Growth During A Pandemic

 Well it certainly has been crazy during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic,..from toilet paper shortage to material for the home owners fence line,..

It has taken this little fence company called Fix-A-Fence LLC,..here is the link to the web site  https://fixafencellc.com/ from myself and one other employee to two trucks, four employees and I have taken myself out of the field to concentrate on the phones calls to set up the estimates,..still approx. 80 days out from scheduling work and the phone continues to ring,..

It's been a bit overwhelming to say the least,..but I praise God that He continues to provide. 

Anyway,..just thought I would spread some hope during these harsh times we are going through,..remember that faith is evidence of things unseen and that faith without work is dead. So I guess what I am saying is,..continue to work the faith that you have and you will see the hope that is in which to come,..it is a hope that only comes through the One and only Son of God Jesus Christ,..I know it's tough to believe,..but it's really not that hard,..read the New Testament and check it out for yourself,..the bible really is transforming,..especially once you have been illuminated by the Holy Spirit after reading it,..things do and will change,..I can't explain it but I have seen it happen and am one to experience this transforming change in my own life,..

There is hope,..keep smiling!

Fix-A-Fence LLC Marketing Material Idea's

One valuable take away from the continuing education class is value proposition. Being a specialty contractor options for opportunity are limited to one other related field trade.

So because I like to think I am good at formatting my own marketing materials I have created a Thank You card for customers. I am thinking about going one step further and making a bunch of t-shirts with the Fix-A-Fence LLC logo and give them to customers as a thank you gift. Then when things get really good here at Fix-A-Fence LLC I have already thought about coffee mugs with the logo and a few pictures of fence. If I really had the man power then the mugs would be personalized with the customers fence pictures.

Another valuable take away is graphing the companies gross profit margin. Where can I cut costs to improve the bottom line while keeping quality a high standard and pricing competitive and effective? This is just one of the many questions I will be asking myself as the days go by.

Posting and blogging are two of the biggest advertising features that can help any business if done on a consistent enough basis. That's how I have got the kind of stats I have gotten so far is by consistently posting and blogging. Of course there is the video campaign too.

They all play a major roll in today's market place on the internet. Especially when you only have three to five seconds to capture the attention of your target. Things to remember are make the subject line compelling with emotion and to capitalize each letter of every word even if the word is If. People really don't like to be shouted at and that is what you do when you capitalize every letter of every word. So set a web presence with little stuff like this.

So until next time keep smiling and dreaming big because all things are possible for those who believe.  

Fix-A-Fence LLC Filling The Funnel

Amazingly even through all the rain after the tear tag flyer campaign Fix-A-Fence LLC has received three phone calls for estimates. Only time will tell when one will fall through the funnel. The main thing here is to keep the hopper full. So I have been trying to keep the estimates coming in.

Today was a baseball field repair estimate. Apparently some kids have broken off fence posts and have damaged the chain link. However it begins with preparation, I feel that if whoever installed the baseball field fence would have used some heavier duty posts and chain link mesh then the damage would have been less than or have lasted a bit longer then it has. This diamond isn't that old.

This estimate came from when working on another project. A guy came up to me and asked me if I would be willing to go out to this high school and give him a repair estimate on the little leagues baseball field. There is five posts that have been broken or bent and the chain link is of 11-1/2 ga. really cheap stuff and shouldn't be used for a baseball field. Just like all the line posts for the fence are all 1-5/8" tubing. This type of post shouldn't be used for a six foot high fence, especially for a baseball field. Somebody was saving some money!

The estimate here involves more than just the small repair, as the little league superintendent wanted an estimate to remove and replace all of the 11-1/2 ga. chain link. This amounts to around 350' and he also threw in to remove and replace every other line post with a heavier duty post in the same circumference.

Gotta like these kinds of estimates, now to get it to fall through the funnel.

God will provide, it is all a matter of trust. Faith is the evidence of things unseen. That's how                     Fix-A-Fence LLC was formed, on faith.

The next blog will be on profitability and value of the business. Through the continuing education process I will be blogging on the things I have learned and the things I have implemented from what I have learned. So until the next blog stay strong and keep believing in faith.

 

Fix-A-Fence LLC Positions With Google On Four Pages

Moving forward into this year of 2012. The Google advertising campaign has resulted in quite a few phone calls for estimates that have turned into work orders. It has also brought other marketing companies to my phone as well. Just today I received a call from some kind of contractor web site that said he was only going to allow four contractors exclusive positions. He wanted to know if I would be one of them for $150.00 a month? He is not the only person that has called me trying to get me to give in to their method of attraction marketing.

Fix-A-Fence LLC is positioned with Google on four relative pages for fence estimates. That has all been from my own personal efforts. Now other people want me to pay them for something I have already done. Hmmm

As I have mentioned before the winter months are rather slow but this year so far has not been the case. However I would like to invite you to view a dream of mine that has become a sort of reality.

The Turf Byrd's

The Turf Byrd's Blog 

I have to keep myself as active as I can even during the busy months. The Turf Byrd's can and eventually will be the next novelty craze since those rocks.

People have asked me why build fence when I have such a great product to sell. Currently Fix-A-Fence LLC makes quite a bit more over the year than The Turf Byrd's  have.

The Turf Byrd's  craze really hasn't hit full speed yet. I am sure there are a few kinks to get out as with any other venture. The biggest kink has already been unraveled. One step at a time.

Committing Fraud is Illegal

The last time I checked committing fraud is illegal. Over the past few weeks Fix-A-Fence LLC has experienced just that another company committing fraud by submitting a bad check for materials. I didn't find out that the check for materials was insufficient until the bank called me while out on an estimate. The contract is complete and still lacking labor fees.

There are three things that I have learned from this experience:

1) Always take the check to the bank where it was drawn from if possible.

2) How to file for a lien

3) My God is bigger than any problem I have.

Talk about putting the brakes on, the bank acct. was frozen and there was little cash flow. I felt helpless for the time it took me to get a loan and bring the acct. to working order. One thing for sure is that you can not keep a good man down. I am very thankful for the people in my life that have the means and thought to care for someone in a position like this.

Now it is just a matter of time before the check shows up. I have hired a company called RoHillCo. They specialize in liens and other business services. I was referred to them from a fence supplier that uses their services when they have a problem to solve.

This has certainly been a valuable and costly lesson for me to learn. I do hope that nothing like this happens to you. Remember to cash the check at the bank where it was drawn from if possible. Or wait until the check clears before purchasing the material. Especially on the larger jobs.

Another thing if something like this should happen, never give up and remember it was the other guy that gave you the bad check. You are just doing what you said you will do.  

Networking - Building Exposure For Your Business

One of the biggest things for any business is exposure. One of the ways to expose your business is by attending a networking association. There are plenty of networking associations to get involved with. For instance here in Portland, OR, Portland Business Alliance, Oregon Executive Association, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network just to name a few. These network groups are made up of like minded people that share in each others business in one way or the other. This is a positive growth factor to be affiliated with in one way or the other, if you happen to be a guest of someone, or just decide to attend to check things out you are able to give a 30 second to one minute pitch about your business.

Now I don't know about you but I could use the business when ever possible. I really don't like sitting around unless I am sitting behind my computer screen working somehow whether it be posting on craigslist, making a video for the youtube acct., or blogging. The point here is to just stay active on the computer. There are so many distractions that the internet has to offer today that it is necessary to stay focused on what you are doing and what your really after.

I like the freedom of owning a business. I like telling myself what to do and when to do it and not having someone else telling me what and how to do what I already know how to do. Now if this was a customer telling me how they wanted their fence to look then of course I will be listening and complying with their requests. That is freedom of business.

If your now involved in some kind of networking association may I suggest that you seek one out and attend an event to see what is really happening behind the scene of business. There are a lot of great experienced and motivated people that attend these functions and they are a wealth of information once you get to know some of these people that are associated with these functions. Build exposure for yourself and your business, remember word of mouth is huge, because how will your business ever take off if you or someone else doesn't speak about it to anyone else? Even if you contact an advertising agency to place an ad your creating word of mouth exposure. Let your word be impeccable to your business. Help your business grow by attending a networking association event. Who knows you might gain a new customer or a new friend and the possibilities from there should lead to success and with that success it should demand more action to maintain the results your looking for.