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How to grow a pressure washing business

Once you’ve started out, it’s only natural to want to scale your setup. Knowing how to grow a pressure washing business can make a difference, using a planned approach to increase your workflow and as a result, your profits.

Growing a pressure washing business

It goes without saying that knowing how to run a successful pressure washing business can be incredibly rewarding. A company that does not adapt or expand is less likely to succeed in the long run.

Growth for a trade business can look very different. It could mean more jobs, it could mean more staff, it could mean covering a larger area.

Knowing where you’re aiming with a growth plan will help you decide which areas to specialise in pressure washing.

  • Patios?
  • Driveways?
  • Commercial properties?

Which niche applies to your business? Read through our tips, and by the end you’ll know how to grow a pressure washing business with ease.

How to expand your cleaning company

Knowing you want to expand and increase your profits, there are some key areas you’ll need to look at.

Throughout the UK, there are different factors that could affect business growth. Make a plan and execute it well, and your pressure washing business will likely benefit. You’ll create an environment that enables growth at a sustainable pace.

Every situation is different. So we can’t guarantee growth, but we can recommend looking into all of these areas to help scale your business:

  1. Strengthening your workforce – They say that more hands make light work, so you could consider recruiting new employees, taking on apprentices, or hiring subcontractors
  2. Focusing on specific types of work – Developing a niche will allow you to specialise in certain areas, so you can reach both a wider customer base, and a targeted group
  3. Increase your coverage – Advertising to a wider area will naturally help you reach more customers – as long as you have the capacity to service the leads
  4. Getting more revenue – Both increasing the amount of leads, and improving your conversion rates will be a surefire route towards business growth

Business development for pressure washing businesses

Now that you have the broad pointers for how to grow your pressure washing business, let’s look at them a little bit closer. After all, you won’t be able to grow in these areas if you don’t know exactly what’s needed.

Here are our top tips to grow your trade business in these areas:

1. Strengthen your workforce

When you want to take more jobs on, and get more income, chances are you’re going to need to need a bigger team. If you’ve only ever been a sole trader, this could seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

Growing a larger team could be exactly what you need to help scale your pressure washing business. Being more than just a ‘man in a van’ will allow you to take on more jobs at a time, and also grow to match the requirements of larger commercial jobs too.

Here are our top tips for how to build your team:

  • Hire the right people – If you take someone on, make sure you hire someone with experience and a good character. You can always assess their skills and give a trial period if you aren’t sure.
  • Partner with subcontractors – If you don’t have enough extra work to justify employees, then using qualified subcontractors is great instead. They’ll have the pressure washing experience (and probably tools) to help you out when needed.
  • Benefit from an apprentice – Tradespeople all have to start somewhere. Taking on an apprentice can be rewarding in many ways, not to mention that pressure washing can be a rewarding (and even fun) career for young people.

As a business, you may only need extra help from time to time, and with certain tasks too. Plan ahead, recognise the seasonality of pressure washing and external cleaning, and try to factor that into your decision making. We’ve put together some guidance on how to hire employees for your growing business that could help even further.

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2. Focus on the specific types of pressure washing

By focussing more on specialist jobs or techniques, you could see increased demand for your services.

Knowing how to grow a pressure washing business means knowing what your unique skills are and deciding how best to use them. Have a good hand at patios? How about driveways, moss removal or washing decking? Why not use those specialist skills to your advantage?

Here are some ways you can tap into more niche trade jobs in your area:

  • Identify the needs – Look around and see what needs to be done. Do people have dirty driveways? Big gardens with patios and decking? How about general house exteriors?
  • Invest in specialist equipment – You can’t do any job without the right tools, so when you’ve got the right pressure washing machine, or have one installed in a van, you’re good to go.
  • Expand your network – Building a strong network of trade contacts (perhaps among roofers or landscapers) can help you find both domestic and commercial pressure washing opportunities.
  • Look into learning new skills – Knowing how to use a pressure washer is a great way to ensure you’ll have work. Getting additional knowledge, in a compatible area, could only help you further. Such as light carpentry or bricklaying, to make minor repairs if required.

When you’re expanding into different areas, you want to make sure that your business is covered. It’s always a good idea to have the right business insurance in place.

If you’re taking someone else on for the first time, you’ll probably also need to get some employer liability insurance in place too.

3. Work across a larger area

Most tradespeople will tend to work roughly on a radius from where they’re based. If you’ve discovered that there is a lot of need for pressure washing jobs, then expanding your area will likely lead to even more work.

These are our tips for scaling your pressure washing business by reaching further afield:

  • Decide where you want to cover – Identify specific locations near to your existing work area. Having another pair of hands on board will help you in this regard too. Especially if they’re based further away.
  • Tell your customers you’re growing –Word of mouth is a useful way to get more work. By telling your current customers that you’re reaching out to new areas, they’ll likely recommend your skills to their friends.
  • Update your online advertising – Make sure to keep your offering consistent. If you include a service area on your website, social media, Google ads or Checkatrade profile, be sure to update them all so you can be found.

Not sure how to get more work through marketing? Why not download our free marketing plan template to get you started with plotting the advertising activity to help you grow.

Want to win more pressure washing jobs?

People are searching Checkatrade for skills like yours

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4. Increase your revenue

Okay, we figure this one is a given, but probably worth mentioning. Do you want to make more money? Increase your leads, increase your jobs and you’ll increase your revenue.

More money coming in to your business means a larger profit margin. More money for you, and more money for growth.

Here’s how you can grow a pressure washing business by increasing your revenue:

  • Marketing and advertising – Getting your name in front of new customers is so important. Paying for marketing and advertising helps you reach more people. And can even be tax deductible!
  • Encourage reviews – Part of your social proofing, reviews from existing customers will show off the quality of your service to anyone else who may be looking for pressure washing.
  • Deliver quality work – Doing a great job should hopefully be a given. But when you do, it’s more likely to win you repeat jobs, lead to recommendations, referrals, and hopefully larger jobs too.

Looking for more help in this area? There are a number of lead generation techniques to consider. If you want to grow, always look for appropriate help in this area.

Expand your pressure washing business with Checkatrade

So with all of that in hand; you should have the information you need to start growing your pressure washing business. But did you know that you can make this even easier with Checkatrade?

Signing up to Checkatrade is one of the easiest ways to get your business discovered by people looking for skills like yours. And even better, it gives you a great place to showcase your work, business credentials, and customer testimonials.

Still not convinced? There’s a number of other reasons to consider signing up too:

  • Dedicated membership advice team
  • We’ll guarantee your work up to £1,000 for 12 months (T&Cs apply)
  • The trusted tick that homeowners can rely on
  • Offers and discounts on a range of essentials – like fuel, workwear, training and tools
  • Save 20% on public liability insurance with our partner Superscript
  • Access to our dedicated trades app including quoting tool
  • Fixed membership from Checkatrade means you can expect a certain number of leads throughout the year

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our vetting process and how you could benefit from signing up.

Knowing how to grow a pressure washing business is still not the same as actually doing it. Want to grow? Start putting these plans into place and you never know where it could lead.

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Content disclaimer: This content has been created for general information purposes and should not be taken as formal advice. Read our full disclaimer here.

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