International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaners Association Annual Meeting April 11-14, 2012 - San Francisco, California go to www.IKECA.org for more info

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    Pressure Washing Success Story Scott Stone Mesa Arizona Contractor of the Month 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 02-15-2012 10:09 AM  Number of Views: 113 
    Categories:
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    Scott Stone, A Mind for Detail, Mesa, Arizona

    Scott Stone, owner of A Mind for Detail (AMFD) in Mesa, Arizona, has gone from a small but well-established pressure washing company to an industry leader, virtually overnight. In 2011, AMFD won a multi-million dollar government contract with the City of Phoenix, and work began on January 1, 2012.


    But it did not happen without years of sweat equity. Scott has diligently worked for 21 years to help A Mind for Detail build a reputation of quality, top-notch service. Without it, they never could have received such a huge contract. “We are the only company that bid on the contract where the principles have actually done the work,” he explained. “Coupled with our 11 years of experience performing identical work, we were well prepared to tackle this project.”


    Scott started pressure washing part-time as a way to earn extra income so his wife, Cheryl, could stay home with the children. He began by detailing cars (“A Mind for Detail”), but soon realized it was not the right fit for him. “It’s really hard to make money in that business.”


    Scott’s part-time company then switched to fleet washing, his first account being a crane company that he washed for 15 years until they decided to take the cleaning in-house.


    However, that didn’t keep Scott down. “A couple of solid recommendations and a little bit of proper timing, and I was soon able to wash some of the higher profile accounts for Ryder,” he explained. He kept those accounts for six years – “which is the longest anyone had been able to wash those prime accounts without complaints” – until Fleetwash received the accounts as part of a national contract. “I felt it coming, and had expanded to other customers. We have continually made higher profits every year, except one.”
    After several years of washing fleets, one of Scott’s City customers lost the pressure washing company that was cleaning their bus stops because they were pulling out of the area. “They sent out an IFB (invitation for bids) that we bid on, and – much to my surprise – we won,” he explained.
    Since winning that contact, AMFD has stopped washing fleets – and all private contracts – to concentrate on municipal government work. First, he focused on parking garages, washing as many as 50 per year with just two crews. But he also washed bus stops, which eventually took over 90 percent of his business.


    Helping Other Contractors
    Scott says he has always “been one that wanted to share correct information with people.” He added, however, that “my version of what is correct, compared to someone else’s version of what is correct, could be totally different.”


    Over the years, he has been involved with and a moderator on several BBS’s, and an admin on a couple, including pressurewashinginstitute.com, where he has actually served as administrator twice, once early on and then again for the past three years. “As for PWI, I do it because it provides me relief, and every once in a while I learn something that lets me add to my business,” he explains.
    He adds that although his business model seems to be quite a bit different from almost all others on PWI, “I also am certain that there is not one aspect of the industry that does not have something to contribute to what I do, and how I do it.”


    Additionally, in 2009, Scott hosted the National Cleaning Expo’s roundtable in Phoenix. “That was a blast,” he said. The event had around 12 contractors in attendance. “We covered a lot of basic stuff and demonstrated recovery equipment that some of the contractors had never used or seen before. It involved a full day of class instruction, and a full day of field instruction at an abandoned shopping center we’d gotten permission to use.”
    This was also the first roundtable that gave away a pressure washer. “It was an old machine that needed a little bit of work, but it was a machine, and was basically functional,” he laughed.


    The (Multi) Million Dollar Deal


    In 2011, the City of Phoenix put out an IFB for cleaning the City’s bus stops. Stone had bid on the project before, but was “tossed out” during the evaluation process. This time he worked extra hard to ensure he won.
    Before he could submit a bid, he had to have his company in order to prepare to receive the contract. For example, he had to make sure he could get enough financing for at least 16 vehicles, for three-months pay for his new workers (“in case an invoice was late coming in”), and for new equipment, as well as having suppliers lined up to provide all needed equipment and materials.


    One thing that separates AMFD from all the others is his Scott’s wife, Cheryl. “I have never known anyone who has such an eye for detail,” he said. He added that a large part of their financing was being prepared by Cheryl’s oversight of the books so that they could have a high enough credit score to be a safe risk for the lenders. “In fact, one of our lenders commented that not only were we the perfect combination for the contract, but that they had never seen such clean books. That is fully attributable to Cheryl minding the business of keeping track of the money.”


    Since winning the contract, AMFD has had to make some significant changes to prepare for the scope of the new project. Scott has gone from five technicians to 37 employees, and from four trucks to 20.
    Work on the project officially rolled out on January 1. It is taking AMFD a little time to get used to working such a massive project.
    “The exhaustion of the roll out has been a bit rough,” Scott admits. “The advantage is that every one of the 30-plus employees we have for this contract knows that I am doing EVERYTHING I can to make this contract a resounding success.”


    Scott adds that so far, A Mind for Detail is getting huge compliments from the City, riders and neighbors on the quality of work they are doing. “It’s all because of the people in the field though,” he concluded, “and, of course, my wife. I could not do it without her.”
    5 Comments

    Helpful Hints Door to Door Marketing By:Carlos Gonzales 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 02-15-2012 07:53 AM  Number of Views: 118 
    Categories:
    1. Action

    Helpful Hints Door to Door Marketing




    There are many and useful ways today that enable you to get your pressure washing marketing message in front of potential customers. Ones such as electronic messages, tweets, social networks and telemarketing too name just a few. Though some may disagree but the era of Door-To-Door
    ...
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    Stop Blaming The "Pressure Washer!" 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 02-15-2012 03:53 AM
    Article Preview

    Stop Blaming The "Pressure Washer!"
    By Everett Abrams









    One of the most common used tools for homeowners and contractors is a pressure washer and often times there is damage done and we are quick to blame the equipment and not the lack of education in using this piece of equipment. ...
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    Window Cleaning Magazine Issue 3 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 01-31-2012 05:09 PM



    Window Cleaning Resource Magazine Online

    www.windowcleaningresource.com ...
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    How To fix a CAT Pumps - Pressure Washer Plunger Pump Repair Video 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 01-31-2012 04:00 PM



    This CAT Pumps Pressure Washer Plunger Pump Repair Video shows the repair of the Fluid end of the CAT Pumps - Plunger Pumps from 3 - 68 and the 2SF and 4SF CAT Pumps. ...
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    Industry Certification Matters in the Mobile Cleaning Industry 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 12-01-2011 07:02 AM

    Industry certifications make a Difference the Pressure washing & mobile cleaning Industry.

    Contractors are Raising the Standards, with Industry organizations working towards these certification its matters.

    National Cleaning Expo has been Leading the way by fostering the first Wash water Control Certification in the Industry ...
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    What causes ice dams? 

    by
    Ron Musgraves
    Published on 11-29-2011 01:02 PM
    Article Preview

    What causes ice dams?

    Figure 1. Cross section of a one-and-a-half story house with an ice dam.

    There is a complex interaction among the amount of heat loss from a house, snow cover, and outside temperatures that leads to ice dam formation. For ice dams to form there must be snow on the roof, and, at the same time, higher portions of the roof's ...
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