2021_PWN_V3_No1_WEB

contents 

FEATURES 

4 

Virtual Reality: 

Pressure washing enters the 

video gaming realm 

22 

18 

Overcoming “Affluenza”: 

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic made us acutely aware 

of the dangers to our health from a virus that can’t be seen with 

the naked eye. But business owners face a risk from an equally 

contagious and invisible virus. 

DEPARTMENTS 

3 Editor’s Letter: 

Story Book Endings: People can choose to work for or do 

business with anybody they want. Why should they choose 

your business over your competitor? 

4 CONQUER Corner: 

Prepare your mind and business for your most successful season in 2021. 

12 Industry Dirt: 

A look around the exterior cleaning world for news and notes of interest 

Auld Lange Syne… 

A ‘Lucky 7’ New Year’s Resolutions 

for the Pressure Wash Industry 

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 

Vol. 3, No. 1, Winter 2021 

Publisher: Jackson Vahaly 

Editor: Drew Ruble 

Design: Katy Barrett-Alley 

Copyright © 2021 2 Dollar Enterprises/Pressure Wash News. All Rights Reserved. 

2 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | VOL. 3, NO. 1 | WINTER 2021

EDITOR’S 

NOTE 

Story Book 

Endings 

It used to be that in business and 

sales, the key to it all was ‘meeting the 

customer’s needs.’ We obsessed on the 

simple question of ‘does our product 

or service meet the customer’s needs?’ 

Well, nowadays, anyone can meet 

their needs and anyone can provide the 

benefit. The question now is can you 

get them to enter in to a personal relationship? 

Can you get them to come 

in to the fold? Can you get them to be 

part of your story? 

Entertainment icon Walt Disney 

was at a definitive crossroads in his 

movie production career in 1934. 

Both his brother (who was his 

business partner) and his wife were 

trying to talk him out of production 

of his “Snow White and the Seven 

Dwarves” concept. Industry insiders 

dubbed the project “Disney’s Folly,” 

assuming that audiences couldn’t 

stomach a full-length cartoon, 

and that adults wouldn’t pay to sit 

through a fairy tale. Disney even 

mortgaged his home to complete the 

then $1.5 million film as production 

lasted three years and took around 

750 artists, and nearly two million 

individual paintings, to complete. 

Amidst those obstacles, how did 

Disney succeed in bringing his very 

different version of the Grimm fairy 

tale to life? He gathered his storyboard 

artists to tell them his version of the 

story that he felt had been inside of 

him his whole life (for instance, Disney 

added the humor to the story, in part by 

naming each of the dwarves). Disney 

opened up to these trusted confidants 

and said come in to the fold, be a part 

of the story. 

The result was a huge success. The 

Oscar-winning movie, adjusted for 

inflation, remains a top-10 all-time 

grossing film. At the time of its 50th 

anniversary in 1987, the New York 

Times reported 

that “Snow White” 

had grossed some 

$330 million worldwide, and 

remained one of the most popular 

films ever made. It was also the first 

American film to have a soundtrack 

album released simultaneously with 

the film’s release, featuring such 

famous songs as “Heigh-Ho,” “Whistle 

While You Work,” and “Someday My 

Prince Will Come.” 

More importantly, it became the 

centerpiece of the Disney brand and 

drove enormous future change and 

opportunity for Disney. Had Snow 

White never been made, had Disney 

not 

let 

others in to 

the fold and let 

them be part of the 

story, Disney wouldn’t be the 

global, ubiquitous brand it is today. 

Here’s the bottom line: People can 

choose to work for or do business with 

anybody they want. There are lots of 

quality companies and providers. Why 

should they choose your business over 

your competitor? It’s relationships. And 

how do you get in to those personal 

relationships? It comes through being 

transparent and authentic and understanding 

what your story is and how 

to share it. Those stories in turn reveal 

values that connect you to customers. 

So what’s your story? And how can 

you start telling it to your customers? 

At a time of great turmoil stemming 

from Covid realities, political and social 

unrest, and economic challenges, it 

could be the key to your company’s 

future success. 

Drew Ruble 

drewruble@gmail.com 

Editor | PW News 

VOL. 3, NO. 1 | WINTER 2021 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | 3

CONQUER 

Corner 

Want to Grow 

your Business? 

Spend more time doing the things 

you love? Turn the wrench on these 

four company systems this winter. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: 

Brandon Vaughn, Chief Strategist at 

CONQUER®, 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. 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. Learn more at 

go.conquernow.com/apply. 

BY BRANDON VAUGHN 

“Well…it looks like we will need 

to reschedule Marla’s roof for another 

day. The moss is frozen solid...” 

Of course... our second call today 

from one of our techs, with yet 

another job rescheduled due to 

the dropping temperature of the 

dreaded winter season. 

Some years - winter proved 

to be a welcome relief from the 

madness of the year. With my season 

ski pass to Mt. Hood in hand, I would 

spend my weekdays hunting fresh 

powder in the backcountry. 

But this winter - I needed to work 

on something I had been putting off 

for quite some time. 

It was time to implement some 

systems. With our growth of this past year, 

a lot of things started slipping through 

the cracks. We experienced higher turnover, 

more callbacks, more stress. 

So, I was determined to fix some 

of these issues. Even with focused, 

diligent execution, I barely finished 

my systems’ projects before the 

winter season was over and the spring 

rush began. 

If you are feeling like I did, and 

want to spend some time working 

ON the business this winter season – 

here are four system-related projects 

you can tackle. 

CREATE A 

TRAINING SYSTEM 

Very few projects can have as large 

of an impact as building a training 

system that can get new hires up to 

speed fast in your company. 

Use the down season to record 

videos introducing new hires to your 

company - what your core values are, 

where you are going as a business, and 

how they can have an impact. 

Start by brainstorming in a Word 

document, and write out a rough 

outline of everything a new hire 

needs to know to be a lead tech. 

Focus on a few different categories 

like: providing a basic understanding 

of their tools, their supplies, your 

services, your vehicles, and how to 

perform their daily tasks. 

The list you end up must now 

go through a few different stages: 

from rough draft to final outline to 

recorded video to edited video and 

finally, published. Don’t worry too 

much about high production quality 

- just get it down in a rough form. You 

can use several different methods for 

storing your videos. You can put them 

in a learning management software 

program like TalentLMS, or simply 

drop them into a Google Drive, with 

some Google Forms for creating some 

simple tests. Just get it done. 

Just imagine sitting a new hire 

down and teaching them all the foundational 

basics before they even get 

out into the field. You will notice the 

overall morale of your team improve. 

Trainers experience less training burn 

out, and new hires feel more confident 

more quickly, which boosts retention. 

When we implemented a good 

training system, we cut down 

training times DRASTICALLY and 

could get a new lead technician up 

to speed working on his own within 

about two weeks. 


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CONQUER CORNER 

DESIGN YOUR 

CUSTOMER JOURNEY 

What does it feel like to be a client 

using your company for the first time? 

Is it white-glove and concierge-like, 

guiding the client through every step 

of the process with precise communication? 

Or does it feel like a cruel 

game of telephone tag? 

Use the winter time to map out 

every touch point a client has with 

your company. 

There are four categories of the 

customer journey you can work on: 

Lead-to-Estimate, Estimate-to-Sale, 

Sale-to-Service, and Post-Service. 

Lead to Estimate: How easy is 

it for a prospect to reach you? 

Do you have a system for never 

missing a phone call? Does your 

prospect quickly get a quote, 

and does your quote have a 

beautiful presentation quality 

that builds perceived value? 

Estimate to Sale: What kind 

of automated emails are you 

sending out that follow-up and 

add value to your prospect, 

making sure they don’t get 

away? What kind of nurture 

sequence do you have that keeps 

you top of mind even months 

after an estimate is given? 

Sale to Service: Are you 

diligently providing your client 

with over the top communication 

of when you will arrive, 

even providing automated 

reminders and on my way 

texts? Are you making sure to 

ask for referrals even before you 

provide service? 

Post-Service: Do you have 

an automated way to ask for 

reviews and referrals? Are 

you thanking your client and 

following up after service to 

make sure they are happy? 

For this project, I suggest getting 

out a whiteboard and post-it notes 

and thinking through every step of the 

experience as a client. This exercise 

will pay you back for years to come 

with increased revenue, higher tickets 

and more referrals than ever before. 

CREATE A 

MARKETING CALENDAR 

AND BUDGET 

Anyone who has built a marketing 

calendar understands the simple 

saying “Math is the Path.” 

Let’s say you want to grow an 

extra $500,000 this coming year. You 

can easily calculate how much you 

need to spend in marketing using 

some quick math. 

• $500,000 / Average Ticket = 

# of new jobs 

• # of new jobs / Your Closing 

Ratio = # of new leads needed 

• All that remains is to figure out 

your target Cost Per Lead. 

To find that out, take some time to 

look over how much you’ve spent in 

marketing over the last year and break 

it down into total spend per marketing 

channel. (For instance, social media 

ads, google adwords, SEO, print ads, 

postcards, direct mail, etc.) 

Take that total spend for each 

marketing channel and divide that 

into how many leads each of those 

channels have brought in. There’s 

your Cost Per Lead. Growth literally 

becomes a math problem. 

When creating a calendar, ask 

yourself: ‘What new channels do I 

want to test out for this year? What 

marketing campaigns can I run for 

each month of the year?’ 

For instance, October is Breast 

Cancer Awareness Month. Maybe your 

technicians can wear pink shirts and 

you can offer matching discounts in 

exchange for contributions to charitable 

organizations. Think through your 

messaging and potential offers for each 

of the seasons - Spring Cleaning Offers, 

Summer BBQ Cleanup, Fall Cleanup, 

Winter Washing, etc. 

There is literally an unlimited 

amount of clever marketing campaigns 

you can run. But remember - the best 

marketing campaigns are ones that 

are planned out in advance. Take a 

couple days, and map out what type 

of marketing campaigns you believe 

in and can get behind. 

ORGANIZE YOUR 

COMPANY FILES 

Have you ever been frustrated 

trying to hunt down that key account 

file, re-ordering supplies, or retrieving 

those before/after photos? 

Get everything moved up to the cloud 

this winter season so every company file 

you have can easily be accessed by all of 

your key team members. 

I recommend Google’s G-Suite 

over any other cloud based platforms, 

for several reasons: 

• team members can easily be 

added/removed to certain 

folders 

• everything is saved automatically 

and backed up and easily 

restored 

• you can have multiple team 

members viewing and editing 

company files at the same time 

Make sure you use the Shared 

Drives functionality, rather than My 

Drive, so that you can take advantage 

of all of the sharing features. 

I recommend creating four Shared 

Drives: Marketing, Admin, Production, 

and Sales, then adding in a private and 

confidential Executive folder that 

contains sensitive HR files and other 

confidential company files that you as 

an owner will need to have access to 

separately. This project definitely takes 

some time to sit down and map out 

how you want to store files, but it’s 

so worth the investment of time. And 

here’s a tip: come up with consistent 

naming conventions, so that files are 

easy to identify before opening them 

up. Be careful not to name files something 

vague like “Important Client 

Info.doc” - but rather, get specific and 

consistent like “Princeton Properties - 

Property Manager List.doc” 

REAPING 

THE BENEFITS 

As CEO of your company, 

remember that working ON your business, 

not IN your business is what will 

bring you the greatest return on your 

time. These types of system building 

projects can literally add six figures to 

your company over the next year. I’ve 

seen it done. I’ve done it myself! 

Delegate menial tasks like cleaning 

out the trucks, working on equipment, 

and fixing engines to someone 

else. This winter - turn the wrench on 

your company systems. 

And then next year, when your 

company is running more automated 

and more profitable than ever - come 

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Virtual 

Reality 

Pressure washing enters 

the video gaming realm 

BY DREW RUBLE 

The average pressure wash operator 

works hard, beats the streets for sales, 

comes home each night tired, and 

certainly doesn’t think of their work as 

very interesting to the general public. 

Newsflash. Think again. 

As reported in a previous issue of 

PW News, vast sections of the internet 

are dedicated to videos of things 

being power washed because a broad 

swath of the general public finds the 

process of transforming grime-covered 

surfaces to clean and bright spaces to 

be utterly mesmerizing. 

In fact, since as far back as 2010, 

millions, that’s right, millions of people 

have watched clips from YouTube channels 

like Power Washing World, where 

outdoor furniture, trucks, patios -- even 

vegetables—are pressure washed. 

BuzzFeed once uploaded a pressure 

washing video to YouTube that 

garnered more than 1.4 million views 

in less than four days. 

Many if not most pressure wash 

operators are in on the secret and have 

been for a long time. A wildly popular 

sub-Reddit called r/Powerwashingporn 

allows pressure washer enthusiasts to 

upload their own pressure wash videos. 

The site boasts a community nearly 

600,000 people. 

What’s the attraction? We reported 

it probably has something to do 

with Autonomous Sensory Meridian 

Response (ASMR), which, defined in 

medical terms, describes the experience 

of tingling sensations in the crown of 

the head, in response to a range of 

audio-visual triggers. 

No matter the explanation, the 

bottom line is that pressure wash videos 

have become insanely popular. 

BRAND NEW DAY 

Now the human obsession with 

pressure washing has entered the multibillion-dollar 

video gaming realm. 

UK-based FuturLab’s PowerWash 

Simulator (screen grabs pictured here) 

lets interested gamers blast dirt into 

oblivion right from their desktop. 

The game puts a power washer 

in the gamer’s hands and lets them 

blast away on a dirty two-story house. 

Gamers try to achieve 100% progress 

on the task. Eventually the game maker 

says there will be more scenes to clean, 

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Send your news, 

press releases, and story tips to 

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JOIN US 

If you would like to advertise 

in the next edition of PW News, , contact 

Jacksonv@pressurewashnews.com

VIRTUAL REALITY 

start, starting with stripping the house 

clean from years of dirt build-up. 

According to PCGamer.com, when 

the game player arrived at Suzie’s, “the 

situation is pretty bad. The front door, 

windows, porch, garage, driveway, and 

roof are all filthy, you can barely see 

the original paintwork underneath the 

thick layer of dirt. It’s super nasty.” 

The house is soon sparkling, though, 

via the gamer’s efforts. 

additional equipment (more than the 

three nozzles offered now), and even 

a chance to open your own pressure 

wash business. 

(Editor’s Note #1: 

Are you kidding me? 

Do they know how hard 

this is? Or perhaps wannabe 

pressure washers should try 

this virtual approach first 

before diving in to 

the industry!) 

Futurlab has been taking requests 

for clean-up scenes gamers would 

like to attack in future PowerWash 

Simulator editions. 


No doubt PW News 

readers could fill their 

inbox with random, odd, 

big, or dirty jobs they’ve 

done in the past.) 

HOW IT WORKS 

Reviewers from TheVerge.com 

write that there’s no winning or losing 

in this game. Instead, you “receive feedback 

from the client when the job is 

done, a before and after picture to show 

the impact of your work, and a recap on 

how many gallons of water you used.” 

According to TheVerge.com, attention 

to detail is key to better feedback. 

“It does not focus so much on how 

quickly you clean, but rather how 

successful you are in cleaning each 

portion of the house,” the website 

review stated. “Even when a spot looks 

clean, you will need to keep washing 

until you get the on-screen notification 

that a particular spot on the house is 

cleansed. A hint feature can show you 

which portion of the specific area you 

may have missed, such as cracks on the 

sidewalk.” 

One of the challenges gamers face 

while indulging their ASMR using the 

game is selecting the right nozzle for a 

particular part of the job. 

“Choosing the right nozzle will 

determine how much surface area you 

cover, and some are better for certain 

situations,” the website explains. “The 

yellow nozzle covers a large amount of 

dirt, the red one is ideal for removing 

dirt from small areas such as the balusters 

on porch railings, while the orange 

hose provides a balance between the 

two in terms of size.” 


No, I don’t think soft 

wash is an option. 

Maybe in version 2.0) 

A CASE IN POINT 

PCGamer.com described in detail 

one scenario presented by the game. A 

client, Suzie, wanted her home’s exterior 

cleaned. In an email, she explained 

that she had just divorced her good-fornothing 

husband and wanted a fresh 


Sounds almost like a 

pre-employment tool for 

pressure wash company 

owners looking not just for 

workers interested in the 

task at hand, but who can 

think through equipment 

choices and do work a 

customer is satisfied with. 

Perhaps this game can 

become part of the preemployment 

protocols in 

the industry!) 

THE TAKE AWAY 

FuturLab said it released the early 

demo of its game in part due to the 

Covid-19 outbreak. “Frankly, we 

thought folks could do with a relaxing 

stress reliever right now!” the company 

stated on its website. 


Maybe some of these 

people needing a little 

relaxation would like to 

pick up a wand and work 

for your business for free! 

Sheesh!) 


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INDUSTRY 

DIRT 

A look around the cleaning equipment 

world for news and notes of interest 

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

A Fresh Perspective 

Photographer Ron Burkett created a beautiful and 

unusual piece of art during the lockdown. He used a pressure 

washer to draw an epic wildlife mural on his driveway 

and captured it from above with a drone. It’s viewable on 

YouTube. “During the ‘stay at home’ order of the Coronavirus 

pandemic of 2020, I decided to catch up on some projects 

around the house,” Burkett wrote on Facebook. One of those 

projects was pressure-washing the driveway. But instead of 

just washing the concrete, Burkett used the pressure washer 

to draw mountains and trees, wolves and elks, and turn them 

into a wonderful scene. 

Serving Communities 

There were numerous national news 

stories about pressure wash companies 

offering up free services in the wake of both 

Covid-19 sanitation needs in their communities, 

as well as clean-up help in the aftermath 

of tensions over racial injustice and resulting 

rioting and graffiti damage on public or 

historic structures. Here are just a few examples 

of such goodwill that caught our eye. 

Centralillinoisproud.com reported on 

Pekin, Illinois-based Magshine Pressure 

Washing offering free pressure wash in places 

across central Illinois affected by recent graffiti 

and riots. In a Facebook post, company 

owner Brandon Lawson said he would offer a 

pressure wash to any local building, company, 

or home vandalized by rioters. Lawson said he 

just wanted to offer a hand to the community. 

“We’re all going through a bad time but there 

are a lot more good people out there than 

there are bad people let’s just come together 

and make it happen,” Lawson said. 

Al.com reported that a Confederate 

memorial statue in downtown Huntsville, 

Alabama got a mysterious pressure-washing 

recently to clean red paint dumped on 

it by protesters. Local television station 

WAFF attributed the overnight cleanup 

attempt to a concerned citizen who owns 

a local power washing company, but did 

not identify the individual. The statue was 

defaced with paint in late May 2020 when 

protestors were gathering regularly on the 

courthouse square in the wake of George 

Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. 

And the Jefferson City News Tribune in 

Missouri reported that Wash Authority 

owners Karen Loaiza-Wulff and Eric Wulff 

cleaned and sanitized the playground 

equipment of 10 local elementary school 

playgrounds in the aftermath of the 

Covid-19 outbreak. 

In the Everflo 

Paynesville, Minnasota-based 

Everflo®, a brand of Valley Industries, 

introduced in December 2020 the 

new Everflo® 12 Volt On-Demand 

Soft Wash (Bleach) Pumps. This 

dual-purpose pump was designed and 

engineered to handle bleach applications, 

while upgrading user systems 

with minimal investment. 

The company says it is ground 

breaking and perfect for cleaning 

black mold, algae, lichen and mildew 

from surfaces that are not tolerant of 

the impact of high-pressure washing. 

This bleach pump can also be used for 

disinfecting high-traffic indoor surfaces 

with antibacterial or antiviral bleach 

formulas. Simply spray, let 

dwell, and rinse – no scrubbing 

or high-impact pressure 

washing required. 

The pump features an 

automatic power switch that 

turns the pump off when no 

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Technology that shuts the 

pump off if an internal leak 

is detected, and self-priming 

up to 10 feet while having the 

ability to run dry. Additional product 

features include corrosion-resistant 

Viton valves and Santoprene 

diaphragm, polypropylene pump 

manifold with Quick-Attach ports, 

and a standard mounting pattern for 

quick installation. 

Replacement pump heads are 

available to keep the pump running at 

a fraction of the cost of replacing the 

entire pump. It is available in 2.2, 4.0 & 

5.5 gallon per minute offerings. 

In only 10 years, Everflo® 

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and quality for on-demand, 

12-volt diaphragm pumps. It 

currently offers several variations 

of diaphragm, soft wash, and 

potable freshwater RV pumps. 

These pumps span a wide range 

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lawn and garden, and fluid 

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INDUSTRY DIRT 

Making a Difference 

The McDowell News in Marion, North Carolina 

profiled a local organization called Freedom Life, 

which serves men and women during and after 

incarceration to help them transition and transform 

their lives by becoming positive contributors in the 

community. Even in a strong economy, people with 

a criminal record struggle to find employment. For 

those who lack job experience and training, it can 

be even more difficult to overcome the past and 

take their lives in a new and positive direction. 

To address this very real need, Freedom Life 

launched a new subsidiary business called Freedom 

Pressure Washing, which works to provide a professional 

work environment, spiritual mentoring, 

and job/life skill development. Freedom Pressure 

Taking Charge 

Newly-installed Cleaning Equipment Trade 

Association (CETA) president Jimmy Welch 

sent the following letter to his membership in 

November 2020. 

“The year 2020 has given the worldwide 

cleaning industry the opportunity to help combat 

the global pandemic by contributing expertise 

in cleaning, sanitation, and disinfection. Industry 

members strived to protect their own workers 

and customers -- and to share the tools for 

doing the same with others. The Cybersecurity 

and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) list 

of essential businesses includes many entities 

served by CETA manufacturers, distributors, and 

suppliers. The list ranges from chemical and critical 

manufacturing sectors, to healthcare, agriculture, 

and transportation systems. In response 

to needs of essential businesses, our industry 

members have in many instances added new 

product offerings, such as disinfectants approved 

by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

and the misters/sprayers for their application. 

The focus on cleaning and disinfection – from 

shopping carts and doors on frozen-food cabinets 

in grocery stores to high-contact areas in 

restaurants – has made members of CETA more 

visible. In turn, the visibility has strengthened 

the organization. (The circumstances of the year 

have led to some unexpected areas of industry 

growth, too, such as the increase in demand for 

graffiti removal tools.) 

Washing was launched in January of 2018 and 

soon gained contracts with a large grocery chain. 

As the number of store contacts grew, and thanks 

to a People in Need grant through the Community 

Foundation of Western North Carolina, a second 

pressure washing team was started in January of 

2019. In addition to the supermarket contracts, 

Freedom Pressure Washing now works with fast 

food restaurants and regional businesses to provide 

pressure washing and surface cleaning. 

Danny Hampton, executive director of 

Freedom Life said the entity was seeing a 95% 

success rate with the individuals they have the 

privilege to work with through Freedom Pressure 

Washing. 

“Although PowerClean 2020 slated for 

Reno, Nevada had to be cancelled, virtual 

meetings will carry us through until we can 

meet in person at PowerClean 2021 in New 

Orleans, Louisiana. Until we convene in the 

Pelican State, know that all CETA initiatives – 

benchmarking, standards (safety – THC 335H, 

performance – CPC 100, technical), distributor 

certification, CETA University, CETA 

Education Foundation, continue. View and 

monitor developments by visiting our website 

(https://ceta.org/) frequently. I challenge you to 

become involved in CETA – your organization 

– any way you can, and to promote the organization 

to peers. A strong and active membership 

that reflects our industry will ensure a long, 

vigorous future for CETA. 

“It is a great honor to begin my service as 

president of CETA. I look forward to working 

with you, as well as with the board of directors 

and staff who themselves work tirelessly on 

behalf of CETA members and the industry.” 

Welch, vice president, engineering, at 

American Pressure in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, 

has more than four decades of experience in 

all aspects of the cleaning equipment industry, 

including tenures as head of R&D/engineering 

for MiTM, General Pump, Pressure Pro, and FNA 

group. He is also credited in numerous industry 

patents, and has had a hand in the design of many 

of the best pumps on the market today. 

A Giant Among Us 

Raymond E. “Ray” Simon, 83, of Toledo, Ohio, 

died on Sept. 18, 2020. According to The Blade in 

Toledo, Simon started the Giant Towel Co., which 

sold large towels to car washes, in 1972. He eventually 

started to sell pumps used in pressure washers, which 

became Giant Industries. Giant Industries now has 

about three dozen employees and sales of about $15 

million. Simon ran the company until the mid-2000s, 

when he sold the business to son, Ed. According to 

the paper, the story goes that Simon was heading 

to California in 1959 when he ended up in Cedar 

Rapids, Iowa, and started selling pumps for a German 

manufacturer along the Eastern Seaboard. It was that 

work that spawned the ideas for the Giant Towel 

Co. and later Giant Industries, as well as his love 

of flying. “He became known as the salesman who 

would fly a small plane into town to sell pumps, and 

the customer would meet him at the airport. It was 

faster to fly than to drive,” The Blade wrote. “Simon 

came back to Toledo to start Giant Towel. The pump 

business took off as they became more important in 

the market. The company now sells a whole line of 

pumps and accessories, and also still sells towels. 

Big Weekend in 

the Big Easy 

The annual joint conference of the Cleaning Equipment 

Trade Association (CETA) and the Power Washers of North 

America (PWNA) will take place Sept. 8-11, 2021, at the 

Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Louisiana. These associations 

are coming together again for PowerClean 2021. See 

industry leading exhibitors, experience equipment training, 

attend seminars, network, and have fun. While both associations 

will remain independent and have events on their 

own, CETA and PWNA feel that these two associations 

can combine efforts to work towards a common goal: “Two 

Teams. One Vision. Advancing the industry forward.” 

The Hyatt is centered downtown near Champions 

Square, Smoothie King Center, and minutes from the 

historic French Quarter, Arts District, and Mississippi 

Riverfront. If you registered for PowerClean Reno 2020, 

your registration will carry over to 2021 New Orleans. If 

you have any questions, call (800) 393-7962. 


INDUSTRY DIRT 

Honda Innovation 

Alpharetta, Georgia-based Honda Engines, a 

business unit of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., 

announced in October 2020 it was launching two, 

all-new engines designed specifically to increase the 

performance of pressure washers—enhancing the 

user experience and making jobs easier. Replacing the 

Honda GCV160 and GCV190, the company says 

the all-new Honda GCV170 and GCV200 pressure 

washer engines delivers more power and more torque 

for premium residential applications, along with a 

range of technological attributes, innovative features, 

and a simple design that make the new models even 

more reliable and easier to operate and maintain. 

According to the company, both engines offer 

best-in-class power and torque that deliver peak 

performance in the toughest of operating conditions. 

More power and torque from the engines 

(GCV170: an increase in torque of 18 percent and 

a nine percent horsepower gain over the GCV160; 

GCV200: an increase in torque of 13 percent and 

10 percent horsepower gain over the GCV190) 

allow the pump of a pressure washer to produce 

a steady, even amount of high pressure to the hose 

and cleaning attachment, the company stated in a 

press release, while reducing the need for the operator 

to repeat spray. 

“The Honda GC Series, part of our legendary 

family of premium engines for residential applications, 

provides efficient power, superior fuel efficiency, 

and quiet operation for customers who rely 

on their outdoor power products to get jobs done,” 

said William Walton, vice president, Honda Power 

Equipment. “When it comes to pressure washing, 

the new Honda GCV170 and GCV200 models 

enhance our current GC Series, offering a host of 

added benefits—delivering more power and torque 

than earlier models and innovative design features 

that provide for an easy, enjoyable operating experience 

for consumers.” 

Both all-new Honda GCV170 and GCV200 

pressure washer engines meet the SAEJ1349 net 

horsepower standard, which rates engine power with 

the muffler and air filter in place. This net standard 

rating accurately reflects real-world operating conditions. 

Because pressure washers often are operated 

in tough outdoor conditions—after long periods of 

storage, in temperature extremes, with high loads, 

and with frequent stopping and starting—the power 

and torque of the pressure washer engine are factors 

that affect performance. 

In addition to higher net power output, both 

engines also offer class-leading torque, delivering 

more power to the 

pump, resulting in more 

consistent pressure and 

cleaning capability. Further, 

the new Honda GCV170 

and GCV200 pressure washer 

engines offer overhead valve 

(OHV) design that increases combustion 

efficiency, allowing for lower compression 

ratios and greater power output. 

Last, the new Honda GCV170 and GCV200 

pressure washer engines are designed with a number 

of innovative features that make them consistently 

reliable, season after season: 

• Honda Cycloflow technology enhances the 

air-fuel mixture and makes it easier to start the 

engine and idle smoothly while making it more 

resilient to poor quality fuel. New V-shaped 

valves and a pent-roof shape of the combustion 

chamber enable air in the cylinder to flow 

more smoothly. A longer stroke also enhances 

turbulence in the cylinder, which helps the 

mixture of air and fuel. 

• A Fuel Off position allows the user to stop the 

flow of fuel to the engine when the pressure 

washing is complete. The Fuel Off position 

allows the engine to run until the majority of 

fuel in the carburetor is consumed, preventing 

sticky carburetor buildup that makes for 

cleaner storage and easier future starting. 

• The addition of Auto Choke and relocation of 

the wax thermostatic element from the top to 

the side of the cylinder improves heat transfer 

and makes for easier engine starting in all 

conditions. 

• Honda GCV170 and GCV200 pressure washer 

models are configured to make engine operation 

more convenient and efficient, enhancing 

the overall experience of using a pressure 

washer: 

• The new engine design reduces the number of 

steps required to start the engine by 75 percent 

over previous models. 

• A simplified engine layout with user friendly 

features, including a quick-drain oil tube, a 

larger fuel tank opening, easy-access spark 

plug, captive carburetor bolts and a finger-operated 

filter cover make quick work of disassembly 

with fewer tools and quicker repairs. 

• A new muffler structure and resin protector 

reduce engine noise and improve operator 

comfort and safety. 

• Enhanced 

balance of the crankshaft 

reduces engine 

vibration. 

• The new Honda 

GCV170 and GCV200 

pressure washer engines 

also feature a robust, polygon-square 

shape with a sleek, flat top 

that leaves room for pressure washer manufacturers 

to include their brands and logos. And 

the engine shape is designed to fit neatly into 

the frames of pressure washers. 

Both all-new Honda engines are assembled in the 

USA at the Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing, 

Inc. facility in Swepsonville, North Carolina using 

domestic and globally sourced parts. This Honda 

center of excellence is involved in the continuous 

development of world-class power equipment 

products. While providing product engineering, 

prototype development and testing, the associates 

work closely with suppliers to further the company 

goals of technologically advanced products and local 

parts sourcing. 

The Honda GCV200 pressure washer engine is 

available now, and the Honda GCV170 pressure 

washer engine will be available in spring 2021. Both 

models carry a two-year non declining warranty. 

Parts and services will be widely available via the 

Honda national network of dealers. 

Honda Power Equipment, a division of American 

Honda Motor Co., Inc., markets a complete range 

of outdoor power equipment, including generators, 

walk-behind and robotic lawn mowers, pumps, 

snow blowers, tillers, string trimmers, outboard 

marine engines and small, general-purpose engines 

for residential, commercial and rental applications. 

Honda is the world's largest manufacturer of 

engines for a diverse array of automotive, powersports, 

marine, aerospace and power equipment products. 

The company offers a complete line of small, 

general-purpose engines for industrial, commercial, 

rental industry, and consumer applications. Honda 

engines supply smooth and dependable power for 

thousands of different product applications including 

pressure washers, lawn mowers, rescue and construction 

equipment. Additionally, Honda engines are 

some of the quietest and easiest to start of their kind, 

even in harsh commercial and construction environments. 

Such attributes have made Honda engines the 

popular choice for original equipment manufacturers 

looking to add value to their own brands. 


INDUSTRY DIRT 

Lifetime Achievement Award 

Patrick G. “Pat” Wingen, 

who died last year, 

was recently named 

2020 CETA Lifetime 

Achievement Award 

Recipient by the Cleaning 

Equipment Trade Association 

(CETA). 

Wingen made his mark in the 

pressure washing industry as CEO 

of AaLadin Industries, guiding the 

company in growth and innovation, and 

in serving as the first president of CETA. 

After receiving his bachelor’s degree 

at South Dakota State University 

in Brookings, SD, and his MBA at 

the University of South Dakota in 

Vermillion, SD, he joined the industry 

working at Alkota. Shortly thereafter, 

in 1981, Pat joined with Bill Busker 

and Eldean Kjose to create AaLadin 

Cleaning Systems. Their goal was to 

build the best quality equipment 

with a new design 

and easy serviceability. 

Over the years, Wingen 

started and grew several 

other companies, including 

Steel Eagle Inc., making pressure 

washer accessories, such as hose 

reels, surface spinners, undercarriage 

cleaners,vacuum systems, and more. In 

April of 1994 he was named the South 

Dakota Small Business Man of the Year. 

AaLadin was at the forefront in 

many industry advances, including 

these features: 

• Quick-change coil design— 

a vertical heat chamber 

with a lift-out coil 

• Two-piece coil design with 

cold- water wrap and helical coil 

• Bucket insulation 

• Rotational molded fuel tanks 

• Poly float tanks 

• Diagnostic control panel for 

flow, temperature, and fuel 

• Flat-free tires 

• Swivel front casters 

• High efficiency heat chamber 

• Stainless steel wrappers, belt 

guards, and control panels 

• Self-contained pod assembly 

for pickups 

• GFCI cord assembly 

• Past recipients include of 

the Lifetime Achievement 

Award include: 

• 2013: Roy & Linda Chappell of 

Chappell Supply & Equipment 

Co. and John 

Sr. & Brenda Purswell of Alklean 

Industries, Inc. 

• 2014: Gary Scott of 

Alkota Cleaning Systems 

• 2015: Ralph A. Notch 

of AR North America, Inc. 

• 2016: Charles Tibboles 

of R.W. Beckett 

• 2017: Tim & Karen Layden 

of High PSI 

• 2018: Dr. Marlo Dean Karcher 

NA and Mr. Roger Walz of 

Alkota Cleaning Systems 

• 2019: Gregg Brodsky of Alkota 

Cleaning Systems 

CETA established the Lifetime 

Achievement Award in 1995 to recognize 

those who have achieved excellence 

in the pressure cleaning industry 

and to honor those who have made 

significant contributions. 

Nominees must have made a significant 

contribution to the industry and 

will continue to distinguish their work 

in the improvement of our industry. 

Please contact Awards Chair, 

CETA, with suggested nominations 

and requests for information at info@ 

ceta.org. 

S A LS EA SL TM 

E S TM 

PARTS, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT 

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Overcoming 

“Affluenza” 

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic made us acutely aware of the 

dangers to our health from a virus that can’t be seen with the naked eye. But 

business owners face a risk from an equally contagious and invisible virus. 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: 

Chuck Violand founded Violand 

Management Associates in 1987 with 

the objective of helping owners of small 

businesses build profitable businesses 

for their long-term professional and 

personal success. As an author and 

popular keynote speaker, Violand is a 

respected authority on entrepreneurial 

small businesses, having spent more 

than 30 years as both a business 

consultant and an executive coach. 

He is a regular contributor to trade 

journals and newsletters and is the 

author of the popular weekly leadership 

series Monday Morning Notes. Violand 

Management Associates, LLC is a 

consulting firm working internationally 

to help entrepreneurial companies 

achieve sustained profitable growth. 

Look them up at violand.com for details 

or contact them at 1-800-360-3513.] 

BY CHUCK VIOLAND 

As healthcare professionals around 

the world struggle to address a 

pandemic brought on by the spread 

of COVID-19, another virus has been 

running rampant within the ranks of 

business owners and their companies 

for years; one that continues to go 

largely unrecognized. COVID-19 

may be dominating the headlines, 

but the virus I’m referring to is alive 

and well and thriving in far too many 

business owners. 

This virus can have as debilitating 

an effect on the health of a business as 

the current pandemic has on our own 

health. And, unfortunately, washing 

our hands, coughing into our sleeve, or 

social distancing is completely ineffective 

in controlling its spread. 

The virus I’m referring to is 

Affluenza. Although I’ve seen the 

virus’s destructive effects on businesses 

for years, my first exposure to 

its name occurred when I came across 

the term in an article written by Dr. 

Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez in The Family 

Business Advisor newsletter. 

As a business advisor myself, I’ve 

witnessed the terribly harsh effects 

Affluenza can have on previously 

healthy companies. I’ve worked 

for years to restrict its spread 

but, regrettably, I have not 

always been successful 

in my efforts. There are 

times when the virus 

gets such a strong grip 

on an owner that he 

becomes blind to the 

harmful effects it’s 

having on his company, 

or he enters a state of 

denial about what’s taking 

place. 

Affluenza doesn’t usually 

manifest itself when a business 

is young or struggling. Most 

companies and their owners seem to 

have a built-in immunity that protects 

them during times such as these. It’s 

when a company starts to succeed that 

their owner’s immune system becomes 

compromised, and the virus comes 

to life and spreads its infection with 

alarming speed and devastating, sometimes 

even lethal, effects. 

Although I have no hard data to 

support my claim, I feel the physical 

and mental makeup of many entrepreneurs 

predisposes them to carry the 

18 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | VOL. 2, NO. 1 | WINTER 2020

Join forces with the original 

power washing trade organization. 

Reap the rewards of a PWNA membership, and a clear, 

collective voice for the power washing industry. 

Kitchen 

Exhaust 

Cleaning 

Membership 

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For more information about these class packages 

go to: www.pwna.org/education 

Moving the Industry Forward 

Upcoming 2020 Events 

Harness The Power of Knowledge 

through PWNA Online Resources: 

Now Available 

• Online Compliance Classes 

• New Online Roof Cleaning Certification! 

• Online DOT Training, Kitchen Exhaust 

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Register Online by 12/1/20 For: 

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Certification classes include: 

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See website for more details. 

Jan 21 – 23, 2021 

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Don’t miss out 

– Act now while limited space lasts! 

POWERCLEAN 2021 

Convention details coming soon 

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– Reserve Your Safety Training Space Now!! 

Online Lunch & Learn from 12:00 - 1:00 EST: 

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Friday December 18th • Chemical Safety 

Call 800-393-7962 or visit PWNA.org 

to take your business to the next level

OVERCOMING 

“AFFLUENZA” 

Affluenza virus, although it can go on 

undetected for years. Many seem to be 

drawn to a “work hard, reward lavishly” 

lifestyle which appears to serve as a 

catalyst for the virus. 

As with many other business 

ailments, Affluenza infects a company 

when it is flush with cash or when 

sales are robust. But the symptoms 

go unnoticed. It’s when the company 

is put under pressure or when it’s 

attacked by outside influences such as 

economic turmoil or market changes 

that Affluenza raises its head and can 

cause irreparable damage. 

When symptoms of the virus are 

first detected one of the strategies to 

combat it that many companies adopt is 

to increase sales. While there is nothing 

wrong with increasing sales, doing so 

doesn’t cure the disease. Instead, it 

simply masks the symptoms, bringing 

temporary relief to the pain, much like 

taking an aspirin to treat COVID-19. 

It does nothing to treat the underlying 

problem, and it will sometimes backfire 

and actually feed the virus. 

The troubled email I received from 

the Chief Financial Officer of one of my 

clients got my attention and serves as a 

textbook study of Affluenza at work. 

We had developed a close working 

relationship over a span of years, so the 

CFO felt comfortable approaching me 

for advice. In her email she was expressing 

alarm at financial decisions the owner of 

the company was making. Most troubling 

was the owner’s instructions for 

her to bury some of his purchases on the 

company income statement where they 

might not be noticed. 

Apparently, he was concerned they 

would raise uncomfortable questions 

when his numbers were reviewed, both 

by the bank he was working with and 

by me during our conferences. 

This was a company that had 

enjoyed several years of rapid growth 

and financial success. They were on top 

of their game, celebrated as a model 

of success in both their local community 

and in their industry. It was not 

surprising that the owner wanted to 

start reaping the rewards of his accomplishments, 

as he had worked hard to 

get where he was. Unfortunately, he was 

choosing to make financial decisions 

that would contribute to the company’s 

eventual decline. This brings me to 

the first underlying cause of Affluenza. 

We don’t know how to handle financial 

success. As ridiculous as this might 

sound, handling finances and financial 

success is a learned skill. Our parents 

are usually our first teachers and, if they 

were successful managing their money, 

there’s a good chance they passed on 

sound financial lessons to us. If they 

weren’t particularly good with 

their finances, then we may need 

to reprogram some of the money 

lessons learned in our youth. 

Another critical point in our 

lives when we’re especially open 

to learning money lessons is early in 

our business careers. The people we 

associate with in business, the mentors 

with whom we surround ourselves, 

and the business experiences we have 

all leave lasting impressions, sometimes 

affecting the financial decisions 

we make both professionally and 

personally for the rest of our lives. As 

with the lessons we learn from our 

parents, these early business experiences 

can have either positive or negative 

consequences on our behavior. 

Most small businesses are started 

on a financial shoestring. Business 

owners learn how to make one dollar 

do two dollars’ worth of work, and 

they become masters of cash flow in 

a cash-strapped environment. When 

their company finally enjoys some 

measure of financial success after years 

of struggle and sacrifice, the owner 

sometimes finds themself unprepared 

to handle the change. They haven’t 

developed the discipline needed to 

manage an abundance of money. So 

they find ways to move it out of their 

life to return to the more familiar world 

of being strapped for cash. 

As with so many other personal 

behaviors, destructive financial behaviors 

can be turned around. One of 

the ways to accomplish this is with a 

concerted effort over a long enough 

period of time to allow the new behaviors 

to become habits. Although we can 

do this on our own, the chances for 

success usually increase dramatically 

when we have someone to help hold us 

accountable. In the case of the owner 

mentioned above, listening to the 

advice of his CFO would have saved 

him a lot of heartburn … and money. 

As with many diseases, Affluenza 

is harder to detect in the early stages 

when it is easiest to cure. Conversely, 

it’s easier to detect, but harder to cure, 

in its later stages when behaviors have 

become habits. 

You can usually trace the genesis of 

business problems to when a company 

is doing well: sales are strong, profits 

are deep, and cash flow is healthy. This 

is when business leaders lose focus, 

become complacent, or adopt attitudes 

of entitlement. This brings us to the 

second underlying cause of Affluenza. 

Our decisions are driven by ego 

and a sense of entitlement. Growing a 

business demands a lot of sacrifice on 

the part of the owner. It can exact a 

heavy toll in terms of time spent away 

from family, mental exhaustion, and 

even getting worn down physically. 

When business begins to go well, it 

seems logical that some owners would 

feel a sense of entitlement to lavishly 

reward themselves for their sacrifices: 

the luxury car, the vacation home, 

the abundant travel. There’s nothing 

inherently wrong with any of these 

indulgences. It’s when they interfere 

with the performance of the company 

You can usually trace the 

genesis of business problems 

to when a company is doing 

well: sales are strong, profits are 

deep, and cash flow is healthy. 

This is when business leaders 

lose focus, become complacent, 

or adopt attitudes of entitlement. 

or when they take value away from 

customers that they get in the way. 

Sometimes Affluenza is driven by a 

swollen ego, similar to the attitude of 

entitlement above. The primary difference 

is that with a swollen ego we use 

Affluenza to draw attention to ourselves 

or to maintain an appearance of success. 

An ego that is out of control is one of the 

most difficult areas to address with any 

business owner, as they are usually the 

last one to recognize when their ego has 

gotten out of control, and they usually 

don’t want to be told about it by you. 

Sometimes Affluenza doesn’t 


manifest itself with purchases or financial 

decisions. Instead, it shows up in 

subtle behaviors or in attitudes toward 

other people. 

We forget what it’s like to have a 

boss. Few of us are plopped into our 

position of authority overnight. We 

usually grow into it over time. As our 

company grows or as we rise through 

the ranks in our business, it’s easy to 

forget what it’s like to be one of the 

“workers.” The Queen of Mean, Leona 

Helmsley, is famous for her off-handed 

comment about “the little people.” 

While few of us would be brash enough 

to make such a comment, how often 

does our behavior unconsciously telegraph 

a similar message? 

When we’re the boss we can ignore 

feedback we don’t want to hear. We 

don’t feel the need to ask others for 

their opinion, but we can freely give 

our own. We don’t need to follow the 

chain of command we put in place if we 

feel like meddling. And we surely don’t 

need to go to the boss to ask for a raise; 

we just write ourselves a bigger check. 

As we learn lessons throughout our 

life, we frequently adopt rules to help 

guide our future decisions. One of the 

rules I’ve used in my life is the “Alex 

Bevan” rule. When I was in my early 

20’s I owned a night club, and one of 

the entertainers I hired was a popular 

Cleveland recording artist named 

Alex Bevan. In getting to know Alex, 

I learned he lived a very frugal life. I 

found this interesting considering his 

popularity and success … and the 

popular image of recording stars living 

lavish lifestyles. Alex told me his father 

advised him early on to “always live 

like you don’t know when you’ll get 

your next gig. That way you’ll never 

have to compromise your values to 

get it.” That was great advice for a 

recording artist. It’s also great advice 

for business owners. 

CHECKING YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR 

A 2018 Harvard Business Review (HBR) 

article titled “Ego is the Enemy of Good 

Leadership” made some interesting observations 

about bosses with swollen egos. 

According to its authors, Rasmus 

Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter: 

• “Our ego is like a target we carry with 

us. And like any target, the bigger it 

is, the more vulnerable it is to being 

hit. In this way, an inflated ego makes 

it easier for others to take advantage 

of us. Because our ego craves positive 

attention, it can make us susceptible to 

manipulation. It makes us predictable. 

When people know this, they can play 

to our ego. When we’re a victim of our 

own need to be seen as great, we end 

HBR offered the following advice for 

up being led into making decisions that 

bosses who can actually acknowledge they 

may be detrimental to ourselves, our 

may have an ego problem: 

people, and our organization. 

• “Consider the perks and privileges you 

are being offered in your role. Some of 

• “An inflated ego also corrupts our 

them enable you to do your job effectively. 

That’s great. But some of them 

behavior. When we believe we’re the 

sole architects of our success, we 

are simply perks to promote your status 

tend to be ruder, more selfish, and 

and power and ultimately ego. Consider 

more likely to interrupt others. This is 

which of your privileges you can let go 

especially true in the face of setbacks 

of. It could be the reserved parking spot 

and criticism. In this way, an inflated 

or…a special pass for the elevator. 

ego prevents us from learning from our 

mistakes and creates a defensive wall • “Support, develop, and work with 

that makes it difficult to appreciate the people who won’t feed your ego. Hire 

rich lessons we glean from failure. 

smart people with the confidence to 

speak up. 

• “Finally, an inflated ego narrows our 

vision. The ego always looks for information 

that confirms what it wants 

stones of selflessness. Make a habit of 

• “Humility and gratitude are corner- 

to believe. Basically, a big ego makes 

taking a moment at the end of each day 

us have a strong confirmation bias. 

to reflect on all the people that were 

Because of this, we lose perspective and part of making you successful on that 

end up in a leadership bubble where we day. This helps you develop a natural 

only see and hear what we want to. As a sense of humility, by seeing how you are 

result, we lose touch with the people we not the only cause of your success. And 

lead, the culture we are a part of, and 

end the reflection by actively sending a 

ultimately our clients and stakeholders. message of gratitude to those people.” 


AULD LANG SYNE 

Auld 

Lang 

Syne... 

‘Lucky A 

7’ 

list of New Year’s Resolutions for the Pressure Wash Industry 

BY DREW RUBLE 

According to History.com, the 

ancient Babylonians are said to have 

been the first people to make New 

Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. 

A similar practice occurred in 

ancient Rome, after emperor Julius 

Caesar established January 1 as the 

beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. 

Named for Janus, the two-faced 

god who looked backwards into the 

previous year and ahead into the 

future, the Romans made promises of 

good conduct for the coming year. 

For early Christians, the first day of 

the new year became the traditional 

occasion for thinking about one’s past 

mistakes and resolving to do and be 

better in the future. 

New Year’s resolutions today are 

a mostly secular practice. Instead 

of making promises to the gods, 

most people make resolutions only 

to themselves, and focus purely on 

self-improvement 

Why do we make them? Psychology 

Today wrote that “there is something 

so emotionally resonant about the 

possibility of turning over a new leaf, 

combined with our awareness that we 

should really lead better lives, means 

making New Year Resolutions is an 

almost universal activity.” 

According to the Statistic Brain 

Research Institute, while as many as 

45 percent of Americans say they 

usually make New Year’s resolutions, 

only eight percent are successful in 

achieving their goals and 80 percent 

have failed by the start of February. 

So why do we fail? 

Jonathan Alpert, author of Be 

Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, 

told Business Insider three of the 

biggest reasons people fail to complete 

their resolutions each year. 

First, he said, our resolutions aren’t 

specific enough. So, for example, 

according to Alpert, resolving to “lose 

weight” is an easy way to set yourself up 

for failure, as it is nebulous compared 

to a more specific resolution like “run 

a 5K by summer” or “lose 10 pounds 

in 100 days.” 

Next, we aren’t framing them 

positively. Alpert says don’t frame your 

resolutions with negative language. 

So instead of ‘Don’t eat junk food,’ 

we should be saying ‘Eat carrots and 

peanut butter as a healthy snack.’” 

Last, our resolutions aren’t really 

come from our personal core desires, 

but rather what we think other people 

want us to do. Alpert says set goals 

instead for yourself and only yourself. 

In the spirit of this 4,000-year 

tradition, we talked with several big 

hitters in the pressure wash industry to 

ascertain their advice about what we as 

an industry should be resolving to do 

this year in 2021. 




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Here then is our list of resolutions for the 

Pressure Wash Industry in this New Year. 

#1. Resolution 

to get past the 

politics of the day. 

Small business confidence fell to 

an all-time low after the election of 

former Vice President Joseph Biden, 

according to a 4th quarter 2020 CNBC 

| SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey. 

In the survey, conducted Nov. 10 to 

Nov. 17 among more than 2,200 small 

business owners nationally, 53% of 

small business owners said they expect 

tax policy to have a negative impact on 

their business in the next 12 months, 

while 49% said government regulation 

will have a negative impact. By 

party affiliation, the divide was stark. 

Among Republicans, 75% said tax 

policy will be a negative and 72% said 

regulations will be a negative. Those 

numbers dropped to 15% (taxes) and 

11% (regulations) among Democrats. 

Overall, the survey found 34% of small 

business owners saying Joe Biden will 

be good for small business, while 55% 

say he will be bad for small business. By 

party, 89% of Republican small business 

owners say Biden will be bad for 

business, while 86% of Democrats say 

he will be good for Main Street. 

No matter a change in regime in 

the nation’s capital, like it or not, our 

first New Year’s resolution is to get 

past it and focus on being successful no 

matter the political landscape. 

America is obviously very narrowly 

split politically, which means your 

customers are going to be a mix of 

50/50 and your employees are going to 

be a mix of 50/50 as well. A change in 

the presidency could no doubt result 

in a drastic change economically as the 

dominant parties propose two very 

different economic systems. With the 

transition happening in January 2021, 

the question becomes: how do you 

shape your business regardless of your 

political affiliations to take advantage 

and be successful regardless of who’s 

in charge? 

Consider the age-old tale of the 

optimist and the pessimist. In it, a 

university research team is said to have 

placed two little boys alone by themselves 

in very different environments 

to study the power of optimism and 

pessimism. Researchers put one boy 

in a room with all the latest toys, all 

the cool new gadgets, and everything 

that a little kid could ever want or 

hope for in a play room. Then, in the 

other room, they placed another boy, 

but in the middle of that room was just 

a six-foot-tall by 10-foot-wide pile of 

horse manure. 

After a while, researchers went to 

the room where the boy had all the toys 

he could possibly imagine, only to find 

him sitting in the middle of the room 

crying and upset. “Little boy,” they said, 

“why are you so miserable -- you’re in 

this room with all the toys, why are 

you so sad?” The boy responded “This 

is awesome but the more I think about, 

and the more things I play with that I 

could possibly break, I realize I could 

get in trouble with my mom and dad. 

So I’m afraid to touch anything and 

I’m just bummed because there’s toys 

here but there’s too big of a chance of 

me getting in trouble.” 

The researchers then went to the 

other room and found the other little 

boy screaming with joy and happily 

climbing over the top of the pile of 

manure. “Little boy,” they said. “You 

are in a room full of horse shit, why 

are you so happy?” And the little boy 

looked at them with a big smile on his 

face and said “Well, gosh, with all this 

horse crap in here, there’s bound to be 

a pony somewhere!” 

As a business owner, that’s how 

you have to look at political situations 

when they happen. If you’re a good 

business owner, you’re going to take 

assessment of any political, economic, 

or social changes, whatever they may 

be, and come up with a game plan 

from which you are going to win no 

matter what. 

Joe Biden’s record of business-related 

legislation in his four-plus 

decades in political office is minimal. 

But as food for thought on what could 

be forthcoming – and must be incorporated 

in to your game plan moving 

forward -- Lendio.com author Ben 

Glaser outlined Biden’s stated plans for 

small businesses in his administration. 

According to Glaser: 

Biden has pledged that he will 

institute a concerted federal response 

to the pandemic, as opposed to the 

patchwork of state policies preferred 

by the current administration. Sciencebacked 

policies like a public mask 

mandate are likely. 

Biden plans to order the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) “with setting 

and enforcing a rigorous emergency 

temporary standard so employers 

follow a clear set of rules to keep 

workers safe from COVID-19.” A 

Biden administration would also 

“create a ‘Safer for Shoppers’ program 

No matter a change in regime in the nation’s 

capital, like it or not, our first New Year’s 

resolution is to get past it and focus on being 

successful no matter the political landscape. 

that gives compliant businesses a sign 

for their window so shoppers know 

they have done what they can to minimize 

the risk of exposure.” 

Biden’s coronavirus plan also calls 

for financial relief efforts for small 

businesses. This includes a “‘restart 

package’ that provides small business 

owners support for retaining and 

rehiring workers and covering other 

costs of restarting in this challenging 

environment.” 

The campaign also supports 

“a temporary small business loan 

program designed to address unanticipated 

shortfalls in revenue by offering 

interest-free loans to small- and 

medium-sized businesses around the 

country through the duration of the 

crisis,” as well as federal funds for statelevel 

small business relief efforts. 

Additionally, the Biden campaign 

has emphasized stricter oversight of 

existing small business relief efforts 

like the Paycheck Protection Program 

(PPP) to ensure that money is really 

going to small businesses. Biden has 

proposed reserving half of all future 

PPP funds for extra-small businesses 

(those with 50 employees or fewer). 

Biden has stated he would work 

to ban all but essential non-compete 

clauses in employment contracts, as well 

as no-poaching policies and mandatory 

arbitration clauses. Non-competes 

were originally used to keep high-paid 

executives from taking industry secrets 

to competitors. But in recent years, 

non-competes have become common 

even for entry-level positions and have 

been used to prevent large swaths of 

workers from taking better jobs. 

Biden also advocates the removal 

of burdensome licensing in certain 

industries. 

Under a Biden presidency, corporate 

tax rates would increase. President 

Trump lowered the corporate tax 

rate from 35% to 21%. Biden would 

repeal much, though not all, of this cut, 

increasing the rate to 28%. 


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Many of Biden’s policies relate 

to workers and organized labor, and 

would affect the relationship between 

small businesses and their employees. 

For example, like most Democrats, 

Biden supports raising the federal 

minimum wage to $15 an hour. 

Speaking of that… 


to not allow the 

minimum wage 

increase, or any 

other legislation 

impacting your 

business, to destroy 

your performance 

or morale. Instead, 

think creatively 

and prosper! 

The state of Florida, home 

base to the largest percentage of 

pressure wash operators in America, 

recently passed a $15 an hour 

minimum wage legislation. As a result, 

Florida’s minimum wage will gradually 

increase. It will not reach $15 per 

hour until 2026. As of now, Florida’s 

minimum wage is $8.56 an hour. With 

the November 2020 vote, that will rise 

to $10 per hour on Sept. 30, 2021. 

From there, it will increase $1 per year 

up to 2026.The federal minimum wage 

is currently $7.25 per hour. The change 

will put the Sunshine State on a short 

list of states that have enacted a $15 

per hour minimum wage. Other states 

that have approved the same minimum 

include California, Connecticut, 

Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Jersey, and New York. 

Obviously, if somebody starts 

getting paid $15 an hour to flip a burger 

at McDonalds, then your employees 

that are cleaning roofs 

are going to rightfully 

say “well, 

I’m worth 

a lot more 

than that!” So, 

essentially, now, 

every blue collar 

FIGHT worker in Florida 

has to get a 43% 

FOR $15 

raise. And, in reality, this phenomenon 

reaches the professional ranks, 

as people will say if the roof cleaner 

is now making $25 an hour then I as 

a professional person with a college 

degree making $40,000 a year deserve 

a raise. It’s going to cascade across all 

levels of the workforce. 

The pessimist says “man, that’s 

horrible, now we have to spend so 

much money on our workers, my business 

is screwed.” Instead, as in our first 

resolution, we have to learn to go with 

the flow -- not just to save our business 

but to flourish as a business. How? 

As more states and countries raise 

minimum wage, CEOs at classic 

American brands such as Waffle House 

and McDonald’s are among the restaurant 

chains to already announce plans 

to increase menu prices. Their message 

is a dose of reality. This is what the 

voters wanted and this is what we as a 

business serving that population have 

to do to remain solvent. 

Some PW News readers will well 

remember the late 70s, a time of 

tremendous inflation, an economy on 

the brink, and gasoline prices going 

through the roof. Savvy small business 

owners didn’t fret. When people came 

in to shop at a mom-and-pop, or 

requested a service from a small businessman, 

they were simply informed 

that prices had been raised to keep 

up with inflation. People might for 

instance look at a part in a hardware 

store and say “gosh, that part is expensive,” 

and business owners would say 

“I know – inflation,” and everybody 

would say “yeah, inflation, it’s killing 

us.” Then they would suck up the price 

and move on. 

The minimum wage is no different. 

You have to be ready to look at your 

customers in the eye and say “well, 

you know that the minimum wage 

just moved up to $15 an hour, which 

is almost double what it was, it’s a 43% 

increase in salary I had to give all of my 

employees, and that in turn has put me 

up to $300 an hour for my service, not 

the $225 that we were last year.” 

It’s all how you view it (and how 

you present your story). 

Another example of rolling with 

the punches has to do with the new 

realities of operating a small business 

in a time of Covid-19. You need to be 

prepared to explain to customers that 

An Even 10 

Here are a three other pieces 

of advice we heard from PW News 

readers when we asked them what 

operators in the industry should 

resolve to do this year. 

RESOLVE TO TAKE 

CARE OF YOU: 

improve yourself as an owner and 

employer to improve your business by 

taking better care of yourself, finding 

life balance, reading a book, getting a 

coach or mentor, and learning something 

new. 

RESOLVE TO GET 

MOBILE-FRIENDLY: 

If you aren’t optimizing 

your website for use on mobile 

devices, you’re harming your business. 

Sixty-one percent of users are 

unlikely to return to a mobile site they 

had trouble accessing, and 40% will 

jump ship and visit a competitor’s 

site instead. Google rewards mobilefriendly 

sites with better rankings. 

66% of online shopping time is 

being consumed on smartphones, 

and that number seems only to be 

increasing with each year. Not only 

are consumers using smartphones 

to search (more Google searches 

take place on mobile devices than on 

computers in 10 countries, including 

the U.S.) and make purchases (70% 

of all mobile searches result in action 

within one hour), but they’re not letting 

mobile devices out of their sight: 

91% of American adults have their 

smartphone within arms-reach 24/7. 

Taking these numbers into account, 

you can see that mobile optimization 

affects nearly every aspect of your 

business, from brand building to traffic 

generating, to customer service, to 

establishing relationships. 

RESOLVE (WHEN 

POSSIBLE AGAIN) 

TO BE SOCIAL: 

Meaning in person, physical 

contact, not virtual. Yes, this is 

extremely tough and maybe impossible 

in Covid-19 times; but when 

normalcy returns, you just have to get 

over your shyness, or your penchant 

for keeping your nose to the grindstone, 

and you have to get to some 

community chamber meetings, start 

networking and building relationships. 


Made up of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and 

associates who coordinate their efforts to promote public 

awareness, professionalism, industry-wide safety standards 

and education for the advancement of the power cleaning 

equipment industry. JOIN US TODAY! 

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at 2021! 

In New Orleans, LA, September 8th-11th, 2021 

2021 Regional Meeting 

May 11 

th -14 th , 2021 

Crowne Plaza Airport 

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Two 

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Advancing the Industry forward. 

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AULD LANG 

SYNE 

if you can’t put two employees in a 

truck and it requires two trucks to get 

to a work site that there are financial 

consequences of that that have to be 

passed along to the customer. 


to innovate, not 

bellyache - and stop 

trying to sue other 

innovators! 

Why is Chick-fil-A having its best 

year ever in business during Covid- 

19? It’s arguably because they hire 

clean-cut kids with good manners 

who say “it’s my pleasure to serve you” 

and who don’t have tattoos and blue 

hair and piercings and all that kind 

of stuff. It’s because as a corporation, 

it has a plan. It sends those selected 

kids to college. You can’t even get the 

opportunity to own a Chick-fil-A franchise 

now unless you’ve been vetted 

and selected through the Chick-fil-A 

organizational structure. 

Chick-Fil-A has been so successful 

because it looked at problems as 

puzzles to solve before anyone else did. 

Who did a double drive-thru before 

anyone else did? Chick-Fil-A. Who did 

a quadruple drive through? Yep. When 

it was too hot for employees to stand 

outside taking orders, who put thousand 

square-foot awnings out? Um 

hmm. The company never just says ‘I 

give up.” Instead, it finds solutions, put 

itself out there, and makes it happen. 

Stop bellyaching about Covid-19 and 

politics and new regulations and how 

hard it is to find good workers, etc., etc. 

Pull yourself up by the bootstraps, and 

make some tough calls to make things 

happen in your business. Innovate! 

Tackle deficiencies and stumble on 

opportunities. Be willing to listen to 

your customers and customize solutions 

to meet the needs of your customers. 

Necessity breeds invention. You are 

craftsmen. Innovate and fall in love with 

your businesses again. Get engaged, 

not enraged. Stay on the cutting-edge, 

looking forward with hope, not the 

ledge, thinking about jumping. 

Next, and importantly for the 

industry, when someone in the 

industry does innovate and finds a 

better way, stop trying to quash their 

innovation. Take the approach that a 

high tide raises all boats. Resolve to 

be an industry builder not an industry 

destroyer. Remember the saying 

“there’s nothing new under the sun?” 

Others have said there’s only 88 keys 

on the piano, so somebody is eventually 

going to write a song that sounds 

like yours. Stay loyal to partners with 

whom you develop products. To do 

otherwise is no different than what 

we see going on in politics right now 

(about which we rightfully bellyache). 

Chances are you are not the only 

person coming up with products like 

new soaps and valves that can improve 

the industry. If you have a valid patent, 

great! But if you don’t, don’t stir up 

a bunch of discontent in the industry. 

Take the high road and focus on selling 

the virtues of your product over the 

competitor’s. Innovate and compete on 

a level playing field. Anything less is 

bad for the industry. 


If you haven’t already, 

resolve to join an 

industry association 

(or a few), and help 

lift this industry 

up to a higher status. 

There are several entities serving 

the pressure wash industry. The 

Power Washers of North America 

(PWNA) is a trade organization that 

is specific to pressure washers. The 

United Association of Mobile Contract 

Cleaners (UAMCC) is, as its title 

suggests, a “united” organization for not 

just pressure washers but also window 

cleaners, janitorial services, carpet 

cleaners, and other general cleaners. 

And the Pressure Washing Resource 

Association (PWRA) provides 

resources for individual contractors to 

grow but does not serve any type of 

certificatory or regulatory function. 

There are benefits to all. As an 

individual contractor, it is not unrealistic 

(and, arguably, sensible) to be a 

member of all three. 

How better to stay on top of 

industry trends, new ideas to grow your 

business, and networking for support 

and education? Annual conventions 

and ongoing training offerings and 

sessions can be particularly beneficial. 

Networking with more experienced 

professionals in the field who have 

“been there, done that” will enable you 

to fast track your way to success and 

profitability – all the way ensuring you 

take the proper safety measures, walk 

the proper ethical line, and serve to 

improve the industry as a whole not 

weigh it down. Being a member of an 

association also means you have access 

year round to fellow professionals in 

other markets whom you can call and 

discuss problems and solutions with 

as they arise in your business and your 

market. 

As the PWNA website states, 

such advice and guidance can be the 

difference between winning and losing 

an important contract and making or 

losing money on a particular job. You 

need the most up to date information 

about topics like OSHA, ladder safety, 

water fed safety, fall protection, chemical 

safety, and more. 

Also, importantly, these orgs serve 

as the voice of the industry speaking 

on your behalf to policy makers and 

regulatory agencies. As PWNA also 

smartly says, a lawmaker, without the 

knowledge and understanding of the 

importance of the contract cleaner, can 

make an uneducated decision that can 

put you out of business. That alone is 

a reason to support at least one of the 

organizations. 


to follow the rules and 

guidelines for safety 

and business 

operations in the 

pressure wash 

industry and 

stop driving up 

costs for the 

rest of us. 

It has been said (and I think rightfully 

so) that the biggest thing that 

holds back this industry is the industry 

itself. 

What people mean by that is that 

there are a lot of operators out there 

nationwide who would like to “play 

professional,” and even who are often 

already members of one of these professional 

associations, but who still won’t 

wear their safety ropes, still do business 

under the table, still want to cheat the 

government on their taxes, and still 

don’t want to obey OSHA laws. 

It has to stop. 

Most companies out there check all 

those boxes successfully. Nevertheless, 

there are still far too many marginal 

companies in this industry that occasionally 

think about checking those 

boxes but never do. 

continued ... 


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AULD LANG 

SYNE 

Every time someone in our industry 

goes looking for the shortcut, or fails to 

deal with safety and OSHA requirements, 

or workers comp requirements, 

and they do so because they’re more 

interested in skirting around them than 

acknowledging these are the things 

they have to deal with, and that they 

need to be compliant with regulations 

like the Clean Water Act, we all suffer. 

Allowing members in our industry 

to persist with the attitude of ‘don’t 

tell me what to do, if I want to get 

up on roof without my safety ropes 

on that’s my decision, it’s not going to 

hurt anybody else,’ is simply no longer 

feasible. Because in fact it does hurt 

other people. The minute that person 

falls off the roof and gets injured or 

dies, it registers on the entire industry’s 

loss modification risk ratio, plummets 

our collective reputation, and raises 

rates for all of us (not to mention the 

unnecessary loss of life). 

No wonder when you walk into 

your local bank to borrow money to 

build a building or something like that 

that they too often look at you and say 

‘oh, you’re just some stupid little pressure 

washing company.’ Why? Because 

we’re too often acting like stupid little 

pressure washing companies! 

There must be accountability. 


to diversify and expand 

your business 

this year when 

opportunities 

arise. 

Beyond traditional pressure wash, 

new opportunities have always existed 

(especially now) for operators to 

expand services in to new niche areas 

that can be both profitable and these 

days even help ease the Covid-19 crisis. 

For starters, the consensus seems to 

be that America’s obsession with cleanliness 

will be a permanent social shift. 

Pressure wash operators are certainly 

well positioned to promote their 

existing services, as well as re-channel 

their resources and technical skills to 

certain aspects of interior cleaning, 

specifically, sanitizing businesses, to 

meet that market need. 

In addition, and importantly from 

a consumer perspective, certifying 

businesses as properly sanitized for 

customer use could well be a wave of 

the future. That’s because consumers 

now want peace of mind that a business 

is clean and the ability of a business 

to prove that cleanliness to customers 

could become paramount to remaining 

in business. 

The Daytona Beach News-Journal 

recently pondered just how paranoid 

post-coronavirus America will be as it 

returns to public places. 

The conclusion appears to be very 

paranoid and vigilant. 

The newspaper also profiled a 

Sarasota pressure washer’s savvy 

expansion of services aimed at ensuring 

that public trust. 

John Cloud runs Gorilla Kleen pressure 

washing, a good sized operation 

with clients ranging from the municipality 

he lives in (pressure washing 

public exteriors) to the Ringling 

College and Ed Smith Stadium, spring 

training home of the Baltimore 

Orioles. 

Cloud told the News- 

Journal he’s always offered 

sanitization services but that 

they were seldom requested 

prior to the recent pandemic. 

Now, by contrast, he said, he’s essentially 

doing as much sanitization as 

exterior cleaning for his clients, and 

purports that an important psychological 

principal is leading that growth in 

his niche business. 

“I’m printing stickers that go on the 

door that say this area was sanitized 

with this chemical shown to be effective, 

and we show the date,” Cloud 

stated. “From an optics standpoint, if 

I’m an employee or a customer, I’d be 

happy to see that…I think the establishment 

or business would be saying 

to the public, hey, we care about taking 

that extra step for public safety.” 

Steam is another obvious area for 

expansion and diversification of a pressure 

wash business. One alternative to 

using herbicides to get rid of weeds in 

lawns and other areas is to use steam. 

After all, you already have hot water 

and nozzle on the job. 

As carpet cleaners increasingly 

go out of business in day and age of 

hardwood floor preferences, bolting on 

a carpet cleaning service for the odd 

job can also make sense (heck, carpet 

cleaners are increasingly switching to 

pressure wash to survive!) 

These are just a few ideas for a side 

hustle that can add to your bottom line. 

Keep your eyes and ears open (listen 

to your customers!) for opportunities 

this year to diversify your business and 

make more money on every job site. 


to fill the role as 

a crucial cleaning 

service in the 

Covid-19 Age; but also 

to do so truthfully as 

customers express 

their renewed desire 

for cleanliness to stay. 

Essentially, live and prosper as a 

result of society’s newfound obsession 

with cleanliness, but always tell the 

truth in marketing the value of your 

products and services in the fight 

against about Covid-19. 

As Mulberry PR recently advised, 

the emergence of the novel coronavirus 

has brought the cleaning industry 

to the forefront of peoples’ minds. 

Commercial facilities, transit systems, 

and homeowners are cleaning more 

frequently and thoroughly to protect 

employees, patrons, and loved ones. 

The extremely contagious coronavirus, 

which causes COVID-19, has left 

people searching for answers and best 

practices for cleaning and infection 

prevention. 

While there are still many 

unknowns surrounding the virus, one 

thing is certain: cleaning will continue 

to be viewed as essential for maintaining 

health and safety. In this new 

era, it will be increasingly important 

for product manufacturers, distributors, 

and building service contractors to 

nurture relationships with customers 

and prospects through truthful and 

accurate marketing. 

Mulberry PR says the evolution 

taking place is that businesses have 

moved from a view of cleanliness 

from “good enough” to “must have” 

and, as such, marketing in the cleaning 

industry these days must be done 

with a careful approach to messaging 

stressing honesty moving forward. 

Companies that implement marketing 

best practices will be better positioned 

to get their products and services 

in the hands of frontline cleaning 

professionals who are instrumental in 

protecting the public. 

Good Luck in 

2021! 

Have Your Best 

Year Ever! 


www.WettSupply.com 651-340-7077 johnw@wettsupply.com 

Pressure washer pumps and accessories 

DIRECT SALES 

W 

Wett Supply 

651-340-7077 

A Nationwide Wholesaler 

with 30+ Years Experience 

If you are cleaning, distributing 

or manufacturing, email or call 

us today. 

johnw@wettsupply.com 651-340-7077

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