pressurepros
New member
I'm going to post this in a few spots to see what type of feedback comes of it. I have a vision for what a good org can be.
It definitely makes more sense to rebuild an existing infrastructure with more qualified management than for a new group to try and haphazardly put something entirely new together.
I'm still of the same mentality that others have mentioned. The US was built colony by colony, state by state. Three and four subchapters could be setup in each state with regular meetings. I would get involved with and pay dues to something I could participate in locally. I wouldn't mind meeting in someone's shop once per month. You get 15 guys per chapter that pay $195 and multiply that out and now you are talking about taking $350,000+ per year in membership dues.
Who Benefits?
The founders of the local chapters will probably have shops that sell products. These should be guys that are established and have enough customer count to recruit new members. If I am somewhere once a month that sells what I need, chances are I am going to buy my stuff there. That in itself would motivate local vendors to become involved and stay on top of their chapter. Everyone benefits and it’s done innocuously.
Small groups are manageable, marketable and are easy to organize.
Flood in New Hope PA? That's Tom Vogel's ACR group from Southeast PA. Tom calls a meeting to see how his group can get in there and mobilize cleanup efforts. The PWNA uses its national status to make the right connections. When word gets out that PressurePros billed $30,000 in 7 days as part of this endeavor solely because they were a PWNA contractor, that is wicked publicity that will drive membership and will not cost a dime. The flood gates (no pun intended) for Tom open up. He can sponsor training, schools, certifications etc. Now imagine, there are 120-200 PWNA chapter presidents around the country doing the same thing and all kicking back money to the parent organization. Tom's making money, so guess what? He can offer his members that new rig they need for much less money. Now I don't have to scan the internet looking for the best price and, a local businessman thrives. The PWNA is making the money it needs survive. It’s WIN/WIN
The Hierarchy
Now with local branches established and self-supporting, the PWNA has funds for its leadership to make maneuvers. They can now launch campaigns in key cities with mass direct mailing. They can take out newspaper ads. They can help fund local campaigns put together by the chapters. They can integrate with other industries and set national standards that homeowner's and management companies will follow. Soon, it becomes almost crazy for a pressure washing contractor not to join. PWNA members get all the jobs. This can work for residential as well as commercial. Management companies and corporations want to push the easy button. They would naturally gravitate towards and trust a national org name.
How will it be organized? The top level management will have short terms in position that have to be voted upon by all members. If you have been in a position for six months and cannot perform.. see ya, we have 150 local chapter presidents waiting in the wings to fill your shoes.
Fifteen local companies in a chapter can dominate a market. I'm not talking about price fixing. I'm talking about an organized message parlayed to the world that we are the guys to hire. Each group can have a member that specializes in certain arenas. Marketing, business planning, selling etc. Having that alone will make the $195 membership fee worth its wait in gold. I'll teach you how to market if you teach me how to hire and keep employees. That sort of thing. Anybody that has been to a round table knows how valuable networking and talking to other contractors is. John Tornabene, you were on the right track when you asked if an org could form its roots with round tables. I say, definitely.
The PWNA as a parent org has to be kept accessible. No more back room clandestine meetings. No more questionable theories about the internet being evil and the BBS’s only making up small share of the overall market. Ever hear the saying 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. The people on the BBS’s are the ones that care about their businesses. These are the people that would first join and lead something like this. There needs to be a strong informational portal. That portal is a website. If something cannot be discussed openly and with debate in public, there is something sneaky or questionable about it. That’s my opinion anyway.
How Do We Get It Started?
BABY STEPS. I'm not knocking anybody past, present or future. There is noone out there in this industry or any other that is qualified to build this thing from the top down. Don Phelps mentioned it on PWI and he is right. Celeste for CPW has taken the first action. I'm sure she will stumble, as there is no business model for her to follow.
The other alternative for the PWNA is to forge ahead with the same modalilty as previous. Someone better be willing to infuse a tremendous amount of money and time or, unfortunately, history will be repeated.
It definitely makes more sense to rebuild an existing infrastructure with more qualified management than for a new group to try and haphazardly put something entirely new together.
I'm still of the same mentality that others have mentioned. The US was built colony by colony, state by state. Three and four subchapters could be setup in each state with regular meetings. I would get involved with and pay dues to something I could participate in locally. I wouldn't mind meeting in someone's shop once per month. You get 15 guys per chapter that pay $195 and multiply that out and now you are talking about taking $350,000+ per year in membership dues.
Who Benefits?
The founders of the local chapters will probably have shops that sell products. These should be guys that are established and have enough customer count to recruit new members. If I am somewhere once a month that sells what I need, chances are I am going to buy my stuff there. That in itself would motivate local vendors to become involved and stay on top of their chapter. Everyone benefits and it’s done innocuously.
Small groups are manageable, marketable and are easy to organize.
Flood in New Hope PA? That's Tom Vogel's ACR group from Southeast PA. Tom calls a meeting to see how his group can get in there and mobilize cleanup efforts. The PWNA uses its national status to make the right connections. When word gets out that PressurePros billed $30,000 in 7 days as part of this endeavor solely because they were a PWNA contractor, that is wicked publicity that will drive membership and will not cost a dime. The flood gates (no pun intended) for Tom open up. He can sponsor training, schools, certifications etc. Now imagine, there are 120-200 PWNA chapter presidents around the country doing the same thing and all kicking back money to the parent organization. Tom's making money, so guess what? He can offer his members that new rig they need for much less money. Now I don't have to scan the internet looking for the best price and, a local businessman thrives. The PWNA is making the money it needs survive. It’s WIN/WIN
The Hierarchy
Now with local branches established and self-supporting, the PWNA has funds for its leadership to make maneuvers. They can now launch campaigns in key cities with mass direct mailing. They can take out newspaper ads. They can help fund local campaigns put together by the chapters. They can integrate with other industries and set national standards that homeowner's and management companies will follow. Soon, it becomes almost crazy for a pressure washing contractor not to join. PWNA members get all the jobs. This can work for residential as well as commercial. Management companies and corporations want to push the easy button. They would naturally gravitate towards and trust a national org name.
How will it be organized? The top level management will have short terms in position that have to be voted upon by all members. If you have been in a position for six months and cannot perform.. see ya, we have 150 local chapter presidents waiting in the wings to fill your shoes.
Fifteen local companies in a chapter can dominate a market. I'm not talking about price fixing. I'm talking about an organized message parlayed to the world that we are the guys to hire. Each group can have a member that specializes in certain arenas. Marketing, business planning, selling etc. Having that alone will make the $195 membership fee worth its wait in gold. I'll teach you how to market if you teach me how to hire and keep employees. That sort of thing. Anybody that has been to a round table knows how valuable networking and talking to other contractors is. John Tornabene, you were on the right track when you asked if an org could form its roots with round tables. I say, definitely.
The PWNA as a parent org has to be kept accessible. No more back room clandestine meetings. No more questionable theories about the internet being evil and the BBS’s only making up small share of the overall market. Ever hear the saying 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. The people on the BBS’s are the ones that care about their businesses. These are the people that would first join and lead something like this. There needs to be a strong informational portal. That portal is a website. If something cannot be discussed openly and with debate in public, there is something sneaky or questionable about it. That’s my opinion anyway.
How Do We Get It Started?
BABY STEPS. I'm not knocking anybody past, present or future. There is noone out there in this industry or any other that is qualified to build this thing from the top down. Don Phelps mentioned it on PWI and he is right. Celeste for CPW has taken the first action. I'm sure she will stumble, as there is no business model for her to follow.
The other alternative for the PWNA is to forge ahead with the same modalilty as previous. Someone better be willing to infuse a tremendous amount of money and time or, unfortunately, history will be repeated.
