Setting prices for a new line of business
A pressure-washing business owner checks with Ask FSB for advice on setting prices for a new line of services.
Sylvia Suter, Brookfield, Wis.
I own a pressure-washing company in the Milwaukee area. I'm interested in expanding my business to pressure wash outdoor business signs. I think signs would be a great niche for my business. The problem is: I have no idea what to charge per sign. Would the charge per sign be according to size? Thank you for any information.
By Paul Roberts, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Sylvia: We called around to some of your competition there in the Milwaukee area and, indeed, you would be one of the few power washing outfits – and possibly the only one – to branch out into sign washing.
In general, power-washing companies, which use high pressure water hoses, are focused on the residential market, in which homeowners pay them to clean off roofs or siding that has accumulated dirt, moss and so on. Business signs are new territory, and it seems that few of your direct competitors are contemplating a move into the sign-washing business.
That said, there are some important differences between signs and houses that are worth noting. For one, many signs have electrical components inside as well as lights on the exterior that could break or become wet during power washing. Also, business signs may be elevated, or located in places that are hard to reach, or require special equipment – such as a lift – to clean.
Joe McCafferty, who is president of Exterior Specialists LLC, a power-washing company in Fort Atkins, Wis., said that power-washing signs should be safe, as long as they have a tight seal on them to protect any electronics inside. He hadn't considered sign washing, and is sticking to residential homes for now, where he typically charges customers by the job, unless he is being asked to wash asphalt roof shingles or cedar shingle siding, in which case he charges by the square foot.
Look before you leap
Before you plunge into sign washing, you might want to assess the demand for this new product you're planning on introducing. Are storeowners concerned about the appearance of their business signs? What's the business value to them of a clean sign, and how much are they willing to pay someone else to doing it for them? A simple phone survey of likely customers may answer any questions you have about the demand for such services, before you invest in advertising to promote it, or in new equipment and staff.
The question of how much to charge customers is one that every business owner runs into when launching a new product or service. Your existing power-washing business should give you a good idea of the transportation, equipment and hourly labor costs are for any job you do. Your market research might give you an idea of what business owners would be willing to pay to have their signs cleaned. You can also try calling competitors and seeing how much they'd charge for such a service, if they don't offer one already.
Because most business signs would fall in a pretty tight range of sizes, McCafferty of Exterior Specialists said you'd be better off charging a per-job fee for each: maybe $50. Jobs that required a lift or other equipment, or that couldn't tolerate a power wash, would be priced accordingly, he said.
Assuming you plan for those eventualities, sign washing could provide a welcome new form of income for your business. And, because, signs are much smaller than houses, you may be in a position to do more jobs in a single day, which will increase your take-home pay, provided you price your services right. Good luck!
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I feel that I need to give you a little advice on the idea of pressure washing signs. Even though I am the Managing Partner for Net-Flow Solutions, an IT Managed Services firm. I have a long history in the sign business. My grandfather started a sign business in 1924, and my father at age 70 still runs it in Ohio.
If you are going to pressure wash signs made out of Vinyl you might want to test it on your own signs first. Typically, the PSI of the washers is to much for the vinyl and will tear/rip it from the backing (wood, metal, etc). I can remember when my dad was the first signman in the area to move from hand painted letters to computerized sign making back in the 1980s… He would always tell customers "now you got to be careful with the lettering if you take your vehicle through a car wash". Also i am assuming your talking about vinyl and not Neon glass signs cause those would break. Plexi-glass signs with back lighting might be ok, but with the force of the water from the compressor of your washer, might force water into the sign itself and I would hate to risk mixing the water and the transformers/electricity within the sign.
The best advice is to call a couple sign companies out of state, do a little research on the matter first before you start banging on doors. You don't want to be replacing signs, they can get expensive. Also talk to your insurance agent.
Regards,
Mike Holland
Managing Partner
Net-Flow Solutions
http://www.net-flowsolutions.com