My year started off poorly, dispute with homeowner over water while stripping a deck. Refund and walk away.
Washed a log home, wound up hand scrubbing it, homeowner and I disagreed completely on what that would cost. Bad feelings.
Stained a deck with a pergola style roof, way way under bid that pergola part as it took forever. I didn’t lose money, just lost time (which is money I get that).
Banged up my knee and now I am limping around at jobs. Busiest season so far, almost to the point I feel like I need to hire someone but I think I am just going to turn jobs away. This is supposed to be a part time gig.
Sounds like you’ve been over-booking. I start making mistakes and tackling stuff I shouldn’t when I’m overworked.
Couple years ago I switched to a 4 day work week (taking off Wednesdays). I actually made more than I had working 5 day weeks. Being more selective about which jobs I booked meant I had less headaches, more profitable jobs, and time to recuperate for optimal productivity. (Every once in awhile I end up working a longer week, and I almost always regret it somehow.)
That’s what works for me, though. You gotta find your own sweet-spot for work-life balance.
Becoming an employer is an entirely different ball of wax. Being a good power washer does not automatically make you a good leader/employer. It can be very rewarding if you have the skills for it. But I know a lot of solo guys that have hired prematurely and came to regret it. I personally enjoy the work I do way more than I would enjoy managing other people. Just not my speed/skillset/interest.
Have had a couple of close calls. The real estate agent lying their butts off the day before showing wanting a pristine roof after i set expectations was one of them. Still dealing with that.
I had a twofer that ended up happening where i did someones roof and the person next door pretty much asked me to do their roof, and i gave them a deal since i didnt even have to move any of my equipment. I ended up almost falling off the ladder, and then slipped and almost fell off a shingle roof which was new for me. It was super slick. I shot that one from the ladder. I had a ground guy i employ for roofs to rinse. I get a call from this customer that night saying that she thinks her neighbors paint is damaged on both sides. I let her know that it was raining pretty steadily and i had a guy on the ground rinsing everything so i feel pretty confident that no damage to paint would have been done but was a little nervous because i usually walk roofs to minimize overspray but couldnt on this one. It ended up being some soap that needed rinsed off so it was a near miss. I talked to my ground guy and he said he specifically saw me overspray onto the house (they are built REALLY close to each other) but didnt spray the house because he didnt think he should. I had to sit down and have a chat with him about that because its like…im paying him to rinse places that might overspray so paint doesnt get messed up so…if he sees a place where it hit, hes just going to leave it to mess up the neighbors paint? IDK, id rather explain myself to a neighbor for hitting their house with a second of water instead of re paint their houses but maybe thats just me? it was at this point that i thought my ground guy might be retarded and I had to count to 10 internally. I am ok with the guy missing a spot, i am not ok with him watching, seeing it hit somewhere, and not doing anything about it. Id be ok with him even saying something like “looks like were hitting that house right there, what would you like to do?” etc. but him willfully ignoring it knowing it can mess up the paint REALLY irked me.
Thats been about it. Have had the customers being impatient with moss coming down after a day or three of waiting, but i really try and hammer the whole setting proper expectations thing before working and thats mitigated 95% of my problems.
I’ve got one trailer rig & two tow vehicles. I’ve replaced the starter, alternator & water pump on one of them; front tires & rear brakes are next. I’m putting new motor mounts & rebuilding the front axle on the other one next week. I wasted a solid week looking at double priced vehicles for a quick way out to no avail but that’s alright. New GX630 on the rig first thing this year should have been an omen haha. Full disclosure; I got the Evinrude 9.9 running like a sewing machine. No sour grapes here! Now y’all get back to work.
I’ve been stuck here while y’all are pulling the load but I’m alright with it. I guess I could mount my reels on the boat & specialize in waterfront properties.
I understand that. I just prefer not to drop 20k on a 10k vehicle just to figure out why they unloaded it 3 days later, even that takes time. Already has. Let me borrow your 2026 Jeep Entrepreneur for a couple weeks until I get it sorted out & I’ll buy you some Waffle House on my credit card.
I started this gig as a part time job, and I don’t want a full time job as I am retired. The PW usually doesn’t bother me as I can wash a house or two with no rush and still be home early ( I live in the boondocks, so everything has drive time).
Been getting requests for bigger wood jobs more often. The last one I looked at needs a crew. The pergola under the gutter line and the wind gusting would let me spray it (metal roof), so the pergola top had to be done by hand (that took forever).
Nope, 2-3 year old vehicles with lower than average miles (new if you can’t find one), finance 100% if possible. It pays for itself many times over every month… the price per month is more relevant sometimes than the total $$s price…pay it off early if it makes excessive amounts of money, lol
Before you turn work away you need to raise your prices. Raise them to the point you’re getting an adequate amount of work to fit your schedule. Let the market do the turning away, that way you aren’t leaving money on the table.
I feel this. I cringe a little when I land a job on a big deck or a fence but when the rubber hits the road, nothing is more satisfying than wood. Any ole schmuck can splash & dash vinyl siding.
