Your Money is in Their Pockets, Get it OUT!

Why waste your money on phone book adds, van skins, corny tv commercials, or even worse corny radio commercials, or expensive internet marketing firms?

Between Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Myspace (does that even still exist), and Linked In there are almost a Billion people using social media. True, the majority of these people still live with their parents, or in a dorm, or are not old enough to drink (is the creator of Facebook even old enough to drink, i don't know). But in a couple of years they will all have their own houses with sinks that need fixing, grass that needs cutting and roofs that need replacing. A lot will change in their lives.

What won't change is the fact that they live on Social Media sites. That means that if you want to have access to this portion of the market and their money, you need a service that will advertise your company via social media.

It's great to have a nice website, but soon that method of advertising will be old fashioned and out dated. Look at it this way. Our parents used the phone book to find a plumber, we use Google to find a plumber, and the next generation will use social media to find a plumber.

So having a nice website that is not connected to a social media outlet is like having a nice billboard for your business and putting it on a back road.

In order to get your website seen it needs to be in a high traffic area, on a major highway, connected to Social Media.

Our number one objective is to create a social media platform, a business network, that will allow you to showcase your business in the format that is popular with the millions of Facebook and Twitter users. Our network is fully connected to these social media outlets. That means that once you are connected to our network you receive instant advertising and exposure to millions of people. Best of all, ITS FREE! So sign up, log on, upload, participate. Come be a part of something unique and useful!

The ultimate prank, or the ultimate tool?

If you've been in business for yourself for longer than a minute I'm sure you've had it happen to you. That customer who you built that deck for, or drew those blueprints for, or charged up his AC, or delivered those 5 crepe myrtles to. He hasn't paid you yet and now he won't pick up the phone when you call.

He knows your cell number, your office number, and even your home number so if you call from any of these he doesn't pick up. And forget about blocking your number, do that and he certainly isn't picking up. We all know this guy. Now we have a new weapon against him.

Introducing Spoofcard (and services like it). These services allow a person to do the ultimate prank call. They also make for an excellent tool for debt collection and tracking down deadbeat customers.

These services allow you to call someone and have your phone number show up as any number that you chose. That means that if you know a person's home phone number and their cell phone number you can call their cell phone and have your number show up as their home phone number. They are sure to answer that call, don't you think?

Not only that but some of these services allow you to change your voice, record the call, and send text messages from any number that you chose.

I will leave it up to you to investigate the legality of these services and if or how they can be useful to you in your debt collection efforts. Be sure to check state, local, and federal laws to make sure you use services like this in a way that is legal. As always, one of the main objectives of our company is to protect contractors from dead beat clients. So when we come across technology like this we are quick to share it with you!

is BBB a bunch of BBBS?

There has recently been a lot of talk on both local and national news programs about the Better Business Bureau and its inadequacy. As I've watched these news specials I've laughed to myself because they are just touching on a topic that we've been talking about for the past year.

The fact that it makes no sense for homeowners and customers to rely on a service, be it Angie's List or the BBB, that rates contractors and businesses who are paying customers of said service. Anyone with common sense can see that this scenario creates a huge conflict of interest, a situation in which contractors and businesses can essentially BUY a better rating!

In order for a service to be ethical, honest, and useful in regards to rating businesses, it can't also be making money off of those same businesses that it is rating.

We ascribe to the philosophy that it is better for a service like this to find other sources of income, such as advertising. Also, rather than trying to rate a contractor or a business based solely on the info received from customers of said business, we prefer to create a platform by which the business can showcase itself and its work and then allow potential customer to use this info to make their decision. Why? Because the customers that write in to the BBB or services like Angie's List often have their own agenda. They could be a competing business disguising itself as a customer in order to give their competition bad pub. They could also be the business disguised as a customer giving itself a good rating in order to give itself good pub.

Rather than weed through all of this foolishness, why not use a service that allows you the contractor to promote yourself and shape your own image by posting pictures, info, articles, etc. about your business? The harder you work, the better your rating. Oh yeah, and it's free. That's the goal of Watch Dog Contractor Service. So join us. Sign up, participate, post, blog, be a part of something unique and useful.

So much done, So much to do!

It's been almost a year now since my partners and I began working seriously on the development of our website and our company. In that time what have we accomplished?

1. First we came up with a really good idea. A website that would give contractors an edge by letting them know about homeowners and other clients who had a history of not paying.

2. We developed a website and set up a database that would effectively accomplish this goal.

3. We expanded our vision to include a business network where contractors, suppliers, and vendors could communicate with each other and share ideas about everthing industry related.

4. We promoted this idea and website through tradeshows, direct advertising and marketing, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets.

5. We gained over 3000 friends and followers on social media and over 200 members on our own web based network.

6. We learned a lot about the business of networking and social media and formed several lasting and meaningful business relationships and friendships with the hardworking contractors that build this country and this world.

What do we have left to do?

Everything!

We still have to finish the development of our directory which will allow contractors to advertise to homeowners. We still have to increase our on the ground presence here in the South East. Most importantly we have to keep the contractors, vendors, and suppliers interested and excited about our network.

We have a big job ahead of us, but with your help I am sure that we can do it! Thanks for being a part of something unique and useful.

Not working is FREE!

A couple of days ago there was a question posted on the Watch Dog facebook page that asked if a contractor could have "too much" work. In these tough economic times you might think I'm crazy for saying yes, but my answer is YES!!!
But let me clarify. It's not just having too much work, its more about having the wrong kind of work. What I mean is this: When I first went into business for myself doing HVAC I had a plan. My plan was to do mainly installs. I figured that I could do one or two of these a month and after paying my helper still clear 60 thousand a year only doing service calls here and there just for extra money.
What I didn't plan on was the fact that this would be a huge pain in the butt! Even though I can do an install in a day, its usually a long day. Upfront cost to myself for the equipment is much higher. There is much more that can go wrong on an install than a service call. There is also much more that can go wrong after the install is done. The call backs don't pay because the work is under warranty and if you do an install for the wrong person (an annoying over obsessive person) they will call you back constantly just because they can even if there is nothing wrong.
After a year of running my business I realized that it made alot more sense to stick to doing service calls and preventative maintenance. I can do a service call in an average of two hours and make two hundred profit off of it. Any call back I get from a service call usually means more profit because there is something else that has gone wrong. This makes more dollars and more sense also.
If you take jobs for clients who nit pick and change their mind in the middle of the job you are in for a headache and if you don't bid the job right you'll do good to break even. Also, if you get in over your head or take a job that you aren't set up to do you could be in for a big loss.
The moral of the story is that "It's not just important to get work, it's important to get the right kind of work. Because the wrong job can windup costing you money." Not working might not sound profitable, but it doesn't cost you anything either.

No Honor Among Thieves, What About Contractors?

There is a common expression that "there is no honor among thieves". In the recent months I've begun to wonder if this applies to contractors. Here are a couple of scenarios that I have either been a part of or heard about in the past couple of months that have prompted me to write this article.

1. A contractor that I do work for called me the other day and told me that he is calling all of his subcontractors and asking them not to pass out their own business cards when working on a job for him. He said that recently some of his subs had been doing this and some of his customers were starting to bypass him and call the subcontractors directly.

2. The same contractor told me that he was recently subcontracting for another general contractor. While he was off site, his superintendent gave his business card to the customer that the work was being done for. When the general contractor that he was working for on the job found out about this he was livid. Because of this mistake on the part of the superintendent, the contractor may have lost hundred of thousands of dollars of business a year because the other contractor no longer trusts him and may not use him anymore.

3. One of the members of our Watch Dog Network recently contacted us and informed us that she had put in a bid to build a million dollar house for a customer. The customer told her that her bid was too high. The customer then proceeded to go on her company website and facebook page and find out which subcontractors she used. Then the customer contacted these subs and hired them directly to do the job cutting out the contractor completely. Fortunately for her, her subs were loyal enough to let her know what was going on. They even asked her if she minded if they took the job.

Here are a couple of thoughts about this:

1. Congratulations if you have subs, or are a sub, who is honorable enough to do what the above mentioned subs did. Most subs that I know would have taken the job and not said anything about it. However, as a sub it is always better to be loyal to the general contractors that use you on a regular basis. Yes you may be able to sneak in a couple of jobs here and there behind their back. And if you are loyal it may cause you to lose those jobs. But the jobs that you will lose if you ruin a good relationship with a general contractor far outweigh the couple of jobs that you could get away with stealing.

2. As a subcontractor when you go on a job for a general contractor you have to have the mindset that you are on that job working for and representing that general contractor. Some general contractors will ask for you to wear their uniform or t-shirts. Personally, when I am working on a job for a general contractor I avoid having direct contact with the customer. Even when the customer tries to have contact with me or ask me questions or make requests about the project, I direct them to the general contract. This might seem like an unnecessary extra step but it keeps the proper chain of communication and builds trust between myself and that general contractor.

3. As a general contractor it is a good idea to one, use loyal subs who are not just good at what they do but are also good people, two, don't make it public knowledge who you use as subs. Your subs are like a trade secret that gives you an edge over the competition so you should guard them like a trade secret.

Team Part 2

A guy I know that owns a commercial construction company recently told his employees that he was changing their salary structure. He said that now that they would be making more money more would be expected of them. He also said that this would make their jobs "coveted".
Not the best choice of words, in my opinion. When you tell your employees that their jobs are coveted it implies that there is someone waiting in the wings to steal the job. While this may be the case, saying it doesn't exactly help to build employee morale.
But what does help to build morale, yes what does make your employees feel like their job is "coveted". The following list is a continuation of the things mentioned in the last TEAM article.

1. Pay! Ok, this is obvious so I wanted to get it out of the way quickly.

2. Stability. No matter how much money you are able to pay your employees it won't matter if it doesn't last. For example, in the HVAC business you might have your guys working 60 hours a week in June, July, and August. But in order for them to really value their job they have to know that they are going to be able to get at least 40 hrs a week in October and April. This means that you will have to be proactive and step up your advertising and marketing game to find work for them to do in these months. You might be able to live off of your profit from the busy season but come October all of that overtime money that they made in August is spent.

3. Appreciation. A little of this goes a long way. My favorite customers, believe it or not, are not the ones who pay me the most. While the high paying customers are necessary in order for me to stay in business, the best ones are the ones who are appreciative. The same goes for your employees. Yes, all you really OWE them is a pay check. But if you throw a thank you in there every now and then it won't kill you and it won't cost you anything either. As a matter of fact, it may motivate them to work harder which will make you money.

4. Dignity. Allow your employees to have some. No you can't write it off on your taxes but its still a good thing to give away. Give dignity and respect to your employees by allowing them to have some input, even if very limited, in business decisions. If you hire intelligent employees and you allow them to think for themselves and come up with their own unique ideas, they will exceed your expectations. However if you treat them like idiots and never allow them to think for themselves or have input then they will forget how to think for themselves and will act like idiots.

As the kids say "don't get it twisted!" Just because you own the business doesn't mean that you are the smartest one there. Usually the old guy with the leathery hands and the beard that you pay ten dollars an hour can out think and out work you any day. He just has a gambling problem and that's why he has never been financially stable enough to open his own construction business. But if you can put your ego aside and listen to what he has to say he can help your business make a lot of money. I used to work for this guy who owned a construction and land development company. He didn't know very much about construction or land development and he admitted this to all of us one day at a company meeting. However, he was a very good at finding talented smart people who did know a lot about construction and land development. As a result he spent most of the day in his office playing solitaire or on the golf course and he is a millionaire.

Your company is just like a TEAM. You are not the star player, you are the coach. Be good at recruiting talented people, treating them with dignity and respect, and getting the most out of them and you will make a lot of money!