How did your business do this year?

It was a good one for me. Nine of the 12 months were record breaking months. What was really nice is that I accomplished this increase in revenue with about the same volume. On second thought Im not sure if that's a good thing. Tio sammy is going to get me.

Wow, that is an odd survey result so far.

Business has been up for me despite having a slow start to the year. Can't say that it was way up, but somewhere in the 12% gain area at this point. Made a few dumb mistakes as well, but I am already excited for 2014.

Thank God for our Democrat president the economy is getting better for all of us *hiding from Terry* lol.

dp1 wrote:Thank God for our Democrat president the economy is getting better for all of us *hiding from Terry* :Plol.

Ah yes. This I must take a difference with. Do you really think that our success or failure is a direct result from a political figure. Regardless the party status. These figures may either have a positive or negative affect on ones success in many different ways, but I believe We ultimately posses the true element of success or failure.

Ryan S wrote:

dp1 wrote:Thank God for our Democrat president the economy is getting better for all of us *hiding from Terry* :Plol.

Ah yes. This I must take a difference with. Do you really think that our success or failure is a direct result from a political figure. Regardless the party status. These figures may either have a positive or negative affect on ones success in many different ways, but I believe We ultimately posses the true element of success or failure.    

Ok, it's time to be honest here, I'm an independent, in the last 10 - 15 years I don't believe in government and politics, it hasn't been about us the people, it's been games they play to keep their seat, however in response to your comment Ryan, if most cleaners have increase in their sales, that has to be a sign that the economy is getting better, is it because of Obama or the democratic policy ? I don't know for sure, too many variables and things to be considered, I don't like talking politics because the hard core people will always argue that the opposite party did this cr@p and that cr@p while the cold hard fact is they all have their fair share of mistakes, it doesn't matter what their party is, Bush sr with his oil scandal, Clinton got us into the housing mess that leads into recession, Bush jr got us into the Iraq's war that got us deeper into the recession, Obama got a few things that I don't agree with like closing guantanamo bay, bowing to saudi arabia king, his support for gay marriage, etc, I can keep going on and on with each of those presidents policies but at the end of the day there are going to be some of you that don't agree with me and that's ok as long as we can agree to disagree :-)

Obumblercare or the ACA

my health care on Jan 1 will double my deductible is now double and my out of pocket expense doubled

I am forced to pay for abortion birth control pre natal and maternal care and pediatric dentistry

All of which I cant use. and millions of other americans.

" you like to keep your doctor or your plan"

all lies

if you don't think this is not going to affect your business you have your head up your a$$

just me alone 2500 dollars than wont go back into my community next year.

The other side of that is also true Terry, the less money people have, the less likely they are to replace carpets and upholstery. Many will clean them to get a few more years of usage. That actually works in our favor, but it is a terrible way to do it.

My insurance is going to be almost useless due to the deductible rate as well, but all I can do is vote, vote, vote, and VOTE! I would hope others would do the same.

The problem with the success or failure is the culture that has been developed that says we need to look to our government for help of some sort. I say BS find a way to get it done amd support yourself. Yes we need government for accountability but we don't need it to fulfill our freedom on personal success. Spin it how you want but looking for the government to be a source of support will always fail....

No dis agreement with your statements DP. Very accurate and I believe milspec covered my response to the government improving the economy.

Up almost 30% this year and extremely thankful. I don't need to increase my blood pressure talking or thinking about the government and the economy.... So I'll keep my opinion short and to the point. Even though we are up 30%, I think that at this point in our life cycle we are still only doing about 65% of the business we should be doing if we were in a "Very Good" economy. The main reason for this is that a lot of people are still not spending because they scared to. Because the government has done nothing to help instill confidence in the economy, long term interest rates, and market stability. Further more, the price of fuel is just less than twice what it was five years ago (contrary to popular belief there are multiple things the government can do to lower fuel prices). Obviously this has also driven up the cost of food and most goods. When it comes down to putting food on the table and gas in the tank or carpet cleaning (and next year the whole health care thing) - guess what's last on the list...    I am a conservative and would rather a complete conservative agenda, however right now the entire system is F'd. Until there is a change and economic confidence fully comes back, we can only control our income in direct proportion to the overall amount of money people are willing or able to spend. I have to stop now, time to take a zoloft and a drink before I explode.   

That's a good point Robert,

Another problem is folks have no idea how to budget their homes. They spend recklessly and then run to the plastic. Ultimately finding themselves in a hole so big, it would take a miracle to climb out. One of the most important factors that lead to success is knowing the difference between needs and wants.

These people who are targeted as the 1% have made all these sacrifices and important decisions early in life when no one was noticing. Now when they are at a point when those healthy decisions are paying off they are being touted as cruel, evil, and oppressive.

I'm sure we all can attest to this truth.

That is well put CD and I have to remember that every region is affected differently.  Here in the midwest, we are not being hit as hard compared to the coasts in regards to economic matters.  To do well in your area is a real testiment to your business skills.

When I was growing up, we had the Carter era which was far worse than the economy is today, yet my Father decided to quit his 3 jobs and started working for himself as a foreign car mechanic.  He worked out of a barn without heat and broken windows and he worked 7 days per week in good health and in bad.  With only a GED and technical training under his belt, he made it a success and sent all 5 children to college....despite government ineffectiveness.  Those willing to work hard and take calculated risks, can over-come any of the stupidity in DC.

By the way....good job Dad (he was former cleaner as a teenager as well) 

Ryan S wrote:The problem with the success or failure is the culture that has been developed that says we need to look to our government for help of some sort. I say BS find a way to get it done amd support yourself. Yes we need government for accountability but we don't need it to fulfill our freedom on personal success. Spin it how you want but looking for the government to be a source of support will always fail....  

No dis agreement with your statements DP. Very accurate and I believe milspec covered my response to the government improving the economy.  

I completely agree Ryan, looking for the government to be a source of support will always fail.
And Robert's opinion is true to some extent, I used to live in central california where there are a lot of farms, when the economy tanked, we also tanked because for those people, professional carpet cleaning is a luxury that they can't afford, they would rather put food on the table than have a clean carpets, that's why we didn't make it there, so nonetheless the economy helps small businesses climb, this year we decreased our advertisement by 75% and our gross is still around the same as last year, less price shoppers, more people scheduled, people feel more comfortable to spend now than last year or even 2 - 3 years ago.
Again is it due to the government ? Like I said too many variables, I know one thing for sure, if Romney was elected, we would've been at war right now with Syria and Iran and I can guarantee you, the economy would not have been the way it is right now with another war.
That's it, I'm done talking politics, back to my basketball game, you guys have a great night :-)

milspec6 wrote:That is well put CD and I have to remember that every region is affected differently.  Here in the midwest, we are not being hit as hard compared to the coasts in regards to economic matters.  To do well in your area is a real testiment to your business skills.

When I was growing up, we had the Carter era which was far worse than the economy is today, yet my Father decided to quit his 3 jobs and started working for himself as a foreign car mechanic.  He worked out of a barn without heat and broken windows and he worked 7 days per week in good health and in bad.  With only a GED and technical training under his belt, he made it a success and sent all 5 children to college....despite government ineffectiveness.  Those willing to work hard and take calculated risks, can over-come any of the stupidity in DC.

By the way....good job Dad (he was former cleaner as a teenager as well) 

Amen to that, good job Dad ! I want my kids to say that to me someday when they become a lawyer, accountant, doctor, surgeons, or whatever else making $ 200 - $ 500 / hr without having to deal with carpet cleaning machines, lol.

Never been about politics to me. Just simply we control our outcomes.

P.S. Romney was another unknown politician that was ready to pounce. Never put your put your stock in people they will disappoint every time.

How did this topic turn political?  

One think I'm too happy about is that my third quarter year over year was stagnant and that quarter is usually my busiest.

Mo. It's the culture of today. DC has brain washed Americans into believing that there success or failure runs thru Washington. Which is the exact opposite of what our founding Fathers intended when they succeeded from the King. If everyone in America looked to themselves for opportunity things would be vastly different. The real flow of assistance should go as follows.

Self
Family
Church
Local Community
Then Goverment

America has it backward these days. I believe of you look at our success stories here you will find that trend is true.

I hold myself accountable for what I did yesterday, today, and tomorrow for the motions I made to keep getting better.

Then I rely on my family for more accountability in that area. When I first started out my father in law would call me down to his wood shop and ask me haw many jobs I did today, who I talked to tiday, and would give suggestions on how I could find more networking leads. Our families can be a huge source of motivation and encouragement.

Next I am firmly grounded into local church for support and involvement as well. Can't say enough about the importance of this in my life.

Church will always lead to our involvement in our local community. Where we will find networking opportunities and places for our business to thrive and also provide healthy places for others to find employment. Check out Proverbs 11:10

Then with these precepts in correct order our Government will be a great source of help as well because they too will not be carring the burden of so many Americans because that will have been done early on. Which will leave plenty of resources to help those in TRUE need of help when they couldn't find it in self, family, church, or their local community.

We are all Kingdom rulers in our sphere of influence. And that friends is life changing impowerment.

Mo wrote:How did this topic turn political?  

One think I'm too happy about is that my third quarter year over year was stagnant and that quarter is usually my busiest.

LOL, my fault Mo, silly comment of mine which is supposed to be a joke to Terry went crazy, ha..ha..ha...

Yeah I've done that to Terry to. He goes for it every time 

I fueled the fire  

Hey Ryan, You're supposed to Moderate not Instigate. I'm afraid I'm going to have withhold your paycheck for this week.

Crap! There goes Christmas   

My business was great this year. About 30% above last year maybe even more. Just a guess.

One MAIN difference from past years was this one thing: My BOTTOM LINE was not how much

I made, but DID I TREAT MY CUSTOMERS WITH RESPECT and WAS MY CLEANING FANTASTIC!

Great Don! Welcome to The Cleaners Lounge. I'd encourage ya to skim through the pass topics. You may find them helpful and add other insight.

So, thus far 83% have matched or bettered their business this year...that is impressive. At the end of the year, we might want to break those numbers down by region and see if that has had a large influence on those totals.

It might interesting...

Most of the guys are on the west coast. How I got mixed in with this crowd I have no idea.