Question for multi truck guys...

[shane deubell]

View attachment 41904

What are you rambling about?

 

[Six Figure Solo Cleaner]

What are you rambling about?

Its slang homie.

Please don't take it literally

 

[Approved Carpet Care]

I must know that after 2 years my shoulders are already killing me. Maybe too many years of football, surfing, baseball and martial arts but I feel like 37 going on 50. Even if I get a rotary, I still need to rake after. When I have a helper to vacuum and rake, my day is 200x easier it seems. All that to say, I need to find a way off the wand soon haha. My customers love me and I feel if I don't make a mini me or better then I will lose whatever I have attained so far

 

[Harry Mullett]

Definitely agree, although i am scratching rental properties off the list.

Tenants are no easier then employees....
Had enough after 8 years. Not for me!!!

You do have a plan for accumulating assets. Rentals is just one tool.

Maybe that is why you have more employees and I have more tenants. Only so much patience to go around.

My rentals will fund a comfortable retirement for me so maybe it will be worth it. All though I will not consider myself retired until every unit is sold and I am living off the $$$. Always seems to be some jacka$$ with some problem when dealing with tenants.

 

[Six Figure Solo Cleaner]

I must know that after 2 years my shoulders are already killing me. Maybe too many years of football, surfing, baseball and martial arts but I feel like 37 going on 50. Even if I get a rotary, I still need to rake after. When I have a helper to vacuum and rake, my day is 200x easier it seems. All that to say, I need to find a way off the wand soon haha. My customers love me and I feel if I don't make a mini me or better then I will lose whatever I have attained so far

I'd consider partnering up with a trusted established OO.

Y'all can share both resources & opportunities

 

[Spazznout]

Nothing wrong with making 70K. Especially if you don't have to be on the truck to make it. That said, if I made that, I would need food stamps. You are way off.

it was an example...its not like he knows our numbers

 

[shane deubell]

it was an example...its not like he knows our numbers

Yeah i thought i said fictional in BOLD....

 

[Spazznout]

Yeah i thought i said fictional in BOLD....

Thats why I clarified. Seemed some missed that.

 

[shane deubell]

Yes, listening skills are often absent on forums.

Lots of talking tho....

 

[shane deubell]

You do have a plan for accumulating assets. Rentals is just one tool.

Maybe that is why you have more employees and I have more tenants. Only so much patience to go around.

My rentals will fund a comfortable retirement for me so maybe it will be worth it. All though I will not consider myself retired until every unit is sold and I am living off the $$$. Always seems to be some jacka$$ with some problem when dealing with tenants.

My plan was about 10 doubles or 20 apartments long term but i just dont like it.

Although the cash flow helped out quite a bit during start up and especially during 2009 financial fiasco.
So i dont regret it, worked out perfectly when you consider what happened in 2008-2009. Ended up being a great hedge considering the service business was tough and i was taking a bath in stocks.

So maybe i will just keep 2 doubles and keep it as a hedge.
Definitely not going to grow it though.

 

[Spazznout]

Love this post, may not make 10k pages like 212.0 but chalk full of good ish. I'm curious to how long it took each of you to take these next steps. Just finishing my second year, I'm still trying to find the right helper that I can make a tech.

Started spring of 2011.
added 2nd van 2 years later. Then the third in year 3, which was just this past year. Hope to add at least 1 perhaps 2 more vans and crews this year.

Then 2016 is gonna be a breakout year for us as long as the economy holds.

 

[Prosteam-sonomacounty]

One does exist

It's called investing...

Glad to see you've got yer finger on the pulse of the stock market, "JT Marlon" . I save and invest like everyone does. Haven't found one that kicks back 150k in dividends each year though.
This is why I recoil at so many of yer posts.
In addition to being a malcontent , you are easily the most pretentious member here.
Now go back in yer hole where you belong.

 

[shane deubell]

Glad to see you've got yer finger on the pulse of the stock market, "JT Marlon" . I save and invest like everyone does. Haven't found one that kicks back 150k in dividends each year though.
This is why I recoil at so many of yer posts.
In addition to being a malcontent , you are easily the most pretentious member here.
Now go back in yer hole where you belong.

You gotta have more then $10k in the account chief

 

[Mojo Rising]

Lets use @crash1big as an example to show the difference

Just for argument;s sake we will compare 2 operations.
A. truckmount mike- 1 truck
B. multi-truck matt- 3
Both NET the same around $70k year and work around same hours m-f 9am -5pm.

Ok, so whats the difference?

1. Lifestyle- truckmount mike HAS to work every single hour to make money, no workie no monies.
Matt on the other hand should only have 1 bad day a week, most days he sends crews out.
Then answers phone couple times, checks on his crew, plays video games in between....

Then he forwards his calls to cell phone and meets wife for lunch.
Hangs out rest of afternoon working casually then has a big rush at the end of the day when crews come back.

2. EBIDTA- earnings before taxes
Truckmount mike nets $70k and has no write offs. Pays full taxes so in bank = $55k
Matt- has 3 trucks so every year at least 1 of them is under write off. Pays 0 or very little taxes= $68k in bank

3. Selling out- Its simple supply/demand when it comes time to sell
Even though they each Net similar amounts of money matt's business is far more marketable to the general public. Anybody can do his job.
Mike is pretty much stuck selling to someone already in biz. or wants to buy a job.

Matt will sell for far more money, guaranteed.
He just has a larger pool of people who want to have that lifestyle.

This is probably one of the best posts I have read on the forum that really shows the difference.

 

[drift56]

From my employee days.. coit paid 18-23% commission... heard Stanly paid 15% and helper 8% (thats why they always have two guys thad dont know jack ruining their rep).

I have two vans now If I were to hire a guy for my second Id pay him @ $9 hr + 5-15% *Bonus* rather than commission. Bonus so if I have to go behind him it would off set cost some. In calif commissions cant be denied in any case. so if i give him a $600 route Id pay $162 in wages/bonus + $58 in compliance/bennies =$220 labor. That puts labor at 37% without office staff.

$220 labor
$10 accounting service (day)
$60 fuel
$30 supplies/Chem
$30 Maint
$30 advertising
$20 other
=$400 day costs with no office staff = $200 gross profit
so you need @ 4 vans running to warrant a full time office girl.

I say $600 day route because you as a working owner will cherry pick a $1000+ route to keep profit high and protect most valuable clients... employees get left with the smaller jobs.

Kept numbers low to account for slow days/averages

 

[shane deubell]

Better go back to community college bro..
Advertising is not a cost of good sold, its a fixed cost
Neither is office staff or accounting.

$9 hour for a grown man?
Yikes

 

[Cleanred]

We are at 12/hr with one week paid vac. As well as we contribute $100 to health ins monthly, and $20/monthly for cell phone. With five days holiday pay. Bonus structure for water extraction.

 

[JimmyJamLee]

I totally disagree. And again I'm just going from personal experience. Not just from My own as previously stated but from also being the GM for 3 years at a 30 truck operation that was the largest of it's kind here in Atlanta.

Again, I gots no issue with someone wanting to take that ride, I just refuse to spend My lifes time building a multi truck capet biz beyond 3

Ain't for Me

p.s.
Now My successor in waiting has such ambitions...but thats a whole nother story thats a loooooooooooooooooooooooog ways from now not even worth Me thinking about currently

** Was it for Creative?**

 

[Anderson]

I'm far from a business guru and this isn't meant to demean anyone. I just wanted to know more about what a multi truck operation can expect for real life profit.
I did some rough math on a projected fictional company that is successful running 4 vans with 4 techs, two helpers (floating back and forth to the busy routes) and a couple office people.

These 4 trucks are producing 150K per year, $600K total.
600K is a great gross total if yer not doing WDR,I would guess.
In order to keep all the vans busy, you'd be at around 30% of your gross to ads.
40% would go to payroll
Fuel, chems, supplies, insurance, etc.. Would be at around 15%
Without factoring in a salary for the owner or property lease, I've got the profit at around 90K before taxes.
What part of, if not all of my math , is wrong?

I have been in business 2 trucks full time with 1 employee and now solo par time.
In class they told me this:
1 truck sole operator 50% profit
2 truck employe. 40% profit
Take off10% profit margin for each van till you get to aroud10-20% profit margin
After talking to other carpet cleaners this is pretty close
With 4 vans you will get 10-20% profit

 

[Prosteam-sonomacounty]

I have been in business 2 trucks full time with 1 employee and now solo par time.
In class they told me this:
1 truck sole operator 50% profit
2 truck employe. 40% profit
Take off10% profit margin for each van till you get to aroud10-20% profit margin
After talking to other carpet cleaners this is pretty close
With 4 vans you will get 10-20% profit

My profit is much higher since advertising is around 3%. Was much higher back when we started because I was more aggressive AND my prices were so low.
I've been at it for a long time though and most of what I do is previous clients