New kid on the block

I do have a seriuos question for you my son and i disagree as to how we should charge he says x amt for 1 person per hour if the job requires 2 people he wants to upthe rice. By 15.oo .that just doesnt sit right with me .I feel as though we should have one set price either by the job or hour.Also around here we deal with alot of folks that live on soc. Sec. I don't want to hurt them or lose them either one other local fellow does it for 35.00 hr.He charges extra for driveways,roofs etc,so my question is what is the best and fair way. Also I'm not out to rape anyone we to are retired but....if in time this picks up to a good business deal,that would be awesome because the work my sons do is not totally reliable for full time work all year long and with time,patience and all that I learn from you maybe we will grow into a decent business.Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. Pleasure to meet you all,be looking forward to your input,,,,,thx 100 times over
 
Hi Linda. Yes Florida is challenging because of the magnitude of mobile cleaners out there, and that has caused potential customers to expect a lower price than the rest of the country.

The only way to make some real money down here is to do a above average job and buy professional equipment. The better the equipment the faster and better job you can do. I know it will be hard at first but you have to invest most of the money back into the business, unless you are just doing it for extra cash and don't plan on buying insurance and doing everything you need to do, to be above board.

Charge by the job. Join Angie's list and look at what other companies in your area are charging and work around that. Charging by the hour will not work if you don't know what you are doing and you have two different people working at different skill levels. Come up with a pricing schedule and just work with that, say you are doing a driveway at 10-15 cents per square foot. That way you are consistent. You will be slow at first, but after a few driveways and an equipment upgrade you can be making twice as much cash with the same price point. Come up with a minimum charge also. People expect that.
 
Welcome to PWI


Doug Rucker
Clean and Green Solutions
Pressure Washing Roof Cleaning School
Call or Text 281.883.8470
 
Thnx I'm glad we are on the same page as pricing.I to agree it should be by the job.As you know many homes down here and manufactured/mobile they are all pretty much all in the same sq.ft area. I'm going to start w/ a basic fee for what we'll consider a basic cleaning,that would be just house only?Or should i include driveways etc?The money is going back into the business to upgrade and take it steps further as we go.We also include a few other services,both boys have done roofing (15)yrs my oldest,also a number of years framing,painting and hardwood floors,the younger hasmost of his experience in landscaping.It will take time I know i just hope we can and will grow into a good,reliable company one perhaps can be passed down. OR MAYBE IM JUST A DREAMER,,,,but fortunes have been made from a dream and hard work. And work is something we as a family are not afraid of.
 
tenacious said:
Thnx I'm glad we are on the same page as pricing.I to agree it should be by the job.As you know many homes down here and manufactured/mobile they are all pretty much all in the same sq.ft area. I'm going to start w/ a basic fee for what we'll consider a basic cleaning,that would be just house only?Or should i include driveways etc?The money is going back into the business to upgrade and take it steps further as we go.We also include a few other services,both boys have done roofing (15)yrs my oldest,also a number of years framing,painting and hardwood floors,the younger hasmost of his experience in landscaping.It will take time I know i just hope we can and will grow into a good,reliable company one perhaps can be passed down. OR MAYBE IM JUST A DREAMER,,,,but fortunes have been made from a dream and hard work. And work is something we as a family are not afraid of.
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When I first started down here, I was doing landscaping and gutter cleaning, with pressure washing on the side. After about 9 months I had so much work cleaning gutters and pressure washing that landscaping is done. It's nice to dream, but that doesn't add hours to the day. You will find yourself scrambling to find the time for anything, unless you are going to hire a few crews, buy multiple trailers, etc...

You only include driveways if the customer wants the driveway done. It doesn't hurt to ask. If they want a house wash and don't say anything about the driveway, wait until you get there and feel out the customer and look at the driveway first. Some driveways can be a nightmare(painted,peeling,uneven) and after you start making money you won't be anxious to get every little bit of work you see. I f I get to a job and the driveway is dirty and not a nightmare, I ask if the want it done for $xxx, while I am there.

Also in the post last night, you mentioned that most of your clients are on social security. That is good and bad, that means a lot of them won't have that much disposable income...BUT that also means almost all of them own their house outright, and they want whoever works on their property to be competent and not a hack. I find these older people will want a good deal but they will pay someone more, if they feel that you are a pro and you won't destroy their property. Don't try to lowball them, be confident, tell them what you do, a little about the process and how it will help them and their property look nice. Most older people around here have been burned by lowballer, beer money hacks, So be prepared to talk a good game and then execute a great service. The older crowd can be a goldmine for word of mouth.
 
nkob

So many thanks go out to you.ive been trying for a year now to get this on the road now for a year anf finally after a few financial and health pitfalls its coming together.my oldest son went out and took some of my first business cards with us,we actually made out well,the added odd jobs brought us work.I was amazed i was so sure it would all be closed doors.out of the 4 parks we stopped by we will or have been asked to come back as soon as we have ins. I was going to glide on that for the first cple of jobs to get money up but you can bet as soon as i find out who insures us IT WILL BE DONE,,,,And yes 3 out of 4 were over 55 parks.We have already done houses w/recalls.We will do above average work and as we get going try to run monthly specials,like i said i want a top notch company with nothing but good reviews.And i know all of this is by baby steps,my very next step is insurance and so much more marketing.thnx again my spirits have had a great lift today and you all are a big part of it :) :)
 
tenacious said:
So many thanks go out to you.ive been trying for a year now to get this on the road now for a year anf finally after a few financial and health pitfalls its coming together.my oldest son went out and took some of my first business cards with us,we actually made out well,the added odd jobs brought us work.I was amazed i was so sure it would all be closed doors.out of the 4 parks we stopped by we will or have been asked to come back as soon as we have ins. I was going to glide on that for the first cple of jobs to get money up but you can bet as soon as i find out who insures us IT WILL BE DONE,,,,And yes 3 out of 4 were over 55 parks.We have already done houses w/recalls.We will do above average work and as we get going try to run monthly specials,like i said i want a top notch company with nothing but good reviews.And i know all of this is by baby steps,my very next step is insurance and so much more marketing.thnx again my spirits have had a great lift today and you all are a big part of it :) :)
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Welcome Linda,

Inviting you to talk with one of our agents when you are ready!

Amy (attaching some helpful information for you too)
 

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been crazy

well first apparently i still dont have my sig right ,but lets go with linda,tenacious,swamp dawg pressure washing and property maintenance.email swamp dawg pwgmail.com. Website next i hope. I think when i last talked with you i had seen and talked w/several places well next day phone rings ,manager wants us to hand wash and wax his rv,he says we,they only pay 150.00,just starting out we agree.Next thing i know hes so happy with the job we end up w/12 more and counting! All the same price well let me tell you the amount of hours and time is not profitable Ithink perhaps when they get more speed it will work outThey get tremendous praises which of course makes me feel good ,but...... Anyhow we just got another park thru word of mouth now maybe you might have some ideas as how to improve on speed and profit.This next job is more on the landscaping end,maybe it just takes time and practice to learn the ins and outs,the dos and donts. thx all for any advice i app anything you all have to say.Its getting late here and I need to get little ones off to bed for school,night all talk soon i hope linda
 
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