Ok guys, I am that noob you love to hate. (I love you all too)
Just remember sometimes noobs end up earning that rookie of the year trophy.
Just got a nice little 4gpm cold water setup and and am getting ready to rock the spring. One thing I don’t find in the forums is really solid advice on where a rookie should start with the basics - pressure washing is not rocket science but from what I glean you can jack a lot of stuff up if you don’t pay attention…
As I browse the forums there is everything from soft washing roofs to pressure washing parking garages to residential driveways and kitchen hood cleaning - it’s like a buffet of work, and all while similar use different techniques and require different knowledge. I know the knowledge will come.
Recently I observed a friend starting a business (non-cleaning) and he has a problem trying to be everything to everyone. Anytime a possible customer asks him if he can do X service he sees it as $$ and adds it on. This habit seems to have made him a jack of all trades and master of none and to me it cheapens his image and he is constantly stressed. It’s like ADHD business ownership and it’s keeping him stuck in the mud vs. growing a strong good company.
If any of you were to re-start your company today with a basic setup and little knowledge, what would be the first pressure washing service you would offer and master and how would you progress if you looked at the different types of services as “levels” to master and added them on one at a time before you moved on to the next.
Nobody hates anybody here. (Laziness may be despised but I don’t think that you have to worry about that).
Seven years full time (seasonal) and capable of a broad range of cleaning and my hearts desire is that if it is not a simple vinyl box that I can quote over the phone, I probably don’t really want the job.
Do one thing and do it well.
You won’t have to worry about hoods, or garages, or multi-family, or whatever else comes to mind. Just pick one and go for it.
What I am toying with, and why I asked the question - is I am questioning what do I want to start out marketing myself as without taking a bite too big to chew right now. I’m wanting to start up as stress free as possible, and plan how I grow with the equipment and resources I have right now.
I have interest in both house washing & flatwork such as driveways sidewalks etc. I’m thinking about just marketing driveways and sidewalks etc first to get a good grasp of the basics before I jump into house washing etc, but on the flip side - I want to make sure I can fill my days and bring home enough bacon that we can start living off of - so maybe I need to dive in with both feet to multiple revenue streams with the equipment. I do live in what is a larger area and think I have a good market, but I did have one business fail on me before (non cleaning very high “niche” service") due to an inability to acquire a steady stream of customers, was lucky to have what I was able to build bought out by a larger company. In terms of experience I have power washed a lot of vehicles & farm equipment before using hot water - but thats it. Just trying to get some insight from you guys who have walked the growth road to where you are today.
HOuse washing and driveways is about as easy it gets, it pretty much all I do and I have almost zero stress, you should be able to do both fairly easily, It may be hard to just do one with out the other,
What housewasher said, both are easy but best practices and some precautions need to be taken. Try softwashing out on your own home, then a friends, neighbors, etc until you get more proficient at it. The more you do it, you’ll pick up little tricks and tips to cut down time without sacrificing great service. Soap bottom to top, rinse top to bottom. Gate back on your surface cleaner to avoid damaging newer concrete. Plenty to learn from on this site and if you are truly stumped, ask in a humble way and everyone here will be more than happy to help.
Thanks for the replies and advice guys! There is definitely a lot to learn on here.
Unfortunately I live in an apartment so very little opportunity for “practice” before I market myself. I do have a couple in-laws I plan on using to practice etc on their back patio / homes. Going to be an interesting summer thats for sure!
I think you answered your own question above and also why your first business failed. My advice is to diversify if you plan on going all in. Not working is a “death” to a business if you need the money to live off.
Yes in a perfect world most of us would love to come out of the starting gate being able to just do house washes or walkways & to be able to live a comfortable life from them alone. You’d be surprise to where you end up in 10yrs from now & how it may be different then what you planned on doing from day 1. In my case its parking garage cleaning because who knew how good the money can be doing something as far out as that? I never did when I started.
So my advice is to diversify out of the gate as much as you can so you can keep making money. As time goes buy you will see what your best at in making money (ultimate goal in business) as you gravitate towards what that is. Hustle is the name of the game so don’t leave money on the table doing nothing when you could be out there making money at least so you have plenty of money to put back into your business so it can grow.
