I am working on starting a pressure wash business in Florida. My plan is to start out small as a side hustle, and eventually work my way to full time. I plan on starting with a 4gpm washer and a surface cleaner, staying away from chemicals until I get more experience. I am going to start by advertising door to door with flyers and word of mouth, since I have some older family members in town that can spread the word around their neighborhoods.
What I am debating currently is whether or not I should get an LLC and insurance before starting the work. Or would it be better to first get some small cash paying jobs, see if I can build up some sort of clientele/schedule and then get official? Any advice is appreciated.
Why do you need insurance or an LLC?
Do you have any meaningful assets?
If you break something, pay to fix it.
In the beginning you are going to need to go door to door and get paid in cash, Venmo, Zelle, etc.
It’s going to suck, but door knocking is the only way to get business in the beginning. You’ll be paid immediately when the job is done and the transaction is over.
But, man…it sounds like you really need to go work for someone else first.
That is the best, and maybe only reason to be an employee; to be paid to learn.
Have your completion train you and pay for your equipment.
Learn the operations, how to deal with customers, and learn how your competitors do their marketing.
Don’t start a business because you hate working for other people. Start a business because you KNOW you’ll make money.
Once you establish the business, then the fun begins: you need to beat out all of your competitors.
Business is war and anybody who tells you differently is naive and is surviving from the scraps the top player doesn’t want.
It’s winner take most, even in pressure washing.
Go kill.
You only eat what you kill.