Question for the SFS/VAST guys

[The Preacher]

is it possible to view the video of Coles sub's you showed in Cutshalls VAST class??? i searched Clark Howards site (if it was his atlanta crew) but didn't see it.

I'm a firm believer in a man being able to run his biz anyway he chooses, since he/she put up their own money time to get it going, but i believe we all (SFS, MB, CF, ICS, IIRCR) are around to help the salt of the earth cleaner do a better job serving a customer by not repeating mistakes, using under performing equipment, avoiding piss poor formulated cleaning compounds, and exposing companies who's practises leave a stain on our industry like a porn flick money shot!!! :shock:

 

[Bjorn]

funny how that video cant be found now that cole is a SFS Darling and shill

 

[FB7777]

I heard it became a training video for Steve T's old company so the landlord can get paid on time

 

[Brian R]

I didn't see it.

 

[billyeadon]

funny how that video cant be found now that cole is a SFS Darling and shill

I think it is more funny that Odin who could scrape up dirt on Mother Theresa can't find a video from a TV station. Thanks for giving us credit to change the internet.

Al Gore

 

[rhino1]

Is it true that GC's biz model is being touted by SFS? That's too bad, all the good things I heard about it I was planning on going but not if that's what they consider a good business model.

 

[Doug D]

funny how that video cant be found now that cole is a SFS Darling and shill

sure seems like it on ICS lately!

 

[The Preacher]

i thought it was a pretty straight forward request Bill.

I'll ask Bill and Steve since Chuck doesn't swim at this pool: if you HAD to start a cleaning biz tomorrow because Cole sued Jon Don and won causing JD to go out of biz (this is hypothetical, so play along please) would you be a marketing company (you say chem who & stanley steemer are in yore course) with Coles model or would you run a model like any of yore other highly successful SFS grads who know their CODB and understand "net profit"???

 

[Greg Cole]

http://www.cleancareseminars.com/bait_a ... bishop.htm

Enjoy!

 

[billyeadon]

i thought it was a pretty straight forward request Bill.

I'll ask Bill and Steve since Chuck doesn't swim at this pool: if you HAD to start a cleaning biz tomorrow because Cole sued Jon Don and won causing JD to go out of biz (this is hypothetical, so play along please) would you be a marketing company (you say chem who & stanley steemer are in yore course) with Coles model or would you run a model like any of yore other highly successful SFS grads who know their CODB and understand "net profit"???

Well Danny I thought it was a pretty straight forward answer. I have a complete article on this site that explains what I would do but seeing that you want the Cliff Notes version:

I would not create a model in which I needed a lot of employees. I find that finding, training, and keeping employees is the hardest thing we have to do in our small businesses.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bjorn]

that's not the video

we what to see the other one

 

[rhino1]

i thought it was a pretty straight forward request Bill.

I'll ask Bill and Steve since Chuck doesn't swim at this pool: if you HAD to start a cleaning biz tomorrow because Cole sued Jon Don and won causing JD to go out of biz (this is hypothetical, so play along please) would you be a marketing company (you say chem who & stanley steemer are in yore course) with Coles model or would you run a model like any of yore other highly successful SFS grads who know their CODB and understand "net profit"???

Well Danny I thought it was a pretty straight forward answer. I have a complete article on this site that explains what I would do but seeing that you want the Cliff Notes version:

I would not create a model in which I needed a lot of employees. I find that finding, training, and keeping employees is the hardest thing we have to do in our small businesses.

Hope that helps.

What is the difference if the "employees" are simply classified as subcontractors? Either way, they represent your company's image.

 

[billyeadon]

i thought it was a pretty straight forward request Bill.

I'll ask Bill and Steve since Chuck doesn't swim at this pool: if you HAD to start a cleaning biz tomorrow because Cole sued Jon Don and won causing JD to go out of biz (this is hypothetical, so play along please) would you be a marketing company (you say chem who & stanley steemer are in yore course) with Coles model or would you run a model like any of yore other highly successful SFS grads who know their CODB and understand "net profit"???

Well Danny I thought it was a pretty straight forward answer. I have a complete article on this site that explains what I would do but seeing that you want the Cliff Notes version:

I would not create a model in which I needed a lot of employees. I find that finding, training, and keeping employees is the hardest thing we have to do in our small businesses.

Hope that helps.

What is the difference if the "employees" are simply classified as subcontractors? Either way, they represent your company's image.

Danny,
My model does not include either. If I have to have one or the other then I prefer employees as I have more control. At my advanced age I would not be looking to start a large company with employees. I would rely on my experience with fabrics and deal with decorators and high end furniture stores.

 

[Greg Cole]

that's not the video

we what to see the other one

That's the only one I have ever been in. We came out favorably - but they still painted us with the same paint brush

 

[Burtz]

I wonder what a dirty and spotted carpet is and how much extra for the traffic lane cleaner

 

[Steve Toburen]

i thought it was a pretty straight forward request Bill.

I'll ask Bill and Steve since Chuck doesn't swim at this pool: if you HAD to start a cleaning biz tomorrow because Cole sued Jon Don and won causing JD to go out of biz (this is hypothetical, so play along please) would you be a marketing company (you say chem who & stanley steemer are in yore course) with Coles model or would you run a model like any of yore other highly successful SFS grads who know their CODB and understand "net profit"???

Geez, Danny, I distinctly recall a time not too long ago when you had "a better way to pass a Sunday afternoon with the missus" than picking on poor Billy. Getting old, are you?

But what the heck, Danny. I'll take a swing at your question. Sooooo ... What would I do "tomorrow" if I started back in cleaning? Honest answer? I DON'T KNOW. Why not? Because it would all depend on many factors I had to work with that I can't foresee "today" including:

1. My current and projected health issues.
2. Just how deep down did Cole drill in his nefarious lawsuit? Just how desperate am I on this bleak "tomorrow"? For example, was Cole able to grab my assets and I am now penniless? Or did Cole leave me a decent cushion to "start over"? (Leave me enough to buy a TM with Greg. Please!) Or maybe I was able to dodge the "lawsuit bullet" and while I would miss working with my Jon-Don buddies I could just kick back and live off my rentals and investments and write that book I've been talking about for way too long. (Actually this last scenario doesn't sound too bad!)
3. What is my "exit strategy" going to be? At a "young 57" I assume the time line is not going to be way down the road.
4. Where is my "starting over" business going to be located? In another small population base like where I was before in Durango, CO? Or maybe in a "prestige area" like Aptos, CA?
5. What does my family want? What do I want?

At 57 and with a decent nest egg AND low overhead (Sioux and I are currently debt and mortgage free, at least till Greg wins the lawsuit) IF I felt like working physically I would probably go the high end, very high priced owner-operator "boutique cleaning business" route, work more in the start-up phase and then cut it to two-three days a week and gross 100K+ per year. Why would I do this instead of coming out swinging like Greg's operation does? Simply because I don't have the "business fire in the belly" I used to have and Sioux and I have other priorities in our lives now than ONLY making money/building a big business. (See #5 above.)

IF I needed more income OR couldn't cut the mustard physically (no cracks please) I would start up my DSM commercial marketing http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/755 ... commercial and build a route of commercial accounts mostly using Cimex encapsulation and reliable, highly paid employees who would all work no more than 15 hours or so per week for a lucrative second income.

OR I might ... there are just so many options which brings me to my main point, Danny. As you well KNOW SFS and Jon-Don are neutral in this whole "business model/size" game. For example, I am looking at the class profile from our SFS class last week in Roselle with 50 cleaners attending. There were several brand new to the industry owner-operators including a couple who had never touched a carpet cleaning machine yet and we also had a company that was founded 55 years ago. If my count is right out of the 50 we had 12 single owner-operators. We also had 18 companies with 10 or more employees including one with 144 workers and several with 50 or more. The other companies all wound up somewhere in between. We also had some "coupon cleaners", at least three franchise owners, quite a few mainly janitorial companies and some high end "prestige" carpet cleaners. So what? ALL of these highly motivated individuals were "successful" enough that they could take a week off from work and the historical data says they will become even more successful (some wildly so) after their SFS week with us in Roselle.

Sure, Greg was kind enough to share his business progress with me after putting SFS concepts to work in his company and I put his experience up on our SFS website. http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/sec ... ss-stories HOWEVER, on the same page we also have "success stories" from a broad cross section of other companies, including owner-operators who charge a fortune for their services and have a totally different business model than Greg does.

NOTE: I have been following Greg's Tampa expansion odyssey closely simply because I have been publicly negative on the whole two-city route for most carpet cleaners. But I'm ready to be proved wrong by Mr. Cole and if so- GREAT. This individual freedom to win or lose is what makes the game of capitalism so fascinating.

That is the beauty of this industry, Danny. Everyone gets to choose their own business model and their own definition of success. Our mission at Strategies for Success is to inexpensively share business principles and an industry tailored Business Infrastructure that you can then modify to fit the type of business that you want to run. After we do this in an intensive (some say "brutal") five day program we are going to give you free lifetime no-strings-attached support with absolutely no requirements on buying stuff from Jon-Don. (You are still getting your free TIPS mailings, aren't you?)

I'm not sure how the SFS program got dragged into this dog fight, Danny, but we'd still love to have your smiling face and quick wit livening up a SFS in the near future! Seriously. Maybe we'll invite Mr. Cole and have a real fun time. (I'll make you the referee!)

Respectfully submitted,
Steve "Island Boy" Toburen
http://www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS I'm not sure where this thread is going or even why it was started. There is just no need and/or reason to pick apart what the other guy is doing, especially if he is on the other side of the country from you. The free market system we live under works beautifully at weeding out bad business models and slimy operators. Sure, they crop up again. But Greg Cole has been doing this (if memory serves me) for over 15 years in Atlanta and (while you personally may not care for his marketing and/or business practices) the man is obviously financially successful. So while I haven't put his business under the microscope I don't need to! Why not? Because evidently hundreds of local Atlanta home owners ARE putting Greg Cole's business to the test every week and obviously he is pleasing enough of them that he is still in business and not going broke like Jon-Don is going to be after Greg finishes bankrupting us with his law suit! Now what did I do with that old extractor I kept when I sold my business 18 years ago? Maybe Greg Cole will take on an aging old rug-sucker as a sub-contractor ...

 

[Bjorn]

you have your head shoved so far up coled butt

I'm sure he can rent you a Ninja sell you some pre spray and you can become a contractor

 

[Mikey P]

Yes or No question for Steve.


Do Bait and Switch carpet cleaning companies give our industry a bad reputation?




facts to consider before answering..

Add ons like pre spray/agitation are always up-sold with intense pressure.

If extras are not bought the sub contractor rushes through the job leave dirty soaking wet carpet and an angry homeowner behind.

6 to 8 jobs a day with a portable leads to horrible workmanship. Level loops can not be HWE with out brown out almost every time.

BnS's only work in very large demographics so a new supply of broke dick apartment and trailer dwellers can be had.

The owner of the BnS usually rents the portable and sell the soap to the tech for even more income.

Anything more then 3 days training for a new hire is extremely rare.

Techs are not given a rout but one job at a time. Depending on how well the tech up-sold that job will determine the quality and location of the next job.

 

[ruff]

Steve no answer yes or no questions Masa.

That's an oxymoron.

Steve's word is a paragraph.
His sentences are books.

He is just blessed this way.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Yes or No question for Steve.
Do Bait and Switch carpet cleaning companies give our industry a bad reputation?

Come on, Mike. I know you thrive on drama (don't we all?) but you of all people know what the Strategies for Success program stands for! But I know ya gotta stir the pot or this wouldn't be the Mikeysboard we all know and love. Soooooo ...

Simple answer- YES! Bait and switch carpet cleaning is the scourge of our industry. (I almost said "Bane of our business" but then Yeadon would be mad at me.) B &S is promising the customer one thing- either verbally, in writing or implied and then doing something else and of course high pressuring her along the way. It is wrong and ultimately counter-productive as witness the high business failure rate among companies that practice this stuff.

Now for some reason you guys have decided to make this "beat up Greg Cole" day. Whatever! SFS and I don't have a dog in this fight. Greg has proved he can take care of himself.

We have almost 2,500 SFS members who have gone through our program. (Quite a few are active here as I always recommend all the industry discussion forums as a valuable resource to our attendees. Even this little pub.) Some, like Ken Snow, are "area cleaners". Others are high end one owner operator operations. Some price high- some price low. They all make money or they won't stay in business. That is how this economic system works.

SFS teaches you how to determine your costs (most cleaners don't have a clue) and how to charge to make a profit along with a whole lotta other stuff. In other words, we give you a tool box of over 1,100 pages of systems and procedures along with a whole different way of looking and your customer and your business. What you do with these tools and how you get to your defined level of success is up to you. (As it should be.)

I'm not in the business of making value judgments on other people's companies or personal ethics. Once again, the market place sorts things out very efficiently.

I'm going to take my kids out to dinner. You folks have fun while I'm gone and at the very least don't pick on Yeadon.

Island Boy
http://www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS Here is the straight scoop off of our web site:

9. You mention earlier about “achieving my chosen level of success”. What if I don’t want to “get big”? All I want to do is be an owner-operator and make lots of money. Will SFS help me?

Absolutely. SFS is about doing it right- especially in your face-to-face relationship and procedures with the home owner. A substantial percentage of our SFS members make a conscious decision to stay small. BUT SFS gives them the concepts and tools to make more money in less time. In fact, it could be argued that without employees a carpet cleaner needs SFS principles even more just to maximize their profit potential!

That was FAQ #9. Read the rest of them here: http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/about/faqs

 

[Mikey P]

Thanks for answering Steve.







You're a good egg, despite what Brevik says about you.



and while you're being so honest and forthcoming, how much did Cole threaten to sue Cutshell and Jon Don for for embarrassing his Subs at that VAS class?

 

[The Preacher]

Steve, i don't know how "involved" Greg is in the SEO miniar in Tampa, he might just be an attendee, but he will no doubt be asked to offer his take on how his company is doing it in Tamap and Atlanta. for a guy to publicly state that he wants to drive the price up for PPC ads so that only he and the well financed O/O can afford it, thus driving out the hard working salt of the earth cleaner (SFS grad or not) then limiting his ads when he's priced out others.

It just appears like a low class way of doing biz and it looks like you guys are pimping him just because he attended SFS.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Wow. Now I remember why I can't live in the US full time. If I did I would weigh 300 pounds. I have zero self control when a tasty menu is placed in front of me. Killer nachos to start, then a heaped high Reuben along with onion rings and a bowl of baked potato soup along with a large draft beer. Too full ...

Island Boy
http://www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS

... it looks like you guys are pimping him just because he attended SFS.

Danny, I don't know what you have been smoking but you know Nick Paolella. In your wildest dreams can you see "Papa Nick" pimping for ANYBODY?

Now Yeadon is another matter. Dress Big Bad Billy up in a trench coat and one of those wide brimmed hats, sunglasses and lots of bling and I could see him standing on a seedy street corner promoting Danny with lipstick, a touch of eye shadow and dressed in skin tight Lycra and ... Sorry, the Reuben is threatening to come back up violently. I can't go on.

 

[Bjorn]

your a true don jon prostitute

 

[Mikey P]

 

[Bjorn]

did I say prostitute need to change that to Slut

 

[Steve Toburen]

did I say prostitute need to change that to Slut

Wow. I feel so much better about myself now.

Island Boy
www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS Of course it helps that I am not basing my entire self worth on the absurd, lonely ravings of a washed up old curmudgeon pseudo-carpet cleaner ski-bum/playboy. When I get all teary and weepy from Brevik's constant attacks and denigrations I do my self-affirmations by reading what others have to say about SFS and me- http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/about/testimonials
Then I feel "all better" about myself.

 

[The Preacher]

sum of us have seen you after yore third beer!!! :shock:

 

[Brian R]

I asked Steve in no uncertain terms if he thought I should change the way I run my techs IE: switch from Subs to Employees (no B&S here).
He said he didn't know and I that I should decide by the middle of the Friday class.

He did tell of the horor stories of Subs...but he also told of the horor stories of Employees.
So whattyagonnado?
Either way you are liable for what the Tech does....Control over either? I think close to the same if you handle it right.
Honestly I think the Employee has more control over YOU than you have over him/her.

I had come to the conclusion that a nice mix of both would be ok....more Subs than Employees for various reasons.
The only problem with that is big brother and what does he think...no I don't mean Mikey.
Not sure how they feel about mixing it up and are there red flags involved... and I don't need them breathing down my neck.

Point is, Steve isn't here to tell us HOW to run our companies...just HOW to improve them...which he did...which I did...and you will too if you attend the class and put a plan into action.


Anyone here knows that if I find something that is good for business like Service Monster, Full Circle, etc etc. I push it pretty hard.
If it sucks like a Vortex or Marty...I give it hell.

:mrgreen:

 

[Desk Jockey]

If I did I would weigh 300 pounds.

:shock: and what's wrong with that?


:wink: