A pressure washing business could be your ticket to a six to seven-figure income,
WIth its low startup costs and favorable pricing, starting a pressure washing business is one
of the best opportunities out there for aspiring entrepreneurs.
That's not to say that setting up a power washing business is going to be easy.
Getting any business off the ground takes a substantial amount of legwork.
But if you have the equipment or can afford to invest in it, you can indeed become financially
independent with this hustle.
But as always, there are a few things to consider before you completely dive into this business
idea.
So in this video, we'll be addressing all of the questions you should ask yourself before
starting a pressure washing business, and tell you whether it’s really as profitable
as it seems.
Let’s take a look!
Why Pressure Washing?
Pressure washing businesses tend to be scalable.
You can start off with a relatively small budget and then expand over time as you take
on more clients.
As of 2021, the global pressure washer market had a market share of $2.6 billion and it's
expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4%.
Meaning by 2030, the pressure market is predicted to reach $3.9 billion.
As you can see, there is a ton of potential for you to start making bank!
You can target several types of customers.
From homeowners to apartment complexes and commercial establishments, just about everyone
could benefit from your services.
Some pressure washing companies specialize in one specific area, like driveways or patios,
while others offer window and chimney cleaning services as an additional option.
And one of the best things about this hustle is that once you've developed a good relationship
with your customers, they'll likely return on a regular basis and even send new clients
your way.
Pressure Wash Like A Pro
If you're going to be starting a pressure washing business, you really should learn
how to do so professionally.
By learning how to pressure wash the right way, you'll learn how to clean your customer's
surfaces without damaging the surrounding area.
Highly pressurized water has the potential to damage plants, flowers, and even homes,
which will almost certainly cost you a repeat client.
Assuming that you're serious about getting into pressure washing, there are plenty of
books written on the subject to help you learn the ropes.
Although, in most cases, it's easier to learn the skill by watching someone who already
knows how to do it well.
Obviously, if you know someone personally who is already a pressure washer, that would
probably be a good starting point to learn the ins and outs of things, but if you don't,
there are literally thousands of video guides on YouTube that will help you get started.
That being said, you can watch videos day in and day out, but you won't really be able
to get a feel for things until you get your hands on a pressure washer and get some practice
in.
If you don't already have access to a pressure washer, you can always borrow one from a friend
or rent one from a store like Lowes or Home Depot for a week.
Practice cleaning things like your driveway, fences, boats, garbage cans, lawn mowers,
patio furniture, and even the patio itself.
You won't immediately become a pressure washing expert overnight, but you will gain a pretty
decent foundation to build upon.
Plus, when you're cleaning your own belongings, the mistakes that you might make won't be
nearly as consequential while you hone your skills.
Start-Up Costs
Profit is key to any business succeeding, and it’s always a function of your income
minus your costs.
There are several types of expenditures and start-up costs that go along with power washing.
First, you have your pressure washing equipment, such as the washer itself, pumps, surface
cleaners, chemicals, and nozzles.
This will likely run you anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 depending on how serious you want
to get with your equipment.
Beginners are usually better off starting with used or rental equipment to keep expenses
on the lower side of this range.
Most pressure washer companies use a tow-behind trailer, which also inflates this number quite
a bit, but if you already have a large enough truck bed or van, that could work as well.
Besides gear, you'll also need to factor in things like insurance, business permits, and
contractor license costs — we’ll discuss more on that in a moment.
Your next major expense will be advertising costs.
In order to secure your first customers, you'll likely need to run ads or distribute pamphlets
and flyers.
It's also a pretty good idea to make sure that your business is listed in the local
phone directory, depending on the demographic you want to reach.
You could probably get away with starting your business from home, but as you scale
up, you might want to look into renting an office or retail space.
Depending on location, this could cost anywhere from $500 to $2,500 a month.
Fortunately, after the up-front costs, your operational expenses should be quite affordable.
The biggest is likely to be transportation.
With fuel costs being as high as they are these days, it could seriously cut your profits.
Having a fuel-efficient vehicle helps, but you will inevitably need some kind of a van
or truck to lug around all of your equipment.
Besides fuel, cleaning products, equipment repair, maintenance, and water are your only
expenses.
In some cases, you may even be able to tap into your customers’ water source which
will cost you nothing.
Insurance, Permits, and Licenses
Keeping your business going is going to require you to keep up with a bit of paperwork.
You also need to keep everything compliant on the legal end of things.
You will need to apply for a business license to operate your pressure washing business.
In many places for small business owners, this is as easy as acquiring a state-sanctioned
small business license.
A license can cost anywhere from $25 to several hundred dollars, depending on your state.
You're also going to need to get some liability insurance.
Pressure washing liability insurance, fortunately, is fairly affordable.
Some providers offer policies as low as $25 a month.
This will protect you should anything go wrong on the job.
If you're planning on hiring additional laborers, you'll need to obtain some worker's compensation
insurance.
The median worker's comp premium rate is $47 a month or $560 annually.
Depending on your local laws and regulations, you might also need to acquire a contractor
permit to operate.
Once again, the cost of this shouldn't be too high.
At the most, you might need to pay $50 a month.
Since no one wants to end up making enemies with the IRS, you'll also need to register
your business to obtain an EIN number and do everything by the book.
Setting Your Prices
Once everything is up and running, your last job is to set your prices and get to work.
The average cost of pressure washing services ranges somewhere between $0.35 and $0.77 per
sq foot.
If you decide to charge by the hour, the average price per hour is between $50 and $150.
When coming up with an estimate of what to charge your customers, you should try to arrive
at a rate that strikes a balance between profit for you and affordability for your customers.
Generally speaking, you should be aiming to make at least 100% profit off of each job.
That means, if a driveway costs your business $60 to wash, then you should be charging your
client at least $120.
And as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't be charging anything less than $100 to do
a job.
Once you've established regular clients, you can think about offering a loyalty discount
of some kind to keep them coming back to you.
Pressure Washing Profits
After planning for everything we’ve mentioned, making money with pressure washing is quite
easy.
New pressure washing businesses often earn between $40,000 to $50,000 in their first
year.
Considering start-up costs range up to $25,000 on the high end, you’re pretty likely to
see a huge return on your investment as long as there is demand for pressure washing in
your area.
Over time, you can scale up and start earning substantially more than that.
If you get to the point where you hire on employees and develop a substantial client
base, you could potentially make six or even seven figures a year, with all of your employees
doing the work for you.
Pressure Washing Alternatives If you’re concerned about the permits, equipment,
or other costs associated with pressure washing, maybe you’d be interested in a more passive
side hustle opportunity.
Check out our video here on starting a vending machine business, which could be even more
profitable while requiring almost no time whatsoever.
Be sure to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video and we’ll see you in the next
one!