Question for Ken Snow

[Mikey P]

You know I loves ya buddy but I have to know, does Hagopian use one single "Idea" from Joe or Howard?


I would think, if anything they stole some of yours.

 

[Ken Snow]

Love u too Mikey

I have never been to a JP event nor do I really know wht his marketing stuff looks like for homeowners so I don't know if we do any of the things he tauhts or not.

I did go to HP's Roundtable weekend a few years ago and in fact Howard asked me to speak. What was incredibly impressive to me was that our business models are so different. He is getting 50 + cents a sq foot and as anyone who goes to our website can see we offer 4 rooms for $99.99, which in many cases in probably only a quarter of his price. The impressive thing to me with Howard, Steve T and the SFS team as well as Joe and Lisa is that they are always learning and always trying to improve the product they are selling which in their case is training, coaching, marketing etc.

My goals are to do the same~ continually learn and evolve myself, my team members and my business to better serve our customers and fulfill our dreams.

So the answer is kind of yes~ I have learned and applied some of the knowledge I have gained by my experiences.
Ken

 

[Ken Snow]

Ps

I doubt there have been many original brand new ideas since shortly after humans first walked the earth and maybe even before that. I believe everything is an evolution of thoughts, ideas and experiences. It is the entrupenuers who find nuggets within the things they learn to make there business and life a success whether they sell a product, service or consultancy. Millions of ways to be successfull!

Ken

 

[hogjowl]

Was there any practical ... applicable ... things discussed at the roundtable?

Reason I asked, is I have always had the impression that these roundtable, superconference, type events were more rah-rah type events designed to excite the masses into purchasing packages instead of actually teaching technique.

Di I have the wrong impression?

 

[Ken Snow]

Yes Marty, there was tons of info given and some great speakers, myself excluded. I left with a workbook of ideas and pages & pages of notes. It also was nice to see Howards cleaning operation, which we toured. He left veryone alone for a while so we could poke our nose in areas and talk directly to his technicians before they left for the day. He definitely has a well oiled machine and staff that care about their customers and the business which has allowed Howard to be as out of it on a day to day basis, kind of how Lisa has done with her her Rug cleaning business. This only happens successfully when employees feel empowered and appreciated.

Was there additional opportunities to spend more on audio programs, coaching etc? Yes, as there is and has been at every single educational event I have ever been to whether it was within or outside our industry.

Ken

 

[Mikey P]

Next question.

As anyone can see from your website, it is more than obvious as to why your company suceeds in Detroit.

Lets imagine the whole state of Michigan evaporates next week end when the Wings lose to the LA Kings and you have to move to The Golden State to start a new CC business from scratch.


How would you go about it and what area of California would you pick?

 

[Ken Snow]

I don't understand your point about the website Mike? Why and what is obvious about how we are successful?

 

[Mikey P]

Just being facetious Kenny.


Your demographic allows you to hire honest hard working family men who can live normal American Dream lives on a rug sucker's salary.

 

[Ken Snow]

I would go to Florida, where the Snowbirds are and we actually have a bit of name recognition. I would market like crazy and hire polite, hardworking people.

Ken

 

[Ken Snow]

LOL- what is a rug suckers salary? Ours are in the 50-70's annually. They are professionals, not rug suckers or chimps. I know that is poverty level in Kalifornia, but that is pretty good here, even in the land of unions.

 

[Mikey P]

No no no...


I want to know how you would start from scratch.
Would you use Howie and Joey stuff?

 

[Ken Snow]

I would use my stuff Mike~ I actually do/oversee all the advertising for my company. Would it have any resemblance to any of their stuff I don't know for sure as like I said I don't know Joe's stuff and Howards though I did go to his weekend, I got things, primarily other than marketing, out of it that applied to my business.

I do know I would network and market like crazy which I assume they both believe in.

Ken
Ps I want to repeat what I have said a few times. I am not an expert in how to start a small business operation. I was fortunate to join the largest company with the most longivity in the Metro Detroit area. While I believe I have contributed to its success and continued longevity, I don't profess or delude myself into thinking I would have the same success starting from scratch. That said I would be coming from one place of advantage in that I would have the vision of what a successful larger company looks like from the inside.

 

[Mikey P]

We should really talk about doing a Hagopian MB fest.

Between you Scooter and Vawter, we could have one hell of a good time.

 

[Mikey P]

You have 40 trucks going out each day right?

What if we all got to go out with a Certified Hagopian Genie for a day?

 

[Rex Tyus]

We should really talk about doing a Hagopian MB fest.

Between you Scooter and Vawter, we could have one hell of a good time.

And God knows Detroits economy could use the tourism. 8)

 

[Greenie]

Not to get sidetracked, but there are guys like Chet's Cleaning in TX that started from scratch, and had 10 trucks on the road in 5 years, you need to get guys like that in on this question.

He's no Howie though, they use Glides and Big trucks....lol

 

[Dolly Llama]

We should really talk about doing a Hagopian MB fest.

Between you Scooter and Vawter, we could have one hell of a good time.

DUDE!, I'm there!

the armpit of mEEchEEgan (detROT) is only 3.5 hours away from me

..L.T.A.

 

[Greenie]

What Ed V?
Savage?

 

[The Great Oz]

Although I'm sure they're both profitable, I'd take Howard's methodology over Dalworth's.

 

[Ken Snow]

Mike, I honestly don't know how many trucks we're putting out every day, though it is far less than 40. Brian Hanna or Dave Bidinger would be on top of that number as they handle the production side of getting the work done. We do have somewhere around 27-28 Butlers, and number of pickup and deliver cube vans and restoration vehicles. We will clean in over 40,000 homes and businesses this year (about 92 % residential) and will clean over 32,000 rugs.

A Mikeyfest would be cool in Detroit area.

Ken

 

[XTREME1]

will you sing Karaoke for us all while we are there? and can Marty bring a pig?

 

[Able 1]

Just curious about the progression to 28 butlers... How many after 5 years, 10 ect.? I'm sure the more you have the quicker they come. Most curious about the 5 year mark.


Thanks,
Keith

 

[Ken Snow]

Keith - our business was started in 1939, and at the time it was primarily a carpet dyeing and stain removal company with cleaning just being a necc part of the process. I started in 1980 as a cleaner and at the time I think we had 7 or 8 crews (we used genie 1's), an unprofitable cleaning plant, a small restoration division and 1 retail showroom, plus a showroom in the michigan design center. We have 3 retail showrooms now, plus the other stuff I mentioned. Back then a good day of productivity was 350-450, now a decent and frequent day per crew is $1000 and up.

Ken

 

[Ken Snow]

Greg- I"ll sing anytime someone will let me.

 

[Mikey P]

More then you would ever want to know about the Snow Man...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1506

 

[Able 1]

Ken, I just hope my kids can say well back in 2005... Congrats on your success!


Keith

 

[steve frasier]

LOL- what is a rug suckers salary? Ours are in the 50-70's annually. They are professionals, not rug suckers or chimps.

I assume your lead tech makes this type of money and you use 2 person cleaning teams but I am curious what a typical work week is for this type of money(6 days, 45-50 hours) and how many jobs the team will do, I realize there are probably a few variables to the answer but was does a typical crew do for the week

no right or wrong just curious

thanks Ken

 

[Ken Snow]

LOL- what is a rug suckers salary? Ours are in the 50-70's annually. They are professionals, not rug suckers or chimps.

I assume your lead tech makes this type of money and you use 2 person cleaning teams but I am curious what a typical work week is for this type of money(6 days, 45-50 hours) and how many jobs the team will do, I realize there are probably a few variables to the answer but was does a typical crew do for the week

no right or wrong just curious

thanks Ken

Yes Steve we do use two person (all men currently) teams and they work at least 5 ays with most working 51/2-6 on average and a few working 7 ultiple times a year. We offer 7 day service with Sunay as a volunteer day of work only. We pay time and a half commission for the 6th day worked & evening commercial work, and even more on Sunday (we do not charge our customers more).

We have a few crews that crews consistently bring in between 5000-7000 a week and this is a combination of residential and commercial (MOSTLY RES, BUT A BIG COMMERCIAL JOB CAN REALLY MAKE A WEEK/DAY). Yes it is the Specialist who is making that higher commission, the assistants can make in the high 20's-40ish depending on how hyungry they are and if they work all year (we lay off a few in the winter).

Ken