PressurePros

Craig, You're definitely correct in that both methods of estimating can end up shortchanged, but I still hold firm that from job to job the highest level of consistency will come from a rate based upon area measurement. I guess there is no real right or wrong answer but its very hard to teach someone intuition. (Something with which you have obviously been blessed ) I sometimes allow optimism to lead me to believe that a job will turn quicker than it actually does so your method just wouldn't work for me. I still would argue that unless you split yourself in half to become that 'dang good salesperson', you would end up with three employees going out and three employees coming back with different estimates. I have had that happen. And for the record, I share your enthusiastic definition of a "nice little business". Figure on a $30k gross per month to achieve that kind of income. At that level, you will beg for things to be as standardized and "cookie cutter" as possible.

Hey Craig, thanks for pointing out my misread on the other post, I got overly excited that I could actually answer a question and didn't read closely enough. On to the topic..Its excellent that you have refined your bidding process but what happens when you are in a multiple bid situation? Two theoretical scenarios arise.. One, the potential customer may want to see exactly how you came up with your number. I have had customers outright ask me how much I charge per square.. Do you really want to tell them how much you are charging them per hour? Second one..what if you are mistaken? Using one of your examples..A 500,000 sq ft building has a huge margin of error in time taken to complete. What if you are off by as much as a whole day? You could end up being the highest bidder or being the lowball bidder. If one's goal is to run a nice little business that will pay the bills, and they are always going to be on job sites then the "eyeball" method probably works fine. I am a numbers person so I need something more consistent. What happens if you grow to the point where you would like to send someone out to do estimates for you? Would you trust someone else to estimate YOUR time and ultimately, your pay? I use spread sheets for every kind of work I do, and I measure every rail, step, joist or wall. It's just better business.

While still in school I was in retail. After I graduated I went to work for Squibb as a marketing manager. Stayed there for 6 years and became a financial officer. I left Squibb because numbers and offices started getting tedious. I went to work as East Coast RM for Tweeter when I finally decided "enough of the corporate structure, I'm sick of making money for someone else"

Weight training used to be my life. There was a time when I could throw up three wheels and a quarter per side on the bench. I don't train nearly as heavy anymore due to overdoing the squatting, deadlifts and cleans in my twenties. Joints are a little worn. No pain, no gain, right? I find now that what I need most is endurance training. Especially this time of year when I find that eating the same 4000 calories a day can equal massive bodyfat in no time.

The pressure hoses are braided and are tested to withstand continuous pressures up to their rated limit. Since a water supply line never exceeds 100 psi they do not have to be made as strong. High pressure hoses also have a smaller id.

With no residential work and a full time crew doing restaurants, I have been researching what to do until April when our weather in the Northeast breaks. Look into subcontracting for your cable company doing disconnects and collections. You don't have to start your own company to do this, you can actually work for one of the established ones. All you need is a 28' ladder, a truck, a few box wrenches and a wire cutter. They will supply the specialty lock out tools. At a liesurely pace, my younger brother makes $1500/week working from Thursday to Monday. Something to think about.

I must have had too much eggnog. I thought Carlos was Gadgetki's name. My apologies Gadget, I must have saw the name Carlos on another thread and thought it was you. But the post was directed at the moniker Gadgetki obviously.

Dan, he needs someone in your area. I told them about you and they want you to contact them via email, or phone. You can call me and I will give you the details as they have been outlined to me. The only additional gear you will need are ladder hooks (specialty for phone or cable) and you need to have 1 mill liability 2 mill agregate to do solely disconnects (no installs). Call your agent or if you don't carry your own insurance, Joe can get it for you. Cost is about $400/year. Call me next week if you have any more q's. --Ken

Carlos, the franchise I am involved in is Curves. My fiance and I purchased it as a cookie cutter operation for her to run. It has 750 active members with monthly expenses under $5000. You may have misconstrued (due to miscommunication on my part) what I was getting at. Franchises have their place in the business world. I was not suggesting that they are the be all end all. I can apprecaite your zeal for starting something, but I have to be honest with you, I think your business plan is both unrealistic and very scattered. Perhaps further reading of this message board and its archives would help you focus and realize the realities of the costs involved.

Education at a fine institution can further along an already born business leader. I don't consider myself any more or less adept than the next guy. I attended Wharton with all my undergrad work done at Penn also. I can honestly say though, I learned formulas, predictors and the nuts and bolts of economic philosophy but it was only in real world application with an outstanding mentor/employer that I was able to really get a grasp on what it takes to be a business leader. To touch on the subject of genetics and instinct.. I can only speak for myself but I have always lived and breathed capitalism. I have always "run" a personal business venture from the time I was a kid. Starting with a lemonade stand, graduating to a web design company in my teens, to owning a sound company in my early twenties I have always had to be the boss. I have worked for Forbes 500 corporations and did not thrive in that enviroment. In fact, there were many with no leadership ability whatsoever that were far more noticed in work performance. I believe an entrepreneur is born, not made. Education whether it be from a higher learning institution or from life experience just makes the natural leader/entrepreneur stronger.

Maybe it would help to define leader. Some are taking it as "leaders of their industry" others are more in line with the term "manager". I mean, McDonald's has crew leaders and it doesn't require a degree with nuclear physics or all that much ingenuity to become one. I think by default an entrepreneur has to be a leader.

I am involved with a franchise operation. For most people without any sense of business and its true costs, franchises are a godsend. Everything is cookie cutter, your expenses are outlined and most times advertising is inclusive. I agree it is very short sighted if not overly ambitious to say its not worth it. Whats not worth it is jumping from business idea to business venture half cocked with a million ideas and no common sense. This isn't directed at you, per se, Gadgetki, just the general population. But I have to tell you, there is no business on this planet that can be started with $500. You need to look into something called insurance.

Ryan you are my hero. LOL.. Can you say that again in case anyone missed it the first time?? Merry Christmas to you too. Someone pass the eggnog.

Amen, sister!

So what make a business viable? Andy nailed it... I would also add these: 1) To whom does the product appeal demographically? In this case every homeowner from trailer to mansion.. every commercial outlet from a water ice stand to a supercenter. 2) Is there an ongoing need for the product? Yes.. mold regrows, decking stain fades, pollution resettles 3) Is the market saturated? Some may think their market is saturated but if you do the math, even in those markets.. what are we talking? One pressurewashing contractor per 20,000 people? There is a long way to go until we reach saturation. Other considerations are..start up costs, inventory neccessity etc. Alll minimal. If you look at the economy overall, we are bordering on an inflationary period. Now is the time to get your prices in line. Strike while people know that gas prices are up.. Comment how your wife was just complaining about the price of milk. Make them comfortable that even though gas prices have risen 25%, you're only going to increase their housewash half of that percentage. They have the money. Remember what is driving the inflation is the cost of money. Rates are low... The homeowner has benefited from that with an increase in the value of his home equity. It should be a given that he would want to spend more to protect his investment. I am passionate about this and some people may take it wrong as that I want to gouge, get rich etc.... We are offering an valuable service that the home/business owner needs. He may not yet know how much he needs it, its up to you to show him. Stop selling yourself short. Now is the time to grab the biggest piece of the pie while its still on the plate and become a pioneer in your market.

These topics just get better and better (to me anyway, I thrive on economics) I have taken a stab at several businesses. All of them have been succesful to a degree, but I have been looking for that one industry where I could impact the marketplace as a whole. I have heard many guys complain that pressure washing "ain't what it used to be". I don't see that as a bad thing..with more stringent standards to live up to, we are creating a more specialized niche and viable business opportunity. Its the old time methods and widespread ignorance to what we do that created the consumer doubt in the first place. I say "good riddance" to the old time methods. As dollars and awareness increase, more guys will take a stab at jumping into this thing. There is a positive to that...The increased competiton will force business owners to tighten ship, refine margins and set themselves apart in terms of customer service, professionalism and job quality. The non hackers will be weeded out quickly. With the growth of the industry so rises consumer awareness. I believe we are in the infancy of a boom stage. Everyone reading this may one day be running an empire in 2015 laughing about the hard times and the days of just one truck and 70 hour work weeks.

Interesting, Ryan. I started intially thinking, well not every business leader is an innovator so the axiom must be flawed because a true entrepreneur needs to be an innovator, a creator if you will. Then I realized, you don't rise to become a business leader, regardless of the industry, without being a pioneer. The very fact that a business owner has set himself apart from his peers means he has done something noteworthy (ie different) So, I agree with you 100% the terms entrepreneur and leader can be synonymous or exclusive depending upon the individual and his achievements.

Plan your work and work your plan. If you do this with perseverance success is almost guranteed. I define success more personally as working at a comfortable pace, serenity in my daily life, staying in touch with God, and providing comfortably for my family.

I just talked to a guy that is looking for me to refinish his deck furniture. Its a Brazilian hardwood set that is very similar to a project of which Beth and Rod posted pictures. He asked me if I could apply a gloss sealer to give the furniture a more finished look. Would a spar urethane hold up with proper prep and multiple coats?

Great post Rod. I am a firm believer it is our responsibility to bring up the standard and perception of this industry. I think every homeowner has either experienced or heard horror stories of gypsy contractors whether they be roofers, asphalters, painters, mechanics etc. If you treat your customer as a friend first, a salesman second, you will gain the trust neccessary to educate them. A salesperson needs to learn to overcome objections effectively. The more educated WE become, the more effectively we can do that.. which is why after years of corporate experience as a trainer I know for a fact that dropping price to gain a customer should be the absolute last resort. If we keep competing with the underpriced contractor we are doomed to mediocre profit and the same customer perception we have now. On the average 3800 sf home, a painter will charge between $3500 and five g's. If the person is just looking for a freshening, and the paint is sound, why can't I go in and charge $800? I am asking for 20% of what he would have paid and on top of just a painting, his windows will sparkle, his sidewalks will look new, his mulch will be edged and smoothed and his lawn statues are mold free. Besides all that, he leaves in the morning for work, and all this work is completed without a shred of evidence we were there by the time he pulls into his driveway at 5:30. Mike W, we debated this before. This is not percieved value, this is the real thing.

JD, you may try to push your bank a bit. I am unsure about your state but I know many banks will finance an SBA loan on a used vehicle if purchased through a certified dealer. Don't quote me but I think you can get up 110% of wholesale Kelly Blue Book value. So shopping dealers would be crucial to find one that will work on a lower markup. If you are getting multiple units, that shouldn't be too hard. I picked up a used Chevy 3500 high cube diesel for residential and flatwork. It has the attic cutaway extension over the cab which is the perfect place for my reserve tank. When I started I was seeking the same small capacity multi unit operation you seek. I used Ford E350 vans and I hated the tight quarters. As a side note, I still use an E350 bucket van for the restaurants and I replaced the brakes once and then, as Squirtgun suggested above, I put in ceramic pads. Well worth the investment.

Some good stuff here, this is one of the best posts I have read in awhile. I think everyone that posts on this board has a solid head for business. Someone mentioned adaptability. Its pretty obvious you need to be flexible with your business plan. Markets change, economies change, customer needs change... just don't lose sight of the original thread.. Does EVERYONE start out as a lowballer... A $199.00 housewash in my area would be very low. A guy that has expectations to make $699.00 on the same housewash may or may not get it based upon experience and reputation. I can charge 3-5 times what almost any other company will charge for a splash and dash job. Its also easy for me to sell because what I do and what the average powerwasher do are different beasts. I am prepared to adapt in 2005 with levels of cleaning service based upon customer desires. It allows me to draw larger invoices from customers looking for more comprehensive cleaning yet still offer a lower priced counterpart as to not bid myself out of the market. It may be a pipe dream, but I think its the best of all worlds. My definition of lowballer is different than alot of what I have read. Lowballers use inferior tools, and sell solely on price. They are hacks and I doubt any of them read this message board. They are the curse of this business and they are why, when someone asks what I do for a living, I want to reply "I am an exterior cleaning contractor" versus saying "I run a pressure washing business"

I understand the point you are trying to make that work done at a discount is better than no work at all. But is it really? If you are undercapitalized and cannot ride out slow times, you propbably shouldn't have ventured into your own business to begin with. (not you personally, Celest, just a general statement) You have to setup your business plan from Jump Street. If you are going to enter the market as high volume, low margin thats fine. But the high volume doesn't come right away so that business plan, unless you are well funded, is dubious. You say its merely advertising but I question if you want to advertise your company as low price or high quality? In most situations you cannot be both. So you do an account for 60% of what you would normally make...what kind of business is that going to generate except more people looking for the same deal? If it came down to feeding my children or holding out for a few extar bucks I would obviously hustle for peanuts. But, and this is just my opinion, if that is the case, I should be working FOR someone, not trying to run my own business.

12 volt, 3.6 gpm, 60 psi Shurflo. Viton valves and seals. Pressure switched. With 200 feet of 1/2" line I get decent flow and pressure with no pulsing. I also use a 12 volt, 1.8 gpm to feed my X-Jet. Its a quick change bewteen pumps depending on application with a dedicated 800 cca marine battery.

That looks like fun...I'll have to try and drop by for one of those. Funny though, instead of an urge to go clean something I have a steange desire to bake. Maybe I just need more coffee.