Business Funeral Plans

Well today was one hell of a day.

I drove my van on a few errands across town and stopped off for lunch. When I started up......damn, sounds like the motor spun a bearing. Just like that, no warning, no oil psi drops, nothing, just knocking away now. The mechanic has it, but can't get to it until Wed. I am just praying it is a bad motor mount or something external, but I've heard these before and it sure sounds like it to me. That means my Butler Van will be dead and stripped for scrap.

That leaves the Isuzu NPR to the rescue. I have owned that truck for a couple years now and it rarely gets put into action outside of a few drives per month to keep it from degrading. I needed to drive into Omaha for a sales meeting so the Isuzu got the call.

Everything was fine until I was about 12 miles from home when the power steering line ruptured. I managed to get it home (only needed to turn twice) but now I have to get the psi lines custom made since nobody carries those hoses in this area. That also means I need to ride my bicycle 30 miles round trip to do it tomorrow.

Things have been slow business-wise and I have been getting worried about the approaching winter as I am not in good shape financially, but I was thinking about selling off the Isuzu and relying on my Butler for a little while longer. Well, it looks like I can forget about that option now. I think I can also forget about the business now as well since the box truck will only be useful until the temperatures start dipping below 40 degrees again...not much longer.

It was an interesting ride, not always fun, but interesting. The official notice will be made after the mechanic issues the death certificate on my Butler Wednesday. If that happens, I will be closing down and looking for any job(s) that I can find. It is going to be a very difficult winter.

Maybe you can posrpone work until you get one od the vans back on the road and look for worl while your waiting. At a.minimum keep the biz as a part time gig

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Can abit of good luck be sent your way??? Just a little, that's all ya need. Your a good guy, providing a good service. If you don't do it, who will. And without you, who are these commercial acct going to rely on? 
Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Guy.
Some bait-n-switch guy is making a go of it; what about an ethical, honest, dependable, top notch guy? What'll ya say, BIG GUY. Shower the good guy with some good old fashion "blessings". In the long run, people will benefit from someone who is looking out for them; the customer.

To whom it concerns,
My Carpet cleaner, in Yakima, Wa. Highly recommends "Castle Defenders", as a top notch carpet cleaner in Blair, NE; and sounding areas. You won't be disappointed.
Sincerely,
Matt Thornton, owner
My carpet cleaner

Ok, how many times have you been pessimistic about these issues ? And you came out on top the whole time, relax, you'll be fine !!
Plus Mo is the closest to you, so call him up and ask him to drive out there to help you out
Worse case scenario, call other cleaners in your area and ask them if you can rent their van for a day or two to get your jobs done, if they are as hungry as they should, they will most likely say yes.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the vibes Matt.

I am sitting here at almost 2 am just driving myself mad over this. I have been turning wrenches most of my life and it sure sounds like a rod knock to me, but there is a slight chance that it could be a bad flexplate. It did start right after the engine was started on a warm motor which is not really a stressful condition for the engine. Maybe Matt has sent just enough pixy dust my way...I will crawl underneath in the morning and inspect it.

The box truck is not a big deal to fix as long as the pump didn't get damaged. They use special hoses from Isuzu, but I can create a copy without too much trouble and the tilt cab means I can pull up chair while I do it.

The problem looming is the van. If it is the engine, I will only have about another month left where I can clean before the freezing begins. Despite having a very solid August (even with the $1200 in suspension repairs) this month has not been. I have nothing on the schedule this whole week and only had 3 this whole month to date!! That isn't a business...that is a grave yard. All the event buildings that were supposed to be scheduled never happened....yet again. That place is just throwing dirt on me.

I will be making some serious decisions this week one way or the other. The van situation just makes it one with less variables.

I understand where you are at Rob. It's tough out there. But also consider this is the second time this year you have been at this fork in the road. You are letting the self defeatism set in. You have been doing this for (cleaning and restoration) some time. You are good at what you do.

I think though, its the office and marketing that you need help with. Your commercial accounts tend to walk all over you, not sticking to a regular cleaning schedule. You are a nice guy, and I think that's the downfall you have in dealing with clients. I personally think you need better contracts with these commercial accounts. A contract that outlines when the minimum cleaning times will be.

I also think that you could use some help with marketing to both residential and commercial clients. One place you could start, is with video. I know you don't like being on camera, but video marketing is where we are today, and the future of our sales will rely extremely heavily on that marketing.

In the end, you are going to reach the decision that you feel works best for you. I'd hope that it is building your business, but that's not my decision. One thing is for certain though, it's not working the way things are now. Something needs to change.

Well, it is another late night worrying...just can't get to sleep.

I spent the day working on both vehicles. I checked the van over real well and can say that it is NOT a rod banging. It sounds more like a collapsed lifter as the noise seems higher up. The starter is still engaging badly which is a whole different issue, but has added it's own symphony to the mix.

So, it might be worth it to pull the head off and repair.....maybe. I am not really sure how I feel about that right now.

The Isuzu had a cracked power steering line at one of the 90 degree bends. It had a hard plastic cover over it to protect from abrasion and it trapped some moisture. The rest of the lines looked great after I cleaned them all up to check for leaks.

I am surprised that they chose steel lines instead of hydraulic hose, but there are like 14 bends to the line the way that they route it so I have no interest in creating a replacement. I ordered a full replacement of all the steel lines running from the pump from Isuzu instead.

Price wasn't terrible for factory replacements, but the kicker is that the warehouses are in Miami, so there will be "shipping delays" due to the storms. No idea how long that it will take, but they were the only resource.

The really scary part was discovering that the power steering pump assembly is like $1100. Had I known that, I would have shut down and called a tow truck at first indication of a leak. The fluid level never dropped below minimum in the reservoir so hopefully there is no damage there.

As for the business future? I have always agreed with what Freemind points out, I am damn good at what I do and have never had anything except praise from my customers, but there is something missing on the marketing side and I am at a loss as to what it is. It might just be that there is no fish in this pond and I need to move my boat to a deeper part.

I don't know, I am just getting worn down right now and feel like throwing in the towel. There is just so much a business can take before it collapses under it's own weight. The lack of work right now along with these vehicle repairs is just killer for me.

I will know for certain what the cost estimate will be on the van by noon. I might have to jump on the bike and disappear for a few days to sort it all out. As Freemind said, "Something needs to change".

Shows what I know.......spun main bearing, engine is toast.

Now I have no idea what to do. I guess I should have gone with the long block 2 years ago instead of just the top end, but then the van was supposed to be retired by now too.

I just sunk $1400 into the suspension, $1500 into the TM drive shaft assembly, $3600 into the top end of that motor 2 years ago, and countless other small repairs in the past 2 years. Do I dare go farther and rebuild the lower end of that motor?

This is the one thing about direct drives that I don't like, they are married to the one van for life...lose the van and you lose the machine. Lose the machine, lose the business.

Option 1: Spend another $3000 or more to rebuild the motor
Option 2: Scrap it and try to find a way to heat the box truck
Option 3: Sell off both trucks and try to lease a new Butler
Option 4: Just shut it all down and walk away

Right now, I am too emotionally tangled up to think straight. I have no idea what step to take...kind of vapor locked in my head. The mechanic is going on vacation tomorrow for the rest of the week, so he couldn't start on it regardless, but a decision needs to be made soon what course of action I should take.

Really just feel sick right now.

Options:
-find regular job to at least get thru winter. Work on the side. Worked in the past.
-join chamber of commerce, rub shoulders with bosses of big businesses.
-hit the funeral homes, daycare, Chiro's, ...offer to do waiting room and if it NOT the best its ever been...N/C. Impress them.
-colleges. Check with maint dept. 
-any 55and over communities??  With a club house? Bulletin board?!! 
-know any Vets? Offer a special combo deal: carp and upholstery. Make sure to tell them, "tell your buddy's..."
-VFW or other like that?
Start with fun eral homes and daycares!
When you do a meet face to face, ask them "any issues or concerns about your carpet". Be their problem solver.
Had one awhile back that said "can you get gum out?" Did a demo and she was floored how so!ple I did it. (Hose cuff and spray jet peeled off gum)  learned that from a video posted here.

All good ideas Matt.

After I finished punching a few things and throwing things around in the garage, it became clear that there was only 2 options: Shut down the business completely; or fix the Van.

As frustrated as I am, there was no closing of the business. Like you said Matt, even if I go back to a day job I would still need to clean on the side to make ends meet in this area since not many jobs pay very well in these smaller towns. That means I need a TM to do that and winter negates the Isuzu, so it has to be a van.

I have invested a fortune into this old van over the past 2 years and it is a known commodity unlike starting over with different used one. The only things that haven't been replaced is the Transmission, rear end, and the Vac Blower on the TM. So, replacing the motor should give me a solid rig that is already logo'd up for quite a while yet.

It also allows me to sell off the Isuzu and trust the Van far more than before since it will be under a 3 year warranty. In the end, it just seemed like the only real option on the table that I could live with.

Of course when I get that $5,000 repair bill I might not feel so good about it. Three shops turned down the job due to it being a Van, so I was thankful to find one that wanted it. I don't have anything except a ball-park estimate right now based on the cost for the motor and the 23 hours of labor to do the swap. The Butler components will likely add some additional hours to the bill and I have been quoted anything from $1800 to $2700 for the motor depending on the VIN number so that the computer and accessories match up. My guess is that it will be closer to $5500 before it is done.

That is big step back for a dying business struggling to pay the bills, but then again, it is just 5 building cleanings, so I will come out on top eventually.

Now to just get those parts out of Florida before next Wed.

Its just nuts that you have two set ups and the both failed yoi at the same time WTF. I think 2018 is going to be your year.

I still think you should expand your service area ro omaha or lincoln which ever is closer thats where eveyone is

Well, somebody is certainly trying real hard to tell me something, or else scratching his head wondering why I can't do better.

I have my sites focused on the new College opening up in my area in 2018.  That is 5 housing units and about 7 education buildings along with the athletic buildings and campus theater.  If I can nail that down coming out of winter, I will finally have the additional large contract to release me from trying to stir up residential business.  It is one of the main reasons I have decided to hang on.

I have also set up a meeting with my primary commercial account to get it all out in the open.  Both with the Janitorial Manager and the Facilities Manager to get things better organized and adjust the rates for some of the buildings.  IF they had provided the same amount of work that they did for the last 4 years, I wouldn't be in this situation today, so that has to be fixed.

I still see a lot of problems staying afloat for the remainder of this year, but I guess it is worth going all the way to bust before abandoning the plans.  At least then I could say that I tried everything.

I think you made the right decision, I would go with that route too if I already put that much $$ into that van.
The warranty is very generous if it's 3 years, that's a piece of mind.
Sorry this happened to you, I always see life as wheel, sometimes you're on top and sometimes things go down, but the bright side is it will go back up at some point.

Thanks Dp, I should have listened to you 2 years ago when I only rebuilt the top end of that motor.  At least it will be able to make some money again.  The warranty is 3 year / 100k mile from GM, but those idle hours will not show so this thing will be under warranty the whole 3 years.

I actually picked up a couple of houses, but couldn't schedule them until the later part of next week until I get the Isuzu back on the road....which looks like the parts might arrive as early as Monday.  Disturbing part is that one of those callers asked if I was new as she has never heard of me.  That is a clear sign of my issue.

I should be back to cleaning come Wed. and have the Van back by the end of the week.

It's a personal thing for me when it comes to mechanical issues, I always want to fix it right the first time, that's why I despise my super honest mechanic at times because he's always about saving money by advising me to fix it what's needed at the time which is good in a way but in this case, I would be pissed off if he didn't give me those repair options and I end up on your shoes 2 years later.
But no matter what, it's part of the business, most of us don't have store front lease expenses to worry about but we sometimes end up with a huge repair costs. Good thing you only have 1 mouth to feed, that's a whole lot cheaper than my family of 4
Glad you'll be back up and running soon

I agree Dp, it is starting to feel less severe already. I don't really have a stack of cash under my mattress for a new motor, but when I really think about it, that $5K should give me a couple of reliable years for that van which is a damn good rate of return on one's investment.

It does hurt right now and had me worried every night, but a couple months from now that will likely be hardly remembered. Especially if the meeting goes well on Friday.

That was a very bad day. Still you survive it.

Well, I am not of the woods yet. It feels like the place fell on top of my head. I am bleeding, but alive yet still have to crawl out the rubble.

As my old Doc used to say in the Marines, "All bleeding will stop on its own eventually". You may not be alive any more, but the bleeding will stop.

Sending good vibes for your Friday meeting Rob

I am actually starting to see some good news.

1. The CEO himself wants to join the meeting this Friday now to "organize 2018". I hope that is a good sign.

2. I think I just found a supplemental day job that fits my cleaning schedule.

I was asked to apply for an open position providing security at a middle school. I would be done by 4:30 pm each day so I can still cover my commercial work and the job comes with Summers off so I could operate full-time again during the cleaning season.

Pay isn't great, but it is a little higher than average for this area. I was concerned that my background would come off as way too aggressive for their needs, but they told me that many of those kids are 6 feet tall and the guy I would be replacing was a former Army Ranger that weighed 300 lbs. I don't know what they feed these kids, but it might work out.

I decided to apply for it anyway. I don't know what the chances are, but it has potential.

You don't know what they feed these kids ? Organic sh!t man, lol. I feed mine with mostly organic, my 13 years old girl is almost my height ( 5'9" )

I think that job would be perfect ! I think you'll get it.

I would rather not seek other employment, but having a job during the winter and still draw some pay while being off during the Summer seems perfect for a small time cleaner like myself.

Besides, I have a couple of nieces and nephew that will be going to that school in 2 years. That might be a nice perk.

It is worth applying for anyway. So, I am actually feeling a little excited about Friday's meeting and maybe an interview by mid-month. That is a far cry better than I felt all last week.

I detailed a couple of cars today and will be cleaning for the next couple of days which also feels good. I hate to be idle for more than a couple of days...need to keep busy.

I think the job would be a good option, right now. Some steady money + time to do comm jobs.
Take a little stress off Ya.