We’ve worked with all kinds of businesses during our tenure in NYC, but this was the first time we’ve ever dealt with a roofing company. Queens Roofing, a local roofing contractor, requested help with their advertising about 3 months ago. They were using Facebook ads to target residential clients. Their offer was basic – a free inspection that may turn into something more. They were paying for Google Ads as well, a very high cost per click I might add. Their latest customer said, “Good heavens! We live in Queens where anything can happen with the weather.  Just after a record-breaking snowstorm froze the state, a hellacious hail storm hit in NYC. The hail was about the size of a quarter but there was some larger ones nearing the size of a ping pong ball.  Most people are just relieved their cars didn’t get damaged.  I had it in the carport but hail can bounce, I have learned.  I didn’t realize any damage had been done to my home until a few days later when it rained.  My roof was leaking!  I didn’t know who to call so I had to call someone who did roofs.  I was really afraid, being a single older woman.  I have heard tales of storm chasers, roofers who come when there has been a storm and take advantage of people then disappear.  I asked around for recommendations.  My sister told us about a great company so I called them.  I was given a free guestimate and then they came out and actually looked at the roof and gave me a free quote.  I was quite impressed with how nice they were and the price was right on target too.  They even offered to work with my insurance company.  They realized the work needed to be done quickly before it became larger and more dangerous.  The work is already completed and I couldn’t be happier.  No more leaking and now, when I need anything done to my roof, I have a company I totally trust that I can call.” Our suggestion for Queens Roofing was simply to focus more on organic reach rather than paid advertising. For more information on Queens Roofing, click here to view their website or call their team at (718) 865-2772.

New York City is made up of 5 boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. These boroughs are essentially cities within themselves because they’re so large. Astoria Handyman, my latest client, is located on the west side of Queens, not far from Manhattan. Astoria Handyman is a family business that was started more than a decade ago in, you guessed it, Astoria, New York. The owner and his brother graduated from college and didn’t want to take the normal route and get 9-5 jobs, so they decided to learn trades. Jake learned drywall installation and repair, and Mike learned how to do residential painting. With both brothers trained as contractors, they thought the work would come rolling in, but it didn’t. They advertised on Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Thumbtack, Facebook, and numerous other platforms, but still didn’t get much business. That’s when they decided to make a change. They started to offer more services. They became true handymen, offering everything you could think of. They did cabinet refacing, shelf installation, power-washing, spray foam installation, washer dryer repair, TV tuning, residential and commercial painting, basic remodeling work, and drywall installation and repair, among other things. You can visit www.astoriahandyman.com to request handyman services in NYC or nearby in Jersey City, as long as it’s within the 5 mile radius they set. After the website went live, the customer call volume spiked, allowing the brothers to hire 7 contractors to help offload some of the work volume. Now, 5 months later, they’re as busy as can be. With everyone staying home because of the VID, tons of people are noticing work that needs to be done around the house that they’re not equipped to handle. That’s where Astoria Handyman comes in. Mike and Jake can take care of all the odd jobs and small remodeling projects that homeowners and apartment renters have been putting off.

One of the great things about our business services is that we get to work with clients all over the country. Not only that, but we also have the opportunity to help in diverse areas of any given company. Some we help with recruiting, some we help with process optimization, and others we provide training. Today’s post is about our client Queens Hood Cleaning Pros and how we helped them with talent acquisition.

Queens Hood Cleaning Pros came to us a few weeks ago looking to hire hood cleaners in Queens, New York. Their company is a few years old and is growing very rapidly, faster than they can plan for. Everyday they’re getting an increasing volume of calls, which was becoming too much to handle without more help. As a leading provider of New York hood cleaning, their employees need to be up to speed on the latest techniques, certifications, and training for the industry. Sanitizing kitchen exhaust and cleaning vent hoods may sound simple, but it’s a critical piece of any restaurant or commercial kitchen’s operation. Queens Hood Cleaning Pros’ goal is to help client pass their health inspections and maintain a sparkling kitchen.

Our first step was to discuss all the requirements the company was looking for in the ideal candidate. This included proper certifications, a vehicle for transportation to and from customer estimate locations, and a teamwork attitude. Using a variety of job sites like Monster, Career Builder, and Indeed, we were able to source 25 quality candidates within one week. Through interviews over the phone and in person, we were able to screen 15 people out. Afterwards, we provided the top 10 candidates to the owner of Queens Hood Cleaning Pros to speak with. Of those candidates, they selected 5 to hire right away. Our business service in this instance was a great success, made easier by how smoothly we collaborated with the company on the project.

Location: Queens, New York

Of all the platforms you could possibly sell on, Amazon is probably the easiest. The main problem with it is that if the product doesn’t exist in the existing inventory, creating a new listing is a huge pain in the butt. You fill out countless fields loaded with information you may not have and then you publish it only to hear crickets. New products take time to gain traction, which is why many sellers opt to sell on eBay instead.

Sure, on eBay you have to fill out tons of details for each product you have, take pictures, and attempt to price it in line with other sellers, but the overall process is more smooth. eBay has a wide range of sellers from the newbies with a couple items they’re selling from home like a blanket and a new pair of shoes to the pro eBay sellers that list thousands of products a day. The client we worked with was Raven46, a seller of pillowcases and bed sheets from Bed Bath and Beyond. This type of inventory comes from truckload liquidations, which resellers can buy for $8-10k from liquidation companies. The great part about buying a truckload of merchandise is the overall value of what you get. Spending $10,000 on merchandise may not sound very appealing until you learn that the retail value of what you received is upwards of $80,000. Even if you threw out half of the products, you can still triple the money you invested.

Anyways, Raven46 ordered a new liquidation truckload from Bed Bath and Beyond and began listing products. The problem he was having was that he maxes out at a certain number per hour. At 5 minutes a listing, he can only list 12 items in an hour as one person doing it. So, we stepped in to help find him some new listing employees. The obvious solution here was Craigslist, a site where you can find just about anything for a cheap price. In just under 3 days, we received more than 174 emails from people looking to help list products on eBay. Now obviously we don’t want to waste time calling every single one of those people, so we had to narrow the list down somehow. We started by asking their pay requirements and allowing people to self-select out of the process by demanding ridiculous fees for this simple task. 134 people provided absurd numbers in requested salaries, so we removed them and were down to 40. From those 40, we checked for people local to Queens, New York that also owned a laptop. Surprisingly, that only dropped the number to 20. From there, we called each person to discuss the role. 2 of the candidates did not sound qualified and were then removed. With 18 people left, we scheduled 2 people each day for the next week and half for trial runs. Essentially, the candidates would come in and list for a couple hours so we could see if they’re worth the money. 3 of the candidates passed and were hired on the spot.

Raven46 has now ordered another return truckload and is listing at 4 times the speed he was before. That allows his overall sales metrics to skyrocket because as the overall number of listings increases, eBay boosts visibility. Basically, if you list more, you sell more.

Our team of skilled employees can provide an array of small business services, it just depends what you need. In this case, we helped with finding quality talent, but we can help in other areas too. Reach out if you have any questions.