Decision Time

[Grahams 14]

Hello, fairly new here. Here's a short background, so you can get an idea of my problem. I have almost all the equipment to start a roof cleaning/ pressure washing business (minus a few minor things) I have the truck, enclosed trailer, two 4 gpm washers, one 6.5, 2 surface cleaners(big guy, classic), water tank, SH tank, all the hoses, wands everything.

My dad owns a commercial cleaning business so he has all this stuff from over the years having job doing pressure washing. His business is incorporated, he has good insurance and everything.

I have quite a bit of experience in this field from working for him/ doing all the neighborhood driveways, etc. Here's my problem, I just graduated high school and I am ready to try doing pressure washing/roof cleaning as a main source of income to pay bills I have to pay. What should I do now?

A.) Start my business with a llc or dba?, pay the business license fee, and spend money marketing and hope I get calls. I plan to go ask people if I see them in their yards on a saturday morning.

B.) Get my dad to make a dba for "lake mary pressure washing", but I would pay all the stuff, and manage basically that division? Could there be any problems with doing that? His name is more of a commercial cleaning name rather than residential stuff.

I have already done 2 roofs, got $200 for the first roof as a "tester roof", I told the guy it was my first roof, etc. Got a 2nd roof that day for $300. so not bad. I have a partner and well we split it 50/50, I kinda of want a 60/40 deal though.. Both roofs came out really nice, I think the plants were all fine.

Edited June 7, 2012 by Grahams

[TreyWinslow 14]

I was 6 months out of highschool when I incorporated. This is the best time to start for you. No kids, no mortgage etc. Do it.

[bigchaz 157]

Thats awesome man, starting young. I started as a sole proprietorship and was that way for 3 years. If you can start as llc thats great but first priority to me would be get general liability insurance and then start working. If you've got equipment and know how you are off to a good start.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[AAPaint 14]

If you can afford to start an LLC, then go ahead and do it. It's not expensive to get it started. Your most important concern should be advertising and getting the business rolling in, and you seem to know that by your post. That is positively top priority. Having an LLC is a little more legit looking than just a dba, but I've operated as both without issue.

[mick m 19]

DBA, short for?

[Chazz 14]

DBA is short for doing business as.... in other words my corporation name could be Charles Muli enterprise and that what the banks need. My DBA could be hydro power washing so customers understand what I do..

It makes sense to create an LLC for tax purposes and for liability purpose

[Grahams 14]

Does anyone have a rough estimate of how much it would be to get an LLC? I want to start getting a lot more business and really see if this is something I could do for a few years. Right now I'm working on informational flyers to show people and leave at their doors, getting 1000 biz cards made. Right now it's holding me back as to a name for it.

Lake mary pressure washing & roof cleaning or Seminole pressure washing & roof cleaning? Or go along the lines of like "Seminole Exterior Cleaning". Lake mary the city I live in, and Seminole is the county.

[Chazz 14]

Go to legal zoom and fill out information they will donut for you and tell what you need to do on your end

That's the cheapest way

[AAPaint 14]

I've created two different LLC's with legal zoom. Highly recommend. They make it very easy, and it's rather cheap too.

As for a name, saying what you do is good, but try to keep it short, or at the very least MEMORABLE. Long names like Jim Bob's Professional Quality Pressure Washing, Roof Cleaning & Driveway Tire and Dirt Mark Removal Service is way too long and hard to remember.

Try to come up with something short and even something witty. Be creative, and try to do something people will EASILY remember. Think of future uses of your business name, such as website domain names, and fitting the business name all on one line for business forms you complete, etc.

My company name isn't short, but isn't super long either. It says exactly what we do, and helps the customer visualize what to expect. A lot of thought and debate went into our company name, because it's our entire identity, and yours will be the same for you. Then if you look at our logo, we used specific design elements, and even color psychology in it's development. We paid to have it created to help us convey the proper things. Then there is our slogan, "We Make Wood Look Good".

All of these were put together with very specific goals in mind, so think about this when coming up with a business name. These are very important considerations that can make a HUGE IMPACT on how well your business does. Take for instance Beth & Rod's business "See Dirt Run". It's an AWESOME business name. It's witty, it's fun, it says what they do, it's easy to remember, it's attention getting, it peaks your curiosity. It has a lot of elements that make it top notch. I actually thought long and hard about THEIR business name when creating my own.

Don't just jump on a business name, slogan, logo design, etc. Think hard about what you're trying to convey. Brainstorm with others. Write down dozens of keywords, and bounce your ideas off of other people. Some names might sound awesome until you wake up the next day and read it again. I had dozens of these! In the end, my business name is simple. The slogan is simple, but it's effective.

If you want further help with this, feel free to pm me. I don't want to write a book here on the forum, but I can help you key in on and utilize some of the important factors I mentioned above. I've had the benefit of owning two different businesses, so I've made mistakes like a long business name that was boring and hard to remember. Not having a slogan, not even considering proper logo design, color psychology, etc. One very small change to any of these can have a HUGE impact on your business. Think about some corporations who literally spend MILLIONS to create logos, slogans, etc. They don't fork out all that dough for nothing...trust me.

[bigchaz 157]

LLC cost me like 300 bucks or less...its all just a revenue generator for the state to put a couple letters behind the business name. When picking your business name, be sure to also consider what website URL you can find. Make sure you buy the URL right away if you pick a name and make sure the URL is available. I'm glad my business has the name of one of the cities we service, because I show up number one for any kind of related search with the city in it. I wish I had picked a larger city name to capitalize on the search traffic from those google searches

[mick m 19]

DBA is short for doing business as.... in other words my corporation name could be Charles Muli enterprise and that what the banks need. My DBA could be hydro power washing so customers understand what I do..

It makes sense to create an LLC for tax purposes and for liability purpose

Ah ha! We call it T/A Trading As.... here in Oz

[KGILL 14]

I set up my LLC through the state of Tennessee for 300 dollars without Legal Zoom. I have heard many people say good things about Legal Zoom however I went to the state commission website and set it up myself. It was pretty easy.

[apsurfacesolutions 17]

LLC cost vary by state. You can get on legal zoom and check your state. In some states you also have to publish public notices if the formation of your llc this will add to the cost.

[apsurfacesolutions 17]

I set up my LLC through the state of Tennessee for 300 dollars without Legal Zoom. I have heard many people say good things about Legal Zoom however I went to the state commission website and set it up myself. It was pretty easy.

Be careful doing this. If any of your paperwork is flawed. You do not have the protection an llc is intended to provide. You are much better off using an attorney or legal zoom

[KGILL 14]

Well.... dog poo. I have a lawyer buddy I am going to have go see now.

[TreyWinslow 14]

I filled my S-corp in about an hour and a half with the state of Virginia, all online. Don't know how it is in other states though.

[apsurfacesolutions 17]

I filled my S-corp in about an hour and a half with the state of Virginia, all online. Don't know how it is in other states though.

Who did your operating agreement? If you don't have an operating agreement, your s corp more than likely does not protect your personal assets. Anyone can file for their own s corp LLC etc. it's having the proper paperwork that requires the legal skills. So even if you are the only shareholder of the s corp. you still need an operating agreement.

Edited June 9, 2012 by apsurfacesolutions

[TreyWinslow 14]

Who did your operating agreement? If you don't have an operating agreement, your s corp more than likely does not protect your personal assets. Anyone can file for their own s corp LLC etc. it's having the proper paperwork that requires the legal skills. So even if you are the only shareholder of the s corp. you still need an operating agreement.

Operating agreements are for LLC's. Articles of Incorporation are for corps. I am the sole President of the corporation and the only shareholder. I've had everything looked over by my bookkeeper, she's not a run of the mill one either.lol

[apsurfacesolutions 17]

Sorry bylaws for an scorp not operating agreement. The bylaws are what protect your personal assets in an scorp.