Soap Warehouse Blog

I wrote this blog post four years ago but I thought I should bring it out again with a little up dating as well.

Here are ways to look back at the end of the year and set up to do in the new year to focus on the positive and hopefully change any negatives to make your next year even more merry and bright.

1. During the year, monthly, or even weekly if you have time, record your progress for that time period. At the end of the year, you’ll be able to look back and see how much you really have accomplished. If you did not do that this year it is not too late to get out the appointment book or job accounting records, take a look at your email account and take a trip down memory lane. Keep lists of the following:

• all the new contacts you’ve made in person;
• all the one-on-one email, Facebook or similar B2B contacts you’ve made;
• any networking events, lunches, meetings you’ve attended and the benefit you got from them;
• press releases you published or any free publicity you’ve received;
• any classes you’ve taken to further your business, and how they improved your business plan;
• any recognition, award or nomination you’ve received;
• new clients you’ve gotten this year and how much they financially impacted your bottom line;
• volunteer projects you’ve taken on;
• how many referrals did your referral program bring you;
• potential clients who’ve shown an interest in you that you can revisit this next year;
• creation or improvements of your web site, social media, business cards and other marketing materials.

2. Join a Business Success Team. These weekly group meetings with other small business owners are great for sharing ideas and the agenda often requires participants to report what they’ve done the past week and set a new goal for the following week. This is great incentive to do what you said you would. Not all “B&I” groups are the same so find one that fits your marketing style and has members you think you can learn from.

3. Ask clients for feedback on the work you’ve done for them. Get verbal testimonials over the phone, in writing is best and if possible shoot B&A video of jobs with the customer’s reaction after work in finished. Photo B&A will work too.

4. Keep an e-mail folder where you keep testimonials and any positive feedback you’ve received for something you’ve done. Add these monthly to your web site, Pinterest board, or as footnotes to your e-mails.

5. Call up a friend, networking buddy or another entrepreneur and go for coffee. Getting out of the office and sharing similar concerns with a like-minded person is a great morale booster and problem solving activity. Knowing you are not the only one in the same boat or that has faced the same difficulty leaves you feeling better and hopefully with a solution or possitive outlook.

6. Finally make your self a list of how you can use these positive things to promote and make your business better in the next year.

Happy Holiday and Happy New Year to you all.

If you’ve been feeling somewhat discouraged about business this year and feel that you were not moving in the right direction, now is a great time of the year to take stock and review your accomplishments.

Operating your own business can be like a wild roller coaster ride. There are the highs of a really good day and the lowest of lows of the really bad ones, or when a great job prospect falls through. Often when you’re feeling down on yourself and your business it’s really not warranted. Here are some tips to make yourself feel better:

1. During the year, monthly, or even weekly if you have time, record your progress for that time period. At the end of the year, you’ll be able to look back and see how much you really have accomplished. If you did not do that this year it is not too late to get the appointment book or job accounting records, take a look at your email account and take a trip down memory lane. Make your self a list of the following:

• all the contacts you’ve made in person;
• all the one-on-one email, Facebook or similar contacts you’ve made;
• any networking events, lunches, meetings you’ve attended and the benefit you got from them;
• press releases you published or any free publicity you’ve received;
• any classes you’ve taken to further your business and how they improved your business plan;
• any recognition, award or nomination you’ve received;
• new clients you’ve signed on and how much they financially impacted your bottom line;
• volunteer projects you’ve taken on;
• potential clients who’ve shown an interest in you that you can revisit this next year;
• creation or improvements of your web site, business cards and other marketing materials.

2. Join a business Success Team. These weekly group meetings with other small business owners are great for sharing ideas and the agenda often requires participants to report what they’ve done the past week and set a new goal for the following week. This is great incentive to do what you said you would. Not all “B&I” groups are the same so find one that fits your marketing style and has members you think you can learn from.

3. Ask clients for feedback on the work you’ve done for them. Get verbal testimonials over the phone, in writing is better and if possible shoot B&A video of jobs with the customer’s reaction after work in finished. Photo B&A will work too.

4. Keep an e-mail folder where you keep testimonials and any positive feedback you’ve received for something you’ve done. Go back and read it when you’ve feeling down.

5. Call up a friend, networking buddy or another entrepreneur and go for coffee. Getting out of the office and sharing similar concerns with a like-minded person is a great morale booster. Knowing you are not the only one in the same boat leaves you feeling better.

6. Finally make your self a list of how you can use these positive things to promote and make your business better in the next year.

Happy Holiday and Happy New Year to you all.

The PWNA, Power Washers of North America just announced their new ‘PWNA Certified Contractor Program’. This beneficial program will elevate the pressure washing industry by the increased level of professionalism these certifications will achieve. The following certifications will be available to be earned:

Concrete Cleaning aka Flat work
Fleet Washing
House Washing
Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning
Roof Cleaning
Water Reclamation
and
Wood Restoration

Probably the most important one for any pressure washer no mater the type of work being done will be the certification for ‘Water Reclamation’. If you already do water reclamation in your business you should check into joining the PWNA ‘Water Reclaimer’ program by going to http://www.thepwna.org/water_reclaimer.php.

Local and State governments are moving toward mandating, by special license or certification, these types of businesses to help enforce the ‘Clean Water Act’ and increased federal and public pressure to do so. Being a part of the PWNA will keep you up to date with these new regulations, give you a voice with the PWNA as they assist these agencies in structuring these rules and regulations, and give you a leg up with the general public as they look to find companies that are certified and who follow BMP, ‘Best Management Practices’ in this industry. For information on current recommended regulations and BMPs visit http://www.thepwna.org/regs/index.php. If you are in the business of pressure washing and are not yet a member of the PWNA I strongly urge you to join. To join the PWNA go to http://www.thepwna.org/ or call them.

The PWNA plans to make these certification classes available to its members throughout the year at various ‘Round Table’ meetings, at several member locations across the country and at the PWNA annual convention. The next convention will be in October, 2011 held in Nashville, TN.

The Round Table locations already announced for 2011 include:

Atlanta, Georgia
New Orleans, Louisiana
Easton, Pennsylvania
Lexington, Kentucky
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Orlando, Florida
Ft. Worth, Texas
Phoenix, Arizona
and
Los Angeles, California

Exact dates and event details will be listed on the PWNA site, http://www.thepwna.org/ as they become available so please check back often for updates.

On the PWNA site the general public can also find a listing of current contractors that are members and who follow the BMP’s as well as a list of suppliers for contractors to find equipment and chemicals best suited for their type of work. Soap Warehouse is a proud member of the PWNA,

has been a sponsor of local ‘Round Tables’, and is planning on exhibiting at the Nashville, 2011 PWNA convention. To view the Soap Warehouse complete catalog of pressure washing chemicals visit http://www.soapwarehouse.biz.