Start-up equipment

[Greg Loe]

great used van = $200 mo
Judson TM = $250 mo
$450 mo

Why waste money on a portable? Unless you have bad credit.

 

[TimP]

That's what I've been saying. 500 a month.....4-5 jobs max to get it. One good job can do it.

 

[Greg Loe]

you could beg 5 $99 whole house jobs just for that payment. Even in the winter

 

[Ron Werner]

add a couple hundred for tools, set up etc

 

[Captain Morgan]

Add a few hundred more per month to cover insurances, cell phone, gas, lunches, advertising (whether it's business cards, coupons, flyers, etc) basic line of chemicals (prespay, emulsifier or rinse, general mix of spotting chems, degreaser, reducer, oxidizer, urine/odor, etc., and now your looking at having to clear nearly $1,000 a month to cover your costs before you make a profit.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but let's be realistic. Things add up quickly and before you know it, your struggling.. unless you'er operating uninsured, totally by word of mouth and only cleaning with hot water.

 

[Loren Egland]

Years ago when I was a Steam Way distributor I could have sold a whole lot more truck mounts to guys who were willing but had bad or no credit.

 

[glenboy]

thanks wj3 for being the most realistic person about starting up a cc bus. everyone always says its so easy , i am still workin 40 hrs a week at my shop job

 

[tracywalker]

I would say that if you have the money to go ahead and get a TM even if your still working a 40 hour week job. You could easily make the payments on a Judson and used van by only doing 1 job every sat morning or 1 job a week in the afternoon. I think that having nice equipment propels a new business forward quicker with confidence for both yourself and your clients. I also think this motivates you to reduce your job hours as quick as possible. I am currently in between TMs and for the time being using an OP and my Mytee portable when extraction is a must. I am doing as good or better of a job than I use to with my boxxer 421, but I still will feel better and have more fun when I get another TM. I still go back to when I first started 7 years ago my theory was that if I can't generate atleast $600 a month then I better not do this. With NO business I easliy made that the first few months by just talking to friends and family (usually made that a week). Oh and as far as other start up cost I worked out of my home, put my equipment in a $3000 van that looked new and just needed a little engine work and worked a partime job on a loading dock about 15 hours a week. Within a few months I picked up the trucking company I worked for as a monthly cleaning account and quit the dock job. 5 years later and still job free! :mrgreen:

 

[tracywalker]

Add a few hundred more per month to cover insurances, cell phone, gas, lunches, advertising (whether it's business cards, coupons, flyers, etc) basic line of chemicals (prespay, emulsifier or rinse, general mix of spotting chems, degreaser, reducer, oxidizer, urine/odor, etc., and now your looking at having to clear nearly $1,000 a month to cover your costs before you make a profit.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but let's be realistic. Things add up quickly and before you know it, your struggling.. unless you'er operating uninsured, totally by word of mouth and only cleaning with hot water.

This is all VERY true, but your going to have these expenses if you have a TM or a portable. My argument would be that a good small TM is not too much more than a high end portable and would help you cover these cost with better production and more referals.

 

[Greg Loe]

Good post Tracy, you understand I was just talking about the TM and van as opposed to the cost of a bad used TM or portable in a bad van.

If your looking for business start up cost, wow, long list. A lot longer than most think. Then the list of maintaining your business is long too. Cost of fees, taxes and insurance really surprise people.(talking about an honest business)
Hacks don't need to worry about insurance.

 

[Dolly Llama]

yea, it's only a couple extra jobs a month, g'head, borrow MORE

welp boys and girls, I remember the first few years in biz.
maybe I wasn't such a sharp dude like ya'll, but a couple extra jobs a month was the difference in making a house payment and keeping the house heated in Winter!!

i agree with Morgan3

And let's not forget that most biz start-ups fold before they make the 5 year mark.

All those "fire sale" TMs and REPOs on the market are from jamokes that bought into some of the same silliness suggested here


where I might agree is on the hi-end porty vs small TM argument
It's a bad thing when some poor schlep gets conned into dropping large donuts on a wiz bang, all the bells and whistles over priced porty, when a $2500 porty will do the trick til you know you can afford a TM payment.
(or even want to stay in the biz)


..L.T.A.

 

[Greg Loe]

It's a bad thing when some poor schlep gets conned into dropping large donuts on a wiz bang, all the bells and whistles

That's the point of getting a Judson, you're not getting conned into paying for all the bells and whistles, your getting huge bang for your buck.

 

[Jay D]

portables are $2500 now? WOW :shock: i remember when they were $999.99. KEEP your CASh AND pay cash. Anticipate working harder then the other guy. Buy needs not wants. Buy good used first(not someones junk). Watch craigslist for peoples used stuff. I got a drieaz 110 used 3 days for $300, a drieaz 1200 2500 hrs for $100, Advance Matador 20" 300rpm buffer for $100, ALL on craigslist. Take your time spend wisely. Good CLEAN used van and a Small new/used TM. Buy one make payments on the other if you have too.

 

[Able 1]

thanks wj3 for being the most realistic person about starting up a cc bus. everyone always says its so easy , i am still workin 40 hrs a week at my shop job

The fact that you are working 40 hours a week maybe the reason for that lack of success in your business.

When I started up I did flyers as my "full time job". Can you imagin how many flyers you could put out in 40 hours? It's all about numbers the more you put out the more calls you get. Not really that hard of a concept.

The reason I started with a TM was because of the image and knowing what i'm selling is quality work. (not that you can't do quality with a porty but it's alot easier with TM)

The reason cc bus. fail is not cause of lack of money rather lack of drive!

 

[TimP]

I have to agree....

Businesses fail because of lack of marketing and drive to suceeed. And also setting yourself apart. Not to mention the lack of work ethic in addition to not taking care of your paper work and taxes.

Knowing what I know now I'd probably rather have a judson tnt than my cds to start with. I would of saved about 6 grand right off the top....not to mention finding a used van. Cause they wont put a CDS system in a van over so many miles and finding a near new 1 ton cargo van isn't easy.

 

[Loren Egland]

portables are $2500 now? WOW :shock: i remember when they were $999.99.

When I started cleaning in 1970 I paid $5000.00 for my portable steam machine. Often charged less than .15 cents per square foot.

 

[ErikG]

If someone is going the Portable route , Clean Craft has the best deal for a newbie . They have start up package w/ machine 3 vac or 4 vac with 25 extras ,hoses ,battery powered pre sprayer , chems , rake ,etc etc. The Eclipse is the porty im talking about

 

[ErikG]

OOPS the Eclipse Package is $3000 shipped to your house