Mike Williamson

Whaddaya mean you can't count your own time? What if you're the only one working???? That's crazy.

I tried making the cat dizzy to see if he would in fact throw up twice his body weight...didn't work.

Actually, a king sized waterbed would hold at most 45 cubic feet of water...Or enough to fill a 135 square foot room 4 inches deep in water. :) I too thought about mixing Clorox and brake fluid.....have you tried it yet????

Melissa: If you enjoyed the story about the truck driver, you'll enjoy Bill Engvall. He's similar to Jeff Foxworthy, but he's been around longer. He's the originator of that story. It's a part of a series he does about stupid people. I love his stuff!

Thank God for that! I've been waiting for a while to see if this happens. The cell companies fought it tooth and nail. I'm still locked into a contract until August, but I'll likely be switching then, if this actually happens.

Rob: The regulations you refer to are Federal, and apply everywhere in the US. A simple explanation is that wash water cannot go down the storm drains. I'm assuming this also applies to lakes, rivers, and the ocean. You're right, local municipalities in many areas are not enforcing this, but eventually they will. As far as reclaiming when you're doing something like a gas station, it is terribly irresponsible not to. You're allowing all kinds of chemicals to pollute our waters. Personally, I don't worry about it when doing flatwork like residential sidewalks/driveways, because all I'm washing down the drain is dirt and other organics. The same stuff that washed down the drain anyway, and I'm using no chems. Whether you do 10 gas stations/year or 10,000, you should reclaim when doing them. If/when I get into commercial cleaning of that sort, you can be assured that I will be reclaiming. You see, there's more to this than just making a pantload of money. You also need to be responsible, and do things right.

Sure you can make money, just not a lot of it. It all comes back to the fact that the typical pressure washing business doesn't HAVE to make $150.00+ per hour to stay in business. There is a company here that is bad for lowballing...the guy has several employees, and seems happy making $25.00/hour or so, based on the bids I have seen and the amount of time it takes to do the job. He does good work, and has been around for at least 4 years. Keep in mind that with 4 guys, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours to do a house, likely considerably less. Say you're charging $350 like you said. Figure $120 of that in payroll expenses, another $30 in fuel and chems, and you're still making $200.00 in a two hour period. Not too bad. If you can do 4 or 5 of those per day, you're doing pretty well! Not all of us can, or need to, gross $1500/day. Then again, maybe a lot of us aren't "real", "serious" pressurewashing businesses!

3 day passes, $200.00 or so each, maybe a hair less. Figure $600 total for the park. Depending on which hotel you're booking, it can be a good deal or not...If you're in one of the standard park hotels, you can do much better staying outside the park. You can easily find hotels for under $50/night. If you're in one of the resorts like the Dolphin or the Swan, those rooms go for $250.00/night on up. The upside to staying IN the park is that you don't have to deal with all the traffic and time-loss in getting in and out of the park every day. It is DisneyWorld that's in Orlando. There are several different Disney Parks to choose from, enough to fill up a week if you like theme parks. It also depends on what you can book the airfare from St. Louis to Orlando for yourself.

Tim: There's some great beaches and diving there, but I didn't like the touristy part of Key West. Bars and gift shops. You can find some cool stuff in some of the shops (like the Key West Wine Shop), but after the first few hours, there's nothing to do. Personally, I like Marathon much better, and if you like diving, Bahia Honda is awesome and just around the corner. I could definitely spend a week in Marathon, but not Key West.

Rick: I totally agree with that...The most important things you need to make your business successful are desire and initiative. Of course you need more than that, but without those two things, your success will be elusive. rob: Might we see some pics of the vehicle you do have? I love looking at what others have done both in their advertising/lettering, and in their rig setups. We can all learn from eachother, and I certainly have learned a lot from these boards and the willingness of so many to share.

As far as buying a franchise, that's a whole different story. You're paying for a lot more than equipment and other start up costs, you're paying for the name, access to the franchise's methods of operation, etc., and everything else related to owning a franchise. I know of one rather large company who sells franchise rights a whole lot cheaper than $50k., and that INCLUDES the vehicle. Are they just stupid? Don't know what it takes to own/run a "real", "successful" business (despite being very successful for many years)???

Sigh..... Rob, you seem to think that the more money you put in up-front, the more "serious" you are about starting a "REAL" business. So, if I put $200,000.00 up front into my pressure washing business, whether I need it or not, then I'm a real, serious businessman? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that. You say you spent $5k in stain. That's wonderful, that means you had enough work to use $5k in stain. That means you had that $5k covered by the income generated by that work. Had you not gotten those jobs, you'd have no need for the stain, and thus no need for the $5k to be figured into your start-up costs. The expenses for each job you get shouldn't be figured into your initial start up funds. I agree with Paul that it is a good idea to have sufficient money to cover down-time, whether it be from equipment failure, weather, or just the off-season. That will vary depending on where you live. That's my whole point to all this. While a guy in upper Michigan will need to have enough cash to cover bills for 4 months, a guy here will not have to deal with that. There is no off-season here. I disagree that you need a year's salary, unless you're jumping in full time and don't expect to generate much business for the first year. How a person can spend $80k in start up for a wood restoration business is beyond me, unless they started out big, with multiple rigs and employees etc. If that's the case, then sure. I mean, why stop there? Let's spend $500,000.00. Let's buy 20 rigs, hire 40 guys, etc etc. Then we'll get ALL the business because everyone will know that we're the only "real", "serious" business in town!!!!! Woohoo.

rob: I agree, given all the expenses of starting and running a pressure washing business, that you easily spend $25k in the first year, including equipment, supplies, insurance, uniforms, advertising, lettering, etc etc. Even then, that type of money isn't a must, depending on the type and amount of work you're doing, depending on how you're advertising, etc. Once you have your equipment (and you can put together a nice, fully functional rig for $10k), your insurance ($1200 or less?), your lettering ($1000 at the most?), your uniforms ($200?), all you have left is operating expenses (gas, diesel, chems, vehicle insurance,), maybe a truck payment, and maintenance/repairs on your equipment. I still don't see $25k going back in, unless you're using a whole lot of chems and buying a whole lot of expensive accessory equipment. Let's say I'm just getting into this business, and I want to start out with a fully functional professional rig. I can put together a hot water rig in a 7x14 enclosed trailer with all the accessories I may need for $10,000. ($3200 for the trailer, $3800 for the skid, $400.00 for hose reels, $500 for hoses, $300 for a water tank, $250 for an extension wand, $800.00 for a good surfacer, $300 for enough chems to start with, and say another $1000 for plumbing, misc. parts, ladders, tool boxes, brushes, wands, tips, etc.) Next, I need to set up the company legally. Here that will cost $250.00 to incorporate or $50.00 for a fictitious name filing, $200.00 for a good business accounting package (Quickbooks), $50.00 for a workman's comp exemption filing, and $100.00 for a county license. I also need insurance, which will cost me $1200/year (or less). If I opt for uniforms, I can get 10 shirts and pants for $500.00. I also need my truck lettered, or a good quality set of magnets. The magnets will run me $100.00/set, or lettering the truck will run me around $250.00. Lettering the trailer could run me $200 on up, depending on the complexity of my lettering. Let's say I have it done nicely, and it costs me $1000.00 for the truck and trailer. Now I need to advertise. Let's say I go all out, and decide to go with a display ad in the phone book. A moderately sized ad (1/8 of a page?) will run me about $3000.00/year here. I also need business cards. I had mine designed by Keith with KB Graphics for $50.00, and it cost me $125.00 to print 5000. I'll also want some type of mailer. I opted for a postcard sized two-sided mailer. It cost $100.00 to designe (Keith) and $200.00 to print 5000. Last, I'll want to run an ad in the paper. Let's say it's going to cost $150.00/month for that ad. That's $1800/year. The last thing I can think of that I need to spend to get started out is postage for the mailers. If I went crazy and chose to mail out all 5000 at one time, the postage and label cost will be $1400.00. Total cost to get me from the starting point to being ready to go wash is $20k. That's going all out from the get-go. Most don't do that. There's a good bit of that 20k that is optional, and will depend a lot on your location and the type of business you're going after. You may not need a yellow page ad, you may not need a newspaper ad. You may opt to go with printed T-shirts and jeans rather than uniforms. You may not spend $1000.00 to letter your vehicles. You may not need a $3200 enclosed trailer, or you may opt to buy a used rig cheaper, as I did. You may not need a hot water skid. You may get a much better insurance rate. You may not decide to do mail-outs. My whole point to all this is that there's no way to say you need XYZ to start a successful PW business. You could go get a $1200.00 cold water machine and another $1000.00 in hoses and reels and maybe a surfacer, and that may be all you need for the type of work you're doing. You may have a van that you're going to use rather than a trailer, or you may operate out of the back of your truck. There's just too damn many variables. I agree that being underfunded for any endeavor you take on can be disasterous. What underfunded means will be different in every situation. To tell someone just starting to look into this business that you need $25k to start out may be the thing that makes them decide that getting into this business just won't work for them. Many of us who have gotten into this did so because we weren't happy making little money working for someone else, and the very nature of that situation means we don't have $25k to start up. However, this is just my $.02 worth.... :)

Rob: No, I didn't miss the point, and I don't need a lesson on starting a "REAL" business. Every industry is different, and what it takes to start a "REAL" business in on industry is going to be VASTLY different from what it takes to start a "REAL" business in another industry. The things you mentioned certainly don't total up to $25,000.00. You can easily put together a very professional rig for around $6-$8k. CAN you spend more? SURE. You could spend $50k putting your rig together if you have the funds. My point is that it doesn't take $25k to start up. You CAN do is much cheaper, and that is without cutting corners on the professionality of your company in appearance, equipment, or performance. Truck and trailer lettering? less than $1000.00, and you can certainly have it done a good bit cheaper, depending on the size, type, style etc of your graphics. Uniforms? $25.00 each for shirts, how many do you need to start up? 5? 10? Advertising? An ad in the paper? Business cards? Even a small ad in the phone book? None of this comes close to totalling $25k. As far as vehicle cost, most of us have a vehicle already, and if not, you certainly don't have to pay cash for it. You don't have to have a 2003 Dodge 3500 Dually to look professional. All you need is a clean looking, professionally lettered truck. That can be a 2003 Dodge or a 1985 Ford. I started my company for way less than $25k. I suppose I'm a joke. I'm damn glad my customers don't think like you do. I started with a $7500 rig, a $2000 truck, and have put maybe another $4,000 into it in equipment, advertising, etc. I could have started for quite a bit less had I not wanted hot water and an enclosed trailer. The whole point I'm trying to make is there are way too many variables in all businesses, and in this business, to be able to say that it takes $XXXX to start a business and anything less is a joke. I'd be willing to be that most of the companies on the boards didn't start up with anything close to $25k. You keep mentioning "professional" businesses, and that they get all the work and all the money, etc. I don't disagree with that, but I disagree that you have to spend lots of money to be professional.

Lou: It all depends, too, on your definition of "wealthy". I know rob sounds like he's one step from poverty, but if you read many of his other posts, you can see that he's doing very very well. Will you make hundreds of thousands of dollars/year? Not likely. Can it be done? Absolutely. Can you make a very nice comfortable living? Definitely. This is my first year at this, and I've been full time for 2 months. I've made more in the past 2 months than I would have made in 5 months at my old job. I disagree with rob that it takes 25k to start a PW company...It takes time and initiative more than anything. You don't have to have a top of the line rig to get going...You could easily set yourself up with all the equipment and supplies you need for less than 10k, and in some cases, a good bit less than that. It would be nice to have that cash available, but for most of us, it is unrealistic to expect that we'll ever be able to save $50k. That's one reason many of us get into this, because the money suck working for someone else (for most of us). Sure, some get rich, some CEO's make millions, etc, but MOST of us are scraping by. Don't worry about making it...if you really want to, you'll find a way to stick it out and make it work. Stay on the boards and learn as much as you can, and always realize you'll never know enough!

Mike: What soap are you using? I've never seen anything close to those results with just housewash. thanks!

A wand is fine for a very small area, like concrete steps or something like that....anything larger and you're crazy not to use a surface cleaner. I've been where you are before I knew any better, and I hated doing concrete...my back and neck would be killing me after an hour or two, and I'd be filthy and wet from all the blow-back. If you do much concrete at all, the surfacer will pay for itself in a matter of weeks. Depending on what type of concrete you do, and how much, and what size washer you're using, will determine what size and type will work best for you. If you do a lot of large areas, and you have a 5 gpm or larger machine, a 30" would be perfect. If you do a lot of smaller areas like sidewalks and smaller driveways, a 20 or 24" would work better. I'd stay away from the 16" unless you have extremely narrow walkways or something like that, it just doesn't have the coverage, and thus doesn't help speed you up nearly as much.

You answered your own question...You have everything you need to handle whatever comes your way. I too have noticed some of the companies in this area with nothing but a Home Depot washer, a tank (maybe), some hose, and a few jugs of chlorine. Maybe they keep all their chems and other supplies in the cab of their truck, but I doubt it. As Charlie said, maybe they leave the stuff at home they don't need, but I have to wonder. At any rate, isn't it easier to have the proper tool for the job, and have it with you when you need it rather than having to figure out what you're going to need for the day? Better to be prepared at all times!

I have a problem with the theory that the black streaks come from the shingles. The water runs over the shingles and into the gutter, not over the outer edge of the gutter. If things are designed properly, there shouldn't be any water from the roof running down the outside of the gutter. I read an explanation quite some time ago that made sense, but I can't recall the specifics. If I find it, I'll post it here. I've worked for a mobile gutter company, and there is no lubricant used on the roller machine or the rolled aluminum. I've formed many thousands of feet of gutter on the jobsite and never applied any lubricant. The aluminum comes in large rolls and feeds through the machine, which forms it into a gutter. Kinda neat. :)

I'd like to see those pics!

Dale: I'd appreciate a copy also! oneness@gator.net thanks!!!

I agree, I certainly wouldn't want to drive a van with a full 275 gallon tank AND a skid in the back. That's a hell of a lot of weight!

ron: Some folks like the green look to copper, others like the shiny copper look....It's all what the owner wants. If the owner tells me he wants his coppy shiny, I'm certainly not going to ask why, I'm going to figure out how to give him what he wants.

Mike: Are you going to have a water tank in there also?

I have to disagree with the building being easier! I suppose it all comes down to knowing what you're doing....Took me two weeks to build it, a day to clean and seal it.