most of us here in so cal. only do residential, (2 story) and some low rise commercial (3 story). And that is done with a water fed pole so we’re not even using ladders. 2 feet on the ground the whole time. Let me know what my payroll needs to be to get 11%. You do that for one of us and the rest will follow. And please post it up here for the benefit of all to see. This could be a win win situation.
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Amen brother, You took the words right out of my mouth.
I realized this about a year ago, and have been looking at getting into a different industry ever since…
Just havent found the right one yet…
Its not that were quitters, complainers, or not working hard enough, its that the numbers just dont make sense here in cali. Why work so hard and long on a business that has no profit potential…
I had an employee who used to work for these guys, he said they had 6 crews out from 6am to 5pm daily Dutch Touch Window Cleaning
I like the guy in the pool with the wpole, lol
they are out of yucaipa, I have seen them on the 15fwy in my area here and there over the years
seems like they have a lot of trucks on their website for just 6 crews
They may have grown, he said they even have their own tools etc. I know that area is pretty good cause its almost year round no rain. I personally think a window cleaning company can of course be grown but more as a service company vs window cleaning only. I have found some advertising angles other than the internet that work and have a sweet spot with two employees.
Workers comp is garbage and needs reform for sure, we are over 18% and the average is like 3.7 percent if all industries are considered. I think lower wage is considered higher risk as well from what I heard. My friend has a drain cleaning and plumbing company and actually saved money by giving his employee a $5.00 per hour raise! In order to keep a good employee, you have to overpay. Nobody can survive on 40k here in San Diego let alone 20K.
I spoke to my agent at Allstate who wont cover me by the way! but told me that by law you don’t need workman’s comp if you have less than 3 employees as a sol-proprietor. That’s here in Nor cal, is she wrong?
Also what about using a W-9 for your employees as independent contractors/freelancer? If there is no law in Ca. that makes us obtain workers comp as Sol-proprietor’s why get it. I have worked for a few company’s that made me get a W-9 and didn’t have a problem with it! Was also told that Liability Insurance itself has a way to right in coverage for your workers, Don’t know how but that what they said.
As you can tell I’m in the proses of getting Insurance and asking these questions. Any feed back would be appreciated!
Bruce, I’m sure you can fix this mathematical dilemma!
the math part is easy
its that pesky marketing angle to bolster price elasticity to the point of reaching the math result . . .
What???
Many posts on this thread make window cleaning with employees seem unprofitable in Cali. Thing is, it seems many Cali window companies charge more than other states for their services. Like you are saying, I think there is something to be said about price marks making up for w comp %. Pricing, labor efficiency, smart wages, leanest possible business expenses, repeat customers, etc, can make up for it.
yes
and I think if someone feels they cant afford work comp (the ongoing %, not talking about down payments etc) it could be a symptom of pricing that needs an overhaul (or operations efficiency evaluation, or job type, or . . . . )
Our workers comp is with State Fund at 25.22%, which I think is actually pretty good. I think the big problem for most companies is incorrect pricing structure. We are not out to get the most amount of jobs, we are out to get the best jobs. To be honest we are the most expensive window cleaning company in the area as far as residential goes. But even with workers comp and providing an IRA with 3% match, we still run at a 35-40% profit margin. Metrics attainment is also a requirement for employees. If they can’t keep up the pace, keep the rate of return down and keep the satisfaction up, we let them go. But we’re dialed in.
I think the biggest thing that really helps us is that we focus on a lot of commercial, all types. That is where we average $100-$120 per hour. The commercial is what allows us to do what we do. I personally think that we would not be growing if we were residential focused. There are a lot of variables to residential cleaning that you typically don’t face on commercial jobs. When I am out cold calling, I am looking for 2-3 story commercial jobs that look like they can be cleaned in a stream lined process with WFP and very limited to no ladder work. I also pass on buildings that have not been properly maintained because it takes too long to deal with hard water removal and really getting the glass to a maintainable standard. I mean, the building got that bad for a reason and I have no reason to believe that property is going to be repeat business just because we showed up.
The other thing that everyone should think about doing is getting the business some investment accounts. We have one for workers comp and one as a winter fund. We don’t put that money in savings, rather we put it in mutual funds or some other safe investment tool with low risk and a decent rate of return. You don’t have to put a lot of money in there because you only touch it if you need it.
Just some ideas on what we do.
Good post Mark.
The bolded sentence everyone should always remember when looking at store fronts and 2-3 story commercial locations.
If the glass is in bad condition(not maintained) there is a reason for that.
