How many out there are good friends with some of your compepitors? I have one competitor i will go to lunch with sometimes, ride around so both of us can see each others work, go over prices, products, etc. Anyone else do the same?
There are three guys I know fairly well. I referred an irrigation job to one of them today as a matter of fact. It was a call I got in response to my yellow page ad. If he gets it under contract he'll give me a small cut plus show me the ins and outs of installation. One other guy I know, we split a landscape boulder installation job I got a call on - he has the tractor & I don't. Nice to have friends.
I get along with one of my competitors. We do the same thing, compare prices, jobs etc. we both feel that we aren't so much competitors as two different companies working in the same market which is amply large enough for both of us. The other spraying company I haven't really associated with as his philosophy seems to be a little different than mine.
Just posted this on another forum... Same as the above! The first thing you need to learn is that other LCO's are not your direct competition... The overall success of every LCO is determined by the consumer.. The home and business owners are your competition... We are all in this business to make money and to be successful, but think about it; we are competing with the homeowners because in the end, we are either successful or a failure based on their decisions... Other LCO's will not put you out of business, its the homeowner's who decide to hire someone else that will put you out of business.. I am friendly with all of the local LCO's and we all get along because we know they (the home/business owners) have the final decision on who gets what..
The consumer isnt your competition. You have to compete against the other LCOs to get that customer. You have to know how to do the work well and talk to the customer right to get them to spend their money with you. The overall sucess of every LCO is to perform professional work. The home and business owners are your CUSTOMERS not your competition.
I don't care... However you want to look at it.. Anyway that got off the topic alittle... I do the same as you guys mentioned and eat lunch with some of the LCO guys around here. We usually end up at the same place everyday but its nice to be able to tell some of the crazy ---- we go through everyday. Usually involves little old ladies that think we have nothing to do and think they can spend 4 hours telling you stories about their childhood and asking why I charge so much
I am friends with alot of guys in the business. Then there are those that I would like to shove a stick of dynomite up their flubus!
We are friendly with everyone around here. There are some of us, that are pretty good friends, and we constantly network and help each other out on all sorts of things from work, to repair, welding, - all sorts of stuff. I have one friend that just loaned another one of his trailers while his was down with axle trubs and he had to order a part. As a matter of fact, late Saturday, I just blew my mule drive belt on my Lazer, so I knew I was down for the wekend. When I called this guy, he said. "Just bring it over to the shop. I've got a few extra over there and I'll meet ya there." Well, when I got there, he had one alright. A brand new one. He just told me to bring him a replacement when I get out to the dealer. We all tend to have alot of fun when we get together for breakfast or lunches and such. Sometimes we'll just hop over to one another's house to grill some steaks or something and have a brew or two (or three, or four, or...) We are also in the midst of organizing an association or charter. This would be a high publicity organization based on community services and emphasizing quality and standards in all services rendered by our members.
There are 2 other LCOs that work outta my warehouse area, and I know them all well. One guy I am good friends with. We all work in different areas of town, and aren't really competition. Knowing other LCOs has given me more in knowledge and friendship than I could imagine. We loan each other equipment, give each other leads on jobs, all kinds of stuff. I am even planning on working jointly with one guy this fall on cleanups. It's all good.
