I’m always on the lookout for “new” stuff.  New equipment.  New vendors who can make our lives easier (and raise our margins).  New ways to lower costs.

Recently I was in Salt Lake City, Utah on (snow related) business, working with a snow contractor in that market.  I was given an opportunity to tour a salt bagging facility.  I’d never seen one before.  Salt Depot (www.saltdepotinc.com) is a fairly new company, but man – are they cutting edge.  They have some pricing that will just knock your socks off.  It is the Great SALT Lake ya know.  It’s also why they call it SALT Lake City.

Salt Depot is already private labeling bagged rock salt for some VERY big name retail outlets, one of which services the snow industry nation wide.  Sorry – can’t tell you who that is due to some proprietary issues between them and Salt Depot.  You do have to buy in trailer-load quantities, but guys are doing that all the time now anyway.  They can sell the product in bulk quantity too.  I’m told there are spot salt shortages showing up along the east coast now, to be expected what with the major blizzard that has just schmacked the states along the Atlantic.  AND, long range forecasts show more snow on the way for the Northeast region of the United States.

The owners of this business have over 30 years experience (combined) in the snow industry.  They have always been cutting edge in their business ventures.  Success to these guys means understanding their customers, knowing the industry they serve, and being committed to supplying a quality product at a (very) affordable cost structure.

Anyway, they can bag for contractors too.  Their label or private label.  Either one.  And, they can (and do) ship all over the United States.

You heard it here first….. Salt Depot can help your margin, no matter where you are located……  I strongly recommend you scope them out at www.saltdepotinc.com

www.goilawn.com is still picking up new snow contractors who see considerable value in the services they offer.  While Google Earth may be in the forefront of some people’s minds, goilawn is gaining credibility amongst snow contractors wishing to give subs accurate direction on how a customer wants their site is to be maintained.  My clients find goilawn pictures to have incredible clarity, making their jobs easier.  The tools for measuring up sites are easy to use and the finished product easy to download into your computer.

I’m still referring contractors to www.goilawn.com and expect to do so for quite some time.  I don’t see anything better on the market, nor do I see anything coming down the pike that might push goilawn out of the limelight.  Goilawn is affordable (under $2 per site)…..much more affordable than sending someone out to take pictures or hand measure sites.

And, I’m told that sometime in 2010, www.goilawn.com will begin mapping selected markets in Canada.  This is truly an organization thinking globally. 

Give it a looksee.

Coming up on the end of the year now.  For those of you who file taxes on a cash basis on a calendar year – your time has come.  About 12 years back I had some conversation with a local snow contractor who was looking to sell me his business.  He came to my office and we had some conversation about the situation.  Of course, the discussion got around to “numbers”.  He told me he made about $150,000 the previous year. 

Wow… nice.  Ok…..   Here’s a non disclosure agreement.  Show me your numbers.

He didn’t have a financial statement – which didn’t bother me given he was a relatively small contractor.  So I asked to see his Schedule C from his tax return.  Oh….yeah, he could do that but wanted me to know that as far as Uncle Sam was concerned he’d “lost $10,000 to $15,000 dollars”.

That’s a problem.  Hiding income causes a whole bunch of issues.  If he got caught by the tax guys – he’d be in a world of hurt. As far as I know he never got caught.  Another bad thing is when you/he wants to sell off the company.  Interested buyers don’t buy unprofitable companies.  “Trust me” doesn’t work.

Profit is not a dirty word.  Paying taxes on profits is a good thing.  The more profit, the higher the tax bill.  Again – this is a good thing.  You ARE in business to make a profit – yes?  Making a profit leads to many good things over the long term.

So – if you are cheating on your tax return just so you don’t have to pay taxes – watch out.  In today’s computer driven world that can come back to bite you….HARD.

Don’t go down that path.  Once that kind of slide starts, it’s very hard to stop it.  And, the potential consequences are not pleasant – at all.

So - if you have a large hit in the tax department…. congratuations !!  You’re making money.

Snow contractors deal with slip and fall issues every winter season.  It has become part of the overall experience that comes with running a snow and ice management company.  It is not a pleasant experience – especially when we can see the “injury” does not appear to be bad, and we get the feeling the plaintiff (or plaintiff’s lawyer) may be stretching things abit.  Don’t misunderstand – some folks are genuinely injured as a result of something having been done incorrectly on a site – either by the contractor or the property manager.  Often, snow contractors are not educated about how to properly protect themselves, their property manager customers or those who visit sites which should have been properly cleared of snow or deiced.  Mostly, I find that contractors are uneducated about proper methodologies and best practices when performing necessary services on these sites.  I’m an advocate of education, proper recordkeeping, good communications with clients, and being safety conscious on behalf of the customer(s).

In fact, I often participate in slip and fall claims/lawsuits as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants.  I won’t take on the (plaintiff’s) case if I believe the contractor acted properly, had appropriate documentation and adhered to the local standards for our industry.  Unfortunately, there are way too many “snow contractors” who are not really businessmen and as such, leave themselves wide open to any lawsuit that gets filed.

Too often the defendants (insurance carriers) don’t engage expert witness’s to help contractors defend themselves.  It comes down to defining a cost-benefit analysis to determine the best (cheapest) course of action.  This is why soooooo many of these cases settle before going to trial.

I have just been made aware of a non-profit organization that is working to help protect snow contractors (and others) from spurious claims and the resulting adverse affects on the insurance premium situation for any/all contractors in the snow business.

Check these out – www.raafta.org & http://www.raafta.org/pages/RAAFTA-real-change.pdf to get more information about this group and the work they are doing.

Don’t think this is a cure all or replacement for continuing education about how to properly address issues on sites that get snow or ice.  And, don’t think you can stop keeping proper records of your activities on such sites just because you have an advocate participating in the process now.  It won’t replace good records and proper adherence to contractual obligations.  And, you cannot just abdicate responsibility for services you are hired to perform.  However, this will be another tool in the overall toolbox we build to fight those types of claims that lead to quick settlements and higher insurance premiums.

Sunday I’m off to Vancouver, British Columbia.  I worked with two contractors up thataway as they quoted the snow services contract(s) for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in a couple months.  I’m going there to work with one of those contractors who was successful in securing some of the available work.  I’m really looking forward to the trip.  Brings back a lot of memories of my experience in Salt Lake City back in 2002.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee actually wanted to know just how involved I would be and made it a requirement I be available for one of the contractors as he gets geared up for Games time conditions.  I’m rather excited to be able to attend and work on the project.  I’m flattered I’ve been asked to participate.  It is humbling to know VANOC and the contractors working on this very prestigious event think my experience and input valuable.

I won’t be in Vancouver too long – but long enough to get a real feel for how this project is progressing – and to get another looksee at the “behind the scenes” activity as the build-out and count down to Games time hits full stride.  It will be rather neat to compare what is happening in Vancouver with what took place about this time of year, back in 2001 as we ramped up for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

It’s also interesting that I’ll be dealing with “enhanced security protocols” when flying to Vancouver….. along the same lines as the situation back in Winter 2001-2002 with regards to dealing with how the government was learning to deal with the new world order in regards to security as a result of some madmen threatening our country’s air traffic system.

Last week I was convinced the east coast would see significant snow around Christmas Eve.  Instead, the coast got whacked this past weekend.  The storm that I felt would effect the east coast this week, is still a doozy, but in the Midwest instead of the east coast.

Wave after wave – and another storm is entering the country from the pacific northwest very soon – and will likely have an effect on much of the country 10-14 days out. 

Now – these storms are affecting the nation later than snow arrived last year in late fall, but the nation is seeing waves of snow coming across and giving all the snow professionals an opportunity to generate some revenue.  This is good.

However, now that snow is falling (and in copious amounts in some areas) contractors have to invoice customers for services rendered.  Oh boy… now the poop hits the fan.  Customers will start to whine about “we’re at the end of the (calendar) year, and we’re over budget”.  Uh huh…..surprise, surprise.  “Oh please Mr. Snow Contractor – can’t we negotiate the total amount due because of our precarious financial situation?”  Like, the contractors are all so well off we can afford to write off a couple hundred grand so our customers can safe some dough.

Stand tough.  Stand your ground.  You did the work.  You can bet your booty your customer would have screamed bloody murder if you had not showed up.  You are owed the money for services you rendered to the customer.

Be wary of the “if you want to keep our business, you will negotiate our bill to a lower amount”.   Don’t fall for it.  Get your money.  And, don’t wait too long before getting assistance in collecting.  The longer it goes – the more leverage the customer has on you.

You deserve the money.

As snow fighters, we are always looking to find ways to allow us to produce more revenue per hour as we service our customers.  There have been advances in our industry over the past 12 years, and we have all benefited from those advancements in equipment.  Technology has advanced alot in the past few years - but, we have not seen much in the way of “new” equipment stuff to help us.

Stopping for fuel often seems more like an inconvenience than a necessity.  How many times have you looked that the fuel gauge and thought “oh no –gotta go” ??

I recently became aware of a relatively new product that allows easy replacement of the factory fuel tank with one which increases fuel capacity 2-3 times.  Wow….. I like THAT.  I’d have replaced all the fuel tanks on my trucks (way back, in the day) in a heartbeat.

Now – it’s gotta be a crew cab truck, and they do not have them for every single type and manufactured vehicle.  But they sure do have them available for a significant number of trucks on the market.  These TITAN DIESEL FEUL TANKS fit on Extended Cab, and/or Crew Cab Pickups only—they will not work on Regular Cab Pickups.  Check ‘em out at www.titanfueltanks.com and see what I’m talking about.  They have dealers everywhere and a 5 year warrantee.

You can replace the tank in your truck in 2-4 hours (if you are not mechanically inclined).  It can be done in 45 minutes (for you pros in the mechanic department).  Keep in mind – these are not for gas powered pick-ups.  Just diesel fueled units.

I’ve met with these people, and I’m very impressed with them.

Scope it out.  If you need more details - contact my friend Mr. Kay Walker at kay@titanfueltanks.com 

Employees are often hard to deal with.  An employee with a very bad attitude holds the company back.  Doesn’t really matter what the reasons are for the “tude” – it needs dealt with. 

Recently, I was with a company where someone in authority had an incredibly bad attitude about the job, the people he worked with – just generally an all around unhappy fellow.  When I sat with him (I try to sit with every key employee in a company when I first visit a snow contracting firm) the very first thing out of his mouth was “I work too many hours”.  Easy enough….. manage your time so you can leave when you should.  Simple enough.  Nope.  “They can’t run this place without me being here 70-80 hours a week”.

This is a problem child who really needs to be culled from the group.  As Jim Paluch would say – this person is a destroyer.  He really needed to be let go – and soon.  Don’t much care how good he is at his job he’s damaging the company.  Others in the company know it’s an issue.  The owner knows it is an issue.  And, the other employees know the owner knows it’s an issue.

The owner is losing credibility with his staff because he’s not doing anything about the problem.  THAT is the bigger problem.

Slow to hire – quick to fire. 

This guy is still there.  The owner hasn’t done anything about it.  And, the rest of the company knows it.

Not good.

Oh boy….. let it snow.

The east coast is getting a classic nor’easter at the moment.  Lots of snow.  Lots of revenue.  Contractors live for, and are fearful of this kind of weather.  We want it to happen.  We need it to happen.  But – we also experience considerable anxiety about it.   Not from the snow, or fighting the storm – but from the aftermath.  Customers trying to tell us “this is a budget buster, please don’t hammer us”.  That’s another way of trying to tell us “do some of it for free”.  Not gonna happen (or, it better not).

Also – collecting for this kind of storm creates anxiety.  In some areas, the winter seasonal budget will be devastated by this one storm.  Not our problem.  Customers never, EVER have any conciliatory thoughts about the affects of us when a season comes along where it doesn’t snow an inch. 

Be diligent in your collection activities.  Remember…..they will surely bitch and moan if they cannot get out come Monday morning.  You deserve the money for the work you are doing (or, are going to do).

So – congratulations gang.  Have at it.

There are a couple of national management companies that are really affecting the marketplace with their practice of trying to force snow contractors to do work at pricing which is way below what should be charged.  They have given customers (Home Depot, some Wal Marts, Target, etc.) an unrealistic expectation about what type of service they can expect for cheap numbers.  Their method is to go to the multi state retailers telling them they (the management company) can save them 10%, 15% and sometimes 20-25% of their Spend for snow – then they send out severely depressed pricing to snow contractors “challenging” them to do the work at margins that will not sustain service levels customers have come to expect/demand.  This is not good for our industry and certainly not good for the customers.

Maybe it works for grass cutting, or power washing because there are always fly-by-night grass cutters who can do the work on the cheap because they have no overhead.  Snow contractors have much higher costs (once equipment is figured into the mix) and must demand higher margins to survive.

Forcing pricing structures below sustainable levels does not help anybody.  The customers service quality MUST take a hit once the unsuspecting snow contractor figures out he/she cannot make a viable profit doing the work.  The snow contractor is forced to find ways to short-cut the service in order to attempt to achieve viable profits.

It is rare you find a viable snow contractor doing more than one or two sites for these companies.  Usually, they are doing sites were the management company has fouled up and sent along viable pricing.  Sometimes, you hear that the mgmt company is forced to agree to viable (higher) pricing than they “advertised”.  Then, a few months later, they come back to the snow contractor and cry about their customer not paying them – thus forcing the snow contractor to take less to get it off their books.

I surely do hope these margin cutters go out of business.  THAT would be good for the industry.