Just bumping this thread! I think it's been quite helpful for folks to post problems they're facing without having to create an entirely new thread on here. Keep the problems coming. :)
I don't have it on my front page, but I do have my face on my about page. Seeing your face helps customers trust you a little more before they decide to buy. Will it make or break a business? I don't think so, but as long as you don't look sleezy or crazy, it shouldn't hurt.
I was profitable within 1 month. You mentioned that you don't have a lot of time to continue to solicit the way you are. My "secret" was to specifically target my customer and get to know my specific target. How specfic? My original target customer was women age 35-55, who worked 40+ hours...
One cool thing that I do with before and after exterior photos is to open the left door (the before door) and clean the right door (the closed after door). Then when I post photos, there's a VERY dramatic side-by-side comparison.
You could do 3 things to incorporate the polish into your maintenance service 1) Upsell at the time of subscription ($90/month + $20 -or whatever you'll charge- extra every 3rd month) 2) Upsell every few months...same as #1 but just suggest it on the 3rd month. 3) Increase your price and...
As far as backlinks go, the more reputable and popular a site that your site is backlinked on, the better your SEO results will be. Example, if you get a backlink to little man's auto shop and he only gets 100 visitors to his site a day...it will be of almost no value. On the flip side if you...
Please don't use you Groupon (they're a rip-off and you end up making NO MONEY) UNLESS you are planning on upselling the groupon customers later. I tried this once and I ended up breaking even on all the washes I did through there. Then the next stupid mistake I made was that I didn't capture...
Answers to your questions are in bold
Last note I'll leave you with is, I started my detailing business while I was in college, so if you have any specific student-business questions, let me know anytime!
That is exciting! Congrats on making that first leap and knocking on doors. There are SOO many people out there who don't even get that far. Plus, the more you do it, the better you'll get, the easier it'll be. Eventually you'll never have to do it ever again.
1) I would start with Facebook. Figure out the demographic of people you'll be targeting (men or women, how old, what area, what do they like, etc.).
2) Start with a SMALL (dollar amount small) test of different words or headlines. Run 2 ads at the same time to the same people with ONE...
Bluehost has a LOT of great reviews and includes several website builders (similar to SquareSpace). It's also a little cheaper than Squarespace. But if you're comfortable with Squarespace and it gave you the results you were looking for in a hosting provider/website builder, than stick with...
It depends on what your goals are. I use my website to advertise and to schedule appointments. 70% of my new customers find me through my website. A revolving base of 20 clients is great for someone who wants to keep it relatively small, but I'm shooting for the starts. It also depends on...
That's awesome that you belive in your team! Have you tried reading any books on management or leadership? Malcom Gladwell is a great author on the leadership and management forefront. I also learned a lot of lessons from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Andrew Carnegie...
Trust is VERY important in a business like this. Perhaps you can bring someone on on a conditional basis for 30-days or so. And you promise them at the end of the 30-days, if they do good work, that you'll give them a raise or some other incentive that excites them. That worked with myself...