I went from 6 guys down to 3 not including me. Best business decision I’ve ever made. Starting out a lot of people dream of having a huge company, the reality of all that is very different to what we think of in our heads.
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Graduated high school 1999, spent high school summers working on tractors doing lasers for land leveling, spent 3 years general construction started as laborer quit when I hit foreman, spent 2 years R&D at Skyjacker suspensions, spent 2 years Vegas doing lasers and gps for construction, moved home and went back to tractor lasers, gps, autopilot’s for 4 years and then oilfield for 8.5 years. But grew up around oilfield all my life (family owns a company). Now I work for myself and slave for my kids.
And this place is awesome, the people the banter and the information. You guys have pointed me in the right direction with info since I joined. 
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I’ll jump in on this. I am also new to the forum and so happy google could lead the way. There is so many new things to learn and find myself losing alot of sleep reading this forum. I graduated high school in 2008 and instead of being a contributing member of society I decided to party and work meaningless jobs for years. One day the world changed and I decided to grow up. I went got a job at Walgreens to pay for welding school where I meet my now wife. I worked various welding jobs for a couple years, mostly structural (not very good at fabrication). I have awesome ideas in my head, they just never seem to look the same in finished form lol. Anyhow, I found the job im currently at, manufacturing liquid containers for the chemical and oils & gas industries. I have been through alot of layoffs and management changes that lead me to want to go into business for myself. A friend introduced an opportunity to start in the washing industry and it stuck. My business paperwork is not complete yet and I am currently shopping for insurance. I have a 4000psi 4gpm direct drive Pw that will be on a skid in the bed of my truck. I’m hoping all my paperwork and insurance will be settled by the time spring really hits and I can get out there and make some money.
Many thanks to the guys who already have contributed advice.
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Heath, you staying in HI or moving back to TX?
I will be moving back to Texas in the fall.
#1 thing to success, always dig deeper.
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I’ve had my business since I was 19 years old, that would put me at 26 years in the cleaning business. Been cleaning windows commercially and residentially for the past 26 years. Specializing in high end residential homes. Also have done commercial building maintenance, including carpet cleaning and tile floor care. Last two years got into Pressure washing/soft washing because we were asked if we did it all the time, we have done thousands of homes and businesses window cleaning wise, so once we started, it didn’t take long to take off with just our current customer base for window cleaning. I’m available to help if I can to answer any window cleaning questions if need be like some of the others on here. I appreciate all the help on the forum, I don’t say a whole lot but do a lot of reading and take a lot of advice and direction from you guys, so thanks to you all!
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@SurfaceTherapy this is one of my favorite threads so far. It’s wholesome and we’re meeting a lot of people that have been lurking but not posting for one reason or another. I’m bookmarking it, because I think this will be a really good Rolodex. Good job dude
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I’ve been roughnecking for the last 9 years after coming out of the military. I made a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan as a combat engineer running route clearance and gave it up to live the oilfield dream. Wasnt much difference except no one was deliberately trying to kill you but everything around you could. Mother Nature can be a little hard to control when you run 20k feet off drill pipe off in her with no permission.
I started looking a pressure washing as a side job on my days off as I work 14 on and 14 off. Ive got 15k in lawn equipment but I couldn’t build that because im gone all the time. No one wants their grass cut every other week or when the weather permits. I bought the equipment for myself as in needed it for my property and tried to put it to work. I bought all the wrong pressure washing equipment like most dudes and started goofing around and reading on here. Then I discovered this place and realized i made a lot of mistakes as far as equipment goes ( direct drive, 4gpm/ 4400 psi, internal unloader, 2 wire stiff as steel hose). All the normal mistakes new dudes try to solve and move forward with to build with. I declined to move forward with that equipment with the new found understanding. Instead i experimented on my own stuff and that of friends and families for free. Shops, sheds, worn out fences, whatever i could get to push that little time bomb pump the end. It’s still going but is gonna get replaced soon.
I’m at the point now where decisions need to be made. My rig is getting stacked and im getting tired of the 4 year rotation of having a job or not. It happend in 2012, 2016, and now 2020. Ive been reading, researching, and saving what i could. Ive got enougn for a decent trailer build, insurance, and spare parts. Website and marketing will have to happen along the way. Depending on how the next few months go will decide my move. To all the new guys:
1 Don’t buy anything yet, there’s more to this than you think and you dont know what you dont know
2 Read. Start at the top and read. Lurk. Hangout. But learn and be open minded. If you dont know the draw rate of your ds injector or what this is or how to figure your % hitting the surface or what this even means, then read more. It’s all here. I found it and learned it. This is your business so learn it
3 This is not Facebook. Use your manners and be polite. It wont be tolerated in a professional environment.
So thanks to all your input and insight. Ive learned a ton and appreciate yall.
P. S. @Infinity can you make my moniker
Not a Professional
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@Kentucky1234 Feel free to chime in anytime! Looks like you’ve been getting in some good readin’!
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Thanks, will do!
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Graduated college in 2002. Started importing products and pitching them at shows. Only thing I’ve done since college and loved it as I got to travel constantly and be my own boss.
Two kids and a marriage later realized it’s extremely difficult trying to make it work being gone 3+ weeks at a time so in fall 18 started my own pressure washing company and now it keeps me home March-November. Still get to travel a little in the winter. Best decision I ever made and looking to grow the p washing side in 2020.
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Graduated high school 2009
Went to NC State for a couple years
Decided I wanted to go to war
Joined the Marine Corps
Spent 5 years flying/partying around Southern Europe (furthest East I went was Djibouti, so no war for me)
Got out and bought an 18 wheeler with my dad
Was gone more than I was in the military
So I started my pressure washing company.
Oh I forgot. Somewhere in there I married my high school sweetheart and now we have two kids. A boy(5 years old) and a girl(3 years old)
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Lots of odd jobs here and there and college; however, the most significant ones:
22.5 years combined in the Army (7.5 Reserves, 15 Active Duty). Did not retire, unfortunately…out on disability. Two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Switched over from SSG (E6) to a Commissioned Officer (CPT O3). 20 months of command time in Korea. Got out in 2013.
Powerlines, on an apprenticeship program, for 4.5 years as a contractor for Duke Energy.
Started the pressure washing business in Jan 2017.
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Pressure washing 5/52/019 - 11/20/2019
Community service 12/30/2019 - 2/11/2020
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Is there not a lounge anymore or can i no longer access it. Trying to find some old posts.
Joined the Army in 1994 and retired in 2015. Did military intel for the first 10 years locating High Frequency signals by triangulating from different antennas. Was told to find a new job because a lot of people were no longer using morse code or other signals sent over HF once cell phones became big. The last 11 years flew unmanned aircraft with 2 deployments to Iraq. Retired and wasn’t done with the Army life so I went back over as a contractor. An even more kinetic site that I have ever been to as a Soldier. Was on a small compound with 20 SEALS and we hunted ISIS, and hunting was great! I’m sure if there was a tag limit I would have been thrown in jail for going over. 169 bad guys got to see their little jihad end by the way of 500lb’ers and hellfire missiles. Did that for another 2.5 years (3 months out and 3 months back home) and decided it was time to hang out at home. Got the itch to go back over again in 2018 and headed to Syria December 30th of that year. After getting there the job was boring so I decided to call it quits. Came home and started my company and haven’t looked back since
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I think you have to show up regularly to still get access to the lounge. Not 100% on that though.
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