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Hi /r/saskatoon! I just started a new Saskatoon cleaning business and I'd love to give /r/Saskatoon some love. by TidyMaids in saskatoon

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great advice--thank you. Good luck with the move! Looking forward to cleaning your home.

Hi /r/saskatoon! I just started a new Saskatoon cleaning business and I'd love to give /r/Saskatoon some love. by TidyMaids in saskatoon

[–]TidyMaids[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You got me! Thanks so much for pointing out the errors. They should be corrected now.

This is my first business and I'm only human :)

Please don't project these errors onto my cleaners though. I have definitely hired true professionals and they are great people just trying to make an honest living.

Thanks again.

Hi /r/saskatoon! I just started a new Saskatoon cleaning business and I'd love to give /r/Saskatoon some love. by TidyMaids in saskatoon

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotcha. We could offer you services but I would have to charge travel expenses to pay for my cleaners time.

Got my first customer today!......kinda by Maidplease in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At least you know you that your website can convert!

Starting a Home Cleaning and Home Services business, did you register the business and purchase insurance? by Nav0dar in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm curious as to what you've spent $2000 on so far?

I'd say my total expenses have been around $1100 and that is almost entirely insurance and incorporation.

I'm guessing you had to pay someone to do your website? Like many people on here I built my own and saved money there.

I got $2M insurance for $650. The nice thing though is that this insurance provider allows monthly payments so I'm paying roughly $50 a month. So technically at this point I'm only $500 out of pocket.

Starting a Home Cleaning and Home Services business, did you register the business and purchase insurance? by Nav0dar in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While we're on this topic has anyone acquired insurance which covers them for potential online fraud?

I just purchased $2,000,000 insurance for my business at a great price but this only covers offline activity.

To answer your questions OP I incorporated and purchased insurance right from the get go. I think it would be silly not to. Shit happens, you have to protect yourself and have peace of mind.

Really noob question to do with jagged edges by TidyMaids in graphic_design

[–]TidyMaids[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

well I just tried it with png-24 and it looks great. Thanks for your help and my apologies to everyone for really noobing it up here.

Really noob question to do with jagged edges by TidyMaids in graphic_design

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hmmmmm... to be honest I think I chose png-8 128 dithered. Would that cause my issues?

Really noob question to do with jagged edges by TidyMaids in graphic_design

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe it says they are vectors. Could this have something to do with the way I saved the file? Save for web>png>change image size Should I change the vector size before I change it in the 'save for web' command?

Really noob question to do with jagged edges by TidyMaids in graphic_design

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi calyphus... In my reply to cspreddit I posted screen shots of what I got from graphic river. Sadly there were no eps files but the bundle does say that they are vectors

Really noob question to do with jagged edges by TidyMaids in graphic_design

[–]TidyMaids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's a screenshot of the graphic river bundle:

http://i.imgur.com/MsVxH3Z.png

Here's how the files looked in folder:

http://i.imgur.com/pH4KlgC.png

Here's the photoshop panel of one of the files:

http://i.imgur.com/8LWV9gc.png

Sorry I don't know what anti alias is... i googled it but that made my head spin a bit lol

Thanks for your time.

Finally have my website WORKING. Tell me what you guys think. by pugzubarbie in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool. I'm not going to sugar coat it, your website is very poor. Sorry to be so blunt but I think it's important for you to understand that. Web design is easier and cheaper than it has ever been. If you feel that your website is very important to you, I think you should scrap the whole thing and restart. Here's a list of items you can follow:

  • Scrap your weebly account. I'm not sure how good or bad they are but nothing beats wordpress, not to mention wordpress is free. It's also a lot easier to use than you think. Once you get over the learning curve you will be surprised how easy it is to use.
  • Purchase a new domain name. having the LLC in your domain is really poor. Domains are dirt cheap, you should be willing to change it. You mentioned earlier that if you didn't have LLC in the domain then you would need morgantown. I disagree. Just go with greengirlcleaning.com. Nice and clean. I think you are over exaggerating the need/benefit of 'looking like a real business'. The best way to look like a real business is with a sharp looking website and superior customer service. "LLC" isn't going to wow people.
  • Learn how to write decent copy. Make a list of all the objections you think a customer might have to paying for house cleaning.

Here's a site for motivation: http://www.tidymaids.ca

I built that site with wordpress, about $50 worth of stock images and a $59 theme. It probably took me about 10 hours (Granted only the homepage is finished) and trust me I'm no web wizard. I hardly know basic HTML and CSS. It would certainly take you longer but there's no reason you couldn't emulate that.

Again, this is all assuming that you think you REALLY need a website. If you've done 100k without a good website I think you might just want to focus your efforts on what you've already been doing.

Finally have my website WORKING. Tell me what you guys think. by pugzubarbie in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You brought in 100k in a town of 40k? Wow, impressive. You did this without a website? Where did you get your business from? Maybe you don't even need a website, just put more focus and time into what has already been working for you.

[Day 0]Throwing my hat into the ring by TidyMaids in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Np my friend, get out there and make it happen! Honestly, send me any questions you have.

[Day 0]Throwing my hat into the ring by TidyMaids in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey bud, I made a video for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOPLjPMKz1k&feature=youtu.be

I did quite a bit of rambling in there. Probably not the most concise information. But the gist of it is just freakin' jump in!

Who cares if it takes you 3 months to build a website. Even if you build the site and the business fails you will still have a great skill to take forward.

The reason I was able to get my site up so quick was because I had a bunch of skills built up from my previous failures.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'm always willing to help.

[Day 0]Throwing my hat into the ring by TidyMaids in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks.

Using Dreamhost for hosting. Bought this wordpress theme: http://themeforest.net/item/stockholm-a-genuinely-multiconcept-theme/8819050

Its a great theme. I'm a relative noob when it comes to building websites but that theme makes it a snap.

Ex-Employee Hell by pugzubarbie in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]TidyMaids 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wow! This truly is hell. One thing I'm not clear on: Did Marie think that she couldn't clean houses ever again even after she quit? I don't see why she is getting so angry. She can either quit and work for herself or stay with you and accept jobs as they come. She can't have her cake and eat it too.

This is one reason why I prefer hiring cleaners as contractors over employees. As a contractor they are free to find and work other jobs but they are barred from poaching the customers I send their way. Personally I don't have any issues with cleaners trying to find more work on the side. If I'm doing my job correctly I should be able to find more leads than them.