I recently completed a project for a personal friend of mine. I restored his deck from start to finish, washed his house, cleaned his concrete and removed mold from his roof. For me it was just another “day at the office.” For my friend however (who owns a car dealership and watched me like a hawk the entire time I was working) it was a revelation into how much really goes into what I do.
Like a lot of people, he just thought it was a matter of renting or buying a small machine and “firing away” at whatever was dirty. He was astonished at all the little tricks of the trade, techniques in cleaning, chemical usage, type and application and variations in pressure based on what I was cleaning that went into the job. He was also quite impressed with the efficiency in completing all that I cleaned as well as stained. No lap marks, drips, runs or stain on anything but the deck for example not to mention all the different wands, tips, attachments and ways to wash.
My friend up until that point had always underestimated the power washing PROFESSION and all that it entails.
His insight relating to the intricacies of what I know and what I do reminded me of two things. A) How much I REALLY do know and now take for granted and B) What it took to get this far.
Working for yourself has a lot of advantages which I’m sure most of you are already aware of. There are also some disadvantages that go along with being the boss though!
One of those disadvantages is not having a “go to guy” in time of trouble. When I worked for the cable company, I just called my sup or DM when I got stuck. When you’re the boss though, you ARE the go to guy.
Which leads me to the crux of this letter and that is this……….
Thank you!
Thank you to all of you that picked up the phone, took the time to listen to my questions or problems and gave me the help and advice that I needed when I needed it most. Thank you for being my GOTO guy(s) when I was stuck on a job, when I was putting together a bid for something I had never cleaned before, when I wasn’t sure which chem. or nozzle to use, when I wasn’t quite sure on the right way to do it, when I had a question on how something worked or went together or came off, When I didn't know how much to charge, when I didn't know about limiting my pressure or what "fuzzies" were, when I needed advice on advertising or hiring or insurance or……????????
The list goes on and on and on.
I really got to thinking about how everything that I now know came from a source from someone that had already been there, done that. Oh sure, I paid my due diligence and read just about every book I could get my hands on, watched videos, etc. but so much of what I am today is a direct result of those that took the time to help me along my way.
Although I could never list every single name of every single person that has every answered a question, called me up, PM’ed me on a board, sent an email or just replied to a post, I would like to say thank you to those of you that come to mind as being instrumental in making me the power washer and exterior restoration business owner that I am today.
Thank you,
Rod and Beth
Ron Musgrave
James and Don Flory
Bill from RG Hanson
The team at Chemex
Lynn from EchoChem
The entire Delco family
Jack Kramer
Matt Johnson
Pierce Fitchet
Rick McGowan
Mark from X-tream Power washing
and
All of you that have ever called me, replied to or PM’ed me from a post.
And a special thank you to those of you that I would consider my A-Team. Those of you that allowed me to adopt you as my mentor and got me through some very rough growing pains and to whom I will always be grateful to for your helpfulness, courtesy, patience, experience, knowledge and professionalism…..
Thank you,
Henry Bockman
Everett Abrams
Tony Szabo
Pete Marentay
Tom and Barb Vogel
Jay and Jeanine Tarintino
Traci Handi
You guys have spent hours on the phone with me over the years answering my questions, walking me through problems on the job and encouraging me to hang in there and I thought it was about time I let you know that it was and is greatly appreciated!
(PS- you’re still in my speed dial and I still don’t have all the answers to be prepared!)
(Forgive me for the lengthy preliminary)
I recently completed a project for a personal friend of mine. I restored his deck from start to finish, washed his house, cleaned his concrete and removed mold from his roof. For me it was just another “day at the office.” For my friend however (who owns a car dealership and watched me like a hawk the entire time I was working) it was a revelation into how much really goes into what I do.
Like a lot of people, he just thought it was a matter of renting or buying a small machine and “firing away” at whatever was dirty. He was astonished at all the little tricks of the trade, techniques in cleaning, chemical usage, type and application and variations in pressure based on what I was cleaning that went into the job. He was also quite impressed with the efficiency in completing all that I cleaned as well as stained. No lap marks, drips, runs or stain on anything but the deck for example not to mention all the different wands, tips, attachments and ways to wash.
My friend up until that point had always underestimated the power washing PROFESSION and all that it entails.
His insight relating to the intricacies of what I know and what I do reminded me of two things. A) How much I REALLY do know and now take for granted and B) What it took to get this far.
Working for yourself has a lot of advantages which I’m sure most of you are already aware of. There are also some disadvantages that go along with being the boss though!
One of those disadvantages is not having a “go to guy” in time of trouble. When I worked for the cable company, I just called my sup or DM when I got stuck. When you’re the boss though, you ARE the go to guy.
Which leads me to the crux of this letter and that is this……….
Thank you!
Thank you to all of you that picked up the phone, took the time to listen to my questions or problems and gave me the help and advice that I needed when I needed it most. Thank you for being my GOTO guy(s) when I was stuck on a job, when I was putting together a bid for something I had never cleaned before, when I wasn’t sure which chem. or nozzle to use, when I wasn’t quite sure on the right way to do it, when I had a question on how something worked or went together or came off, When I didn't know how much to charge, when I didn't know about limiting my pressure or what "fuzzies" were, when I needed advice on advertising or hiring or insurance or……????????
The list goes on and on and on.
I really got to thinking about how everything that I now know came from a source from someone that had already been there, done that. Oh sure, I paid my due diligence and read just about every book I could get my hands on, watched videos, etc. but so much of what I am today is a direct result of those that took the time to help me along my way.
Although I could never list every single name of every single person that has every answered a question, called me up, PM’ed me on a board, sent an email or just replied to a post, I would like to say thank you to those of you that come to mind as being instrumental in making me the power washer and exterior restoration business owner that I am today.
Thank you,
Rod and Beth
Ron Musgrave
James and Don Flory
Bill from RG Hanson
The team at Chemex
Lynn from EchoChem
The entire Delco family
Jack Kramer
Matt Johnson
Pierce Fitchet
Rick McGowan
Mark from X-tream Power washing
and
All of you that have ever called me, replied to or PM’ed me from a post.
And a special thank you to those of you that I would consider my A-Team. Those of you that allowed me to adopt you as my mentor and got me through some very rough growing pains and to whom I will always be grateful to for your helpfulness, courtesy, patience, experience, knowledge and professionalism…..
Thank you,
Henry Bockman
Everett Abrams
Tony Szabo
Pete Marentay
Tom and Barb Vogel
Jay and Jeanine Tarintino
Traci Handi
You guys have spent hours on the phone with me over the years answering my questions, walking me through problems on the job and encouraging me to hang in there and I thought it was about time I let you know that it was and is greatly appreciated!
(PS- you’re still in my speed dial and I still don’t have all the answers to be prepared!)
Sincerely,
Tom McMillan
Aqua Pro Cleaning Solutions
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