Whether you’ve been working with an existing water mitigation business for X number of years and want to branch out on your own to finally be your own boss…
…or maybe your brand new to the industry and are starting from scratch.
We’re going to go over all the details on what it takes to be successful from the ground up.
Including the technical details as far as registering a new business name and filing your LLC (and marketing tips on how to choose your brand wisely for conversions and rankings down the road).
As well as how to make sure you have an increasing flow of customers for a strong ROI via a quality water damage lead generation program.
How To Start A Water Restoration Company
For starters, pick your brand name…and take your time on this as it’s very important on multiple levels.
Make it catchy, memorable, and unique…
Trust us when we say to avoid the temptation to “keyword stuff” your business brand name.
That just looks spammy and untrustworthy to potential local customers and to Google as well. And as far as the latter, it will make it harder to “rank” in their search results which is where the lion’s share of your business will come from (when done right)
Don’t get “paralysis by analysis” here…think it over, make a decision, then go to Legal Zoom and start the necessary paperwork as far as registering an LLC and setting up payment processing etc.
How To Start A Restoration Business
Now we really have the ball rolling on how to start a water damage restoration business.
Just keep plowing ahead…
Yes, details are important, but what’s most important is to keep taking massive action and moving forward with your new venture.
Details can be ironed out as you go along…
Adjust as you go, but you must keep going….
How Much Does It Cost To Start A Restoration Company?
Hopefully you have some seed money saved up and/or have a solid credit score for a small business loan to get started.
Even if you really “bootstrap” things to get started (understandable and how many start out), you’re still going to need a certain amount of capital to get things going.
Think of the above mentioned initial legal costs to get your brand registered and protected…a few hundred bucks depending.
But also think of the basic equipment you’ll need for your newly formed restoration company.
- Air Movers
- Dehumidifiers
- Wet and Dry Vacs
- Air Scrubbers
- Various Chemicals For Sanitizing and Mold Remediation
- Company uniforms
These all add up, and while you can get away with a basic set for small jobs starting out…I encourage you to also think longer term at scale.
Meaning you’re going to need many multiples of all the above so that you can handle larger jobs (the large loss jobs you want to be prepared for are BIG MONEY) as well as multiple jobs in the same day or week.
Plus, you’ll need the proper vehicle to get you and your equipment from your office to the job site.
And you don’t want to be showing up in some beat up old pickup truck or with all your stuff crammed into the backseat of a rusty old car either!
And on a related note to one of the above listed items, uniforms, for the love of God, don’t show up to a customers home in a ratty old tshirt and jorts.
It makes a bad first impression, will lead to immediate distrust as far as your professionalism and capabilities go, and does not lead to good branding and positive reviews.
You’ll also want to budget for the right IICRC related training to be certified in your field.
What Do I Need To Start A Restoration Business?
We’ve already covered a lot.
It really boils down to:
- Choosing a brand and getting the paperwork sorted out
- Having the proper startup funds for equipment and training
- TAKING MASSIVE ACTION AND REALLY GETTING AFTER IT!
Restoration Company For Sale
We’ll note this in it’s own special section here.
This could give you a big head start in a number of ways if you have the capital to buy an existing mitigation company that’s up for sale.
Maybe the current owner wants to retire, or they want to move into a different industry altogether for whatever reason.
An established mitigation company, as long as you do your due diligence, can leapfrog you ahead vs starting from scratch.
They should have an existing word of mouth customer base and (hopefully) some sort of successful branding and restoration marketing campaign in place.
If they have a slew of bad online reviews…it’s a moot point, don’t walk…RUN!
But if all that looks good, they should have a fleet of trucks with the proper equipment, a crew that’s well trained, and you can work out some sort of transitional consulting deal with them to help you get going.
Experience matters a lot…take advantage if you can.
Water Damage Restoration Franchise
Similar to above…this can give you a big head start across the board as far as initial brand recognition, marketing materials and support, etc.
Just think of the big guys like Servpro and the like.
If you have the capital to do so, this may be a good option for you.
Water Restoration Business Plan
So, take all of those data points we went over above…and work with a proper business plan consultant to really put things together for you on paper.
Don’t skip this step.
Don’t skimp on the cost, which is minimal in comparison to what you get out of it, and the money it will save you down the road from totally avoidable mistakes.
Real talk here…
…don’t rely on your well intentioned but scatter brained Cousin Jimmy, or your Mom or Dad (unless they are truly successful in the restoration industry of course), or your neighbor etc…
To be blunt, they are more than likely relatively poor, and have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to business in money in general, least of all in the water mitigation vertical specifically.
Consult with a professional…
Write down all of your ideas and take that with you so you’re not wasting their time or yours, and go over every last detail. Have them aggregate all the data and give you a proper, actionable plan to move forward and really make things happen.
Well, I hope this article served you well in your quest to learn how to start a restoration company.
It’s a big move, but can pay off big time when done right.
Our primary focus is helping restoration owners generate customers by making them findable online.
So please don’t make the mistake of thinking “If I build it, they will come”…that only works for Kevin Costner in The Field of Dreams.
In the real world you need an experienced restoration lead gen expert to make sure your pipeline stays full and you have a steady stream of restoration work coming in to make that money.
Get in touch, and let’s get started…
