Pressure Wash News April issue

PASS ON WHAT 

YOU HAVE 

LEARNED

contents 

FEATURES 

The Great 

8: 

4 

12 

14 

19 

Eight Pressure 

Washing and 

Exterior Cleaning 

Industry Trends 

for 2020 

Business 

Lending 

101: 

Any firm can 

apply for business 

financing, no matter 

how big or how small 

Cleaning 

Up the 

Worker’s 

Compensation 

Process: 

Exploring employee leasing 

in the high-risk industry of 

pressure washing 

What’s Your 

Your brand should 

promote your business, 

connect with your 

customer base, 

and differentiate 

you in the market 

20 

Pass On What You Have Learned...: 

Pressure wash industry guru Brandon Vaughn teaches fellow entrepreneurs how 

to automate, grow and sell their exterior cleaning businesses 

DEPARTMENTS 

3 Editor’s Letter: 

Be on Fire for Success 

Vol. 2, No. 2, Spring 2020 

Publisher: Jackson Vahaly 

Editor: Drew Ruble 

Design: Katy Barrett-Alley 

Pressure Wash News is published 4 times per year and is independently owned by Jackson Vahaly. 

All inquiries should be directed to: 

Pressure Wash News, 110 Childs Ln. Franklin, TN 37067 

jacksonv@pressurewashnews.com 

16 Industry Dirt: 

A look around the cleaning equipment 

world for news and notes of interest 

Copyright © 2019 2 Dollar Enterprises/Pressure Wash News. All Rights Reserved. 

2 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | VOL. 2, NO. 2 | SPRING 2020

Be on Fire for 

EDITOR’S 

NOTE 

Success 

Pressure Wash News is located in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville – the 

aptly-named Music City USA – the cradle of the country music industry. 

Every day across the city, hundreds of the world’s best songwriters sit together and try 

their best to write the next big hit that America will be singing along with on the radio. 

One of my favorite hit country songs to come down the pike in the last few years 

was written by Burton Collins, Joanna Cotten, and Bruce Wallace. It’s a song that artist 

Tim McGraw made famous called “How Bad Do You Want It?” 

“How bad do you want it?” the song asks. “How bad do you need it?” It then goes 

on to ask “Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming with that one thing on your mind? ‘Cause 

if you want it all you’ve got to lay it all out on the line.” 

The phrase “how bad do you want it?” also serves as the title of a book by Matt 

Fitzgerald, a well-respected coach, author, and sports nutritionist. It’s a book about 

mental fitness that profiles numerous elite athletes such as ultra-distance runners to 

identify their keys to success. 

It’s true what Fitzgerald points out when he writes “Rarely do champion endurance 

athletes credit their physical capacity for their success. More often, they insist that 

their advantage lies not in having more to give but rather in being able to give more 

of what they have.” 

In actuality, my favorite passage in the book is this: “There is no experience quite 

like that of driving yourself to the point of wanting to give up and then not giving up. 

In that moment of ‘raw reality,’ as Mark Allen has called it, when something inside 

you asks, ‘how bad do you want it? an inner curtain is drawn open, revealing a part 

of you that is not seen except in moments of crisis. And when your answer is to keep 

pushing, you come away from the trial with the kind of self-knowledge and self-respect 

that can’t be bought.” 

The question inherently infers that a person must be willing to take some degree of 

risk. Answer this question: What risk have you been needing to take? And is anything 

going to change in your life unless you take it? 

You’ve got to be on fire for success. You’ve got to give a damn. You’ve got to be 

intense and intentional. Not just for you but for your employees. Your future success as 

a leader is directly tied to your employees’ perspective of how invested you are in this 

whole process. 

So tell me…“how bad do you want it?” 

Drew Ruble 

drewruble@gmail.com | Editor | PW News 

VOL. 2, NO. 2 | SPRING 2020 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | 3

Great 

Eight Pressure Washing and 

Exterior Cleaning Industry Trends for 2020 

The 

BY SAM PILLAR, 

CEO, JOBBER 

In our 2019 industry trends report, the 

core message for the pressure washing businesses 

was to master the basics: build an online 

presence, automate key processes, and 

grow a team. 

For some, though, 2019 left them feeling 

burned out. 

2020 PROMISES 

TO BE DIFFERENT. 

Lots of business advice is thrown 

around, so cut through the noise and focus 

on building up your business’s greatest assets: 

efficient systems and truly great customer 

service. Both will help you spend less 

on overhead, attract more of the right customers, 

and improve margins. 

Over the past year, we’ve interviewed industry 

experts and surveyed 20 pressure washing 

and exterior cleaning business owners. 

Here’s what they told us they’re doing 

differently in 2020. 

TREND #1: 

SYSTEMS 

ARE EVERYTHING 

A system is simply a set of repeatable 

rules or processes that help you get consistent 

results over time. 

Systems are powerful, help you stay organized, 

and help your team work together. 

Most importantly, they make you more efficient 

and help your results scale, so you get 

an exponential return with minimal effort. 

In 2020, we’re happy to see more businesses 

ditch haphazard processes in favor of 

repeatable systems that work. 

“You need a process for every single aspect of 

the business. Whether it be hiring, screening, 

interviews, client management, customer service— 

everything needs a good process. For example, we 

built a process for employee communication. As a 

family business, it’s easy for everybody to be involved 

in everything, and I don’t think it’s efficient 

or healthy. So we’ve really defined our roles, and I 

think it’s de-stressed everyone. We know our lanes, 

and we don’t all have to be involved in all of the 

challenges.” 

– Christine Hodge, Clearview Washing LLC 

No area of business should be immune 

to systemization. Even the process of building 

brand awareness across multiple customer 

touch points can be systematized. 

“From the moment a customer contacts us, they 

are interacting with our brand. Our logo is on the 

website, newspaper adverts, online ads, business 

cards, work polo shirts, fluorescent jackets, email 

footers, invoices, YouTube, and Facebook—everywhere 

we have a presence. It is consistent. 

Customers are checking reviews of our brand on 

Google. Our communication with the customer 

is detailed and concise. Before we arrive at their 

door, they know what to expect and how we will 

do the job. We want them to book us again and to 

recommend us to their family and friends.” 

– Paul Daly, Founder, and CEO, 

Base Window Cleaners 

TREND #2: 

EFFICIENT 

SCHEDULING TAKES 

A FRONT SEAT 

In our survey of 20 business owners, ‘attracting 

more clients’ and ‘efficient scheduling’ 

tied as the top challenges window cleaning 

and pressure washing businesses face. 

Inefficient scheduling reduces employee 

productivity, frustrates customers, and can 

rob you of your focus. 

Efficient scheduling, on the other hand, 

keeps your employees productive and gives you 

more time to focus on building your business. 

You can overcome scheduling challenges 

in 2020 by using the right tools and a 

reliable process. 

“Use a calendar or scheduling software religiously. 

Lock every appointment in the schedule right now. 

If it’s not on the schedule, it’s guaranteed never to 

get done.” 

– Keith Kalfas, Kalfas Professional Services 

“For efficient scheduling, we use a master calendar, 

and each crew is color-coded. It is very efficient and 

has helped tremendously to stream-line our business.” 

– Dave Moerman, Revive Washing 

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TheGreat 

TREND #3: 

BUSINESSES 

THAT MEASURE 

THEIR MARKETING 

EFFORTS WILL SEE 

THE MOST GROWTH 

In our survey, 80% of respondents said 

they get new clients through word of mouth. 

Other responses included: 

✔ Google My Business (35%) 

✔ Direct Mail, Flyers and Lawn Signs (35%) 

✔ Website (30%) 

✔ Facebook (25%) 

✔ HomeAdvisor (10%) 

Word of mouth will always be an important 

marketing channel for service businesses, 

but word of mouth alone won’t help 

you scale or reach new markets. 

In 2020, we expect to see window cleaning 

and pressure washing pros double down 

on measurable marketing channels to win 

more business. 

“The top channels I recommend for attracting new 

clients in 2020 are Google Local Services Ads and 

Amazon Home Services. When you set up marketing 

systems instead of one-off marketing tactics, your 

business will grow no matter what you’re doing.” 

– Keith Kalfas, Kalfas Professional Services 

“The best strategy for getting new leads has been 

Google Ads and consistently posting content to our 

Google My Business. We receive about ten leads per 

day, and five of them heard about us from Google.” 


“The most important thing for small businesses 

when it comes to marketing is being found where 

people want to find you. You need to make sure you 

cover your basics: a Facebook page with the location 

info filled in and a Google My Business account 

with local information and service areas filled in. 

It’s getting harder and harder to be found, and those 

are the basics. If you don’t have the basics covered, 

you don’t need to do anything else. Don’t hire anyone 

to do SEO on your site. Don’t hire anyone to do 

paid ads. Start with the basics.” 

– Nick Keyko, Director of Marketing, Jobber 

TREND #4: 

HIRING REMAINS 

A CHALLENGE 

Hiring the right employees was named 

the number one challenge across all industries 

in our 2020 home services trends report. 

For window cleaning and pressure washing 

businesses in particular, two main issues 

are hiring out of desperation and poor company 

culture. 

Because employees often come for the 

money and stay for the culture, businesses 

need to focus on creating a great culture. This 

starts with owners relinquishing some control 

and realizing they don’t have to go at it alone. 

“A lot of service business owners think they are the 

best and have to do all the work. This is a very 

limiting mindset and will cap the growth and size 

of your business. Hire people who are better at 

certain tasks and activities than you are.” 


You also need to make sure you’re hiring 

the right employees in the first place. 

One way to hire the right staff is to set standards 

when you interview. 

“You’re only as good as your weakest link. When 

we interview, we stress that we want team players. 

I used to hear people saying, ‘I don’t want to work 

with this guy. I don’t want to work with that 

guy.’ I don’t accept that anymore…We set certain 

standards that we need our teams to meet, and we 

stick to them. I will not tolerate not showing up, 

not calling. That’s not even an option anymore.” 

– Fred Hodge, Clearview LLC 

Another way is to implement a hiring 

process. 

“We take steps to weed out those who aren’t going 

to be a good fit. First, we take resumes and have 

an initial phone meeting where I ask them a set 

of scripted questions. If they get past me, then I 

schedule a face-to-face with Fred. From there, we 

go into employee manual training as well as field 

training, where they’re out with the crews. This 

is something we did not do before, but it’s very 

surprising to see how much success we’ve had in 

now finding the right people for us.” 


PRICING 

STRATEGIES 

FOR SERVICE 

BUSINESSES: 

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW 

What are the different pricing strategies for service businesses? How do you 

choose the one that’s right for you? Read on to learn almost everything you need 

to know with this comprehensive service pricing strategies guide. 

There’s more to pricing strategies than simply offering the lowest price to 

beat your competitors. In fact, that may be one of the most dangerous pricing 

strategies for service businesses, as it almost guarantees lost profits. 

The right pricing strategy has to align with your business goals, whether these 

are to maximize profitability, ensure your business’ longevity, or grow your customer 

base. 

■ The Challenges of Choosing 

the Right Service Pricing Strategy 

Selecting the right pricing strategy for your service business and ultimately 

pricing your services is notoriously hard for several reasons: 

The sheer number of pricing strategies for service businesses is overwhelming. 

How do you know which one is right for your business? 

No one job is the same. There are many nuances involved—like the travel 

distance to clients, job complexities, etc.— which makes it hard to create accurate 

estimates. As a result, you often only know what to charge as the service unfolds. 

You have to manage your own insecurities, which may cause you to set low 

prices in the hopes of winning the business 

■ You Can Overcome Your Pricing Fears 

and Get Comfortable with Service Pricing 

Strategies 

Pricing, like window cleaning, landscaping, or even marketing, is just another 

skill you can master with time. So, instead of feeling intimidated or overwhelmed, 

arm yourself with the right information from the start and you’ll soon 

be a skilled pricing professional. 

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TheGreat 

TREND #5: 

MORE BUSINESSES 

ARE PRICING 

FOR PROFIT 

Pricing remains a problem for service 

businesses, with many lowballing or pricing 

jobs based on what their competition is 

charging. 

“I believe most home service businesses do not 

charge enough, and the problems in the business 

result from poorly pricing the job to begin with. We 

have set packages made up in Jobber for sizes of 

houses for house washing, window and gutter cleaning. 

For Christmas lights, we charge by linear feet. 

Our systems are accurate about 80% of the time. 

For more challenging jobs, having an experienced 

person estimate the job in person is a must!” 


The bottom line: you never have to undersell 

yourself to win jobs and make a profit. 

There are better, smarter, and more 

profitable pricing strategies (see related 

sidebar), such as packages, that will actually 

help your business grow. 

“In today’s market, customers like to choose from 

packages. Often this gives them all of the context 

they need to make a decision right away. But 

it also puts the emphasis on value, rather than 

features to be haggled over. By laying out a ‘good, 

better, best’ option for customers to choose from, 

you’ll close more jobs at higher prices, and your 

customers will thank you!” 

– Curt Kempton, Founder, ResponsiBid 

“You shouldn’t be figuring out pricing details on 

every job site. Come up with a pricing structure 

that you can re-use and modify. Set your price and 

don’t second guess your own decisions.” 

– Stanley “Dirt Monkey” Genadek, social 

media personality 

TREND #6: 

INVESTING IN 

BETTER TOOLS 

IS INVESTING IN 

YOUR BUSINESS 

Certain tools let you work faster and 

more efficiently so you can earn more. Investing 

in these tools is a no brainer—and 

in 2020, we’ll see more businesses follow 

this trend. 

“In 2020, we will upgrade our equipment to the 

highest tech available, which will save us time on 

every job. This is a time saving of seven minutes 

per operator at each job, which sounds small but 

equates to a substantial increase in earnings each 

week. We recently started using Jobber to organize 

our operations, and we immediately saw an increase 

in daily earnings. We drive shorter distances 

between customers thanks to route optimization, 

and the processes of quoting, scheduling, and 

invoicing are really fast.” 

– Paul Daly, Founder and CEO, Base Window 

Cleaners 

“The request → quote → job system for entering 

new jobs in Jobber has been a game-changer for 

us! We were still old school and doing bids on paper, 

so being able to have all the customer requests/ 

quotes and the jobs we’ve done for clients saved in 

one place, is a huge help.” 

– Stephen Richardson, aka SteveO the 

Window Cleaner, 20/20 Window Cleaning, 

social media personality 

■ What Are Service Pricing Strategies? 

Service pricing strategies refer to the different methods services businesses use to 

price their services. It’s a broad term that covers areas like market conditions, variable 

costs, margins, and a customer’s ability and willingness to pay for your services. 

■ Why Are Pricing Strategies Important? 

Pricing strategies are crucial for many reasons: 

✔ Choosing the right price has a direct impact on your sales and profits. As you’ll 

see, a good pricing strategy doesn’t necessarily mean offering the lowest price. 

Instead, it involves setting a price that’s aligned to the value you provide. 

✔ Pricing strategies shape your prospects’ view of service quality. For example, 

a low price may lead customers to believe that your service quality is poor. 

✔ Your pricing strategy is a strategic tool to help you achieve your business’ objectives. 

The most common objective is maximizing profit, but you may have 

others such as growing market share quickly, edging out the competition, or 

building lasting relationships with customers so they’ll continue working with 

you for years to come. The best pricing strategy for your business is the one 

that aligns with your business objectives. 

■ 11 Pricing Strategies for Service 

Businesses 

There are many different pricing strategies to choose from. Here are 11: 

1. Market penetration strategy: Set prices low to grow market share. Then 

increase your rates over time as your customer base grows. Admittedly, 

this isn’t a common pricing strategy for service businesses, but it can help 

you grow your customer base quickly. The big problem with this approach 

is that some customers may associate the lower price with an inferior level 

of service. You will also have to work a lot harder to cover your costs. 

2. Price skimming: The opposite of a market penetration strategy. Here 

you set a high price and lower it over time. Again, this isn’t your typical 

pricing strategy for a service business. But it may work if you have 

something special to offer. The pros are that you’ll maximize your profits 

upfront and grow a more sustainable business. The big drawback, 

however, is that if you can’t justify the price, you’ll struggle to get your 

business off the ground. 

3. Premium pricing: Charge higher prices because you have something 

that makes you unique. For example, do you offer a warranty or service 

guarantee that your competitors do not? Do you use exclusive tools 

or technology that make your business easier to work with and deliver 

results that stand out? 

4. Economy pricing: Set low prices because overheads are low. Your costs 

may be low for several reasons. Perhaps you use software to organize 

and manage your business instead of hiring an assistant. Or maybe you 

have a special arrangement with one of your suppliers which allows you 

to get inexpensive supplies. 


TheGreat 

5. Cost-plus pricing: Calculate 

the cost to deliver your services 

and add a margin for 

a profit. For example, if you 

know your time and materials 

cost $200, and you want 

to make a 20% profit margin, 

simply charge $240. 

This is a straightforward 

pricing strategy, but it can 

cost you money because you 

may end up setting a lower 

price than what customers 

are actually willing to pay. 

6. Psychological pricing: Prices 

based on the psychological 

impact they have. For 

example, it’s believed that 

odd prices like $19.97 are 

more attractive than round 

numbers like $20. 

7. Competitive pricing: 

Charge according to what 

the competition charges. 

While competitors can give 

you a good idea of where to 

start, remember that your 

business is unique. Just because 

someone is charging 

a specific price doesn’t 

mean you should match or 

undercut them. 

8. Bundled pricing: Also 

known as packaged pricing, 

this strategy involves 

bundling various services 

together and charging one 

price. Bundled services are 

usually cheaper than if 

customers were to purchase 

each service individually. 

If done correctly, this 

technique is a great way to 

upsell more services and 

boost your profits. 

continued ... 

A LOOK BACK 

Jobber’s Business Trends for Window Cleaning 

and Pressure Washing Pros in 2019 

1. Tailor your sales and marketing approach to your ideal customer 

2. Continuously try out and test new strategies and processes 

3. Level up your hiring practices to attract the employees you want 

4. Change your processes to provide a better service experience 

5. Make it easy for potential customers to get in touch via Google 

6. Invest in tech, equipment, and expertise that increases efficiency 

7. Challenge yourself to create an engaging social media presence 

TREND #7: 

BETTER CUSTOMER 

SERVICE MEANS 

A BETTER 

BOTTOM LINE 

Customer service is vital for any business. 

But it’s especially important if you run 

a service business. After all, “service” is in 

the name. 

Your clients can go to any competitor, but 

it’s your professionalism, customer service, 

and dedication to your clients that will set you 

apart and keep customers coming back. 

How you present yourself, how you 

speak with clients, and how you make them 

feel is what ultimately decides if they will 

give you the job and want you to return. 

In 2020, customer service is nearly synonymous 

with ease of use. 

Make work requests easy with 24/7 online 

booking. Accept multiple payment options 

for those who want that convenience. 

Make it easy for them to leave a review. 

Make the entire service experience effortless 

and your customers will reward you 

with referrals and repeat business. 

“The way people are paying for anything and 

everything, including service, is changing. People 

want convenient ways to pay. Most millennials 

want to pay by credit card. People are looking for a 

specific experience—and that experience may change 

depending on your customer base, so you need to do 

your homework. A good rule of thumb is to automate 

your payment process as much as possible and 

make it really, really easy for your customers. Your 

turnaround time will be faster, and your admin time 

will go down. Chasing payments is a lot of work 

that’s not adding any value to your business, and it’s 

probably frustrating both parties.” 

– Darren Wood, Director of Finance 

and Operations, Jobber 

“Get to know your clients on a more fun level than 

just doing the service you provide and collecting 

payment. Being personable is huge in the service 

business. It can make a huge difference when 

someone is deciding between two companies for the 

same service.” 

– SteveO the Window Cleaner, 

20/20 Window Cleaning 

“As soon as a crew closes a job on the Jobber app, 

the client is texted a link where they can review our 

services…The way the world is going, people are 

busy. They don’t have time to Google your company 

name, find the account, and add a review. They 

want everything quick and easy.” 


TREND #8: 

BUILDING YOUR 

NETWORK 

CAN HELP 

AVOID BURNOUT 

Being a business owner can be tough. 

There will be sleepless nights and grueling 

days. Plus, knowing that your team and customers 

rely on you to think ten steps ahead 

can be a heavy burden to carry. 

But, you’re not alone. Your team, systems, 

and, even in some cases, your business 

community are there to support you. 

In 2020, stay grounded and focused on 

producing exceptional work, but don’t sacrifice 

your health and risk burn out. Success 

will come. Just be patient—and don’t 

be afraid to lean on others. 

“We decided to contact all of our competitors in 

the area to have a networking meeting with them. 

Everyone came out, we ordered some wraps, had a 

few drinks, and talked about challenges. These are 

direct competitors. It was really nice and something 

I would have never thought of because we’ve now 

become friends with all of these people. So if 

someone can’t do a certain type of job or service, 

they call us, and vice versa. If there’s something 

that we can’t do, we call them, or we refer them. 

If we can’t make it to a certain area on a certain 

day, we’ll call one of those competitors. We 

realized that you can really find success in making 

your competitors your allies because we’ll all win. 

There’s enough to go around.” 


“Things move at the speed of light out here. Yesterday’s 

technology can be today’s problem. Build a 

team, create systems, start a profit account for your 

business, and GIVE THE BEST DAMN CUS- 

TOMER SERVICE IN THE INDUSTRY. 

BE A LEADER YOUR WHOLE TEAM 

CAN FOLLOW! 

– Ryaan Tuttle, Best Handyman Boston 


TheGreat 

CONCLUSION: 

2020 IS YOUR YEAR 

FOR SUCCESS! 

2020 is all about embracing change, 

taking control, planning ahead, and focusing 

on fantastic customer service and efficient 

systems. 

Tapping into these eight industry trends 

will help you achieve all this. 

Just remember that you’re not alone 

and can rely on your team, support from 

your friends, and fellow entrepreneurs to 

achieve success in 2020. 

[Editor’s Note: Jobber provides industry-leading 

software for growing home service businesses 

that helps organize their operations, impress their 

customers, and power their growth. Unlike pen and 

paper or single feature apps, Jobber replaces daily 

operational tasks and duplicate entry with streamlined, 

tailored automation. 

Sam Pillar is the CEO and co-founder 

of Jobber. Throughout his 15-year career 

as a software developer, management 

consultant, and founder, he has embodied 

the entrepreneurial spirit. While working 

alongside companies to understand their 

problems and build software solutions to 

help them move faster, he recognized an opportunity 

to improve the inefficient, manual 

work being done by these small businesses, 

many of which operated within the home 

service industry. This led him to found Jobber, 

an award-winning SaaS platform that 

helps small home services businesses organize 

their entire operations, from scheduling 

jobs and managing their crews, to invoicing 

customers and collecting payments. 

Since launching in 2011, businesses using 

Jobber have serviced over 10 million people 

in more than 43 countries, delivering over 

$6 billion annually, and growing, in services 

to their customers. 

To learn more, visit getjobber.com] 

9. Tiered pricing: Offer clients the option of choosing 

between different levels of service or packages. In 

window cleaning, for example, you can offer a basic 

package for $99 (outside cleaning only), a standard 

package for $149 (inside and outside), or a deluxe 

package for $199 (inside, outside, tracks and sills). 

Each package offers incrementally more value, and 

the difference in price gives the consumer a chance 

to consider what they are willing to spend. You can 

also experiment by increasing the lowest tier price to 

give the two other tiers a higher perceived value. For 

example, if you price the starter package at $129, 

and the standard package is $149, clients may choose 

the standard package because it’s a small amount of 

money for considerably more value. The big advantage 

of tiered pricing is that customers now compare 

your packages against each other instead of comparing 

you against the competition, which improves 

your chances of selling your services. 

10. Value-based pricing: Charge a flat fee based on 

the value (benefits) your service provides. Value, for 

example, could mean saving the customer time or 

giving them peace of mind. Before quoting a client, 

make sure you’re clear on the benefits your service 

provides and, in turn, what they’re actually paying 

for. For example, parents who use house cleaning 

services are not really paying for the service itself, 

but the time it frees up so they can spend with their 

children. Charging for your services based on value 

lets you charge a premium and protects you from 

the all-too-common price haggling that occurs with 

some customers. 

11. Hourly-based pricing: Estimate how long a 

job will take and multiply it by your hourly rate. 

Although this pricing strategy may be suitable when 

starting a business, do use it with caution as it has 

its downfalls: You aren’t rewarded for becoming 

better and faster at what you do; Clients may feel 

you’re purposefully taking your time on a job so 

you can earn more; The focus is on the cost of the 

service rather than the value, which opens you up 

to price haggling. 

■ So, What Pricing 

Strategy Is Right for 

Your Service Business? 

The many pricing strategies available can make it hard to 

determine which one is right for you. But, you can make the 

right decision by considering a few factors. 

As you read through the upcoming section, remember 

that no strategy is better than the other and will depend on 

your unique business needs. 

You can also use many of these strategies simultaneously; 

you do not have to select one. For example, value and bundled 

pricing are a perfect compliment to one another because in both 

cases, you’re showing clients that you understand their needs. 

■ Factors to Help You 

Choose the Right 

Service Pricing Strategy 

Your overheads. If you have lower overheads, you can 

charge more competitive prices. Conversely, if your costs are 

high, then competing on price isn’t viable. You’re better off 

charging a premium based on a unique differentiator. 

Your goals. If you’re a new business looking to get customers 

fast, you may opt for a market penetration strategy to 

achieve rapid adoption. 

How established you are. If you’ve been operating for a few 

years and want to grow faster and sustainably, offering packages 

is a good option. Providing packages helps you sell more by 

turning the intangible (your service) into something tangible (a 

product), which makes it easier for customers to buy. 

■ The Bottom Line on 

Pricing Strategies for 

Service Businesses 

The word “pricing” instills fear into many small service 

business owners—and with good reason. 

Pricing services is generally harder than pricing products 

as each job is different, and you have to grapple with your own 

experience, insecurities, and specifics of each job. 

On top of that, pricing is complex with many different 

pricing strategies to choose from. 

Of course, just because something seems difficult, doesn’t 

mean it is or that you shouldn’t try. After all, the more jobs 

you bid for, the more you’ll learn about what works and what 

doesn’t. It’ll only be a matter of time before you find a pricing 

strategy that’s right for your business. 


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DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY

Cleaning Up 

the Worker’s 

Compensation 

Process 

Exploring employee leasing in the high-risk 

industry of pressure washing 

BY BRETT ARTHUR 

um). The real issues start if you are found 

worker’s comp policy through the same 

to have paid wages under the table or if you 

carriers that may have declined you on the 

If you saw the title and are still reading…you 

probably aren’t reading for leisure. 

It’s because you have already had to deal 

with obtaining worker’s compensation or 

suddenly that sweet new vendor contract is 

dangling out there and requiring proof of it. 

Either way your eyes are on the right article. 

I would like to ask a question. What did 

it feel like and look like when you started 

your business? I advise business owners to 

reflect back to that point because you will 

remember the exciting points about getting 

started, but also gain awareness of 

the painful points throughout the process. 

Those painful points are usually the things 

that we weren’t taught in school to prepare 

us for business ownership. I’m confident it 

includes the process of how to obtain worker’s 

compensation in a high-risk industry 

like pressure washing because it just isn’t 

normally on the forefront of the mind. 

Let’s start with some tips and insight on 

things you should know ahead of time. 

Be honest and accurate 

with your estimated annual 

payroll. 

Buddies in the industry will tell you to 

estimate lower and the premium will be 

lower. This can be true if you are able to 

obtain your own worker’s comp policy. Your 

policy would be in your business name, but 

so would your required yearly audit. If you 

underestimate the payroll and report more, 

you will owe a lump sum check for unpaid 

or undisclosed premium (PEO/Employee 

Leasing policies are pay-as-you-go premi- 

over-inflated the annual payroll estimates 

to obtain coverage easier as a “bigger account”. 

You can be fined, face litigation, 

termed for cancellation, or end up paying 

more due to over anticipating. If you are 

new in business or have had no prior coverage…it 

is going to be extremely difficult 

to find your own standard worker’s 

comp policy. If you pay great wages 

and have more than 10 employees, 

it may be impossible. So, what do 

you do now? 

Introducing the PEO (Professional 

Employer Organization) arrangement also 

known as Employee Leasing. 

This is the most likely destination to get 

affordable coverage in place as a pressure 

washing company. If you step foot on a 

roof…it’s almost guaranteed. Don’t worry 

though, many would agree that it is the 

best option for growth, efficiency, and time 

management of their businesses. 

A PEO is an organization that takes 

out a very large high deductible master 

standard market. They look at the same 

quoting information that your insurance 

agent would (business info, payroll estimates, 

class codes/job duties, number of 

employees, number of claims, if any, prior 

coverage, etc.). They use underwriters, who 

could also double as private investigators, 

to conclude if your business is worth the 

risk versus the premium. This is based on 

industry claims trends, actuaries, and social 

media pages. 

Yes! I said social media pages! Common 

mistakes are using stock website photos on 

your page showing someone on a roof if 

you don’t do roof cleaning (expensive WC 

code!). Or posting pictures of your employees 

showing their killer biceps off to the 

camera while on the ladder. These things 

happen more often than you might think. 

Sure the photo looks cool, man. Go ahead 

and show it to the other guys on the crew 

or your personal friends; nthen do yourself 

a favor and save it in your personal gallery 

rather than a page that blueprints your 


usiness. Think about it. 

PEO’s can discount from state rates under 

their own policy, unlike a standard work 

comp policy. A PEO also provides you coverage 

on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means 

two things. 

1. NO AUDIT RISK!!! 

2. MORE CASH FLOW, BABY! 

They process and deliver your payroll 

and handle the payroll tax filings/w-2 issuance 

on your behalf in a co-employment 

arrangement. Essentially, your employees 

are your employees, you maintain operational 

control, just with taxes filed under 

their FEIN number. 

Remember that employee that was 

showing off the guns on the ladder? 

Let’s say he decides to now become a “jerk 

employee.” How would you handle the situation 

without putting yourself or business 

at risk of a lawsuit? 

Don’t worry! The PEO arrangement 

includes human resources help. You have 

access to a team of human resource gurus 

and a team of lawyers that can provide you 

with the appropriate steps to take in order 

to handle any situation in your best interest. 

Pretty good right?! Some PEO’s even 

offer Employment Practices Liability Insurance 

(EPLI). They offer it typically at a rate 

of 99-cents per employee per week. This 

protects the employer against claims made 

by employees for wrongful termination, discrimination, 

or sexual harassment. 

I’ve explained what to expect, some 

things to be aware of, and how a PEO is most 

likely the best/easiest way to obtain coverage 

for your business. So, how do you know which 

one to go to and where to find them? 

Your independent insurance agent is a 

great start. They most likely won’t be able 

to place you through their standard markets 

but may already work with a PEO Brokerage 

to help them in that scenario. 

Your agent would still be the face of 

your policy. Agents utilize a PEO Broker’s 

help in navigating the PEO space. 

Your best option would be to contact 

a PEO Brokerage directly. The top brokerages 

have access to shopping your rates 

through many PEO companies rather than 

submitting info to each one separately. 

They have established relationships with 

the top PEO’s allowing for heavier discount 

abilities based on the volume pushed. 

Finally, do your research and due diligence 

on reviews. Have a discussion with 

them. Make sure they are knowledgeable in 

their craft. A good broker will shop it every 

few years to keep your rates honest. 

[Editor’s Note: Brett Arthur help consults 

with pressure washing companies on 

their best options for worker’s comp. He’s a 

PEO Broker and works on the owner’s behalf 

to shop the PEO (pay as you go) market, 

which is generally the only option for 

the industry other than the individual state 

funds. He can help provide a means for best 

rates, keeping current markets honest on 

price, and providing for help with HR and 

payroll processing with NO AUDIT RISK. 

Contact him for insights or tips on what the 

insurance carriers look for or provide answers 

on specific situations that you may be 

currently facing. 

The POWER of : 

• Increased profits and knowledge through free benchmarking for CETA Members. 

• CETA Annual Convention with Tradeshow to socialize, learn and stay informed. 

• Certifications for Distributors. 

• CPC100 Performance Standard for Manufacturers Equipment. 

• Use of CETA Logos, and CPC100 Performance Standards Logo, if certified. 

• Access to leasing programs with discounted rates. 

• Access to discounted shipping rates. 

• Networking potential. 

• CETA newsletter - Access and ability to contribute. 

• Lost & stolen equipment alerts. 

• Scholarships available for CETA member’s family and employees. 

• Credit card processing discount program. 

• - Education for Distributors. 

Not a CETA Member, but want to be? 

Contact the CETA Office today at 800-441-0111, 

or visit ceta.org for a Member Application! 

The CETA Technical Committee reviews, clarifies and interprets 

technical, safety and regulatory issues impacting the pressure 

washer industry. Changes the Industry is facing in 2020 and 

beyond, changes to the CETA Performance Standard, CETA Prop 

65 and deadline on UL60335-2-79. CETA understands the 

frustrations its members face when it comes to finding correct 

answers. To ease that frustration, members have access to the 

Technical Committee. This information is distributed to CETA 

members through various ways throughout the year, including: 

• Annually revised strategic plans. 

• Annual Trade Show meetings. 

• Special Member alerts via website postings, email or letters. 

• Phone or written correspondence as requested to the CETA office. 

• Addresses current issues, such as COVID-19 

This is your Industry CETA is working for. 

Help support it by becoming 

a CETA Member today! 

www.ceta.org | 800-441-0111 | info@ceta.org 


Business 

Lending 

101 

Any firm 

can apply 

for business 

financing, 

no matter 

how big or 

how small 

BY BRYAN CROCKETT 

Business lending is similar to a personal 

loan, but is specifically designed for business 

use. 

With a business loan, your business entity 

is lent a certain sum of money over a period 

of years, and the finance charges and 

monthly payments are fixed over the term. 

Some business lenders offer access to 

short-term finance. This is usually to help 

borrowers finance for an immediate need 

without the burden of long-term financing, 

though short-term loans typically feature 

higher interest rates than regular loans. 

In many cases, short-term loans are 

used to help a business build up inventory 

or raise capital when temporary deficiencies 

in funding occur. 

For example, if a business needs to meet 

expenses or payroll while waiting on clients 

to pay invoices, a short-term financing option 

may help the business acquire the capital 

needed to make expenses when it has 

the means or ability to repay the loan within 

a short period of time. 

Others will allow you to borrow larger 

sums over a longer period. 

SO, WHAT ARE 

THE BENEFITS OF 

BUSINESS LENDING? 

Business lending can help with immediate 

cashflow needs but can also help support 

the entity over a longer period of time. 

It can be a smart business decision to finance 

capital purchases, leaving cash in the 

bank for other items which may be harder 

to finance, or come up unexpectedly (marketing 

expenses, payroll, etc.) 

Financing with a business lender that 

does not also report the transaction as personal 

debt can be important. 

By making sure your business loan is 

structured this way your personal borrowing 

power will remain intact so that your ability to 

take care of personal items (refinance mortgage, 

personal auto purchases, etc.) will not 

be hindered by business debt that would otherwise 

show on your personal credit report. 

There can be additional tax advantages 

for your business by financing with a business 

lender, and the tax benefits can be different 

based upon the overall structure of 

the finance terms. 

Some types of business lenders will 

work with you on how much you want to 

borrow and for how long, trying to meet 

any specific payment targets or upfront cost 

targets you have. 

Who can apply for a business loan? 

Any firm can apply for business financing, 

no matter how big or how small. 

Crucially, what you need to realize is 

that in the uncertain economic climate, it 

has grown a lot harder for businesses to get 

accepted for credit. 

Some lenders may stipulate that you have 

at least two years of filed tax returns, although 

certain lenders are happy to lend to businesses 

with less than two years’ history. 

Some lenders specialize in financing 

for specific business industries; it may be 

helpful to find a lender that has in depth 

knowledge of the industry your business 

services, thus allowing the best types of finance 

structures. 

Editor’s Note: Aztec Financial specializes in financing options, Equipment Credit Line programs, and other benefits of financing for pressure washers, as well as tax write-offs specific to 

the industry. Crockett is national account manager for Aztec Financial, which specializes in financing options, Equipment Credit Line programs, and other benefits of financing for pressure 

washers, as well as tax write-offs specific to the industry. To reach Aztec with additional questions, business financing, or to get set up on an equipment credit line for future purchases, call 

1-800-644-9537, email info@aztecfinancial.com, or visit www.aztecfinancial.com.] 


INDUSTRY 

DIRT 

A look around the cleaning equipment 

world for news and notes of interest 

Good Representation 

Christy Turner of Etowah Chemical was 

named Ambassador of the Year by The Chamber 

of Gadsden & Etowah County at its 107th annual 

meeting and awards luncheon in 2019. 

Etowah Chemical Sales & Service was established 

in 1980 in Gadsden with five employees. 

Since that time, the company has opened 5 branches 

located in Birmingham, AL, Mobile, AL, Chattanooga, 

TN, Knoxville, TN, and Atlanta, GA., 

and has grown to a 60-employee company. 

Etowah Chemical carries a board line of 

cleaning products and cleaning equipment, industrial 

high-pressure washers from 2 gpm to 30 gpm 

with pressure up 6000 psi, and drive through truck 

washes, among other products. 

The Chamber promotes Gadsden as a place to 

launch and grow small businesses. It recently implemented 

a five-year economic development plan 

called “Partnering for Prosperity.” That plan focuses 

on four key sectors — Business-Driven Talent 

Development, Partnerships with Public Education, 

Existing Business Growth and Retention and Entrepreneurship, 

Innovation and Incubation — that 

were identified by the local business community. 

The Chamber’s goal is to attract $1 million from 

local investors to work on those sectors. Upcoming 

initiatives include a co-working space (basically a 

shared workplace for workers from different companies); 

a downtown incubator for small businesses 

to help fledgling entrepreneurs get started; a Small 

Business Week designed to bring like-minded individuals 

together; and a search for solutions to food 

insecurity, especially for children after school and 

on weekends. 

20 Years of Taking 

it to the Streets 

Partners 

with Patriots 

Throughout calendar year 2019, Plymouth, Michigan-based Vortexx Pressure Washers offered a 

“Military and First Responder Appreciation Program” supporting those who serve, or have served, in 

the United States military, or as a Police Officer, Firefighter, or EMS/Paramedic. 

Through this program, those active or non-active personnel received a discount off the list price for 

any single Vortexx Pressure Washer and associated accessories. 

In 2019, Taginator and Tagaway graffiti removal products 

celebrated 20 years in business. For two decades, countless government 

administrations, and private organizations have turned 

to Taginator and Tagaway graffiti removal products to restore 

surface materials which have been defaced by vandalism. 

Not only does vandalism decrease the quality of life in a community, 

but constant cleanings are also an expensive, yet necessary 

burden property owners must manage. Whether it’s spray paint 

or permanent marker, there’s no shortage of graffiti tagged across 

towns and establishments nationwide. 

Taginator and Tagaway products are eco-friendly graffiti removal 

solutions to erase graffiti and permanent markings without 

causing harm to the surface of building materials. Both products 

work in hot or cold environments for year-round graffiti removal. 

Visit www.taginator.com for more information. 


Send your company news and press releases to drewruble@gmail.com 

Innovating the Future of Sealing 

After years of rigorous field testing 

with a number of chemical companies, 

Seal ‘n Lock System Corp. of Odessa, 

introduced its ‘All In One Day’ process 

and environmentally safe products. Using 

the Seal ‘n Lock process and products, 

pavers can be pressure washed, 

joints sanded, and two coats of sealer 

can be applied in the same day with no 

down time and no chance of the pavers 

turning white. The sealing industry 

is now able to work all year round in a 

healthy environment while completing the job ‘All In 

One Day.’ 

Richard Colletti, President of Seal ‘n Lock System 

Corp. and innovator of the Seal ‘n Lock System recognized 

the need or water-based products with low VOC’s 

as an alternative to solvent-based products, thus, generating 

a new technology which is the Seal ‘n Lock System. 

“We learned early, through our experience in the 

brick paver cleaning and sealing business, that there was 

a real need for a better way of doing the job,” Colletti 

said. “We began developing a process with compatibly 

designed sealers that would reap numerous benefits – 

not just for our business and for our customers, but for 

our health and the environment as well. It was time to 

change the concrete paver cleaning and sealing industry.” 

Pavers are a lifetime investment and, as such, manufacturers 

and installers get only one chance to sell or 

install their respective products. Once installed, protecting 

this lifetime investment requires regular maintenance. 

This need gave birth to the cleaning and sealing 

industry, which continues to grow year after year. Those 

in this industry have an exciting opportunity to sustain 

a lucrative business simply by enhancing and prolonging 

the life of pavers. 

The current method of cleaning and sealing pavers 

is cumbersome at best. Most types of sealers require 

2-5 days to complete the job, depending on weather 

and drainage conditions. Pressure washing is performed 

first, the pavers must be completely dry, then the joints 

are re-sanded, and solvent-based acrylic sealers can be 

applied. Having to depend on weather, results in the 

loss of time, and time is money. 

This is the leading contributor to a 

high failure rate in the solvent-based 

acrylic sealer’s business. 

“I know this from personal experience; 

my business certainly 

suffered from using solvent-based 

acrylic sealers,” Colletti said. “I ran 

from one job site to another several 

times to determine if a paver area 

was dry enough to be sealed. Then 

I would re-sand the joints, hoping 

that the sand wouldn’t coagulate from the moisture in 

the spacer joints, which would require my going back yet 

another day. Even after insuring that the surface was dry 

enough, I still incurred problems with the pavers turning 

white in certain areas due to poor drainage. Too much 

down time! 

“That’s when I decided to step in and create a new 

process with unique water-based sealers that could be 

applied immediately after pressure washing and re-sanding, 

leaving no chance of the pavers turning white. 

We started out by examining some of the water-based 

sealers available in the marketplace. We applied 

one such product on a 550 sq. ft. pool deck area. 

The total cost for the sealer was impractical (about $400) 

and we lost money. Worse than that, some of the pavers 

still turned white while others lacked a luster. 

“We then began researching companies in Germany 

(where paver manufacturing originated) and working with 

chemical companies that produce chemicals for the cementitious 

industry. I explained the paver sealing conditions 

that exist in the United States and that our sealers would 

need to leave sand joints stabilized, provide a protective 

barrier and enhance the pavers with a long lasting ‘luster,’ 

or a ‘wet look.’ 

“Now, with our Seal ‘n Lock System, and our unique 

Paver Protection Products, I am able to work all year 

round in a healthy environment and complete the job 

“all in one day” – with no worries! 

Visit www.sealnlock.com for 

more information. 


INDUSTRY 

DIRT 

On the Pulse 

ProPulse was chosen to supply hydraulic 

hose assemblies to John Deere’s operations 

at multiple sites. ProPulse is a supplier of 

high-pressure hose assemblies based in Peosta, 

Iowa (Dubuque County). 

“To better serve an ever more sophisticated 

client base, our team has been focused 

for five years on the implementation of a very 

well-defined strategic plan and the development 

of world class manufacturing, quality 

and logistical systems,” stated Jeff Theis, president 

and managing partner, in a press release. 

“New business is the reward for all that 

hard work and we are very proud and pleased 

to be in prestigious company as we continue 

to serve our new customer, John Deere.” 

ProPulse manufactures and assembles 

thermoplastic and wire braided rubber hydraulic 

hose assemblies. Founded in 1998, 

ProPulse specializes in supplying OEM production 

lines for world class companies that 

manufacture machinery and equipment in 

the construction, forestry, agriculture, cleaning, 

and transportation fields. 

Road 2 Recovery 

CETA/PWNA 

co-conference set 

for Nevada in 2020 

Again in 2020, the Cleaning Equipment 

Trade Association (CETA) and the Power 

Washers of North America (PWNA) will 

co-locate their annual meeting. 

In 2020, the co-location will happen October 

22-25 in “the biggest little city in America,” 

Reno, Nevada. The 2020 event will 

represent the third straight year the two organizations 

will co-locate their annual meetings. 

Both CETA and PWNA share a common 

goal of promoting the industry, and 

moving it forward. Co-located shows allow 

members of both associations greater networking 

opportunities and business opportunities. 

Bringing together manufacturers, 

distributors, and contractors at a single venue 

has proven to be an incredible catalyst 

for advancing the entire industry. 

PowerClean 2020 will feature the industry’s 

leading exhibitors, equipment training, 

seminars, networking, and fun. While both associations 

will remain independent and have 

events on their own, CETA and PWNA feel 

that these two great associations can combine 

efforts to work towards a common 

goal: Two Teams. One Vision. Advancing 

the industry forward. 

Kärcher North America, a subsidiary 

of Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG – the 

global leader in cleaning technology – announced 

a partnership with Road 2 Recovery, 

a non-profit organization founded 

to help AMA licensed professional motocross/supercross 

athletes with financial assistance 

if they sustain debilitating injuries. 

“We are excited to be a part of this 

admirable organization that does so much 

good for these amazing athletes,” stated 

James Gordon, EVP for Retail, Kärcher 

North America. “Supporting our communities 

is a core value for Kärcher and we 

are proud to be a part of this great motorsport 

community.” 

Lori Armistead, Director of PR and Marketing 

for Road 2 Recovery, stated that Road 

2 Recovery was excited to team up with an 

industry-leading company like Kärcher. 

“This partnership gives the consumer 

a chance to get a quality product and 

support the athletes they love at the same 

time,” she stated. “A percentage of each 

Kärcher product purchased using the code 

goes directly to R2R to help support our 

mission. It’s a win-win for all and we are 

grateful for the opportunity.” 

On qualifying Kärcher Home & Garden 

product purchases, 20% of the purchase 

price will be donated to the Road 

2 Recovery Foundation. To qualify, visit 

Kaercher.com/us, add any Home & Garden 

products to the shopping cart, and enter 

code R2R2020 at checkout. With the 

code, 20% of the purchase (before taxes) 

will be donated to the Road 2 Recovery 

Foundation, and the customer will also receive 

a 10% discount on the order. 

Kärcher is the world’s leading provider 

of cleaning technology. The family owned 

enterprise employs more than 13,000 

people in 70 countries and more than 

120 subsidiaries. Kärcher Region North 

America is one of the largest subsidiaries 

of the Kärcher Group, with over 1,000 

employees. In the United States, Kärcher 

produces and distributes products and 

services under the brands Kärcher, Windsor 

Kärcher Group, Landa, Hotsy, Water 

Maze, Spraymart, and Cuda Kärcher 

Group. The company’s solutions serve customers’ 

cleaning needs in an economical 

and environmentally friendly manner. 

The Road 2 Recovery Foundation is a 

501 (C) (3) non-profit organization founded 

to help AMA licensed professional 

motocross/supercross and action sport 

athletes with financial assistance if they 

sustain debilitating injury as well as providing 

motivational, emotional, and spiritual 

support to these individuals and their families. 

Learn more at Road2Recovery.com. 


What’s Your 

Your brand should promote your business, 

connect with your customer base, and 

differentiate you in the market 

BY DEBRA GORGOS 

According to Wikipedia, the idea of a 

brand has some pretty innocuous roots. 

“Initially, livestock branding was adopted 

to differentiate one person’s cattle from 

another's by means of a distinctive symbol 

burned into the animal’s skin with a hot 

branding iron.” You know: Cowboys. Right 

to Property. The Wild West. 

Eventually, the term was extended to 

mean “a strategic personality for a product 

or company, so that ‘brand’ now suggests 

the values and promises that a consumer 

may perceive and buy into.” 

Think your customers won’t buy into it? 

Think your rural market is protected from 

the Starbucks-sipping, Target-addicted, iPhone-blinded 

masses? Think brand doesn’t apply 

to a small business with only one location? 

Think again. 

Brands influence loyalty. 

✔ 80% of your company’s future revenue 

will come from 20% of your current 

customers. This statistic applies 

to rural *and* urban markets. 

✔ 58% of people buy from the stores 

and brands whose loyalty programs 

they belong to at least once a month. 

Brands influence spending habits. 

✔ 38 percent of moms are more likely 

to buy from brands their friends 

“like” on Facebook). 

Brand perception starts right away. 

✔ 59 percent of consumers say their 

decision of when a brand becomes 

a favorite of theirs occurs right after 

their first purchase. 

Brands encourage your customers to 

go out and get you more customers. 

✔ Brands that inspire a higher emotional 

intensity receive three times as 

much WOM as less emotionally-connected 

brands. 

(Sources: www.forbes.com, www.invespcro.com) 

So, understanding the importance of 

a brand (and with the caveat that creating 

one is a fairly inexpensive and harmless 

process), let’s move on to the big stuff: 

SET BRANDS TO STUN: 

DEFINING YOUR BRAND 

The first step in defining your brand is 

deciding if you already have one, if you need 

to improve upon it, or if you need to create it. 

Depending on the answers to these 

questions, you might decide your business 

is any or all of the following: 

✔ Friendly 

✔ High-quality 

✔ Luxury 

✔ Budget-friendly 

✔ Speedy 

✔ Clean 

✔ Safe/secure 

✔ Convenient 

✔ Modern 

Focus on one or two of these qualities (or 

whatever else you might come up with) to focus 

your brand identity and direct your future 

growth. Remember: Your brand will go everywhere. 

It will permeate all areas of your 

business; from how you answer the phone 

and sign-off on emails -- to how your employees 

dress and the signage at your location. 

Not only will your 

brand go everywhere, 

it will have a lot to say. 

“Your brand character 

should promote your business, 

connect with your customer base and differentiate 

you in the market,” according to 

Dan Einzig of Mystery, a brand development 

company based in the U.K. “When 

building your brand, think of it as a person,” 

Einzig advises. “Every one of us is an individual 

whose character is made up of beliefs, 

values and purposes that define who we are 

and who we connect with. Our personality 

determines how we behave in different situations, 

how we dress and what we say. Of 

course for people it's intuitive and it's rare 

that you even consider what your own character 

is, but when you're building a brand it's 

vital to have that understanding.” 

Finally, you should be prepared to stay 

true to your brand. If your mission is to be 

the friendliest and most cost-efficient pressure 

washer, then you -- and your employees 

-- had better be prepared to deliver on 

it during every single customer interaction. 


PASS ON WHAT 

YOU HAVE 

LEARNED 

Introduction by Drew Ruble 

INTERVIEW LIGHTLY EDITED AND PRESENTED BY 

DREW RUBLE 

There’s a “guru” explosion happening in the exterior cleaning 

services industry. 

Scads of “thousand-aires,” or people who have built their pressure 

wash companies (impressively) to the half a million-dollar range are 

now suddenly calling themselves coaches, mentors, and gurus and offering 

up their services as consultants to smaller pressure washers in an 

Pass On What 

You Have Learned... 

effort to help them grow (for a price, of course). 

Brandon Vaughn is a real guru in the pressure wash space. 

Vaughn built his former company, Pacific Northwest-based All 

Clean, from a very small service company with zero employees to 

70 employees and went from $8,000 per month in revenue to almost 

$500,000 per month in less than six seasons. 

Simply stated, there is a stark difference between the kind of advice 

you get from someone like Vaughn, who built his company to 

the seven-figure level, and what you are likely to get from this explo- 

Pressure sion of gurus who built wash their companies industry to the $400,000, $500,000, guru Brandon Vaughn teaches fellow 

or even $600,000 level. Financially and operationally speaking, it’s 

entrepreneurs just next-level stuff. how to Conquer their exterior cleaning businesses 

Vaughn, who was awarded the 2017 S.B.A Small Business Person 

of the Year for the state of Oregon, now helps small business 

owners in the exterior service industry systemize their companies 

so they can spend more time doing what matters most in their lives. 

Vaughn is a formidable force in America’s exterior cleaning industry 

based on the amount of people he has influence over and the people 

in his Conquer program. Many of his students are rapidly approaching 

his lofty status. 

Most people started their business at zero. They envision massive 

growth in their small business. Is it really doable? Vaughn is proof 

positive that it can be done. 

The following is a lightly edited transcript of an interview Vaughn 

granted to Pressure Wash News, organized and presented in Vaughn’s 

own words by editor Drew Ruble. 


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Jacksonv@pressurewashnews.com

BRANDON VAUGHN 

My father started a window cleaning 

company in 1978. Pretty much the only 

thing that he did was cleaning glass. He 

was face to glass for 33 years. It was pretty 

much him and a helper for 33 years. He 

did about $100,000 a year. 

I actually started working full-time 

with him at the age of 13. I homeschooled 

through high school and worked full-time 

with him. But I remember going with my 

dad when I was like eight or nine years old 

and he would give me a nickel for every 

screen that I would wash. Then he would 

pay me to fold towels -- a quarter to fold all 

the towels for his business. 

My siblings all worked with my dad at 

some point over the course of time too. It 

was really a family business. I grew up with 

that being my dad’s job my whole life so 

I’ve been around the industry a long time 

from that perspective. 

My brother, he spun off and started 

doing window tinting. My sister spun off 

and did window treatments -- blinds and 

shutters and that type of thing. So we still 

kind of make jokes that we are all still in 

the window business, all of us as a family. 

The day I turned eighteen, I went out 

and got my own business license to just start 

doing some of my own jobs on the side. My 

dad wanted to pay me as a 1099 subcontractor 

rather than an employee, so he encouraged 

me and pushed me to go out and 

get my own business license so I could take 

some jobs on the weekends that he could legally 

pay me as a 1099 contractor. 

I caught the itch to be a business owner 

from that point moving forward. I moved 

from there into a construction business 

after that and really I didn’t get back involved 

with my dad in the cleaning side of 

the business until about 2011/2012 when 

my dad was diagnosed with heart disease. 

So I actually left the cleaning business, had 

a construction company, bankrupted that, 

(which, if you want to start a business in 

the construction industry, I recommend 

not doing it right before a huge economic 

downturn in the construction industry, 

which is what I did in 2005 and 2006). 

Then I went and actually got a corporate 

job for a time, which was actually really 


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a powerful learning lesson seeing how a 

much, much larger company does business 

-- some of their systems and processes -- 

and also learn some financial understanding 

I needed. 

Then, like I said, in 2011 my dad was 

diagnosed with heart disease…He was told 

he couldn’t do any physical work anymore, 

so that’s when I kind of stepped back into 

the business really to help out my dad out 

because they had no savings, they had no 

retirement, they had no back-up plan… 

So I bought the business from my dad at a 

pretty high rate. I bought it on a monthly 

basis where I just basically gave him three 

thousand bucks a month for life – those 

were basically the terms so that he could 

retire and him and my mom did not have 

to worry about working anymore. Of 

course, the business, at its size, it couldn’t 

really sustain that. So that’s when I kind of 

figured that I’d have to set out to grow the 

business to be able to not only sustain them 

but also sustain me and my family too. 

It gave me a unique perspective. I lived 

that first-hand witnessing of my dad, who 

in essence had a “bus factor” of one -- 

meaning if he got hit metaphorically or realistically 

by a bus, the business would completely 

shut down. Seeing how that affected 

him and realizing how if you fall off a roof 

or something happens to you, something 

unexpected…when your whole business is 

dependent upon you as the owner and you 

have an issue like that, it’s game over. That 

actually terrified me in a way to make sure 

that I didn’t repeat that same path where 

I had a little bit more sustainability. I had 

a team. I wanted to pull myself out of the 

field. I wanted to build a business. I think 

the hard part is that a lot of small business 

owners look at their business and conclude 

that they are the business. That is their 

identity when in reality the business is its 

own entity. It’s its own thing. So that was 

a big switch going off in my brain kind of 

seeing this whole thing go down first hand 

and steering me on how I wanted to design 

the business moving forward. 

It was tough. It took a lot of work to 

automate the business. I’ll give you a prime 

example of the journey. My dad had a huge 

paper calendar. Every client and customer 

-- everything -- was on that paper calendar. 

All the jobs, all the job notes. I remember 

being so terrified that we had in this booklet 

our whole lives. A whole business was 

in this paper booklet. And there wasn’t any 

backup of that whatsoever. But my dad 

had all that information in his head. That 

was the backup. So if you asked him about 

Nancy Jackson, he would say ‘oh yeah, 

Nancy, we do this on her house, this is the 

price, we have to start in the back.’ All of 

the information was in his brain so therefore 

no one in fact could do it as well as him 

because he had all that information locked 

up inside of his own skull! So the first thing 

we had to do was we had to extract all that 

information out of his brain and put it into 

a format to where anyone could have access 

to it. We started digitizing all that stuff and 

having really detailed notes. It took time. It 

took a full year before we were really able 

to extract all that information about every 

single one of our clients and all those little 

nuances that were important to the client 

and made us successful. Then we actually 

could start bringing new people in from the 

outside and they could read the note and 

they could say ‘oh, okay, when we start on 

this job, we want to make sure we start on 

the back on this corner, we want to make 

sure we get there by such-and-such a time, 

we have to watch out for the dog Fluffy because 

Fluffy can’t get out of the back’ and 

all of that information that was important 

to the client was finally available to new 

people in a simplified way. That was really 

the creation of our first system and kind of 

opened my eyes to saying ‘okay, what else 

can we streamline and systemize to where 

it doesn’t require me as the owner to know 

this information or consult my dad and 

continued ... 


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where I can make it available to a team, to 

my employees.’ 

The very first year that I bought the 

business, one of the first things I did was I 

went out and bought a pressure washer to 

expand the business, the scope, to grow at 

the rate I needed to grow it. It was a very 

cheap pressure washer. I bought it at Home 

Depot. I had no idea what a surface cleaner 

was, I had no idea what a turbo nozzle 

was, I had no idea what down streaming or 

X jetting was, I actually didn’t even know 

there were organizations like the Pressure 

Washers of North America or that there 

was education even available for this kind 

of stuff. So really I just kind of got started, 

went out and got some equipment, had 

very, very humble beginnings. 

I remember my first roof cleaning setup 

that I bought was this little custom package 

that I bought from someone on the other 

side of the country that was like a gallon 

and a half per minute electric pump that 

ran on this tiny little battery and I cleaned 

roofs using this little gallon and a half 

pump. It was ridiculous and excruciating. 

It took me forever to do this stuff. I had to 

mix chemicals in a big 55-gallon drum with 

a stick, swirling it around and dropping a 

drop hose in there. So I didn’t really come 

out swinging with like the big skids and the 

big equipment because frankly I couldn’t 

afford them but also because I didn’t even 

know they existed or what the benefit of 

those types of systems would be. 

Nevertheless, as soon as we started adding 

on more services, that’s really when the 

business started to grow and it was starting 

to become a little bit more clear what we 

wanted the future the business to look like. 

If I was to break down a few of my 

most important things for how I grew the 

business, I’d say the first one was having 

a really, really clear goal-setting plan. You 

know, you can’t be reactive when it comes 

to growth…You have to be super intentional 

with it…From Day One, I charted 

a five-year growth plan. It was a tiny little 

plan – something like we go from $100,000 

to $250,000 over the course of five years. I 

just didn’t know what I didn’t know at the 

time. I didn’t know it was possible to grow 

faster than that. But when I got that first 

year under my belt, I actually went and 

connected with [people in the industry], 

did my first educational events, and really 

kind of saw what was possible. 

When I saw companies that had 30 

trucks in their fleet, it kind of blew my mind. 

Understanding that something like that was 

actually possible was crucial. I think really 

one of the first steps toward true success 

was my belief had to get shattered that it 

was even possible to do it and to adopt the 

belief that if someone else could do it, why 

couldn’t I? That was a big thing that held 

me back. So I started getting mentorship, I 

started getting coaching, and really tried to 

force myself to have accountability towards 

achieving those goals. 

I started setting out a game plan. I asked 

myself ‘if we’re going to double this next 

year, what would that look like?’ Then I started 

reverse engineering it from the end goal 

step by step on how theoretically I would get 

there. How many trucks do I have to buy 

this year? When would I have to buy them? 

When would I have to hire my employees? 

How much money would I have to spend on 

marketing in order to get that? How many 

new jobs would I have to get? How many 

new customers? How many doors would I 

have to knock on? How many phone calls 

would I have to make? How many Chamber 

of Commerce meetings would I have to go 

to? I’m talking really, really granular, stepby-step, 

how I would do it. 

Then I just turned it over to an actual 

calendar where I said, ‘okay, this is what I 

have to do every single month, these are my 

tasks that I have to do this month,’ and then 

actually met with a coach on a monthly basis 

to sit down and tell her what my goals 

were. Then we would put a plan in place to 

make sure that they happened. I’d go and 

I’d do them and I’d come back and I’d meet 

with her the following month to see if we 

achieved them and discuss what was next. 

That small progression is really what 

made it feel very possible to be able to grow 

as fast as we did. At one point it kind of 

felt like if I wrote it down on a piece of 

paper, it was going to happen, and I know 

it’s going to happen if I actually meet with 

someone on a regular basis that’s holding 

me accountable to actually make it happen. 

So, the first step is belief, the second 

step is writing down really clear goals, and 

the third step is having someone else hold 

you accountable to those goals. 

It was not all sunshine and roses as the 

company grew. Honestly, it’s just how resilient 

are you to getting kicked in the teeth 

and getting some lumps and bumps and 

bruises along the way. 

Business owners get burned when an employee 

leaves and starts their own business, or 

an employee leaves, or damages stuff, or sues 

them, or whatever ends up happening that 

is possible with employees; and immediately 

the owner reverts back to the idea that their 

lives and business were simpler and easier 

when it was just them working alone…that 

there are no good employees, and that no 

one wants to work. They just prejudicially 

blame all employees, prejudicially blame an 

entire generation as to the reasons why they 

can’t be successful when in reality it’s just 

continued ... 


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because they aren’t resilient and they can’t 

take the lumps bumps and bruises of being 

in business. They don’t have thick skin and 

they’re unwilling to learn how to motivate 

this newer generation of employees. 

That was certainly the case with me. At 

one point in 2015, I had over half of my 

employees quit within 30 days of each of 

each other while we were booked out solid 

for two months in the middle of our busy 

season. That was a devastating blow. I had 

a full-blown panic attack. I curled up in a 

ball on the couch. I cried. I was hyperventilating. 

I thought I was going to die. I told 

my wife ‘employees suck.’ I was done. 

It wasn’t by pure happenstance. There 

were several reasons as to why it kind of led 

to that path. The previous year, my brother, 

who was working for me at the time, he 

took his life. It was very unexpected. It was 

a hard blow to our entire family. It was a 

hard blow to the business. It was hard on 

the employees. It was hard on everyone. I 

kind of disconnected from the company 

and just stopped really caring about any of 

my guys and about the business. About seven 

or eight months after that is when all of 

this happened with employee departures. 

I’m not saying that was the reason why everyone 

quit; but it definitely was a contributing 

factor to have a CEO just suddenly 

not really care anymore about the employees 

and about the business. 

That was one of those times where I had 

to kind of pull myself up and recognize that 

I was not caring about my team and I wasn’t 

focusing on their education and dreams 

and personal goals. One really eye-opening 

moment for me was when one of the guys 

who quit said ‘Brandon, I know exactly how 

much money you make. You make $1,600 

a day in production and I only get paid 

$200 of that, therefore you are taking home 

$1,400 every single day -- times every crew 

that we have. You’re just raking in the money 

and I’m the one that’s doing all the work.’ 

Now, any business owner who hears that will 

probably laugh their heads off because they 

know it doesn’t even remotely work that way. 

So I started realizing that I wasn’t teaching 

my employees how the business worked and 

how it runs. That led to me teaching our employees 

how to read a profit-loss. We would 

hand out profit-loss sheets to all of our employees 

and teach them how to read it, teach 

them how they could impact the business, 

teach them where their budget line was for 

their pay, and see all the other expenses of 

the company. Then we just really started obsessing 

and focusing on educating our crew 

members and our employees as if they were 

our family, including teaching them how to 

do a household family budget, how to improve 

their credit score, how to build a different 

skill sets that maybe they were more 

passionate about than cleaning stuff, and 

provide them with free education on that 

side. Out of this tragedy and my subsequent 

auto-pilot approach to running a business, 

we just really focused and went deep on 

creating an amazing company culture that 

became a competitive differentiator for us 

as a company as to why employees would 

want to come work for us. That changed it 

to where we had to work a lot less hard to 

try to get people coming to us for employment. 

Instead, we suddenly had a sea of 

referrals that came in to us and we actually 

had a waiting list for people to come join our 

company because it was such an amazing 

company culture. 

On of my closest friends, Josh Latimer, 

likes to say ‘everyone sees the wine; nobody 

sees the crushing of the grapes.’ 

It’s really easy to just look at the success 

that All Clean had and think it grew because 

it had no hiccups on the journey…The 

reality is that the entire time that we were 

growing, I had all of those terrible moments, 

including where employees tried to sue me. 

You still get those bad actors even when the 

company is doing great and fantastic. You’re 

still going to get the lumps in the bumps and 

the bruises. You’re still going to be terrified. 

To get somewhere you’ve never been 

before means doing something you’ve 

never done before. So the mark of actually 

knowing that you’re going in the right 

direction is being a little bit terrified and 

feeling scared. That’s the only way that you 

grow. They call them growing pains for a 

reason! You have to go into it knowing that 

troubles are going to happen. 

During that time around 2015 where we 

went through the family tragedy and had 

those employee issues, I made a promise to 

my wife that I would grow the business to 

a point to where we could sell it and that I 

would do so within five years. I still had my 

dad to take care of so I needed to make sure 

they were good even if we were to sell because 

that was the promise I made to them. 

But when we set out to grow the business and 

get it ready to sell, an amazing thing happened. 

It’s kind of like when you fix up your 

house to sell. You finally paint the trim, you 

finally fix that squeaky door hinge, you redo 

the carpeting with hardwood floors, you 

go through and change all the windows to 

nice new windows, and you just make it look 

beautiful. Then, finally, when you take a step 

back and you look at it and it’s ready to sell, 

you’re like, ‘dang, this business is sweet! It’s 

automated. It’s systemized. It looks beautiful. 

I kind of want to keep it!’ 

That’s kind of where I was at the point 

when I was ready to sell. I did very, very little 

in my business. I would walk in the shop and 

there would be someone new rooting around 

on shelves and I’d be like ‘hey, can I help 

you?’ and they would turn around and not 

recognize me and say ‘Can I help you?’ Here 

was a new hire that I hadn’t even interviewed 

or talked to and he was trained and he was on 

board and he was wearing my uniform! 

But that’s exactly the thing! If someone’s 

going to buy your business, that’s exactly 

what they want! They don’t want to buy a 

job. They don’t want to buy a full-time position. 

They want to buy something that can 

be an investment in their portfolio, grow and 

accrue, and get a return on their investment. 

If it’s a serious buyer, they don’t want to be a 

full-time operator in the business. 

When we got an offer, it was a great multiple, 

it was a great number, it was one that 

we were very happy with, and it just kind of 

felt like the right time. By this point, I was 

already kind of traveling all over the U.S. 

speaking at different events about business 

continued ... 


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PASS ON WHAT 

YOU HAVE 

LEARNED 

ownership and growth. I had a lot of people 

that were reaching out to me on a routine 

basis and I was helping some people out 

doing some coaching. As I said, the business 

was pretty automated, it wasn’t really needing 

me on a day-to-day basis, so I had lots of 

free time and I was filling up that free time 

helping other small business owners do the 

same thing I had done. It was becoming very 

quickly my new passion in life. 

It was just amazing to be able to help 

those other business owners and see their 

growth and see them finally get off the truck 

and finally start growing their business and 

giving them my systems and having them 

utilize those. So the timing just worked out 

really good and it just kind of felt right to 

sell and to move over into this new space 

full-time because I felt like I could create a 

bigger impact doing that. Not that there’s 

anything wrong with the cleaning business. 

I love the cleaning business. In fact, I’d love 

to get back into it again and build another 

business and see how fast I could build it and 

document the whole process. That’s kind of 

like a dream of mine down the road. But I’m 

loving what I’ve been doing now and the experience 

going through a sale of a company 

was also a massive education for me to see 

how that works and gave me an amazing 

business lesson that will help me and others. 

My new company is called Conquer. The 

parent company is Automate, Grow, Sell, 

which is Josh Latimer’s previous venture. 

Conquer is basically a really in-depth 

coaching program for a select group of small 

business owners. It’s only for home service 

business owners. Not everyone who applies 

gets in. We turn down people on almost a 

weekly basis if we don’t feel like it’s the right 

fit. Those who we do decide to work with basically 

what they get is they get weekly coaching 

and weekly accountability sessions working 

with another home service business owner 

that owns a seven- or eight-figure home service 

business. So, for instance, if someone 

decided to join Conquer, they would typically 

get teamed up with three other service business 

owners that were also in the program 

and about the same size as them all over the 

country. They would form a Conquer group 

and they would meet with their coach on a 

weekly basis over Zoom online. 

It’s all about…where are you stuck? What 

are the things you’re setting out to do this week 

to move the ball down the field? And then the 

coach provides the clarity to make sure that it’s 

the right thing to work on. Because, as business 

owners, we can work on a billion different 

things at any given point in time, but working 

with someone who’s already built a seven- or 

eight-figure business and can sit down 

and say ‘you don’t want to work 

on this, just stay focused over 

here, get your training program 

done next week, 

show off the two training 

videos that you did 

to the rest of the group,’ 

well, it’s critical. 

It’s all extremely collaborative 

and there’s lots 

of ‘community.’ They meet 

with their coach once a month oneon-one 

as well. Then, we also provide hundreds 

of systems -- documents, tools, things to 

just help their business grow as systems that 

I’ve spent a thousand plus hours working on 

over the years. Systems that our other coaches 

have built and developed and perfected. They 

get access to those from Day One. So they can 

come in and have the inventory management 

system that they never had and it’s ready for 

them to just click on and adapt into their own 

business. A safety program. A marketing program. 

Sales programs. Everything. We have 

all these systems that are available to them. 

Then, because Conquer has grown so much 

in the last 12 months, we also have lots of 

vendors that we now give our members exclusive 

discounts to products and services. Some 

participants actually save more money than 

they actually pay to be a part of Conquer just 

through discounts they get with vendors. 

It’s just kind of a win-win all the way 

around and it’s an amazing group of entrepreneurs. 

It’s a very tight-knit community. 

We call it Conquer Family. We celebrate 

our Conquer wins. 

All of us are kind of 

setup to grow our businesses 

but mostly to get more time and 

freedom to be able to step out of the business. 

That’s kind of the whole purpose of 

Conquer is to ‘conquer your why,’ which, 

usually, for most people, is to spend less 

time in the business not more time in it. 

What I’m doing now is extremely rewarding 

as far as a career goes. To be able 

to get messages from dozens and dozens of 

business owners that I’ve talked about how 

they’ve taken their first paid family vacation 

ever or that they finally got out of the truck 

-- I get a tremendous amount of personal 

reward from that. 

For me, it has always been about creating 

that time/freedom to be able to pursue what 

really matters. Not to make the millions of 

dollars in a business. I’ve never been money 

motivated. It’s always been about how can 

I have more time/freedom to be able to be 

involved with the things that I really love. 

Again, overcome that belief that you can’t 

get there. Write down your goals in crystal 

clear fashion and be specific and granular 

about things like your target for the month 

and your target for the week. Then get some 

accountability in your life, even if it’s not one 

of our seven-figure certified coaches. 

For instance, if you can set your goals 

really transparently with your team so that 

your team knows what you’re working on. 

That’s a good path. Or, if you can call your 

shot publicly on a forum or in a Facebook 

group or to someone who’s not a spouse or 

a friend or a buddy -- someone who is actually 

going to hold you accountable to it, 

someone you really respect and don’t want 

to let down – that’s good too. 

The hardest part about being the boss 

is you’re the boss. You don’t have anyone 

holding your hand over the fire…I still pay 

for coaching myself. I pay $25,000 a year 

to be in a coaching program still and I’ll 

always be doing coaching because to me I 

need it. I’m extremely A.D.D. I’m all over 

the place and I need to be reined in. I know 

that’s my biggest weakness. So I have to put 

those boundaries in place so I know that 

I’m actually doing action and moving forward 

in the direction I need to go. 

Editor’s Note: visit www.agsconquer.com 

for more information. 


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Pressure Wash News April issue

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