Pressure Washing Guide

Midwestpro

1. Be certain you enjoy the work. You are going to be devoting a lot of time and energy to starting your new pressure washing business and building it into a successful venture, so it’s vital that you truly enjoy the work. Whether you’ll be doing the physical labor yourself or just running the business end of the company, you better be sure you enjoy it or you’ll be burned out before you even get started.

2. Have your personal finances in check. Starting a new power washing business can be tough. Realistically it may be awhile before your new business actually makes any profits. Starting your new business while your personal finances aren’t quite up to par will only put an extra strain on you and the new power wash company.

3. Don’t do it alone. It’s imperative and usually overlooked, that you have a support system while you’re starting a business (and afterwards). A family member or friend can be someone to bounce ideas off but be sure they give you positive feedback; some people will actually drag you down and tell you that you’re idea is crazy. Find a successful business owner that can serve as a mentor, someone whom has what you want. Talk with other contractors in the pressure washing industry for support.

4. Get clients or customers first. Don’t wait until you’ve officially started your business to start looking for customers, because your business won’t survive without them. Do the networking, make the contacts, sell, or even volunteer your services just to get things rolling and to give you some practice. You can’t start marketing too soon. You can’t buy $10,000 worth of equipment and just expect the phone to start ringing the following week.

5. Write a business plan. The main reason for writing a business plan first is that it can help you to avoid wasting your time and money on starting a business that will NOT succeed. Your business plan should contain your company’s purpose, goals, budgets, projected income, customer demographics, market analysis, advertising and marketing plans.

6. Do extensive research. You’ll do a lot of research while writing a business plan, but that’s just a start. You need to become an expert on the pressure wash industry, products, equipment, services, methods, and techniques if you’re not already. Joining related message boards, forums, and attending networking events are great ideas.

7. Hire professional help. Moreover, just because you run a small business, does not mean you have to be an expert on everything. If you’re not good at accounting or bookkeeping, hire one (or both). As a new pressure washing contractor you’ll be tempted to wear many hats but you’ll waste more time and money in the long run by trying to do things yourself that you’re not qualified to do.

8. Have some capitol lined up. Save up if you have to or approach potential investors and lenders. Figure out your financial safety net plan. Don’t expect to start a professional pressure washing company on a shoe string budget. Fly by night companies do this all the time and that’s why they are gone as fast as they came. To do this professionally you have to look professional, and that will cost some money initially.

9. Be professional from the get-go. Everything about you and the way you do business needs to give people the perception that you are a professional contractor running a serious pressure washing service. That means getting all the trimmings such as professional business cards, a business phone, a professionally designed logo, matching paper work, lettered vehicle, insurance, and treating people in a professional, courteous manner.

10. Get the legal and tax issues right the first time. It’s much more difficult and expensive to detangle a mess afterwards. Register your company with your State. Find out about licensing. Make sure you have the proper amount of general liability, commercial auto, and workman's compensation insurance. How will the entity of your business affect your income tax situation? Consult with an accountant or lawyer as to what business formation you should set up. Learn what your legal and tax responsibilities are before you start your pressure washing business and operate within the law.

Shoot2thrill · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 9 Location: Atlanta

Heyy!

I just purchased a 4000 psi, 3.5G/M pressure washer and a 32inch floor cleaner.
Right off the bat I had a 230ft driveway that I charged $275 for and a very small 1 I charged $140 for.
Both were calls because utility vehicles left stains in thier customers driveway.

My company will specialize in handwashing windows inside and out and ofcourse pressure washing.

We have ads in the yellowpages and in a newsletter for a 30,000 home subdivision.

Areas I need to address is drumming up tons of business.
I was going to go on an e-mail campaign to a few hundred Realtors in the area and offer a quick rinse special.

Maybe just rinsing off a house from the ground for $99 to $150 depending on the size.
Upselling a few items such as window cleaning and a complete driveway cleaning for the 'Realtors special'.

What do you think of this?
Any other ideas?

Also, didn't see it in the other topics but whats up with muriatic acid?
When should this be used and is it safe to run through the chemical applicater tip on the pressure washer?
I ofcourse have a downstream chemical injector on the pressure washer.

Anyways... nice running into the forums. I have no doubt I'll be back with 4 million questions!

Thx,
Shoot

Midwestpro · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum. You bring up some great questions.

One concern I see with offering a "quick rinse" service is wondering if you are really going to get the house clean? You have to use the correct cleaners, or contaminants such as algae and mildew will not be killed effectively, hence they will return in a short time. Using the correct cleaners won't allow for a quick splash and dash, the surface must be washed to remove all the pollutants and to rinse off the cleaner.

I am not saying your idea won't work, but you don't want to leave a wake of unhappy customers feeling like they got what they paid for, cheap pressure washing.

Muriatic Acid can be applied through a chemical injector, you'll just have to know what percentage of draw your injector is to figure out the ratio of mixture you are applying. Be sure to always flush your hoses and injector out with water immediately after downstreaming any chemicals. Here is more on Muratic Acid.

Shoot2thrill · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 9 Location: Atlanta

Correction

The subdivision we're targeting has 4,000 homes not 30,000.

We were thinking the quick rinse was mainly to wash the pollen, dust and dirt off the homes for realtors that want to keep thier cost at a minimum while actually noticeably cleaning the house.
Any mold, mildew or stain removal we can also do but will be extra.

I do have a few more questions!

First is advertising. What advertising works very well, works well, works so-so, and what doesn’t work – for small commercial and residential?

My next issue I would like input on is labor. How are the best ways to advertise for help, and different opinions on how to compensate help?

Third is software for administrating the operation. Does everybody have any software that maintains customer base and work schedules?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

Midwestpro · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject:

Newbie · Joined: 12 Oct 2008 Posts: 2 Location: NW Ohio

I first have to say thank you! Finally, there's someone out there who is willing to help people get started in this business. I have taken an interest in starting my own business for some time and I can't wait to learn more about it. My story is probably typical; I hate my job, I'd like to make more money, and I would like to start power washing on a part-time basis and grow it into a full time profession.

Thanks again!

FCPWLLC · Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 100 Location: Lexington, KY

Newbie · Joined: 12 Oct 2008 Posts: 2 Location: NW Ohio

Sorry about that, and thank you for the welcome. I'm going to try to learn as much as I can from this forum before I ask too many questions. In the mean time if there's anything anyone feels could help me learn even more, I would greatly appreciate it.