Are you starting a pressure washing business? This is an exciting and challenging time, as you consider the road ahead and what you need to do to ensure success. To assist along the way, we’ve compiled five steps that will motivate your thoughts and encourage your efforts as you build your company toward success.
Step 1: Research Your Customer
Although this sounds odd, we advise our startup business owners to prepare a mental image of their customer and we ask our owners to imagine what services or products those customers want or need. When considering the customer of a pressure washing business, one could surmise the need will be for pressure washing services. Perhaps the customer needs pressure washing around a residence, on a driveway or on the sides of a home. Maybe the customer needs a commercial pressure washing project to be completed for a major corporation. These thoughts will solidify as you determine how your company will serve customers and what capacity.
Step 2: Research Your Competitors
As soon as you’ve identified your type of customer, you’ll want to research your competitors who will offer their services to the same customer. How much do your competitors charge for each service? Do your competitors offer any package discounts? Determine, if possible, the number of customers your competitors have and examine the websites and social media posts by your competitors. Each of these actions will bring you closer to understanding how your competitors sell and how you’ll implement ideas and actions that will overcome them. Determine a service your company can provide that is unique or specialized or find a niche within which to work. Differentiate your business from that of others in order to overcome your competitors.
Step 3: Secure A Location And Set Up Equipment
At this point, you may have a startup date and, if so, it’s time to secure a location for your business. You’ll want to consider whether you’ll need a van to carry equipment, the size and capability of the pressure washing equipment needed, office supplies, computers and software programs, and office furnishings. In addition, you’ll need to add supplies and tools for pressure washing, ladders or other specialty items and apparel and rigging that your team might need to get the job done.
Step 4: Create A Business Plan
When starting a business, it can be difficult to sit down to prepare a business plan for your new venture. However, this is the perfect time to do so because you’ll need the completed business plan if you are in need of funding for startup or the initial phases of your company lifecycles. If you do not have a business plan, use this pressure washing business plan for comprehensive guidance. To prepare your business plan, you’ll need to include the information about your customer, the competitors, your initial plans for startup, financial projections, and your marketing strategy. You’ll also want to include a list of needed items for startup and the estimated costs involved. Include any other documents of importance in the business plan.
Step 5: Create Winning Marketing Strategies
Having researched your ideal customer and examined your competition, you’ll already have some ideas about strategic marketing campaigns that may attract new customers and overtake the competition. If so, you are well on your way to creating a successful pressure washing business. Your marketing strategies may include social media callouts, such as posts in Facebook and Instagram. Some of the most visible and effective before-and-after photos of areas prior to pressure washing and after pressure washing would certainly draw interest and could be the basis of an intriguing campaign for viewers of social media.
The efforts you make, no matter what they are, should be evaluated afterward to determine efficacy and how to direct funding for marketing efforts in the future. Consider marketing to your customer by direct mail, an online appeal, a website with a wealth of information about pressure washing, or other intriguing efforts. Use search engine optimization (SEO) for best effects in your marketing campaigns and include a hint of humor or general audience appeal that will connect with potential customers.
Starting a pressure washing business involves time and energy, mixed with a healthy amount of determination; however, with these five steps for success completed and a startup date around the corner, your efforts are certain to pay off with positive results. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to long-term growth and sustained success.