Starting a roof and gutter cleaning business was the best decision I ever made.
Turns out, you can make alot of money fast if you know what you’re doing with any sort of home service. But for me over in the Pacific Northwest we have a clear demand and need for one particular task.
Roof cleaning. And right now I’m going to show anyone how they can ditch their 9-5 job and potentially make way more money and have a ton more freedom by owning their own business.
Let’s begin.
Why do people need their roofs cleaned?
Let’s start by why people need this done in the first place. If you’re like me you may have never even heard of people doing this. My dad used to make me go up and put moss powder up on the roof or clean the gutters but until I was 23 I had never held a pressure washer or roof cleaning brush and I certainly didn’t know that people would pay to get this done.
Turns out, people like to have clean roofs!
Out here and in many places across the country and world, roofs typically need to be cleaned every 6-12 months depending on where you live. I have some clients we clean a couple times a year and others only once every few years.
When left unchecked, nearby trees can shed needles, leaves, and debris that can build up on someones roof.
This stuff needs to go otherwise moss will start to grow and eat away at the roof. Not good. Our job as roof cleaners is to keep the roof in as good a shape as we can so it lasts as long as possible.
While our services can be expensive, it can be even more expensive to have to replace the roof early due to neglect.
How to Get Started
Let’s assume this is a good business to start in your area. There are dirty roofs, home owners willing to pay, and you don’t mind getting up on a ladder.
Great. As long as you are reasonably sure that there is demand in your area we can get started.
Don’t overthink this but also be flexible.
I see it far too often someone says “I’m going to go start THIS business” they go out buy all the tools and then find that there aren’t enough people or the market isn’t really interested in that particular service.
One of the guys in my Inner Circle started with roofs and gutters but found that WAY more people were interested in pressure washing and specifically house soft washes. (See that interview HERE how Matthias makes $22,000/month soft washing houses)
The point of a business is to be of service to as many people as you can so find what they want and give it to them.
With a roof cleaning we just need to jump over a few hurdles before we can get started but I did it with less than $500 bucks to my name.
Step 1: Follow Basic State/county laws
Most states require a business license, general liability insurance, and a bond.
In most places roof cleaning is not a protected trade so there isn’t a “roof cleaning license” as far as I know.
I have a limited liability company and It was pretty easy to setup.
Exact figures can vary but I was able to register my LLC for around $120 bucks and get a business bond for $105. Insurance will run you $100-200 a month.
So even without tools we can get started pretty quick and easily.
Note: I do know many folks who just start cleaning and take care of the legal requirements later. This isn’t advocating that BUT sometimes in life you gotta do what you gotta do.
Don’t get too bogged down by the details. Get what you need and let’s make some money.
Step 2: Get Basic Equipment (Less than $500 to start)
For me and my business If i could just have 3 things it would be a ladder, brush, and a leaf blower. Those are the holy grail of tools.
We can get into chemical and stuff later but at its core you will be cleaning debris off roofs.
Start here and get more tools when you can and offer additional services as soon as possible but you don’t have to get too crazy.
To this day I still do dozens of very basic cleans per month using only the moss preventative powder.
Add ons and upsells though will drive a ton of extra revenue.
Some great easy ones to offer:
Soft washing
Gutter cleaning
Solar panel cleaning
Window cleaning
house washing
Once you get your soft washing setup you can offer pretty much all of these things very easily and start to double your average ticket size.
Step 3: Get Leads.
No business on earth exists without customers. Until you get someone to pay you money nothing has happened.
This is where most small businesses go wrong. They focus on the little details instead of just getting more money in the door.
Start a social media presence, build a website, get your name out there.
Your only problem right now is not enough people know you.
My favorite method to pour gas on the flames is with facebook ads.
In the beginning you want to budget about $20-40 a day (see my how to Facebook ads ads post)
Run a before and after photo or a timelapse of you doing the work. If you don’t have content yet go do some jobs for free or I also have some ad templates for sale that come with my Facebook Ads book. Either way don’t overthink this just put up some ads with a good offer like $199 gutter clean or a $299 roof clean and you are off to the races.
Marketing is the lifeblood of your biz. Never stop improving your process.
He who can get the most leads for the cheapest wins.
Ask for reviews, ask for referrals, take before and after photos to use as marketing materials, never stop building up momentum.
What If I don’t have money for ads or tools yet?
Life is better with leverage.
Money is just a tool like anything else. Learn to use it. When I first started I had no money so I got a home depot credit card and bought my first tools.
I then went out and knocked some doors, made some money so then I could run more ads and eventually buy a truck and other stuff.
I started very cheaply so get creative here. You don’t need a logo, business cards, or alot of the stuff people tell you to waste time with.
Get hustling and get some customers!
Step 4: Start cleaning!
Roof cleaning is not rocket science. There is a ton more info on this site but I’ll cover the basics here.
We offer two types of treatments.
Soft washing
Powder treatments.
Depending on your target market you will quickly see what people are willing to pay for or not but it’s good to get familiar.
A soft wash is a mixture of sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) soap and water and this is used to essentially bleach a roof until its clean. This is good for black streaks, moss, and in general is the most premium treatment you can offer.
A powder treatment is usually either zinc, laundry detergent or baking soda and also helps clean and keep moss at bay. This is more basic and is a bit more cost effective for the customer.
If you don’t have a soft wash setup you can use a pump sprayer or what I have is a 26 gallon tank with an electric pump attached to a 12 volt battery. This is really the only specialized equipment you need once its confirmed people want soft washing done.
Until then, grab some laundry detergent and your tools and go do your first roof. It might be a bit overwhelming at first but trust me its not very hard.
My first ever roof I was watching a youtube video and I learned 90% just from being at that job and showing up. Being a business owner means you need to get good at figuring shit out and just making it happen on the fly.
Obviously if the roof is very steep or tall use the appropriate safety equipment or avoid those until you have more experience.
Step 5: Be the BEST, Do what others won’t
Everyone is different and your business will reflect that.
Some people immediately want to hire employees or independent contractors and automate the business. Others are fine doing it all themselves and just having extra income.
Whatever it is you do be the best.
Be the best damn roof cleaner you can and the word will spread. People will always want to work with the best.
This will lead to more word of mouth, referrals, and potential customers finding you just because you do great work and your momentum will spread and build.
Customers will leave great reviews on your Facebook or your Google profile. This massively increases social proof and your search engine optimization (SEO).
Pretty soon you will have more work than you know what to do with and if you haven’t learned this yet its that money fixes almost all problems in business.
Get better at what you do, get more customers, get more money and then the cycle repeats itself.
Final Thoughts
Before starting any new business venture you want to look at people already doing it and think “do I want that lifestyle”.
If you’re a handy guy that likes being outside and working your own hours this can be a great gig.
Making $500-1000 a day is VERY achievable if you follow what we laid out here.
Do not overcomplicate this and spend hours trying to figure out the right equipment or doing endless market research, you will learn more from just talking to your first few clients than you will ever from procrastinating and avoiding just launching your business and getting after it.
Let me know if you have any questions and if you want to work with me personally you know where to look 💪
Talk soon
-Spencer Claeys