How To Start A Pressure Washing Business
With a pressure washing business, you get paid to clean people’s houses, decks, driveways, and walkways with a pressure washer.
Starting a pressure washing company may be an excellent alternative for a new business owner or individual who wants to start a side hustle.
Pressure washing is a high-profit business with low startup costs and excellent profit margins. The work is simple to learn.
Before plunking down your hard-earned money on your first pressure washer, think about what it’ll take to be a successful pressure washing business.
Getting a pressure washing business up and running will take more than simply purchasing equipment and offering services.
Here’s a quick guide on how to start a power washing business.
How To Plan A Pressure Washing Business
Developing a solid business plan will assist you in discovering unknowns and maximizing chances by outlining the specifics of your power washing business.
Furthermore, a business plan makes it simpler to obtain financial backing or hire someone—or even find a partner—much more effortless.
A pressure washing business plan should generally include the following sections:
- Executive summary
- Market research
- Company description
- Marketing and sales strategy
- Service description
- Financial projections
- Management and operational structure
When developing a business plan, you must define your services and set pricing.
Consider what you want.
Do you want to limit your business to pressure washing?
Do you want to offer other services, such as yard care, home maintenance, and drain cleaning?
Next, calculate how much you’ll charge for your services.
After you’ve determined your break-even point (where total income equals total expenditures), look at what your competition is charging.
Here’s a rough pricing list of pressure washing:
- Driveway from $80
- Exterior siding of a home from $100
- Vehicle wash from $50
- Deck or patio from $250
Customers spend an average of $294 on pressure washing, with a typical cost of 15 to 75 cents per square foot.
Rates usually differ according to the size of the project, but use your area’s averages to determine competitive pricing.
Getting A License And Insurance For Your Pressure Washing Business
When it comes to starting a pressure washing business, there are several phases.
You must select a name, legal structure and obtain all necessary licenses, permits, and insurance.
Let’s take a closer look at every stage of starting a pressure washing business in further detail.
What To Name Your Business
Choose a cool and relevant name for your pressure washing business, together with a matching domain.
Register Your Pressure Washing Business
If you’re to run your business as a sole proprietorship, you may not have to register it.
Registration allows you to take advantage of legal, tax, and personal liability protection as well as other services.
It’s well worth the effort since it gives you access to various advantages.
You may establish your pressure washing business entity in one of five ways:
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnershipаstarting a pressure washing business
- S Corporation
- C Corporation
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Choosing one option over another comes with certain advantages and drawbacks. This is why you should conduct proper research before making any decisions.
You can also pay a professional to provide you with legal assistance.
Organizing The Legal Formalities
To operate within the law, you must understand the legal prerequisites for running a power washing business in your area.
Obtaining the appropriate permits, certificates, and insurance is just a few of the tasks needed to start your project.
Here’s a list of essential paperwork needed to start a pressure washing company:
- Register your business with the state for the appropriate license
- To obtain a license to operate a power washing business in your region, you must first pay a bond.
- Get a contractor and environmental permit to ensure you discharge your wastewater carefully.
Insurance
Every pressure washing company requires three kinds of insurance including:
- Equipment insurance
- Liability insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
You can go to insurance agents for personalized reports and advice on insurance-related decisions.
Purchasing Necessary Equipment For A Pressure Washing Business
Everyone interested in starting a pressure washing business asks the same question: how much does it cost to start a pressure washing business? Including purchasing necessary equipment.
This is among the most important stages of a start-up’s life. You won’t run a successful pressure washing company without the appropriate tools. You’ll need the following items at a MINIMUM:
Commercial-Grade Pressure Washer
It might harm your professional reputation if you show up to a customer’s property with only a $100 portable pressure washer.
A lower-end pressure washer might be adequate while you save up for a higher-quality one. However, it should only be a short-term solution.
You should purchase a commercial-grade pressure washer. You will be able to do an excellent job and get positive feedback from your customers.
Portable Device And Software
Even if you have a fantastic memory and strong math abilities, you’ll need a device with software. This is for tracking your earnings, expenses, client information, employee pay stubs, and tax data.
You’ll also need to think about buying a work device and pressure washing business as a company ownerNo software.
Clients can always contact you even when working in the field. So, a wired home or office phone isn’t enough.
Fortunately, you can download several free business and accounting programs on your mobile device or computer.
However, free software is frequently missing features found in premium software. You may save money using open-source software, although it may prevent you from running your business effectively.
Before making a choice, consider the advantages and drawbacks of each pressure washing software.
Ladder
To access higher places that require cleaning, you’ll need a ladder. Whether you already own one or need to locate one, this is something you’ll want.
A 28-foot aluminum ladder may be an excellent choice. It’s still light enough to move around but tall enough to reach the highest spots on most 2-story homes.
Water Tank
If you’re just starting a power washing business, a water tank isn’t required. Before accepting a pressure washing project, you should contact each of your clients and ensure a water supply on the premises.
However, a water tank is a must-have to increase your client base. It prepares you to complete projects on job sites without running water).
A 100-gallon water tank will set you back anything from $100 to $200. Of course, larger tanks are more expensive and difficult to move.
Nozzles And Hoses
Water pressure varies depending on the materials and surfaces for cleaning.
The range of nozzle angles varies from 0 to 65 degrees, according to the breadth of the stream they create.
You’ll also need some extra nozzles on hand in case one of them breaks or gets damaged on the job.
Similarly, you’ll want to have backup hoses (100 feet or longer) to ensure that you’re ready for every job.
Truck
All pressure washing firms require a vehicle or van to transport all required equipment to numerous job sites.
Your service vehicle should be reliable and professional.
If you want to use your car to transport a pressure washer, but it isn’t capable of doing so on its own, you’ll need a trailer and hitch for the pressure washer.
Hiring Employees For A Pressure Washing Business
Unless you’re planning to operate your pressure washing business as a sole proprietor, it will be critical to consider how you’ll hire and manage people in the future.
When it comes time to scale, anticipating where you’ll find employees and how you’ll train and manage them can help you avoid many problems.
It’s critical to document your processes and procedures as you create them to onboard new employees when the need arises.
Take the time to note down each step you take on each project after you’ve mastered pressure washing. The documents help train new employees or as standards for you to consult when getting them up to speed.
It’s also critical to consider how you’ll delegate duties and keep staff engaged at work regarding management.
This procedure will vary depending on the pressure washing job. Still, your ultimate goal should be to encourage your staff to take the same level of care and pride in the work.
A few ideas on how you can achieve this include:
- Giving bonuses for jobs well done.
- Having clearly defined opportunities for career advancement.
- Freedom to discover new things, try new methods, and develop independently.
- You may assist make sure the process for benchmarking and rewarding employees is painless and straightforward.
By taking the time to document both the procedure and how long it takes to complete each service you offer.
Managing Finances From A Pressure Washing Business Using An App
Your pressure washing business needs flawless operations and optimum productivity. With pressure washing software, you’ll be able to improve your performance quickly.
Pressure washing software can help you run your business more efficiently by allowing you to schedule, dispatch, report, invoice, and more.
Dedicated power washing software comes with digital checklists and forms with features like:
- reducing the friction from routine activities
- automated information flow
- improved response time
- providing better oversight
You can also use the real-time position tracking functionality to keep track of your team’s location in the field. As a pressure washing business owner, no more worrying about “buddying-punching” or time theft.
Simplify your employee scheduling. You may now save time by simply booking jobs and assigning team members.
You get alerts if team members acknowledge or decline a shift if they come late or finish their work. You may even allow staff to claim open shifts through the app.
Collecting and exporting employee timesheets for payroll is possible with a single click.
Your employees are kept up-to-date on important company information with live push notifications and updates, whether it’s formal or informal announcements.
You can see who has seen or not seen essential communications like:
- company press releases
- equipment updates
- top employee appreciation
Group and individual conversations will help your team communicate more efficiently, ensuring that everyone is up to speed on the latest information.
You have to choose a power washing business software with all the features you need in one package.
Marketing Your Pressure Washing Business
You need a marketing plan to develop new customers and generate more income for your pressure washing company.
Assuming you’ve already established your company’s brand identity (name, logo, tagline, colors).
You may begin implementing a mix of internet and in-person marketing techniques to get the word out about your pressure washing company.
Here’s how to do it:
Create A Website
It’s a no-brainer to have a website for your power washing service. It’s probably the most effective approach to attract consumers while also establishing a method for prospects to contact you and verify your trustworthiness.
You can make a professional website using a free website builder like Wix. A website builder offers you the option to select and customize a template with its drag-and-drop user interface.
Alternatively, you may also get a professional to design one for you.
Use Social Media To Your Advantage
To advertise your pressure washing services to possible clients, create company accounts on top social networking sites.
The pressure washing market is highly competitive. Facebook is the most likely choice for you because of its large user base and broad reach.
Many Facebook users are most likely to own houses or commercial buildings, making it an outstanding location to promote your pressure washing services.
Take advantage of Instagram’s advertisement tools to increase interaction and exposure for your brand.
Post taking photos before and after of your services, client testimonials, and special offers to boost engagement and promote your business.
You may also ask your existing clients to share your content or provide feedback to increase word-of-mouth buzz.
Google My Business
Google My Business is a wonderful marketing tool for any small business at no cost. You can also use this service to create your website.
Set up a Google My Business profile for your pressure washing business and include pictures, hours of operation, a telephone number, and other information.
When someone searches for “pressure washing near me” or “power washing service [my city], your list will appear.
When you have a pleased consumer, you may politely request that they leave your company a review on Google to give your business exposure and social proof.
Use Printed Flyers
Flyers are an excellent marketing technique for service-based companies.
You may quickly increase your exposure to potential consumers by handing out flyers in local neighborhoods.
You’ll have to include the details of your business, including name and the services you provide, on your fliers.
Vehicle Wraps
In the service sector, vehicle wraps are an excellent form of marketing that attracts consumers to call without any input. Vehicle wraps are a passive form of marketing to generate leads cost-effectively.
You only spend once to get the vehicle wrap, but your power washing business will benefit from the exposure for many years.
It establishes your pressure washing service as genuine and trustworthy.
