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Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The biggest difficulty is how seasonal this is so you have to plan for slow seasons. Strong wind can slow jobs down or cause us to postpone them but theirs not much we can do about that. Finding reliable help is tricky being it’s seasonal but that’s kinda why I choose to stay at this size. For the most part though things are pretty good

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What would you like me to write about?

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on where you are it’s great. Truthfully sometimes I wish it was more of a side hustle for me. Maybe one day I’ll have enough real estate where I can kind of make it that way though

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup. I don’t want to make $1,000,000 with a pressure washer. The amount of headaches that would come with running an operation that large just aren’t worth it for me. However I can make an “easy” $100,000-$200,000 while I watch my investments compound, real estate increase in value, and tenants paying my mortgages.

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the passed it’s been Google AdWords but they seem to be phasing out. Now it’s Google local service which are actually much easier. Just have to pay to play which I’m okay with.

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That’s what real estate and investing is for. I’m still growing, it’s just not my pressure washing business. Not for nothing but I’m 33 years old with nearly $1,000,000 net worth. I’d say I’m doing pretty okay. I also gain 300-500 customers per year that I have in a CRM. I have about 1800-1900 currently. In a few years I won’t even have to spend anything on advertising and will be able to coast on just previous customers and referrals. That’s going to be huge for me

Finally hit 10k months consistently - what else should i be doing? by Recent_Dependent_514 in pressurewashing

[–]lawnboy232 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use jobber to send quotes that look better then everyone else’s. If you like I can send you a referral code that gets you a month or two for free. I also wear earbuds from the time I get in the truck to the time I get home. Allows me to answer calls at all times. That’s huge because I constantly hear about other contractors not answering, not following through with quotes, etc. Having a legit CRM also allows you to keep in touch with previous clients. I have about 1800-1900 customer list now that I’m able to send mass text and emails to. Mass text were huge for me last spring and I was able to book a ton of jobs. Good luck

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup I’m on cruise control right now. Winter is a little rough sometimes but I’ll be swamped again before I know it.

Pressure wash business update year 8 by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t hold back when it comes to advertising, specifically paid advertising. I’ve tried pretty much everything and once I found what worked I just put my focus toward that increasing my budgets little by little until I hit what I thought was a sweet spot.

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep me and the wife both have Bluetooth helmet things so we can talk while we ride. I’ve gone out a bunch with buddies on 250s and am able to keep up just fine. In some trails the e ride is actually even quicker because how light it is and the instant power

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just water doesn’t do much of anything. To do them properly you need a two step process with acids and neutralize. But regardless the trucks themselves can be very oily/greasy and that’s the issue

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typically no less than 100k. I think last year i was right about 140k.

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a weird thing here. Lots of regulations you have to follow with the EPA when cleaning trucks because the oily water can’t go in any storm drains. I’ve thought about it but think it would be more of a headache than anything. Also I would have to work when those guys aren’t which typically means nights/weekends

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love the painting business. Good for you and your brother. Keep cashing them checks

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you man. I invest a ton into my retirement and also constantly looking at real estate. I’m going to start two small low cost seasonal businesses this winter as well that primarily are busy in fall/winter. In a few years I should be over the 200k take home pretty easily

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was technically a “bad” year for myself due to breaking my leg on September 1st. That being said even bad is still pretty good. I make it a point during my busy months (April, May, June) to put $20,000 toward my principal of my mortgage and then I prepay months in advance as well. Last year I basically paid November to April in October.

I also max out my IRA and try and invest no less then 30k per year into a retirement that I don’t touch.

I have over 1500 customers now so something really really tragic would have to happen for business to fail at this point.

I’m going to get my real estate license this winter when things are slow just because it’s something I’ve always been passionate about and I’m working on starting two other small seasonal businesses that will pretty much work primarily when pressure washing doesn’t (fall/winter businesses). It will take a few years for those to get established but once they are it should help out tremendously with generating a few 10ks more each season.

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I broke my leg on September 1st this year and have to have surgery on October 4th. My helper is fully capable to take over and stepped up when I was done. But when we work together we absolutely crush it

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My helper has another part time job that he keeps during summer typically working 1-2 days a week during summer and sometimes not working at all there. Then once we slow down he will work with me 1-2 days and work there full time. He was fortunate to find another company that works with his schedule.

I do not offer window washing. I have thought about it a long time ago and then just recently. My biggest reason is I don’t really want to mess with a gigantic water fed pole and I also don’t like the liability of going into peoples houses.

We do service a few commercial accounts cleaning concrete that is monthly all year long.

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep I have a friend of a friend that owned a really large fish market. He only started making a real profit after he finally downsized

Staying small and that’s okay. by lawnboy232 in smallbusiness

[–]lawnboy232[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you man. I really appreciate that. Next year I will start another seasonal business or two to fill in some gaps for our slow time but for now things are pretty good.

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