Surprise! Newb with questions!!!

[pwhopeful]

This may be long so please bear with me or feel free to bail out now.

To be honest I am a PRE Newb, in other words, I still have a job working for someone else and have not even purchased a PW yet. Also this is the reason my full name and phone number is not posted yet, it would really be a bad move to lose the job I have while simply gathering information.

Anyway here goes..... I have been considering the PW business for some time, but I have never pulled the trigger for a number of reasons. Recently I switched jobs and to be honest I am not thrilled with my workplace. The good news is the job I have now is very sales oriented and I get to deal with General Contractors all the time so I am learning how to deal with them while at the same time aquiring local contacts.

In addition a very good family friend owns a property management company that manages over 100 properties. He has already told me he would give me whatever he has but warned me that there was "no money in the business".

He agreed to sit with me sometime next week to discuss in detail what he has, what he is paying and whatnot. I am wondering what type of questions I should ask him?


Another thing I am trying to figure out is how to apprpach this. The way I see it right now is that I have 3 options, some more viable than the others.

Option 1- Buy a machine, start small and learn as I go. Obviously this is how many right here started. Downside is I may buy the worng thing, I amy need to upgrade quickly to handle the bigger jobs etc... with limited cash flow.

Option 2- After meeting with my friend, create a business plan and try to get a Small Business Loan and get started. I am not thrilled with the idea beacuse I am clueless about what I need. The upside is I can buy what I need and maybe have a few dollars left over for household bills but then I have overhead to the bank and still inexperienced. Not to mention the likelyhood of getting a loan is slim.

Option 3- Try to parnter with an experienced, existing PW company. This would allow me training, hopefully access to equipment, downside of course I am sharing the profit from the jobs or having a business partner that you do not get along with.

The question then becomes, what do YOU think the best of the 3 options are?
Then the next question is which is the most realistic?

I have many PW related questions, that I will wait to ask but right now this is my situation. I seem to have the opposite problem that most have....that is, I have NO experience but I have good leads and I could probably start making money tomorrow, if only I knew what I was doing.

BTW I live in Palm Harbor Fl. You can either reply or feel free to email me
kinglouis_2005@hotmail.com

Thanks a bunch everyone, glad to be aboard!

 

[New Look]

This may be long so please bear with me or feel free to bail out now.

To be honest I am a PRE Newb, in other words, I still have a job working for someone else and have not even purchased a PW yet. Also this is the reason my full name and phone number is not posted yet, it would really be a bad move to lose the job I have while simply gathering information.

Anyway here goes..... I have been considering the PW business for some time, but I have never pulled the trigger for a number of reasons. Recently I switched jobs and to be honest I am not thrilled with my workplace. The good news is the job I have now is very sales oriented and I get to deal with General Contractors all the time so I am learning how to deal with them while at the same time aquiring local contacts.

In addition a very good family friend owns a property management company that manages over 100 properties. He has already told me he would give me whatever he has but warned me that there was "no money in the business".

He agreed to sit with me sometime next week to discuss in detail what he has, what he is paying and whatnot. I am wondering what type of questions I should ask him?


Another thing I am trying to figure out is how to apprpach this. The way I see it right now is that I have 3 options, some more viable than the others.

Option 1- Buy a machine, start small and learn as I go. Obviously this is how many right here started. Downside is I may buy the worng thing, I amy need to upgrade quickly to handle the bigger jobs etc... with limited cash flow.

Option 2- After meeting with my friend, create a business plan and try to get a Small Business Loan and get started. I am not thrilled with the idea beacuse I am clueless about what I need. The upside is I can buy what I need and maybe have a few dollars left over for household bills but then I have overhead to the bank and still inexperienced. Not to mention the likelyhood of getting a loan is slim.

Option 3- Try to parnter with an experienced, existing PW company. This would allow me training, hopefully access to equipment, downside of course I am sharing the profit from the jobs or having a business partner that you do not get along with.

The question then becomes, what do YOU think the best of the 3 options are?
Then the next question is which is the most realistic?

I have many PW related questions, that I will wait to ask but right now this is my situation. I seem to have the opposite problem that most have....that is, I have NO experience but I have good leads and I could probably start making money tomorrow, if only I knew what I was doing.

BTW I live in Palm Harbor Fl. You can either reply or feel free to email me
kinglouis_2005@hotmail.com

Thanks a bunch everyone, glad to be aboard!

Thats the first red flag. He is a property manager and honestly speaking he may think he knows the pressure wash industry but I would suggest speaking with a "seasoned contractor" as to answering some of your questions. Though he is a family friend I think you owe to yourself to speak with many about this business we call pressure washing. You would be surprised to learn that individuals carve out a very nice operation for themselves.

Another question to ask yourself is for you to define success? Describe to yourself as to what YOU want in order to validate that word "success". Is it the money? Is it the freedom to make independent decisions about your future? Is is the ability to carve out a daily schedule on your own so you can spend time with your family. Speaking of family...is "family time" only spent in the evenings and on weekends?

Here is an article that ...well....I ask for you to read it. It broaches the other side of the "coin" relating to Money and Owning Your Own Business.......Click Here

 

[pwhopeful]

Thank you for the reply. I certainly am not listening to him when it comes to the business, thats why I am here trying to learn. I come from food service, in fact my family still owns 2 restaurants. Talk about low margins! If you make 10% of what you take in you are generally doing fairly well, so its all relative.

My questions to him are going to be more along the lines of how many properties he has total, what % is commercial, condos, homes. What is he paying, I am hoping to see some invoices and how soon can I have the accounts.

I am going to aks the PW gurus about PW and just try to find out what I can about the properties he manages and my chances of owning those accounts. But if there are any specific questions I should ask him in that regard, let me know...

Off to read you link right now!! Thanks for posting it.

 

[pwhopeful]

Oh and to answer your question about how I define success....its not all money. I want to be able to spend good quality time with my family, enjoy what I do and who I work with and have enough money to do some nice things. Sure having 6 cars and a 5000sq foot home would be nice, but I am the type of person that is happy being able to cover the bills without stressing, maybe take a family vacation or 2 per year and be able to have time with the people I care about most.

 

[Clean County]

You seem to have your head on straight but your not sure if you should take the risk of going into business. Thats the impression I get from reading your post. To go into anytype of business there is tremendous risk factors and if it was easy then 90% shouldn't fail the very first year alone. You need to do some more reading and studying and then either pull the trigger of move on because you may just forever beat yourself up over this by never deciding what to do.

Sooooo I say.... go for it. Your Property manager friend is wrong. There is plenty of money to be made if your set up right by having the proper machines to do the job at hand. Take a look at your typical Best Buy store. There walkway in front is pretty big. I use to do 17 of those stores a month over 10 yrs ago @ $175 a pop. I could do on my own in a 10hr span around 8 of them. I had the set-up to knock out each store in a little over an hour. Today out of the store fronts we do one of them we get a $1000/month and with 2 guys we knock it out in a little over 2 hrs and this is every month. So yes there is money to be made you just have to study up and have a business plan and then take that risk and just do it or move on.
I say go for it but only you know what you will do but do not dwell on this and never do it because then you fall into what most people do in this country which is work for the man.....instead of being the man...and a business owner is that man.

Good luck

 

[archie_MN]

Like John said, sounds like you're got your head on straight. That's the best start!
A couple recommendations:
--Find someone in Florida who is willing to show you the ropes. A lot of small business owners like nothing better than talking about their company. Maybe they'll even let you shadow a crew for a few days to get an idea of the the process.
--The easist decision you will make is what gear to buy. First, figure out what type of work you want to be doing. Large flatwork? Wood? Building washing? The type of work and the size of the projects you want will dictate what you need for gear. Depending on what you're doing, your first machine will cost between $1500-15,000.
--Which brings me to money. Option 1 is the only option in my opinion. No sense putting your family through the financial risk of loans and leased equiptment uneccessarily. Start small and build up. I guarantee there are rental places in your area if you come acrosss a job that requires the big toys.
--And finally, property managers. Some of them get it, some don't. Some understand the value of $10k/yr for clean grounds, some think an annual cleaning of $1500 is plenty for the same property. Also, in my experience, pressure cleaning is one of the first things to go when vacancies go up. I'f you're considering partnering with your family friend's management company for contract cleaning, make sure their idea of clean is something that will work for you.

Welcome aboard the forum, this is the best place on the net for these questions!

 

[pwhopeful]

You guys are fantastic,Thanks for the encouragement!! I spoke to him a bit last night when my wife and I bumped into him at the local watering hole. He is going to print some maps/prints of some of the properties as well as what he is paying and even the bids he got and how different each look. So I will know a bit more when I get that info.

As far as experience, I would even consider working with a crew as an employee for a while as I learn the ropes OR if the potential is great enough perhaps partner with that company if they feel what I can acquire is valuable enough.

Aside from that I think I am with Archie when you said option one is the best choice. I have a flaw and that flaw is that I need to know. While it serves me well much of the time, it also hurts me in situations like this where perhaps I am better off diving in.

Anyway, keep the comments coming and once again, thanks for the encouragement!!!

 

[New Look]

You guys are fantastic,Thanks for the encouragement!! I spoke to him a bit last night when my wife and I bumped into him at the local watering hole. He is going to print some maps/prints of some of the properties as well as what he is paying and even the bids he got and how different each look. So I will know a bit more when I get that info.

As far as experience, I would even consider working with a crew as an employee for a while as I learn the ropes OR if the potential is great enough perhaps partner with that company if they feel what I can acquire is valuable enough.

Aside from that I think I am with Archie when you said option one is the best choice. I have a flaw and that flaw is that I need to know. While it serves me well much of the time, it also hurts me in situations like this where perhaps I am better off diving in.

Anyway, keep the comments coming and once again, thanks for the encouragement!!!

that is cool.....definitely a plus.

 

[Doug Rucker]

Keep reading, keep asking, keep learning. You are on the right track. There are all kinds of prefessional conractors here willing to help you. If I can help you in any way just call or email.

 

[David Edwards]

I have a flaw and that flaw is that I need to know. While it serves me well much of the time, it also hurts me in situations like this where perhaps I am better off diving in.

While I understand (I think) what you mean, I'd like to point something out in the hopes that you never lose a quality you've shown. What you call a flaw, I call a quality. Too many people (in my opinion) just "jump in" without learning at least a little about what they're jumping into. I like that you're asking questions and seeking advice. There will definitely be a time to pull the trigger and go all in, but it serves no good purpose to do it blind. And these guys here have given you a great way to begin building a solid foundation. The folks here rock! But take a look at the pros here - they all know their stuff and they're all still learning something.

By all means, jump in when your ready - but don't label your search as a flaw, and don't quit asking... else you may quit learning. And neither you nor your family or customers will care much for that.

 

[New Look]

While I understand (I think) what you mean, I'd like to point something out in the hopes that you never lose a quality you've shown. What you call a flaw, I call a quality. Too many people (in my opinion) just "jump in" without learning at least a little about what they're jumping into. I like that you're asking questions and seeking advice. There will definitely be a time to pull the trigger and go all in, but it serves no good purpose to do it blind. And these guys here have given you a great way to begin building a solid foundation. The folks here rock! But take a look at the pros here - they all know their stuff and they're all still learning something.

By all means, jump in when your ready - but don't label your search as a flaw, and don't quit asking... else you may quit learning. And neither you nor your family or customers will care much for that.

Probably one of the better posts I have read in a long time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts David.

 

[pwhopeful]

Ok, so he sent some info but its not great quality because he did not give me the sq footage. He sent me an invoice that includes 9 businesses, just the concrete in front and car stops, Dr's offices, dentists, realty's..not huge business like a restaurant for instance. He paid $430 for that job....I will get back with him to see if he can give me an estimate of the sq footage.

 

[archie_MN]

While I understand (I think) what you mean, I'd like to point something out in the hopes that you never lose a quality you've shown. What you call a flaw, I call a quality. Too many people (in my opinion) just "jump in" without learning at least a little about what they're jumping into. I like that you're asking questions and seeking advice. There will definitely be a time to pull the trigger and go all in, but it serves no good purpose to do it blind. And these guys here have given you a great way to begin building a solid foundation. The folks here rock! But take a look at the pros here - they all know their stuff and they're all still learning something.

By all means, jump in when your ready - but don't label your search as a flaw, and don't quit asking... else you may quit learning. And neither you nor your family or customers will care much for that.

Well said sir.

Pete, the invoices and bids he gave you are a HUGE benefit for breaking into your local market! Not only do they introduce you to the competition, but they also give you your future competition's pricing structure. He sounds like a terrific resource for getting your feet wet in the industry. (sorry for the pun)

If you're like me and you feel like you have to know everything and have six correct answers for every question your clients will have, you've got a busy couple of months ahead of you. The good news is, all the information you need to run a a successful pressure cleaning company is out there. The bad news is that the only way to learn wand control, pressure control, chemical balance, and to finesse your cleaning process is to play with a squirt gun.
If you're in a position to do so, I suggest that you rent or buy a hot washer (3+gpm, 3000+psi) and play around with it. While they're about twice the price of cold machines and they cost more to maintain, they are, in my opinion, the best choice for solid surface work. (storefronts and concrete)

 

[pwhopeful]

Well said sir.

Pete, the invoices and bids he gave you are a HUGE benefit for breaking into your local market! Not only do they introduce you to the competition, but they also give you your future competition's pricing structure. He sounds like a terrific resource for getting your feet wet in the industry. (sorry for the pun)

If you're like me and you feel like you have to know everything and have six correct answers for every question your clients will have, you've got a busy couple of months ahead of you. The good news is, all the information you need to run a a successful pressure cleaning company is out there. The bad news is that the only way to learn wand control, pressure control, chemical balance, and to finesse your cleaning process is to play with a squirt gun.
If you're in a position to do so, I suggest that you rent or buy a hot washer (3+gpm, 3000+psi) and play around with it. While they're about twice the price of cold machines and they cost more to maintain, they are, in my opinion, the best choice for solid surface work. (storefronts and concrete)

Excellent advice, thank you!

 

[pwhopeful]

Ok, so to gather more info I went to the address that the invoice shows, directly in front of the building there are 42 car stops, while I don't have exact footage, some of you pro's would have an idea of how big of a job this is. Remember its the sidewalk and car stops in front of 9 businesses, most of which are dr's offices and such. The invoice was close to $450. Is this a good job in your opinion and how long would it take YOU to finish it up..

Dont know if the images help but at least you know I went out there.