One thing I’ve always said as an entrepreneur is; “to hell with the economy, we are here to win in the market, and will find a way,” and perhaps this is why when I was recently asked by an acquaintance who runs a power washing company what he could possibly do as local businesses in his area which is getting hammered by the economy – that I told him not everyone was hurting in the economy, there are always sector rotations, and some businesses are doing better than others. I told him; “it is your job to find out which customers are doing well, and are willing to spend the money to have their facilities cleaned properly, to get even more business.”
For instance, when retail is down, and the shopping malls are not paying power washers to come as frequently, maybe it’s time to look into restaurants. Oh, but you say those are down too, that may be true, but not the fast food restaurant sector. Generally they do better in a down economy, because they are able to sell their products for lower prices and meet the demands of the consumer which doesn’t have as much money in their pockets. Right now there is a drought, and livestock ranchers are having trouble feeding their animals, so they are taking them to slaughter early. This is causing the price of meat to drop drastically, and we will see more of the one dollar menu items.
Therefore, these QSR’s or quick service restaurants that you know as “fast food joints” will be working with a low-cost high-volume strategy. Still, they will need their facilities power washed. Below are some of the price quotes that I can recommend for power washing fast food restaurants;
Trash Area, Drive-Thru, Side Walks:
$275.00 on time, or $225 once per month, or $200 every other week per store.
Pressure Washing and Cleaning a Metal Roof Façade Band Around Building:
$250.00 and realize you have to clean the sidewalks and wipe down the windows afterwards.
Power Washing and Cleaning All Metal Roof of a Fast Food Restaurant:
$1200 and be very careful it gets really slippery, and doing it by ladders is hard work, watch the streaking too. Might need extra extension poles with towels on end to dry it off as you go, very oxidized, bird crap, stains, to do it right you really need to wax it but if you do charge $2500. Check my figures and be very honest with how long you think it will take at $85 per hour, make sure my numbers match up, if not raise price. Once you clean the roof well, offer them monthly clean-off for $600.
The first time is a total hardship, it’s going to be a mess, and you will have to power wash all that reddish, bluish, yellowish, or greenish colored water off the concrete or it will leave stains on sidewalk and parking lot too. Think if that’s going to be an additional challenge based on the site, each site and water drainage is different, then charge more accordingly. Please consider all this and think on it.
