Professional Jet Washing - Business Idea

[Little Butch]

Hello everybody, this is my first post here so go easy on me... Please

I'm currently an arborist (posh name for tree surgeon), self employed subcontracting for other companies. Basically, I'm fed up of being worked to death for my wage so am looking to be my own boss. The tree surgery market is absolutely flooded in my area, that and high startup costs make starting up my own tree firm something I'm just not interested in persuing...

I've been racking my brain for ideas when I thought about a pressure washing business.
Seems there's maybe a handful of companies in my area, with two of them not looking like professional outfits. Most if not every single one seem to just advertise for driveways which is missing half the market... Surely?

I was thinking about targeting driveways, decking, swimming pools, boats, burger vans, caravan parks, lorry parks, shop fronts etc...

I'd appreciate any advice to do with anything you think may be helpful, be it business advice or about tools, pressure washers etc...

Thankyou.

 

[Paul Murray]

Power-washing is somewhat seasonal (Spring/Summer mainly) so I'd look at ways you could keep going in the quieter periods.

Jet washing green recycling bins perhaps?

They get collected all year round, in different locations on different days of the week, so there's unlikely to be a shortage of custom. There was a guy who used to do this in my area, charged about £2 per bin, which isn't a lot, but he could do a good few houses in a few minutes.

I'd happily pay someone a couple of quid every couple of weeks to wash out my bin once it's been collected, they get so smelly!

 

[Little Butch]

That's a good idea. I'd need to build up regular work like that to make the business work

 

[Little Butch]

It won't let me add a link as I'm under 30 posts but I was looking at something along the lines of ebay number 271957387143

 

[Paul Murray]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271957387143 (link added for convenience)

I can't comment on the washer since I've no experience of using them I'm afraid.

 

[DavidAshdown]

Out of interest, if your expertise is in being a tree surgeon, wouldn't you better off trying to build a business out of that?

I appreciate you say the entry level is high, but if the demand is there, along with your experience, coupled with enthusiasm and determination, then the cost of entry could be overcome in a reasonable period of time.

When you say high, what sort of costs are we looking at ?

 

[Little Butch]

The markets so saturated especially locally I just don't think it's worth it.
I guess as a minimum you need a tipper, chipper, range of saws, rigging kit etc got to be £20k then it's the hassle of getting rid of the waste, sourcing a yard...

It's just something that doesn't interest me. I'm happy subbing for friends who run small tree firms

I'm hoping the pressure washing could be something I can run as a side to sub contracting doing tree work until it builds up enough time to run full time, at that point I'd look at employing somebody and then maybe I'll do more days on the trees... Just trying to find an easier way to make money. I laugh everytime I see people talk about most jobs as 'hard graft' they don't know the meaning of the word lol...

 

[DavidAshdown]

If it doesn't interest you, then that's fair enough but I wouldn't worry about it being over saturated.

Many industries are over saturated, how many coffee shops, cafe's or restaurants are there in your high street? It's really about being better, more competitive and standing out from the crowd that counts. If you're good at what you do and enjoy it and feel you can do better than most, then you could make a good living out of it.

Look at the market for pressure washing and then look at how many companies offer it? As you say, not many, maybe there is a reason for that i.e. the demand isn't there!

Do your research. It's about supply and demand, backed up with hard work and customer focus that will help you succeed, not about trying to find a niche that may not be there!

 

[Little Butch]

Thanks for the reply, food for thought there!

What ways would you suggest to do research?

 

[antp__]

Just trying to find an easier way to make money

Little Butch, if only it was this easy. There is no easy way to make money, else everyone would do it.

If a high startup cost makes you not interested then quit now and carry on being a Subby.

Same goes for if you are asking how to research, it isn't for you.

I'm not being nasty here but it's truth. You may think pressure washer businesses are low start up costs, but I personally don't think there is a huge call. I can clean my drive myself, and even my decking. It's really not that hard now, all I have to do is buy an adapter and correct head and I'm set to go.

Low start up in equipment, then you have your marketing, insurance, transport. What if a customer says you can't use their water! You need barrels in your van to do the job, you water bill goes up in turn.

Research by thinking of every possible situation.

 

[Little Butch]

Cheers for the constructive criticism.
True, anybody could do an OK job, but I'm talking about a professional, back to NEW job. Not just a quick go over with a mickymouse job washer!

Transport wise, I already have a defender hicap pickup which will hold an IBC of water as well as the washer.

Tree firms in my area are in so strong competition, they just keep driving the price down... Which is just one reason why I'm not interested... For now, I'd not rule it out for the future.

 

[antp__]

In business you need to show 'why you'. so you seem to have that part covered, however. What makes your job better than mine?

By telling people they can do an 'ok' job won't get you much interest, again, in my opinion. Because I have cleaned my drive before with a 'mickeymouse' jet washer along with the walls that surround me house and have had people knock on the door just to ask who did it.

Then you have the people that really don't care. It weathers and so be it.

You are the only one to prove us wrong and show that there is demand. However, the time will never 'be right'. So sit down. So some research. Get a plan together and go go go.

 

[Little Butch]

Again, Thankyou!
I'll do some more research and if it looks worth a punt, so be it! I guess all business is a risk and that's just the chance you gotta take... Helps if it's a calculated risk though!

 

[antp__]

No problem.

And exactly that, else I'd be down the casino as a full time job

 

[Little Butch]

Maybe that's where I'll end up if it all goes tits up haha!
I'm in talks with a localish chap who does work on caravan sites and says they can be reasonably lucrative and there's plenty of them around. Think he's got himself some contracts maintaining /tidying the site... Something which I'd be aiming to get... Regular contracts even of they start small!

 

[Little Butch]

I was thinking I need to do this lot before ipecerything goes 'live'...

Open a buisness bank account - any suggestions?
Get a logo drawn up - I have a friend who's a graphic designer/illustrator.
Get a load of leaflets printed.
Get a website made up with all advertising pointing at it.
Thinking phone numbers - I currently live with my nan so the house phone isn't really an option. What about 0800 numbers and diverting them to a 'work mobile'?

 

[antp__]

Open a business bank account - which will incur charges etc. I would personally just create a second account for any business expenses for the time being. This makes it much easier to keep your personal and "business" money separate. But until you have huge amounts coming into the bank I wouldn't go for a business account.

Get a logo drawn up - Place this also on a letterhead for your quotes / invoices. You can get simple excel templates for invoices, duplicate it and change it to quotation too. The way I used to do it was have an excel sheet with 2 sheets. First was quotation, all the details go into this. Sheet 2 was the invoice page, all information from the quotation page automatically pulled through, just with the obvious changes + bank details etc. Also good for your vehicle if you wish to sign it. Just remember, this is what will represent your company, don't rush it.

Get a load of leaflets printed - this is 1 advertising tactic. There are many more. If this is what you wish to try first, then go for it. Just remember, this is always an expensive route. You may have 5000 printed yet only get 2 calls. I'm not saying it doesn't work but people generally chuck them straight in the recycle bin so make sure the title is catchy and it has 'something to offer' to the customer and I don't just mean pressure washing haha.

Get a website made up with all advertising pointing at it - This is completely up to you. A simple 1 page static website could be made, (where you click the service at the top and it page jumps to the middle for instance). This is how I did my fathers website and it works great for his business. Nice and easy to follow and get what they need, which is his contact number. Then you will need to optimise it correctly for SEO purposes, and also work on local (or nation wide) SEO. This in the long run is an investment, but to your original post will come with an expensive startup cost.

Thinking phone numbers - I currently live with my nan so the house phone isn't really an option. What about 0800 numbers and diverting them to a 'work mobile'? - I would stay away from 0800 numbers. There are companies out there, of which a couple on this forum as far as i'm aware, who offer your local area code numbers that can be diverted to your mobile.
http://www.voipfone.co.uk/
https://www.telecomsworldplc.co.uk/...numbers.html?gclid=CIjk9NeyoMUCFerjwgodVKEA9Q

 

[Paul Gregory]

Cut firewood in winter, or better still cut firewood in summer and store it in dry storage until winter. I should think the money is better than pressure washing.
Competitors are illegal if they do not have a chainsaw operators licence.
You have a clear advantage, you have no pressure washing advantage.

 

[Little Butch]

I've got a bit of firewood stored up but will build it up a bit more. You'd be suprised at the money made in firewood selling by the time you've transported, cut and split it...

 

[antp__]

@Little Butch, when you say cut & split it. I'm guessing you mean the labour intensive part of getting an axe to it? Why not just cut it up into larger logs and sell it on as it is. Let the customer worry about splitting them.

I have no idea how firewood is cut or stored though as I do not have an open fire. I'm still on good old gas, however would love to change to a solid fuel fire, just means opening up the fire place and I don't have time at the moment.

 

[Little Butch]

That's it ant. You've got to cut it, transport it back to store it, split it, then transport it to the buyer... After that the margins not huge and if you want to become a big player in the firewood game you'll have to start buying it in to keep up with demand which in turn offers less profits... I do try and sell some in the winter, just stuff that I've gathered up over time but only very small scale.

I forgot to say thanks for your last reply. It was very helpful!

 

[antp__]

Do you have to split it and do you have to transport it to the customer?
Can you not just chop it into smaller pieces and store it. Allow customers to come and collect it and let them worry about splitting it / storing it for longer.

No problem at all @Little Butch, happy to give my input.

 

[Little Butch]

Could do that but I'd need storage space which is something I haven't got lots of. But I'm hoping to get a bit more wood together ready for the winter... People often run out then panic buy.

I'm in talks with a company that was recommended to me about which pressure washer and flat surface cleaner will suit my needs at the moment. But I wondered if it would be a good idea to get a website up and running, stick some flyers out, Facebook page etc before buying a machine. I could just hire a machine in for the jobs which I hopefully got and then buy the machine when work was coming in... I have the money to buy one now just wondered if it'd be better to test the water?

 

[Anonymouse72]

jet wash? you might want to track down this lady & hire her as she appears to be an expert...

 

[antp__]

Ah, that's understandable then.

If going down that route then just make sure you can always get your hands on a pressure washer. The last thing you want is to have your first customer and have to let them down because all the pressure washers are already out. I would always opt to test the water personally.

 

[Little Butch]

Yeah that's the only thing I was worried about! I've been with a friend today who's been in sales for the past 8 years, may call on him to try and get some regular contracts In once I'm running.

Do you think cold calls are a good way to approach pubs, business owners etc offering this service or are there better ways?

 

[antp__]

The best person at selling your service will be you!

Cold calls are like flyers. You could make 100 calls a day and receive nothing. One day you only decide to phone 5 people and 3 of those seem interested. It's another very time consuming task. Many bigger companies will have a set team to do this, and other outsource this to companies that specialise in it.

You could always pop into the local pub and chat to the owner. Become friends and explain what you do and how "X pub down the road" had you in the wash the smoking area down.

 

[Little Butch]

Luck of the draw I guess. I like the last idea... Means I get to spend even more time down the pub....

 

[antp__]

I'm sure I wrote a reply to the above but it doesn't seem to have posted. It while I was away on holiday mind, and the wifi was poor!

Any news or updates on your venture? Always good to hear how people progress.

 

[Little Butch]

I've had a logo designed and I'm sending emails back and forward to a reccomemded machine supplier getting a machine speeded up to suit my needs.

 

[Little Butch]

Recommended* Specced* - seems I can't spell at the moment!

I need to get my head together when I'm alone at some point and put all my ideas on to paper. Then get a simple website made up for now, leaflets wrote up, printed and delivered to places which look like they can afford the work/need it, get some ads up in local places and speak to a few friends who's run landscape, tree business's etc to see if any of their customers would be looking for this service, also contact some caravan parks etc...

So much in my head I really need to joy it down!

 

[bigsie]

We carry out drive cleaning along with our other cleaning services. If you need any advice please send me a personal message, and I can talk you through the set up, and marketing that works for us.

 

[Little Butch]

Very kind of you, I'll send you a message soon.

 

[AT700]

@Little Butch Jet Washing is a pretty saturated market too as it's quite an easy service to offer and it's tough to keep busy all year round.

Here's what I would suggest;

Jet washing - Driveways etc (Make sure you have plenty of kiln sand, you'll need it).
Gutter clearing - Guaranteed work all year round, especially in the colder months.
Conservatory cleaning.
Wheelie bin cleaning.
You could even look into sandblasting, this is profitable.

Speak with your local schools, some businesses and colleges, they all use jet washing services and can be quite a profitable source of income!

 

[matt90bc]

I'm sure there was another thread on here somewhere like this. you could not only do jet washing but re sanding and sealing driveways or repointing patios. Did you say further back in the thread you had a pickup of some sort? you can start with a trailer rather than tipper . the groundwork firm I used to work for just used trailers and they werent even self tipping worked wonders for getting a popeye forearm. can also do garden clearance aswell. If you dont mind grafting there is lots of little earners out there that added together with always keep you busy. and big pieces of kit you find yourself needing you can hire. If you need storage go and ask some farmers if you can use a small piece of their land will probably be much cheaper than renting a yard for yourself. Alos go on to some big new build site and ask the site manager about washing down the propertys once scaffolding has been taken down.

 

[bigsie]

Sorry but I disagree strongly about pressure washing being an easy service to offer, nothing could be further from the truth ! It is a very skilled profession, and if you are doing sealing, and tarmac restoration it takes a lot of skill to do right.
As usual what happens is the cowboys give the trade a bad name, and I have seen some awful jobs where the surface has been totally ruined, and needed replacing !
A good idea to start would be to go on a health and safety course run by the water Jetting association, as this will ensure you are working safely ( the pressure from the machine can injure or even kill you if not operated correctly ) Get the right safety ppe gear, and the proper machine and you will be half way there

 

[MarcusCornelius]

Do jets really need washing? They are mostly flying, not riding on the ground, and on top of that, extremely strong airflow during the flight would not leave a chance for the dirt on a jet.

Perhaps the service of pouring jets with anti-freeze liquid before takeoff in cold weather would have much better chances as a business.

 

[iconic]

Do jets really need washing? They are mostly flying, not riding on the ground, and on top of that, extremely strong airflow during the flight would not leave a chance for the dirt on a jet.

Perhaps the service of pouring jets with anti-freeze liquid before takeoff in cold weather would have much better chances as a business.

Are you for real?

 

[antp__]

Do jets really need washing? They are mostly flying, not riding on the ground, and on top of that, extremely strong airflow during the flight would not leave a chance for the dirt on a jet.

Perhaps the service of pouring jets with anti-freeze liquid before takeoff in cold weather would have much better chances as a business.

Haha, what? Don't judge a book by it's cover. Read the post, not just the title.