That one Tuesday last spring where I made more before lunch than I did all week prior

I run a small pressure washing business here in Amarillo, and I had this random Tuesday where three big jobs came in back to back. A restaurant off Coulter needed their patio done, then a realtor called for driveway work, and a church on Western said their walkways were slick with moss. I cleared $1,100 by noon and then spent the next three days chasing down payments. Anyone else have a crazy good day that set false expectations for the rest of your month?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendygrant21d ago

The thing is, that Tuesday probably wasnt setting false expectations at all. It was a direct reflection of your marketing finally working right or a seasonal spike you should have been planning for. Pressure washing in Amarillo gets crazy after a wet spring when everyone notices their mossy concrete. You made $1,100 in a few hours because the demand was there and you were available. The problem was you spent three days chasing payments instead of building that into your pricing upfront or offering a small discount for same day cash. That part is on you, not the market. Maybe the real lesson is that your normal week was the false reality and that Tuesday showed what you should have been pulling in every week if you had your systems dialed in better.

shane75121d ago

Yeah I was just reading something about this actually... there was a study on how small service businesses confuse a normal good day with a system failure and it's exactly what @wendygrant is getting at here. That Tuesday wasn't a fluke it was proof your pricing and process could work if you just fixed the collection part. I've seen this pattern before where people think a high earning day is unrealistic but really it's the slow days that are the problem because they're not built right. The chase for payments is eating your time and that's a cost you're not counting. You could probably raise your rate by 20 bucks a job and offer a cash discount and come out way ahead without working harder. That's the real takeaway not blaming the Tuesday.