Well my season is just about wrapped up (04/15-09/09). I have enough chemical to do one more roof wash and thats about all she wrote and since it takes a month to get here im just about done unless its house washes and with the weather up here starting to change, i don’t see too many.
Last year I dont know my closing percentages but i had around 28 jobs and made 35k gross as a side gig.
Looking at my customer factor percentage, I closed 50% of all my estimates. I did 70 jobs. My goal this year was to do 100 jobs so i fell short. Secondary goal was to gross a certain monetary amount which i did…barely
What do i need to work on…
Generating more leads
Getting more online reviews ( I got 10 reviews this year so now 12 total on google)
Increasing closing numbers
What I did learned…
That I have a lot more free time doing this than being away at sea 2 weeks at a time
Roofs are probably 80% of my revenue this year
I need to order more product initially so im not fighting with supply issues. My chemical distributer is literally the worst. I will be looking into other alternatives this upcoming season.
That people that tell me they know a lot of friends and family and can pass along my information to them if i do some work for free have a special circle in hell reserved for them
I can realistically bump my numbers up by about 50% and then i’m going to be swamped/burned out so i need to look into potentially hiring a helper.
I make about 20-30x an hour doing this vs my state job but i have benefits. I need to look into that if I want to make this my main focus next year.
Final Thoughts
I feel much better about this year than last. I am still learning but feeling more comfortable talking to people and tackling bigger jobs. I am still spending a ton of time on the forum(s) and soaking up knowledge. With year 3 coming into play I am interested to see if i get any year 1 repeat business and to see what kind of rotational cycle needs to be built up. Stuff went wrong but i had the correct tools and replacement parts on hand to weather the storm, I only had to use my backup 4gpm unit from last year once while getting stuff squared away with repairs. I need to buy a boat condo to have heated storage for my rig out of the elements. That would be ideal. I know i can winterize and all that jazz but long term solution is to have a shop that i can call my own. I am currently paying 550$ a month for half a boat condo for at least this winter and 250$ for another storage unit across the street. Thats a LOT of overhead and definitely just a stopgap measure for the winter. Ill figure something out, I always do!
Good synopsis. Still think you should buy a 5.5 or 6gpm hot water skid. Would extend your season on both ends plus land more commercial jobs. Plus when you’re out washing when others aren’t you get more attention from neighbors and people passing buy. I’ve never lost a residential job when I actually talk to them in fall and spring explaining the benefits of using warm water. And in a small town like yours word will get around pretty quick among commercial customers that you have hot water. It opens up a whole other world to you. Everything from oil based spills in drives to regular commercial work.
I’m 100 percent on board with you @Racer . Experience changes your perspective. This last winter I was sweating different expenses because I was unsure of what I could make. Now that I have a better understanding of what I can make I won’t be as nervous spending money and absolutely think hot water would help me on my shoulder seasons as well as be great for marketing.
I think being in the hole like I was at the beginning of this season also didn’t help with that and it feels good to be free…or almost free Im still waiting for taxes to bite me but have put almost everything i earned right into the bank.
I’m a little bummed about not having more chemicals and my season ending a little earlier than I’d have liked but when 15 gallons of SH costs 119$ plus 50 deposit I really didn’t want to end up holding the bag and having a bunch go bad. There was times where it would take me 1.5 months or longer to get my product through the distributor.
I believe next year I will be trying to get 275 totes delivered and skip the middle man.
This is, to me, is half the fun of running the business. Reflecting back on the year and setting goals for next year. Winer gives you lots of time to think about that to do next year. Best of luck to ya and enjoy your hibernation.
I was in this same situation 2 years ago, I was slaving for 2 masters, my 27 year job with good pay and benefits and my side PW & WW business.
Thanks to the encouragement of my wife and some planning- I quit my stable job and focused entirely on my business- was the best decision I could have made, in retrospect I had a lot of fear.
Income has tripled and flexibility is awesome, some stress yes- but at the end of the day there is always trade offs.
Get your ducks in a row, set the goal, get your fam on board and go for it Sheep
Wow. This reply really spoke to me. I have been at my stable decent paying(with good benefits)job for 20 years. For the last few years I have wanted to branch out and try my own thing. Well that time is coming. Currently learning the trade(this site has been beyond helpful for knowledge and inspiration. Reading and watching as much as I can before this little bird trys its first flight haha. Any tricks you can share about getting over that fear? Hah. Anyhow. Great job!
Start small, keep your full time job, focus on doing quality work and not so much on quantity of work. It may take off super quickly for you, or it may take 5 years, but if you are doing good work at a fair price you will have repeat customers and your name will be spread. Some customers you may hear from every year, others may be every few years. This is my 6th season doing this part time and I have clients calling me to come back that I haven’t heard from since my first year in business. On the other hand, majority of my business so far this year has been my “regulars” that are on the schedule every year. I’ve raised my prices and they keep booking without any hesitation.
Other points - smile when talking to your clients; not awkwardly, but don’t look like you hate being there. If they offer you a water, take it and express how much you appreciate that. Show up when you say you are going to show up. Call back when you say you are going to call back. Clean what you state you are going to clean. Try to look like someone/something that is functionally professional. No need for collared shirts and custom embroidered logos unless that’s what you want to do. I’ve been running solid colored athletic shirts from Walmart for years and a pair of polyester cargo shorts I found at Goodwill. Keep a clean looking truck/trailer that is organized, but you don’t have to have tire shine with a 7 year ceramic coating wax.
You’ll be fine. It’s okay to be nervous, but don’t let that stop you from trying. Mistakes will happen and hopefully their not big ones, but learn from them and do what you can to prevent them in the future.
Start small. So many people spend a bajillion dollars on a rig and equipment only to forget that they have to be able to have customers to afford all that overhead I see used equipment being sold at half price a lot. Poor guys. Remember that this business attracts predators with promises of a 100k+ a year, and with a small investment anyone with a dream can start this. The businesses selling you the equipment don’t care about your longevity as long as you pay for your equipment up front.
I used a 4gpm unit out of my truck bed the first year, and then reinvested a lot into a box truck and wrap.
Make sure it’s something you don’t mind doing. Pressure washing to me is not terrible and it pays so much more than what I can make doing anything else that I am all about this life. I took paternity leave to be able to have my job/insurance still rolling during this summer and will see how I do compared to last year before making any rash decisions with my current job.
Sounds like customer service skill sets are just as important as knowledge for the job itself. Besides the money, another reason i wanna get into this industry is making people happy with a well done finished product. I feel this will give me alot more job satisfaction. Thanks for the advice.
This advice seems to not spread fast enough for the people buying up expensive equipment before even giving it a try. I was gonna rent one from home depot and do my mother i laws driveway as my first one. Get some spray bottles to test out sh strengths. “Play around” a little without hopefully ruining anything lol. I guess as was mentioned above, learn what you need to learn, have a genuine/honest attitude, don’t be terrified and hopefully things will work
And practice on friends and family’s stuff first. They are more forgiving and you can work on your flow without looking like a monkey banging a football
Haha, yes this is a big reason I want some practice first. I feel i can read lots and watch lots but until the equipment is physically in my hand and I am familier with it I will second guess my procedures. I forgot a shout out to @Racer. I appreciated the advice in another thread you gave someone. You mentioned bringing some bottles of different sh mixtures to test out and see what works best. Help give strength perspectives.
Funny enough I started with a 2.5 and 4gpm. I prefered the 2.5 because it was easier to start and tended to work better than the 4gpm. The 4 would cavitate and have random problems for some reason. I only regretted the 2.5 on one job last year. The house wasn’t washed in 7 years I believe and it took me like 4-5 hours just for the house wash. The gpm is important, now I have a 5.5 and it works great, but at the end of the day sh does the job.
Im still waiting for taxes to bite me but have put almost everything i earned right into the bank.
