Let me start by saying this place is a wealth of information and I enjoy learning from you all. With that being said, MY HEAD HURTS! I mean 6 mths agowhen I told my wife I was gonna start a pressure washing service it sounded so simple, get a Pressure washer and go wash some stuff. Now I’ve got a headache from reading on this tiny phone jumping from thread to thread post to post with no sense of direction. On top of that I keep getting fixated on things until I’m so sick of thinking about them that i just move on to something else.Things like what machine to start with, what to name my business, LLC or sole proprietorship, trailer size, buy equipment or create a business entity first. I’m like the village drunk fumbling my way through town. Anyways all that to say that I would really appreciate it if yall could send up a flare so I could at least see what direction to go in. I’ll get myself there eventually.
Start with a 5.5 gpm or more machine.There is a competitively price one for around1500 dollars that’s belt driven.
Name your company whatever you want… you have to look at it every day…
I personally have an LLC and never thought of doing it differently.
Dont let yourself get overwhelmed by the possibilities. In the end it boils down to a simple task. Make dirty things clean.
We are all local village people here that have no idea how to go about life…
You are on the right track and in the right place for the knowledge. It looks like you have some good read time.
Take a deep breath and figure out how you want to structure the business. Come up with a name that’s natural and works. Talk to your accountant about what route you should take that will get you the furthest. Figure out a budget on what you have to invest and once you have hard numbers together start pricing things like insurance first. Then LLC or filings. See what you have left over after that and decide on equipment.
Its the off season here (don’t know about where you live) and you should have ample time to work things out. If you want to start big you can just throw money at it until its built… But don’t forget to empower yourself with knowledge here!
Yes…you’re overthinking it. There is no perfect trailer size. You’re going to get out of it what you put into it. A lot of this business revolves around marketing yourself. Heather it’s doorhangers and pounding the pavement to marketing yourself with ads on social media…it’s what you put into it. A 5.5 is great to start out with. If you don’t feel like learning the plumbing of a buffer tank then a 4K psi/4gpm will be fine. 5x8 trailer is fine. Having no hose reeels to start is fine…you’ll get sick of rolling up the hoses and get reels then. Get GL insurance.
You’ll learn the business as you go and not everything will go perfectly. It might take you 2-3 hours to wash a house that most of us can wash in 45 min- 1 hour. But you’ll learn as you go and by reading from others expertise and mistakes on here. It also depends on if you want do do more commercial or residential. You can make good money on the side… on weekends washing a few houses a week.
Thats it! Simple but enlightening thanks for that
@SchertzServicesLLC thanks for that chain of events that you suggested it actually cleared up some of my questions
@Barry1 I plan to start doing residential to start howsewash, concrete,gutters and eventually roof washing. I’ll try to expand into commercial properties when business permits. I’m gonna start part time after work and on the weekends that I’m off and hopefully make a speedy transition to full time. My current job may end up slowing me down because I’m always on call and I work every other weekend but I’ll deal with that problem when it comes up. I know I’m jumping the gun on this but I was referred to this machine and I think this will be my starter I’ve seen it linked in numerous other threads what are your thoughts about it or anyone else’s for that matter.EB5525HG 5.5 GPM @ 2500 PSI GX390 Honda GP Pump
Just know that its very doable!
I did exactly what all these guys say Not to do lol
Only had so much $ to work with and I really wanted to make a go at it so…
I started with $1000
2.5gpm Simpson PW
200ft garden hose
200ft high pressure hose
Chemical injector
Jrod
2ft wand 4ft wand
Gun
30ft pole n brush
2 gal hand sprayer
Quick connects
Fittings
O rings
Elemonator
SH
2 home depot buckets
And went to work!
I made prob $12000 in 12 weeks washing houses on weekends. And took 10 day vacation from work and washed 18 houses in 10 days straight.
Advertised as end of season special. Last chance to get it done blah blah blah. Lined them all up and took a weeks vacation and washed away. Made around $5000 that week!
I just wanted to see if I could do it. If I could get the jobs and if I liked it.
Yes yes and yes
Ive now bought a 4gpm(don’t want to deal with buffer tank)
Roof Kit
3 hose reels
New stuff to fit the 4gpm
Website being built
Insurance lined up
Legal paper work in progress
Fliers, door hangers, business cards,
Truck lettering, yard signs all ordered(my Xmas gifts to myself lol)
Mounting everything in truck bed.
And can’t wait til spring! Lol
So don’t think it can’t be done!
I did it with 2.5gpm! (Don’t believe the hype they only last 10 house washes. Mine has at least 50 on it and it never skipped a beat ever!)I washed Many 2 story houses and only 3 times did I have to get on a ladder to reach. Was there MANY times I had more power to reach higher better? YES! MANY! But I was able to get it done every time!
Wind and unwind the hoses!
Load and unload the pressure washer over and over!
I loved and hated every minute of it!
Every customer was so satisfied and happy and it made it really rewarding!
I’m glad I started that way because I’m really gonna appreciate those hose reels!
So far that’s my story. Just keep your head up!
I got all my work from posting on Facebook then giving every customer 4 business cards and I got their friends family and neighbors. One week I think I literally did a whole family! They just kept calling and saying u did such and such and just kept going lol.
Was fun.
Just sidework for me but I’ve never made faster easier money in my life!
In the process of starting a Office Cleaning business to see if I can get my wife set up then decide where I go with pressure washing from here.
Plan is to get enough work that I can do some of it over the winters. I live in the North and will have to have winter work before I can quit driving truck. Snow removal not really an option. It barely snows. Just cold as hell.
The first thing in any business is getting customers and making $$ (while being compliant…licensed and insured) How and when you get there will be different for anyone.
Where are you located?
Nvm SE LA
@Laidback that is awesome to hear rags to riches huh brotha. Thank for the input I’m gonna keep plugging away
@Patriotspwashing yeah man south Louisiana I was hoping get get this thing off the ground by the end of March cause it’ll be hot as balls by the end of April but that might be tough. So much to learn so much to do.i dont wanna show up to my first job swinging my wand around like a crazy person and getting knotted up in my hose. You know
Definitely need practice houses even if you do them for free. Doing is definitely different than reading about it! 
I’m 4 months into this, so quite the novice. Funny thing is, getting affordable insurance is the hard part, at least where I’m located. We called about eight different insurers to no avail, most wouldn’t do both PW and window cleaning. We called Hiscox and they wanted $1200/mo. Yikes.
So far, I have:
5x8 enclosed trailer
4k/4gpm Honda/Cat machine
200’ of hose in 50’ sections
65gal buffer tank with Hudson valve
Various lances, fittings, a Suttner gun, turbo nozzle
Boots, overalls, face shield (for turbo)
Xjet M5, homemade chem bucket
100’ supply hose (wish I had Flexzilla)
110v pump for buffer tank (don’t laugh, it works)
One of those $40 gas cans, well worth it
Etc.
I totally agree, just go do some friend’s houses/concrete for free or super cheap to practice on. Heck, offer to do some church’s sidewalks pro bono.
Divide your business into categories first. You can start with three to begin.
1. Operations
- What are you going to clean?
- How are you going to clean it?
- What equipment will you need?
- How will you transport it?
- Where will you store it?
2. Marketing
- What is your company all about?
- What image are looking to present?
- Who are your main customers?
- How will you reach them?
3. Finances
- How much will your equipment cost?
- Where will your start up money come from?
- How much money will you need to break even every month?
- How many jobs would that be?
That’s just a sample (not meant to be all inclusive) of the questions that you should be asking yourself, and then you can systematically begin the research needed to answer them.
Steve, you’re overthinking things. The best PW for you to buy is the one you can afford. I started out with the MegaCrap 325? from Simpson. Don’t do that. Find a used machine that is 4gal 4kpsi or around that. There’s your start. Start cleaning around for folks you know. Without experience, the lessons here are only advice. Start out with Steve’s PW, accept cash and don’t worry about your legal entity until you are ready to move from there. Discover what your market will bear for services, and charge a fair price. Always do your best with your customer’s happiness as your gold standard. Don’t sweat the small stuff Come back here with practical advice. Always give us pictures to get accurate advice.
NOW GO TO WORK! GOOD LUCK
Hey guys all the advice is much appreciated. @Sasquatch will do exactly what you suggested i actually talked to a few buddies about doing there places in exchange for putting my signs in there yard thanks. @dcbrock thanks for the advice and equipment list kind of gives me a clearer picture of some of the things that I’ll need. @Steve I read through your example and I was actually able to answer more of those questions than I thought I guess I’ve been thinking to broad gotta break it down. @MrSparkleVA thanks for the advice I really appreciate you and everyone else taking the time thanks again.
Also used PWers are like motorcycles. In the winter you can find some incredible deals.
That surprises me coming from you… not that i whole heartedly disagree, but if thats the route you choose to take stick to family and close friends that wont stick it to you if something were to happen.
I went legit my first year, only did family, friends, and friends of family and was able to cover cost on everything and then a little extra… and yes like Mr. George i started with a simpson machine, but it had super awesome cat pump that everyone said was top of the line. The second year it made me good money (im a teacher, kind of full time in the summer with weekends a few months around that). I helped a contractor buddy and he had a 3.5 gpm, the diff was amazing. I upgradedbto 5.5 and glad i did. That 2.7 gpm is my backup now, and used a few times a year for small jobs that dont warrant a buffer and setting everything up.
I didnt read any of your post, but going off what @MrSparkleVA said in last post i read hope it helps… find a better used machine.
Thanks for the input I’ll take all I can get.
