Revenue fell 70% in its first winter. Then Blue Hour found night work
Tyler Brooks washed one driveway for free and hung 500 door-hangers. The hard part came in November.
In 30 seconds
- One free driveway on a street sells the street: neighbours watch
- Plan for a 70% winter drop before you buy kit
- Commercial lots at night turned winter from a loss into the second season
One free driveway, 500 door-hangers
Tyler Brooks started Blue Hour Pressure Washing in Austin in 2021 with $6,800 of equipment. His first marketing was a free driveway and door-hangers on the 500 homes around it.
It works because the result is visible from the street. A clean driveway next to a grey one is the advert.
The first winter
Between November and February, revenue fell by about 70%. Houses do not get washed in the cold, and the equipment payments did not stop.
Tyler says the mistake was planning the year from summer numbers. Most new pressure washing owners do the same.
“I planned my whole year from June. June is a liar.”
Night work: the second season
The fix was commercial: drive-throughs, car parks and shop fronts, washed at night when they are empty. Businesses pay to look clean all year, and they pay on contract.
Now houses carry spring and summer and commercial carries winter. The verified numbers show a year that dips, but no longer falls off a cliff.
- Price commercial lots by the square foot, quoted from photos
- Offer a monthly or quarterly contract, not a one-off
- Work nights: no cars, no customers, no complaints
If you are starting one
Budget for winter before you buy a second machine. And keep the first free job: it is still the cheapest customer Blue Hour ever found.