So I'll try and make this rather quick. I own a property maintenance/general landscaping business and have been experimenting with several different services in my area to see what works best, so far it looks like Johnny Boys model for lawn mowing is the best for building a legit business where you're hands off the technician side of things.
I think you're on the right track in terms of going for a service business (I'm experimenting with e-commerce as well) - but there's a few things you need to be aware of. In terms of scalability, I personally don't believe pressure washing is the route to go for. Jobs are one-off, and depending on what area you're in, it could be years before a client comes back. If you're somewhere in Florida, maybe it'll work since there's high mold/algae growth, but over here in the Midwest, it's not as viable. There's also an EXTREMELY HIGH amount of liability. Guys are working with very expensive equipment that likes to break quick, is not easily replacable, and legitimately one screw up can be devastating towards your clients property and your business. I highly advise against trying to scale this business for the liability reasoning alone.
I will say though, if you're looking to work 1-3 days a week, you can still make good $ - when I pressure wash, I make $1000/day for about 6-8 hours of work, about $800 profit/day. If you don't have the capital to open a business that can scale, then yeah, start a property maintenance business and do pressure washing under it yourself till you can do something with less liability/higher repeatability, otherwise you're in for a major pain. Me personally, I'm using the profit from pressure washing to focus on growing the lawn mowing side of things, playing around with e-commerce, and saving for a house down payment.
I think you're on the right track in terms of going for a service business (I'm experimenting with e-commerce as well) - but there's a few things you need to be aware of. In terms of scalability, I personally don't believe pressure washing is the route to go for. Jobs are one-off, and depending on what area you're in, it could be years before a client comes back. If you're somewhere in Florida, maybe it'll work since there's high mold/algae growth, but over here in the Midwest, it's not as viable. There's also an EXTREMELY HIGH amount of liability. Guys are working with very expensive equipment that likes to break quick, is not easily replacable, and legitimately one screw up can be devastating towards your clients property and your business. I highly advise against trying to scale this business for the liability reasoning alone.
I will say though, if you're looking to work 1-3 days a week, you can still make good $ - when I pressure wash, I make $1000/day for about 6-8 hours of work, about $800 profit/day. If you don't have the capital to open a business that can scale, then yeah, start a property maintenance business and do pressure washing under it yourself till you can do something with less liability/higher repeatability, otherwise you're in for a major pain. Me personally, I'm using the profit from pressure washing to focus on growing the lawn mowing side of things, playing around with e-commerce, and saving for a house down payment.