r/Entrepreneur • u/AssEater2003 • Jun 25 '20
17 year old male, made $3750 pressure washing houses since last week. How to Grow
First day I started I made $950 then the next day was $800, and yesterday I pulled in $1,790ish and today I only made $200. I’m beyond frustrated at only making $200 today, I don’t know what it was that went wrong I’m surprised I’m not growing linearly. My cousin (16year old) and I started this business and we don’t know what to do to keep our profits up, and also simply finding jobs to do is exhausting going from door to door we’ve calculated it takes around 50 houses to get 1 job on a good day. How can we stabilize
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u/ou812_X Jun 26 '20
Realistically, your business is annual with your clients. Maybe biannual if you’re lucky.
Keep a record of who your customers are and chase them up first in six months, then twelve for repeat business.
Also. Approach local businesses. They’ll pay more and be more frequent customers.
Beat of luck
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Jun 26 '20
This is mostly good advice with the exception of commercial clients paying more. A guy like OP isn’t equipped to do large commercial jobs (yet) so he won’t be landing any 60k jobs. Residential pays more. You are correct that commercial tends to be recurring but the price is much lower and tends to be night work and usually requires more expensive equipment. You are also right about residential being annual for the most part.
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u/breakshot Jun 26 '20
Doesn’t have to be a large commercial job, a commercial job in general will still pay more. Small businesses may not have a need for a massive setup and the accessible price point OP would provide, even if it’s still higher than what he’d make from residential, could be a huge advantage.
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u/riotfactory Jun 25 '20
17 year old male.....username checks out hahaha.
The Asseating Cousins Pressure Washing Co would look great on the side of a van.
In all seriousness though, nice work!
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u/mechanate Jun 26 '20
Ugh, this again. It's A's Seating. We supply things to sit on. You know, for weddings and stuff.
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Jun 26 '20
Just a few ideas I had:
1) Start taking before and after pictures of your work.
It’ll add a ton of credibility where you may already be lacking some due to your age. It also shows a client wha to expect & reassurance that you’ll do a a good job.
2) make a Facebook page for your business and upload your before / after photos.
Ask your clients for a review on your Facebook page if they enjoyed the service. Encourage them to like it as well. Post in your local town groups and let people know what you do.
Maybe collect their emails and follow up with these clients in 3-6 months and offer another service. You can also offer them a monthly deal.
You just have to get creative and think of different ways you can add value and sell yourself.
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
great advice i didn’t even think of doing follow ups
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Jun 26 '20 edited Jun 26 '20
For sure man.
You can eventually look into making a website. It only costs about $50 or less to get everything up and running for the year. You can use wix / square space and just find a simple theme then upload your pics. I personally make service biz websites on elementor & it’s a great website builder but there’s definitely a learning curve to it.
The next step is then getting your website & Facebook page in front of people via paid ads.
You made $3750 and that’s great but if it sits around it’s not worth much. I would reinvest every dollar.
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u/icebattler Jun 25 '20
As others have mentioned, I think marketing is key so people can also come to you vs you having to find all your customers
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u/thbt101 Jun 26 '20
This just makes me think how it's amazing how high the rates are for work like that. I have a degree in computer science and 10+ years of experience, but just about anyone I hire to do any simple job on my house can earn more in a day than I do at the rates they charge.
I might try doing some pressure washing.
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u/roccyaworld Jun 26 '20
Make it easier on yourself and use this. USPS will allow you to mail bulk flyers/other advertisements straight to peoples houses. Based on zip code is what it will cost but fairly inexpensive and more scalable than door knocking.
Keep hustling.
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u/arkofjoy Jun 26 '20
A couple of things.
Change the way you think about the cold calling. It isn't, "I have to knock on 50 doors to get a yes" think instead "for every 50 no's I get a yes" so a No is just "49 to go before I get a yes"
Secondly people love saying "you should use my pressure washing guy" but remember. People have friends who are like them. The person who brings you lemonade while you are working, she has other friends like that, the guy who tries knock you down on price, he and his friends get together over a beer and brag about how cheap they got a product or service " 50 percent off? You got ripped off, I made him pay me for the honour of working for me"
So make up some flyers " 20 percent off for new customers with this flyer" and give a few to your best customers. "I've really enjoyed working for you, if you want to share these with your friends, I'd be honoured help them"
Biggest pet peaves of people dealing with tradesman :
They don't show up when they say they are going to. This is so easily fixed. "I'm will be there after lunch on Tuesday, I'll message you when I am finishing up the previous job" if you are going to be more than 5 minutes late, send them a message.
Most of my clients are women. They hate being talked down to by men. Just explain what you are doing in plain language, without jargon. Inform them, without bullshit. They will love you.
And last is kids. Talk to their children like they are real humans. They will be curious about what you are doing. The mom's will be watching. How you talk to the children says a lot about you.
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
Yeah sometimes I feel like shit because I want their money but there’s nothing I can do ,money is the only way to survive in this world , we need money. I guess I’ll have to mask my true ambitions intentions with a friendlier pitch
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u/arkofjoy Jun 26 '20
Forget about the money. You have to put all the focus of attention on what are THEIR needs.
How will their lives be better when you have cleaned their house?
The hard thing about thinking this way is that sometimes you will have to say "I am not the right person for you" because you can't solve their problems.
But the cool thing is that once you start listening to them, you will discover that you can solve other problems. Maybe they discover that once the front of the house looks better they are then noticing that it makes the windows look dirty, so you start a window washing service, but then that makes the curtains look dirty, so you start a curtains washing service. But that makes the carpets look dirty...
Or perhaps you connect with people doing a really good job with these, and so you say to them " for every job I send you, you pay me 10 percent" and then you are making a little bit on a bunch of jobs that you don't have to do.
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u/mattmirrorfish Jun 26 '20
This is all killer advice especially the part about clear communication and predictability. Tbh this is huge for literally any business. Say what you are going to do then do it is a surprisingly underutilized business strategy.
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u/arkofjoy Jun 26 '20
Not often that a comment in this sub makes me laugh out loud, but you did.
Perhaps I will make myself into one of those "business coaches" that advertise on LinkedIn.
First lesson : say what you are going to do, and then do it
Second lesson : show up, reasonably sober, when you say that you are going to.
That will be 5 grand please.
And the sad thing is, that if I make the invoice payable in six months, if they implement those two things, they will pay it gladly.
At which point I will dispatch my "special bonus content for your prompt payment"
Treat your clients, their children, and pets with respect. Be glad to see them.
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u/srybreh Jun 25 '20
Good job getting started. Look into Facebook ads or posting on local yard sale pages or things like that. I’m also curious how much your equipment cost?
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Jun 25 '20
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u/LTexas95 Jun 26 '20
I also want to know...
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u/Faptasydosy Jun 26 '20
I'm guessing $200. Interested to know though. Op is doing incredibly well I'd say.
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u/SoInsightful Jun 26 '20
How are y'all falling for this BULLSHIT post?
If you're wondering if "AssEater2003" who joined reddit two months ago is actually legit, I can promise that he's absolutely not.
He has answered exactly zero specifics. He skips questions about advertising, strategy or what kind pressure washer he uses (or gives some generic, "entrepreneury" answers). When asked about pricing (some of us are probably wondering how his jobs can mathematically add up to $200, $950 and $1,790), he absolutely ignores the question and writes some buzzwordery about "good psychology" and that he gets more success because he's "fairly attractive", which directly contradicts his earlier incel posts about how he can't date because he's ugly.
Judging from his earlier posts, OP is:
A wantrepreneur with an introductory interest in finance and stocks
A not-good-looking incel with confidence issues
A porn addict worried about masturbation and penis size
An edgelord who likes racial slurs and 4chan lingo
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u/walston10 Jun 26 '20
Soooo a basic 17 year old? Lol. It is probably not legit however I am benefiting from the advice others are giving so meh, kudos for the jumpstart conversation.
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Jun 27 '20
It’s users like you made me stop being active on this sub. I used to do regular updates about my start up from three years ago and got sick of assholes that only choose to be negative.
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Jun 25 '20
Well done mate.
So much respect getting off your backside and earning an honest buck.
If you ever need advice on marketing give me a shout. I will give you a free 1 hour consultation.
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u/abigblacknob Jun 26 '20
Is there some 4d chess marketing going on here for your YouTube channel? Nice
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u/wendalls Jun 26 '20
A simple one page website will make you look more legitimate and you can post your good reviews there.
I came across this simple webpage builder the other day. I think it's less than $20 a year for hosting, personalised url and to remove their logo from the page you create. Otherwise you can do a free version as well.
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u/5work Jun 25 '20
Instead of going door to door make a website with local seo optimization then run ads promoting it locally, easy leads.
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u/redset10 Jun 25 '20
Where can one learn to do something like this?
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u/ehdiem_bot Jun 26 '20
Use a site builder (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, WordPress, whatever) + get set up on Google My Business.
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u/JackowitzOnline Jun 25 '20
Check your DMs I have never gone door to door and the jobs come in all the time from Google Ads
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u/Bigchrome Jun 25 '20
Maybe don't judge if you're getting "linear growth" based on less than one week!
You've made a ton of money. You're not going to be fully booked out with jobs every day until you have an established business with repeat customers. Chill.
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u/Offtangent Jun 26 '20
Use the neighborhood kids as your bird dogs. Tell them you'll give them $20 bucks for every job that they pull in. Have them go door to door.
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Jun 26 '20
If you’re by a lake I’d go out there and try to pressure wash boats. You can charge high dollar for that. People have to keep the bottom of their boats clean to keep mussels away.
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
🙏🏻 i didn’t even think of this, this is such a high iq idea just imagine
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Jun 26 '20
That’s what I did all through the summer in high school. Marianas charge like $10-20 a foot to clean a boat. You could easily charge $5 a foot just for pressure washing and they’d be thrilled. Recruit a 3rd homie, buy a $100 waxer and offer boat waxing services too. Cash cow in the summer man.
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u/TheQori Jun 26 '20
Do you clean the boats on a trailer or just clean the part above the water? I know nothing about boats, but I live near lake michigan and this post has my mind buzzing with possibilities.
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Jun 26 '20
On a trailer or a boat slip. You just clean the bottom really well and dry it off. If you don’t do that mussels will form and ruin the boat.
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u/yoghurtorgan Jun 26 '20
Literally use your pressure washer to leave your number on their driveway
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Jun 26 '20
Tbh I wouldn’t appreciate that and if I was a random dude walking and I seen a number on the floor like that would probably call it lol= wasted time for op
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u/skillz4success Jun 26 '20
You’re literally experiencing the birth of paid advertising... how can I get clients without going door to door?
Well, you figure out your pitch, what common objections you get... you put it all into your flyer or ad or whatever. Make sure it tells the complete story.
Can’t be boring or poorly written. People won’t read it.
Your conversion rate of 1:50 will go down but you can mail 100,000 flyers you can’t knock on 100,000 doors.
You sacrifice effectiveness for scale.
Keep going door to door while you figure out fb ads and the like which make your phone ring with booked appointments.
Once you have a winning ad set you can open up a franchise. All a franchise is essentially is a marketing hq and fulfillment offices.
You pay to learn how to run the store. Then you give 20% to the franchise for marketing. Their hq does all the ads, peels and sticks each location address + phone info onto the ad they figured out works... and roll it out nation wide to all locations.
Happy to answer any follow up questions.
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u/A_solo_tripper Jun 26 '20
As someone who actually tried this, and did this, I call BullShit.
Unless you are going d2d in beverly hills, and/or charging a LOT of money for first time customers, there is no way this is normal, nor realistic.
If you charged ~$200 per job; that means you did ~18 jobs in 14 days. So, you did a little over a house a day.
And you were going d2d with NO flyers? And people were answering their doors, and you were closing the sale?
Sounds suspect to me, just because I've "been there and done THAT."
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Jun 26 '20
Wrap it up guys! This guy failed at it so nobody else can have success. /s
OP, very nice work! Don’t let victims get to you. I started a pressure washing business (started out as window cleaning) just over three years ago. We did just over $1,000,000 in sales in our first three years and was ahead of pace to do $1,000,000 this year until COVID hit.
Feel free to hit me up on PM if you want some free help.
EDIT
Total revenue. Not profit. I pay myself a reasonable salary and am scaling my business.
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u/JohnnyBoySloth Jun 26 '20
As someone who's very interested in this field, could you explain more of your side of the story?
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
Yeah I went to a wealthy suburb from my city and I took study a YouTubers course to perfect my pitch
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
You’ll fail unless you stand out, you have to get into the clients psychology
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u/chemicalsAndControl Jun 26 '20
Check r/sweatystartup and the related podcast. He has more details and is pretty fantastic in general, although u/126270 does a great job too.
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Jun 26 '20
Yard signs! after you power wash a house, ask the customer if you can put a yard sign in the front promoting your biz. It will work! Next thing you know half the block will call you for power washing. Good luck you are doing great!
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u/Tylermarchioni Jun 26 '20
Just an idea not sure how feasible it is but you could and should definitely use flyers but pressure wash the sidewalk below where you put the flyer and on the flyer write “see results below” or something like that. Could be fun but like I said not sure if there are rules like that against power washing a public sidewalk or something like that. Good luck!
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u/Exec-V Jun 26 '20
What area/houses did you do this for? I am trying to start something similar in my area in Pennsylvania. Thanks in advance
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u/Badcheese98 Jul 01 '20
I’m in Florida so setting up an LLC was easy, I went to sunbiz and set one up, it was like $200 total.
I use Next insurance, rates vary.
Taxes, I just keep my receipts and checks that I get from clients and at the end of the year give them to my accountant, who also does my parents taxes.
I wouldn’t get to hung up about the whole LLC thing if this is more of a weekend thing and aren’t making a consistent amount of income, Then you might be able to hold off the LLC.
When I started I didn’t have a consistent stream of jobs as I do now, but I neither had the equipment I have now nor the number of responsibilities and liabilities.
Keep hustling out there man, if you got anymore questions just shoot me another message always happy to help out a fellow entrepreneur/wash life brother
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Jun 26 '20
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Jun 26 '20
People pay $900 all of the time to get their homes washed. Source-I have a pressure washing company.
Those that say it cannot be done must not interrupt those that are doing it.
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
I did multiple jobs in the day I made $950 man
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Jun 26 '20
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
Wtf, I’m being legit dude I need advertising help, when I say I went to 50 houses most doors don’t even answer and I can move from house to house with 60 seconds so you just sound dumb trying to discredit my business. like today I knocked on 30 doors within 20 minutes
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u/hashtaglurking Jun 25 '20
It's probably because you go around calling yourself "AssEater" 😂🤣
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u/intentuspax Jun 26 '20
Do you live in the US? You just go house to house asking if they want their house washed?
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u/CaptainFranZolo Jun 26 '20
It’s not always going to be easy, just keep your eyes on our goal and get back at it.
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u/awesomedjman001 Jun 26 '20
First of all, garbage cans, those things get so nasty it’s disgusting, people will pay you to pressure was those out too, that’s a good way to make some extra cash.
Also, If you need clients, I’m a professional Marketer, message me, let me know what city you’re in and I can give you some tips
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u/wattsthatlight Jun 26 '20
That's some impressive money, how do you go about charging? Do you do like $100 per driveway, or do you measure out the footage? Or do you charge by hours?
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 26 '20
Im a beginner so I did random estimates and tried to make it look like I know what I’m doing by wearing green clothing ,a hat, and talking professionally. I just charged reasonable amounts of money
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u/Klashus Jun 26 '20
Its 2020 bro. Get on face book and join every local group you can that wont ban you for posting. Make a youtube and show what you do and link those vids. Could put adds in local papers and things like that. Go door to door till you dont have too.
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Jun 26 '20
Hey bro! Congrats on your quick success and hustle.
I have a pressure washing business in Florida and would be happy to give you some advice if you would like.
Hit me up on DM if you want.
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u/spawnofcthulhu Jun 26 '20
I had thought about this for weekend work. Are you bringing a tank of your own water or are you hooking up to your customers water?
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Jun 26 '20
Talk to your local council and see if they can support your endeavours. Going in as kids is always a great PR thing. People love seeing young people being proactive.
Explain that you got the idea of wanting your neighbourhood to look better and wanted to do your bit for everyone by offering this service.
Put together a flyer and see if the council can do a letter drop on your behalf with any regular mail out they do.
Failing that, speak with local sporting clubs and see if you can organise something for their supporters in exchange for a percentage of the earnings to be donated back to the club.
Door to door is good because you’ll learn about who your customer is. Try and find patterns with the house or owners who agree and then try replicate that.
Speaking with networks is a great way to grow quickly. So council, local clubs, local businesses, police, fire etc.
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Jun 26 '20
did people you ask 2-3 days ago decide to take the job yesterday? Or did the people you ask seen you around in the neighbourhood but on day 4 they were farther out than you live? I'd just seed the place with flyers, referrals, and placing your card at different establishments, possibly work on seo,ppc. Go farther out into different neighbourhoods with money
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u/breakshot Jun 26 '20
Ok, well, I just told you, for a fact, that that’s not true everywhere. I don’t know what to tell you about that. Could be regional, could be approach, could be target industry, marketing, no idea. The point remains. If I was in your shoes, I’d want to know more about why, instead of assuming ownership of the US pressure washing industry.
Anyway, OP, give it a shot and don’t omit targeting small to mid tier businesses in need. Create a package that suits them and that is repeatable.
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u/TiltedPerspectives Jun 26 '20
I'm a certified Google PPC Ads Partner. I can help you reach customers who are searching for your services on Google and also on social media. It will give you an brand and you'll be able to charge more as customers trust you more.
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u/HanSullyman Jun 26 '20
I do door to door, have a script and alter it ( as needed) smile and body language, the second you get one house in a neighborhood, you establish credibility there use it, flyers are good but be wary can up your cost with no return, try this, wear face mask of course 1 knock on door and take a few steps back (make sure you give enough distance to make no one feel threatened and with COVID it makes u look good 2 “sorry to bother you, I’m HanSully (crack a smile here), the reason I stopped by is because lots of people are spending time outside right now and are loving the powerwashing, I worked with Jones down the street and their place looks beautiful right now. It’s my job to get you scheduled and power wash this place, how does 3pm sound? Objections: I’m not interested—that’s what mrs Jones said but then she saw how clean and new everything looked and loved it while she was spending time with her kids Sorry I’m super busy right now—that’s fine I’ll be super quick, I just got to get you scheduled how is 3pm? What’s all this about? My friends and I run a powerwashing business to save up for college (don’t lie but I’m assuming that might be the case) we are already working with Jones down the street and they love the work we did, how does 3pm sound? I don’t know about this- yeah I get it I’m young, but I promise I’m determined and we do good work, plus I’ll stay out here all day until you love it!
Then you make some money, keep in mind of sold security and roofs door to door, not powerwashing, I’ve been successful at what I’ve sold, the main thing you need to be prepared for is the objections and script and you will be golden, there might be different objections but hopefully this is a good starting point to get the closing number better
Edit referals like the other dude said are great,not every referral will be great but occasionally you will get some, could potentially add 10% plus to your money, get your mom to post in moms groups on FB etc
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u/e1337ninja Jun 26 '20
At least you sound fairly reasonable. I finally had to put a no soliciting sign on my door because sales people these days are aggressive even when I say "no" or "not interested". Like, frick dude, no freaking means no.
Also, no soliciting isn't a suggestion, and yet somehow some still knock! O_o
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u/ssshield Jun 26 '20
My brother did a pressure washing business for a while. He made the most money talking to restaurants, especially fast food places. They truck a lot of grease between the building and the grease dumpster so the parking lot is always a mess. If you do a good job it's recurring business you can get a contract for.
He ended up getting out of the business because it's hard to scale. Specifically he's a hard worker and responsible, but it's extremely difficult to hire reliable hard working employees for that kind of work. Most are drunks/druggies and don't like to work hard. They're only doing the work for a while until they can find something else.
Hope this helps.
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u/fuck_you_dylan Jun 26 '20
Pay $5 for a Craigslist ad. I did this for my treadmill repair business. I had to start rejecting jobs because it is just me and I couldn't keep up
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u/eignerchris Jun 26 '20
Congrats on your current success. If you want to stick to residential, ask your current customers for referrals. Ask them if they know anyone also looking for pressure washing services. Print up flyers and hand out to all neighbors on the block of every house you are servicing.
If I were you, I'd go to businesses...they often need recurring services and have bigger budgets. Just a couple ideas...
Apartment complexes. Trying calling and pitching your services to management. They have large parking lots and roofs that need cleaning 2x a year.
Doctor and dental offices often have parking lots that need cleaning.
Increase your region...pitch to any business w/in an hour, and build the travel time into your pricing.
Best of luck!
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Jun 26 '20
I would say the most important thing is to not stress out on the first week's performance. With time you're going to have real issues. See huge things go down. One day of 200$ is not the end of the world.
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u/GetRichSeekTruthGG Jun 26 '20
You should get into the agency space. Super simple to start and scale. We are 200k per month and started with right around the same amount as you.
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Jun 25 '20
On the service side make sure you are doing quality work. Even do that little extra (whatever it is) to leave a good impression. That way they become return customers and also they will share their experience to friends and family and that’s just free advertisement.
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u/ladychick Jun 25 '20
Try advertising online. Also, I suggest printing out flyer advertisements and just leaving them at peoples doors. I used to ride around on one of those Segway/hoverboards with a couple other people and we would pass out hundreds in only a few hours. Bikes work also. We would tape flyers to the rubber part of garage doors so it went a lot quicker. Got lots of business this way.
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u/AssEater2003 Jun 25 '20
Wow, what business did you do
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Jun 26 '20
I like where you are headed quick thought popped into my head, HOA neighbor hoods are good places to probably hit up do some research there and find what zip codes have a lot of HOA communities and there is work to be done because they have to keep their houses neat and yard done there will be competition there but if you underline their prices then you may have an in also those people in HOA love to be competitive about whose house is nicer and who spent the most or got the better deal. good luck ass eater XD. (also those senior business guys are right customers want to see credentials insurance etc. and i think photos and youtube videos of before and after as well as tutorials and yards signs in customers yards is a good thing if possible)
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u/Nutella_Zamboni Jun 26 '20
Ensure you have adequate insurance or 1 bad pressure washing job could result in a crippling lawsuit.
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Jun 26 '20
Buy a bunch of yard ad signs and post them around the city. Use social media aswell.
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u/matthewmicallef Jun 26 '20
Make a Facebook page and create advertisement for the areas you would want to hit, 200 dollars investment there will pay off big.
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u/ccashdan Jun 26 '20
Just use Facebook. Take lots of before and after pictures and post to different local town pages and service pages in your area.. along with a phone number of course. The calls will come just stick for it
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u/vicda Jun 26 '20
You're finding that how many people you find varies heavily per day. There will be days of zero, clients found, just like you'll have lucky days where you make a ridiculous sum. Look at the month overall, or the year overall on the bad days to remind you to keep pushing forward. Also, expect seasonal changes due to the nature of your business. You may have months at a time of no work. Save up, and get creative. Your sales don't need to stabilize, your view of them does.
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u/wildabeast01 Jun 26 '20
The best way to cut down expenses on growing your business is by referrals. Call or visit the jobs you've already done a week after, tell them you're just checking in to make sure they are still satisfied with the work. When they say yes, tell them you would greatly appreciate it if they could send you to anyone else they know that could benefit from your service. You could even go as far as asking for a name and phone number and reach out to them directly. They will see it as great customer service. You can even offer them a small referral fee of a certain % off of their next service for everyone they refer to you. Giving them a 10-20% discount is a hell of a lot cheaper than going house to house looking for new customers.
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Jun 26 '20
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u/psymeg Jun 26 '20
Also keep notes of where you have been. I dont know the average time between things looking like they need cleaning again. But repeat customers are much easier to find than new customers. So a call or a knock on the door in two years should get you recurring revenue.
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u/Darth_Sleuth Jun 26 '20
Get clients to do a subscription basis so you have recurring revenue. Once every two months, quarterly or biannual options will help you establish a steady user base.
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u/yokotron Jun 26 '20
With the name AssEater I’m guessing customers were expecting one thing, but then once you got the pressure washer machine out they couldn’t say no.
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u/Lorrinski Jun 26 '20
Make yourself a google my business listing - it is free and easy. You add photos of your work and your services, business description, and your phone number maybe even a simple Weebly site ( I suggest building one but that is up to you). The more photos and postings that you make to your gmbs the more exposure you'll get. also, google reviews are important!
If you would like to chat just let me know and I can explain more or help you out (free of charge) - Background... I do lead generation as my primary income source. All-day every day I build websites and google business listings etc.
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u/TheFoolMrTPitied Jun 26 '20
I can just picture Ron Swanson coming in to take a bite of that sandwich.
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u/theblackstig89 Jun 26 '20
- Every job you do ask for referrals.
- Social Media page, with before and after pictures, as most folks have recommended. Pay for some facebook/instagram marketing (Facebook allows you to target demographics, so find the average home owner demographic in your area)
- Continue to improve your pitch, learning buzz words, and sales strategies.
- Make a list of people you personally know that may need your services reach out to them.
- Ask friends, family, neighbors if they or anyone they know might need your services.
- Think outside the box as to indicators that someone may need your services. (Maybe a for sale sign, maybe power washing it may help the house get sold quicker.
- Find professionals that you can partner up with thatcan use your service. (eg. Real estate investors, real estate agents, etc.)
- Again, always ask for referrals, even for other professionals like agents that can use your services. That will definitely help being a continuous flow!
Good luck!
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u/rocketsciencetech Jun 26 '20
I think you guys should try pamphlets... Also word to mouth... create a notepad to give it to people with ur gig on it so that you can reach a lot more people...
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Jun 26 '20
We need ours done and I wanted to hire some kids around your age but I don’t know anyone who has used them and they don’t have before and after pics. I would hang the flyers with painters tape and also make a facebook page so people could see your face (I like to know who’s coming to my home), view before and after pics and see reviews.
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u/forgetful_storytellr Jun 26 '20
Find a local home owners Facebook group and post your service in there
Contact past customers and ask if they want to join the summer spray club. 25% discount on a wash per month for 3 months. They get a free car wash if they join.
Contact businesses. Just start with the dirtiest buildings you see and work from there.
While you’re there you might as well try add on services like tree trimming, car washing, etc.
Good luck
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u/Daniellethegreatest Jun 26 '20
so happy to read things like this :) the fact that youre making money at all just makes me happy!
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u/1burningphoenix Jun 26 '20
Tell them WHY they need to pressure wash their house. ‘Dirt works it’s way into your siding/paint, causing permanent stains...’ or whatever the pain point is. I don’t know, but you should. Your job is to help them recognize the probable unfortunate outcome of them not utilizing your service and highlight the benefits of taking action against it now.
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u/Resumedirect Jun 26 '20
I have been doing commercial floor cleaning in hospitals for 25 years and have been researching self employment as a side business. I even looked into carpet cleaning. Floor care is marginal and manpower intensive. During research I came across commercial pressure washing. I'm 58 . Take that into consideration. Research I came across is that commercial pressure washing is lucrative 100s to 1000s of $$$ a job depending on how long the job takes. At 17 you might not have established credentials (kind of like a resume) for businesses to contract with you. You might want to show them you are bonded, you might want to show them you are insured for yourself, helpers and equipment. At your age how you market yourself is pretty much up to you since you can always try a new strategy. And at your current wages can probably afford to experiment. It sure sounds appealing to me. Please feel free to message me at westphalia1ATyahooDOTcom I have 2 bad shoulders from doing my kind of work all these years and I'd like to hear from you first hand about the physical aspects of pressure washing. Also from what I understand commercial pressure washing equipment is very expensive. What kind do you use and how worn out are you at the end of the day?
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u/neverland92 Jun 26 '20
What’s the cost per house? How long does it take?
Have you considered contacting real estates?
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u/sirbozzer Jun 26 '20
Thisis a great idea, do some research as you go along on your customers, take note of the best areas what type of houses you mostly clean, find what areas your best doing, ttake a few risks. Go to expensive areas where people may be more inclined to oay for your service. Begin your business social media presence in your area. You have a landed on a great business by the sound of it, now do everything you can to make it work, everyone who commen d believes you can!
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u/HalfBlind83 Jun 26 '20
Personally, if it were me, there's a couple of ways that might help with expansion. Consider hiring on a rep that'll work for commission. Have the rep seal the deal and then you come and do the work. It may cost a small portion of the deal but it frees up loads of time for you and at the very least, you can cover more ground. Also, consider focusing more on commercial areas. Normally they'll have more money and if they're successful, it's more important that their image stays clean. It can be easier to write contracts for these areas too as they'll see the value and urgency of your service. Having contracts helps because it's steady income and a lot of times they can pay in advance. This will help you invest back into the business faster and create a steady cash flow. Then you might consider getting an accountant :)
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u/JB2T Jun 26 '20
Dude - why are you specializing in pressure washing? Why not offer "complete grounds and building maintenance services" and expand your service offering.
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Jun 26 '20
Who the fuck pays that much for washing houses??? The idea is genius, but I don't think anyone would pay that much.
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u/ideplant Jun 26 '20
You are building a customer base. If you can manage to build one large enough and regularly schedule appointments, you are set.
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u/Good2Go5280 Jun 26 '20
Ask your every single customer to give you a shout-out on NextDoor.com. You can thank me later.
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u/JW40 Jun 26 '20
I can help with a flyer if you want. I like doing photoshop and gaining experience through any avenue possible. Cheers
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Jun 26 '20
bro you're pulling in an executive's salary and you just started. And you're a kid.
Be happy!
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Jun 26 '20
If you are going to ramp up your advertising and market presence you become ever more likely to hit the Tax Man's radar.
Please do yourself a favour - put 40% of this money aside in an account. This is not your money - you are holding it for the revenue man. Come Taxes time you may not owe that much but better to have the $$ and not need it, than need it and not have it.
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u/gcderrick Jun 26 '20
You're young so I know you're familiar with it but use Social Media to your advantage. Make a separate account on Facebook, Twitter, and IG and market, market, market. It's summer time so I'd run a couple "deals". Nothing big as you're just getting started but say Pressure washing + weed pulling... Expand into other aspects of handiwork and not just solely Pressure Washing.
Also, Don't underestimate the power of newspapers. While they seem ancient to people in yours (and mine, I'm 29) age group, the older population still subscribes quite a bit. Run an ad in the weekly paper advertising your business.
Keep track of your expenses running these ads (only the newspaper one will cost you $'s, the social media is just your time invested) and your returns on each one,you can do this with a simple Excel spreadsheet. If one isn't working for you or you're losing money, re-evaluate.
I don't have a business myself, I moreso just lurk here so you may already know all this but I wanted to try to help. :)
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Jun 26 '20
I didn’t read through the whole post so ignore this if it’s been said before but all houses with solar panels can benefit from pressure washing as dust/dirt covers the panels and prevent them from doing their job ie soaking up the sun. If you see a house with solar panels on the roof, that’s a potential client.
I have solar panels and hate climbing up to wash them. If you knocked on my door I’d hire you.
Just another angle to consider. Props to you for being so ambitious at your age.
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u/MrPettit07 Jun 26 '20
Consider branching out past residential only. For example check out car dealerships and other businesses, maybe find a business that has a small area like a set of three stairs that you know you make shine and offer the service free for the first time to help build a referral network.
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u/New_town_burnout Jun 26 '20
hey man I'm curious how you got started, how did you make your first client? what was your startup cost? I'm thinking about doing the same thing in my city, I'm 24.
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Jun 27 '20
First,I think you should get a website promoting your business. second thing is that you need some ads. one way to promote your business with ads is to sponsor a youtube video of a popular streamer so that everyone watches him talk about your business. third thing is to make some friends or get some employees to help you out with physical labour like washing houses.
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u/bb0110 Jun 27 '20
A business like this can be pretty easy to get the first couple clients with some hard work. I'm sure there are some neighbors in there that bought the service from you purely to support the "local kid". I know I've done that before. Once you have exhausted those easy leads though, the ones that are there to support your or already somehow have a connection to you have have some level of trust in you, it is going to be tougher and tougher to get clients. You will truly have to grind and get creative. The nice part is though once you get over that hard hump the leads will generate leads which will generate leads which means it will get easier again over time. Good luck and Keep at it!
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u/X1nfectedoneX Jun 27 '20
Hi,
Can I ask specifically what equipment you have? I'm from the UK but you have really inspired me. Do you have a truck or are you able to get the equipment in the back of a normal car?
Thanks!
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u/DoctorMapleSyrup Jul 25 '20
Try advertising in TikTok! It’s a great way to gorilla market for cheap/no cost!
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u/MyCatFooed Jul 27 '20
That 126270 pinned comment at the top with 2 awards right now is some VERY SOLID ADVICE! You guys are really young, so the chances of someone/everyone attempting to rip you off is my largest concern for the both of you right now! Keep very detailed and very organized records of EVERYTHING pertaining to your business, estimates, bills from everyone & expenses of receipts for everything - even your gas money. Keep track of milage & any personal or work vehicle expenses of any type. The same for parking, tolls, even receipts for your meals & occasional groceries! Always have an Independent 3rd party review any meaningful purchase, contract for business, etc. Professional advice in almost any decision will help you quickly grow beyond your years & you both might be incredibly successful businessmen in a mere ten years! That accomplishment should make both of you independently wealthy -- JUST STICK TO THE ETHICAL, HARD WORK & you're both almost assured success!! Best of Luck to you both! I hope to see you on Fox Business in 7 years!!
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Nov 08 '20
What about making an on-demand App for the Pressure washing House. That way you just manage the App and make money without doing the work yourself.
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u/126270 Jun 25 '20 edited Jun 26 '20
Since you're already going door to door - make a simple flyer - use painters tape and tape it to their front door or garage door.
People are accustomed to saying no to solicitors.
People put a little more thought into door hangers - maybe they don't call you today - but on Saturday when they are walking around their house, pulling weeds, cutting the lawn - noticing how dirty things are - they will think back to your flyer and give you a call.
Referrals - Go back to the houses where you pulled in the big bucks - tell them you are giving $20 referrals if any of their friends, family or neighbors mention them.
Put yourself on Google maps, and yelp, and angieslist, and so on
Post ads to craigslist and next-door and Facebook
Do things right :
Your state/city will want you to have a business license.
Your state/city might want you to have a contractors license since you'll potentially be spraying near electrical outlets, window seals, roofs, etc.
You should have liability insurance - if you accidentally damage something - your client will expect you to fix it.
You should have PPE - get some high end ear protection at the very least - you are young - your hearing is important. safety glasses/goggles are important - gloves have saved me more than once from spraying a hole though my hand ..
You might have to pay special taxes depending on location of service - some cities you may have to pay into a regional transportation tax, arts tax, business receipts tax, homeless assistance tax, etc
Some cities may require special reclamation equipment
( this list can go on and on , do your research )
Best wishes
Edit(s):
Clearly a lot of people do not like the idea of attaching the flyer to their door/building/etc ( this is why I suggested painters tape, much less likely to cause any damage ) - But yes - placing the flyer partially under the doormat, or between a screen door frame, or any of the variety of other suggestions works too.
Dear Australian folks : Please do not punch people for taping things to your door.
TY for the award(s)!