2021_PWN_V3_No1_WEB

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AULD LANG SYNE if you can’t put two employees in a truck and it requires two trucks to get to a work site that there are financial consequences of that that have to be passed along to the customer. #3. Resolution to innovate, not bellyache - and stop trying to sue other innovators! Why is Chick-fil-A having its best year ever in business during Covid- 19? It’s arguably because they hire clean-cut kids with good manners who say “it’s my pleasure to serve you” and who don’t have tattoos and blue hair and piercings and all that kind of stuff. It’s because as a corporation, it has a plan. It sends those selected kids to college. You can’t even get the opportunity to own a Chick-fil-A franchise now unless you’ve been vetted and selected through the Chick-fil-A organizational structure. Chick-Fil-A has been so successful because it looked at problems as puzzles to solve before anyone else did. Who did a double drive-thru before anyone else did? Chick-Fil-A. Who did a quadruple drive through? Yep. When it was too hot for employees to stand outside taking orders, who put thousand square-foot awnings out? Um hmm. The company never just says ‘I give up.” Instead, it finds solutions, put itself out there, and makes it happen. Stop bellyaching about Covid-19 and politics and new regulations and how hard it is to find good workers, etc., etc. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps, and make some tough calls to make things happen in your business. Innovate! Tackle deficiencies and stumble on opportunities. Be willing to listen to your customers and customize solutions to meet the needs of your customers. Necessity breeds invention. You are craftsmen. Innovate and fall in love with your businesses again. Get engaged, not enraged. Stay on the cutting-edge, looking forward with hope, not the ledge, thinking about jumping. Next, and importantly for the industry, when someone in the industry does innovate and finds a better way, stop trying to quash their innovation. Take the approach that a high tide raises all boats. Resolve to be an industry builder not an industry destroyer. Remember the saying “there’s nothing new under the sun?” Others have said there’s only 88 keys on the piano, so somebody is eventually going to write a song that sounds like yours. Stay loyal to partners with whom you develop products. To do otherwise is no different than what we see going on in politics right now (about which we rightfully bellyache). Chances are you are not the only person coming up with products like new soaps and valves that can improve the industry. If you have a valid patent, great! But if you don’t, don’t stir up a bunch of discontent in the industry. Take the high road and focus on selling the virtues of your product over the competitor’s. Innovate and compete on a level playing field. Anything less is bad for the industry. #4. Resolution If you haven’t already, resolve to join an industry association (or a few), and help lift this industry up to a higher status. There are several entities serving the pressure wash industry. The Power Washers of North America (PWNA) is a trade organization that is specific to pressure washers. The United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners (UAMCC) is, as its title suggests, a “united” organization for not just pressure washers but also window cleaners, janitorial services, carpet cleaners, and other general cleaners. And the Pressure Washing Resource Association (PWRA) provides resources for individual contractors to grow but does not serve any type of certificatory or regulatory function. There are benefits to all. As an individual contractor, it is not unrealistic (and, arguably, sensible) to be a member of all three. How better to stay on top of industry trends, new ideas to grow your business, and networking for support and education? Annual conventions and ongoing training offerings and sessions can be particularly beneficial. Networking with more experienced professionals in the field who have “been there, done that” will enable you to fast track your way to success and profitability – all the way ensuring you take the proper safety measures, walk the proper ethical line, and serve to improve the industry as a whole not weigh it down. Being a member of an association also means you have access year round to fellow professionals in other markets whom you can call and discuss problems and solutions with as they arise in your business and your market. As the PWNA website states, such advice and guidance can be the difference between winning and losing an important contract and making or losing money on a particular job. You need the most up to date information about topics like OSHA, ladder safety, water fed safety, fall protection, chemical safety, and more. Also, importantly, these orgs serve as the voice of the industry speaking on your behalf to policy makers and regulatory agencies. As PWNA also smartly says, a lawmaker, without the knowledge and understanding of the importance of the contract cleaner, can make an uneducated decision that can put you out of business. That alone is a reason to support at least one of the organizations. #5. Resolution to follow the rules and guidelines for safety and business operations in the pressure wash industry and stop driving up costs for the rest of us. It has been said (and I think rightfully so) that the biggest thing that holds back this industry is the industry itself. What people mean by that is that there are a lot of operators out there nationwide who would like to “play professional,” and even who are often already members of one of these professional associations, but who still won’t wear their safety ropes, still do business under the table, still want to cheat the government on their taxes, and still don’t want to obey OSHA laws. It has to stop. Most companies out there check all those boxes successfully. Nevertheless, there are still far too many marginal companies in this industry that occasionally think about checking those boxes but never do. continued ... 28 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | VOL. 3, NO. 1 | WINTER 2021
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Page 2 and 3: contents FEATURES 4 Virtual Reality
Page 4 and 5: CONQUER Corner Want to Grow your Bu
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