Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Leal.
Hi Luke, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Georgetown, TX. Janis and Roland Leal are my parents, and I have 9 siblings. Growing up in a large family was a unique experience, especially because we were all homeschooled. From a relatively young age, I took interest in entrepreneurship. Having my Dad run his own business provided an example of the benefits of being a business owner. When I was a teenager, I started my entrepreneurial journey by making and selling survival bracelets on Amazon. I only spent one summer doing that, but the money I made encouraged me to start my own business instead of getting a regular job.
At 17 years old, I started thinking of a job I could work in the summer of 2016. Being interested in owning my own business, I started looking for any opportunities. I knew I enjoyed working outside after I had helped my family out with home renovations, landscaping, and pressure washing. Then, the thought came to me that while other services like landscaping already saturated our neighborhood, I had never seen any pressure washing companies around. I took this observation as a sign of market opportunity. Before long, I was researching how to perform pressure washing services. Youtube, online industry forums, and pressure-washing social media groups comprised most of my “research.”
In August of 2016, I used what little savings I had to purchase a pressure washer from Home Depot, a small surface cleaner attachment, and the other necessary accessories. I started practicing by cleaning the outside of our home and the driveway. Also, I filed a DBA establishing my company as “Luke’s Pressure Washing.” Regarding the marketing side of the business, all I did was start a Facebook business page, get business cards, and made a Google business profile. Once everything was put in place, I did several free jobs for the neighbors and some of my Dad’s business connections, as long as they promised to post a review on my Google business profile and tell their friends about me.
Eventually, I got my first job. It was a residential job in Berry Creek, a community in Georgetown. The homeowner could tell I was young, but he was very nice and said I did a good job. I still remember that first job because afterward, I felt like what I started could be successful. Calls kept coming in, slowly at first and then faster. Soon, what I thought would only last one summer, became something I did all year round. My service area grew past Georgetown to include Round Rock, Austin, Cedar Park, and more. My first big commercial job was at an apartment complex in Austin. Despite learning most of what I know on the fly and making a lot of mistakes, I was very blessed and attained gradual success.
In 2017, I knew that I needed to expand out of the back of my truck into a trailer with professional equipment. However, I couldn’t do it by myself. Then, after learning about what I needed, my Dad offered to give me a loan for all that I needed. I took the big leap, took the loan, and upgraded my setup. I bought a used single-axle trailer and loaded it up with professional-grade equipment. Thankfully, I was able to pay my Dad back within 6 months, which I was very happy about. To this day, I am so grateful for the trust my Dad and Mom put in me and my business. Again in 2019, I needed to expand into a larger trailer with even more equipment. This time, I had the ability to upgrade everything using the company’s own resources. This year, I expanded into a truck bed system to add to my trailer setup.
This journey isn’t easy. I often worked huge jobs alone and made bad investments. For example, I once invested $1,000 in flyers that were mailed out to neighborhoods. Back then, $1,000 was a lot of money for me. I thought that if so many went out I was sure to get a lot of calls. I was wrong. I didn’t get a single call back on those flyers. Thankfully, that experience and so many others taught me valuable lessons on how to run a sustainable business. Also, I have had several business mentors that have helped me along my path. In particular, SCORE of Austin and Austin Bridge Builder Alliance (ABBA) have been a valuable resources for me.
While running my business as a young adult, I earned a college degree in business. Managing a business while in college was interesting. It did make me appear smarter to my professors. Now that I am done with school and having traveled a decent bit, I am focusing solely on growing my business. With several employees and the love of my wonderful wife, Hope, I am looking forward to the future of our company. I am not fully sure what the next step is, but I trust God and His blessings. I couldn’t have made it to where I am now without the support of my wife, family, friends, customers, and my Savior.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My road has been easier than a lot of other business owners in some ways. For instance, because I started my business at a relatively young age and had helpful parents, I didn’t have to borrow a lot of money with interest or pay for living expenses like other entrepreneurs.
However, my struggles included doing all the work by myself for a while. Even when I did have part-time employees, they wouldn’t stay more than half the year. Also, I was going through school at the same time as I was trying to grow my business. That got exhausting at times. Finally, because of other life events, like living in Mexico for 4 months, I had to manage my business from afar. I would rely on an employee to do all the manual labor, while I gave out estimates, scheduled work, and did accounting from a long way away. It wasn’t ideal, but I learned a lot from those times.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Luke’s Pressure Washing LLC?
My business offers residential and commercial pressure washing services in the Georgetown to Austin area.
The residential side focuses on house washing and cleaning driveways, patios, decks, fences, and more. We offer commercial-grade equipment at residential prices. A professional pressure washing will remove harmful and ugly organic stains like mold from your property without damaging the surface. The result is much better curb appeal and a healthier environment.
The commercial side focuses on apartment cleaning, elderly homes, storefronts, restaurant maintenance, public sidewalks, and HOA maintenance. We specialize in apartment cleaning. We have done multiple apartments in the Georgetown and Austin area and as a result, we are aware of the specific needs of property managers and tenants. What we specifically offer is quick service due to our dual machine capacity and limited risk because all our services are fully insured.
Any big plans?
Currently, I think that there are two strong options for the next 5 years. First, continue growing the value of the business by increasing the quality of our setup and increasing commercial contracts. After a target value is reached, we will sell the business and move on to other goals in life.
The other option is to hire a manager that takes on almost all the day-to-day operations and some backend work so that I am freed up to pursue other ideas. I am leaning toward pursuing this option, but we will see.
Pricing:
- Residential minimum is $150
- Commercial minimum is $250
- Free estimates
Contact Info:
- Website: lukespressurewashingtx.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=luke%27s%20pressure%20washing%20llc
- Email: lukespressurewashing@gmail.com
