Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is trojan media network.
Welcome to behind the Business. This is a student run podcast where we talk with local business owners about how real businesses actually work.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Today we're talking with Colton, the owner of Semper Softwash.
[00:00:19] Speaker C: Colton is also a veteran and today we're talking about his experience running a service based business.
Thank you for being here with us.
[00:00:27] Speaker D: Yeah, no problem.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: When the idea for Simpa Softwash first came up, what made you think it was something worth trying?
[00:00:34] Speaker D: Well, eventually when I was in the Marine Corps, I started a pressure washing business and it sort of took off in my free time. So I got out last year and just started it up. And what better name than Simper Softwash chose a veteran owned business.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: What led you to choose soft washing instead of a different type of business?
[00:00:52] Speaker D: Soft washing I'm familiar with there's low overhead getting started in a business like that.
I grew up in the dirt world. Work, dirt work world. So I mean I knew the contracts that I could get from just, you know, washing heavy equipment and stuff like that.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: What made you choose it during the time that you were in the services?
[00:01:12] Speaker D: I actually started doing it when I was in Hawaii in between, in between different field ops and stuff.
Just needed some extra money. So I went and bought a fresh washer and just started cleaning driveways. It sort of just stuck.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: What was something you thought would be easier than it actually turned out to.
[00:01:30] Speaker D: Be at first, really getting the clients to be able to to wash for.
As soon as you learn the business and learn how to communicate with people, it gets easier. But definitely starting up, anybody can start it. Not everybody can run a business. So just getting the customers.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: What was the first job or situation that really tested you?
[00:01:52] Speaker D: Probably the first big shopping center that I did that was actually here though this was last summer.
It turned into three other shopping centers. But waiting on water. I didn't check to see if there's water spigots available. So I was constantly filling out the 300 gallon tank and then running back and it took me three weeks longer than I should have taken on it so early on.
[00:02:15] Speaker C: What was the mistake? That taught you a lesson pretty quickly.
[00:02:19] Speaker D: Having funds in the business account to be able to cover stuff that you would never expect to to happen. Like pressure washer broke down on me. Turns out the engine blew up so I had to buy a new pressure washer. And you know, that really hurt me not having saved up enough money in the business account.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: What does a normal workday usually look like for you and how does that compare to being in the service.
Is there anything you learned from being in the military that helped you through owning your own business?
[00:02:49] Speaker D: Yeah, being in the military makes you very competent, like what you do and, you know, being able to talk to people.
But just for the business side of things, I mean, it goes pretty smoothly day to day. There's no set schedule for me. You know, I make my own schedule. I send my guys out to wash a house, but it's really whatever I want to do. If I want to go knock on doors, I could do that. If I want to go jump on a truck and wash a house, I could do that too, so. Or I could just take off and let my guys do it and go out to eat.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: So sorry for the technical difficulties. We've got them all handled.
How many people do you have working for you?
[00:03:25] Speaker D: Well, a lot of business owners can agree that workers come and go. It's hard to find good help. So generally, I want to keep two technicians, and then I have somebody in the office that works for me full time as well. So during the busy season, you want, you know, I usually have two people working for me, not including the office or me.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: What kind of decisions do you find yourself making on the spot during a typical week?
[00:03:49] Speaker D: People are funny sometimes. You know, when I get to a job, we've already agreed on a price. We get there, all of our equipment's unrolled, the homeowner comes out, hey, can you knock $100 off? You got to make that choice, you know. You know, you try to keep it at the same price, but, you know, my stuff's already out. So sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and give them a discount just because you're already there. If you don't have anything else planned.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: But, yeah, what is a problem you deal with often that most people would never notice?
[00:04:20] Speaker D: That's a tough one.
Probably the. The financial part of it. You know, you have a business and everybody thinks, you know, you have all of this money, and you get to keep all the money you get from working, you know, doing your jobs. You do make good money being a business owner, but all of it has. Has its own place. So how do you handle days?
[00:04:41] Speaker B: How do you handle days when that's when things don't go to plan.
[00:04:46] Speaker D: Roll with the punches. Just like going back to the military thing, you know, nothing ever went right in the military, so you just have to take it day by day, one, one step at a time. So, you know, if somebody cancels, you know, just go knock a door, tell the guys to Knock a door, find something else to do until the next job pops up.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: What has helped you stay stay organized or focused while running the business?
[00:05:09] Speaker D: Customer relations management, a CRM. So that's on my phone. I use Housecall Pro.
It keeps track of all my customers, the times, the invoices, stuff like that, so I can keep up with my expenses and everything like that. So customer relation management would be the number one thing that keeps me organized.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: Are there any skills or habits from earlier in your life that ended up helping you more than you expected?
What was the hardest thing with starting?
[00:05:38] Speaker D: Starting is the, was the easy part for me. Keeping it going is, is what challenges you, you know, because you want to be able to succeed.
Something that helps me. When I was younger, I jumped around a lot. I've been to 25, 30 different schools, growing up, group homes. I was always jumping back and forth. So. So being able to have a business and make my own schedule if things doesn't go to go as planned, you know, I'm super, super easygoing and I can roll with the punches like I said, and just move on to the next thing.
[00:06:05] Speaker B: What kind of mindset has been most useful for you as a business owner?
[00:06:10] Speaker D: Being enthusiastic. You know, you can't go to a customer's house or knock on a door and be like, hey, let me wash your house. You know, you got, you know, ask them how their dog's doing. They have a chihuahua come up to the door. I'm like, hey, nice guard dog you got there. You know, start laughing. You make them laugh. You're in their hearts, you know, so you just got to listen to what they, what they need and provide a solution for their problems.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: How do you keep a such a seasoned, ruled business operating year round?
[00:06:35] Speaker D: During the January we'll, we'll start from, from this year. You know, it's cold, obviously I'm not going to go spray water when it's 20 degrees outside and it's nothing to hardly do. That's where having money in a business account comes in. Helpful. Save the money, have a good savings account. That way I can take a month or two off out of the year if I want to.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: What is something you understand now that you did not understand when you first started?
[00:07:02] Speaker D: Probably how people work. I was never too big in the psychology side of things, you know, but understanding what people think and how they work and trying to find a solution to their problems and figuring out how I can let them know I can solve their problems.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: What is the most unexpected thing you have learned from Doing this job, do you have any crazy or funny stories that you dislike to share?
[00:07:25] Speaker D: I've met most of my friends that I talked to today. I dropped most of my friends from high school and stuff. It's crazy how it works when you get older and get out of school. But most of the friends that I, that I actually hang out with now are my clients. Like I wash tractors for, for some guys and some trucks. It builds relationships with, you know, you want friends that do the same thing as you or have a good mindset. You don't want people stuck in the old mindset.
[00:07:48] Speaker C: If you had to describe running your business using one word, what would it be and why?
[00:07:52] Speaker D: Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. I say that because I'm here. I'm here right now. I mean, I don't have to take off work. I'm not missing anything. So freedom is the number one thing that I wanted to keep running my own business for. I don't have anybody telling me when to wake up, when to show up. I do that on my own. So freedom's the biggest one for me.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice on your first day, what would it be?
[00:08:23] Speaker D: That'd be a tough one as well.
There's so many things because, I mean, you know, running a business, you have something new come up all the time that you have to teach yourself or relearn or. It's very perishable knowledge, most of it, because sometimes it only comes up every once in a while. But taking more notes probably, you know, and understanding, you know, how to fix a problem, write that down. That way I can reference back to it if I ever come across it again.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: What type of student were you in school?
[00:08:53] Speaker D: Well, I. I tried to be a good student. I was mostly a teacher's pet, you know, I did what I could to make everybody happy. But, yeah, I mean, I did what I needed to do to be able to go home. So.
[00:09:04] Speaker C: Is there anything that we haven't asked you that you'd like to share with us?
[00:09:08] Speaker D: If you. If you are thinking about being a business owner, it's definitely like a leap of faith. Like I got out with no plans, no money, no, no, nothing to do. So I just jumped right into it and it was a blessing for me. But you've got to work very hard to be able to. To get to that point, you know, and I'm still working for it. So if you do want to be a business owner, I highly suggest going for it. Just jump straight into it. Do your research and just do what you need to do to it.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us and share your experience.
[00:09:37] Speaker D: Thank you all for having me.
