It can work…but only if there is defined structure. Everyone has to have a role, and have final say as it relates to that role (ie. if someone is purely providing the finances, they need to stick to that and not get into the daily processes, etc.). This is usually a pretty small sort of thing in terms of # of people in a new PW company, so that is probably not viable to differentiate roles.
There may not be too many companies because there isn’t a ton of opportunity, tough to say. Only you can say if you see a bunch of unwashed houses in your area that need it… Hit up the older guy. Tell him you heard he’s the best in the area, and ask him if he’d be willing to teach you some things to get started. You never know, he may be like IBS and just be looking to get rid of clients that he could send your way, and know they’ll be taken care of if he taught you…
One of my partners works for Verizon in the town (Pop. 25,000) and he’s one of his clients and they’ve talked about him doing PW, and he just said he does it on the side for basically beer money, but still has his full time job at 50+ or however old, i forgot
But then has also said he makes more money PW part time than he does at his FT job, so I do believe there is a potential market in this area.
The town of 25,000 still has your affluent neighborhoods, middle class, all that jazz without any PW companies. Next closest town of its size is about 45mins-1.5hours away. But within 20-30 mins within our town are multiple towns of the 800-1500 Pop. that we want to capitalize on asap before one of these other guys get to them and get them as clients.
And i know mostly everyone here will say 3 people starting out is to much and you are probably right but i’m not going to back out on my good friends who’ve helped me pay bills and vise versa with them.
And we each bring something to the table and it’s all written out in our business plan. And i’ve read somewhere (Marketing aspect) is to go with what you know. We know we have the reach to multiple business owners in this community because of my dads Sand & Gravel business (These guys have known me personally since I was born) which has been in the community for over 50+ years, the Verizon partner who already has personal connections with his clients.
But lay it on, knowledge is invaluable, can never have enough
Hi,
I am Kwasi, and I am a new member from Ghana (Africa).
I just started a specialized cleaning business in the capital city of Ghana, Accra, and we offer pressure washing services for commercial buildings.
Our ambition is to rapidly venture into solar panels cleaning and water storage tanks as well. There are currently no players in this market, only a patchwork of casual laborers are doing these jobs with brushes and mops! Meanwhile, there are almost a million units of water storage tanks in Accra because of intermittent water supply.
It’s great to hear that. Ghana is actually a beautiful place with our little systemic challenges . Hopefully she’d recommend that you visit here someday.
Hey all. Name’s Travis and I’m venturing out and starting my own pressure washing business. I have a couple years experience (not including typical DIY stuff at the house) from when I was younger working for another pressure washing company. Currently, I am a project manager for a commercial construction general contractor as well as a Mater Sergeant in the Texas Army National Guard. I started to get burned out with commercial construction after coming home from a deployment last spring and going back to my civilian job. I’m used to long hours and working hard, but something in my perspective changed when I went back to work. I found it difficult to justify missing a kids soccer practice or to motivate myself into putting in the extra hours I was accustomed to. After some thought I realized that it wasn’t the hard work burning me out, but who was drawing the largest benefit from my hard work that had killed my motivation. I had been toying with the idea of starting a pressure washing business for years, and with my new found lack of motivation in my corporate career I’ve decided to put it on the line and place all bets on myself.
So with that in consideration, here’s where I’m at in the process.
Trailer build nearly complete (6x12 open, 225 gal water tank, (2) 35 gal chem tanks, 200’ water hose w/reel, 200 foot pressure hose w/reel, I WANT AN 8 GPM MACHINE and will downstream, but can’t find one with a short lead time.
I’ll have insurance in place as soon as the LLC is formed, and will be ready to wash soon!
I have a few army buddies that are going to be my first jobs, and then I plan on placing yard signs and door hangers to get more leads. My 1yr goal is to be able to maintain a 3-4 daily residential wash schedule throughout the week and secure 2-3 fleet accounts to do on weekends.
I got a couple kids plus a wife to support, and some people tell me I’m crazy to want to walk away from a secured 6 figure salary to take this risk. But I think it’s crazier to spend the next 30 years of my life making someone else rich and never knowing what I could have built on my own. Any and all help or criticisms are welcome!
p.s. I want to buy an 8gpm machine this week. If anyone has used equipment for sale or knows of a supplier with shorter lead times please message me.
If you have a family and a secure job, keep it and spend time with your family. Working all week on houses and all weekends, plus your job in the garden with the Guard. But, if your mentality is that you are working to make someone else rich, you should leave for the sake of your employer. Buy used trucks, but not used equipment. Don’t buy pressure pro. Don’t buy from vendors that are also washing contractors. That’s my advice.
Thanks for the advice. I want to be clear that im not being cynical regarding the current opportunities and career I have that I have worked for. My mentality is that I have the opportunity for that hard work to pay me directly while doing something I enjoy. So thats what I’m going to work towards.
Know any manufacturers offering new equipment with shorter than 3-4 week lead times?
Man, my garden comment went unnoticed lol. I thought that was what Mater Sergeants did. I’ve got three spare machines with around 2500 hours but I don’t know or care to learn how to ship something. This is where all my equipment comes from.
I wish you the best of luck! But I have to say, it’s not nearly as easy as the YouTube guys make it sound. Keeping a steady job until Feb, marketing like crazy in the meantime & washing on weekends would be a much safer approach unless you have a fat bank account already.
We have a contingency plan in place. I haven’t settled on how long I’ll try to do it on the side before sending my two weeks at my regular job, but the initial plan isn’t to just pull the rip cord. Although it is very tempting…
Listen to what we’re all telling you. Take your time, get all your equipment lined up, study, do friends houses, start doing some on the side, get your promotions working, Get your skills honed, and then, if still excited about, then go full time early in the year. You’ve kind of missed the busiest time of the year most places, this year. Plus with the economy, fuel prices and who knows what might happen next year or 2, I sure as heck wouldn’t be walking away from a 6 figure job right now.
Hello all! My name is Aaron and I run a small pressure washing company in the Memphis, TN area. I have been growing this business for three years now, and have reached the point of growth. I love the work, have a couple contracted workers, and am insured. I am pumped to be a part of this community! It already has been very helpful for me.
Hey all, I’ve been lurking on here for a few weeks now as well as watching tons of youtube on the exterior cleaning business. I am in the planning phase for starting up my business up here in Minnesota, I am mostly worried about our long off seasons as i would love to quit my 9-5 as soon as possible. I am also concerned about starting up and not being able to offer all of the services people may ask for. My local facebook group has people asking for house cleaning services probably 3 times a week but they all seem to be specifically asking for roof, windows, siding and some flat work. Sounds like it may be a dream for an established business but Im trying to ease into it and dont have a softwash or pure water window set up yet.
Probably wont post a ton until i get some more real world experience but i just wanted to say hi and thanks for all the information you have given me so far. The search bar has been my best friend recently.
Sounds like the perfect scenario…welcome, and good luck! Look into getting a decent piece of equipment so you can run a downstream system and a surface cleaner, maybe an x-jet to tap into the roof market. Windows can be done multiple ways, and are mainly an add-on service for many.
Yeah I have the simpson 4gpm with the Honda engine. Hoping itll be enough to handle the surface cleaner I ordered. Ive looked into the xjet and was worried about the crazy spray pattern on it and overspray when cleanings roofs. I really want to build my own softwash system but i cant dedicate the bed of my truck to a skid and Id have to rent a storage unit for a trailer if I were to build one.
. Hopefully she’d recommend that you visit here someday.
