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What's going on here? |
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This is the blog of an actual dryer vent cleaning business as it starts and becomes profitable.
It is a one year case study on what to do, when to do it, and what the results are/were.
The case study participant is writing in first person and is performed by Alisa LeSueur, Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician and Executive Director of the Dryer Vent Cleaners of America. The city is San Antonio, Texas.
The financial summary on the right details the raw monthly income, expenses, and campaign totals. |
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Daily Blog
- lastest entry is first, first entry is at the end of the column |
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April 13, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
April 12, 2008
My job today was at the home of an attendee of one of this week's networking events.
She had a 1 story home with the vent terminating through the roof.
$98
She needed a transition duct and I installed one for free.
April 11, 2008
Still raining, but there were 3 networking events today.
$20 for all 3 with 100 people in attendance at all 3.
April 10, 2008
Rain. No work.
April 9, 2008
This morning started off at a networking event with 50 people in attendence. I set an appointment for a job on Saturday.
Lunch was at a real estate networking meeting $20
I scheduled the afternoon for the condo job from last week, but the homeowner is sick, so it is put off for another week or so.
Standing by...
A call came in for a dryer vent cleaning job from a previous customer.
This firm sets up and runs "group homes" for handicapped people, so they have several homes that might need my services.
This home was a 1 story with the vent terminating through the roof. $98
While I was on the roof, I noticed that the gutters had a great deal of debris in them, so When I wnet to the main office to get paid, I mentioned that I could clean the gutters for $75 more, and they cut a check for that on the spot.
I will go back in a day or 2 to finish that job.
April 8, 2008
Today I went to 2 networking events with 70 people in attendence for both $50 total
The $30 luncheon did not allow for self-introductions, so I will not be going back to that group.
Too much money for too little exposure.
April 5-7
Personal days off.
April 4, 2008
I started today at a networking breakfast with 200 people in attendance.
For lunch, there was the Firday Networking luncheon $10
In the afternoon, I had a job that was a 2 story home venting out between the first and second stories.
$145
The issue here was that the A/C iunit was in the way of proper placement of my ladder, so the homeowner offered to hold it for me if I placed the ladder legs on the outside of the A/C unit.
That worked welll. $145
April 3, 2008
I started today at a networking breakfast with a new group. There were 35 people there. $15
My first job was at a condo where the dryer vented across a 32' ceiling and out the side. $145
This was a very interesting case. and they found me in the MuchAdo News.
As I started cleaning the vent, I noticed that there was slight airflow and very little lint - like a cupful.
The owner and her son were watching me work, so I could tell them what I was doing - and my concerns with the airflow and lint volume - or lack thereof.
My rods were not going to reach the total length of the vent (over 40'), so I working from the inside as well.
My work form the inside netted a much greater amount of lint and created a little more airflow outside, but my rods were not making the turn at the ceiling.
I tried using my rods again from the outside when the airflow stopped.
This is an indication of a break in the pipe and I felt that it was at the elbow at the ceiling.
I also felt a spongy feel and think that the elbow might be flexible, which is a no-no.
Since the homeowner was there as I was working, she understood what was going on and I am scheduled back out in a week with my sheetrock guy to break into the wall to see what is going on and to fix the problem.
I will take pictures for you.
My next job was the tenant that I got the call about yesterday.
The home was a 1 story with the pipe venting out the roof $98.
The pipe is 3" instead of 4" and I will tell the owner about it.
Remember that I was not supposed to alarm the tenant if there whs something wrong?
Since the 3" pipe will cause the clothes to take longer that 30 minutes to dry, I told the tenant that their home's construction would cause the clothes to take 45 minutes to dry.
I did not alarm her, just stated it as fact.
I did not want a trouble call later that the clothes were taking 45 minutes to dry instead of the 30 minutes that my business card stated...
The tenant's husband mentioned that my income was nice for the work that I did, and I suggested that he consult this website to see if he wanted a new career.
I don't mind the competition. It is better for the community if lots of us are doing this work.
There is plenty of business to go around.
April 2, 2008
I started at a real estate luncheon with over 150 attendees. $20
My job was from a real estate networking meeting from last month. It was a low side wall termination that was a couple of feet long $78
I got a call from a previous customer that wants me to go out to his rent house and clean the dryer vent. If there is something wrong, he wants me to NOT tell the tenant, rather to tell him.
She is apparently really excitable and he does not want her into get upset. I will see what is there when I get there.
I will coordinate schedules with the tenant.
In the evening, I attended a networking event and there were 20 people there.
April 1, 2008
The day started of at a Real estate networking breakfast $20
40 attendees.
The first job was from the MuchAdo News and was a 1 story through the roof $98
The vent pipe was 3" diameter and I told them that it should be 4" diameter.
My next job found me through a google search. 1 story - steep roof. $98
The homeowner was really helpful since we both saw how steep the roof was. He handed me tools and when one of my rods rolled off the roof, he fetched it and threw it back to me - which took several tries to get it done.
My next job was also a 1 story through the roof and they saw me on my TV appearance in October. $98
March 31, 2008
I started the day at a networking event with 25 attendees.
My job today was an interesting turn of events.
They found my ad in the MuchAdo News and called for me to clean the dryer vent in a 1 story home with a roof termination.
Both husband and wife watched from the backyard and I narrated what I was doing.
Not long into the cleaning, I felt an absence of airflow and asked to go into the attic to investigate.
I saw that the vent pipe in the attic was really a flexible vinyl hose and I told them that it would have to be replaced.
The husband tried to gently suggest that since my tools broke through the hose, that I should be responsible for fixing it.
The fact is that the flexible vinyl hose should not have been there in the first place.
In my area, flexible hose is allowed in the visible part of the attic, but it must be metal.
I prefer rigid metal since it is easier to clean, plus there is no opportunity for the lint to collect and sag as it tends to do in the flexible hose.
The wife understood the situation and OK'd the repair.
I did the repair on the spot. I was there for approx 2 hours. $300
For lunch, I attended a networking event with 12 attendees $8.69
In the evening, I attended another networking event with 40 attendees.
March 29 & 30, 2008
No jobs on the 29th and the 30th is a Sunday, so I took the days off.
March 28, 2008
This morning started me out at a home where the dryer was venting directly out of the exterior wall, but the dryer itself was shoved up against that wall and not allowing the exhaust to escape.
I cleaned the area beind the dryer and repositioned it so that the transition duct was not crushed $65
They found me in the MuchAdo News.
This job brings up a very good example of customer service and customer perception.
If I had just pulled the dryer out from the wall and said "That will be $65", they would have been upset.
By taking time to clean up the area and educate them about the aerodynamics of the clothes dryer, and suggesting that they wash the lint screen monthly, they feel like they got their money's worth with my service call.
At lunchtime, I attended the Friday networking luncheon with 60 attendees. $9.50
After lunch, I stopped by at a house where I promised to come back to after the son-in-law had moved a shelf out of my way to get to the back of the dryer.
They already paid me, so it was just a freebie call back.
March 27, 2008
Today started me off at a hair salon that I serviced 6 months ago. They felt the need to have the vent cleaned again. $95
This is a simple 1 story through the roof vent, but the roof is metal, so I was sure to schedule it early in the day.
The issue here was more that someone had shoved the dryer back against the wall too far and crushed the transition duct.
I still cleaned out the vent pipe, but when I repositioned the dryer, I pulled the washer out to match the edge of the dryer, so maybe it will stay out where it should be...
The next job was a 1 story through the roof customer that found me on the Internet. $98
The vent was a 3" pipe that should be a 4' pipe. I quoted $1800-2200 to fix it.
The biggest expense for this fix is the drywall work.
In the evening, I had my choice of several networking events and a Homeowners Association meeting.
I chose one early event with 35 people attending, then I went to the homeowneres association meeting only to find out that the meeting had been rescheduled. (dammit!)
March 26, 2008
The day started off at a breakfast networking meeting with 40 attendees. $0
The first job was a 2 story home with the vent terminating through the second story roof. The cap was easy to get to, so the charge was $120.
The customer found me on the Internet.
This home had a 3" vent pipe in the walls and I told him that it should be a 4" pipe.
The next job was a referral from an appliance repair shop.
This home was a 1 story with the vent running through the roof. $98
The problem at this home was that thre were 2 wasp nests at the top of the dryer vent pipe blocking the lint from getting out.
The still photos are in your Welcome Package under the name "Wasps".
I was able to get the nests out without incident and cleaned the rest of the pipe. I am saving the nests as a visual example for future trade shows.
After this job, I went to a networking dinner/mixer where there were 25 people. $0
March 25, 2008
My first job today was a 2 story home with the vent running through the crawl space between the first and second stories, then out the side of the house. $145
The lady of the house did not remember where she got my name.
The second job was from a google search and the vent went through the roof of the one story home. $98
March 23 & 24, 2008
Sunday - took the day off
Monday - no jobs, so I made some follow up calls and emails, then took the rest of the day off.
March 22, 2008
The first job today was a referral from a customer and was a
2 story house where the dryer vent terminates out between the first and second stories. $145
There was no working dryer, so I used my portable blower +$18
The second job was the attendee at the Friday networking luncheon from yesterday.
The dryer vented out the exterior wall, but the transition duct was crushed and damaged, needed to be replaced. $75 + $12 for the transition duct.
March 21, 2008
Today's job was from Much Ado News and was a 1 story home venting through the roof. $95
This termination cap was a low profile version that is impossible to work from unless the cap's rviets are drilled out.
The roof was of such a pitch that I was able to do just that.
I drilled out the rivets on 3 of the 4 sides and when I was finished, I used self-tapping screws to hold the cap in place.
Afterwards, I attended the Friday Networking Luncheon. $8
I scheduled a job with one of the attendees for tomorrow.
March 20, 2008
Today there were no jobs, so I did a little work in the office, then attended to personal business.
March 19, 2008
Today started out at a job that was a 1 story, through the roof from Much Ado News $95
There were 4 elbows and I had to work from the roof as well as from the inside. I also had to re-strap the pipe at one point.
I might have been able to charge extra for it, but chose not to.
I noticed that the plastic flexible duct from the bathroom exhaust fan had started to unravel and told the homeowner about it.
I told her that it I could fix it for $75-$100 and she said she would think about it...
The next job was another 1 story, through the roof and she found me on the Internet., $95 + $12 for a new transition duct.
The next job was a referral from another customer and another 1 story, through the roof, but the roof was tile and I had to work slowly. $95
There was no dryer attached so I had to use my portable blower. +$18
I also worked from both sides since there were multilple elbows.
In the evening, there was a meeting for the Hispanic Realtors group.
March 18, 2008
Rain.
No work.
March 17, 2008
My job today found me on the CSIA website.
When you get your Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician credential, your name will be listed there, too.
This was a 1 story home with the termiantion through the roof. $95
The problem with this home is that the pipe had become disconnedcted in the attic at the top of the pipe in the wall.
I was able to stick my arm in the pipe from the roof to feel around to find the pipe in the wall, but I was unable to attach it this way.
The other problem is that there is no attic access.
The homeowner had just bought attic stairs to install, but had not cut the hole, yet.
I worked from the inside and harvested a huge pile of lint.
The homeowner was impressed.
I promised to come back to make sure the pipe was clear once he re-attached the pipe.
March 16, 2008
Sunday - took the day off
March 15, 2008
My first job rescheduled.
My other job today was from the MuchAdo Newspaper and was a 2 story home with the dryer on the second floor.
The best way to the second story roof was by getting on the garage roof (tile) and putting my ladder on that roof to get to the upper roof which was shingled tar paper.
I ran into some difficulty when my brush hit something that felt mushy and the air flow stopped.
This meant that there was a break in the pipe inside the wall.
I told the homeowner and estimated that the fix would be at least $500 since thare would be sheetrock work for the wall and possible the ceiling.
She said she would do the sheet rock work and proceeded to break the wall open for me.
The open wall showed that there was a vinyl elbow in the wall that needed to be replaced with rigid metal.
The pipe from the roof was tarred in place and would not budge, so I had to cut the pipe back 6 inches to accomodate the new elbows.
I was able to work in this really tight space and get the 2 elbows in to replace the vinyl section.
$150 for the cleaning and $50 for the elbow replacement.
March 14, 2008
My job today was from the Neighborhood News and I quoted $65 on the phone since the homeowner said that the vent went "right out the side of the house".
Well, "right outside" turned out to be 8' of vent pipe to celan, so I charged $75.
She was flabbergasted at the amount of lint that I got from her vent pipe.
Lunch was the Friday Networking Lunch at a new place with higher prices: $9.50
In the afternoon, I went to another networking event that was free. I did not get to meet very many new people, but I never know what will pay off.
March 13, 2008
My first event was a networking lunch for real estate agents in a neighboring town. $15
I was able to meet several agents that did not know that I was offering my services.
My job today was on the way home form that luncheon, so the gas expenditure was shared.
The home was a 2 story with the vent running through a very steep roof, so I had to work from the attic, which was an easy task. $115
This homeowner had seen me on TV in October, but my ad in MuchAdo News caused him to call me.
March 12, 2008
My first job today was a simple one story, through the roof home from MuchAdo News. $95
I went to a networking lunch for mortgage brokers $20
My afternoon job was a veterinarian clinic that received my postcard from last week's mailing. $130
This is a tall, one story, through a metal roof building.
March 11, 2008
My job today was from real eatate networking.
It was a simple one story, through the roof home $95.
The pipe was 3" diameter and should have been 4" diameter.
March 10, 2008
Torential rain kept me from working outside today.
March 9, 2008
Sunday - took the day off
March 8, 2008
My first job today was from the Neighborhood News, although she saw me on my TV appearance in October. I will give credit to Neighborhood News since that is what prompted her to call me.
On the phone, she told me that she had a 'leak' in her attic from the dryer vent.
When I got there, I saw that her dryer vent had leaked water from the elbow in the attic onto her ceiling which created a stain.
I quoted $200 to clean and re-tape the joints.
Next time, the cleaning would be $95 or whatever the new price is.
I tried to clean the duct from the attic, but I was not getting the air flow that I wanted.
In the attic, I saw that the joints were taped with duct tape, and there were 4 elbows in close proximity to each other.
I untaped the joints to access the vent pipe.
I pulled out several globs of wet lint.
My brush had gotten through the lint, but it was so wet that it fell back onto itself after the brush came out.
With the increased airflow from the lint being removed, I asked the homewoner to run the clothes dryer empty for an hour to help dry the lint.
I came back later and had to manually extract the lint from the long horizontal pipe since it was too heavy to be blown out the top.
The next job was a 2 story home and the homeowner did not know where the vent terminated. There was no clothes dryer attached. In fact, the new clothes dryer was being delivered that day. $135 + $18 for use of the portable blower.
This customer found me in Much Ado News.
I found the termination cap which was a low profile cap on a very steep tile roof above the first floor.
The attic access had been floored over, and it would have been very difficult and time consuming to remove the flooring.
I will suggest that this be done next time, and you will read why.
The roof was so steep that I needed the homeowner to stand on the bottom rung of my ladder to steady it in case I started to slide off the roof.
I got to the termination cap and had to bore through the welds to access the pipe.
The first elbow was 2 feet down, then there was 6' of pipe, then another elbow.
My Pro-spin rods would not make this elbow.
This is an indication of a pipe that is not connected properly, such as the pipe end was crushed to make the joint.
I worked on this for over 30 minutes trying to make the turn with my rods.
I gave up and tried to clean form the inside and met with the same problem from that side.
After over 2 hours of fighting this, the homeowner said she had to leave for another engagement.
I was able to get a ton of lint out and she said that would be OK.
I will go back another day and suggest that the flooring be removed for me to access from there.
March 7, 2008
Today started out at a networking event where I got to pitch my business for 2 minutes.
There were 180 people there and I was able to fit a lot of information in my 2 minutes.
Lunch was at the Friday Networking Luncheon with 60 poeple present. $8
I ordered the list of Veterinarians a few weeks ago and it came in today. $50
I addressed postcards $75 and sent them out to 382 veterinarians in the area. $99.32.
The list is a one-time cost.
I ordered enough postcards for several mailings and the postage will be paid each time.
March 6, 2008
My job today had to reschedule because of heavy rain.
These was a networking event in the afternoon for mortgage brokers. The settng was not condusive to conducting business, but people saw me and that helps to remind them that there is a dryer vent specialist that they can recommend.
March 5, 2008
My job today was from Neighborhood News an was a home where I had to work from the attic. $150
The vent ran from the first floor to the top of a 2 story roof. The roof was too steep for me to climb, so I worked from the area behind the dryer as well as from the attic.
In the attic I was able to disconnect the pipe at a point where the elbow joined the 17+ feet of vertical run to the roof and the 6' diagonal run to the top of the pipe above the dryer.
For those of you keeping count, that is 31' of pipe, 2-45 degree elbows for a total developed lenghth of $36+ feet.
I used my Ro-Vac rods/brush for the attic work and my Pro-Spin behind the dryer. I was unable to get to the cap to clean the lint out. Sometimes this is a significant issue.
March 4, 2008
I have decided to raise my rates since gasoline has just hit
$3/ gallon here.
I will slowly implement a price increase careful not to raise the price on jobs that I have already quoted.
The day started off at a morning networking breakfast for Hispanic Realtors. $20 and not well attended.
The first job was from Much Ado News and was a 1 story, through the roof house. $95
The second job was from an ad in a publication that targets homeowners in specific subdivisions and is published by a company called "Neighborhood News" which contracts with homeowners assciations to publish their newsletters.
The cost for this subdivisiion is $125/month.
This home's vent terminated between the first and second stories, and the point on the outside wall where the vent came out was over the air conditioning unit and behind some hedges.
It was not easy to get to, nor easy to work from, as I had to put my ladder in the air conditioning units to get to the vent. $150.
I also heard/felt what I believe to be a flexible duct piece inside the walls.
I noted it on the invoice, but the cost of exploratory surgery is $2200...
The next job was a one story through the roof home where the homeowner heard about me on the TV appearance form October. $95
March 1-3, 2008
Saturday & Monday - no jobs so I took the days off.
Sunday - took the day off.
February recap
gross income $3235
marketing expenses $630.20
non-marketing expenses $294
salary to me $2000
$311 to reserves
February 29, 2008
My first job was the one that rescheduled from earlier in the week.
It was from the newspaper ad and was a one story, through the roof job. $95.
I went to the Friday Networking Lunch. $8
The afternoon job was a homeowner who saw me on TV in October and called (finally).
It was another home with a low profile roof. $125
I had to work from the attic and the first thing that I did was to tear off the screen that the installler left on the termination cap.
I took off the 4' pipe section that led to the cap to access that screen.
Then I cleaned the 15' section that ran across the atttic.
I took the other end of the pipe section off th access both ends.
I used my Ro-Vac rods.
The rest of the pipe ran under the 'game room' and was not visible, but there was rouighly 6' of pipe section that ran horizontally before the 8.5' vertical run to the back of the dryer.
All total, there was 35' of straight pipe, 2-90 degree elbows (10' equivalent) and 1-45 degree elbow (2.5' equivalent) for a total developed lenghth of 47.5'.
The total allowed is 25'.
I made a note of it on the invoice. although there is nothing they can do about it.
February 28, 2008
My job today was a 1 story, straight through the roof job that was scheduled from a networking event. $95
There was an eventing networking event that cost $8 + $35 for annual dues. I was able to meet 1 new contact there.
I had the choice of 2 different mixers this evening and I chose the one that I did because of lesser travel time.
February 27, 2008
I started at a breakfast networking event which was free with 85 people there.
My moring appointment rescheduled.
I went to a real estate luncheon where I set 2 appointments for later dates. $12
Afternoon, I attended another real estate mixer where I met some property management contacts. No charge.
February 26, 2008
The morning was spent visiting appliance rental companies.
In the afternoon, I attented a networking event that was free and I made some great contacts there.
February 25, 2008
I finally got to the job that has been rescheduled 2 times.
It was a job from one of the real estate networking events.
Cleanout: $115 + $5 for elbow replacement.
This home has a "low profile" vent termination cap which required me to work from the attic. I charge $20 more for this.
One of the elbows was broken and I replaced it for $5.
The attic was easy to work in.
I took the strap off of one end and took the pipe off of the elbow to get to the cap at the roof. I cleaned out the lint from the inside.
The installer left the screen on the cap which was keeping the lint form getting out. I took the screen off. It comes off easily, but it is necessary to tear it to get it off.
I also worked from behind the dryer and the pile of lint was so high that the homeowner took a picture of it for her sister to see.
After that job I went to a networking lunch. $8.67
As the lunch was ending, I got a call from a customer wanting a re-route estimate. It was really close by, so I went by there to see that the vent was a vinyl tube that needed to be replaced.
In order to replace this tube, I would need to work from the upstairs and pull up the carpet, take up the flooring and figure out the best route for a rigid metal pipe to take.
I estimated that the job would take $850-$1350 with $600-1000 going to a subcontractor.
The customer said he will get back to me. Of course, I will call him in a week or two.
There was a networking event in the early evening that was free and there were 50 people there. I made some great contacts.
February 24, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
February 23, 2008
My first job called to cancel. It was from the newspaper ad.
I have noticed that the newpaper ad provides me with a lower quality of customer.
The next job was a referral from the chimney sweep and a one story, through the roof job. $95
The homeowner was very involved with my work.
He got onto the roof with me and watched as I worked behind the dryer.
I like it when the customer gets inviolved like this since it gives me the opportunity to explain what I am doing which usually impresses them with my thoroughness.
After the job, I visited several apppliance rental companies with my rental company packet of information so that they can send me referrals.
You get this as part of your Welcome Package when you joined the Dryer Vent Cleaners of America.
February 22, 2008
I took today off for personal reasons.
February 21, 2008
I started at a networking breakfast with 40 people there. $0
The first job was a 2 story house which vented out the side and was a referral from the chimney sweep. $135
This vent had standing water in it due to the lint clog which kept the moist exhaust from exiting the vent, which allowed for the accumualtion of water.
I removed the wet lint and gunk that I could from the horizontal pipe. Then I worked behind the dryer to get out as much lint as possible, trying to open up some air flow.
Once I got out a big pile of lint, I let the dryer run on high heat for 20 minutes to let some of the water evaporate so I could work with the dryer lint.
While the dryer was running, I caught up on some phone calls in my car.
After 20 minutes, I worked from the outside of the house to get more lint out. I was able to get a bigger opening in the lint clog, but the lint was still really wet, so I let the dryer run on high heat for another 20 minutes.
After this 20 minutes, the lint was dry enough for me to get it out.
This job took over 2 hours, but with good communication with the homeowners, they understood what was going on and are sold on my coming back more often.
I let them know that I would be sending out reminders every 6 months and to look for them.
The other afternoon job rescheduled since I was running late and they had other plans.
There was a networking meeting tonight, but I was so filthy from the job, I didn't have time to go home and clean up and still make the event.
February 20, 2008
I spent some time on the phone trying to follow up with the applaince repair person with no luck.
Still phone tag.
I also followed up on other leads from networking groups and real estate sales meetings.
The afternoon job rescheduled at the last minute, so I went early to a networking event for real estate agents. $5
I met several people for the second time (or more times) and I got the comment that I am "everywhere".
That's great to hear.
I hope that this will translate to me being the first one that they think of when they need a dryer vent cleaned or fixed.
One of the people that I met was a homebuilder's rep and he mentioned that their community has zero-lot-lines, which means that most of their dryer vents terminate through the roof.
He will mention me in his newsletter.
I also met a person who works for the City teaching people how to buy their first home.
He suggested that I come and teach a mini-class on the importance of dryer vent cleaning.
This would be an ongoing gig and will be great to reach a whole new audience.
February 19, 2008
I started working at noon since I had a late meeting.
My job was a one story, through the roof for $95
They found me in the MuchAdo Newspaper.
In the evening, I attended a networking dinner with 24 people there. $14
The group seems nice enough, but the meeting lasted 3 hours, so I left after 2 hours since I had other obligations.
I did get to introduce myself and ate a great steak dinner, but instead of conducting the meeting while we were eating, they started after we were finished eating.
If I don't get jobs from this, I will probably not go back.
February 18, 2008
My job today was a 2 story house with the vent terminating between the first and second stories. $135.
They saw my ad in MuchAdo News.
This was a retired couple who had cleaned out their dryer vent when they noticed birds at the termination.
They could not get all of the lint out, so they called me.
(The husband was sure that I would not get any more lint out.)
I got buckets of lint out.
I am always sure to protect the egos of my customers, explaining that most homeowners do not have the proper tools to get the lint out like I do.
I want to make sure that they are OK wilth calling me out the next time.
I also reminded them to watch for lint in their home-made critter guard.
Lunch was a networking group close by with 20 people there $8.86
I got to educate a pastor about the importance of dryer vent cleaning.
After the lunch, I visited a real estate office to hand out flyers and try to schedule me to speak at one of their sales meetings.
They do not allow speakers at the big sales meeting, but offered that if I want to provide lunch, they will post it for whomever wants to show up. Typically 15 agents show up for these lunches.
I might try this later, but for now, I will concentrate my efforts elsewhere.
In the afternooon I tried to follow up with the appliance repair guy for the job from last week that needs a new sensor. - I think.
Still playing phone tag.
I also went online to the State Board for Veterinarians to see if I could buy the list of verterinarians to market to them.
It will cost $50, which I think is reasonable, so I will track that for outcome.
February 17, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
February 16, 2008
The first job today was a Veterinary Clinic with a vent terminating low through the wall.
The duct was 3' long and they needed a transition duct.
$75 + $12
A handyman referred them to me.
The next job was scheduled from the newspaper ad but no one was home when I got there and so I left my busienss card.
My policy is to not follow up with people who are not there and do not have the courtesy to call me to save me the trip.
If they call me from my card, I will be sure to make their job when I am in the area for another job anyway, so I don't risk spending the gas money again.
This is Saturday, so I took the rest of the day off.
February 15, 2008
My first job was a one story, through the roof clean out for $95 + $12 transition duct.
This was a chimney sweep referral.
Lunch was the Friday Networking luncheon woth 65 people there. $8
The second job was set earlier this week at the mortgage meeting.
This job was a doozy.
It is a 1 story house with the vent through the roof, but the vent in the attic was 30' for flexible metal duct, which is legal in this area, but really dumb.
I cannot clean flexible duct with my brushes from the roof, so I would have to take it all down and manually clean the 3 duct sections.
The cost on this would be $300 and it would be really difficult to put this duct back up.
I could take down the old duct and put up new flexible duct for $250, but the installation would not be the smartest in the long run.
Instead, she agreed to my re-routing the vent to terminate through the ceiling of her entry way with all rigid duct. $450
There are now 4 elbows in the space of 5 feet, but the clean out will be less frequent and easier even though I will have to work from the attic.
The next job was a two story home with the vent terminating through a first story steep roof. $95
The homeowner saw my ad in the MuchAdo Newspaper.
This was a $652 day!
Cool!
February 14, 2008
Today's job was one that I bid on in December for $375.
The clothes dryer was in the garage and venting freely.
The Fire Marshall required proper venting to the exterior of the structure.
My fix was to run the rigid metal vent along the floor at the wall, then up 18" through the front of the house which has a brick exterior.
The termination point is hidden by trash can storage.
Since the vent ran along the floor, I encased it in a plywood box sturdy enough to withstand a box falling on it, or someone standing on it.
I had to hire someone to break through the brick and build the box. Their cost was $200.
The stats for this job will be the $175 net income.
It took me about 30 minutes to do my part.
The afternoon was a networking mixer, but I had bad information as to the location, so I did not get there until it was over.
February 13, 2008
This morning I went to a small networking group breakfast that decided to disband.
I didn't meet anyone new there in the past, so no big loss to me.
Lunch was a mortgage broker meeting where I have had lots of success with getting new business and meeting great contacts.
I scheduled 2 jobs there today for this week.
One if the reasons that this group is better than many is because each attendee gets to stand and give a 15 second introduction of themselves so that everyone knows who is there.
This meeting costs $20 and lunch is included.
The first constomer was the call-back from a few days ago.
I went back on the roof and re-cleaned the pipe but did not get much lint out.
This is when the homwoner mentioned that the dryer does not get hot when the transition duct is connected to the wall.
I cleaned the duct from the inside with similar results - little lint - so I went into the attic to investigate.
The attic access was difficult which is why I didn't try that earlier.
I found in the attic that there was over 12 feet more pipe than I had estimated.
I ran my brush through and got more lint, but not so much as to explain the drying issues.
I could not see any damage, but the pipe was hidden from view at the end of the extra 12', so I cannot know for sure.
The strange aspect of this job is that I can feel incredible back flow of air at the appliance end of the vent.
Lint was actually sporadically blowing out at me when I was inside the house - probably when the wind blew.
I had another job in the area, so the homeowner agreed to check the drying time of her next load of laundry - which she was putting in as I left.
When I called her later, she said the same problem was continuing: long drying time.
I have 2 theories:
1. The back pressure is signaling that there is a clogged dryer vent, so the heating element will not come on.
2. The vent is so long that the clothes will not dry efficiently.
38' + 3 90 degree elbow!
Theory 1 is more likely since the non-functioning heating element more likely to be the issue.
Many clothes dryers have a safety feature which does not allow the heating element to function when the vent lis clogged. This is determined by a sensor that can tell when there is back pressure at the vent.
I will contact the appliance repair firm that referred her to me to see if this sensor is adjustable since it appears to be too sensitive.
The second job was one that I scheduled at the earlier mortgage meeting.
This vent terminated at the side of the home between the first and second stories. $135
February 12, 2008
This day started out at a breakfast networking meeting of a local Chamber of Commerce.
I am not a member, so I paid the $20 non-member price.
There were over 150 attendees and I got 3 good leads for business.
Lunch was at a different Chamber of Commerce. $15
50 attendees with one of them being a local newscaster for a news radio station.
I spoke with him about interviewing me after a future fire that has been identified as a clothes dryer fire. He thought that was a good idea.
The job today was for a Realtor that I met at a sales meeting when I spoke there last year. $65 + $12 transition duct
This dryer was on an exterior wall, but the transition duct was crushed.
I cleaned the area and installed a new transition duct with instructions on leaving the laundry room door open while drying.
During the day, I got a call from yesterday's job saying that the clothes were still taking too long to dry.
She disconnected the transition duct and the clothes dried in 30 minutes.
I am scheduled to go back out tomorrow.
February 11, 2008
My job today was a referral from the appliance repair company that I met at the Realtor luncheon.
This home was a 2 story with the vent running through the steep roof just above the first floor roof line. $150
Because of the roof, I could only feed one rod, in and out, at a time. There was a considerable amount of lint, but the air flow did not seem to be adequate.
I also worked from the inside and got out a ton of lint there, too.
I was concerned that I did not clear the vent totally, so I asked the homeowner to call me if the next load of laundry did not dry in 30 minutes.
I took the rest of the day for personal business.
February 10, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
February 9, 2008
Today's job was a 2 story home with the vent running through the first story roof I met the customer at a networking meeting. $95
This was a wierd vent in that I could not make my rods go through the second bend from the roof.
It felt as though I had hit the recepticle cup at the bottom, but when I pulle dthe tranistion duct, the brush was not there.
The solution was to clean the rest of the vent from the inside.
I was able to get 12' of rod through which means I was able to get past the elbow above the dryer.
Since this is Saturday, I took the rest of the day off.
February 8, 2008
The only work today was a networking luncheon. $8
I took the rest of the day for personal business.
February 7, 2008
I took the morning off for personal business.
In the afternoon, I went to a Realtor's house to assess his situation.
His dryer vent runs through the foundation and terminates at the ground level.
It should terminate at least 12 inches above the ground.
It is also PVC pipe and should be metal.
The problem is that the exterior is rock and tough to drill smoothly through without destroying the rock.
The homeowner knows rock masons that can do the work, so he will arrange for that and I will make sure that the dryer vent is installed correctly.
When I do the work, the charge will be $150 for my portion.
In the mean time, I will not collect any money.
I chose to do this since this Realtor can send me lots of business.
In the evening, I went to a mixer with 40 attendees, mostly new faces to me.
February 6, 2008
I started out at a breakfast networking meeting. $6.67
12 people there.
The lunch networking meeting was the Women's Council of Realtors with 150+ attending. $25
At my table were 4 Realtors and an appliance repair company owner. SCORE!
My afternoon appointment was with a Realtor who learned about me from the chimney sweep. $150 + $18 for portable blower.
This was a 2 story home with the dryer connection on the second floor and venting through the roof which was not too steep.
I had to get on the first story roof, pull my ladder up and take it with me to put it on the first story roof to get to the second story.
The lint spew was impressive and the homeower got to see it.
The upper 12 inches of pipe was not attached well, so I went into the attic to work on it, except that I could not get to it.
On the roof, I place the pipe in as well as I could from that angle.
February 5, 2008
I started the day at the Hispanic Realtors networking breakfast. $20
There were 100 attendees and I was able to meet many of the new faces, and re-aquaint with those I had met before.
I also attended a lunch with 20 people there. free
In the afternoon I had a job that found me in the MuchAdo Newspaper. It was a one story, through the metal roof home. $95
The metal roof was not too steep, but I saw taht the elbow was connected with a rough crimp.
That's a polite way to say that the "crimp" was not made with a crimping tool, rather, the installer crushed the edges in to make a 'male' end to fit.
I went into the attic to correct the problem, but the pipe junction was encased in 2 x 4s and I could not access it without risking structural damage.
The net result is that the drying time will only get down to 45 minutes instead of the 30 minutes that I tout since the widest point in the pipe is really only 3" diameter.
In the evening, I attended a networking meeting that only had 10 people there.
I did meet someone who thinks she will call me.
We'll see.
February 4, 2008
Today I went to the catering business that is owned by Saturday's client.
The dryer was on an exterior wall, but the transition duct was crushed, so I replaced it and realigned the dryer. $65 + $12
The termination hood directed the lint into 2 compressors, which I pointed out to the owner so she can address the problem.
When I pulled the dryer out, there were several napkins and other cloths that had fallen behind the dryer. I also saw a black plume stain on the wall, which is evidence of a fire. I showed the owner and she was shocked.
I instructed the laundry supervisor to check behind the dryer weekly to retreive any flammables that had fallen.
I also told her how important is was to keep the dryer out and away from the wall.
I paid for the ad that the newspaper ran for me. $325
The ads did not generate enough jobs, so I will not run them again.
The ad salesman said he would run a free ad for me in a different publication so see if that woud get results for me.
It will run in 2 weeks.
There were no more jobs, so I took the rest of the day off.
February 3, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
February 2, 2008
This day started with the job rescheduled from yesterday.
It was a vent that was installed incorrectly.
It was a one story, through the roof, but the roof termination point was a low profile vent which is impossible to clean from the roof since the cap is welded on and would ruin it to break the welds.
It also frequently has the mesh still in place under the cap, which - of course - does not let the lint out.
That was the case today.
I had to work from the attic to disassemble the pipe and tear out the mesh.
I cleaned the pipe in the driveway and ran a brush down the pipe that was in the wall, then cleaned out from the bottom the lint that fell as I brushed. $95 - $10 good neighbor discount, referred by the chimney sweep. Since I cannot clean from the roof, I told them that next time, the charge would be $115.
As I worked, the neighbor came over to investigate what was going on.
He said "Bang on my door when you are finished here!"
So I went next door when I was finished and saw the same set up with the same low profile roof termination.
I went through the attic and found that the mesh on this cap had been removed, so I started to clean the vent from behind the dryer. $95 - $10 good neighbor discount and a warning that next time the charge would be $115.
I had called the next job to see if she would still be there since I was running an hour late.
No problem.
Usually, if I call to let them know, they don't mind waiting when I am running late.
Today I was running late because of the neighbor, but I picked up another quick job and was not too late for the next appointment.
The next appointment was a 1 story, through the roof, but the roof was really steep and I had to work from the neighbor's yard to access it. No problem.
The vent was close enough to the edge of the roof that I could work from the ladder. $95 + $12 transition duct
This homeowner also owns a catering business and asked me to come to her business to check the dryer vent there sometime next week.
The next job was a 2 story with the vent running between the floors and out the side. $150 + $12 transition duct.
The vent was so blocked that there was standing water at the single elbow.
I tied a sock at my brush end of the rods and ran it down to sop up some if the water.
If there had been elbows between me and the standing water, I would have not risked losing the sock.
Once I got the clog removed, I let the dryer run for 20 minutes to dry the pipe a bit before trying to clean out the rest of the vent.
I was able to get the vent really clean and intalled a new transition duct.
The homeowner wants to make sure that the vent stays clear, so he made the next apointment for me on the spot. I told him that next time, the charge would be $135-$150 depending on the build up.
I will be out on June 7 of this year to clean it again.
February 1, 2008
The morning networking meeting is one that regularly has 100 attendees. The annual dues are $25, so I paid them today.
The first job got rescheduled for tomorrow.
Noon was the Friday networking luncheon with 70 attendees. $8
I was the featured speaker and the topic was fire safety in the home.
It allowed me to show everyone there that I do know what I am taking about and that I am the expert to call when there is a dryer vent issue.
The (new) first job was a one story, through the roof 3" pipe cleanout referred by the chimney sweep. $95
The second job was also a one story, through the roof, $95, but there were 2 elbows in the attic which were installed backwards and crimped imcorrectly.
This homeowner was curious and was watching me as I worked, which does not bother me. I like the bonding experience and I get to show off my knowledge as I go.
This customer found me on the Internet.
January 31, 2008
I started out with a networking breakfast with 35 people there. $free
Since it is raining, I took the rest of the day off.
End of month figures show that I was able to pay myself $1500 this month, which is $500/week for 3 of the 4 weeks.
January 30, 2008
I started out with a networking breakfast with 15 people there. $7.52
Since it is raining, I took the rest of the day off.
I have some personal commitments that I am taking care of when I do not have jobs and the weather is bad for visiting real estate offices.
January 29, 2008
I took the morning off and went to my only job today which was a one story, straight through the roof job that found me in MuchAdo News. $95
January 28, 2008
I took the morning off and then went to a networking luncheon with 25 people there. $8.69
The afternoon was returning to the job from last week where the steep tile roof was wet.
I brought a helper that steadied the ladder and helped steady me on this roof.
I got a ton of lint our and the homeowner got to see this.
I quoted $95 so that's what I charged, but warned him that next time it would be $200.
I had to pay the helper $40.
January 27, 2008
This is Sunday and I usually take this day off, but I wanted to get out to an earlier job that I needed to get onto a second story roof with the homeowner's 40' ladder and her 2 sons to help set it up.
The problem was that the dryer vent installer put a B-vent cap on it instead of the proper 4-sided cap.
I could tell from the ground that this was the case.
The B-vent cap has openings that are too small for the lint to get out of efficietly, so it plugs up quickly.
It took me less than 1 minute to swap out caps, but the sons could see the plugged cap and why it was important to change out.
Something else I will be doing for this family is making a sign that reads "Keep laundry room door open while clothes are drying" since they have different people doing laundry and it is easy to close the door for noise control.
January 26, 2008
The first job was a side cleanout above the ceiling. $135
Referral source was the chimney sweep.
This job was interesting because the pipe in the attic was easily accessible and the joints were wrapped with plastic packing tape.
I re-taped the joints and added a strap for stability.
I chose not to charge for the extra work.
My second job was a one story, straight through the roof job $95.
This job was from the chimney sweep.
This homeowner had cleaned the dryer vent himself in the past and was amazed with the volume of lint that I got out.
He took pictures for his wife and promised to make my visits an annual event.
I will be sending him the reminder cards through Send Out Cards just to be sure.
The next job was the referral from earlier in the week.
It was a one story, straight through the roof, but the roof was tile, so I had to be a little more careful.
When I send out my Thank You card, I suggest that the recipeint pass it on to another person along with their recommendation and a $5 discount. So this job was $95 - $5
January 25, 2008
My first event was the Friday Networking Luncheon. $8 and 70 people present.
It was raining, so I rescheduled my first job.
The second job was a doozy.
The home was 2 story and the vent came out of the first story roof which was steep tile with no attic access.
The roof was wet, so I cleaned what I could from the inside and rescheduled myself out another day when it was not wet and I could bring a helper.
This job was from a referral from a home inspector.
I also got a call from a resident at the retirement community that has my bid to re-route the dryer vents.
She wanted me to come out to clean her dryer vent.
I let her know that I was working with the management to do just that.
I called my contact at the community to let her know that I got the call, so she could do some soothing of the resident as well as help get my bid considered. (Fingers Crossed!)
January 24, 2008
Took the morning off.
I had a call in the afternoon that turned out to be a referral for the dryer repair people. I called them from the customer's phone so they know the referral came from me.
I don't like to charge for these service calls when they are not much out of my way, but you could. Your call.
The evening networking event had 50 people in attendence and cost $5.
January 23, 2008
This morning started out at a networking breakfast with 85 people there.
Lunch was supposed to be another networking event, but it was cancelled at the last minute.
I took the rest of the day off to go to the Spurs/Lakers game.
January 22, 2008
This was a full day.
My first job was a one story home with the vent going almost straight through the roof. $95
The pipe behind the dryer was an elbow with no receptical box, so I had to be careful not to let the brush run into the dryer.
The second job was less fun. It was a one story home with the 3" pipe running through the roof, but the homeowner's brother "did me a favor" and disconnected the pipe for me to clean.
The biggest problem was that the lowest connection was 8' up in the attic (I'm not that tall) and the pipe end was not properly crimped, so I had a fit trying to get the pipe back together again.
I ended up on the roof with both pipe parts trying to get them to fit together so I could drop the pipe down through the roof jack.
He was helping, but the connection at the ceiling/attic floor was also not properly crimped, so the pipe was not fitting together easily.
He was upset with the trouble he had caused me and I didn't want to upset him more by charging her "the brother helped me" surcharge. $95
The next job was a one story, through the roof vent $95.
While I was cleaning the vent, a neighbor saw my car sign and came over to see if I could clean her vent next.
I gave both of them a $10 'good neighbor' discount.
The neighbor's house was more complex with a vent that was over 30' long and really clogged. $95 - $10
They also referred me to his parents' home.
January 21, 2008
My job today was a simple 1 story - through the roof - clean out. $95 referred to my by the chimney sweep.
Another company had come out and used a vacuum hose from the inside of the house and their process took less than 1 minute.
They charged $120 and did not go on to the roof to clear the cap.
I found a great deal of build up in the cap and used my brush and rod system to scrape off a ton of lint - all while the customer was looking on and impressed.
She knows she was ripped off by the ter company and will be sure to tell her friends about me and my thorough service.
January 20, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
January 19, 2008
Today I had 2 jobs that were alot alike.
Both found me on the Internet and both were 1 story through the roof clean outs. $95 each.
January 18, 2008
I went to my weekly Friday Networking Luncheon $8.
I was hoping to return to the 2 story home from earlier in the week, but it was raining today, too.
So, I called the homeowner and let her know and she understands the situation.
Today I heard back from the District Attorney about the $500 check that a homeowner stopped-payment on in December.
They will not pursue it since the homeowner had the $500 in her account on the day that the check was returned to me.
I know someone who used to work in the DA's office and hope she can help me out on this.
January 17, 2007
The first job today was a free estimate on an unvented dryer.
The property manager asked to to go by and assess the situation.
I might have charged $65 for it, but it was 1 block from my home, so travel time was nothing, plus, I want to work with property managers and try not to nickel and dime them.
The dryer was in the garage and the most efficient route out was through the front of the house.
There is an area where the trash cans are stored which will hide the termination hood.
I bid $350 for the job and it will probably come under budget.
The challenge is cutting a hole through the brick exterior.
The next job was a simple 1 story through the roof clean out. $95
This homeowner runs a daycare center and one of her customers told her about me.
This customer is someone who has had me out to clean their dryer vent, athough this homeowner could not remember the customer's last name.
The interior pipe was 3" and I quoted $1800 to change out to 4" pipe.
January 16, 2008
I went to the Women's Council of Realtors luncheon where there were over 200 real estate agents and support reps present.$25
I met several agents who are from large offices and got contact info for sales meeting speaker planning.
I am getting well know in the real estate community through meetings and lunches like this one.
My job today was a 1 story through the roof cleanout with a new transition duct. $95 + $12.
This was another referral from the chimney sweep.
January 15, 2008
My job today was a 2 story home with the clothes dryer on the second floor venting through the roof. $150
The roof was wet, so I did not work from there, but I could see that the termination cap was probably a B-vent cap for natural gas and not appropriate for the dryer vent.
I will come back another day to work from the roof to verify that the cap needs to be changed out.
The attic access was in the laundry room and I took apart the pipe in the attic to clean it, as well as worked from the laundry room side.
The other job scheduled for today rescheduled for tomorrow.
January 14, 2008
No jobs today.
I went to a netwrking lunch with 20 people ($8.69) where I met an insurance agent who also needs his dryer vent cleaned.
I tried to set an appointment on the spot, but his wife is the schedule maker.
In the evening, I spoke to a Rotary Club about clothes dryer safety.
There were 20 people there.
January 13, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
I reflected on the income for this month which is lower than previous months and I have not identified what the reason is.
January 12. 2008
My first job rescheduled for another day.
My second job as an easy one story through the roof cleanout referrd to me from the chimney sweep.
The homeowner joined me on the roof and got to see the process.
Homeowners that can see just how much lint is in a dryer vent value my service even higher when they see the pipe after I am finished.
Of course, the lint spewing out helps complete the visual. $95
January 11, 2008
This morning, I went to a networking meeting with over 200 people in attendance.
Many people knew me, but I met new people as well.
One person suggested that I call him later since he was in charge of many nursing homes that needed dryer vent cleaning.
At lunch, I went to the Friday Networking Luncheon. 75 people. $8
January 10, 2008
My job today was for a real estate property manager and was a simple 1 story through the roof clean out. $95
Later, I went to a networking event with 25 people there and tried to meet new homeowners.
January 9, 2008
My first job was a doozy!
It appeared to be a typical job where the vent terminated between the first and second stories.
The first hitch was that the ground below the vent termination was sloping. I had to shore up one leg to even it out.
I will be shopping for a leg leveler this weekend.
I got some bird nesting material out (which prompted me to sell her a critter guard) and was able to run the rods, then brush through, but I was only getting a little bit of wet lint out.
After getting the brush all the way to through and not getting much increased air flow, I knew that there were other issues.
Here's where the fun began.
The full sized washer and dryer were stacked on top of each other and not moveable by me.
There were 6' tall cabinets on either side of the set and I was able to look behind one of them to see the transition duct which was routed away from my sight line.
The homeowner and I decided that the way to get the cabinet away from the other side was to take off the lower molding from the main baseboard, which we did with a hammer and flat headed screw driver.
She knew in advance that I was not a carpenter and it would not look pretty. She had the option to call a carpenter out to do a more professional looking job, but she opted out of that.
Once the baseboard molding was removed, I was able to slide the cabinet out to reveal a crushed and torn transition duct which was not visible form the other side.
I took out handfuls of lint from the dryer and recepticle box in the wall.
I replaced the transition duct, turned the dryer on, and headed back out to clean from the ladder.
I got the same result as before with no air flow increase.
I went back inside and cleaned the pipe in the wall with my rods from the inside.
I got tons more lint out.
It was apparently packed in from years of lint build up.
When I was finished, I asked the daughter to turn on the dryer while the homowner and I watched the termination point.
The cloud of dust that came out confirmed that we had air flow!
I finished cleaning from the out side and installed the critter guard.
I put the cabinet back into place and collected the bill:
$135 for the cleanout
$12 for the transition duct
$35 for the critter guard.
The job took 3 hours, but I have a customer for life.
This job made me late for a networking lunch, but I still went to see who I could meet.
I saw a lady there who had met me at an earlier meeting and she timed her clothes drying time to find out that her clothes take over an hour to dry.
We will set an appointment time next week.
My next job was a one story home with the vent terminating through the roof, but the roof termination was a low profile, non-removeable cap.
I picked out as much lint as I could from under the cap, then I went to the attic to see if I could work more from there.
The pipe was not easily accessed from the attic, so I worked from the inside of the home.
I got a lot of lint out, but I am still worried that the termination cap will not allow for sufficient air flow to drop the clothes drying time enough.
I told the homeowner of my concerns and let her know that if the clothes drying time does not drop to 30 minutes that she needs to replace the termaination cap with a 4.5" roof jack.
I quoted $400 and let her know that a roofer would be doing most of the work.
She will let me know if her drying time does not drop to 30 minutes. $95
January 8, 2008
No jobs today.
I attended a Chamber breakfast $20.
There were over 100 people there and I met several real estate agents who put me on their resource list.
I won a door prize , so everyone got to hear my company name: Dryer Vent Lady.
Every little bit counts.
I had a real estate office sales meeting scheduled to hear me speak, but when I got there, I found out that the meeting was canceled since the office was closing its door at the end of the month.
January 7, 2008
No jobs today.
I went to a networking lunch $8.69.
I met an insurance agent who needs his dryer vent cleaned.
January 6, 2008
Sunday - took the day off.
January 5, 2008
Today started with 2 jobs on the books and one call-in for the third.
The first job was a vacant house and a home inspector recommended me for the clean out.
It was a 2 story with the vent on the roof and no clothes dryer.
$150 + $18 for the portable blower.
The second job was a recommendation from a different home inspector.
The home had a 3" pipe that went into the attic.
One section of pipe had become disconnected and was lying on the insulation.
When I looked up, I saw a hole in the roofing plywood, but not in the felt or shingles.
To be sure, I went on the roof to check for a roof jack.
There was not one where the plywood hole was.
When the roof was replaced, the roofers did not replace the roof jack. Instead, they shingled over it.
I called my roofing friend and got an estimate of $125 to do the roofing work.
I quoted $1800 to the customer for the whole job to replace all of the 3" pipe with 4" pipe and terminate it properly.
I quoted $400 to just do the roof termination and keep the 3" pipe in the wall.
I would use 4" pipe in the attic.
The homeowner does not have the money now.
I charged $65 for the inspection and quote which I will credit back if they hire me to do the work within 30 days.
I will check back in 15 days.
The third job was a referral from another customer.
It was a simple 1 story through the roof job: $95.
January 4, 2008
No jobs today.
I went to the weekly Friday Networking Luncheon looking for new contacts. $8
January 3, 2008
No jobs today, but I went to a networking group that was recommended to me.
Annual dues are $50 which is worth it to me for this group.
This meeting had 15 people there, but usually there are 50+.
I met with 2 real estate agents there who were new to me.
January 2, 2008
No jobs today so I spent time in the office planning my year and the marketing efforts I will concentrate on.
I updated my calendar with the events that I want to attend and ordered more business cards.
January 1, 2008
New Year's Day.
Took the day off.
December income/expense recap and explanation
My goal was for $500 each week which was $2500 for this month.
Using the prior month's excess, I was able to do this with $35.19 left over.
The table shows a loss for the month due to the annual insurance premium that I elected to pay instead of monthly payments, my 'extra' paycheck this month, and I did not show the $500 in income from the check payment issues from th job on December 11.
If I was working strickly on a month to month basis, I would have only paid myself $1000 this month disregarding the earlier month's income.
December 31, 2007
Just one job today which was at the home of an insurance agent that I met at a networking event.
This was a 1 story home with the vent going straight through the roof. $95
The termination cap was welded on, so I had to break the welds to access the pipe.
I carry self-tapping screws that I used to replace the cap.
The vent pipe was 3" instead of 4" and I quoted $2400 to replace.
This quote is higher than most since there are cabinets that would have to be taken down and re-installed during the job.
December 29, 2007
My job today was a 2 story home with the vent terminating through the roof. The homeowner that set this up was the husband who did not remember how he got my information.
He said that he would not be home when I got there, but his wife would be there.
The roof line was only accessible from a tall ladder.
Since I work alone and cannot handle a ladder by myself ( I am 5' 5" tall and my work vehicle is a Honda Civic), I do not own a tall ladder. I have 2 contractor friends who are available to set up their ladder for me.
Since the clothes dryer was on the second floor, I elected to clean from the inside.
I knew something was wrong when I found sopping wet lint at the base of the vent pipe.
I carefully proceeded and just beyond the 8' point where the standard rectangular pipe transitions into the rest of the venting, my rod was bringing back pink insulation.
I stopped and brought my findings to the homeowner asking her if I could access her attic.
In the attic I found white vinyl, flexible venting material which was brittle and torn in several places.
This needed to be replaced with metal material.
I prefer rigid metal even though flexible metal is allowed by Code.
I quoted $300-450 for the cleaning and repair depending on the problems I ran into. She approved.
I started the repair by taking down the existing material and measuring for the amount of metal duct I would need.
I was not carrying enough pipe to complete the job so I went to Home Depot for supplies.
Since pipe is easily crushed and damaged, I carry 24" sections in a plastic box. I do not carry 5' lengths since they are more easily damaged and I do not need them very often.
When I got back to work, I showed the vinyl venting to the homeowner and she commented on how brittle it was.
In the attic, the hole in the roof for the roof jack was not quite big enough for my new pipe, so I used my spiral saw to cut away some of the wood.
I had to use 2 elbows and the 5' section of pipe to complete the job.
The elbows were adjustable and were close to 45 degrees instead of 90 degrees. The 45 degrees is better.
The elbow from the top of the ceiling was placed crimped end down since there was no room for the non-crimped end to go around the vertical pipe connector.
Normally, the crimped end faces away from the appliance.
I used my hand crimping tool to create a crimped end on the non-crimped end so that the rest of the pipe would flow properly.
I taped the joints and the pipe was really tight.
My charge for the job was $400.
I took the check straight to their bank since I did not want to replay of the earlier job where one spouse ordered my service and the other approved of the repairs...
The check was good, but the bank charged me $3 since I did not have an account there.
December 28, 2007
My first job today was a real estate agent's home from one of my sales meeting talks.
It was a one story, through the roof easy job. $95
FNL was next. $8
I met with the ad salesman for the newspaper insert and we talked about how my ads with him were not generating enough income to justify continuing.
He said he would try my ad for free in a different section of the paper to see if that would pull.
The second job was for the property management department for Coldwell Banker real estate.
They require forms to be filed with them for tax and legal purposes.
The forms are for tax ID numbers and the statement that I am not an employee of Coldwell Banker.
They also require general liability insurance, so I got a $1,000,000 policy for $917.97 for the year.
I paid for the year even though I could have made payments.
The interest rate on the financing is 30.30% and that is just too high for me.
The job was a 2 story house with the vent coming through the side of the house between the first and second stories. $135.
The home needed a critter guard for the birds' nests, but I did not have authoization to install and charge for that.
I will clarify my parameters with Coldwell Banker next week.
The third job was called in while I was in the field today.
This was another referral from the chimney sweep and was an easy 1 story, through the roof vent. $95.
December 27, 2007
No jobs today.
I was playing catch up so I did not do office work today.
December 26, 2007
The first job was for a lady who saw the sign on the side of my car.
She had a 1 story home with the vent through the roof. $95
The second job was a 2 story home with an Alcoa aluminum roof which was too dusty and steep to attempt, so I cleaned from the inside of the home. $150
The were referred by the chimney sweep.
The third job was also referred by the chimney sweep.
It was a 1 story home with the vent through the roof. $95
The pipe was a 3" diameter pipe which should be 4" diameter.
I quoted $1600 for the replacement.
I always quote even though no one has taken me up on the offer.
You never know...
December 20-25, 2007
I went out of town for the Holidays.
I did not have any job requests for these days but did return phone calls to schedule for after Christmas.
I will count 3 days as personal days, 2 as Holidays.
One day was a Sunday which I take off each week.
December 19, 2007
I started this morning at a networking breakfast, then went to my first job.
No one was home at the first job, so I left my card.
He called me later to apologize. He was called into work unexpectedly.
My next job was a simple one-story through the roof home that needed a new transition duct. $95 + $12.
They got my name from a Maytag dealer in town.
December 18, 2007
I started today speaking at a real estate sales meeting with 12 agents attending.
My job was in the area of the sales meeting and was quite spectacular as I cleaned it out. $135
The homeowner saw my ad in the Much Ado Newspaper and was watching as I was cleaning the vent from the side of the house.
The volume of lint was huge!
The lint behind the dryer was over an inch thick and caked on the floor, walls, and dryer.
With the pipe blocked with old lint, the new lint had nowhere to go.
December 17, 2007
My job today was unusual.
The one-story home was added on to and the clothes dryer's original exterior wall was now an enclosed room.
The vent was run up the wall with a 3" rigid pipe, then a 4" transition duct was run accross the attic to the side wall.
My tools would tear up this transition duct if I tried to use them on it, so I went into the attic to disassemble the ductwork and clean it outside.
This set-up, while within Code, is not the best venting to use.
The pieces of transition duct were taped together with duct tape, which had failed, and the joints were not smooth.
The resident is not the owner, so she was not willing to pay for it to be repaied correctly, so I reassembled it as smoothly as I could. The clean out involved a lot of attic work and I charged $200.
December 16, 2007
Sunday - took the day off.
December 15, 2007
The day started with the job from yesterday - One story through the steep roof. $95
The homeowner found me from an Internet search.
There was not a great deal of lint in the pipe, but I found out that they were keeping their laundry room door closed while the clothes dryer was running.
This door being closed is enough to raise drying times.
It is a combination of factors that affect drying times.
Cleaning a clogged vent is the most visual of fixes, but all factors need to ba addressed.
The next job was not scheduled until the first job was completed.
The homeowner heard about me from a real estate agent.
It was a one story through the roof job $95 + $25 for a pipe restrap, tape joints, and extend the pipe through the roof jack a bit more.
The homeowners were so happy with my work that they made me a sandwich for lunch! Cool.
December 14, 2007
The day started with a vent that would be best cleaned from the roof, but there was a light mist and the steep roof was wet.
The homeowner offered that I could come back tomorrow.
Normally I try to do the job while I am there so that the homeowner does not have a chance to change their mind, but since the homeowner offered, I rescheduled it for tomorrow.
Lunch was at the weekly FNL group. $8
December 13, 2007
I started the day speaking at a real estate sales meeting. There were 20 agents attending.
Lunch time was at the local Board of Realtors Installation of officers event. $35
In the evening, I attended a networking event with 40 people there.
I was seeking out people with mailing lists... $10
December 12, 2007
Today I went to a networking luncheon for Mortgage professionals.
I met several people who have newsletters that are sent to their clients and prospects. $20
December 11, 2007
I started the day at the repair for the Saturday job.
It was to repair the vent pipe that was broken between the 1st and 2nd stories.
The drywall guy opened the ceiling where I needed to work.
I re-attached the pipe and strapped it down to make sure that it would not likely come apart later.
The drywall guy patched the ceiling and re-painted it.
While he was doing that, I made a service call close by.
It was a real estate referral.
This house had their dryer on an exterior wall, which is not a location that I work with much.
As it turned out, the transition duct was crushed which restricted the air flow from the dryer.
I straightened the transition duct and cleaned what little vent pipe there was. $75
I went back to the repair job and the drywall guy was finishing the painting.
When I presented the bill to the wife, she went to the husband for a check and they started talking about whose fault it was that they had a repair bill of $650 for a home that was less that 14 months old.
She started calling her builder, the inspector, and insurance agent while I was waitng to be paid.
Ultimately, she gave me 2 checks: 1 for the cleanout $135 (plus sales tax), and the other for the repair protion $500.
I assumed that she would be getting reimbursement from her insurance policy and the amounts had to be broken out.
I had a bad feeling about this, so I took her 2 checks directly to her bank to cash them.
As it turned out, she stopped payment on the repair check.
Her explanation to me was that I had caused the damage and should have repaired ot myself without charging her.
When I discovered the damage, her husband was there and she wasn't, but he seemed to understand that I did not cause the damage.
A properly installed dryer vent will not be damaged during cleaning with the proper tools, which is what I was using.
She didn't tell me that she thought it was my fault when she gave me the check.
In my State, this is called "theft of services by check" and I will turned over the check to the District Attorney's office.
I will pursue this as far as I can.
She is one of these people who needs to place blame on whomever is available.
You know the kind...
For record keeping purposes, I will count the $135 income, the $325 drywall guy expense, but not the repair income for $500 until I collect on the check.
In the evening, I attended a Christmas networking dinner event.
December 10, 2007
My job today was a referral from a previous customer.
It was a one story, through a steep roof job $95.
December 9, 2007
Sunday - took the day off.
December 8, 2007
Another full day of jobs.
First job was a 2 story house with the vent terminating between the first and second stories but it terminated under an eave.
As I started cleaning it, the pipe, which was not secured with straps, came apart.
There was attic access which confirmed the "no straps" condition.
The only way to access the pipe is through the ceiling.
My drywall guy and I will be coming back on Tuesday.
The total job should be $650 with the drywall guy getting $325.
The next job was a 1 story home with the vent going through the roof which was steep. $95 + $12 for transition duct.
This customer saw my ad in the newspaper insert.
The next job was a 2 story home with the vent terminating between the first and second stories.
$135 + $12 transition duct.
This customer saw me on TV.
I then went to a real estate agent's open house to support him.
One of the visitor's lived close by and just wanted to see the refurbished home.
The agent introduced me and the visitor was when I could clean his dryer vent. I told him I would be right over.
This dryer vent terminated directly through the wall to the exterior, but had not flap or vent cover, so the lint inside was "pasted' to the inside of the pipe.
The transition duct was also crushed in 2 places.
I cleaned the pipe - all 12 inches of it, replaced the transition duct and taught the homeowner about washing his lint screen.
He was happy to pay me $75 to have the peace of mind that everything was in good shape.
December 7, 2007
There were not jobs today, so I took advantage of the Christmas party schedule and networking events.
The first event was the health care networking meeting.
150 in attendance.
I met 2 real estate agents there and an insurance agent who called from across the room "I need you - Dryer Vent Lady".
Everyone heard which was great.
The second event was a Christmas party for property managers of residential real estate. 60 people in attendance.
I got a chance to give a little commercial for myself and someone in the room mentioned that there was a clothes dryer fire in one of their homes last week.
Another agent had been looking for me and jumped up to get my business card.
The Treasurer announced the my information is on their website and if anyone else needs the Dryer Vent Lady, get the contact information there.
The President of the organization said "Maybe there is something to this dryer vent cleaning after all."
It was a really cool moment.
There was a ReMax real estate office opening in the afternoon and I left some cards there.
There was another Christmas mixer in the evening that had 30 people in attendance.
December 6, 2007
Today was a very full day for me.
I had an early cleaning of a 2 story home with the dryer vent terminating between the first and second stories. $135.
The dryer was not operational, so I had to use my portable blower. +$18
This was a typical cleanout and the homeowner found me in the Much Ado Newspaper.
Next I spoke at a real estate sales meeting.
There were 10 agents there and they seemed really interested in learning more about dryer vents.
Lunch was a networking meeting with 4 ther people there. $8.50
One of hte attendees was an aggressive real estate agent that offered to take a stack of my cards back to his office and try to get me to speak at their sales meeting.
In the afternoon, I had a 3 house job in the same subdivision for the same person.
They were all one story, through the roof jobs and I had bid $95 + $75 + $75 = $245 for all 3.
The customer had lower bids and asked me to meet the lower prices, but I refused and he hired me anyway.
This was a referral from a handyman company that I met at a networking meeting.
I will pay a $30 referral fee to the handyman for the referral of 3 houses.
The customer went onto the first roof with me.
The first vent was not very dirty, but the transition duct was crushed. I replaced the transition duct for free.
The second home had a very clogged vent and the cleaning was quite spectacular.
The third home had no airflow through the vent and I could see that the vent pipe had fallen down into the attic.
Fixing this was not part of the origianl bid, so I talked it over with the homeowner. He said "just do it".
He watched as I put the pipe back into the roof jack and re-taped the joints, strapped the pipe in 2 places and tested the strength by running my brush through the pipe.
I also replaced the transition duct.
Ultimately, I charged $345 for the 3 jobs and spent less than 3 hours there.
That's a $498 day!
After that, I went to a Christmas party that was close by and tried to make contacts.
It was a technology party and it was free.
December 5, 2007
I was able to get a table at the Women's Council of Realtors to increase my visibility. I shared it with Rob at Much Ado News. $37.50
The Realtors seemed uninterested in talking to me.
On the way out, I practically forced everyone to take my card for their resource book.
I will have to track the results to see what business I get from it.
Right now, I just want all the real estate agents in town to know that there is a specialist in the dryer vent area.
In the evening, there was a Christmas party for Realtors given by a home builder.
I made some great contacts there.
December 4, 2007
I took half of the day for personal business and then cleaned 1 dryer vent.
She heard about me from a real estate agent who was at one of my sales meeting talks.
This was a 1 story house with the vent through the roof.
$95 + $12 for a new transition duct.
In the late afternoon, I attended a Christmas party for the Independent real estate professionals. $19.48 for dinner.
December 3, 2007
No jobs booked so I called and visited real estate offices.
December 2, 2007
Sunday - took the day off.
December 1, 2007
I had one job today.
He found me through an Internet search.
One story through the roof $95
This vent had 2 unneccessary elbows that were harboring a sticky clog.
It took almost 2 hours to get the vent clear, but I have a customer for life!
Instead of the lint blowing up and out, the wet clog weighted the lint and dropped it down to the recepticle box.
I had to clean that out every 5-10 minutes.
It was slow going.
At one time, I went into the attic to see if the pipe had separated.
That's when I found the elbows.
There were 2-90 degree elbows with less than 6 inched of pipe between them.
On top of that the transition duct kept coming off.
I think that the homeowner's children were responsible.
Oh well.
It's the weekend, so I did not work anymore today.
November 30, 2007
The day started out at a networking meeting with 50 people attending.
I met with a Farmers Insurance agent and asked if I could send my article to him. He said yes. He also said that he had contacts within some appliance rental places and that he could introduce me to them.
I will follow up next week.
My first appoinment was with a lady that was at the Wednesday meeting. She bet me that the problem was not her vent, but her old dryer and I took the bet.
I won the bet.
The problem was that her transition duct was crushed.
As I took it off, I noticed a tear, so I replaced it.
She was doing laundry when I got there and a new load went into the dryer as I started my work.
In 30 minutes the clothes were dry.
$65 diagnosis charge + $12 for a new transition duct.
Satisfaction: priceless.
Next was the Friday Networking Luncheon. $8
60 people in attendance.
I spoke extensively with a real estate agent and a mortgage broker. I want to be the person that comes to mind when dryer vent issues are brought up.
Afternoon was a dryer vent that was a referral from the chimney sweep.
1 story through the roof $95 + $12 for a new transition duct.
Lots of lint and a happy homeowner.
This is the last day of the month, so check out the end-of-month figures for this the 2nd month of the case study.
Make note of the comparison between the field time and marketing time from October and November.
November 29, 2007
My first job was a referral from the chimney sweep.
It was a 1-story through the roof job.
My habit of asking homeowners to watch me paid off today.
As the homeowner watched the lint spew, one if his neighbors drove by and he told them what I was doing.
They asked to to clean their dryer vent next.
I offered each of them my $10 "good neighbor" discount and they both started to call other neighbors to get in on the discount.
Nobody else took me up on my offer, but I am sure that I will get multiple jobs from the neighborhood the next time I am out there.
Each job was $95 - $10 good neighbor discount.
The next job was a lady who was worried that her dryer flapper was tapping loudly.
She found my information in the newspaper insert.
The flapper noise was a complicated house pressure issue but the fix was a simple flag of aluminum tape on her flapper to mute the noise.
I looked at her full vent system - all 8 inches of it - and cleaned her transition duct for her.
I considered this my minimum $65 diagnosis charge.
In the evening, there was a networking meeting of Hispanic Medical Professionals. $10
I met 4 people that asked for my card for their homes.
I got their cards too so that I could follow up.
November 28, 2007
The day started as I spoke at an Optimist Club meeting.
There were 15 people there and my talk was well received.
At lunch, I attended a new networking group meeting that had 7 people there and one owned a maid service where they sometimes do the laundry for the homeowner.
I suggested that she ask here employees to watch for extended drying times and to recommend me for appropriate jobs.
I also set an appointment with another lady to visit her house. She thinks that the problem is with her dryer.
I think it is something else.
I made a bet that if I cannot find (and fix) the problem, she does not owe me anything.
I am willing to make this bet because she told me that her clothes take longer than 30 minutes to dry and her dryer gets hot to the touch while running.
There were no jobs for the rest of the day, so I visited some real estate offices.
November 27, 2007
Before I left for my only job scheduled, I got a call from a homeowner that had just replaced his clothes dryer and learned that the clogged vent was the culprit.
He was referred to me by the chimney sweep.
I started with first job that was a one story straight through the roof $95.
Referral from the chimney sweep.
The pipe was 3" instead of 4" and had never been cleaned out.
The lint was wet and sticky.
The homeowner was on the roof with me and witnessed the air flow starting at 0 and going strong once I worked the rods in.
At first there was not airflow even though my rods were all the way into the vent and at the end.
I was concerned and went inside to check the transition duct and air flow off the back of the appliance.
The transition duct was clear, the air flow off the back of the appliance was good, and my rod end was in the recepticle box.
I went back to the roof knowing that the pipe was still connected and the dryer was blowing adequate volume.
I just kept using my rod and old brush.
Since the pipe was 3" instead of 4" I did not want to use my 4" brush since that would tear up my brush, so I have an old brush that I use on 3" pipes.
Eventually the old brush broke through the clog that was a thin layer of wet lint about 6' down.
The lint that came out after that was lumpy and moist - like a popcorn popper.
I kept at it until lint stopped coming out.
The homeowner got to see the difference and will probably clean the pipe himself next time.
The second job was also a 1 story through the roof but had 2 elbows. $95
The job went quickly and the homeowner got to see the tons of lint that blew out.
I noticed that the gutters were full of debris, so I offered to clean them out for $100.
He said he would call me...
I ran a personal errand to drop something off for someone and the lady I was visiting asked if I could clean her dryer vent.
I had time right then, so I did.
The home was 6 years old and the vent was never cleaned.
The vent went up and through the side of the house with 2 elbows.
$135 - $10 discount since I was there anyway.
I got alot of lint out while the homeowner watched.
She said that she had heard about me from her "moms group" in the neighborhood and would pass on the good referral to the members.
She will also pass on my "good neighbor discount" offer of $10 off if several of the neighbors schedule their jobs right after each other.
November 26, 2007
On the way to my first job, I got a call from a price-shopper who found me on the Internet.
I gave him my price and told him I could be out this afternoon since he lived close to my 11:30 luncheon.
He said he was going to call around and maybe call me back.
I suggested that he ask if the other companies were Certified Dryer Exhaust Technicians, since I end up at alot of homes re-doing the job of an un-Certified Tech.
He ended up calling me back during my first job and leaving a message asking if I could still come out this afternoon.
When you encounter a price-shopper, give them a reason to exclude all other prices!
The first job today was from a real estate networking meeting - the one where I shared the lunch expense with the Much Ado News publisher.
It was a 1 story with a steep roof, but the reason I couldn't work from the roof was because the termination cap was low profile and my tools would not fit, so I had to work from the inside of the house and the attic. $95
The pipe in the attic had come apart from the main pipe in the wall and had to be reattached.
Once reattached properly, the pipes did not fit, so I had to replace one with a shorter length. +$40 (could have been more but I want this real estate agent to refer me to others.)
Inside, the transition duct was crushed and had to be replaced. +$12
It was time for lunch and I was in the area of the Monday Networking Lunchen, so I ate there and trolled for business.
I headed to the price-shopper's house and could not work from the roof - too steep. and my ladder would not make it to the roofline.
Could not easily get to the pipe in the attic, so I worked from behind the dryer. $150
I could tell that I was not getting to the top of the vent.
My rods were not making it past the last elbow, but I was getting alot of lint out.
I told the homeowner that I was concerned that I was not able to get to the cap which might be caked with lint, so he needs to watch his drying time for the next 3 loads - regular size, high heat.
If the clothes do not dry in 30 minutes, call me back out and I will bring a helper and a taller ladder to get to the cap.
My receipt shows that if he calls me within 2 weeks, there is no additional charge. This keeps him from calling me in a year and trying to get me to work for free.
I do not mind paying someone for their help (and ladder) for a morning. Coming back out is the right thing to do.
On my way to this job I got a call from another realtor wanting a cleaning. She is selling her house and wants everything working properly.
Another roof too steep to work from, but the attic was easily accessed. $95.
I worked from the inside behind the dryer, then went to the attic for the final elbow work.
I noticed that the pipes and elbows were facing the wrong way.
(Male end should face away from the appliance.)
I told the homeowner and said that it would cost $100 to fix.
She said OK, so I did the work.
This is the biggest payday to date: $492!
November 25, 2007
Sunday. Took the day off.
November 24, 2007
I was willing to work, but did not have jobs.
Weather was gloomy so I did not venture out.
I am counting this as a bad weather day for when I do statistics at the end of the case study. It was windy and raining most of the day.
The cold weather has gotten me lazy.
Next week I will work to overcome that feeling.
I called to confirm 2 jobs for Monday that were set over a week ago. They were set so far out at the request of the homeowners because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.
One confirmed, the other cancelled without explanation.
It is always a possibility that homeowners will attempt to clean their own dryer vents ( or find a friend/relative to) if given the idea and time to do so. This is probably what happened here.
I always try to clean a dryer vent as soon as possible to lose as few jobs as possible to the do-it-yourself-ers.
November 23, 2007
I was willing to work, but did not have jobs.
Weather was gloomy so I did not venture out.
I worked a little in the office on bookkeeping.
November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving.
No work.
November 21, 2007
I got a call in the morning for my only job today.
It was for a dryer vent in a hair salon.
They got my name form the chimney sweep that has been referring business to me.
The salon has a 1 story metal roof that is not too steep, so I worked from there. $95
The building is only 11 months old and they estimate 10 loads of laundry each day.
There was not much lint in the vent, but the transition duct was crushed, which I replaced. +$12
Commercial dryer vents are great for regular business.
The salon manager and I set up a cleaning for every 4 months.
November 20, 2007
One job today at the home of a real estate agent that I met at a real estate networking meeting.
One story venting straight through the roof. $95
This roof was steeper than it looked, so next time, I will not attempt it from the roof, but from the inside.
There was a charity lunch that I attended but did not get any solid leads. $37
November 19, 2007
I attended a Monday Networking Lunch that had 25 attendees, most of whom already know me. $8.69
On the way to the Lunch, I got a call for an afternoon job that was just down the street from the lunch.
The customer was referred to me by a local Maytag repair place.
The job started at a typically nasty side cleanout with bird nests and lint, but then my rod came out with pink insulation on it.
The pipe was disconnected in the wall.
I could tell by my rods used where the break probably was.
At the top of the main pipe.
I confirmed this by running my rods up 8" from the inside and got insulation.
The wall behind the dryer was the garage wall, and the homeowner offered to cut into it.
When he got the wall and ceiling opened, he saw the break and declared that it was never connected.
I silently disagreed.
My opinion didn't matter.
I re-taped the joints as best I could and noticed that the pipe was not supported in the crawl space.
I made notes to myself for future cleanings that I have to be super careful with those cleanouts.
$135 for the cleanout
$35 for critter guard
$20 for retaping of joints. - The homeowner did the sheetrock cutting and repairing, so I only charged for my tape.
On the way home from that job I got a call for another job on the other side of town.
I prefer to bunch my jobs so save gas, but I did not have any other jobs today so I went right over.
This homeowner was referred to me by the chimney sweep that has referred other jobs.
She was not a prior client of his, so I will follow up with thank you and reminder cards.
It was a straight through the roof cleanout. $95
The vent termination cap was atypical and will clog easily, so I mentioned that to the homeowner and asked that she monitor the cap for build-up.
November 18, 2007
Sunday - took the day off.
November 17, 2007
I had one job on the books this morning.
They found me through an Internet search.
It was a 2 story that vented through the side of the home.
Another company had attempted to clean this dryer vent, but said that it was too wet to work with.
My tools did the job.
Yes it was wet, and yes it was plugged, but using tools specifically designed for cleaning dryer vents really paid off.
$135 + $35 for a critter guard installation.
When I finished and checked my messages, another call request was there. I headed right over.
This time, they had seen me on the TV last month and decided to call.
It was a 2 story terminating through the side with uneven ground to place my ladder on. $135
The lint volume was spectacular.
When I finished that job and checked my messages, there was another call for service, so I headed over there next.
They found me in the Much Ado News.
It was a one story roof termination, but the roof was wet from a recent rain, so I cleaned it from the inside + from the attic.
I charged $95 even though I did not work from the roof.
I did not want to put the job off. They fall off the books too easily if there is time between the call and the service.
There was not much lint, but the homeowner complained of drying time being too long.
After reviewing several options, I determined that she was overloading the dryer.
She will follow my instructions and call if the drying time is not cut down.
November 16, 2007
No jobs today.
I went to the Friday networking luncheon trolling for business and real estate agents. $8
I distributed some flyers in real estate offices and sent thank you cards to the real estate agents who were at the meeting on Wednesday.
November 15, 2007
I started the day with a talk to a Rotary Club.
There were 15 people there and I scheduled one job for a week or so later.
I got another referral call from the chimney sweep and was able to get to him quickly.
It was a standard 1 story straight through the roof, except that it was so clogged that even after poking at it with my rod end for a while, I still could not feel air flow.
I checked for a disconnection in the attic but there was none.
I stuck with it an FINALLY got the clog to burst through the top of the pipe.
The homeowner was impressed with the amount of lint that came out. $95
I then got a call that was a home inspector referral.
It was a 1 story slate-type roof that was not too steep. $95
This was a home that was only 11 months old, but the homeowner had heard that the dryer vent was a possible fire hazard, so she wanted me to perform routine maintenance.
There was not a lot of lint in the system, but I was able to educate her on the importance of washing her lint screen and keeping her laundry door open while drying clothes.
I also offered to speak at the homeowners' association meeting.
The homes in this subdivision are on a zero-lot line which prevents them from having a straight-out-the-back dryer vent.
Sure, this will take some business away from me if I help convince the homeowners' association to grant variances, but it also sets me up as honest and looking out for the homeowner.
After that job, I headed out to a Chamber of Commerce mixer in a nearby community.
I was looking for business and real estate agents.
There was no cost for this event.
November 14, 2007
The day started at another networking meeting.
There was not cost to attend and there were 30 people there.
I looked for the real estate and insurance agents.
At 1:00 I spoke at a real estate meeting of small and indepedent brokers. This is the one that I shared catering with the newspaper publisher that also wants real estate business.
Cost was $90 for me.
I scheduled one job at the meeting and everyone there took my card for their resource files.
I then went to a job from the real estate meeting the day before.
This was another doozy of a vent route.
It started at the wall with a 4" elbow and reduced to a 3" pipe through the wall.
At the top of the pipe in the attic, a 4" flexible duct was attached and routed around the air conditioner through the side of the wall.
The flexible duct was not directed to the side, so it 'sat' on the top of the pipe which did not allow the air to flow freely.
I showed this to the homeowner who understood the problems.
The pipe in the wall should be 4" diameter.
The route would be much shorter through the roof ($600).
The flexible duct was made partly of vinyl, so I told the homeowner that it should be replaced if the re-route through the roof was not done.
For the time being, she had me replace the vinyl duct and will try to do the roof vent after the first of the year.
To do the job correctly, I needed an elbow and reducer for the pipe in the attic, so I went a bought these parts.
Sure, it took time out of my day, but it was the right thing to do.
My parts cost was $8.49 and I charged $210 for the work that I did.
After that, I went to the Property Managers meeting to join the organization and try to get business there.
Membership dues are $100 for the year and this pays me up through December 2008.
I just need one job in the year to pay for this.
November 13, 2007
The day started at the Stone Oak Breakfast Club. $10.
There were 15 people there which is much lower than the regular attendance.
In any case, I spoke with the 3 real estate agents there about referrals and newsletter articles.
I spoke at a real estate sales meeting later in the morning.
They fed me lunch.
I got a call immediately after the talk for a job later in the week.
My first job of the day was from seeing me on TV and it was an interesting setup.
It was a 2 story home with the dryer on the first floor.
The vent went up an over to the side of the house.
The vent to the side of the house was visible in the attic space and was flexible metal.
This is within Code, but was not set up well.
I did not clean it with my standard power tools. Instead, I removed the flexible duct and took it outside and used a manual brush on it, then reattached it.
I used my standard powered brush on the rigid metal in the wall.
I found insulation in the wall duct and looked for a break in the pipe, but there was none.
Someone had dumped insulation into the pipe - accidently or on purpose - and it had to be removed.
I suggested that the vent be rerouted through the roof - which is shorter ($600)- or replace the flexible duct with rigid ($350).
I also replaced the transition duct so the price was
$135 + 12 = $147
The next job was a referral from a real estate agent for a home that was being sold and the inspector noted the dryer vent needed to be cleaned.
It was a 1 story through the roof with 2 elbows.
There was no clothes dryer in the home, so I had to hook up my portable blower.
The job went quickly.
$95 for cleaning + $18 for blower use.
I sent a Thank You card to the sellers at their new address.
I will send a reminder card to the new homeowners explaining that I cleaned their dryer vent before they moved in.
I will address the reminder card to "Resident" since I do not know the name of the new owner.
November 12, 2007
I started the day with no jobs but got a call early in the day from a fellow CDET and CSIA Certified chimney sweep.
He wanted me to take a job for him because he was too swamped sweeping chimneys.
Why would a CDET give away business?
In this case, the CDET prefers chimney sweeping and this is high season for that.
He got his CDET because he does clean dryer vents for his customers and wants to provide the highest level of service to them, but when given the choice, he would rather sweep a chimney.
My preference swings the other way.
I have referred many chimney sweeping jobs to him because I prefer to clean dryer vents.
This is a great source for referral business.
Since this customer is a long-time customer for this chimney sweep, I will not follow up with Thank you cards or reminder cards.
The sweep and I talked about this beforehand.
I will get many more referrals from him with this 'no-follow-up' policy.
There is nothing to keep the customer from callilng me next time, and I will not turn the business down, but I will not pursue it.
The job was a vent that went up and over through the side of the home. $135.
As it turned out, I had met this customer at a networking event and she remembered me.
The vent was too long and I wrote that on my invoice. The fix would be in the $3,500 range and most people will not spend that, but it is my job to tell them.
While I was at that job, another referral came in from the same chimney sweep.
This job was at a home that looked like a castle.
The vent went through the one-story roof, but the roof line was tiered and I ended up using a series of ladders to get to it.
I charged more than if the roof was a standard 1 story: $115.
I hit a milestone today.
My gross receipts for November has surpassed my receipts for the entire month of October!
It will be interesting to see my progress in December.
November 11, 2007
Sunday - day off.
November 10, 2007
I started the day with 2 jobs booked.
On my way from one to the other, I received a call for a third booking.
First job was a straight pipe through the 1 story roof. $95
I met this homeowner at the Women's Council of Realtors Luncheon. She is a title company rep.
I made the appointment as soon as she said she wanted it done.
Many of you might have given her a card and said "call me", but if you take control and schedule it on the spot, you will get more jobs.
Second job was a referral from a member of ITEX, a barter organization that I joined earlier in the year. This is a cash job.
Straight pipe through a steep 1 story roof. $95
Third job saw me on TV last month.
It was a 2 story with the termination through the wall between the first and second stories. $135.
This was a spectacular job and the homeowner was impressed.
He had tried to clean it himself last year but only got a bird's nest out.
Today is Saturday, so I ordered Thank you cards for today's jobs through Send Out Cards and I am calling it a day - although I will answer the phone if it rings...
November 9, 2007
This is Friday, so I went to the Friday Networking Luncheon.
I will go to this every week that I can because there are roughly 50 attendees and each week there are several new faces.
I always look out for the real estate and insurance agents asking about their newsletters for my article and reminding real estate agents that I am the one to call when an inspection report mentions dryer vent issues.
I tried to contact the retirement community that I gave the bid to for cleaning some vents and re-routing others.
The bid for cleaning was $800 and the bid for re-routing 21 vents was $9400.
They have to do something about the re-routes. The question is with whom.
My contact there is a maintenance director who is rarely near the phone, so I have left 2 voice mails.
I will continue to follow up.
I also distributed flyers to more real estate offices.
I received a call from a lady who asked alot of questions about how I did my work.
I do not mind questions, but these were about things like "Will you protect my floor" and " Can I call some of your references".
Of course I will protect her floor and I can arrange for references, but I could tell from her tone of voice that she is going to be a demanding and un-forgiving customer.
It was all in her voice as she asked her questions, as though she was setting me up for the fall.
I have dealt with these before and if I can see them coming, I do not take the job for a couple of reasons:
1. I will never do a good enough job.
2. Her expectations will be so high that no one can reach them.
3. She will complain about the lint on her roof and in her lawn and demand that I pick every speck up.
4. If I do happen to scratch her floor, she will demand a new one and be trouble for a long time.
5. If there is a problem while cleaning, it will be my fault and I will be responisble for correcting it on my dime.
It sounds like maybe I am a lousy, sloppy, under-performing slob that does not care about my customers, but really, I do a great job, and sometimes the unexpected happens.
I have thousands of dryer vent cleanings under my belt and have never damaged a customer's property.
She is just trying to protect herself, but she is more worried about the collateral damage potential than me doing a professional job.
If I can identify customers from a distance that will too demanding, or not be understanding, I do not take the job.
I have learned to trust my instinct on these.
If I did not trust my instinct and took the job and something happened, I would be kicking myself for a long time.
Trust your gut.
November 8, 2007
I started out at a real estate office and spoke at their sales meeting. It was well received.
There were 35 agents there and they asked good questions.
After the meeting, I stopped in at several large real estate office for flyer distribution and to try to get scheduled at one of their sales meetings. This time I was more successful at the scheduling.
In the evening, I spoke at a small Optimist Club meeting. There were 12 people there and it went well. It was recorded for you.
One lady said she was going to ask Santa for a dryer vent cleaning.
November 7, 2007
I got a call in the morning for a job and scheduled it for this afternoon.
At 11:00, I went to the Women's Council of Realtor's lunch where there were over 200 realtors in attendance.
I got permission to lay my flyers out on a giveaway table that people stand in front of as they register.
I introduces myself to as many real estate agents as I could.
At my table were some affiliates as well as a Realtor.
One of the affiliates is an Allstate agent. I asked if she sends out a newsletter and she said "no".
This lady needs some marketing help, so I explained how important it i | | |