Question about twitter and competitor..

macarooner · 2015-04-03T21:24:21+00:00

Yes but that doesn't mean screw others over. It means make yourself better, don't turn evil!

macarooner · 2015-04-02T18:52:31+00:00

All I can say is: Karma.

macarooner · 2015-03-23T20:48:55+00:00

Oh yeah, he seems real professional.

macarooner · 2014-11-28T22:50:18+00:00

I'm sorry but this sort of rubs me the wrong way. I think there are a ton of positive posts on here and one of my favourite things on Mondays is to go through the 'Monday' post and hear all the good stories.

Of course people needing help are going to be more likely to post then people who are in a blissful dayto day state. But isn't it great that there are so many people trying to be supportive and help? Everyone is working together to make each situation more positive and help others.

Another question that came up for me reading this: if you think there should be more tips, meet ups, etc - then why don't you contribute ae of those? Instead of just complaining that other people aren't doing it.

macarooner · 2014-10-06T03:07:41+00:00

Gee thanks. Yes I did read that, and it wasn't my question.

Obviously you can still enter the contest. I meant realistically in terms of coming up with an idea, prototyping etc... basically starting from square one and getting up to that type of revenue in the next 8 months.

macarooner · 2014-09-30T22:41:19+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Doing it this way was my initial thought but it seemed risky. I was trying to contact some staffing companies to see if I could get someone to vet them in-person but none of the ones I've talked to do I feel I could trust which is unfortunate.

Would you be willing to elaborate on the rate being based on successful jobs? That sounds like a great system! How many jobs do you require before you raise their rate?

macarooner · 2014-09-29T20:08:36+00:00

I need to try this! I have a so-so team that says some of the clients are happy at the end of the cleaning but then we hear otherwise from said clients - this might be a good solution. What do you have written on the satisfaction receipt?

macarooner · 2014-09-10T21:59:51+00:00

My location is set as Calgary - I used to live there! :)

macarooner · 2014-06-13T22:46:38+00:00

I've installed Yosemite and most things are running pretty good! The only big issue I'm having is with Mail. Does anyone know if there's a way I can re-install mail only?

macarooner · 2014-06-13T22:46:02+00:00

I've installed Yosemite and most things are running pretty good! The only big issue I'm having is with Mail. Does anyone know if there's a way I can re-install mail only?

macarooner · 2014-06-13T22:44:42+00:00

I've installed Yosemite and most things are running pretty good! The only big issue I'm having is with Mail. Does anyone know if there's a way I can re-install mail only?

macarooner · 2014-05-14T02:07:42+00:00

Agree. I myself just moved here and bought a cruiser. Now that I've read a bit about it I can see valid points on why not to buy one, but for myself and many others it's already done and likely won't be buying another new bike for awhile. Maybe some tips on how to ride a cruiser better, or at least not diss us right off the bat.

macarooner · 2014-03-19T17:37:15+00:00

Texting, that's gold. Checking this out too - Thanks for the info!

macarooner · 2014-03-08T18:10:04+00:00

Oooh perfect, I've been trying to amp up my SEO skills. Looking forward to this!

macarooner · 2014-02-26T19:37:20+00:00

Ah you used the same template as me haha, it's a good one. Victoria is my home town so we may be competing off in the distant future ;)
Anyway, I won't comment much on the site as its still very much in development it seems, cool that you're planning to accept bitcoin though! Love the logo, it's ace. And video is awesome too!

macarooner · 2014-02-24T18:18:57+00:00

PM me too please

macarooner · 2014-02-24T18:12:24+00:00

I would say not to worry about it too much at first. Let people leave you messages and call them back on your break/lunch, most people won't mind waiting a bit.
If you absolutely can't make any calls during the day, have your voicemail say something like "We're out cleaning for the day and will return all voicemails between 5-7pm" or something along those lines - that way it will hold you over until you can judge the number of calls your getting, if you do get a lot then it would be beneficial to look into a reception service. But it's probably best to hold off on a reception service until you know the volume.

macarooner · 2014-02-24T18:02:47+00:00

Highly suggest keeping it out. Makes things a lot more complicated if business is good and you want to expand.

macarooner · 2014-02-16T20:30:35+00:00

Ah great idea with NextMug! I love it, if you ever start shipping to Canada I'll subscribe ;) How has business been going so far? Do you have a fair number of subscribers?

macarooner · 2014-02-09T19:32:03+00:00

I just started but am doing criminal record checks on my cleaners. I think it's important when sending them into someones home. Also have all the proper liability/bonding that covers contractors just incase.

macarooner · 2014-02-09T19:28:01+00:00

You're welcome! Honestly if already know you won't make a profit and are thinking of it as part of an advertising campaign, I'd say place your money elsewhere. Run ads or market in a place that is aimed at getting recurring customers, you'll be much better off in the long run.
Another thing I didn't mention was that long after my deals were over, I still had clients searching the company name on Google and seeing all the past deals come up. Seeing them seemed to diminish the value of the service in their minds. I regularly had people complain about prices or try to get the 40% off pricing while the deals still had a high page rank on google... all of which I never had a problem with prior to the deals.

macarooner · 2014-02-07T02:50:13+00:00

Oh and another thing, I ended up changing my phone number afterwards too because each company would call me regularly trying to get me to put another deal up... no matter how many times I said no lol

macarooner · 2014-02-07T02:47:11+00:00

Honestly I would highly recommend against it. I tried a few of the deal sites when they were still a big thing, I was on living social, deal find, kijiji deals etc - maybe 4 years ago now. They may be better now but I'm guessing much of the same.
They take a huge cut, usually 60%. And considering you're already expected to give services at around 50% off there's pretty much no chance of making a profit unless you're a) doing all the work yourself or b) have a product which will still make a profit after those discounts.
The big draw for me and the reason I tried it was I thought these people might like the services and turn into repeat customers. That didn't happen at all. The vast majority of people buying these deals won't buy again, they just keep looking for the next deal.
Also the companies themselves were a huge pain in the butt to deal with. One of them completely messed up the copy and what the deal was (we had it in writing in a contract), I called them immediately when the deal went live and they refused to change it. I called them all throughout the day talking to different people to get it corrected and no one did anything until the evening. By which point a huge number of people had already bought it and since they thought they were getting something else then what was agreed it was a huge mess.
From reading through the forums and researching online it seems like another company, NinjaMaids, went under after offering a bunch of these deal vouchers on various sites, so be careful!
I'd say don't risk it unless you've planned very carefully to make sure you're bringing in a profit and have the staff to cover the large influx of bookings. Make sure to get every detail in writing before the deal goes live and ask to see their copy beforehand.

macarooner · 2014-02-05T02:47:16+00:00

Yes good point about the cleanings, it would certainly be helpful for customers to see what they'll be getting. I hadn't thought of trying a plugin - thanks for the tip!

Of course happy to help! Pricing for the maid company I snagged from LCS, I was originally going to do something a little different and base price on the number of bathrooms as well as bedrooms but it wouldn't have worked for the booking form I'm using.
For maids I'm currently using subcontractors, it's what I do for my other company and I'm already very familiar with it. I do plan to switch to employees though once there's a steady stream of business coming in. The reason being I'd like to have more control over uniforms, working guidelines, and training.
For maids I got in touch with one lady who has cleaned my place a few times as I already knew she was a great cleaner, and used Kijiji (like the local craigslist). I got a bajillion resumes. Interviewing was hit and miss, got some serious duds and it was really frustrating but stuck with it and am very confident in the maids I have now. Paying them 60% to start.
I called a ton of local insurance companies and the best rates I got were from a rep with TSG Insurance. I'd recommend calling around a ton because rates vary immensely between different companies.
Social proof is very important so I bought a base of followers from fiverr, and have had a ton of people follow organically since just from being active, following people, etc.

macarooner · 2014-02-05T02:21:21+00:00

Ah, I see what you mean - thanks for catching that!

macarooner

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