being homey, it's like you have house, home, and homey, I don't know.
391
00:17:36.454 --> 00:17:37.234
That's cool.
392
00:17:37.314 --> 00:17:41.716
Just doing something where it's like, hey, your house, or your windows, is one time cleaning.
393
00:17:41.876 --> 00:17:42.916
It's annual cleaning.
394
00:17:43.297 --> 00:17:45.717
And you can even just pitch it like, hey, we only do three different options.
395
00:17:46.038 --> 00:17:51.440
We clean your windows once a year, we clean your windows twice a year, or we clean them four times a year, one of which is the interior.
396
00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:54.441
And then your homey one is like massive discount.
397
00:17:54.821 --> 00:17:57.042
Like you just get everyone into that package.
398
00:17:57.162 --> 00:18:00.123
It's sold as everyone gets an interior cleaning once a year.
399
00:18:00.283 --> 00:18:00.523
Okay.
400
00:18:00.603 --> 00:18:02.323
So you're at three exterior, one interior.
401
00:18:02.403 --> 00:18:04.204
That makes total sense for me as a customer.
402
00:18:04.364 --> 00:18:06.725
And I don't then think that I can move it around on you.
403
00:18:06.805 --> 00:18:10.186
If you have a thousand people and by the time you hit the summer where it lulls, you'll have 1500.
404
00:18:10.346 --> 00:18:17.248
You send a text out to every single person, to every single customer on pressure washing, you'll get 30, 40 jobs and you'll fill up the lull.
405
00:18:17.328 --> 00:18:20.870
During the spring rush, all the different services that you offer are gonna come pouring in.
406
00:18:20.930 --> 00:18:24.153
And I don't wanna serve people on a first come first serve basis.
407
00:18:24.293 --> 00:18:26.154
I wanna focus on the recurring revenue.
408
00:18:26.294 --> 00:18:31.918
So I would encourage Kai to focus on window cleaning only during the spring rush when all the leads are coming in.
409
00:18:32.018 --> 00:18:37.201
And then focus on the one time jobs when he slows down during the summer or maybe during the off season.
410
00:18:37.221 --> 00:18:46.968
I also happen to believe that if you have 1500 people in your database and you hit the slow season, if you started pitching around Thanksgiving and Christmas and interior cleaning, it would actually do decent.
411
00:18:47.028 --> 00:18:50.392
That's what we would do is we would do free dryer vent cleaning with every interior window cleaning.
412
00:18:50.512 --> 00:18:50.993
That's perfect.
413
00:18:51.013 --> 00:18:53.496
When you say, hey, look, coming up for Thanksgiving, you're having your own family around.
414
00:18:53.757 --> 00:18:56.480
You want your dryer vents cleaned and your interior windows cleaned out.
415
00:18:56.540 --> 00:18:58.703
And then you fill up your off season with window cleaning.
416
00:18:58.723 --> 00:19:05.652
In my opinion, Kai can focus 100% of his marketing dollars and his time and energy on getting more customers for window cleaning.
417
00:19:05.692 --> 00:19:14.020
But when it comes to the two months during the summer, when things kind of slow down, and during the off season, I'm okay with him pitching his existing customers those additional other services.
418
00:19:14.120 --> 00:19:17.523
These are cross-sells, things like pressure washing, things like gutter clean-out.
419
00:19:17.724 --> 00:19:21.768
We can do those, but we're not gonna spend money on marketing to those because they don't give us recurring revenue.
420
00:19:21.908 --> 00:19:29.315
We're gonna send an email or a text message to our entire database only when we're slow and upsell them because they already know, like, and trust us.
421
00:19:29.475 --> 00:19:31.256
What's the long-term vision of the business?
422
00:19:31.276 --> 00:19:31.957
What do you want to do with it?
423
00:19:31.977 --> 00:19:33.138
Do you want to scale it and sell it?
424
00:19:33.258 --> 00:19:35.479
Okay, so you want to scale this and sell it off.
425
00:19:35.499 --> 00:19:35.639
Yep.
426
00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:36.200
Okay?
427
00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:38.341
Yeah, I want to scale it to probably 1 to 2 million.
428
00:19:38.361 --> 00:19:39.362
Okay, and then you want to sell it.
429
00:19:39.382 --> 00:19:39.542
Yep.
430
00:19:39.843 --> 00:19:40.183
Okay, cool.
431
00:19:40.203 --> 00:19:43.305
So then that's where it's like window and recurring revenue is the game.
432
00:19:43.545 --> 00:19:43.705
Yeah.
433
00:19:43.725 --> 00:19:49.049
Because you're multiple on pressure washing, like one-time jobs, or even lights.
434
00:19:49.750 --> 00:19:52.832
Maybe you get a 1 to 2x multiple on profit.
435
00:19:52.852 --> 00:19:52.972
Right.
436
00:19:53.052 --> 00:19:58.236
If you get recurring revenue, the same revenue will be at 3 to 4x multiple when it comes to selling.
437
00:19:58.416 --> 00:19:58.717
Okay.
438
00:19:59.017 --> 00:20:02.900
Because if you go to a buyer and say, hey, I have 1,000 window cleaning contracts.
439
00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:08.704
And if you buy my business, you have a guaranteed the next year $850,000 in contract value.
440
00:20:09.125 --> 00:20:10.086
That is valuable.
441
00:20:10.286 --> 00:20:11.046
It's an annuity.
442
00:20:11.086 --> 00:20:12.928
So it's like guaranteed money coming back to me.
443
00:20:13.368 --> 00:20:19.250
If you say, hey, I did $2 million last year and it was an all-in-one-time project, there's no guarantee that tomorrow they will get any revenue.
444
00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:24.212
You can build a $1 to $2 million window cleaning business, and if you can do it all with recurring revenue, you will sell that business.
445
00:20:24.312 --> 00:20:30.515
If you do a $1.5, $2 million business that has eight services and half of it's one-time projects, no one wants to buy the business.
446
00:20:31.435 --> 00:20:32.336
I just say lean in.
447
00:20:32.356 --> 00:20:39.039
If the goal is to sell this thing in five years, you're not passionate about cleaning windows, you know, in the next 20 years, build a recurring business model that someone wants to buy.
448
00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:44.021
Because a $1.5 million business that has eight services requires the owner has to be here.
449
00:20:44.201 --> 00:20:46.002
They have to be managing, training, crews.
450
00:20:46.282 --> 00:20:52.385
A business that has $1.52 million of recurring window revenue, someone in New York can buy it, put a GM in place, and be like, go.
451
00:20:52.485 --> 00:20:53.466
It's just that.
452
00:20:54.066 --> 00:20:55.187
My thought process was like...
453
00:20:55.927 --> 00:21:00.109
In Utah, there's a lot of good window cleaning companies that kind of all do the same thing.
454
00:21:00.849 --> 00:21:04.951
And the way of like standing out, I guess, would be like being that one-stop shop.
455
00:21:05.872 --> 00:21:13.435
Do you think if there's like a lot of good companies that I can grow in that to like a one to $2 million company by doing basically the same thing that they're all doing?
456
00:21:13.636 --> 00:21:16.197
Offering another service doesn't make you any different than anyone else.
457
00:21:16.217 --> 00:21:16.397
Okay.
458
00:21:16.657 --> 00:21:22.460
What makes you different is the delivery, the fact that you have a site that is well-performed, you have 100 Google reviews.
459
00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:25.042
Like when you answer the phone, you give them a price on the phone.
460
00:21:25.182 --> 00:21:26.182
Half of them don't do that.
461
00:21:26.523 --> 00:21:28.284
Like that's the differentiation.
462
00:21:28.304 --> 00:21:33.747
So when you're selling a commodity like mowing grass and cleaning windows, the doing of the service is not your differentiator.
463
00:21:34.607 --> 00:21:38.169
The delivery of the service of the commodity is what differentiates you.
464
00:21:38.209 --> 00:21:40.971
Not like I just add more services, therefore I'm different.
465
00:21:41.987 --> 00:21:43.748
No one cares when they come to buy the business.
466
00:21:43.808 --> 00:21:54.276
And if you're trying to optimize this to sell it, the only thing I think about is recurring revenue, simple services, and make this like where a $80,000 per year GM can run the whole thing.
467
00:21:54.336 --> 00:21:58.459
If you can't do that, if it requires an entrepreneur to step in, no one wants to buy the business.
468
00:21:58.659 --> 00:22:03.462
And if you can sell it to someone who's not an entrepreneur and just has money, they're like, oh, I just want a 20% return on my money.
469
00:22:03.702 --> 00:22:08.266
Yes, I will pay $800,000 for this if I can get $100,000 back in cash flow every year.
470
00:22:08.526 --> 00:22:09.867
That buyer exists.
471
00:22:10.007 --> 00:22:10.207
Yeah.
472
00:22:10.307 --> 00:22:13.608
but it's not gonna be the person that will come here every single day and work six days a week.
473
00:22:13.948 --> 00:22:14.188
Right.
474
00:22:14.448 --> 00:22:18.449
Ditching pressure washing is gonna be so hard just because I just spent eight grand on a trailer.
475
00:22:18.469 --> 00:22:25.151
It's gonna boggles my mind that someone would buy a whole bunch of equipment for services that made up less than a hundred percent of their revenue.
476
00:22:25.331 --> 00:22:28.072
It is like the classic, do more and better before you do new.
477
00:22:28.272 --> 00:22:37.499
I'm not gonna throw it away completely, but I'll keep on marketing to my recurring client-based pressure washing, but as far as the website goes and my marketing goes, going hard into window cleaning makes a lot of sense.
478
00:22:37.739 --> 00:22:41.462
In the five, six jobs that we've had, I've almost made the money back on the trailer already.
479
00:22:41.642 --> 00:22:42.963
Eight grand for a pressure washing.
480
00:22:43.043 --> 00:22:43.663
Great, fantastic.
481
00:22:44.184 --> 00:22:47.426
Let's just assume we spent $8,000 in marketing.
482
00:22:47.626 --> 00:22:55.852
Assuming that he's correct when he says $10 per lead and 30% close ratio, that would mean 8,000 divided by 30 is?
483
00:22:57.648 --> 00:22:58.869
240 customers.
484
00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:00.330
What would be better for his business?
485
00:23:00.350 --> 00:23:05.695
A, have an $8,000 trailer, or B, 240 recurring paying customers in his window service.
486
00:23:06.455 --> 00:23:10.279
Happen to believe we'd be able to afford another trailer if we just had the 240 customers.
487
00:23:10.659 --> 00:23:12.801
So we literally got the cart before the horse.
488
00:23:12.881 --> 00:23:15.703
In this case, we got the trailer before the window customer.
489
00:23:15.963 --> 00:23:19.266
So from Ali's perspective, we are going window focus.
490
00:23:19.767 --> 00:23:20.828
Yeah, window focus contracts.
491
00:23:20.848 --> 00:23:21.008
Okay.
492
00:23:21.613 --> 00:23:29.377
I would honestly, from a leads perspective, even put like wrap, van, and then even the truck that's coming in.
493
00:23:29.577 --> 00:23:31.498
The truck that's coming in, are you thinking like $25,000?
494
00:23:31.658 --> 00:23:33.759
Like what's the budget on that?
495
00:23:33.879 --> 00:23:37.221
I was thinking of buying just like a used one for like 15.
496
00:23:37.481 --> 00:23:40.222
Yeah, once you wrap the truck, which I would prioritize that.
497
00:23:40.322 --> 00:23:43.364
The only numbers I really can see of Kai's business is bank statements.
498
00:23:43.464 --> 00:23:48.427
And when I look at those, I can actually see he's spending thousands of dollars on Facebook, Google, and Nextdoor ads.
499
00:23:48.607 --> 00:23:49.448
And those are fantastic.
500
00:23:49.468 --> 00:23:50.548
They're bringing in leads.
501
00:23:50.808 --> 00:23:54.551
However, I don't get any more leads if I stop spending money on those platforms.
502
00:23:54.571 --> 00:23:58.713
Whereas if I wrap my trucks, every time I'm driving around town, more leads are coming in.
503
00:23:58.933 --> 00:24:09.800
My goal is to get Kai off this constant drip of more Facebook ads, more Google ads, more Nextdoor ads, and instead have his trucks wrapped in a great looking website that brings in leads organically.
504
00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:16.288
If you wrap that van, it's sitting in the driveway and every single customer that you're currently having to do door hangers on, they're seeing the truck.
505
00:24:16.408 --> 00:24:17.269
Like they're seeing it.
506
00:24:17.690 --> 00:24:19.592
They are absolutely knowing what's going on.
507
00:24:19.612 --> 00:24:20.673
You get the ladders.
508
00:24:21.214 --> 00:24:22.215
It should stick all those sore thumbs.
509
00:24:22.255 --> 00:24:23.917
So the wrap on that, what's that cost?
510
00:24:23.937 --> 00:24:25.219
Like $30,000, $4,000, you think?
511
00:24:25.239 --> 00:24:25.579
$3,000, yeah.
512
00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:30.042
I think that getting his truck and van wrapped is gonna be a huge win for the business.
513
00:24:30.082 --> 00:24:35.085
Many times when it comes to wrapping your trucks, it can be hard to justify the expense and the extra budget.
514
00:24:35.185 --> 00:24:43.470
However, we find that many times the activator for when someone has seen you on Facebook, or they saw a door hanger, or you knocked on their door, or saw a Facebook ad, they actually call you.
515
00:24:43.570 --> 00:24:46.491
And when they call you, they say, we've been seeing your trucks.
516
00:24:46.792 --> 00:24:49.213
It's the thing that activates them to actually take action.
517
00:24:49.233 --> 00:24:51.416
We're focusing on the windows, we're wrapping the van, the truck.
518
00:24:51.676 --> 00:24:52.397
Okay, labor.
519
00:24:52.578 --> 00:24:55.222
And the next step of the 4L framework is labor.
520
00:24:55.522 --> 00:24:57.425
And right now, he can't keep his employees.
521
00:24:57.765 --> 00:25:00.769
He gets plenty of people applying, however, they're not sticking around.
522
00:25:00.850 --> 00:25:03.213
From a compensation perspective, what are they getting right now?
523
00:25:03.253 --> 00:25:04.395
Like, is it flat?
524
00:25:04.455 --> 00:25:05.356
Do they get a percentage?
525
00:25:05.436 --> 00:25:06.177
What's the breakout?
526
00:25:06.197 --> 00:25:10.421
So it's partial hourly and then also partial commission on the revenue that they cleaned that day.
527
00:25:11.001 --> 00:25:16.546
Comes out to about $25 to $35 an hour with other bonuses that we give.
528
00:25:16.646 --> 00:25:20.330
We give bonuses for Google reviews or we give commission for upsells at the door.
529
00:25:20.690 --> 00:25:23.111
We try to upsell, we try to do our things for sure.
530
00:25:23.152 --> 00:25:32.957
So like if they already ordered a service, but we see like, oh, maybe their driveway looks kind of messed up, has oil stains or rust stains, we'll try and offer up the services that we already have.
531
00:25:32.997 --> 00:25:37.480
So trying to make it better, you know, we can't promise perfection, but we can't promise better, you know.
532
00:25:37.540 --> 00:25:39.161
So that's what we try to do for sure.
533
00:25:39.381 --> 00:25:41.623
So someone brand new coming in, what's the base pay?
534
00:25:41.663 --> 00:25:43.005
Like what's the hourly up to them?
535
00:25:43.085 --> 00:25:43.545
It's not hourly.
536
00:25:43.605 --> 00:25:46.668
So it's $10 an hour plus 15% commission.
537
00:25:46.829 --> 00:25:48.450
They're not W-2 employees right now.
538
00:25:48.530 --> 00:25:49.091
No, $10.99.
539
00:25:49.391 --> 00:25:51.994
Based on what I know, they are supposed to be W-2s.
540
00:25:52.294 --> 00:25:57.559
I feel like doing the 1099 is also a reason why it's hard to keep people because like they have no security whatsoever.
541
00:25:57.720 --> 00:26:00.763
Now you might be wondering, well, should I have a 1099 or should I have a W-2?
542
00:26:01.203 --> 00:26:02.884
Here's the really easy answer.
543
00:26:02.944 --> 00:26:06.967
You're a W2 employee if you have a uniform and you're required to show up at a certain time.
544
00:26:07.087 --> 00:26:12.871
If you're requiring people to be a certain place at a certain time and they're wearing your uniform, they're probably a W2 employee.
545
00:26:13.011 --> 00:26:22.578
On the other hand, if someone's allowed to clock in and out whenever they want, if they're able to wear their own uniform and they're much more autonomous with their own truck and own equipment, they're probably a 1099 or a subcontractor.
546
00:26:22.638 --> 00:26:24.239
We know we got to switch eventually to W2.
547
00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:24.719
Yeah.
548
00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:35.928
I know that's a hard pill to swallow, I know it's a pain in the butt, I just don't want you in four years when you wanna sell the business for this to be the thing that they come back to like, oh yeah, you need to convert over and pay all the payroll taxes, otherwise we won't buy the business because it's too much of a liability for us.
549
00:26:36.088 --> 00:26:37.729
It's just too risky.
550
00:26:37.829 --> 00:26:42.293
I also think by having W2, it's not gonna increase your pay too much because you already are above base pay.
551
00:26:42.453 --> 00:26:44.574
The thing is what they're going to compare is the base pay.
552
00:26:45.115 --> 00:26:46.976
They're not gonna understand the 15% commissions.
553
00:26:47.156 --> 00:26:50.038
Someone right now, like working at McDonald's, is making what, 18 bucks an hour here, 17?
554
00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.004
I would be trying to get my base pay to almost that level.
555
00:26:55.184 --> 00:27:03.693
You would have way better time of attracting talent because the only people right now that would apply is people who have done Windows and know the whole commission structure.
556
00:27:04.234 --> 00:27:09.099
And they can compare you apples to apples with someone else that's offering 8% commission and you're offering 12%.
557
00:27:09.800 --> 00:27:19.887
But if you're able to say, hey, look, I'm going to offer $17 an hour, you're a W2 employee, and now you're going to get 7% commission or whatever that number shakes out to be, that looks really interesting to an employee and an applicant.
558
00:27:19.907 --> 00:27:21.448
I think your applicant flow will increase.
559
00:27:21.669 --> 00:27:21.889
Okay.
560
00:27:22.229 --> 00:27:25.011
Has the trouble been the applicant side, though, or just keeping them?
561
00:27:25.151 --> 00:27:25.852
Just keeping them.
562
00:27:25.972 --> 00:27:29.274
On my Indeed, I'm saying, like, you're making between $25 and $35 an hour.
563
00:27:29.674 --> 00:27:30.595
So, like, people love that.
564
00:27:30.955 --> 00:27:33.497
And then on the interview, I explain the commission process.
565
00:27:33.737 --> 00:27:34.658
Some of them don't get it.
566
00:27:34.958 --> 00:27:35.759
Most of them do.
567
00:27:35.899 --> 00:27:38.641
And the people that do get it, they're super interested in that because they're like...
568
00:27:39.261 --> 00:27:40.921
Yeah, I've been working an hourly job all my life.
569
00:27:41.081 --> 00:27:42.162
They want to get paid what they're worth.
570
00:27:42.382 --> 00:27:46.843
Honestly, like, the guys who do understand it and do like that, those are the guys that I want to bring on because they're going to be the hard workers.
571
00:27:47.243 --> 00:27:50.444
I was in the food industry, and they would pay me just straight, like, hourly.
572
00:27:50.864 --> 00:27:55.645
And I hated that because I would work harder than a lot of people, but I'd be getting paid the exact same, if not less.
573
00:27:55.805 --> 00:28:01.786
I kind of wanted to motivate people to work hard, and I think that the best way for that is, like, bonuses and then also commission.
574
00:28:02.166 --> 00:28:08.428
Once I see that, like, you know, they're knocking out, they're working super hard, they're cleaning a bunch of homes, then I'll give them another home, and then they get the commission on that,
575
00:28:09.768 --> 00:28:12.930
up to $35 an hour, which is kind of unheard of in window cleaning.
576
00:28:13.330 --> 00:28:20.072
I'm mostly thinking about the WT thing because the reason you had that churn is ultimately people start to think about, I'm making 10 bucks an hour.
577
00:28:20.312 --> 00:28:20.573
Okay.
578
00:28:21.093 --> 00:28:25.995
And if they ever see that, even one paycheck where that dives down, immediately they start like, all right, I'm looking for a job.
579
00:28:26.015 --> 00:28:26.935
I gotta look for something, yeah.
580
00:28:27.075 --> 00:28:28.296
I gotta look for something more dependable.
581
00:28:28.316 --> 00:28:28.496
True.
582
00:28:28.676 --> 00:28:32.717
Right, so I would consider, okay, I'm not even gonna put like raise the wage.
583
00:28:32.818 --> 00:28:34.258
I'm gonna say like, talk to the guys.
584
00:28:34.938 --> 00:28:35.959
So like talk to the current team.
585
00:28:35.979 --> 00:28:37.419
Like Max, he's been here for the longest, right?
586
00:28:37.439 --> 00:28:37.579
Yeah.
587
00:28:37.679 --> 00:28:38.420
Like five, six months?
588
00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:39.700
Four or five, yeah.
589
00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:41.401
Basically throughout the off season.
590
00:28:41.441 --> 00:28:41.621
Yes.
591
00:28:41.921 --> 00:28:42.201
Got it.
592
00:28:42.381 --> 00:28:44.802
I would probably talk to him, and I would just have an honest conversation.
593
00:28:44.822 --> 00:28:45.863
Like, hey, people are leaving.
594
00:28:45.903 --> 00:28:46.743
Why would you leave here?
595
00:28:46.963 --> 00:28:47.844
And I wanna fix that.
596
00:28:48.424 --> 00:28:50.885
And is that because of the low base pay?
597
00:28:51.145 --> 00:28:53.286
I have a feeling they're gonna say, hey, we love when we make 35.
598
00:28:53.326 --> 00:28:53.546
Right.
599
00:28:53.746 --> 00:28:57.748
But when I make 15, I'm not budgeting for it, honestly.
600
00:28:57.968 --> 00:28:58.128
Yeah.
601
00:28:58.408 --> 00:29:01.609
And I have to go look for something I make in 18 or 20, just to make sure I pay my bills.
602
00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:05.891
I'm gonna guess that's what they're gonna say, but I would probably talk to Max about
603
00:29:07.137 --> 00:29:08.657
base versus commission.
604
00:29:09.878 --> 00:29:11.698
And I would love the commission, don't get me wrong.
605
00:29:11.858 --> 00:29:12.419
I'm a big fan.
606
00:29:12.459 --> 00:29:16.540
But I think by increasing your base, you're not gonna lose anything, but it'll give a little bit more security to them.
607
00:29:16.600 --> 00:29:25.403
If I'm starting to progress in my life, like getting a relationship, kids, et cetera, I need the dependability, I need a W-2, I need something to go get a bank loan.
608
00:29:25.463 --> 00:29:27.063
I need a W-2 income to just go get rent.
609
00:29:27.443 --> 00:29:27.623
Yeah.
610
00:29:27.783 --> 00:29:33.125
Like your guys cannot go and get rent, like get a good landlord, because they don't have a pay stub.
611
00:29:33.265 --> 00:29:37.606
If they're 1099, like they're working with you, how they get around it is they're living with other people.
612
00:29:38.307 --> 00:29:41.108
And so someone else has a lease, and then they're like, hey, I'll give you 500 bucks a month.
613
00:29:41.628 --> 00:29:45.149
But as soon as they need to move out, as a landlord, I will never take 1099.
614
00:29:45.389 --> 00:29:48.250
Someone can't work for you if you're paying them under the table.
615
00:29:48.610 --> 00:29:54.012
And also, get into a lease, get a car payment, do a lot of things that they need to do as their life
616
00:29:54.612 --> 00:29:55.693
Like, continues.
617
00:29:56.173 --> 00:30:00.557
And so if you want short-term employees, treat them with short-term behavior like trying to cut out payroll taxes.
618
00:30:00.777 --> 00:30:03.379
So yes, in the short term, you will make more money if you pay 1099.
619
00:30:03.959 --> 00:30:04.500
They will too.
620
00:30:04.780 --> 00:30:07.122
But in the long term, they won't be able to work for you.
621
00:30:07.482 --> 00:30:12.066
And you will eventually have someone knocking on your door asking for their payroll taxes for the past five years.
622
00:30:12.506 --> 00:30:13.807
So like, think more long-term.
623
00:30:13.927 --> 00:30:15.588
Hard to do when you're 18, 19 though, I get it.
624
00:30:15.809 --> 00:30:19.572
That's the kind of thing that like, it's hard to sometimes pin down because like, I'm going to get another job.
625
00:30:19.592 --> 00:30:20.773
And they're like, why?
626
00:30:20.793 --> 00:30:22.454
You're making like same if not less.
627
00:30:22.794 --> 00:30:23.815
And it's because of stuff like that.
628
00:30:23.955 --> 00:30:25.217
Yeah, because they can't move out.
629
00:30:25.297 --> 00:30:27.420
It just becomes a, why are people leaving?
630
00:30:27.520 --> 00:30:28.241
And we need to know why.
631
00:30:28.261 --> 00:30:29.683
Have you been firing people or have they just been leaving?
632
00:30:29.703 --> 00:30:29.964
Both.
633
00:30:30.024 --> 00:30:30.705
Some people leave.
634
00:30:30.845 --> 00:30:33.629
I have had to fire some guys just because we're in a good fit.
635
00:30:33.789 --> 00:30:37.235
And then for the people that left that were good workers, do you know why they left?
636
00:30:37.295 --> 00:30:38.536
Do they give any inclination?
637
00:30:39.217 --> 00:30:42.360
to some of them, a lot of them were just like, I got another job, I don't know what it was.
638
00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:44.402
It's been really hard for me to keep people.
639
00:30:44.562 --> 00:30:49.947
As we grow, we're gonna need to grow our team, and if they're leaving and coming at the same rate, like that's, we're not gonna grow, right?
640
00:30:50.088 --> 00:30:54.392
And so that's definitely been a struggle that we're working with, is just kinda keeping guys on for a while.
641
00:30:54.412 --> 00:30:55.853
You can do base and just lower the commission.
642
00:30:55.933 --> 00:30:57.254
Increase the base to say 17 or 18.
643
00:30:57.995 --> 00:31:00.296
And then lower the commission, so they're making around the same amount.
644
00:31:00.376 --> 00:31:00.876
Exactly.
645
00:31:01.076 --> 00:31:02.316
And then just go over with the guys.
646
00:31:02.356 --> 00:31:07.938
Like, hey, guys, I want to increase your base so there's no fear of you ever making less than $17 to $18 an hour.
647
00:31:07.978 --> 00:31:08.178
Yeah.
648
00:31:08.298 --> 00:31:08.538
Great.
649
00:31:09.178 --> 00:31:10.538
By doing that, we're going to bring the commission down.
650
00:31:10.598 --> 00:31:11.339
What do you think is fair?
651
00:31:11.499 --> 00:31:16.320
When it comes to P4P, or pay for performance, where the harder someone works, the more money they make.
652
00:31:16.520 --> 00:31:19.802
I'm a big fan and I'm super happy that he's already doing commissions.
653
00:31:19.922 --> 00:31:23.904
However, P4P needs to have a balance of two things for the employee.
654
00:31:23.924 --> 00:31:29.647
They need to have the security of base pay and they need to have the upside of being able to work, hustle, and make more money.
655
00:31:29.707 --> 00:31:34.910
Right now, it seems like, according to what Kai is saying, people are making good money, $30 an hour.
656
00:31:35.070 --> 00:31:41.033
However, the downside risk to them not getting work this week or potentially having a job that goes bad is too high.
657
00:31:41.173 --> 00:31:47.815
So by increasing that base pay, we're increasing the security of the employee and thereby allowing them to stay with the business longer.
658
00:31:47.995 --> 00:31:52.356
And then by switching to W2, it just solidifies the validity of the business too.
659
00:31:52.596 --> 00:31:59.357
And when I'm getting a pay stub, I have to see how much is going out for my wages, how much is going out for payroll tax, how much for the year is all there.
660
00:31:59.437 --> 00:32:01.558
Versus just like, hey, here's Venmo, here's a cashier check.
661
00:32:01.798 --> 00:32:01.998
Yeah.
662
00:32:02.318 --> 00:32:03.418
Different feeling as an employee.
663
00:32:03.658 --> 00:32:15.507
Although it might save money for the employee in the short run, although it might save the business money in the short run by saving on payroll taxes, in the long run, the business will eventually get fined, they will be caught, and it will not be worth it.
664
00:32:15.627 --> 00:32:23.253
Also in the long run, the employee will need W2 income to be able to get a loan, to be able to go out and get a lease at an apartment, to be able to car payment.
665
00:32:23.453 --> 00:32:25.875
These are things that are required to be able to prove income.
666
00:32:25.915 --> 00:32:28.417
And if they don't have that, eventually they've gotta move on.
667
00:32:28.617 --> 00:32:31.980
So talk with Crew slash Max about,
668
00:32:33.508 --> 00:32:36.330
W2 slash base.
669
00:32:37.531 --> 00:32:40.093
Now, the last step of the 4L framework is leadership.
670
00:32:40.193 --> 00:32:45.436
And right now, Kai is thinking that because he is younger, he's having a hard time holding on to people.
671
00:32:45.637 --> 00:32:47.818
And this is affecting the way he shows up as a leader.
672
00:32:47.878 --> 00:33:02.288
When reality, if we can change certain aspects of the business, like giving people W2 income, legitimatizing the business by having QuickBooks and a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet, he'll get a lot more confidence as a leader to be able to attract great talent and keep them in the long term.
673
00:33:02.428 --> 00:33:08.951
From a leadership perspective, what is something that you're kind of working on right now just to be able to manage the crew better, the team, etc.
674
00:33:08.971 --> 00:33:10.972
I know you're working on like the SOPs and the stand.
675
00:33:10.992 --> 00:33:11.172
Yeah.
676
00:33:11.192 --> 00:33:11.692
That's really good.
677
00:33:11.872 --> 00:33:16.134
Being with them more because in the past, like there would be some days where I had to take calls in the morning.
678
00:33:16.154 --> 00:33:17.114
Like I wouldn't meet him in the morning.
679
00:33:17.134 --> 00:33:18.315
Like I would put that over it.
680
00:33:18.675 --> 00:33:21.956
But like every day I'm meeting him here in the morning, like we're having a quick little team meeting.
681
00:33:21.976 --> 00:33:23.877
Like we chop it up, we get all the stuff.
682
00:33:23.897 --> 00:33:26.358
And then a couple of times throughout the week, I'll meet him at the jobs.
683
00:33:26.458 --> 00:33:28.299
Just that way they're seeing my face, I guess, a bit more.
684
00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:30.379
And I think that's helped out a lot.
685
00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.920
It's also helped me, like, see some things that we're doing wrong.
686
00:33:32.940 --> 00:33:37.821
Since I'm so young, like, I feel like I need to do more to kind of prove, I guess, that I can be a leader.
687
00:33:37.901 --> 00:33:43.923
And so that's a really big thing, like, showing up in the mornings, meeting the guys out at the job, and I guess just doing what I have to do.
688
00:33:44.243 --> 00:33:55.009
After I've got these crews set up and efficient, whether it's splitting up and doing one-man crews or whatever, the next thing that I'm gonna need to move into is getting office staff, getting someone to take the calls and do the scheduling.
689
00:33:55.169 --> 00:33:57.710
The phones have just been ringing so much, I don't have time to do anything else.
690
00:33:57.770 --> 00:33:57.990
Right.
691
00:33:58.190 --> 00:34:00.932
Of your estimates, how many are in-person versus just over the phone?
692
00:34:01.072 --> 00:34:03.274
I'd like to do it in person if I can, but I still have the time.
693
00:34:03.434 --> 00:34:03.674
Got it.
694
00:34:03.694 --> 00:34:04.755
So I do them all over the phone.
695
00:34:05.155 --> 00:34:14.462
So what if the goal was we get the second truck, assuming we're having these leads still coming in and we're pumping these out, could you essentially get to five, six hundred thousand, be full time doing sales and admin?
696
00:34:14.522 --> 00:34:17.404
Like throughout the day doing the phone, throughout the day going and visiting customers?
697
00:34:17.864 --> 00:34:19.185
Could that be the goal this year, you think?
698
00:34:19.286 --> 00:34:19.966
Without office?
699
00:34:20.246 --> 00:34:21.927
I'm trying to avoid that as long as possible.
700
00:34:21.968 --> 00:34:22.548
Five hundred...
701
00:34:22.628 --> 00:34:27.853
I think the biggest thing right now is I need to see what it looks like when the guys are working in one man crews and how efficient we can get that.
702
00:34:28.373 --> 00:34:32.778
Because if they can do that, then I think I could.
703
00:34:33.058 --> 00:34:40.605
But if it gets to the point where they're not really that efficient and I need to bring someone else on, then scheduling gets harder and I might need to bring someone on.
704
00:34:40.725 --> 00:34:45.370
See, this is what I'd be looking at, for example, like last year, what percentage of revenue went to wages?
705
00:34:45.630 --> 00:34:48.213
That'd be like a number, if you have a P&L, you can look at really easily.
706
00:34:48.934 --> 00:34:54.179
Because that would really help with knowing what can we actually pay in commissions?
707
00:34:54.439 --> 00:34:57.863
Because if someone's not working fast in a commission-based job, there's not money motivated.
708
00:34:57.923 --> 00:35:03.531
In a commission-based job like this one, and for us P4P, I just want them to want to make a lot of money.
709
00:35:03.671 --> 00:35:06.274
The benchmark of a good team member is they want to make lots of money.
710
00:35:06.294 --> 00:35:08.698
Because if they want to make lots of money, they will figure out how to work faster.
711
00:35:08.738 --> 00:35:11.361
They'll figure out how to be more efficient, they'll figure out how to train themselves, et cetera.
712
00:35:11.722 --> 00:35:14.526
The thing is, by cutting out the services, all this other stuff,
713
00:35:14.926 --> 00:35:19.428
Your training meetings stop becoming about how to seal a driveway and more a matter of like, how do you upsell?
714
00:35:19.849 --> 00:35:21.329
How do you sell to other customers walking by?
715
00:35:21.790 --> 00:35:23.290
I.e., how do you make more money?
716
00:35:23.410 --> 00:35:25.372
Them learning how to do sealing doesn't make them any more money.
717
00:35:26.112 --> 00:35:29.013
Them learning to do other services doesn't make them any more money.
718
00:35:29.093 --> 00:35:31.355
The daily training becomes like, how to do an upsell.
719
00:35:31.575 --> 00:35:35.697
You start handing out cash bonuses for the upsells or the one-off things.
720
00:35:35.717 --> 00:35:39.439
So there's a certain amount of money you can give away in cash per year and it's okay.
721
00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:41.400
You claim on the taxes and I just pay the taxes.
722
00:35:41.620 --> 00:35:44.142
I paid on cash, I do not care about the taxes.
723
00:35:44.242 --> 00:35:50.647
I want daily meetings to be like, you get $50 and you get $100 and you get $25 for a review, for an upsell, for a new customer.
724
00:35:50.928 --> 00:35:53.590
I just want that constant, that's what the meeting is actually for.
725
00:35:53.790 --> 00:35:54.490
Gotcha.
726
00:35:54.531 --> 00:35:59.094
Obviously you gotta go for safety stuff, or you gotta go for new, but if I can reduce my services, I don't have to talk about it a lot.
727
00:35:59.394 --> 00:35:59.755
Right.
728
00:35:59.775 --> 00:36:04.138
We used to do excavation and putting greens and retaining walls and dump trucks and tree chippers.
729
00:36:04.419 --> 00:36:04.919
Forget that.
730
00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:08.542
I don't have to be doing safety meetings without this stinking tree chipper every single year.
731
00:36:08.902 --> 00:36:10.764
I'd rather just train them on how to upsell customers.
732
00:36:11.104 --> 00:36:14.085
Because they make an extra $50 on a $20 MO, they can make $50.
733
00:36:14.365 --> 00:36:14.725
Yeah.
734
00:36:15.425 --> 00:36:24.688
As a leader, Kai can now focus on being able to train his team on sales, how to upsell, how to cross sell, how to get a customer from a one-time job and do a recurring package.
735
00:36:24.828 --> 00:36:26.989
This is now what the team meeting should be all about.
736
00:36:27.229 --> 00:36:34.531
Instead of safety meetings about chemicals because we're doing this service and then ladders because we're doing this service and different types of method of spraying for this service.
737
00:36:34.651 --> 00:36:46.328
hands-on and then like sales, I'm gonna call it sales training, but really this is a function of by focusing on Windows, we spend more of our time with the team on them making more money.
738
00:36:46.529 --> 00:36:49.293
And that's how we get over the whole fact like W2 is gonna cost them more.
739
00:36:49.693 --> 00:36:51.774
There's gonna be a little more coming out of their paycheck.
740
00:36:51.874 --> 00:36:55.015
But then we're gonna train them like every day is like how do you upsell someone in a contract?
741
00:36:55.075 --> 00:36:57.156
How do you get new customers walking by to sign up?
742
00:36:57.536 --> 00:36:59.657
How do you get someone to go from a one-time job into recurring?
743
00:36:59.917 --> 00:37:01.678
How do you sell that before you even get the job started?
744
00:37:01.758 --> 00:37:03.639
Like you just pound that.
745
00:37:04.039 --> 00:37:12.663
By simplifying services, you allow yourself to be able to focus more of your time, energy, and attention on making your team into salespeople instead of just technicians.
746
00:37:12.803 --> 00:37:18.005
These are the type of skills that you can afford to pay people more and they'll make more on pay for performance.
747
00:37:18.165 --> 00:37:20.748
The thing I put in the six week plan is first in last out.
748
00:37:20.848 --> 00:37:25.653
My objective for you would be like, if we get to 500,000 without having an office staff, you'll be profitable.
749
00:37:25.873 --> 00:37:29.537
If you, as soon as you're in office, I started to get very concerned about you spending time training them.
750
00:37:29.557 --> 00:37:31.118
You're going to have to turn there too.
751
00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:35.303
You have to train them on finance on the phone and doing pricing over the phone and all the things that you're currently doing.
752
00:37:35.323 --> 00:37:35.483
Yeah.
753
00:37:35.603 --> 00:37:38.565
If we can push that off one more year, I think we can really grow.
754
00:37:38.685 --> 00:37:45.688
But to do that, what we do is like, you're the first one here every morning, you get them out, and then you're the last one out every day.
755
00:37:46.088 --> 00:37:58.034
But that gap in between is you out doing sales appointments, it's answering the phone, you literally spend $1,000 on decking out whatever your sales vehicle is with like a laptop, a situation, like everything.
756
00:37:58.074 --> 00:38:00.255
You know, headset, you do the whole nine days.
757
00:38:00.616 --> 00:38:04.898
But like, your goal is I'm out doing sales or I'm on the phone doing admin and doing sales on the phone.
758
00:38:05.398 --> 00:38:07.939
I don't think this is the time that he needs an office or an admin staff.
759
00:38:07.999 --> 00:38:15.483
At $250,000, $300,000 in annual revenue, having an admin person full-time as overhead is going to sink the business from a profitability perspective.
760
00:38:15.563 --> 00:38:22.506
He's got to figure out a way to be efficient, be in the truck doing sales throughout the day, but be at the shop with the crew at the morning and in the evening.
761
00:38:22.786 --> 00:38:24.887
And everything in between is admin and sales.
762
00:38:24.987 --> 00:38:26.207
Five things we want to do in the next six weeks.
763
00:38:26.267 --> 00:38:27.828
Number one, we want 20 grand in the bank.
764
00:38:28.048 --> 00:38:29.409
That was like help with peace of mind.
765
00:38:29.589 --> 00:38:32.090
You can live on very little and you can put it all back in.
766
00:38:32.290 --> 00:38:37.192
But now going forward, on our contracts, we should just assume always there's one service inside.
767
00:38:37.212 --> 00:38:38.673
It's not an optional thing.
768
00:38:38.693 --> 00:38:40.474
It's in the winter this happens.
769
00:38:40.494 --> 00:38:41.114
This is our service.
770
00:38:41.194 --> 00:38:42.434
I like that a lot, actually.
771
00:38:42.474 --> 00:38:44.175
Second truck, that's the goal in the next six weeks.
772
00:38:44.315 --> 00:38:48.597
The only way that really happens is if we continue to scale the Facebook side of things and get tons of leads.
773
00:38:48.657 --> 00:38:51.598
So the next six weeks are going to be a grind because you're going to be in that in-between zone.
774
00:38:51.959 --> 00:38:54.940
But also, as soon as you've got a truck right now, you'd immediately have some efficiency gains.
775
00:38:55.240 --> 00:38:57.401
I think we just dump onto window washing.
776
00:38:57.501 --> 00:38:59.461
We focus on recurring so you can sell the business.
777
00:38:59.541 --> 00:39:00.962
That will increase the valuation.
778
00:39:01.202 --> 00:39:03.863
I would do my very best to not need an admin this year.
779
00:39:03.883 --> 00:39:07.244
Two trucks, you out doing sales full time.
780
00:39:07.544 --> 00:39:09.865
You're first in here getting the crew going in the morning.
781
00:39:10.305 --> 00:39:11.726
You're the last one at the end of the day.
782
00:39:12.066 --> 00:39:16.607
Sometimes that means, by the way, because the jobs will go longer when you have two trucks and they don't always show up at the same time.
783
00:39:16.747 --> 00:39:19.228
You can even schedule a couple hours in the middle of the day where you do appointments.
784
00:39:19.548 --> 00:39:21.449
So that I can be here at the end of the day for the crew.
785
00:39:21.629 --> 00:39:21.789
Yeah.
786
00:39:21.829 --> 00:39:26.835
Because if they're working four 10s, that means that there are going to be times where you're working six 10s or you're working six 12s.
787
00:39:27.216 --> 00:39:27.416
Yeah.
788
00:39:28.017 --> 00:39:28.397
You're 19.
789
00:39:28.517 --> 00:39:28.898
Let's do it.
790
00:39:28.918 --> 00:39:29.358
Yeah.
791
00:39:29.498 --> 00:39:29.739
Yeah.
792
00:39:29.919 --> 00:39:30.079
Right?
793
00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:32.001
So I would be first in, first out.
794
00:39:32.282 --> 00:39:34.304
You can have your workstation inside your vehicle.
795
00:39:34.504 --> 00:39:38.089
I would also think about spending the money required to make it as efficient as possible.
796
00:39:38.609 --> 00:39:41.312
You can get the whole panel that screws in underneath your seat.
797
00:39:41.572 --> 00:39:44.015
And actually, it's like a sturdy station that pulls out.
798
00:39:44.375 --> 00:39:50.141
I'd put a laptop on, a Chromebook, do a hotspot, do Starlink, do whatever you need to make that thing super efficient.
799
00:39:50.321 --> 00:39:52.143
So you can be here when the crew gets here every day.
800
00:39:52.223 --> 00:39:54.045
The wrap is going to be worth it 100%.
801
00:39:54.466 --> 00:39:58.310
Mostly because when you're sitting at someone's house, all their neighbors see it.
802
00:39:58.750 --> 00:40:00.151
And they're seeing you out on the...
803
00:40:01.693 --> 00:40:02.093
It's what you need.
804
00:40:02.233 --> 00:40:04.435
So I think the three grand, four grand, it's worth it.
805
00:40:04.695 --> 00:40:07.736
You have plenty of capital to be able to like as a backstop.
806
00:40:08.076 --> 00:40:13.199
Like the question is, is it worth tapping into your personal reserve by $15,000 in order to double the business this year?
807
00:40:13.679 --> 00:40:14.040
I think so.
808
00:40:14.300 --> 00:40:14.460
Yeah.
809
00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:16.901
I think we need to professionalize the finances of the business.
810
00:40:16.961 --> 00:40:17.141
Yeah.
811
00:40:17.201 --> 00:40:20.163
QuickBooks probably need to have some of your tax returns at the end of this year.
812
00:40:20.543 --> 00:40:21.244
Do it correctly.
813
00:40:21.444 --> 00:40:21.824
Yeah.
814
00:40:21.844 --> 00:40:22.904
Like do you have an account right now?
815
00:40:22.924 --> 00:40:23.105
I do.
816
00:40:23.125 --> 00:40:23.265
Yeah.
817
00:40:23.325 --> 00:40:23.505
Okay.
818
00:40:23.525 --> 00:40:23.825
Perfect.
819
00:40:23.985 --> 00:40:27.971
I know in the short term it's painful, but it's the same thing with the guys on the field.
820
00:40:28.051 --> 00:40:32.097
They won't like it at the beginning, but from a retention perspective, you'll keep people around longer.
821
00:40:32.238 --> 00:40:37.125
Because when they have life events, they can actually get a credit card, they can actually get a rent, they can actually get a car payment.
822
00:40:37.225 --> 00:40:38.227
And so it's important for them.
823
00:40:39.188 --> 00:40:44.271
I know it's a tough one to, you know, and everyone on social media tells about 1099 stuff.
824
00:40:44.572 --> 00:40:46.593
And then just see where they're at in five years.
825
00:40:46.633 --> 00:40:46.813
Yeah.
826
00:40:47.053 --> 00:40:47.834
And many times they have.
827
00:40:47.894 --> 00:40:48.994
It's more professional, 100%.
828
00:40:49.035 --> 00:40:49.795
It's better for the employee.
829
00:40:49.815 --> 00:40:51.116
It's just like from an employee perspective.
830
00:40:51.276 --> 00:40:53.597
I just know that every two weeks, I get my little email.
831
00:40:53.778 --> 00:40:54.318
I click on there.
832
00:40:54.338 --> 00:40:56.399
I can see all my paycheck, where it's going.
833
00:40:56.479 --> 00:40:56.639
Yeah.
834
00:40:56.740 --> 00:40:59.241
Everything feels just like, oh, this is a legit business.
835
00:40:59.301 --> 00:40:59.461
Yeah.
836
00:40:59.481 --> 00:41:00.782
Not like, oh, you want to get paid today?
837
00:41:00.842 --> 00:41:01.743
Yeah, here's some Venmo.
838
00:41:02.003 --> 00:41:02.303
Right.
839
00:41:02.363 --> 00:41:02.964
Here's a cash app.
840
00:41:02.984 --> 00:41:04.905
Like, it's just not professional.
841
00:41:04.925 --> 00:41:05.145
Yeah, yeah.
842
00:41:05.505 --> 00:41:09.649
And then I have on here, obviously, talking with Max about the W2-based stuff.
843
00:41:10.109 --> 00:41:11.850
I think you're going to crush it no matter what.
844
00:41:11.950 --> 00:41:12.431
I appreciate it.
845
00:41:12.531 --> 00:41:15.433
Mostly because the fact that last year really was your first year to 250.
846
00:41:15.493 --> 00:41:15.673
Yeah.
847
00:41:15.893 --> 00:41:17.935
And I think this year you already have so much momentum.
848
00:41:17.955 --> 00:41:19.536
You have the 100 reviews on Google.
849
00:41:19.556 --> 00:41:20.177
That alone helps you a lot.
850
00:41:20.197 --> 00:41:20.557
Just hit that.
851
00:41:20.577 --> 00:41:21.158
That was really cool.
852
00:41:21.178 --> 00:41:21.578
Super cool.
853
00:41:21.918 --> 00:41:25.961
So I think a few little tweaks on the acquisition side and then the labor side.
854
00:41:26.982 --> 00:41:27.342
You're set up.
855
00:41:27.422 --> 00:41:27.602
Cool.
856
00:41:27.702 --> 00:41:31.223
The key point in all of this is that Kai wants to sell the business in five years.
857
00:41:31.263 --> 00:41:33.443
He got into the industry because of social media.
858
00:41:33.463 --> 00:41:36.424
He's going to grow, learn a ton of skills, and then move on to something else.
859
00:41:36.464 --> 00:41:39.985
And if that's your ambition, then build the business as if you're going to sell it.
860
00:41:40.125 --> 00:41:43.505
Adding more one-time jobs will increase his revenue very quickly.
861
00:41:43.585 --> 00:41:50.427
But if the goal is to sell, we want that revenue to be of a higher standard in quality, which is recurring instead of one-time jobs.
862
00:41:50.707 --> 00:41:51.527
Good job, dude.
863
00:41:51.547 --> 00:41:51.727
19.
864
00:41:51.847 --> 00:41:52.327
Thank you.
865
00:41:52.347 --> 00:41:52.987
I appreciate it.
866
00:41:53.007 --> 00:41:53.207
Let's go.
867
00:41:53.467 --> 00:41:54.908
And don't worry about the age thing.
868
00:41:54.968 --> 00:41:56.508
If you don't worry about it, they won't worry about it.
869
00:41:56.528 --> 00:41:56.628
Yeah.
870
00:41:56.768 --> 00:41:56.802
Thank you.