Hi all! Over the past 6 months I’ve finished my business plan and presented it to a few investors. I got the word today that my funding will be complete, and I’m incredibly excited to start my first build.
Since I’m building everything from scratch, I have a list of about 75 different things from pumps to jumper hoses to banjo filters, and I’m doing the excruciating work of searching every single item to find the lowest price (after tax and shipping).
Every $20 I can save adds up substantially in the end, and pads my “Oh Crap” fund for the unforseens.
I’m not asking for anyone to do the work for me, and I plan on sharing my spreadsheet (with suppliers and costs) to help anyone else out in the future.
My question is this; it seems like Dultmeir and Sprayer Depot consistently have the best prices. Dultmeir offers free shipping after spending $1800 (easy lol), and Sprayer Depot has free shipping on lots of items. Has anyone run across companies where they feel comfortable just building an entire cart without checking for better prices on every little connector? Or have any input from their first complete build?
I’m planning on completing the spreadsheet by this Sunday; I’ll post it in this topic if anyone cares to see it or weigh in.
I’m a big fan of Sprayer Depot. They have good prices on most stuff and especially on Hannay hose reels because of the free shipping. Their customer service is top notch and they have fast shipping. I can see price shopping for higher priced items but I personally wouldn’t mess with it for fittings. I hate shopping though. PVC Fittings Online has some good prices on fittings too so check them out.
I will add this. I completely understand watching costs, and agree that you have to do this. However, sometimes things are more valuable than just costs alone. If you have someone local, I would try to at least purchase a few things just to create a relationship and have a local supplier for things that come up. Same goes with some of the online companies. I bought a new 5.5 unit last year and paid a little more locally than I could have gotten it online, but my vendor will also bring me a unit as a loaner should mine ever go down to keep me working. I also just paid more for a 12v pump from Southside, but I did it because I have called and talked to Russ personally and he has been a huge help a few times when I had problems. So just keep that in mind. Sometimes building relationships are more important that price alone. Just my $0.02
Hahaha it’s pretty small, all told it comes in under $15k (that’s got business expenses, marketing, everything). I just don’t know many people with deep pockets lol
For that small of an amount you should really consider funding it on your own. Then it will be your company and you’ll never have to worry about pleasing anyone but yourself.
@DisplacedTexan indeed. I started part time. Paid cash for everything. Saved up about 5 months of salary and had everything paid for before I went full time. Makes the transition pretty easy then. Just hard getting to that point
I had some money saved and put the rest on a 0% interest card and just went to work. I always recommend doing things yourself if possible. Relying on other people has burned me in the past and I refuse to do it anymore. Its extremely rare that things work out like we want them to in those cases.
Thank you for the input! I’d considered going that way, but wasn’t interested in maxing out a card because of the credit hit (debt to credit ratio). I also looked into personal loans for starting a business, but they seem really hard to get at the moment.
The way I’m set up, with the conservative numbers in my business plan, the company will be all mine in under 2 years and we’ll have cash reserves of almost $28k. For a side-gig, I’m pretty happy with that, and the people I’m borrowing the startup capital from all have a history of lending to small businesses and maintaining strong relationships with them.
As a side note, it’s a really good feeling to have other people approve your business plan. They’re looking for issues, reasons not to invest. And it’s super cool to receive affirmation that it might actually all work out
I would not borrow money to start a business from scratch especially something like pressure washing where a $2500 rig could make you 15k first year easily with very basic free advertising. A small pressure washing business doesn’t need a “plan” or “investors”. Your business plan should be to buy a cheap pressure washer and basics associated with house washing and work your way up. 15k will be made faster than you think.
Thank you! All great information, appreciate the responses. @Patriotspwashing how long did you keep that $400 rig, and do you think it was adequate for professional results?
@MuscleMyHustle I appreciate the reply, but I disagree with the notion that a business doesn’t need a plan. It’s a super easy thing to say, especially for people that don’t want to spend the months of work it takes to create one. But business plans give MASSIVE insight into the feasibility of a business, and force you to think about all of the angles and threats involved. Creating my plan made me dig into the demographics of my area, research my competitors, and create strategies for leveraging my strengths against my weaknesses.
My degree was in Business, with a focus on Entrepreneurship and small business management. I’m excited and grateful to be learning from all of you, thank you a thousand times for all of your input and knowledge!
I also want to add one last bit of information for anybody that reads this thread as they’re starting up. It’s easily fact-checked.
The number one reason new businesses fail is lack of funding and low startup capital.
The second most reason cited by companies that failed is poor planning.
Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs.
Sorry about the soap box, it’s just a subject that I care a whole lot about. I desperately want to succeed, and I know that everyone one here wants me to succeed too. I can’t thank y’all enough for all of the input and help you’re extending towards me.
