What would you do? - Jetwash cleaning biz

[Joejordan95]

Hey Everyone,

On recommendation from @Fasted I decided I'd try my own execution thread.


The Situation
My partner and I are looking to buy our first home and because of this we have spent the last few months in paid employment in dead end jobs that neither of us really like but we're doing it because if was stayed "self-employed" i.e doing deliveroo, just eat and amazon deliveries it would take 2 years worth of accounts to get the borrowing for a property vs 1-3 months bank statements in employment. (Plus the delivery jobs are dead end but are good for making money on the side)

We were looking to stay close to family but as time has gone by and we've realised that we cant afford round here as we'll max out our budget of £230K and likely not get a house we like but if we move to the next county over we can get the sort of house we want for £40- 30k less.

We've been looking to buy for the last 5 months but nothing yet, hence the decision above to look elsewhere.

During this time I got into the idea of Exterior Cleaning, so I did some research and did a quick analysis on avg sale price, costs, revenue, no. of customers and profit and had figures i'd be happy with. Looking at local competition and it seems to be the same as other offline business that fall into the cleaning category where they are older 1 man bands, haven't really built a brand per-se and I think with the right sort of marketing I could certainly out do the competition and provide a great service to since I've got excellent customer service skills and genuinely want to give people value for money

Next Tuesday 25/01/2022 I'll be pressure washing my first client's driveway who I found in like an hour of putting a post on facebook that I knocked up using canva and should be making £80 for what will be 2 hours worth of work based on the size of the area.

My next task is to really learn about marketing over the next few days while I complete this clients job and then look into shifting some flyers out.

I've got through a few threads like @Johnny boy & @IceCreamKid who are quite clearly inspiring and I've found a good thread on Direct Response Marketing by @MTF too.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for marketing sources I could learn from at or does anyone have any questions they want to ask about anything I'm doing then feel free and I'll do my best to answer them when possible.

Cheers

 

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[Joejordan95]

So last night I suddenly had a feeling of being overwhelmed by the potential of trying to scale this "business" - All I could think of is that "I don't know this, I don't know that, how could I make it work?" Then I sat down and thought why am I thinking like this? I've only had 1 Job so this might not even pan out or I could end up finding other opportunities along the way and change direction entirely

I wrote out my thoughts as I find writing allows me to actually work through my thought process so I can actually see where my stumbling blocks are and overcome them.

During this process I noticed that the doubts and worries that were bleeding their way in to my thoughts are the same ones that stopped me committing to other ventures in the past. It's my comfort zone trying to stop me from progressing and stepping into the unknown.

I wrote down my whys so I could see my reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur and that kicked me back into action.

I'm tired of being a wantrepreneur so fxck that. I'm going to be an entrepreneur.

I've got no skills but I'll learn, I don't need to worry about what I don't know, I just need to make
incremental steps, act, assess and adjust.

So far I made £80 but posting 2 ads on fb into a a few groups. Apart from renting the machine I've paid no costs and made profit.

Guess I'll keep trying that method but just make a facebook page, ,make some posts (practice copywriting) and assess then adjust.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

So last night I suddenly had a feeling of being overwhelmed by the potential of trying to scale this "business" - All I could think of is that "I don't know this, I don't know that, how could I make it work?" Then I sat down and thought why am I thinking like this? I've only had 1 Job so this might not even pan out or I could end up finding other opportunities along the way and change direction entirely

I wrote out my thoughts as I find writing allows me to actually work through my thought process so I can actually see where my stumbling blocks are and overcome them.

During this process I noticed that the doubts and worries that were bleeding their way in to my thoughts are the same ones that stopped me committing to other ventures in the past. It's my comfort zone trying to stop me from progressing and stepping into the unknown.

I wrote down my whys so I could see my reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur and that kicked me back into action.

I'm tired of being a wantrepreneur so fxck that. I'm going to be an entrepreneur.

I've got no skills but I'll learn, I don't need to worry about what I don't know, I just need to make
incremental steps, act, assess and adjust.

So far I made £80 but posting 2 ads on fb into a a few groups. Apart from renting the machine I've paid no costs and made profit.

Guess I'll keep trying that method but just make a facebook page, ,make some posts (practice copywriting) and assess then adjust.

You've made money. You have proof this can work. You know this business works for other people. Do not stop. F*ck your doubts, they are only there to trick you into quitting. Keep making solid deals for early wins. Grow your customer base one person at a time and keep learning as much as you can about this business. It will grow.

 

[Daniel.]

Congrats on taking action!

Generally speaking, Bark attracts cheaper clients but it's okay, you're getting paid to learn so keep it going.

Here are a few recommendations:
- Don't be the cheapest option! Look at what you can do better than your competition - is it provide better customer service? Is it a high-percentage "On-Time Rate", Money-Back Guarantee? etc (Read "Creating Competitive Advantage" by Jaynie Smith) Drill that message on your marketing.

- Try different marketing platforms, I have had success running my own Google Ads campaign but that's a whole beast in itself. I strictly only advertise on Google, nothing else. Try boots on the ground, bandit signs, etc if your marketing budget is low. You can talk to @Andy Black regarding Ads, he knows much more than I.

- Don't compare yourself to others, Social Media is a highlight reel - you don't see the struggle of everyday operations. You see some with awesome rigs and trailers and it makes you feel like you're behind - don't worry about them, you worry about acquiring more customers and providing the best service possible.

- Pick up your phone (you'll be surprised at how easy it is to beat out the competition simply by picking up your phone).

- Change your mindset, THIS IS A LUXURY SERVICE. Drill it into your mind that you're a CUSTOMER SERVICE business that just so happens to provide cleaning services. READ THIS AGAIN.

- Quit adding services like Roof Cleaning, you're going to overwhelm yourself. Get good at what you're doing now. You believe that adding more services will increase your average ticket but you're only working harder - your goal should be to raise the prices of the current services you provide.

- There will be days that go to shit, but keep going and remember that no one is going to save you.

 

[Joejordan95]

Ordered 1000 leaflets 2 days ago. Ill be giving 200 each to 2x window cleaners. Because they already have a huge round of customers a recommendation for me from them should hold a lot of weight and bring in some new business (I hope lol).

Ill take the remaining 600 and post them myself in some of the nice looking neighborhoods and see how this turns out haven't had a job for a lil while and want to keep this momentum building

 

[Joejordan95]

Completed my first job yesterday! £80 for about 2.5 hours work. I gave the customer 50% off when I posted the ad on facebook but all in all, it was still good money for the time completed.

Came across some issues when providing the service though. Jetting moss off the driveway cases a lot of sludge which then flicks onto the windows and the door of the property. This meant I had to wrap up the cleaning by washing down the windows, upvc frames and the door.

Thinking about it I believe I should look to offer a Jet Washing Service with bolt on's such as:

- Window Cleaning
- UPVC Cleaning
- Moss removal

The lady I worked for received all of the above but I only advertised for Jet Washing and I believe this will make my offer more compelling so I can try higher prices.

On its own Jet washing doesn't sound like something you might pay a premium for for but if I market it as:

- Jet Washing
+
- Window Cleaning
- UPVC Cleaning
- Moss removal

Then its a bit more compelling compared to other providers in the area.

Leafletting are going to be the next thing I try to bring in business and will sign up to some websites if I can find any (still testing market)

If all goes well I'll make a website and have an online presence aswell.

 

[NinjaBartender]

This video might be of interest - Guy started out with pressure washing and then switched to soft wash (cleaning roofs etc with chemicals as opposed to pressure). Quite interesting and might help with ideas.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H99wDmpnE_g&ab_channel=UpFlip

 

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[Joejordan95]

A whole month since my last post.

Update:
2 jobs completed & 1 due tomorrow. This has all been done in the last 8 days so that'll £616 for roughly 13 hours work after tomorrows job is complete.

My gf and I, now officially own our own home as of 03/05/2022. Not bad considering it was about 2 years ago we decided to save up and buy one.

This month I'll be stepping back from cleaning just so I can dedicate as much time to fixing the house up as possible then I can dedicate my focus to building the business rather than just using it to tick over.

I look forward to giving you guys another update soon

 

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[Johnny boy]

Hey Johnny,

Thank you for offering your opinion because I do value what you say.

There's certainly a low barrier to entry but I suppose I'm in the situation where I'm trying to put together a rough 'plan' of how I could scale it up.

You just said something really interesting, which was "don't be afraid to think big" I think thats actually a skill I've yet to acquire man. I've got to learn how to think big but I've never had to really do that before or execute on it.


I think I was just trying to start with anything and just gravitated towards pressure washing now I'm in a situation where I'm now in uncharted waters. I'm not packing this in yet because well i've not reallllly started and there must be a way forward i just don't know where, or how to look it to start figuring out the next step bro


Any tips on your thinking process if you encountered a similar issue in my place?

Go where the demand is. Give people what they can’t get. People in your area all need something. There’s things that people probably need a million bucks worth of if you added up all the people that wanted it in that area.

Then it’s just a logistical problem in order to deliver it to people

 

[MattR82]

When you're confident and ready, try reaching out for strategic alliances/partnerships. Cleaning companies, painters, real estates, gardeners, landscapers. Maybe they get some kind of kick back or markup.

Cleaning Up: A Commercial Cleaning Podcast - How to Grow Your Cleaning Business With Strategic Partnerships

I wonder if you can offer some kind of discount, or add some small extra service at no charge, for being allowed to put a little picket style sign up if you do a driveway or something highly visible for 2 days afterwards? And bomb the neighbourhood with some door knocking and/or promo drops.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I was just reading about a window cleaning business - hopefully you can take some things away from it - How to Start a Window Cleaning Business: Zero to $700k a Year

 

[B.Cotter]

I was just reading about a window cleaning business - hopefully you can take some things away from it - How to Start a Window Cleaning Business: Zero to $700k a Year

I actually just listened to that podcast yesterday. I follow it.

Listen to any of the service based business episodes and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of good advice and hints to skew value and outdo your competition. A lot of it has to do with just bringing your brand up to date with marketing and making the buying process as easy and convenient as possible; an idea discussed in many threads on this forum.

 

[VinnieJones]

Softwashing roofs could be something you can add to your arsenal

 

[Joejordan95]

Job tomorrow, should make me £200 for the day.

Bought some new tools:
- 1000mm lance for my pressure washer (Stops me bending over getting a bad back)
- 14" Flat surface cleaner ( allows me to cleaner bigger areas in less time)

Originally the job tomorrow was to clean just the patio for £140 but I called emailed the guy and upsold him gutter clearing for £60.

I've been sticking to using bark.com to find leads for this business but I have noticed that I'm not putting as much effort in as I could do.

I had an opportunity come my way where 2 x window cleaners are offering to hand out my cards to their customers which could be great so need to get that done as could bring in business so Going to focus my effort on getting some card made up so they can hand them out for me.

Things I've noticed in this business (in a pressure washing group on fb) are that some guys in the pressure washing business have so much capital tied up in their equipment.

Brand new vans (one guy has a sports version)
complete van fit outs
slightly below average websites
a lot complain that fb ads dont work ( a small few say they work great)

Within the above lies some opportunity.


Other thoughts I've had about pressure washing so far is that it is time consuming so fitting in multiple jobs in a day can be difficult, so to in crease my earnings I'd have to add other services e.g window cleaning, gutter clearing on each job.

Just going to keep pushing along to keep momentum up for the time being as my partner and I will be moving to a new county, so won't really build this as a business just yet till I can feel more established in the new place where I can really get going

 

[NinjaBartender]

I understand what you mean. Of course there is an element of clickbait, however I think there is value in just seeing what other people do and what works in other countries.

 

[Joejordan95]

I understand what you mean. Of course there is an element of clickbait, however I think there is value in just seeing what other people do and what works in other countries.

absolutely man, last few weeks i've come to realise how much I imprint my views onto the world when I should keep an open mind and try and learn more

 

[pipedream2017]

check out partridgeexteriorcleaning on youtube, vids about exterior cleaning roofs etc

 

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[Joejordan95]

check out partridgeexteriorcleaning on youtube, vids about exterior cleaning roofs etc

yeah seen them, im in a group with him in on facebook actually !

 

[Johnny boy]

Amazon didn't start a book selling business because they wanted to sell books. They wanted to sell stuff online and decided books was the best vertical to attack.

Likewise as far as home services go, we are attacking the lawn care vertical because we can scale it by itself and then use it as the backbone to eventually launch into other services that CAN be 1-off jobs.

If amazon started off trying to sell lighting fixtures, or start a shipping company, etc. right out of the gate, it would've been a lot harder.

I look at it sorta like that. You're doing stuff with a low barrier to entry but tough scalability without any demand for recurring services. We don't force demand, people need us to cut their grass consistently. I don't think people are begging for recurring pressure washing quite as much.

To combat this scheduling issue you'll need to have an expert team of appointment schedulers and streamlined quoting process and high profit margin to deal with unreliable scheduling. You'll need to be making 2-3 times as much so when you have slow days or weeks you don't become unprofitable.

I would say you'd need to be able to bring in over a thousand dollars from 1-2 people working per day minimum in order to combat the unreliable scheduling that comes with one-time jobs.

Always be looking for the problem and how it needs to be solved, and don't be afraid to think big.

 

[Fasted]

Good stuff man. Keep going. People willing to pay £750 for a days work is a very good sign. If you find out a way to make it recurring you could be onto a winner here. The margins are far better than where I'm at right now. Might have to cop a jet wash myself!

 

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[Joejordan95]

Good stuff man. Keep going. People willing to pay £750 for a days work is a very good sign. If you find out a way to make it recurring you could be onto a winner here. The margins are far better than where I'm at right now. Might have to cop a jet wash myself!

Hey man,

Thanks !

I’ve got a few ideas on what I could do next would be great to go over some ideas with someone

I’d be happy to tell you what I did to get started could probably make urself some money quickly and all you need is a jet wash machine worth £400 and a few extra bits and you in business!

I think you’re from London if I remember correctly?

Been thinking about connecting with more entrepreneurs from here if they’re in the uk

Good to have people like this in my circle can learn a few things couldn’t I! Haha

 

[Joejordan95]

Still here.

The last few weeks since my post have not been fantastic.

Fell into a depression that I think may have been underlying this whole time but i had been ignoring it.

I think what’s caused it to rear it’s head was the near end of my relationship with my girlfriend after we just bought a house together combined with moving back into my old bedroom in my mums place on my own and with my new home still in disrepair.

It’s been tough.

My gf and I have managed to work it back together but during the last month I noticed emotions bubbling up that I didn’t like such as jealousy, anger, regret etc

Now I actually feel like, my mind thet was being sharpened is blunt and I’ve almost lost the the will/determination/ the want to get me back on track.

It’s like before I felt excited but nothing really excites me. Designing my future seems to be an impossible task at the moment as I can’t conjure up the emotions when thinking about my future to even set appropriate goals.

This shit is F*cking annoying man.

I am sick of not living in a house I’ve just bought
I am sick of it being a shit hole
I am sick of living in my mums spare bedroom
I am sick of feeling fat
I am sick of feeling powerless
I am sick of not having more money
I am sick of not having influence
I am sick of being disorganised
I am sick of not being able to do whatever the F*ck I want, whenever I want to do it
I am sick of questioning every decision I make
I am sick of myself for feeling like this

Pressure washing has been good and has brought in a few extra £’s but I want more and I want my time detatched but I don’t know what to do.

And that is what I’ve got to F*cking fix

 

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[StrikingViper69]

Still here.

The last few weeks since my post have not been fantastic.

Fell into a depression that I think may have been underlying this whole time but i had been ignoring it.

I think what’s caused it to rear it’s head was the near end of my relationship with my girlfriend after we just bought a house together combined with moving back into my old bedroom in my mums place on my own and with my new home still in disrepair.

It’s been tough.

My gf and I have managed to work it back together but during the last month I noticed emotions bubbling up that I didn’t like such as jealousy, anger, regret etc

Now I actually feel like, my mind thet was being sharpened is blunt and I’ve almost lost the the will/determination/ the want to get me back on track.

It’s like before I felt excited but nothing really excites me. Designing my future seems to be an impossible task at the moment as I can’t conjure up the emotions when thinking about my future to even set appropriate goals.

This shit is F*cking annoying man.

I am sick of not living in a house I’ve just bought
I am sick of it being a shit hole
I am sick of living in my mums spare bedroom
I am sick of feeling fat
I am sick of feeling powerless
I am sick of not having more money
I am sick of not having influence
I am sick of being disorganised
I am sick of not being able to do whatever the F*ck I want, whenever I want to do it
I am sick of questioning every decision I make
I am sick of myself for feeling like this

Pressure washing has been good and has brought in a few extra £’s but I want more and I want my time detatched but I don’t know what to do.

And that is what I’ve got to F*cking fix

You can probably use this thread as a blueprint on how to move forwards: GOLD! - HOT! - Starting (and Fastlaning) a lawn care service business

 

[Fasted]

Still here.

The last few weeks since my post have not been fantastic.

Fell into a depression that I think may have been underlying this whole time but i had been ignoring it.

I think what’s caused it to rear it’s head was the near end of my relationship with my girlfriend after we just bought a house together combined with moving back into my old bedroom in my mums place on my own and with my new home still in disrepair.

It’s been tough.

My gf and I have managed to work it back together but during the last month I noticed emotions bubbling up that I didn’t like such as jealousy, anger, regret etc

Now I actually feel like, my mind thet was being sharpened is blunt and I’ve almost lost the the will/determination/ the want to get me back on track.

It’s like before I felt excited but nothing really excites me. Designing my future seems to be an impossible task at the moment as I can’t conjure up the emotions when thinking about my future to even set appropriate goals.

This shit is F*cking annoying man.

I am sick of not living in a house I’ve just bought
I am sick of it being a shit hole
I am sick of living in my mums spare bedroom
I am sick of feeling fat
I am sick of feeling powerless
I am sick of not having more money
I am sick of not having influence
I am sick of being disorganised
I am sick of not being able to do whatever the F*ck I want, whenever I want to do it
I am sick of questioning every decision I make
I am sick of myself for feeling like this

Pressure washing has been good and has brought in a few extra £’s but I want more and I want my time detatched but I don’t know what to do.

And that is what I’ve got to F*cking fix

Use all this shit as fuel to stoke your fire. You’re down but not out.

View: https://youtu.be/IdTMDpizis8

 

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[ArtRyumin]

Hey @Joejordan95 just wanted to write a messegage after reading all this thread after having a similar idea to make some quick cash after getting a few big hits and needing money quick. This thread was very helpful and I'm doing a window clean/pressure wash service.
Will be watching to see how you get on. all the best from NZ. Cheers.

 

[Joejordan95]

Hey @Joejordan95 just wanted to write a messegage after reading all this thread after having a similar idea to make some quick cash after getting a few big hits and needing money quick. This thread was very helpful and I'm doing a window clean/pressure wash service.
Will be watching to see how you get on. all the best from NZ. Cheers.

Glad I could help!

Window cleaning is something i'm looking to move into aswell specifically looking at Water Fed Pole style cleaning - joined a window cleaning group on fb and the rant and rave about as it allows them to do the job faster and get more customers.

Might be something to consider!

 

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[Stargazer]

Hi Joe

This could be just me but I'm struggling to think if I have even seen any Jetwash company vans just in normal day to day driving/walking around over the decades.

Gardening Services is the opposite. I can see 3 diffferent gardening company vans outside 3 different houses right now at 09:30 on a Friday. I bet they all have full days. And these aren't landscaper types. Just lawn cutting, strimming, running a chainsaw across hedges, leaf raking that sort of basic thing. The homeowners are much more likely to just ask these guys if they could give the patio a blast once a year in the winter and paint a fence. These are the repeat customers type of business you want to have.

Window cleaning is the same. Some of them have dozens of customers on 6/8 week cycles and some of them have thousands of customers on repeat so it is something you can make as large as you want to.

So I think you are right to start looking into Window Cleaning.

Anything you can do outside of the house without the owner needing to be in, is something you can line up in a route with no snags.

Dan

 

[Joejordan95]

I was just reading about a window cleaning business - hopefully you can take some things away from it - How to Start a Window Cleaning Business: Zero to $700k a Year

Excellent! Thanks @SEBASTlAN I will check this out today. If theres anything I can do for you then let me know.

 

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[Joejordan95]

I actually just listened to that podcast yesterday. I follow it.

Listen to any of the service based business episodes and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of good advice and hints to skew value and outdo your competition. A lot of it has to do with just bringing your brand up to date with marketing and making the buying process as easy and convenient as possible; an idea discussed in many threads on this forum.

Thanks @B.Cotter I'll listen and see what I can use and apply.

 

[Joejordan95]

You've made money. You have proof this can work. You know this business works for other people. Do not stop. F*ck your doubts, they are only there to trick you into quitting. Keep making solid deals for early wins. Grow your customer base one person at a time and keep learning as much as you can about this business. It will grow.

Thanks for taking the time to respond man, it means ALOT! I've followed your copywriting challenge so quite stoked that you managed to find my thread (Guess changing the title worked thanks to your challenge lol! )

I'm gonna just keep pushing, practice those skills, win customers provide some value for those customers, my self and maybe even the people on this forum.