Start up cost?

[hogman 14]

Sorry if this question has been asked before. I don't recall reading anything.

I'm interested in the cost it would take (ballpark) to get started in interior & exterior New Construction (I have existing builder contacts) and residential house washing & gutters?

I realize, from reading a lot of posts, that there are many factors to be figured into the equation. However, I'm looking for an educated guess on cost related to my basic needs in regard to equipment (I have nothing), cleaning agents, insurance (business & personal), marketing/advertising, and anything else I'm forgetting.

Last 2 questions: Do people generally feel the need for their homes/gutters to be cleaned? Or are all of you having to convince them of their need? Thanks.

Hogman...feeling like a pre-Newbie

[Paul B. 523]

Welcome to the board Hogman!

Let me address your last question first:

Yes, people will persue pressure cleaners to have their homes cleaned, however MOST don't realize how clean the outside of their gutters can be restored to until they've had someone clean it for them once. You could get by with not cleaning the gutters, but doing it may get you an advantage over your competition.

Most (if not all) P/W's on this board clean the gutters when washing the house.

As for the rest of your question(s), they are broad and require a book to answer. I suggest that you read as much as you can on this board - go back and do searches for anything specific and just read everything on this board. There are other BB's out there that are also very helpful and can give you additional insite to the P/W business. One site (in addition to this one) that has a great deal of info is www.dcs1.com

Having said that, let me see if I can address a few topics:

The start-up costs for a P/W business can and will vary greatly.

If you are starting into this full time, you should start with a business plan, have enough money to pay your living expenses for minimum of 1 year set aside (or a spouse that makes enough to cover it) on top of moneys for equipment, insurance advertising, etc., etc..

Equipment can be put together for as litle as $3,000 but ideally, I would say for a full timer it would run in the $5,000-$10,000 range for start-up. The low end equipment investment amount will generally result in shorter equipment life, and slower cleaning times.

A couple of major things to consider regarding equipment:

- Should you purchase a hot or cold water pressure washer

- Keeping your equipment on a trailer, box-van or how much equipment you'll have and how you will store and transport it.

Marketing/advertising costs should be about 5%-7% of your gross billing, but should be higher in the 1st year or 2 to get your name out there. To give you an example, a 1"x2" ad in a local/community paper with 200K circulation may run you $200 per month. This however will not be enough to sustain your business full time. You will need other marketing/advertising methods such as flyers, business cards, networking, pink page advertising, yellow pages advertising, door hangers, post cards, etc., etc.

Insurance $300K liability (minimum) $10K equipment will run you around $800-$1000 per year.

Most new construction builders require $1mil business liability insurance, 1 mil commercial vehicle insurance and workers comp. for you and your employees.

For new construction (brick & masonry cleaning) I refer you to www.prosoco.com Most likely they will have a distributor in your area. They have many chemicals for different applications.

You can do a search under "Brick Cleaning" on the internet and find many sites on "How To" instructions.

Other things to consider will be:

- Business license and permits in your area

- Taxes

- Office supplies

- Spare parts

- Safety apparel and equipment

- Maintenance

- Uniforms

- Banking account and fees

- Vehicle licensing

- Chemical, supply and fuel costs

- Legal fees, accounting, taxes

- Phone service

- Postage

I'm sure there are a million things I missed, but I hope I answered at least one of your questions.

[hogman 14]

Paul,

Thanks for the solid information. You've given me a lot of things to consider. I've been to the dcs1 site, but I'll be sure to check the other one out tonight. Seems like a lot of good people connected here.

What part of the state is Loveland in?

Hogman

[Paul B. 523]

Hogman,

I understand there are other Loveland's in the US - ours is in southwest Ohio (suburb of Cincinnati / Porkopolis).

As a hint, you will generally find more people responding to your post if you keep the question to one or two specific items.

Keep posting!

[hogman 14]

Thanks for the advice. I grew up near Loveland, Colorado.

Hogman

[Celeste 341]

Insurance - both General Liability & Workman's Comp. This may take some shopping (don't know about your state - took me a couple of days to find ours in NC)

Some will say if you're the only employee you won't need WC until you get employees but it has been our experience here that you can't get on most builders jobsites without the little piece of paper.

Good luck - did you get my pm?

Celeste