Your situation of being pulled in 1 year early is perfect. This gives you an easy season to go through a slight learning curve. We have 9 years experience and typically do 125 installs a season and without fail learn something new EVERY year that leaves us shaking our heads wondering why we hadn’t thought of it before. You’re going about things correctly, Curtis.

www.seasonalsource.net will not only prove to be a good source for all your needs but will provide training DVDs and online help designed for contractors. You may even find a local distributor of their products, just give them a call.

Brian Smith
Extreme Cleaning Services - Ogden, UT

Thanks for that information. Do you use any design software?

Curtis Turner
Mineral Area Pro Wash - Farmington, MO

I do have a design program. I was pretty excited years ago with the thought of presenting a bid that included a photo of the lighting design I envisioned. I soon found out that it was too time consuming and did not seal the deal as I expected. Even doing it all from the truck took about an hour per bid…way too time consuming. For the last several years I’ve relied on my ability to verbally create Christmas scenery in their minds. I also have photos of different looks and creative abilities we’ve used and they seem to catch the vision.

They also appreciate the simple approach with easy choices. One helpful sales hint is to use the good, better and best approach. An example would be good – roofline only, better – roofline and a simple tree or greenery package and best – roofline and rooftop, a few trees and the greenery package. This follows the proven successful fast food sales approach and simplifies the decision process.

Brian Smith
Extreme Cleaning Services - Ogden, UT

I would be more inclined to pay the commission from the net profit from jobs the sales person sold. If your sales person sells a $1000 job but they bid it so that you only make $50 and you pay a commission of $100 (10%) you are losing $50.

If they sell a $1000 job and the profit is $300 and you pay $100 in commission then you are doing all right.

I always try to set it up so it’s advantageous for the sales person to sell jobs at the prices you want, instead of just selling to attain a big gross sales number. Most of us know that you can sell every job you bid if the price is low enough, and you want to encourage your sales people to maintain the pricing structure you desire.

Building relationships and controlled and measured management is essential. But this takes time, and everyone's business is different. If there was some plug in formula that would make everything work perfectly, then everyone would be doing it successfully!

Geoff Shaule
G&S Window Washing & Gutter Cleaning Inc - Troy MI

The first thing to remember is that for the most part our filters are not designed to create a food-safe product. All sorts of ugliness can be growing in there.

John Riley
Rileys' Window Cleaning - Toronto, Ontario

No one can actually tell you it's OK. Your system could be contaminated - and why wouldn't it be, if you hook up to a dozen different water supplies every week?

But I think it's a myth that removing minerals from water is harmful to your health. Millions of Americans are drinking water with less than 40ppm of TDS on a daily basis. If that was a problem, mainstream media and the health industry would have picked up on it. In fact, I drink a lot of distilled water on my doctor's recommendation. (Wants me to cut down on my calcium intake.) I just can't recommend drinking off a portable DI system.

And I know that it must be possible to safely drink de-ionized water because my local mixed bed DI tank supplier claims to maintain certification for drinking water. But most suppliers to the cleaning industry probably do not certify any part of their systems, because they are intended for cleaning.

Gary Mauer
Window Cleaning Network - Oconomowoc, WI

My 5-stage system has reverse osmosis, deionization, charcoal, particle and scale filters. I'm wondering what modifications, if any, would be needed to make it suitable for producing drinking water if I wanted to hook it up to my house.

Douglas W. Hodgson
ABS Professional Window Cleaning - Greensboro NC

Virtually none of the RO/DI, etc systems I've seen have any type of bacteria filter. Interesting and strange things can grow, especially in hoses. The big difference is that the drinking water system is connected permanently to the home plumbing, not using outdoor spigots or temporary hoses. The other component in home drinking water systems is often bacteria sterilization, most commonly an Ultraviolet sterilization chamber.

Steve Miller
Grand Haven, MI

When I’ve looked in the past, I’ve found many options to restore such; but just like glass restoration, its labor intensive, and expensive, Replacement is often the better choice.

Steve Miller
Grand Haven, MI

Yes you can polish Plexiglas. I do it all the time. Just finished two 4x10 foot sheets.

Purchase NOVUS brand scratch removal liquid. You will need NOVUS #3, heavy scratch remover and NOVUS #2, scratch remover. Use #3 first and then #2. Depending on the size of the damage, the 8 ounce bottles should be plenty. They run about $7.50 a bottle. They also carry some white wipes in a package that very well for removing excess material. Otherwise, use soft towels.

You will also need some sort of variable speed polisher with a polishing pad. Lambs wool or foam work best. You can get the pads at auto detail suppliers or auto stores. Basically it is the same principle as polishing a car. If you have a polisher for your car, it may work, but, it must turn continuously, not oscillate. The variable speed polisher or drill should be set on low; around 1000 rpm.

Danny Gwin
20/20 Window Cleaning and Scratch Removal - Campbell, CA

I found my insurance by requesting a quote from www.insweb.com. Enter your info there and it goes out to several companies.

John Kieser
Metropolis Window Cleaning - Longmont, CO

Insurance requirements and laws vary from state to state. I would just get out the yellow pages or work the internet to find other local sources. Ask some of your friendly competitors.

Insurance is one of those things that I like to keep local. There is no doubt that the cheapest premiums you find will NOT be from the best insurance company or agent. It should go without saying that if you ever need to make a claim you want someone that can provide the service and attention needed to help walk you through the process and look out for you.

Geoff Shaule
G&S Window Washing & Gutter Cleaning Inc - Troy MI