I want to start a pressure-washing business. Advice?

[growlydog 14]

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?

[HotShot 34]

Why not start just part-time while you build your funds to make a real go of it?

[Barry M 73]

The odds are stacked against you, but anything is possible. Before starting any business, you need to have your personal finances in order and under control or it will be suicide. It will be very difficult to get started with no funds. There will be other equipment you have to have to get started besides just the unit (hoses, ladders, chemicals, etc) not to mention insurance and any licenses you might need in your state. Then you need funds to start advertising, $500 a week worth of work is not just going to coming knocking. Even if you print flyers and hang them on doors, it's still going to cost a little money and lots of time. I got started part time with $4,000 and that was the bare minumum, and I already had a truck. Most guys started up with more $ than that. I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but this isn't a get rich quick or make a living over night sorta thing. It takes time to get rolling and get customers. Now if you borrow some start up money and do some research on this board, I guess you could be going in a couple of weeks. It just sounds like your trying to go into something fast, full force, without much knowledge of what your doing. Slow down and think it through and come up with a business plan and do things right. Just my .02 cents.

[R L S 14]

If your starting a pw business purley because of the low startup cost, maybe this is not for you.

There is no such thing as quick,easy money especially in this highly competetive field. Have you wieghed out all the pros and cons to a pw business made a business plan etc.

Just throwing stuff out there to chew on.

[James A. Lewis 14]

growlydog, if you want to talk to someone about this business give me a call, I will answer the questions that have your mind doing overtime. I f you can dream it you can do it. lets get you up and running

[mas3372 14]

buying inferior products with no money to advertise will not have a good outcome. Even if you go work, using low end equipmnet, it would take you so long to do a decent job that your hourly rate will not justify your work.

Look for a small business loan to get started for at least $5,000 or save some money first.

I just started and it cost me about $13,000 to start, I bought very good equipment and a huge machine. Do some more research here and will soon see the need for good equipment.

don't forget a grand for insurance as well.

[A and J POWERWASHING 64]

mas right buy good equipment i started out cold and now have hot wish i had it from the being

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Take Jim up on his offer, he is your best right now.

[James A. Lewis 14]

the school of hard knocks and good help from this board and others combined with the drive to succeed will get you there."the only way to predict the future is to create it yourself." thanks for the vote of confidence Alan and thanks for spotting the typo the other day!

[growlydog 14]

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. :)

[mas3372 14]

dont' get down about it. Just read a bit more. Find out what type of work you want to do and then figure what type of equipment you need. Check out insurance prices and check with your state to see if you need a license.

contact your bank and ask about a small personal loan (business loans are near impossible for a new business) for about 8-10k and you should be able to get a good set up. Look used as well. A 10k note will add a monthly payment of about $250, one job per month will pay for that.

Good luck.

[Mike Williamson 198]

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?

What makes you think you'll even like the work? My advice, don't jump into it so suddenly without at least knowing you're cut out for it. If you don't like it, you'll hate every minute of washing, and that will definitely impact your ability and motivation to sell your services.

Don't jump into it just because you can get in fairly cheap. Even if you have to go find a job for a while and better prepare yourself.

[tabbeus 14]

You definitely don't need $5,000 to start up. I started by using a $500 pressure washer from Sam's club, a $300 paint sprayer from Lowe's, and $350 in getting yellow signs made to put on street corners. Given, I did have a truck already and 5 years of experience in highschool and college. That was last summer, and I averaged about a $1000 a week working part time while full time in grad school. If you go out and buy a bunch of expensive equipment you could bury yourself trying to keep up with payments and such. Like some other folks have said, you might want to try it before you jump in too deep. $5,000 is a lot of money to invest in something you have never tried. You have a huge head start with this forum, fantastic knowledge from some seasoned veterans. If you need a hookup for some yellow signs let me know, I have a great contact and it is a great way to start out by advertising effectively and cheap.

[HotShot 34]

I had never cleaned a hood before in my life before I started my business. I invested close to $20K to start it. It's not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it sure the heck beats working for the man. The freedom that comes with owning your own business is like the commercial says......Priceless!

I do agree with Mike though....it would be so easy to "try it out" and see if you like it. Good luck, let us know your decision...we're rootin for you.

[Mike Williamson 198]

You definitely don't need $5,000 to start up. I started by using a $500 pressure washer from Sam's club, a $300 paint sprayer from Lowe's, and $350 in getting yellow signs made to put on street corners.

My suggestion is to work for someone else for a bit rather than spending a lot of money for equipment, OR going the cheap route and wasting money on low-end equipment that's not going to be efficient. Even if you have to go rent a pressure washer for a few days and wash your house and a few friends' houses, better that than spending money to do something you're not going to like, or frustrating yourself with inadequate tools.

[PRESSURE PACKED 14]

Do Your House Your Driveway Your Patio Get Your Niebor To Let You Do There House Patio And Driveway, Do 100 Push Ups Run In Place For 20 Minutes, And If You Still Have Enough Energy To Go Pass Out Flyers, Go Home And Fax Or Call 10 People And Spend Some Time With Your Kids..and Last But Not Least Post On The Grime Scene Well. Then Welcome To The Pressure Cleaning Biz..other Than That Good Luck

[Mike Williamson 198]

I Predict A Lowballer Has Just Entered Fresno California...

What's that supposed to mean? I think the guy came here for help, not sarcasm!

[PRESSURE PACKED 14]

Your Right Man Its Just That I Have Had Some Esimates This Week That Have Been Almost Funny..one Was 4300 Sq. Foot Roof The Customer Pulled Out A 200 Estimate,, I Am Sorry That Was Just Me Venting,,

[Mike Williamson 198]

Your Right Man Its Just That I Have Had Some Esimates This Week That Have Been Almost Funny..one Was 4300 Sq. Foot Roof The Customer Pulled Out A 200 Estimate,, I Am Sorry That Was Just Me Venting,,

$200????? Man!

I'd have charged at LEAST $225.00, or $250.00 if I had to clean out the gutters.

[Thad 135]

Lowballer.

You could have done all of their concrete and hit them for AT LEAST $275.

:lgbounces

[Mike Williamson 198]

Lowballer.

You could have done all of their concrete and hit them for AT LEAST $275.

:lgbounces

Speaking of lowballing, I was laying there last night thinking of the prices I charged the first year...Man, I was crazy. $210.00 for a house, roof, and driveway on a 2000sf ranch style home, and that included blowing the roof and gutters off if needed. I still kept it around $50.00/hour, but still...Same job now I'm getting anywhere between $350.00 and $450.00. I know that's low for some of you guys, but any higher and I'll have NO response. I've noticed a decrease in calls when I raised prices, but still enough to keep busy, just have to do more marketing to make up for it.

[PressurePros 249]

I remember always giving you sh*t about prices, Mike. Once you are is in business for awhile you realize that the expenses just never seem to stop and when you look at your bottom line you may realize that you bought yourself a job instead of a business that will grow and earn for you. Congrats on getting those prices up. I know you were adamantly against the idea.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I remember always giving you sh*t about prices, Mike. Once you are is in business for awhile you realize that the expenses just never seem to stop and when you look at your bottom line you may realize that you bought yourself a job instead of a business that will grow and earn for you. Congrats on getting those prices up. I know you were adamantly against the idea.

Well, not so much against the idea, but not knowing it would work. And hey, thanks for shoving me in the right direction! I still battle the tendency to low-bid a job to get the work. Had one a month ago that would have been a NICE job. I bid it higher than I would have last year, maybe too high, but it would have been a pretty full day's work for me and a helper...I think I came in at $780, minus 10% if they went with the whole package...so $700.00. She went with someone cheaper. So I kick myself saying if I'd bid it at, say, $550.00, I'd have had work that day. Maybe wouldn't have made as much as I'd have liked, but I didn't make anything that day.

Then again, I've had jobs very similar to this where I was sure the customer was balk at the price, and they just said "Ok, when can you do it"

I just have to get used to the idea that the higher I set my prices, the lower my close ratio is going to be. The hard part of that is when the flow of incoming calls/job opportunities slows, you can't always afford to have a low close ratio! And for those of us who are horrible salesmen, it's harder still.

[PressurePros 249]

Mike, its a battle we all wage within ourselves. The nice thing about having a few years under your belt is that you have a good reputation to back up your pricing. I agree with you 100% on one aspect. I would rather make lower rate than having trucks sit in front of my place. It's striking that balance between profit margin and output. In the best of all worlds the phone doesn't stop ringing and you make your rate on every job. It is achievable but of course the downside is effort put into selling (time and running around) and spending marketing dollars. This is why I think a key to being very successful is to constantly evaluate your marketing efforts and fine tune every dollar you spend for maximum return. That doesn't happen overnight and there are many variables that come into play.

The best part is we have a venue to share things that have worked for us and to help one another grow our businesses to a well oiled machines.