Are you fascinated by the idea of starting a pressure washing trade? You must have perhaps heard that pressure washing is a decent and worthwhile business, low investment and easy to start – and that’s what must have inspired your decision. Decent? Well, it is, but when it comes to providing quality services – the business is not just about purchasing and installing a pressure washer. In fact, there’s much, much more to the pressure washing business. Before you actually make the buying decision for a washing kit – there are a few questions you should ask yourself.
What if you lose interest in pressure cleaning?
What if you failed to survive amidst competition?
How will you get a license, insurance, and customers?
Learn the trick of the trade
Before you go on to invest money in a power cleaning business, try your hands on power cleaning, and not just cleaning – but cleaning like a professional. Analyze yourself during that trial run – does power washing keeps you interested? If it doesn’t then obviously, no point taking things further. But if you do, then master the art like a [pro to ensure you clean the objects without harming your surroundings like tiny plants, flying debris, etc.
How to learn power washing
While there are volumes of how-to guides and videos readily available to help you learn the ropes, the best is to practice it over and over again. You can rent or borrow a pressure washer from somebody for a week or two and start practicing on house siding, boat, car, fence, drive, tile patio, or on just about anything that can be cleaned with jet water. Though this exercise won’t turn you into a pressure washing pro overnight, it will for the least offer you a platform to build things up and launch from there. Keep a note of your mistakes and rectify them gradually.
Calculating profit
Ever wonder why the majority of startups are software/digital companies? That’s because they need very less investment upfront. As a business thumb rule, (Profit) = (Money in – Money out). For a service-based startup like pressure washing, you need a significant amount of investment upfront. Therefore, you need to think about the following points in order to assess Profit scope for your business,
Money Out
The expense of running a startup power washing business can be broadly categorized as below:
• Power washing kit, including surface cleaner, nozzles, pressure washer, chemicals and trailer or something similar
• Business permit, contractor license and insurance costs
• Advertisement and user acquisition costs (Pamphlets, ads, flyers etc.)
• Transportation cost for power washing kit (truck, van, cab, etc.)
• Ongoing marketing, fuel and maintenance costs
Money in (Revenue)
Set your price tag for cleaning by keeping in mind two important factors
1. The cost should be significantly high than your investment for you to make profit
2. It should be significantly low or equal to that being offered by your competitors to stay in business
Make your call: Add remove any expense you think necessary and calculate the profit you can make based on the formula given above. If it makes the profit, get on with it, else you’ll need to devise a plan to cut down investments.
3. Keep things legal
Before starting up a pressure washing business, it is highly imperative for you to get a relevant business license, insurance, and permits since they can save you from running bankrupt in case something goes wrong and you end up hurting someone or damaging private property.
Depending upon your location and jurisdiction, the legal formalities may vary: you can reach out to your region’s clerk office for details. However, in general, you will need to obtain:
• Business document
• License
• Bond
• Sales tax registration
• Contractor permit
• Environmental permit
4. Insurance
Insurance is a critical part of this business which you should take sincerely and get all documents registered with utmost liability and sincerity.
• Liability insurance which covers damages you may induce while cleaning
• Workers compensation cover for injuries to you or your employees while practicing on the job
• Equipment insurance covers damages and theft
Why invest in expensive equipment
Business, service business, in particular, is more about perception than just quality. It’s human psychology, customer buy what they see! Here’re a few points to highlight the use of industry-grade equipment:
• When you put in wealth in something, it shows what it means to you, it reflects your seriousness, trust, and professionalism, too
• Branded equipment and carry truck are long-term free marketing
• Industrial tools last long and need less maintenance cost
How to entice customers
Well, there’s no clear-cut formula to get customers flowing into your doorsteps, while you may for sure start with door-to-door marketing – if that goes fine by you. Other marketing approaches and conventional methods to market your services and fetch customers are listed below:
• Newspapers and local listing ads
• Word of the mouth
• Appointing salesperson, if you have the budget
• Flyers and pamphlets
• Broadcasting ads
Once you’re off to a good start, make sure you provide professional and standards-based service to facilitate word of the mouth marketing at no cost. Look to retain customers, as it is far more profitable than investing on marketing processes for new leads – keep a balance and good luck!
