Disrupting The Power Washing Industry

Last week I spent a day with a new franchise ready to disrupt an industry.

They plan on becoming the biggest power washing company in America. Here's what I like about Rolling Suds

Fragmented + Unsophisticated

Power washing has a low barrier to entry. Do some research on YouTube, buy a $300 machine from Home Depot, and you're in business

Franchisors love highly fragmented industries with unsophisticated operators. They can stand out in the marketplace with professionalism, consistent process, and quality marketing. There's no 800-pound gorilla to compete with.

Picture an NFL vs. high-school varsity team. It's the same sport but at a completely different level.

32 Years of History

Rolling Suds was founded in 1990 by Brian Wendling. What started as a side hustle turned into a real business. His son Brian Jr joined after college to help grow the company.

In 2022 they did $2.2M in revenue with a solid net margin.

All in the Philadelphia area where you can't wash when it's below 32 degrees.

Residential & Commercial

Half of the business is residential cleaning siding, patios, decks & roofs

I watched them wash a house & deck:

1. Spray on a soap/bleach mixture
2. Let it eat away at the mold & grime
3. Rinse it off

$500 job that took 25 minutes with two guys. Super impressive.

The other half of the business is commercial work. You name it, they can do it. 200+ unit apartment complexes, schools, parking garages, hospitals, water towers, etc.

They can wash 4-5 stories without a lift. They have the opportunity to land $25k+ commercial jobs. Tommy with his 2-stroke doesn’t have a chance on those jobs.

They plan on going after national accounts after they’ve established a nationwide footprint. Do you think Starbucks with 16,000 locations wants to work with thousands of small vendors or a few that cover the entire country?

Franchise Features

Here's the “business in a box” that Rolling Suds offers

1) Equipment & Process - They build your truck with the best equipment, configured for maximum efficiency, and set up with the right chemicals.

2) Marketing - leads are the lifeblood of every business. They have multiple marketing channels to generate leads for franchisees: SEO, B2B outbound email campaigns, social media & more.

3) Call Center - all leads go to a US-based call center that aggressively follows up via text, call & email.

4) Bookkeeping - done for you by an agency that works with hundreds of franchisees across multiple brands.

5) Support - You join a team of people who want to see you succeed: weekly Zoom calls, group chat, business coach, annual conventions, & more

New Franchise Brand

This is a new franchisor but not a new brand. They have 32 years of operating history and CEO Aaron Harper has years of experience scaling franchise systems.

There are risks when joining a new franchise brand. They will make mistakes. They will have growing pains. You won't be able to talk to 25+ franchisees. You are betting on the leadership team's ability to execute.

The reward is getting in on the ground floor & buying prime territories before they are sold out. It's no surprise that Austin TX was the first market sold.

Qualifications & Fees

They are looking for entrepreneurs with an "empire-building" mindset. They aren’t looking for people to power wash.

• $250k+ net worth with $150k+ liquid to invest

• 8% Royalty + 2% Brand fund + 4% Local advertising

Want To Learn More?

Fill out this form to get a personalized introduction to the Rolling Suds CEO who works directly with anyone that comes through me.

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I have a podcast, Business with Beers, where I bring on successful franchisees, emerging franchisors, and solo episodes on the mindset, strategies & secrets that you need to know

I'm building an audience on Twitter & LinkedIn.

Cheers!