Winter has set in

With the onset of winter weather, remember to protect your equipment.  Any machines that have not been prepped for winter need to be protected NOW.  If a machine is stored in any non-insulated, non-heated area; it WIL freeze.  I have had machines come in with split pressure controls, split cylinders, burst hoses, etc. that were in a camper shell, a van, a storage shed, even a garage.  Water freezing is one of the most powerful forces on Earth.

So.

Really clean your machine, hose and gun with warm soapy water.  Rinse until water is clear, not milky.  Either fill with anti-freeze and leave prime valve open or, better still, fill with anti-freeze and disconnect all hoses.  Yes, you can store with all systems empty, but leave prime valve open anyway or disconnect hoses.

Remember, just like you tell your customers; prevention and protection is the cheapest maintenance.

Winter coming on

Here we are in November with a cold front moving in.  Winter will be here really soon.  If you have any ongoing relationships with property managers, real estate agents and homeowners, let them know that the deferred maintenance of the last few years will add up to substantial repair costs if let go through another winter.  I see many building and houses that are showing premature age and decay.  The reluctance to spend money on upkeep now is going to get expensive later.

Again, I expound on the importance for anyone in construction, or any seasonal work, to have a secondary income.  If you spend even a small amount of time during your busy times, when business slows down, like it has now, you will reap the benefits.  My secondary business, www.extractfuzion.com has grown 25% to 30% every month since it’s April inception.  It is paying it’s own bills and contributing net dollars to the family income.

New News

I just had a conversation with the chemist that recommended that we use dishwashing detergent to clean out our painting equipment.  I explained to him that the only problem with using the liquid dish soap was that if it didn’t get completely cleaned out, it may make the valve balls stick.  So I had changed my instructions to using at least 3 gallons of clear, cool water to flush out the soapy water.  He said that the foaming properties of the soap are what help get the nooks and crannies clean, it also makes it more difficult to flush the soap out.  He said that laundry soap would work also.  It doesn’t foam much and would be easier to flush out with clear water.  He thought that it might be cheaper also.

So I will now change the flyers that I send out to reflect this change.  Also of note is that we have had 3 machines come in this month with paint that had dry-packed in them.  All of the owners stated that they had been using new Behr paint purchased from Home Depot.  1 was a medium and 2 were deep tint base.  Lots of color in these.  The paint dry-packed inside the pistons, on up through the hose nipple coming out of the fluid section cylinder.  Keep this in mind on these really hot days too.  If your pump seems to be losing volume, flush it immediately.  You may use soap and water, shellac solvent or lacquer thinner; whichever is pertinent to the material that you are using.

Hot Summer

We’re having a hot spell here in Sacramento.  We have been spoiled with the weather so far.  Now we pay for the mild winter and spring.  This is when the Construction business is usually really strong.  And, of course, we aren’t.  Business is flat.  Which is better than last year, as last year we were declining.  Actually, free falling.  So the start of the recovery is here.  Yes, the start of the recovery is when business stops falling.  Here’s to a good fall and winter.

Our secondary business is doing well.  It continues to grow at about 20-25% per month.  We are in the black after 3 months.  With overhead being figured in.  The overhead is fairly steady, unless I decide to increase it, So the net income will grow at a bigger percentage each month.  This is a great feeling to have during a pitiful economic year……

And on it goes

As a continuing report, the secondary income is progressing nicely.  Unlike most startup business’, I have already recouped about 50% of the total investment to date.  This is after 2 months.  I expect to break even somewhere in the third month and then be running in the black, even counting the product that my family uses.  Seven+ is a product that I would use anyway, so I’m doubly blessed.  Being that eXfuze is now in it’s 13th month ( 1st product shipped in Sept of 2008), the possibility of growth is enormous.  If you would like to hear more, email me here or go to http://extractfuzion.blogspot.com/ or www.extractfuzion.com and get more info on the product and the eXfuze company.

If you join me or not, I can’t stress getting into a secondary income venture enough.  Do your homework though.  Check out the company, it’s product and compensation program.  Allot of products means that you will have to stock inventory.  Make sure that the company helps you start.  Check to see when they pay and how they pay as well as what they pay you for.

Now is the time to start.  If you have time on your hands, invest it in your future.

Secondary Income

More and more of my customers are discovering the advantage of having a secondary income.  I have had business associates in the past bring this subject up, but I have never explored the concept before.

Near the end of last year I had a customer come in and we got around to talking about the shape of the construction industry.  Toward the end of the discussion, he mentioned that he was involved in a MLM company and his income from that business was now greater than the income from what he considered his primary business.  He has been involved with a company, Mona Vie, for just over 5 years.  2 years ago, his wife quit working.  His side business was netting them more than she made.  Now, 2 years later, the secondary income is enough to sustain their household easily.  And it will continue to be residual income.  He still runs the contracting business because he loves the work and doesn’t want to retire.  So, intrigued,  I have been looking at a few of the MLM companies around.

I had been exposed to nutritional drinks by my relatives a few years ago, due to an injury I sustained in 1986.  Along with a strict nutritional regimen, Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, hydro therapy, Magnetic therapy and a host of other therapies (hot tubs work the best for me), None had made a discernable difference.  Then I was introduced to eXfuze Seven+   This drink made a measurable difference.  So I have now made the plunge into MLM.  We’ll see how it goes……..

eXfuze meeting

The first eXfuze meeting in the Sacramento Valley area is coming up.  We will meet in Vacaville in the Comfort Suites.  The room is open at 6:30p, but will start at 7pm.

If you want more info on what the commotion is all about, go to http://www.exfuze.com/keithhartsuiker and look around.  You can catch my eXfuze blog at http://exfuze7plus.spaces.live.com 

Getting in on the very first floor of a company is really fun and really frustrating.  They are still working some of the kinks out, mainly due to the speed in which eXfuze is taking off.  If you are interested in joining a company that’s still on the ground floor and working to build a skyscraper, contact me about eXfuze.

2009 at a fast walk

2008 was truly a year of ups and downs.  As I spoke to my fellow business owners, we all talked about how the business started to show an upswing just to down turn and level off just about where it started.  As a whole, this meant that the top and the bottom numbers kept changing, but the average stayed about the same.  Commercial construction stayed fairly even through all of this.  The residential market is what hit bottom and brought the average to it's lowest point.
2009 seems to be the year that we had hoped 2008 would be.  We still are having our ups and downs, but the yearly profits are showing an increase over 2008.  We admit to having sharper pencils though.  This cutting of all wasted advertising and overhead is what is making this a better year.  It was too easy in the years up to 2007 to spend money on advertising and promotions and not have the time to really check on their effectiveness.  This has definitely changed how we think about ad campaigns.

How NOT to run your business

As part of the daycare changes at Mom’s on a Mission, the exit door locksets needed to be changed.  I needed to change them from a lever entry set with a separate deadbolt, to a combined lever and deadbolt that will allow the lever to open the deadbolt at the same time.

So I went on the net to see my options.  Most of these are commercial sets and look like what you see in most motels.  Boxy and functional looking.  Not quite Eloise acceptable.  However, there were a couple of manufacturers that make attractive sets.  So I surfed the net to find out where I could find them local.  Oh yeah.  good luck with that.  No stores listed or showed them online.

So.  Like most slow thinking consumers, I stopped by Home Depot the next day.  I looked in their lockset section.  6 entry sets that all looked alike and were on every entry door in Sacramento.  So I walked up to “Customer Service” and asked for the commercial locksets.  I was told to go to the Door section and try to find someone to help me.  I actually found someone fairly quickly.  They told me to go up to the “Contractor Service” counter.  I went back to the other side of the store and waited in line there.  They sent me to the “Customer Service” counter and told me to ask for the special order lockset catalog.  I went to the other side of the store and waited in line there.  (If this lockset wasn’t required, I would have left before this)  “Customer Service” told me that the Contractor Counter would have to order any commercial locksets.  I went back to the Contractor counter and grabbed the guy that I had talked to by his orange apron.  He assured me that “Customer Service” had the Schlage catalog.  He walked with me over to the “Customer Service” counter, went behind to the shelves and pulled out their catalog.  After 20 minutes looking through the catalog, I found 2 “single action” locksets.  $410.00 each and fairly ugly to boot.  I was in there over 2 hours doing this!

Back home, I went on the net, determined to find these locksets for under $400 and anywhere but Home Depot.  Building supply stores have been chased out of the area and the few left have very little information online.  I called a few and they said that they could order them.  I called a few hardware stores (Ace) and they didn’t know what I needed.  I called Lowes and they said that they had a few.  right, them and home depot.  Orchard Supply didn’t know.  Well, I did find a place online that I could order them from.  Less than $400, but not returnable…?

Eloise wanted to go the Capital Nursery, so I thought that I would stop in a few places on the way.  As expected, OSH didn’t have any.  I walked into Lowes and there was a guy walking through the lockset dept.  “Sure”, he said.  He led us over to where they had 5 different “single action” entry sets.  Wow!  They had them AND he knew where they were.  And in less than 2 minutes.  These are Baldwin locksets too.  Good looking and great quality too.  AND WELL UNDER $300 APIECE.  Since we needed more than 1, he offered to key everything we needed to match.  We picked out 2 entry sets and then we picked out 2 more deadbolts, 2 privacy lever sets, 1 door knob and 5 lever sets.  This way all of the downstairs doors match the brushed nickel lever sets. Much better quality and looks and for less than what it  would have cast to order 2 entry sets from Home Depot and had them keyed alike.

So.  Don’t run your business like Home Depot, Natomas.  Run your business like Lowes, Citrus Heights.  Saving the money was wonderful, but I would have paid the Home Depot price and not looked any further, if they would have had the service I received at Lowes.