Re-inventing myself... (long post)

onthespot

onthespot

New member
I've been a member of Detail City since it's inception in August 2002... During this time period I've been rather active in one form or another on many detailing forums... Mostly DC...

Lately, I've been phasing out detailing and have been switching over to pressure washing full time... The amount of work I have is phenomenal, and the pay often ranks right up there with what an attorney might get... ;)
I used to sweat for 6 hours detailing a car and rake in about $150 which comes out to about $25 dollars an hour... Now I pressure wash houses (mostly) in half the time and double the money... Much more profitable for me.

Why am I sharing this?
Simply to let everyone here at DC know that I may be less active than ever as things pick up for me.
I haven't stopped detailing completely... Consider the following story that happened 3 days ago as I was detailing a 2003 Benz C320:
An elderly lady was walking by and asked me 'what I was doing' :rolleyes:
I jokingly explained to her that I was just driving by and saw this dirty Mercedes and decided to stop and detail it... She then asked me how much I charged... I figured that she probably drove an SUV or *gasp* worse yet.. A mini van - so I told her that I wasn't really taking any new appointments for detailing.. that I was actually phasing out the detailing and mostly just pressure washing...... She smiled and asked if I'd consider taking on one more new customer because she really needed someone to maintain her 2004 XK.... (I began drooling and foaming at the mouth in front of this lady.. I think those Jags start at about 70k don't they?)
What else could I do when presented with that situation??? (Godfather quotes keep coming to mind - "Just when I thought I was out - They pull me back in!") So I took on a new customer... She then proceeded to tell me that her husband would be very interested in having some pressure washing done... lots of it...
I said, "Oh? Who is your husband?"
She replied, "He's The Mayor..."

So if you happen to be driving through the mountains of North Carolina, and see some poor soul standing on scaffolding pressure washing a City Hall... Well... That's probably me.

So anyhow, to sum up - I'm not quitting detailing completely... but wanted to let everyone know that the pressure washing has taken over lately... So much that I just went today and had all new lettering and graphics put on my rig (See attached picture)... And hopefully this new venture will prove to be a major success for me.
(LOL If it turns out to be a flop - I have another idea up my sleeve for a great use for my detailing trailer - Remember the ICE CREAM TRUCKS??? Well imagine my trailer filled with cold beer on lotsa' ice cruising through neighborhoods blasting 'Naked Women and Beer' through speakers - while grown men nervously beg their wives for money for the BEER MAN... :lmfao )

Onthespot
Detailer,
Pressure Washer
*shrug* (something like that)

:onthespot
 
Last edited:
good for you OTS ....:bigups ....whatever makes your life easier and better is the way to go..good luck
 
was it first lady Mary Easely? ;) - (i can't stand that commercial)
;)

what kind of pressue washer do you use?
 
Good luck on the new venture. Tell us more about your pressure washing system . TIA

Jerry
 
rollman said:
Good luck on the new venture. Tell us more about your pressure washing system . TIA

Jerry
Click to expand...

Thanks.

My setup is nothing compared to "Overtheedge's" rig... ( see his setup at http://detailcity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4583 ), I'm still getting all the equipment together. Man, and I thought detailing supplies were expensive ;)

Someday I'll have a hotwater unit with more hp, gpm, and psi.
Right now I just have two pressure washers (my helper uses one). Both at 3 gpm. One is in my trailer and hooked to a bulk tank, and the other is more portable. Both are commercial rated Hondas.
My latest piece of machinary is a Landa Cyclone surface cleaner for doing flatwork... It was over $800. Incidentally, my detailing has financed almost all of the pw equipment. (Here's a pic of one of the pressure washers and the Cyclone).
I also have a 24' extension wand and have 6 other wands of various sizes...

I'll throw a few other pics on here showing some of my work.

Onthespot
 
Last one... Good thing I'm not afraid of heights..

Again, thanks for the encouragment.. and thanks for allowing me to share some pics..

Onthespot
 
I considered starting a pressure washing business myself but it seems like in the area I live in everybody and their brother is trying to do the same thing. Do you have a lot of competition where you're from?
 
Pressure washing is great! I did it during the weekends to get spending money while I was in high school. Good luck with the venture...it sounds like you dont need it though :)
 
I've considered the same thing--->starting a powerwash biz. Something to keep in mind though (at least in NJ). In May you'll do 70% of all of your business, 20% in June, and the rest trickles in during the summer (especially with decks). Of course, this is an approximation and an exxageration, but I think you can see my point. I dont mean to rain on the parade, just be careful and dont give up your detail customers. Best of luck to you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top