AZ PowerWash Pros

I don't post on this forum but a lot of guys know me from *** and I came across this thread and just had to jump in! Its a great thread btw... I started with $7500 in 2008 and made 65K gross my first year, mostly residential but landed 2 or 3 accounts to float me by. Bought everything online since the local distributors in Phoenix wouldn't even throw me a bone for that price and Craigslist did not have the companies going out of business every week like they do now. I think you can definitely start a legitimate business up between 5-10K and do the work yourself for awhile. Besides you would not want guys spraying for you if you didn't even know how to train them properly. I think every great business owner has to start as an operator. I agree with the younger guys, property managers seem to look at younger people like they can't handle the work. My advice to the younger guys, I hired a sales guy and gave him leads for a couple years and he was 50 years old. I landed plenty of accounts with him doing the selling and he just got a small % of the jobs. I think it might be worth it to give up a small percentage at first until you grow some hair on your face! haha I turned 28 this month and I am starting to get wrinkles from all the power washing stress of having employees now so now I can sell on my own...

First off, I would like to say I will NEVER be a member of the PWNA after this post. That being said, I want everyone to know that I am friends with Ron from Pro Power Wash. And a member of his forum Pressure Washing Institute - Contractor Highlights I have learned a lot from his forum and he is definitely helping the industry more than any Association that is just renting a logo for a ridiculously high price. Next, I never said I was the biggest company or one of the biggest companies in Arizona. I said that I have a large WEB presence in Arizona. Which I do. I have worked very hard for my web presence to show up high on Google. I do show up number 1 for many search phrases. I only said that Acme Power Wash and Desert Eagle Power Wash are my competitors on the WEB. I got a call from some guy named Mike that I had never heard of until the phone conversation. He asked me 20-30 questions about Ron. He asked me if I had ever seen one of Ron's trailers on the road? I said no. That is the truth. But that does not mean that Ron does not run a large power washing company in Phoenix. Phoenix is a HUGE city. The odds of me seeing any of my competitors on the road at night are very unlikely since the Valley is so large. To put it in perspective Phoenix is at least 10 TIMES the size of any city in Minnesota. And there is PLENTY of work here for me and Ron to both run large companies. The truth is that Ron and I both have successful businesses and never step on each others toes. Ron does not clean roofs, gutters, or perform any residential work for that matter. My company makes 25% of its income from residential cleanings. Also, I would like to state that web presence does not speak for a company's income. There are PLENTY of companies that DO NOT show up on the web that are making LOTS of money. I make more money from my contracts that were not from internet leads than I do from any internet lead I receive. My sales employee is worth 10 websites! After I got off the phone with this guy named Mike, who I still can not believe runs a large assc like PWNA. I immediately called Ron because I thought it was strange that he was asking so many questions about him. (And he kind of sounded like a stalker...) I wanted to warn Ron that someone is trying to ruin his reputation. I would hope that Ron would do the same for me if someone was calling him and asking questions about me and my company. There is plenty of work in Phoenix and I have no reason to bad mouth any company in this area because we are making GOOD money! Lastly, after this post I have decided to start a Power Washing Association of my own. If anyone wants to be apart of an association that does not bad mouth pressure washing contractors I encourage you to sign up! I will keep everyone on this board and *** posted on the association but the website is already in place and coming soon! Please leave a comment if you are interested in a real association that is for the contractors and by the contractors. I am disappointed that me and my company were even mentioned in such a disrespectful post....