The positives of droughts?

[plainpainter]

Just curious - is there a silver lining to droughts? Is it possible that all the 'weak' hands doing $100 house washes will all be done in? Especially when gas and repairs are expensive and just life in general? I had a really bad painting year 2 years ago - it was raining all the time. But I did notice, when the clouds did open up - that there were less illegals around to compete with. Perhaps I will hold onto painting - painting and pressure washing seem to be mutually exclusive - if it's really rainy, I can't paint, but I can wash and vice versa.

[PressurePros]

I have a strong faith in God, karma and the balance of the universe (insert new age song here). When things get out of hand and appear desperate there is often a cosmic force, if you will, that returns balance. The short term loss of business will not hurt established companies that set themselves up properly. It will cause many of the fly-by-nighters to move on and fold up camp. Demand for service will go back up, supply of contractors will be down.. that equates to higher prices and companies that now have additional revenue to spend on public awareness (marketing), better efficiency and growth. Darwin is in full effect.

[James]

My thoughts on the drought very week to week. It's a 7 month biz up here unless you do trucks or hoods. In the last 10 years I've gone trough 2 serious droughts and 2 very rainy seasons. Last year it rained for 4 months and now we are short on water. to be continued......

[Doug Dahlke]

I am hoping the lowballers disappear at least for awhile. Guys with no business license are already in trouble if caught. Opinions will vary on this one but reclaim will be more of an issue I think. Companies that invest on recyling capabilities will be in better shape through the drought and when it is over. In my opinion this situation will raise the bar on what companies can charge as more is demanded of the people that are still around when this is over.

[alvisishere]

I agree with you Doug, The ones that stick it out and are compliant with EPA guidelines should be allright in the long haul.
I know I should be worried right now...but I am just now getting excited!!

[aquabob]

they say it will take years for the water situation to return to normal, sure the "lowballers" will fade out but even if you have a responsibile biz plan you can have a fold up, alot of landscapers
and nursuries have folded, a severe drought can make it very difficult if not impossibile to sell jobs.

...a silver lining ive thought about that too, that after a few years of no pwing alot of things will be dirty and the watersheds will be full again and we can wash away, but when that time comes there will be another group of newbies out there "lowballing".

yea i think there will be a sweet spot in the future but it will be
temporary. it would be good to have an alternate source of income to stay in this biz in certain areas.

i think the best bet for pwing would be in restaurants and trucks, for those in the s.e. my 02

[Tmrrptr]

IMO there is no upside to drought.

Entire civilizations have disappeared for lack of water.
z

[Ron Musgraves]

lowballers low ball because there over head is low. the upside is it will reduce your competition. bad times will do the same, I actually get calls from customers that can't find there regular guy because he has gone out of business. this happened around 911.

[Doug Dahlke]

The point I was trying to make is that this isn't just another drought. This situation in the Atlanta area is one of the worst in it's history. Lake Lanier, which is the main water supply for the metro area, is at it's lowest level ever. We broke the old record set back in 1986 about two weeks ago. I have heard that even after we return to normal rainfall levels it will take two years for Lanier to be back at full pool.

I am no fan of government or government regulation but I think there will be some measures put into effect that will affect businesses that rely on water long after this is over. You probably won't be able to build a new car wash unless it recycles water. Landscapers may still be restricted to a fixed number of days on watering for new installations. Odd even watering schedules may be made permanent. State, county and city governments are probably not going to go back to business as usual.

Protecting the water supply will be more important. You will see increased emphasis on storm water management. I think you could even see some counties requiring power washers to prove that they can comply with EPA regulations before they are issued a business license. That isn't necessarily a bad thing if you want low ballers out of the market. You won't be able to buy a $350 pressure washer and throw a tote tank in your pick up bed and be in business. I don't think that we will see the end of the fall out from all of this for a long time to come.

[Pams Pressure & Clean]

Doug,


You will see increased emphasis on storm water management.

Most have no idea how much that sentence means.

Those that miss its importance need to sell out NOW while their equipment is still worth something.


Cujo

[squirtgun]

Originally Posted by Pams Pressure & Clean

Doug,


You will see increased emphasis on storm water management.

Most have no idea how much that sentence means.

Those that miss its importance need to sell out NOW while their equipment is still worth something.


Cujo

Aren't we a shining beacon of hope?

[Beth n Rod]

Cujo -
I agree. Storm water management will be very important...it already is in other states.

What can we do to educate the contractors so that they understand this and apply it?

Beth

[squirtgun]

Beth,
My opinion may not be popular,but I predict there will be a handful of contractors who will thrive on watching their under educated brethren go out of business vs. helping educate them on water reclaim issues.

I hate knowing that all the emails I have sent to state level officials will benefit those who would take pleasure in watching others suffer the loss of their livelihood.

[PWNC]

A piece on mitigaging a drought - very good information for states who are not yet experience drought conditions. The potential is ALWAYS going to be there. Prevention is key. http://www.drought.unl.edu/plan/handbook/risk.pdf

That whole site is GREAT for addressing this as a national interest.

[Beth n Rod]

You know Scott, sometimes it will surprise you to see just who takes pleasure at watching others suffer. I know I've been surprised by it! In the end, we are all in business for ourselves. I am all for helping others, don't get me wrong, I've been doing that for years. But if things are that bad, you should expect that a person's own business will come first in their mind. And really, is there anything wrong with it? Sounds like survival of the fittest to me. Should you network? Well, yes I think so. Should you help each other? Again, I say yes. But I will add a caveat and say do it with your eyes open. Raising the bar for the entire industry, means helping those you are not so in tune with, as well as those you may call a friend. It's not an exclusionary thing, or at least in my view it should NOT be.

Off my soapbox...back to my coffee.
Beth