growlydog

Currently I am working as a Traffic Surveyor. I want to start a Pressure Washing business but lack the capital to get it going. On top of that, my job has me travelling so much that I don't have the time to work on anything related to P/wing because I am almost never home. So I have been considering a job locally as a Mold Remediation Tech. What can you tell me about the trade? What should I expect as far as pay, and is the pay worth it? I don't know much about mold remediation other than that you go in and clean the mold out of buildings, but is it a really grimy job? Is there any danger from the mold? Any and all info you can give would be great. Thanks, growlydog

I am looking to get into the business of pressure washing. I live in Fresno, CA. I would like to keep my start-up expenses as low as possible, because I don't have much money available to invest in start-up costs. I don't mind taking out a loan but I want to keep it as small as possible. I basically need to make $500 profit per week at a minimum to make this work for me. That would give me enough to cover my living expenses and all of my current bills (not including any related to business loans), and some money to re-invest into the business. I believe I can purchase a Northstar hot water pressure washer for somewhere between $800 and $1100 dollars. It is used and was a stolen item (an insurance liquidation company is selling it). It appears to be in good shape but I don't know if I can test it out or anything. Here is a link to the particular washer I am talking about: This is what I'm looking at getting. What advice do you have about that? I would like to make sure it works before spending any money on it. What are my other options since I am just starting out? What would you say is a good entry level pressure washer for a small business to use? I am basically planning to just work at washing residential houses to start with, and then moving on to other types of pressure washing jobs as I gain experience. Actually, if there are any pressure washing companies here in Fresno, that would take me on so that I could learn the trade that would be fantastic. Please send me a PM. I don't have a truck, but I have a 2006 Toyota Corolla. I'm thinking I would need to either get a trailer or buy a cheap reliable pickup (1980s Toyota pickup?). There is a slim possibility that I could borrow a truck from my father and let him use my car while I am starting out and work up to getting my own truck. That big pressure washer I mentioned earlier looks like it might be difficult to load and unload from the back of a pickup, is that what most people do, or do you just run the pw from your vehicle? Ok you probably have noticed that I don't really know what I am doing here. I would just like to convey that although I'm not at all sure what I'm doing yet, I am serious about starting this up - I just don't really know where to begin. Do you see any possibility of me getting this up and running in the next 2 weeks? Basically, to sum up... Very little money to work with unless I get a loan. No truck, just a car. No pressure washer yet. No experience. No customers. Need to turn $500 profit on a weekly basis. Is this just financial suicide? :) Or could it be done? It has been a long time goal of mine to run my own business, and I see pressure washing as a low-investment opportunity. Am I on the right track, or do I seem to be missing a lot here? Thanks in advance for all your help, growlydog P.S. I haven't mentioned insurance or licensing or anything like that - what all do I need to start out with to keep everything on the level, and is there anything that's not absolutely necessary but that you would still recommend?

Thanks for all the advice, every one of these tips brings up something that I really do need to think about before jumping into this. Also, Jim, thanks for the offer. As soon as I have a chance, I'll give you a call (plus, I want to get a bullet-list of all the pressing questions I have, beforehand). Again, to everyone, thanks for all the advice. I'll just be doing more research now if anyone needs me. :)