Soap Warehouse Blog

It use to be if you where an outside contractor (not at an inside office) you could not live without a pager for the office to reach you. Then that moved to you could not live without a basic cell phone, then a Blackberry and now a iPhone, iPad or similar smart device. And with this increasing technology boom new applications or Apps as they are called are being made and coming out at an alarming rate, almost 1000 or 1 every 90 seconds are submitted to Apple every day. Of that number about 625 are approved and added to Apples list every day. The Google Play Store is just as prolific. With those kind of numbers it is no wonder I am hearing, seeing, and finding new apps every time I look that small business owners like a pressure washing contractor could be using in their daily performance of their jobs.

Many now are kind of old hat like job estimators, square foot calculators, directions and map programs, but here are some other ones I think you should check out.

Flashlight for when you can't find the one that should be in your truck.

Dropbox great for sharing documents, photos and more with anyone that also has the application.

Documents 2 by Savy Soda is an upgrade of a whole office suite and file manager that will work with any Microsoft file. Transferable to PC with USB or Wi-Fi. Includes Dropbox intergration.

Task Pro by AlifSoft Not just a To Do list maker, it allows subsets, easy emailing, searchable and sortable. Allows for multiple lists at one time so you can make a list for every job, work crew, or task you need.

Evernote one of the most used organization apps. This allows you to store notes, photos, to-do lists, even dictate voice reminders and is completely searchable. OneNote is the Android version.

Hours Tracker by Calos Ribas (Free with displayed advertising) Voted Best Time Tracking App for the iPhone. To remove ads you must pay for app.

Device Tracker by iT Guy Technologies $1.99 Use it to list every piece of equipment you have. Can list by rig, add photo, list specs, part numbers, serial numbers, warranty info.

GoPayment from intuit great especially if you use QuickBooks for seamless accounting intergration and comes with a card reader.

Square Register enables you to scan cards with a free reader for a flat 2.75%, deposited in 1-2 business days to your account.

PayPal Here if you just need a lower cost credit card application. Only 2.7% of payment amount per swipe and again no contracts with third party banks or card processing companies.

or PayAnywhere that can handle credit cards with or without a card scanner. With the GeoTax feature on it can calculate sales tax based on GPS location. Also has cash drawer compatibility.

Scanner Pro by Readdle One of many scanning programs currently out there.

Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker can send data to QuickBooks and other programs or to Excel. Free download but it does cost for use with bought credits.

Mint.com Personal Finance makes it easy to track daily expenses in a single place. You can create a budget and the mint.com website can track your bank, credit, loans and more budgets.

BillMinder helps you remember recurring expenses and reminds you when bills you enter are coming due. Has a complete group of reports and graphs for tracking.

Expensify lets you scan receipts with you phone camera and later syncs them up with your credit card transactions. With the GPS on it will track mileage and generate an exportable summary report that can sync with QuickBooks or Google Docs.

Dragon Dictation lets you use that dead driving time to get work done. It learns your speech pattern and allows you to dictate for later review, work, printing or e-mailing.

These are just a few of the many App possiblities out there now to help you while you are mobile and out running your business in the field.

Improve your web site with informational or educational links, pages, blog posts and or white papers available for down load for readers. The more content and the more often you update this content will increase your sites SEO, increase the number of visitors, get loyal readers and over time new customers. 

Here is a list of suggested topics for various types of cleaning contractors: 

Roof washers 

What is that dark stuff on my roof? (This is all most a must have to explain Gloeocapsa Magma algae) 

Wash don't replace your roof. 

How a cleaning a roof increases the life of your roof and your home.

House washers 

How a wash will increase the value and life span of your home.

A mold free home is a healthy home.

Exterior home safety.

Fleet washers 

Spending on maintenance saves money.

Clean vehicles saves fuel costs.

Clean vehicles improves company image.

Window cleaners 

All windows are not the same and what makes them different to clean?

Why double or triple pane windows fail?

How window coverings keep your house cooler? or warmer? (which ever you need in your area)

The list could go on and on but idea is the same. Search the web for info to use and see what your competitors are doing but Please create your own educational pieces and don't just copy, plagiarize, someone else's work from their site. Give readers information and education on your site and in your blogs to keep them coming back and eventually buying your service.

Now I do not use Word Press since our Blog is part of a soft ware platform that is integrated with our CRM, Hubspot and Salesforce. But our business as a B2B, is totally different than yours, as a B2C service business. And Word Press is the #1 blogging platform out there for a very good reason; easy and inexpensive for the individual and small business person. So I am going to show you the steps you need to take to get your business started with blogging. 

1) Open your WordPress account. This is very easy and doesn't have to cost you a thing. Go to  http://www.wordpress.com and click on “Get Started”.  Next fill in an email address, choose a username and password. If you are like us we have a main e-mail we just use when setting up on line accounts which is totally different than the ones we put out to the general public that is linked to our web site. One reason is it would be less likely for hackers to find and try to use this e-mail than the public ones. So you might think about doing this first and use it for all future new accounts for your business. Your username will never be seen or shared with your blog but I still would choose a general one dedicated to the business and not to a person. And choose a password that is not the same as others you use and can be easily changed every 30-90 days with out having to think too much about it. 012014Blog is an idea that you can change the first of each month. So if you know what month it is you know your password.

2) Choose your blog domain address. WordPress will let you know if the one you picked has already been taken and will show you options for similar ones that are available. Make sure the name is relevant to what you want to blog about not just because it is available.

If you choose to go the free blog route your blog address will look like this http://www.yourblogname.wordpress.com. You can also pay WordPress to host your blog then your address would be just be the name of your blogs website: www.yourblogname.com. I won't post pricing here because it can easily change and they have specials at different times with third party affiliates so check what the going rate is now and look around the web for offers.

3) Choose your Blogs Title, the tagline, which is a brief description of your blog, and if possible the goal of what you plan to bring to your readers. This can be very important because you want to catch and hook new readers to want to first read at least one post and hopefully then click to follow all your future postings. And this is where blogging starts making you new and loyal customers.

4) Choose and customize a theme for your blog. Your blog will follow a template depending on what content you will mainly be presenting. There are free ones and ones you can pay for, but all can be changed so if you start with one you can switch later. Also just because you choose a theme that is heavily photos and videos does not mean you can not write some blogs which are mainly text or visa versa. 

5) Now you are ready to start the real work by posting to your blog.

Each post starts with a format tool to choose the content for that post. If you don't know what you want yours to look like use the "Inspire Me" link or do a search in WordPress for other blogs that have a similar theme. Don't try to copy one, just see what you like and what you think your readers will like.

Make sure you fill out the public profile that generates the "About the Author" section that will be listed with each post. Here be sure to list your main web site your business name number and other important info that will draw you prospects.

Each post can be tagged and placed in a category of your choosing and is a great way to keep your posts organized and makes your contents searchable to others looking for the type of things you are sharing. 

6) Your Home Page. This is the place you check your latest blog posts and the blogs you have chosen to follow. Here you also can view stats, how many visitors you have had and see any comments readers have left you about a post. It helps to know when you readers are viewing so you learn the best time to post to be the most engaged with your readers.

7) The Dashboard. This contains a lot of information but once you know what each section is for it is easier to understand. You can choose what you want to see on your dashboard with screen options, to make it more effective for you to see what you want to know in a glance.

• Home: Shows you everything from the home page, blogs, posts, comments and stats. You can use omnisearch to find a page, comment or image.

• Store: If you want to add a store for $99 a year you can create and mange not just a product but a service or package or special. I believe you can even switch items off and on to be seen for imited time and not have to delete and recreate them.

• Posts: This area is where you see all posts viewed by tag or category.

• Media; Where all your images and videos are stored and are linked from to the different posts. A single image can be used in multiple posts.

• Links: This section show all of the links that you blog posts link back to.

• Pages: Lists pages you have created like the About Me or ones you have made for each type of service you provide.

• Comments: Allows you to search, filter or delete comments left. Some times it is better to comment your self to a negative comment rather then delete it entirely.

• Feedback: Is a section where info you have asked from your readers shows up, you can create and view polls, see your blog rating and reader feedback.

• Appearance: This is where you can customize the look of your blog such as colors, fonts, header, background color or image, etc.

• Users: Is where you can add new users that you want to have access to adding and changing your blog, your profile and settings.

• Tools: Is where you can create buttons and share content from the web on to your blog and link to verify your blog with Google, Bing, Pinterest, Twitter etc.

• Settings: The last section where you can ask to me emailed when someone comments, your email preferences and all the options for writing your blog. 

While it will take a little time to first set up a blog in WordPress, once it is running it is super easy to manage and will gain you a lot of free SEO and hopefully new and engaged customers. So think about staring a blog soon.

I just went to the Waste Expo that is being held here this year in Atlanta. And since Soap Warehouse in just the past few years has been moving in to this industry to sell cleaning products I decided to go and check it out.

This is three day event with the first day starting with a normal Key note followed by different class offerings and panels. Day two and three also have break out meetings but most of the attention shifts to the Exhibit Hall. 

I walked the entire floor, some isles more than once, passing every one of the over 540 exhibitors. There was every thing to do with the Waste Industry, from safety gear for the workers to every type of waste container you could imagine big and small, trash cans of all styles and type, many lockable to keep out everything from rats to raccoons and bears. Trash receptacles for events that are reusable to disposable. Larger commercial containers, some in the same old steel varieties to many made of newer lighter space age plastics that even them selves can be recycled. 

Just like at the trucks shows we go to there where the large booths of motorized equipment from small vacuum litter collectors to massive Caterpillar landfill movers. Compactors and Shredding machines for everything from paper to cars. Not to mention all the different sizes and types of waste, aka garbage trucks, that are currently being made. There were top loaders, side loader, home trashcan pick up and dump machines of all sorts, mini trucks to collect in small areas like tight motor home parks. Not to mention all the machines made to move containers, like roll loaders, hook and hoist trucks.

Going Green and recycling was a big part of this show with one entire area, 12 exhibitors, devoted to new types of recycling, Organics and Composting, from home size units to turning entire landfills into one gigantic compost methane gas/energy producing farm. The rest of the recycling was through out the show with things like separators, sorters, and trucks that could pick up and separately store different types for transportation, thus eliminating multiple runs with multiple vehicles to cover the same route.

Another large number of booths at this show was soft ware, programs to manage fleet routes, maintenance and entire waste management systems in Quickbooks style called WasteBooks and a major industry player Soft-pak.

And although the cleaning industry was not left out it was not a large segment either. The companies that were in attendance where less than 10 in number; Hotsy, Aaladin, Power Kleen, Hydro Chem, InterClean, Neptune Wash, Concrete Washout, Aaqua Tools and Fleetwash. 

The swag at this show was also cool, over a dozen different types of garbage truck, cans and equipment stress squeezers, mini trash cans metal and plastic, the usual candy, pens and drink coozies, new smash lights (flattened led flash lights), items for your smart phone from phone stands, screen wipe pads to my favorite a Smart Wallet (a rubber stretchable pouch that attaches to the back of your phone to store 1-2 cards like an ID and Credit card). Even big items like ear buds, safety glasses, work gloves, tumblers, plastic trash containers for your car, T-shirts, ball caps, biker dew caps, and stuffed animals. One company RDK Truck Sales even was giving away no less than $200 every half hour (had to be present to win) at their booth for both days. 

All in all this was a jam packed day for me from 10-3 with just 20 minutes for a quick lunch but I can say it was educational and interesting to see what the Waste Industry has to show. Now I can only work and see if the 7-8 company contacts I made become Soap Warehouse customers.

• Reason #1: People go to home shows to buy. While it is true that many attend just to pass the time but most have a purchasing reason to be there. They’re there because they have a need—perhaps one that your company’s product or service can fill. In a nutshell, home shows might be just the place to generate hot leads that are ready to schedule or buy (from you), that very day.
• Reason #2: People still conduct business offline and in person. They may price shop on line but those that, need to see to be convinced, may be just the type that needs to meet you in person, see your booth, your before and after posters and get to know you. And those that come to home shows are more than 96% from that local area. This puts your services in front of a heavily local audience. Where else can you get in front of hundreds of prospective buyers all in one day?
• Reason #3: People attend home shows to see new products. In fact, this has been the number one reason to attend a show for over twenty-five years. Has your company recently introduced a new product or service you’d like to feature. Or, perhaps you have just added new equipment or machinery that prospective customers need to know you have, shows you are Waste Water compliant, etc. Trade shows can be just the place to show off your latest improvement.
• Reason #4: Home shows yield a positive return on investment (ROI). The average ROI for every dollar spent on a trade show is $4.99. And that’s just the average. Imagine the possibilities if you went above and beyond this return. Do a little research, find out what the competition is doing and if they will even be there. Do you have a prospective customer list? A target zip code you would like to sell too? Reach out to them ahead of time. Send them an e-mail or letter asking them to stop by and see you, include a special offer. Invite them to pick up a limited gift in person on exhibit day. Or send an email or letter that attendees can show for an extra chance to win in a prize drawing, entered only at the show.
• Reason #5: This show may be the only one a prospect attends this year. Close to half of all attendees only attend one home show a year. That gives you the potential to reach someone you may not reach even if you exhibit at another show. Once they’re there, make them glad they came. Provide value by having knowledgeable and helpful staff available to answer questions, have before and after photos, a demo video and show customer testimonials. And send these special visitors away with a little something to remember you by. A premade care package, complete with branded hand wipes, pain reliever, bandages and LifeSavers® that can come in handy in their car. Visitors can find out what they need to know about your company while getting items they will use and think of you well into the future. Regular attendees can be given other single give-a-way items like branded magnets, pens, jar openers, note pads, anything that has staying power to be in their home.

I hope that you picked up a reason or two to justify exhibiting at a Home Show this Spring or next Fall. Home shows can provide such a great way to reach people ready, willing and able to buy your product or service.

This is my take on this years Mid-America Truck Show. This will be my fifth year either exhibiting or attending this truck show. As in the years past this was a huge show, vendor, space and attendee wise. This year I was lucky to be invited to help with the UAMCC booth  that was there to promote their membership and try to match up fleet washer contractors with fleet owners that could use their services. Soap Warehouse along with Jerry McMillen of SiroccoVacuums helped Nichole Anglin man the booth during the three day event. 

I think this years MATS had much better class offerings than in the past to start things off on Wednesday and all the normal big players in trucking were there. I actually got a chance to walk around the North and South Wing this time more than in some past years but I really did not see any great new ideas or offerings. The special guests at displays where also fewer to me. There was Edgar Hansen from the Deadliest Catch, Erik Thompson the "The Yankee Hunter", NASCAR's Clint Bowyer, Country singers Tony Justice, Craig Morgan and Sara Evans at different vendors over the three days. Another crowd pleaser was the Chrome & Elegance models and of course the Hooters girls. Not even listed and one I found out after we left is a favorite person of mine, Alex Debogorski from Ice Road Truckers who came in just on Saturday to the Bridgestone/Firestone booth and to hand out a plaque at the 2014 Paul K. Young Truck Awards and was never even listed anywhere I saw. 

Soft side trailer covers where being sold by many more dealers this year, due to this being the third year since their arrival to the market, yet the question I posed to all of the ones I found could still not give me a good answer to the question, "What are the pH requirements for the soaps used to clean your fabric covers?" Most where just sales or pitch men that had no idea other than the basic, "Just use a mild dish soap like Dawn or Ivory." Which of course for all you Fleet washers out there that is not much help because none of you are going to get a dirty truck clean with dish soap! And most of you have set contracts and ways to clean for the price contracted, such as two stepping, which should not be used with these covers. Low acids and high alkaline soaps cause fading and embrittlement of the fabric that will cause them to fail and rip. And no fleet owner wants to hear from their contractor, "Sorry but to clean your new trailers it will now cost you twice as much." Because you are in fact having to wash the same truck twice, once to safely clean the fabric side trailer covers and then a stronger soap to really clean the road film and stack staining from the tractor and lower portion of the trailer. Here at Soap Warehouse we are now working with the manufacture we located that produces the fabric for these trailers and hopefully will soon be able to market a cleaner that will work on both the soft side covers and the rest of the rig as well. 

Next I saw more duplication of smaller vendors this year than in years past, like three aluminum welding systems, multiple aluminum wheel cleaning systems, three C-Pac vendors. Which is good for the truckers and being able to compare and price shop but it made for a more seen it all before feel to many of the isles in the West Wing and Food Pavilion. I was happy to see one contractor in the Food Pavilion, who also happens to be a Soap Warehouse customer, that paid the high booth cost to attend the show and that was Power Washer Plus out ofBloomington,IN.I hope more contractors and professional organizations besides the UAMCC starts to exhibit at these large shows to give the drive through truck washes like, Blue Beacon, Flying J and Pilot more competition and options for the managers and owners of trucking fleets. 

Nothing really new with the swag give-a-ways this year. Nothing stood out to me; tons of pens, rulers, candy and bags of all shapes, styles and sizes but not any great must have items. Mobil Delvac didn't even have their iconic black cowboy hat that has been a crowd pleaser the last few years. I guess they finally went through their 1,000,000 count supply they bought three years ago. Their free concert was a hit as usual and they had given out their entire supply of tickets well before mid day on Friday for that nights concert with Gretchen Wilson. 

One new feature this year was MATS move into mobile social media with Cummins backing the official MATS app for both android and Apple. But it was very late to be made available to the public and I did not find it that useful even after down loading it. I tried a few times to get info with it but found it still much easier and faster just to grab a buyers guide or the MATS Daily Guide. 

This was the 25th anniversary of the PKY Truck Beauty Contest but I felt it was also a little subdued this year. There were fewer outrageously painted tractors and trailers. They said the entry number was up for this event but very few trucks where shown inside this year, due to more paying inside vendors taking up the room, and with the rain that moved in on Saturday there were not as many visitors out looking at the winners as in years past. I felt the traffic in the West Wing was also down due to the fact of fewer people were walking through there to get to the Beauty Contest area. 

At the UAMCC convention in Houston Univar came as an exhibitor and brought attention to a product many large pressure washing contractors might never have thought of or known was even available. 

Univar has a program called the Mini Bulk Service containment system. This is where they will deliver right to your location a specialized tank, sizes start at 200 gallons, that they will then fill with bulk liquid chemical that you purchase from them. 

Think of it the same as when a propane gas company puts in a large tank and then comes and fills it up once or twice a season. These tanks are set up for Sodium Hypochlorite and Sodium Hydroxide, the smaller one holds 200 gallons the larger one 600.

Univar offers a wide selection of chemicals delivered via Mini-Bulk, Sodium Hypochlorite being one that most exterior cleaning contractors would be using. For the complete product list, contact a Univar representative.

Now pricing will vary depending on your location and you must take into consideration a few things when making a cost analysis between buying chemical and getting it your self vs. bulk delivery.

1. Do you have the room and proper security for a bulk tank?

2. Do you use the chemical up fast enough to need at least 200 gallons or more at a time?

3. How much does it cost you in time and gas to get the same volume of chemical to your location any other way?

4. What is the cost with each delivery and price per gallon with the Mini Bulk Service? Buying in volume can save money.

5. Will you have to take time away from other work to get a delivery?

There are positives above monetary for using a bulk system:

Eliminates multiple smaller containers, i.e. 55 gallon drums stored at your location freeing up space.

Reduces the size needed for a tank on your rig since you can refill daily at your location.

Drums that need to be moved around can be a danger due to their weight and higher possibility of accidental spills. Bulk tanks reduce the potential for uncontained spills with some larger tanks even having their own spill container base.

Protects your employees by minimizing their exposure to hazardous materials.

Stops the need to clean/rinse and return emptied drums to get back a deposit or lower the cost for refill if that is what you are having to do now. That takes employee time and again can be a safety issue.

Reduces the number of times you have to stop and go get or take delivery of chemicals.

So if your business uses a lot of Sodium Hypochlorite you might want to call your local Univar location to check in to their Mini Bulk Services to see if it could save you time and money.

I know many of you already have thought about or may be doing other jobs during the cold weather months, but I thought I would make a list of job ideas just incase some guys are just sitting around wishing they could get out and wash a house or roof in this below average cold most of us are having this Winter.

The first type of work is to just shift from outside to inside. For example Hood Cleaning, other commercial kitchen cleaning while skiping the hoods themselves, inside warehouse cleaning of floors and walls, even commercial painting to keep busy. Here is one example of a company that seems to do it all to keep working all year round, Americlean.

The next type does take you outside but to work fighting what the weather is bringing, such as ice dam removal, snow plowing private or commercail parking lots (the cities do not take care of them). Here is company Roof to Deck that has added it to their work line up. And here is a company that went so far as to add separate company names and complete web sites for each part of their business. They are The LandscapesGuys for Landscape and Pressure Washing for most of the year and then the IceDamGuys during the winter months.

Those of you that already have cherry pickers or sissor lifts you can use them to replace light bulbs inside commmercial buildings, in signs and for parkling lot fixtures. Here is a very large company that is doing it Extra Clean Inc.

You might even find that one of these type of work jobs is what you might really like to focus on moving forward just like this company here in Atlanta, Atlanta Warehouse Cleaning, who years ago started just as a commercial pressure washing company that turned into a work specific company that now only does warehouse cleaning that was most recently purchased by a carpet cleaning company.

So think outside that box, think what skills and equipment you already have that can be used in another way for different jobs and good luck.

This was a long tail phrase someone put to the Bing search engine on 2/6/14 at 12:46 p.m. that was directed to our site.

And it was a very good question, and one we get a lot, so I thought I would do a blog post to answer it.

The answer unfortunately is not just a Yes or No one. The fact is NO soap is approved for storm water run off including Brown Derby. That said there are many was to make cleaning with Brown Derby or almost any cleaner EPA approved for sewer drain discharge to be handled by a waste water facility.

First it does not matter how "Green" or completely safe a cleaner is, once it has been used to wash a surface, all the dirt, debris, oils and contaminants that are released from that surface are now in the waste water and must be addressed to meet EPA standards or the standards of that particular municipality which can be stricter than the EPA's.

I can say that Brown Derby, as well as almost all of our cleaners, is phosphate free, is classified under the US CLEAN WATER ACT as a non toxic pollutant, is a non hazardous substance (section 302) once diluted and used as directed, is also not classified under the CLEAR AIR ACT as a hazardous air pollutant, and is biodegradable.

That said, this does not mean you can just wash with it and flush the waste water into the sewer. You need to know what your local regulations are. You may be fine to wash straight on to the ground, if on grass or gravel and if the run off can not immediately be washed into a watershed or waterway. But you might be required reclaim all the waste water, to filter your water through an oil filter, through a sediment filter to meet a micron per gallon limit, or to meet a certain pH range, these are just some of the many other requirements that may need to meet, for federal, state and local regulations prior to discharge.

I hope the person that did this search and any others that come here later following the lead of this long tail will contact us 1-800-762-7911, so that we can evaluate the needs of each contractor and customer situation to find them the best cleaning solution to their particular job.

Now for many this is the start of your slow time or winter break and you may think you have nothing much to do but sit around and wait for the temps to get warm again next Spring. Well you are sorely mistaken if you want to improve and even build your business throughout the Winter months. Here are some steps to make sure your New Year is a good year.

1. Do your budget for the New Year. See what you spent this past year. What was more than you expected? Less? Can you make changes next year that will gain you ROI? Stop doing things that are losing you money. If you can't stop them totally, then change them so they won't be the money pit to your budget they are now. As I mentioned in a previous post, now is the time to shop around for phone service, insurance, equipment for next year. Be sure to include a 5% increase from what you spent this year on every line item in your budget. This way even if the cost of a few things don't go up during the course of the year the ones that do can have funds moved from others without undo stress of looking for that money. It may not be perfect but it will help. 

2. Work on your collateral marketing materials, purchase new clients give-a-way items, update, improve or start a customer referral program. Did the items you handed out last year get you new customers? What worked and what didn't? Don't beat a dead horse and by another 1000 imprinted rulers if you did not earn back their cost. Try something new instead. Got an item like your business card magnets that got to a 600% return on their cost? Double your order for this year and hand out even more!! Good tried and true items for this are: Business card magnets, Note pads, Pens, Clips magnetic or other wise for papers or bags, calendars, and other useful household items like rubber disk lid openers.

 3. Up date your web site. Up load newer B&A photos from this years jobs you haven't had the time to get done. Potential customers may visit your site 3-5 times before deciding to call or fill out your on line form for an estimate. Seeing that you are working, adding new photos and gaining more testimonials may sway that person to go ahead and try you instead of someone else. Adding a blog and keeping content current gets you better SEO. If you do not have a testimonial page or area on your site yet, ADD ONE. nothing convinces a potential customer more than reading statements from satisfied customers. Add video to your site. Action segments do not have to be long and having a professionally produced video will look even better. We use a company called iMotionvideo.com. You can either buy single videos one at a time or like us join their video membership club and have a new video produced each month.

4. Update your customer contact list, e-mails and phone numbers. Check to see if any past customers did not use you this year and try to contact them to find out why. You can send out an email survey to all those contacts to see if they moved, didn't think they needed service this year, went with someone else due to price. Send out a E-mail message saying you missed them last year and hope they are doing well. Be sure to send all new customers a Thank You message, Newsletter or New Years savings offer to try and pre book as much work as possible now for Spring. Remember give added value offers not percentage off offers for best results. For example: Book your Spring house cleaning before Feb 1, 2013 and get a free gutter cleaning, or window washing or mail box cleaning. What ever you think is incentive enough for your customers to schedule now instead of waiting until Spring. Make sure you evaluate what worked or did not work last year and possibly increase your enticement. Update or improve on your customer referral package. Send out cards or e-mails offering free services, gift cards, etc for new contact information of friends and family. When these new contacts buy be sure to full fill your referral promises quickly to promote additional referrals coming in.

5. Plan now to network by attending local and National industry events in the coming year. If you go ahead and schedule them into your yearly calendar you can know how much business you will need to book before and after them to still make your monthly budget numbers. Many events local and National are heald in these first few months of the year to get the largest attendance possible. Also explore improving or expanding your business with new offerings by learning or becoming certified with new skills. Check out the industry organization web sites, forums, and on line industry magazines to find these opportunities. If you stop learning you stop growing as a person and a business.

I hope all of you get some much needed family time off this Winter season but also be sure to follow these suggestions and you will have plenty of business to keep you busy all this year.