This is the time of year when Claudia and I look back at the past year and set goals for the one ahead. So, this week we set a couple of nights aside to do this because we found that it really gives us a sense of direction and purpose and we’re able to actually do a lot of the things that we want to do.
In looking back, one of the things we do is ask ourselves two questions:
- What went well?
- What didn’t go well?
We’ll put down at least 6-8 answers for each and make sure they’re things that we had control over. If something did not go well but we couldn’t prevent it or had no control over it, it doesn’t go on the list.
In case you’re curious, here’s some of what we wrote down:
What went well:
- Claudia gave birth to our son Jude – overcame fear of having a baby
- figured out a way for me to quit my job, a very destructive, negative environment
- started rise365
- paid off one of our larger debts
- went to Colorado for an event – was impetus to change, connected us with amazing people, and propelled us to change
- learned valuable lessons about story and decision making
What didn’t go well:
- my window washing business
- didn’t simplify our wardrobes
- took too long to make a decision about my job
- didn’t connect with more people locally
- didn’t do date night
Thinking about your past year, what are some of the things that went well for you? What didn’t go well? I’d love it if you shared some of them and told me what you learned because of it! You can do that in the comments below.
What went well:
1.) finished my book!
2.) got to help out at the Sanctuary and met many great people
3.) crewed for my friend in Leadville, CO who ran 100 miles
4.) wrote a few cool tunes
5.) quit smoking
6.) cleaning business is still consistent
7.) had the courage to walk away from a publishing contract
What didn’t go well:
1.) took position as RA at a half-way house
2.) gained 35 lbs
3.) didn’t pay taxes, now have IRS debt
4.) had to pay a lawyer to exit a song publishing deal that went bad
5.) didn’t hike enough
6.) didn’t make social connections
7.) didn’t read enough
Michael, I cannot tell you how much this has helped me! I woke up in a funk, again. I have been focusing on a few things that didn’t work this year and thought this year was a bust. By doing this, I realized that I had actually had a few pretty cool success’s along with a few failures. Failure and success come to people who are moving, so I know I am moving and trying things. Thank you Michael! (I would like to hear about your experience in the window cleaning business sometime).
Sutton, I’m siked that it was helpful for you! I know it really was for us. You have some really great things that went well, quit smoking, finished a book, wrote a few cool tunes. Very impressive.
Check out my response to Jerel here in the comments in regard to window washing. If you want, I’d love to talk with you more about it sometime (email, phone, skype?). I know you’re somewhat in this business.
Yeah, Michael I never heard of this window washing enterprise. Tell me more!
Hey Jerel!
I started window washing over the summer to bring in a little extra money. I went into nearby West Chester and went door to door to all the shops. I had bucket and squeegee in hand, talk about an IDC Project! I thought I’d recoup my expenses of about $100 in an hour or two and then be bringing in the big bucks.
As it turns out, I didn’t get one job that day! There apparently was already someone else in there doing the same thing though everyone said he did a terrible job but he’d been doing it for 10 years so they didn’t want to fire him. I thought I could surely take his jobs since he was doing such a bad job. So, I went back at ’em the next week.
Well, I actually saw him working that week and he indeed was doing a bad job but I still didn’t get any work. Next I tried the strip malls which I had better success with. I got a couple jobs including two Dunkin Donuts. Until I got the hang of actually washing the windows, it took a little while to do the jobs. Once I got faster, I figured I was making about $20 an hour. That’s not too bad however it was about half of what I had expected and I wasn’t able to get many jobs. I realized that for the type of jobs I was bidding, that was about the highest I could go. That’s where my competition was and I wasn’t sure how I could add more value to charge more.
I stopped at the end of the summer because, on the day I was doing it, I now had to stay home with Jude. I originally thought maybe I could scale it and do that full time for a bit but soon found out that that was going to happen.
Have you gone through Deb Ingino’s exercises yet? Or red through Dan Miller’s “low cost startup list”?
Jason, I have gone through Deb’s material and LOVED it! It really started coming together for me towards the end of the class. And, I did read through Dan Miller’s 48 Low Cost Business Ideas. That’s where I got the window washing idea from. Both are great resources!
Michael,
Sorry for the delayed response. I get some calls to do windows for residential from time to time but I decline them. On a bigger home you could charge $500 or more however you generally have to have access to a crew of 4 or five people so you can knock it out in a day. Also, you need ladders, have to climb on the roof, sometimes put the ladder up in the foyer and living room, etc. It just seemed like too much liability and trouble.
I clean some windows on the commercial accounts I clean but they are all single floor structures. I drive a Camry and really don’t have an easy way to tote a ladder around. Many of the commercial buildings do use the same person monthly and it is tough to switch.
I also don’t like competing on price. I watched a guy do an impeccable job on the front windows of a Subway store. If I remember correctly he charged $8! (I asked my friend who works there and signed the invoice). He spent about 20 minutes on those windows. I thought about hiring him myself.
I try to average at least $30 per hour if I am cleaning an office condo myself. I get no benefits, holidays or vacations and have to spend money to market, etc. That tends to work out better than window cleaning. However most window cleaners work M-F days. I work nights and weekends.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It confirms my thoughts on that business. It’s not for me.
Happy New Year!
Sutton
Hey Sutton, Happy New Year to you as well!
Yeah, I was amazed at how little some of my competition charged. I did a Dunkin Donuts (inside and out) which took me about 2 hours by myself. I charged $40 but found out that a husband and wife did it before me for $20! That would be only $10/hr unless they were a lot faster than me.
In my experience, it seemed that it would be more profitable to have my own crew and do larger jobs. Also, residential seemed more profitable. I did some research and found out that the current local residential rate was $8-10 per window (inside and out). Some of the guys I talked to were able to do a $250 job in 3-4 hours working by themselves. Per hour, it was a lot more (about $70/hr)!
This was one of the guys I talked to who was legit and does it full-time by himself. http://jonswindowcleaning.com/
2012 is going to be an interesting year! Hoping for a great year!
I’m with you on date-night. Definitely need to improve this coming year!
Good: Leaving my job.
Bad: Took too long to make a change.
Good: Met lots of new and awesome people. Hopefully someday in person.
Bad: Made some mistakes with the family and my wife. Need to improve some areas!
Good: My wife is mostly recovered from Lyme disease
in 2012 I need to start a business from scratch. Awesome. With the entire family working together. Super Awesome!
Jason,
We have some of the same “went wells” and “didn’t go wells”.
Good: Leaving my job
Bad: Took too long to make a change (let’s not do this again!)
And, I know first hand that Lymes is rough. I had it a few years back however, my doctor found it within a week and I haven’t had symptoms since.
I’d love to hear about your business idea! Sounds exciting!
wow. My wife didn’t have any red mark and we didnt’ see the tick, so very hard to diagnose.
Jason,
Yeah, I’m very thankful that there was a bulls eye and that we found it right away! I know some people that have really struggled with it. Actually, my sister has been dealing with it for about 9 months and is now seeing a Lymes specialist and part a support group. I think she is even changing her diet to combat it.
How long has your wife been battling it?
She had heavy antibiotics for 4 months. Radically altered diet. Supplements. Huge amounts of bed rest. Now she’s struggling with some of the after-effects. (lingering nerve pain and partial damage) In her case, it had progressed pretty far before we identified it. She’s still gluten-free and low-sugar. 2011 was wild!
Michael, my wife and I just did our 2012 financial goals last week and had a blast doing it! It was also cool to look back and see what we did or didn’t accomplish for 2011.
Good:
Had our first child back in July
Been blogging and podcasting constantly
Bad:
Did not work with as many clients as I had hoped
Did not connect with as many new people as I wanted
But even thought I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, it’s ok, because I know if I had not written down my goals that I would probably have only done about 10% of what I have accomplished in 2011. With that being said I am already looking ahead to 2012!
Jonathan,
I feel like you touched on something that is key:
“Even thought I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, it’s ok, because I know if I had not written down my goals that I would probably have only done about 10% of what I have accomplished.”
Love it!
Congrats on the baby, by the way!