and find a semi-local guy that will let you play 2nd fiddle for a few days if at all possible…there’s no substitute for solid experience.
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Top 5 for me…
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Spent too much on a hot water unit. In retro I would’ve skipped heat and thrown those funds at a softwash system on the trailer.
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Gutter cleaning. Hopped on ladders and used the ball valve to clean gutters. Tough way to make a couple hundred. I’ll entertain gutters on a ranch with a home wash but nothing beyond that.
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Not having a post cleaning review process. I’m a process guy and just let that one go. As a result my thumbtack reviews are plentiful and great but I should’ve pushed people to google reviews.
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Way too dependent on thumbtack. This still plagues me. It’s tough not to chase every one down when you spent $40-80 on the lead.
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Window cleaning French windows/grids without a WFP.
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Y’all are wild with the gutter cleaning hate… too much easy money left on the table. We easily do $200+/hr residential and $500+/hr commercial. Please, if you are in the Raleigh area send it my way! 
Mistakes:
1: Not investing in the right equipment early enough. I started in a 2 door hard body Nissan pickup and only did gutter cleaning and window cleaning for the first 3-4 months to save up to get what I need for pressure washing. Didn’t even buy a hose reel for a couple months after I bought the pressure washer because I was getting married and didn’t have the money. It all worked out, but I’ve learned that I could have saved a lot of time and headaches if I just invested more into better equipment when it was time instead of trying to save a few hundred bucks.
2: Not cancelling Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Thumbtack, etc earlier. These were useful for me when I started my business, but I kept paying for them 2-3 years longer than I should have. I cancelled and saw no negative impact on my business, but was hesitant to do so because I thought I needed them. Build up your reputation independent of them and you’ll be much better off.
3: Not realizing soon enough that, as the business owner, I make all the rules. It’s too easy, especially early on, to think that the customer is always right and that we have to bend to what they want. No. We tell them what is what, and they fall in line or find someone else. I used to do anything they asked, and it almost always bit me in the butt. Now every service is clearly outlined and we don’t do anything outside of those parameters for free. Period. Also, they pay when and how I tell them or they are penalized for it. This may sound harsh, but clients respect you way more if you deal with them this way (as long as you set the expectations clearly and up front). DON’T DO CRAP FOR FREE AND DON’T LET SOMEONE DELAY PAYING YOU!
4: Hiring fast and firing slow. This is one I am still learning, but I’ve typically been willing to hire anyone that will show up and I’ve been hesitant to fire bad employees because I felt like I needed them there to do the work. This mindset causes a lot of headaches and personal anxiety, but more importantly it ruins the culture of your business. It hit me at the beginning of April this year that the majority of my team was worthless in terms of the long term plans for my business. Guys would show up 30 min, 1 hr, even 2 hrs late on a regular basis with no explanation or remorse. They didn’t treat our clients well or complete the services up to appropriate standards. Fired them going into the busy season, which has added a lot of work and stress on my shoulders but it’s going to pay off big time. Already is when I look at feedback from our clients over the last month and a half.
5. Not making connections right away or finding a business mentor sooner. I am an introvert, so for many years I avoided connecting with other business owners. This was a big mistake. Rub shoulders with folks that killing it in their business, don’t just look for other pressure washers, and soak up all you can from them. I’m still bad at this, but it is huge.
8 Likes
Diego has done more to build my business than any other person, with maybe the exception of Mark with Superior. Two of my dearest friends.
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I’m very lucky to have met Diego. I’ve never met Mark, but have seen his trucks all over and have mutual contacts through the local jiu jitsu and mma communities. Only heard great things!
Mark and I started the same year. He went to ace hardware everyday, rented a ladder that he tied on top of his car and cleaned gutters. Now he runs a half dozen washing trucks, has a painting and roofing division, tons of rental properties and owns an apartment complex at the coast and one in South America. Diego and Nick brought disc golf stations to my cabin so we could play this winter instead of sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Just fine people
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I gave up rolling when I turned 50, joints (knees and back) just said your done. It is a young mans game.
You more MMA or BJJ guy? you gotta know everything in mma, but I’ve met lots of people who just wanna roll. Now my fist of fury comes from the computer chair or the couch 
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Haha, preach! I haven’t been able to do much recently, but mostly jiu jitsu.
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That’s awesome to see guys here into combat sports. My dad was a fighter and I as well. Traveled the world and have a lot of friends and stories from being in the scene. Have had a back surgery And both my knees are blown out at 35 so just do it recreationally nowadays. Never made a ton of money off it, wasn’t that great. More like an expensive hobby 
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Sorry to hear about the injuries.
I am so glad you mentioned your dad was a fighter. I loved the family friendly gyms, my kid went to lots of gyms with me. We used to put them in the cage and put the medicine balls and swiss balls in there, they had a blast. Safest place in the world for a kid to play, pads and mats all over. Might hear some foul language from time to time, but got to witness people beat the living snot out of one another and still be friends afterwards. Never worried about my kid’s safety there.
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I was in the ring since about 2 years old. My dad owned a gym and I traveled all over “cornering” with him and other guys. It was an interesting upbringing but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
