CaliTINT

Keep in mind, higher the technology, typically it is harder to install and price will be higher because of that technology...especially when you want the higher performance without the hazing.  The key is to make sure you are charging enough money...as your film choices go higher, so should your profit.  For example, we have Llumar CTX for our Ceramic and 3M Crystalline for our higher performing film.  Even though Crystalline is well over two times the price of CTX, we make way more profit on Crystalline than CTX.  Basically you wanting a low price, high performance, and easy installation is like our customers walking in wanting dark, but legal.  You have to pick and choose which is the priority to you.
 
With that being said, SolarFX IRFX is a great option to get you IR performance while keeping the price super low.  Want even more performance, then SolarFX FXtreme2/RejectorFX will work.

Square is a smart choice if you are doing less then 150k a year but poor choice if you are doing more.  The average cost of fee for our business is 2.25% using almost any merchant.  We reconciled our business every year on how we can save on anything...
 
this years...
1. Tranfer on att phone line to comcast...save $75/month
 
2.  Cancell directv and got firestick with vue channel....save $60/month
 
3.  Cancell yelp ad ($375/month) and tranfer ad money to Facebook lead generators ($200)....gross 18k in sale from first month.
 
4.  Selling company 2017 Raptor and buying Tesla Model 3 ...save big time on gas and will be using it as a loaner car
 
ect....visit your number yearly and you can all save

I always say the best slip solution is Astroglide...your windows will thank you.

Double cut and shrink separate. Reason I do is bottom layer will be inside out and can and has caused puckers do to the fact film shrinks and curls in a natural position (just like only shrinking factory edge and not against the grain). Remember heating film on film side naturally curls toward you, thus shrinking the bottom layer quicker due to the fact the liner is on the glass...so get ready to picked up some times when you do that. New school cars will work, but old school cars will have your ass going back to 101 shrink course.
cheers

We pretty much double cut on most vehicles and shrink separately. 

We pretty much double cut on most vehicles and shrink separately. 

Now it's been cold using heavy dawn in one bottle and Wal-Mart equate baby shampoo for install all with distilled water......working good now...do a test heavy bottle with slime and light mix of tint slime use what works best for you try distilled water too helps eliminate dirty water...

Personally I don't use my slip solution as my cleaning solution, at least on the inside windows. I usually use foam glass cleaner when cleaning the inside. 
 
But I'm also not in cold weather lol

Yes I am also VERY straightforward with the customers with removals. I tell them especially with older cars that there is a chance they are going to loose their defroster lines and that i am not liable if they are lost.
 
I usually tell them that it is 100$ for the back window plus 50/hour if it takes me more than one hour for just the rear window, and usually 50 for all sides. I also will not remove it unless they get it re-tinted as well. When they hear that they usually go to my competition and get the whole thing removed for 100$ (thankfully). And they use ASWF so when they bring it back to me because it looks like S$$T and it is a S**T job it is usually pretty easy to remove because it is ASWF so win win for me. 
 
And whenever someone bitches or complains i just hand them a few razor blades a couple of old scrubby pads and tell them to get some windex and start scrapping sides and scrubbing real window themselves...... usually they will come back and pay me to finish it AND the job will be half done.
 
 

I got an email from a friend I haven't talked to in a while. He's helping a friend with tint removal and needed some advice etc. Sounds like he had quite the time, I'd have paid to watch.  Anyway, he tells a good tale...
 
 

here a Global heat box we design....

Thank you for your advice!!  We've run a few ad campaigns through Facebook and Instagram, and it hasn't necessarily increased our reach. At the same time, it was our first few campaigns, but I feel like word of mouth is still the best marketing strategy. 

If you have the extra cash go ahead and book a flight tonight to Mexico. 

Hey everyone, we will be getting in our new 2018 Wall Displays for our automotive and DualZoneFX Flatglass films. They will be 12"x24" and have 5 customizable panels for your choice of film selections. Stay tuned for more details.
 

Yes I use some SolarFx film also. Pretty good film, great price and easy to get. 

@ya_boi_nate - Buy SolarFX's product called Classic Series Black, it's a low price good quality film to learn on. @CaliTINT gave you some good advice that i agree with.

In my opinion, using extremely cheap film like Walmart type isn't a good film to practice with. It's just too flimsy and hard to work with. It might be good with practicing some cutting (top of roll-ups especially) but for installing and shrinking I would use a "better"cheap film lol. 
 
There are some websites and manufacturers out there that will sell film to anybody. But once you are ready to start in the business and want some good film you will typically need to have a business license (at the very least). Some will ask for photos of your shop or mobile unit. The higher end manufacturers may have even more stringent requirements (like minimum annual purchases, etc.)
 
What I would do is buy some better film than Walmart film and get lots more practice. I'm talking months and months and watch tons of videos. If you can afford training, do it. Then once you feel comfortable ask for samples from some good film manufacturers. You will see the difference in quality and feel. and use that to do your own vehicle or someone close to you. 

Hello Jkatfelix,
Time.. Believe it or not is irrelevant.
The longer you invest into your craft, should not alter your return.
 
There are a great many people who appreciate that you take your time and ensure your quality of workmanship is of a top standard . These are the folks that will pay extra for that specific criteria. Including myself. Ensure top standard and charge accordingly.
 
I can only say this.... Quality will always win the race. In all aspects. Speed and time is irrelevant.
 
Hopefully this helps.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
Michael. 
 

Hello Everyone, I am sure that everyone is eager to hear the announcement of our SolarFX Window Films Christmas Raffle. Well I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news first is that I intended for the raffle to end tonight 12/22/2017 at midnight. Well......I mistakenly posted it ended on 12/21/2017 at midnight. No wories, we did the drawing 1 day early. There were 2,552 total posts in the Raffle. Now the good news, we have a winner!! And, in the spirit of Christmas Giving, SolarFX has actually chosen 4 winners. The grand prize winner still gets the big prize, first runner up gets a 40"x100' roll of our IRFX and a SolarFX Hoodie, 2nd runner up gets one of our new SolarFX Quarter Zip Performance Pullovers, and the 3rd runner up gets one of our SolarFX "Feel the FX" Beanies. All winners were randomly chosen using www.random.org . So without any further ado the winners are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner, Post number 2545, which happens to be @jh812

 
The first Runner Up, winning a 40"x100' roll of IRFX and a SolarFX Hoodie is post number 627, which is @W.A.T.

 
The 2nd runner up with post number 1414 and the winner of the SolarFX Performance Pullover is @Solarbros

 
The final winner is post number 1118 and the winner of the SolarFX "Feel the FX" Beanies is @Jkatfelix

 
Thank you to everyone who has participated in our SolarFX Window Films Christmas Raffle 2017. Congratulations to the winners of these awesome prizes. Please direct message me, call me at 800-825-3746, or email me at shawnmvogler@hotmail.com to arrange the shipment of your winnings.

May everyone have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year. May all of you be blessed with this season and a prosperous 2018!
 
Shawn

Hell yeah thank you Shawn! Congrats to all the other winners and once again thanks @TintDude for this awesome spot! 

After many years of building, buying, and collecting heat lamp display through out the last 12 years....This is the best one. It is made from aluminum and wall mounted. The size is 30" x 28" x 7 3/4". We are selling $500 plus tint because of this box daily. We spend less time explaining and selling to customer because of this heat lamp box. The box and graphic serve as a informative and heat display all in one. It is very user friendly, the film will sell itself using this box. We have hundreds of customer that walk up to this box and say I want that one. 
I have 9 left and will custom design your brand film of choice. I would just need to know the 3 films you want on the glass. I will grab the spec of the film and design, print, and install. All you need to buy is the IR bulbs and installed it to the wall.
The box with no graphic is $500 and with custom graphic installed is $650 plus shipping. You will get your money back from the extra profit this box made in a few days. Email me at NorngLLC@gmail.com if you are interested. Mike Norng (713) 560-0669

they wont last long. i ask people if they're more worried about price or quality. if they say price there not my customer 

I think he will eventually weed himself out and bad reviews on his business will catch up to him.
 
I think the only thing you can really do is fight fire with fire (not literally)  but keep it professional. Really amp up your website with detailed information to educate your customers on the film differences and quality. When you do any type of marketing do the same. You can talk trash about other shops installing cheap films in your social media etc. but just not anything direct.
 
Respond to all negative reviews professionally and positively.

Www.hitmanforhire.com

In Houston TX anyway