If you own a power washing business and you’re ready to grow your business, read on! Consider adding sewer jetting to expand your commercial and residential offerings. EnviroSpec can help you achieve your dreams of increased revenue in three steps. Spoiler alert! By following our advice, you can (1) experience a significant market share increase; (2) get more money for your services in the same amount of time; (3) work and invest smarter, not harder. If you’re ready to expand your business and have positive effects spill onto your other services, this article is for you.
Step One – Discover the Cash Cow of Sewer Jetting
Sewer jetters are high-powered drain cleaning machines to clear obstructions in pipes. Expanding into sewer jetting can generate a steady return of profits that far exceed the outlay of cash required to start this line of business. Will adding sewer jetting services really grow your business? If you’re willing to plan, commit and follow through, the answer is yes! How would you like to get paid 3x’s the amount you’re currently getting per job? By adding sewer jetting services to his business line, Dan Hatcher of Jacksonville, Florida did just that.
“The key is to identify where you have a sweet spot and broaden your horizons,” Hatcher said. “Let’s say a someone already has a restaurant’s power washing business, and they charge $100 an hour to power wash and clean the asphalt and surrounding surfaces. That’s good money. But all restaurants have sewer drains that will get clogged. When your client calls you for your sewer jetting help, you can earn $300 for the same amount of time.”
The Down and Dirty of Sewer Jetting
Unlike power washing appointments that are scheduled in advance, most of the sewer jetting job requests will be time sensitive and require scheduling agility.
“I lost a job opportunity because of the customer’s time urgency,” Hatcher said. “I was on a different job when a call came in from a restaurant needing help because their sewer was backed up. I accepted the job but told them I couldn’t be there for another hour and a half to give me time to finish my current job and get over to them. The customer called me back within the half hour and let me know they found someone else who could get there immediately.”
You will operate in a win-some/loose-some environment with sewer jetting contracts. But as Hatcher experienced, the next call the timing might favor you. “It all balances out,” Hatcher said. “There’s enough work and demand to go around. It’s a necessary service. Sewer jetting service is a great income-generating addition to a power washing business.”
Despite the on-call nature of sewer jetting work, the opportunities are abundant, Hatcher said. “It’s a dirty job and you can get calls for emergency jobs at all hours. But it’s lucrative, and with some basic equipment modifications and investments you can grow your business exponentially because of the demand.”
Step Two – Invest in Your Future
As a businessperson you’re already familiar with the expression, you have to spend money to make money. It’s true. It’s hard to grow your business without investing additional money in supplies and products. The key here is to spend smarter.
“If you have a power washing business, you have the basic equipment you need to get started in sewer jetting,” said EnviroSpec President and CEO, Dan Galvin. That equipment includes the pressure washer, the hoses, and a trigger gun. For those just trying sewer jetting, Dan recommends retrofitting the hoses already on hand and investing in a starter pack of nozzles. Time is money so you don’t want to spend an hour with a cheap nozzle when you can do the job in five minutes with a more substantial nozzle according to Dan.
“As they get more jobs, I recommend they invest in a sewer jetting hose, which is non-abrasive, flexible and allows for bending around the pipes. Other items would include sewer jetting valves, hoses, hose reels, a foot pedal kit, water tanks and then upgraded nozzles which are key but can run around $1000 a piece and up,” said Dan.
Dan said he knows of businesses that went under because someone convinced the owner to buy expensive equipment that they really weren’t ready to use. Without demand to use the equipment, it became a lability rather than an asset. “I always advise my customers, get the jobs first then the equipment.”
For entrepreneurs looking to expand into larger commercial accounts or municipal contracts, EnviroSpec also has sewer jetting engines and pumps available to meet any large-scale professional sanitation services required.
Step Three – Power Moves
Before accepting any sewer jetting jobs, be sure to check your area’s requirements. Ordnances vary and some locations may require certifications to perform the work.
Just as you already have the basic equipment on hand, you also have your current commercial and residential clients needed to scale up your business. You’ve already earned their trust with your power washing services, let them know your offering additional value to them through drain and sewer cleaning.
Keep in mind no business can afford operational interruptions due to clogged sewer drains. Not only can your business save the day for your customers you can make good money doing so. As Dan likes to tell his customers, “If you think you made good money power washing, just wait until you add sewer jetting to your services!”
