Re-inventing myself... (long post)

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

good for you OTS ....:bigups ....whatever makes your life easier and better is the way to go..good luck

Good luck with the new venture.

Eric

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

Quote:

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Originally posted by rollman
Good luck on the new venture. Tell us more about your pressure washing system . TIA

Jerry

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Thanks.

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

Someday I`ll have a ho````er 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

An example of some of the work I do: Btw, metal roofs are like a sheet of ice when they get wet...

Deck with spa on it... Before picture (I have some great views to look at while working ;) )

Deck with spa: After picture - -

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 :)

Good luck on your new business.

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!