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Yes or No Poll: 2019 was.....

Etowah

Poll: Overall, financially speaking, 2019 was a success


  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .

Debra Gorgos

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Was 2019 a good year for your car wash, financially speaking? (Overall profits)
 

Earl Weiss

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Not good. - Chicago had the rainiest 6 months Jan - June since the started keeping records and the Snow / Salt wasn't much either.
 

Eric H

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I'm pleased with some disappointment. I set some goals, specifically a car count and gross income, that I just pulled out of mid air. Both goals were nice round numbers that i simply hoped to reach. I did meet the gross income goal but I will miss the car count goal by about 200 cars. There are 2 days left in the year but there is an ice storm coming in so I don't expect to wash another 200 over the next 2 days.
I am disappointed that I'll miss the car count goal but it is only an increase of 3.71% and the income increase was 5.9%. If I had been more cerebral about setting the goals I think I would have hoped for a 7% increase.
The weather here has been terrible since September. If I set my goal at 7% i would have missed the mark completely but looking back Idid set the mark too low.
By the way, I should add that I didn't do anything differently this past year, I kept the same pricing, chemicals etc. I didn't do any marketing of any kind. I simply kept the property clean, machinery working properly, and producing clean cars. I put in ZERO additional effort into achieving my goals which I hope to change for 2020.
 

Sequoia

AKA Duane H- 3 bay SS
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Revenue went up a little despite some negative one-time events. May is usually strong. I lost all revenue for that month since there was 5" of rainfall-- whereas average is about half an inch. In Fall, I lost two weeks of usually strong income due to "public safety" power shutoffs. My power was shut off intentionally by the utility. I'm pleased revenue was up despite losing about 6 weeks total during good revenue periods.

In October, I added credit card acceptance, and raised prices. My prediction for 2020 is a positive bump in revenue. And net. I removed my dumpster in October. At $250/mo for trash service, that reduces expenses $3,000 annually.
 

mjwalsh

6 bay SS w/laundromat
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Debra,

Our revenue is slightly up. Explanation it seems could be the effects of brand new competition with brand new everything (including CC acceptance) from the previous year possibly is starting to fade a bit. I agree about the effects of the timing of weather ... extended deep freezes &/or extended blizzards ... oh I'm sorry .... y'all in milder climates possibly can't relate.

I voted no because ... it still does not meet my definition of success (net income) considering that I might spend a lot more on payroll than many of you. Us old fogies are a bit too fragile to try to go it alone quite as much as we used to!
 
Last edited:

kentadel

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We had a good year. Overall profit was up a small amount, which was very surprising as we are going through a complete remodel of the exterior, interior, and equipment, while also adding an addition to this wash.
 

Waxman

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Despite enduring ''Sewer-Gate 2019" ( where I was closed for a month while I tore into my sewer system for repairs ), I had a good year financially.

I raised all of my pricing; self serve at $3 start / 3.0 min. Vacs $2 for 5 min. IBA $10, 12, 13, 15. ( 65% of customers are buying top pkg ). Detail pricing is up 20%.

I sold a decent number of used cars, too; nothing the big dealerships would get excited about, but decent for a little 2/1 car wash in rural MA.
 
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