I would firstly ask yourself the same questions.
It's always better to know who we are divulging information to.
You may be heavily involved in the industry but are new to the forum or someone that wants to get started or even someone who has a different agenda.
I can share with Darran, Ed, Splash and others and will help out anybody on the forum but they are big questions being asked, almost a 'How to get what has taken me 15 years to build'.
You are never going to get the most intricate of details from any of us - you may be direct competition, what has been learned has value but even without knowing who you are I will say -
Be professional
Be the very best service out there.
Be better than the competition.
Don't compromise, even when you're up against it or have priced wrongly.
Have a top notch website, learn to blog on the website, to keep search engine ranking high.
Have quality hand outs, business cards that are better, portfolios that will get looked at, rather than filed and binned.
Impress people with industry experience - without being 'look at me'.
Once you are making a good income divert money into other avenues that are separate because at a residential level you're never going to be a millionaire in pressure washing.
If there's a small amount of additional cleaning that has been missed on the quote and it will improve your cleaning just do it. Don't miss additional cleaning that will make your cleaning look better, just hide the extra cost in your quote.
Don't be scared to be the more expensive quote.
Buy kit your business will grow into/have faith that you can make it happen.
21 LPM is standard but it won't allow you to clean car park akko channels or get into drainage (if you want).
If you make do or have a sloppy attitude you may be quoting against someone that really knows the business inside out.
21LPM is standard but 41 LPM will clean quicker - I'm not there to make it seem like I'm earning my day rate, I'm using the biggest pressure washer to get onto the next job, so I can earn more money.
At 41 LPM it's one pass, rinsing is quicker but that can be countered by water supply and live environments. There are a lot on here who don't need that volume and clean perfectly well and have good businesses. My business is no better.
There's no right or wrong - what works for me may not necessarily work for you, you may have a different manner, appearance, perspective, may want to go for a different client base.
Last thing - I would never have gotten rid of my window cleaning business, it had great value, was easy money and I was always at home.
Just a bit of an update for everyone...
First of all, I can't thank you all enough for helping guide me. We took all the advice and went with it. We did what we could with the budget we had and it's worked perfectly. Whether luck or timing, we are virtually full with appointments.
The main take aways were:
100% professional approach
Get the best quality we could afford
Get a big van
Don't quote cheap
Understand what the client wants
Have quality stationary
Be proactive
Clients provide you with virtually unlimited amounts of tea and coffee. Sometimes a bacon sandwich!!
Things I didn't anticipate:
The washer/motor uses more petrol than I thought
Use chemicals sparingly
The need to watch every penny
People will mess you around (standard)
People will tell you they have several other quotes for half your quote - walk away
Things wear out
Metal is cold
Jet washing corners covers you in crap
The satisfaction it's providing us is immeasurable.
Many, many thanks.
