Hows Business?

John Hyatt

Nawwww,,Curt I figure its all out of the bag now anyway. All the hos get free advice that saves them money/time,I get exposure for all the time I spend over there, Its win win.

Me,Clemens, and a bunch of the Boys had big time Grins over on the old site that got shut down by the spam bandits. I even came up with several renditions of the Ipe Blues, great little tune just never made the charts. JonMon

Seascape

Good stuff there guys. Thanks for taking the time to post.

I think i will start putting my money in some other form of advertising because I aint getting squat really.

I think I really need to get a website. Do you guys really get alot of work from them? I've just never needed it in the past. Usually word of mouth and a few cheap classifieds keep me really busy. Not so much this year!

Clemens

You do need a website nowadays. It will take some time to get a good rating by the searchengines. Hook up with manufacturers to get a link and make sure you are in their contractor search. Get the right key words, photos, blog and/or video clips (I'm still working on it)
Name your website that is in relation with your line of work and short.
If you want to make your own site and don't want to mess with all the html language than www.homestead.com is a good start.
If you have photoshop you can use a plug in called "sitegrinder" to create web pages.
Go to google analytics to search for the right keywords in your field.
Also go to www.hubspot.com for tons of information and videos about website
I got 85% of my work trough the web and I'm full till the end of the year.
Clemens

deckman22

Clemens is right, now a days you really need a website cause everyone with money is connected & like to search on the inet instead of yellow pages,ect.

I started mine in 1999, I have not used any other form of advertising since. I spend 390 bucks on the first site & kept in for 10 years just re-doing it this year. $39 a year on advertising is not bad. I couldn't imagine not having one.

__________________
Deckman
www.alscustomdecks.com

Clemens

I did wrote it down wrong. The correct answer is:
You MUST have a website.
Clemens

bradcoopersmith

I was talking to friend in West palm, FL. He tells me business is picking up over there. I also spoke with another contractor i know on the west coast and he said the same? Are any of you guys feeling an uptick in business in the midwest?

jchomes

I have been swamped the last to monthes but everyone want it done yesterday though, i have work booked to sept but i work alone no comp im to poor to pay out but i also have had to turn down 4 exterior paint job becouse they all wanted it done buy mid july and im only one man

bradcoopersmith

The yellow pages to me is not a very good investment. Too much competition and overcrowding. I am looking into different ways of advertising that give the most bang for the buck. Even if you already have your number on your truck, i think this is a great idea to stand outif you are driving around town. Check this out businessknowhow.com/marketing/mobile_sign.htm

TDG

I lost a $6,500 project by $1,400 because the other bidder was on state unemployment. I was told he only wanted to supplement his income with a deck contract.
He more than likely made more than I would have.

PrestigeR&D

Sorry to hear that,,,,, there coming out of the wood work (no pun intended) . So you only do "decks" ??????

I think that if you are "generalized" in just one area of the business,,,,it becomes more difficault to get jobs. I was talking with a freind of mine who ownes a R&S company,,his business has dropped considerably since 2008. My thought was he was limiting himself to just R$S and that maybe he should consider expanding his compnay into other areas ,,to deversify and now he is doing better since 2008,,, not great,, but better. I know you can's do it all,,, but adding on additional types of work can help,,, if you can do it. I hope things improve for all of us

Brian

bradcoopersmith

I just left my fence distributor who reduced his yellow page advertising to 1 book (there are 5 in metro detroit market). They billed him a "final bill" whic he he paid and then a "revised final bill." He got his lawyer involved, i guess this is pretty common with the yellow pages right now. They are losing a lot of business and have to come up with clever billing tactics to make up for the money they are losing from fleeing advertisings.

With the yellow pages not being effective, what are some of the more creative ways you guys are drumming up business?

Clemens

I think we just discussed this. Your website

DeckPros

Clemens, let me try.

MY WEBSITE!

__________________
http://www.thedeckpros.com

RobertCDF

My website brings in 80% of my work... In the last 18 months I have spent maybe $300 on other advertising (except the homeshow I did $800) and we have been busy solid for those 18 months and still have more projects booked up.

Oh yeah and its still just decks and outdoor living spaces. 09 was the best year yet (since 04) and 10 will probably surpass 09 easily. Did I mention WEBSITE?

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks