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We still go door to door and hang door hangers. This is the first marketing we ever did and although we have grown from other sources we refuse to quit what work for us in the beginning. "Never forget where you come from" It is not easy but in my opinion it is a great source for new business! Internet is an excellent choice as well! We have NOT successful with EDDM, and for that reason have discontinued it. If you don't mind doing a little extra work take a look at sendjim, https://sendjim.io/home they have some great marketing ideas at affordable pricing.

Just a couple of pics of a project I am working on, this was some really old shakes that needed two fat coats of amber. you can see on the front where i left off on the second coat.

Support local charities and help people in your community who need it. Keep it between you, them, and God.

There is no drawback from doing the right thing. The drawbacks come from when people want to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Personally I think it goes against what god wants people to do to brag about how you donate or help out a service organization and expect to get positive exposure or a tax credit. Do it because you want to and be done with it. If you recieve a donation letter from them so be it but don't go looking for it.

My only "guarantee" is to turn up & do my best (results as explained)

I find that customers like you described are often ones that have been either taken by another contractor or were given unreasonable expectations. I have won these types over by setting the expectations and when possible over delivering. Then there are ones that just can't be pleased no matter what and they expect miracles. These often have conditions that can't be reversed and likely induced by either the homeowner/diyer or a hack. Some people are so difficult that I will intentionally bid it high to deter their acceptance but in the case they become desparate set a very low expectation. In the case of excessive questions, I find it that they are insecure and often a bit squirrelley to begin with. I try to be patient but sometimes find I have to control the narrative and leave them with either yes or no responses because they don't understand aspects about the project/scope/technology/chemistry etc. This helps them to find a path to a decision but I often have to leave a comfort line at the end, something to the effect of....if you have any further questions you can call me at... Guarantees. What is to guarantee in our line of work? That the dirt will come off? That the results will last 'X' years? I offer none where this is concerned even if I am the first one on the job because there are things I have no control over. I don't make the sealers, chemicals, stains etc. that are being applied. I didn't get the substrate dirty and have no idea of what it has been subject to and no way to tell until AFTER the work begins to reveal what was hidden or obstructed/disguised. What are your thoughts on Guarantees? Rod

New or return customers? If new customers, how did they hear about you? Referral? You'll likely have several different figures depending upon how they got your info. New customers who just found me online I'm about 40%, but that's only because I try and pre-qualify them before ever considering a site visit. I get a description from them over the phone or email, then I'll provide a brief explanation of the service I'm proposing as well as a price range. I let them know if the price range sounds reasonable to them, then we could meet to discuss & finalize the details. New customers who were referred to me from someone I've serviced in the past would be about 65%. Return customers about 90-95% When I first started my own biz in 1998, I thought I was killing it because I got most of the jobs I went and bid on. Come to find out it was only because I was offering my services way too cheap, (that's typically because many of us don't truly understand our total operating costs when starting a business). Although situations vary, I'd say that if you're closing % is much more than 50% from people who don't know you and just found your info online or in print, then you need to reevaluate your pricing.

We use both M5 X-Jet for House washing and we use a 12 volt 7gpm Fatboy or Shureflow Pump for Roofcleaning. We like the X-jet because you can reach upwards of 3 stories. You can apply chemical without ladders and can also clean most vertical surfaces without ladders. The roof setup gets the right chemical on the roof surface at low pressure.

I also have done quiet a bit of work for Real Estate agents in my area. What has worked for me personally is developing a good working relationship with those top sales agents and reward them with small gifts after a few jobs that goes a long way especially when you do excellent work.

I will expound on what Guy was saying. There is a sliding scale that many contractor use towards pricing and it is representative of the time, labor and materials it takes to complete a job. Higher price/sqft for smaller jobs and a reductively lower price/sqft as the job gets bigger. ie; 1.00/sqft - up to 200 sqsft. .75/sqft - up to 500sqft. .50/sqft - up to 1000sqft.....etc. Find out what it takes to do jobs of various types and look into your costs. How much fuel does your machine consume in an hour? Factor that into the price. What is your travel distance and factor costs for ass time in the vehicle for each person and a service area radius to base your rates on. Compute for larger distances as an additional charge upon the regular area. What are your overhead costs you have to meet each month? Divide that total by the number of days you work to come up with a minimum per day you need to meet those expenses and learn to factor that into your hourly costs overall. Many companies here have stated that they have certain minimums they will need to make before accepting any job. That is another thing to consider but beware, it is also market driven and demographically sensitive. You can price yourself out of business if your area of business can't support your costs if they are too high. Let me know if you have any questions... Rod

We used to do Ice Damn removal as well. Cold work and a bit treacherous in the snow of yards you have not been on before and are trying to find good footing for ladders. God I hate getting snow down the back of my jacket... Rod

Thad, Nonsense. You and many others not mentioned in my post deserve credit. Going back in time, if I can remember, Mark Smith, Ken Fenner, Greg R., Jim B., Diamond Jim Foley, and others used this website and the old Delco board to get the wood restoration business recognised by the general public. It helped my small business and many others. So take a bow!

Okay I have a few.....

Va is actually very fair about the issue. On contracting work when they pull a permit for a job they put your contractors licence number in the system and if it pops as inactive,completely fraudulent, or registered to someone else they make the contractor obtain a valid licence before they will sign off on the work.

The big 4-0 was this past September. I spent the morning of my 40th birthday in the Emergency Room with a kidney stone. That went away after some convincing, and all is well. My boys are 14 and 9 now........which is hard to believe. I stopped pressure washing in 2005 and switched to the HVAC business. I am in sales of residential HVAC and doing very well. For a couple of years I was a technician as well, but I enjoy sales more. Jim, I recognize your photo.......I hope all is well with you.

Doing it for nothing is something I won't do. You are performing on someone else's property and if you aren't charging for it and it is not disclosed in a proposal, bid or estimate, you are liable for any and all damages that result. Hourly rates are for employee's and lawyers. Even plumbers and electricians don't give hourly anymore. They charge by the service. We don't give out an 'hourly' rate either. Due to the varying factors many projects will have, there is no way to really put an hourly rate on it considering there is so much more that go into costs. Rod

Tim , I take care of a lot of furniture . Teak , cedar , pt, redwood, something that begins with a J. All furniture that ends up with people like us has gotten out of control and sticky . Over application of product is the biggest issue. So knowing what you put on and how to care for the finish is the biggest issue with outdoor furniture and when to start over again. Last year I did about 20 pieces of teak at the end of the year as a trial for he next 20 pieces in spring ( I think more). The tables could not be extended and the chairs couldn't be sat on when the temps hit 90. What a freaking mess but they new it . It went beyond there painter, local hardware store , paint store, handy man, advice from the product they put on,. The estate manager went to a dinner at one of my clients and ate / sat on the furniture I have cared for the last ten years. What a great new client I have and estate to work on . All because of something that couldn't be sat on ! Who wood of thunk ? With furniture less is best.... What ever is used don't over apply . Wipe off anything that doesn't sink in in 30 minutes . Don't allow much on the undersides at all . Just enhance the wood. With furniture the first finish and when to do the second finish is the trickiest . You cannot treat outside furniture like inside furniture.

If the coating is not permeable.....RUN. Beth

I like forums better because there is much less politics and more networking and civil discussion by contrast. Rod

I have done work at a reduced rate for the Salvation Army, a women's shelter, and a Food Bank. Neither group cares who you are or what you do. Their only concern is if you need help. But if I am told that I owe a freebie, if they tell me I can take a tax deduction, if they pull the guilt trip, we are done. The other thing, is I do not help for free advertising or other b/s. I help because I like the org or their goals.

The fishing part is not important. The being together is the important part. Just as important, is his little friends who do not have a good father figure in their lives. You have a chance to make a real difference in some kids life. Don't screw it up.

Frubals Have you ever heard the phrase 'instant karma'? Frubals (sometimes known as 'reputation') are are a very close equivalent. Let's say, for example, you see a post that you really like. You can validate that person by clicking on the little square green icon (if using The Grime Scene skin) or the scale icon (if using TGS Lite skin) that appears in that post. (It's toward the right-hand side, up top). A pop-up message will come up, asking what you thought of the post and will have a blank space where you can write your thoughts on that post. The other member will have it noted in their "User CP" that someone thought that that post was worth "frubals", and if you enclosed a note, that will appear next to the notation. Sending Frubals with a note is also a nice way to say thank you to someone who helped you. In your posts you will notice little squares under your user name. Mouse over them, and it will give you a message based upon your number of frubals. This changes as you get to new levels. There are many terms used on the forums that denote giving someone frubals. Among them are "frubaling a post," "frubalizing someone," and "fruballed." Here are some configuration numbers for you: Register Date Factor: For every 365 number of days, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power. Post Count Factor: For every 100 number of posts, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power. Reputation Point Factor: For every 100 points of reputation, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power. Minimum Post Count: How many posts must a user have before his reputation hits count on others? 10 Minimum Reputation Count: How much reputation must a user have before his reputation hits count on others? 10 Daily Reputation Clicks Limit: How many reputation clicks can a user give over each 24 hour period? Administrators are exempt from this limit. 15 Reputation User Spread: How many different users must you give reputation to before you can hit the same person again? (Administrators are exempt from this limit.) 5

Someone hook me up with a frubal, thanks.

I have done this when I started out now I do not do it anymore Mike

Good on you for making it all this time never the less John. Rod

Graco recently released a new line of Fine Finish Low Pressure Tips, which allow you to spray at about half the pressure as the old Fine Finish Tips. I thought this might be useful info for those who've stayed away from using an airless to apply stains & sealers due to excess overspray, as well as for those airless users looking for an improvement. I've used their old fine finish tips for years to apply stain, and I'd agree that even with a small tip and the pressure turned up just enough to create a good spray pattern, that overspray was often an issue. Since it's been steady rain here in Portland, OR for most of the spring so far, I've only done 2 stain jobs, but on both occasions I've had the chance to use the new Fine Finish Low Pressure Tips, and the difference is amazing. I'd definitely look into them if you're using an airless. Here's a link for those interested. Graco Fine Finish Low Pressure Tips

my 20ish years old titan 440 is still running hard. Changed the packings a couple times. run MEK thru it once a year to keep it new inside. Can't beat that ball valve.

I wonder what everyone has been using to clean there gutters, just the black streaks on them not the insides. Ive been using la awesome for years and it works great on a car wash brush and a little scrub its gone. only bad thing about it is when its colder than 60 it wont work unless the gutter or the brush has hot water on it. If you dont know what la awesome is they sell it at most 1.00 stores and dollargeneral, family dollar and i think walmart sells it to, its 1.00 for spray bottle or 3.00 for half gallon! works wonders with carpet cleaners and just as a general cleaner, been adding it to all my house washes for years. back to the question what is everyone using for cleaning those streaks on gutters?

We have always done Home Advisor, Local advertising and all the usual door hangers etc. We have been lacking with our internet presence so we have a new website and are working on our visibility on line. John

Same here website,FB,twitter,instagram,Referrals and any free classifieds where I can post a link back to my website really helps!

Largely, we have had great success with just our web site. Rod

Two areas that you need to be careful around with F-13 is painted aluminum garage doors and especially factory coated hardyboard siding. I'm not sure why, but these areas are highly sensitive to the chemical and will oxidize quickly leaving a lighter colored chalky stain!

I guess it depends on your area, but Elemonator is basically all we use in our house wash. I've seen Totally Awesome at Dollar General, but never used it. We use F13 from Pressure Tek for gutter stripes & to boost bleach strength when needed. Adding more surfactant (soap) also means more time rinsing.....for sure a fine line.

I might add my 2 cents worth here. Get the right chemicals to do the job right. X-13 Gutter Gernade is what you want to make those gutters look like new, about a 15:1 ratio. It doesn't take much. Spray it on in the shade and rinse before it dries. You won't believe the difference. On vinyl houses I coat them with a light bleach mixture and use a FatBoy to pump it from chemical tanks in the truck. Dwell for 10 minutes and rinse. You can use an XJet for this too. DO NOT buy an extension wand. Years ago when I first tried the XJet I came home and used a chain saw on my extension wand so it would fit in the trashcan. I also mix Simple Cherry to keep things rinsing well. Lastly, do not rely on pressure to clean the house, you'll only get into trouble. The key to a good job is water volume, not pressure. Try to start at the gutters so you don't have to rinse the whole house over. A lot of nastiness is going to come off those gutters and land on the vinyl siding. Let us know how it works out. BTW, YouTube has tons of videos but not all of them are good. Use your common sense and you'll do fine.

Jack Kramer deserves an award. He is a natural MC. The incipient PW Industry should recognize his ability and contributions. Same goes for you Thad. Also, Beth & Rod must be recognized as the foremost leader in online education and content. In addition, Tom and Barbara Vogel of ACR products deserve mucho kudos. Along with Everret Abrams, they put roundtables on the map many years ago. They have pulled many contractors feet out of the fire for many years, and continue to do so. I would not be in business without their help and support. Carlos Gonzalez deserves a much needed recognition for his spunk, accumen, and downright efforts in trying to steer this service business to another level. Last, but not least, Peirce Fitchette of Ready Seal stains and Jake Clark of Armstrong-Clark stains have supported this small service "industry" to the hilt. To one and all, you are friends. Valuable friends.

John and myself don't agree on a LOT of things, but this isn't one of them. lol

The glycols take the stripping range into acrylics...if done correctly.... Beth

Ok it's official !!!! PWNA just landed another Billion dollar Vendor ! Yap you heard me right....BILLION with a B Since I was put in charge as chairman for the Benefit committee, we got Health Insurance Program at ridiculous pricing for the small contractor. One contractor saved 9,786 dollars a year another saved over $4,800 ! Dental insurance Sherwin Williams Paints at 30% discount, not just on special occasions, but Everyday ! Life Insurance Business Insurance discounts. One member saved $2,100 dollars a year Business Auto insurance Marketing with a real life person...just pick up the phone and call ! These are REAL Savings on products that you need to use for your family and your business. NO OTHER ORG is offering these benefits....NO ONE ! Now we just signed a major Mulit State Billion dollar company that most every contractor will use at one time or another. Can't say who it is until it is signed which should be in a week or so. Corp has to sign off on the discounted pricing to the PWNA members. And for the FIRST TIME.....OSHA CERTIFICATIONS for our members. Valid in ALL 50 States ! NO OTHER PRESSURE WASHING ORG is offering these benefits....NO ONE. GO PWNA !!!

Yes, May and April was cold ,very windy and rainy . I just stopped 4 ipe jobs not worth the trouble . Now in August ,I already had jobs not drying more because of the condensation forming in the morning . I ran heaters and fans to increase drying which did help but not worth the extra time and expense . It takes a certain personality to stay in the wood business. In April I had enough wood work for 5 employes by May I was down to 3 includes me and stayed there . Good thing I do a lot of washing . I have a load of wood work to do and it keeps coming but I have never had an august where you have to wait till 10/ 11:00 to oil . I have a garappa sunroom floor to do and yesterday after 3 days it was still damp( ran heaters to dry). Enough complaining ......sometimes it's not worth being an expert though ?

We run a 10gpm on both my trailers........My Maxima is no problem but my Hydrotek 28 is faster

It's great to hear from everyone again, thanks. It this monent I'm relaxing on the little island of Dominican Republic with my wife and son. Staying at a beautiful hotel that never changed the default passwords from the wifi routers. :)

When we first were getting set up back in 1998 before our launch in '99 we scoured the net for any information we could find on process, chemicals and anything that would help us to the job better without going through the mistakes and errors the hard way and having to fix them. There was no one sharing anything. Everyone was tight lipped about their chems, their methods all of it. Wasn't until we found the PWNA and joined that we started to find some people willing to help and that happened at our first convention we went to in Baltimore MD. I learned a great deal in the classes and round tables and met some great people. They helped me and I benefitted. My attitude is to return the favor in kind to those who are serious about building a solid business and are looking for advice and information. Beth lead the way with wanting to create a BBS where we could provide that networking and archival platform for others to use for their business. We chose to give back to the industry. To help it grow and become filled with better educated people in the field they chose to pursue. Rod

My customer has been in this house for three years, He said it was like this when he moved in, It was previously washed couple months ago with no luck. He owns a rather large landscape company and has dealt with fertilize stains but had no idea it could be cleaned!!

Thank you everyone! Also, thank you Jake! Your advice and professionalism is always top notch. Plus, I landed a 3k deck restoration job because a customer was referred to us by you. I really appreciate that. The scary thing is, the customer almost changed their mind and wanted to put Restore on instead for a while. Luckily I was able to educate them. Have a great start to the year everyone.

The issue with low temps ,moisture and getting a sealer to absorb and dry . Low temps slows the process down tremendously. If it's in direct sunlight all day helps a lot . Just pray for no rain for a week and for temps to rise? I run a heater sometimes . I ran it last year late November to finish a mahogany porch . Worked very well but took away 25 bucks in fuel and about 3 hours in more time for the job . I stayed there longer running the heat to dry the sealer. You also can heat up the sealer which helps and I did for this job. it's a super high end area and was well worth it. Did I say wood care blows! In reality wood is from May to October .

I have tried 3 electric hose reels for roof cleaning, and every one of them failed soon. In fact, hose reels themselves soon fail, when faced with the roof cleaning chemicals. We eliminated hose reels nearly 5 years ago, and never looked back. But then, we are roof cleaners, not pressure washers. We don't pull and reel up our hoses 10 times a day! Hose Reels restrict flow, unless they have large internal manifolds, and they rob pressure. Not a big deal with a PW, but it can be a big deal with a low pressure roof cleaning pump. SH is both a liquid and a Gas, and the fumes are very corrosive. Once these fumes find their way into your electric motor, bye bye electric hose reel. In a SH delivery system, the LESS connections you have, the better! Less to fail, less chance of leaks.

Those chairs...I just keep looking at them. Beautiful. Beth

I couldn't talk my neighbor out of using Restore completely, but was able to at least get her to test it on some wood lawn chairs first. After doing the chairs, she finally agreed on what I was trying to tell her. It is a terrible product plus looks awful, and like Beth said "If the coating is not permeable.....RUN." All of these companies keep trying to develop a product that can beat Mother Nature. The fact is Mother Nature will eventually win.

The offending comments about a former member Tony S who has been banned here have been removed, and the mention of the video participation that he was claimed to be in have also been removed. We have never seen any video likeness of this person performing any illegal act, and to the best of our knowledge this is a false statement with no supporting proof and did not occur. We ask all members to refrain from posting falsehoods regarding him or any other individual. Anyone doing this may become subject to account suspension or termination. Beth

I have used espec's limonene in house washing, but the problem I have is the instructions only pertain to how to mix it up to make 55 gallons. Thats it. There are no instructions on ratios to use or what it is designed specifically to work on. Plus, no msds. All that fancy lingo in the ad and blamo disappointo. If you are looking for Limonene to work on mildew or algae, it doesnt. If you are looking for it to clean something, there is nothing stating what it is supposed to clean. Its advertised for house washing, but when I wash a house, it is to remove mildew/algae or oxidation. There are 2 different methods involved in the removal of each. Alone, limonene has not been effective on either. As we all know, dirt falls off the siding just from hot water alone. Mildew/algae need a strong oxidizer to kill it in order to remove it easily, otherwise, you have to beat it off with high pressure (2500psi+) Oxidation is removed well under a 2 step acid/alkaline process and rinsed with hot water under moderate pressure (600-900 psi) After trying Limonene at a number of concentrations, it now sits on a shelf waiting for a qualified use as a degreaser. Rod~