How A YouTube Rabbit Hole Became A Real Service Business with Ruben Ramirez, Triad Pressure Washing LLC

0:00Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:57All right, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Ruben Ramirez with Triad Pressure Washing. Ruben, how are you doing today? I am fantastic, Cliff. I hope you are. Yeah, I'm doing great. I'm really excited to have you today. So let's go ahead and jump right into things. So for those of you who may not know it yet, who are you, Ruben? Who is Ruben Ramirez and what is Triad Pressure Washing? Ruben Ramirez is someone who just loves to live life.

1:36I've done all kinds of things throughout my life from working at the car wash to dental assisting, photography, and now pressure washing. And Triad Pressure Washing is the company that I started almost five years ago. We specialize in residential and commercial exterior pressure washing, soft washing, window cleaning. And we are just loving this journey and loving what we do, making properties look clean and very inviting once again. Perfect. And who are you as a person? Got any kids, wife? I have a wife, which we will be married here about 14 years now in next month. I have two adult boys. Thank you.

2:23I have two adult boys who are also just living their best life. Very smart. And they are, the three of them, what drives me on a daily basis. Nice, nice. I love it. I love it. So take us back to the very beginning. What made you say, yep, I'm doing this. I'm starting that business. Believe it or not, I did dental assisting for 16 years before doing pressure washing. And around year 13, I was just, I guess bored is the right word. Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely grateful for all the learning experiences, coworkers, doctors who came into my life and gave me those opportunities. but around year 13 I just needed something different.

3:09I started venturing out looking what kind of business I could start because I knew for a fact I wanted to start a business and kind of be my own boss and just take on that path and that journey and I saw on YouTube shorts of all things someone pressure washing a driveway. I didn't even know pressure washing was a thing. I saw it. I loved it and went down a rabbit hole for the next few months. It's all I read about, thought about, looked up, asked questions about. Next thing I know, my wife and I are driving up to northern Kentucky to take a course on pressure washing and marketing. And I sold my camera equipment.

3:54I sold my dream bike to purchase the course, pressure washing equipment, and some yard signs. and years later, here we are being very successful, very grateful for that and just growing as best we can. Yeah, no, love that, love that. So let's say, and this is obviously all hypothetical, but if you had to start again from absolute scratch, let's say you had no brand, no clients, no safety net, what would you do differently the second time around starting your business? If I had to do that, knowing everything I know now, Now, if that's what you mean, I would definitely know where not to market. Because I was fairly new, I didn't know where to put my little bit of marketing dollars I did have.

4:43I put it into many venues that turned into dead ends. And it was a little frustrating and even discouraging, but we kept going. And so I would definitely avoid that. I started small. I started with a very entry-level machine and equipment. but it did the job. But I think that's what I would do the most is be more mindful as to where I would put my marketing dollars. And yeah, I think that's the buttocks. I think everything else went very smoothly the way you should have. So what would you say is a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one prepares you for?

5:25Probably that you have to be firm. What do I mean by that? You have to be firm when talking to people. So many times I get asked, for example, to lower my pricing, to throw in a free this, a free that. Well, that's still time, money and resources coming out of my pocket, out of the business. And so you just have to know how to say no in a respectful way or absolutely, but it's going to be an upcharge of X amount. I think that was a little harsh for me the first couple of years. I would give in to, oh, come on, just throw in this free sidewalk. Sure, why not? And so learn how to be firm in a professional way.

6:10And that goes along with just learning how to speak more professionally, how to get your message across in a fair and professional and friendly way. now would you say you had any issues like that growing up i mean were you more were you more timid is that what you're saying is i guess just personality thing or you had to force yourself a little bit to become more firm or is that kind of what you're saying i'm the oldest i'm the oldest of three boys and i grew up a little timid a little shy always saying yes to a request do a favor and so I think that's kind of rolled over but I've learned I've learned how to be a good person not necessarily always you know the nice guy but a good person with good morals and and just move forward so basically it sounds like more you were more like a people pleaser a yes person you know anybody anybody that asks anything yeah yeah that's fine yeah that's fine rather than really thinking about it and saying okay no this is not right Let me say no.

7:15And this is why. Right. That's the best way to put it. I was thinking about it, but it didn't come out. But that's definitely the way a people pleaser. Yeah. I like helping people, but there's a difference between, hey, let me help you. Let me give you a hand. You know. OK. OK. So what would you say is one common myth people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now when you hear it? The myth of, oh, I have my business. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. Well, not necessarily. It truly is, at least at first, something you're on 24-7. My morning starts when I wake up. I could be answering texts and emails at 6.30 in the morning.

8:03I could be texting quotes at 8.30 p.m. It really depends on when the customer has time to get to you, to call you, to text you, to email you, etc., ask you for quotes. Or very common, I'll come home anywhere from 2 to 4 p.m. And my day is nowhere near over because now I'm having to get back to all the customers who contacted me throughout the day. I'm having to go on Google Earth, Dillow, et cetera, look at properties, measure up properties, send them requests or not requests, send them quotes, have them approve, see where on the schedule I can put them, all that good stuff. So it's definitely not a nine to five, but I like it.

8:51I enjoy all that very much. It really drives me. I enjoy doing all that. Yeah. Yeah. And you kind of, you just actually answered the next question. So, yeah, basically I'm plugging. There is no unplugging. You're working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So Sunday at 11 p.m., you know, if something comes in, you're going to work it. Basically what you're saying. Believe me, I really do try to unplug, but it's really hard. What I would do is at eight o 'clock, I would just kind of put the phone aside. If it's a text, I'll see who, what it is. If it can wait till the next morning, it'll wait. If not, if it's someone I've been texting for a couple of days and they finally said yes was to your availability, then I'll answer real quick.

9:37And as far as the weekend as well, I'm always answering phone calls and or out doing in-person estimates, which is pretty common on the weekends. Yeah, and I'm pretty sure you're probably doing it like in between other errands, right? You know, hey, I got to go drive on the other side of town to take care of XYZ. I might as well go to stop at that customer that lives over there, right? Absolutely. Just this past weekend, I was out picking up groceries and in between one store to the other. I get a phone call. Can you stop by? Well, you're in the area. I'll be there in 10 minutes. But it made their day and they got on schedule.

10:17It's little things like that, too, that I think that the customer appreciates. yeah yeah no definitely so be honest are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart most definitely an entrepreneur this is technically my second business i was a wedding photographer for 11 years years ago and that went well but i think i just wasn't mentally mature to keep it going. I did it. I enjoyed it, but I really mismanaged a few things. And I wouldn't say it failed. I just kind of got tired of it and moved forward with the dental assisting. So this time around, I think I've learned a lot.

11:04I have my head on tighter on my shoulders and I've learned a lot. I read articles and items and I take everything I've learned to try to make this be more successful. And it's been very successful every year that goes by. We actually smashed last year's numbers much higher. So that's nice. That's awesome. That's awesome. So, and then, you know, you've already talked about unplugging, which isn't a thing, but are vacations a thing? Absolutely. And I think that because it's a nonstop work, when those vacations come, man, they are just bliss. They are cherry on top. I really enjoy them. There's nothing I love more than taking my wife and kids to the beach.

11:55I'm most definitely a beach person. I like the mountains, but I think I was born to be on the beach. I love the sun, sand, water, palm trees, food, all that good stuff. I tried to go on vacation at least once a year. This year we're thinking a couple of times and yeah, I can't wait. We're counting down the days. Nice, nice. So looking back, you know, what do you attribute most to the growth of your business so far? A lot of it, learning from my mistakes and then also learning from other entrepreneurs' mistakes. I listen to a lot of podcasts and I take those golden nuggets from other entrepreneurs.

12:45For example, I like to go put up yard signs quarterly. I'll go in the a.m. hours when the city's quiet, but I'm listening to a podcast, whether it be about business, self-growth, entrepreneurship, or pressure washing. And so I just kind of rotate all those topics. And a lot of times the entrepreneur that is being interviewed will say, I made a mistake here. I fixed it this way. And it's like, well, that's something I never even thought about. So let's not do that. We'll do this. Like I said, a lot of it is by mistakes myself. I think A and B is better when H and I was best and we just, we get over it.

13:27We don't get mad at ourselves and make the best decision and have at it. Okay. Now, do you have employees, Ruben? I do not at the moment. It's just me. I do everything A to Z. I wear all the hats. I do all the intervoices, the phone calls, the estimates, the actual work, the payments, all the marketing, social media. It sounds like a lot. It is, but again, I really, really enjoy it. I feel like running this kind of business is what I was meant to do. It brings me very much joy. Yes, I'll have long days. I'll come home and I'm just exhausted. But like I read somewhere, what a blessing to be tired for something you prayed for for so long.

14:14That's true. That's a good way to look at it. any plans on getting employees in the future? Or what do you see the business going in the next couple of years? It's definitely crossing my mind. I think I'm at the point where it would be nice to have an extra set of hands. Like I said, every year we grow a little bit more. So if not this year, for sure next year, I do see myself hiring somebody, especially because this year I'm really working on networking. and there's a lot of networking events, gatherings. Some are near, some are far, et cetera. And so it would be nice to go get the work while someone is doing the actual physical work for me at the time.

14:59Even then, I know there will be times when I want to be out in the field doing the work myself because I enjoy it very much. And so to answer your question, not at the moment, but more than likely next season. Next year, okay. Okay. So what do you see the business in the next five years? Next five years, I see us with at least another truck. Like I said, it's just me with my truck at the moment. At least another truck, maybe even two, would be an absolute blessing and definitely expanding our map. We are triad, pressure washing, which means all of High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and everything in between.

15:44It would be an absolute goal and blessing to have a truck in each corner of the triad. Mm-hmm. I love that. I love that. No, it seems like you had big goals. So, and let's just say this is hypothetical. Let's just say, you know, you were looking to hire somebody, right? Are there any particular traits that matter more to you than what's on someone's resume? Absolutely. Integrity. Integrity. It's all how you treat people. They say you really want to get to know someone, take them out to dinner and see how they treat the server. I'm a strong believer of that. But somebody who, just because it's the right thing to do, even when someone is not looking, to do the right thing, to be kind, to speak kind, and not the opposite of all that.

16:39Integrity is very, very important to me, along with loyalty, of course. so what would you say is one thing you would do intentionally to keep your workplace positive motivated and productive you know especially like during like a stressful time or stressful season in your business i've thought about this a lot actually and i think i would be a great employer i think i would just love up on my employees all the time i want to buy them lunch all the time and just tell them, thank you for being here. Thank you for the work you did. That house turned out fantastic. Thanks to you. Thank you so much.

17:17The customer was happy.

17:21Offer bonuses if and when they get reviews with their name in it, little things like that. I would definitely, definitely show them my appreciation for them and just be kind to them. Love it. Treat them friendly. Treat them like people and not just a number on my payroll. Yeah. I love that. That personal touch. Yes. And I say that because that's the way my previous employer, Dr. Shove, treated us. She is literally a great employer, my favorite ever, just a heart the size of Texas. And she was great. And I remember saying, man, if I were ever an employer, I would be just like her. yeah now now is there is there any anything in particular like that you learned from that that previous employer like as far as you know what you would do i mean i know you kind of grazed over it a little bit but there's is there anything in particular that they did i learned that every employee is different every employee has a different goal for one it may be Just making more money to the other one.

18:43Money is good, but it's more important to live in an environment that's not hostile and that's not stressful with less drama. Really good to know your employees one on one and meet them there. And in return, they will work hard for you, happily work hard for you. And that's going to cause a great working atmosphere. Yeah, no, no. And that's that's totally true. I mean, you know, thing is, we spend so much time working. I mean, you spend more time working than you're you're you're with your family. Right. So it's like, let's enjoy, you know, let's try to enjoy all of this time that we pour into this company a little bit.

19:24You know what I mean? Let's try to make it decent so that we're not dreading coming to work every day, that we're not dreading to do such and such stuff for this person. You know, and I think that's really important. You know, like I said, we spend more time with our employers than we do at home. let's have a decent time while we're here. You know, let's not just make it all doom and gloom. You know what I mean? I think that's really important. Yeah.

19:50I think in the past for me, you know, the hardest, hardest employers I've worked for were employers that I felt valued to, you know, me personally, it just, it just, that's just naturally how it is. Oh man, you know, they've done good for me. So I'm going to do good by them. I'm going to make that extra phone call. I'm going to, I'm going to take that extra email. I'll stay a little bit late because I like such and such. You know what I mean? It's little things like that to make a huge difference overall. All right. Perfect. So I appreciate that. So we're going to head into what's called the quick fire round.

20:17And how this works is I'm going to give you one word and then I want you to answer that one word with the first first word or first idea that comes to your mind when you hear that word in regards to running your business. And then you expand upon it and get into why you chose that. Does that make sense? Yes. Okay, perfect. All right. So first word is education. Education is a must, and it's definitely something that you never stop doing. The day you say, I'm done learning everything, you probably won't get much further than when you are. You'll just be stuck. Education is very important from the beginning, in the middle of your business, to the very end.

20:59there's always something new, newer technology, new ways of marketing. I'm learning that as I go. Something I did a year one is not going to work in year five and so on. So education is a must. Planning. Planning. Like they say, fail to plan and plan to fail. Extremely important to have something mapped out, written out, and then execute. Inspiration. Inspiration can be many things for many people. For me, my inspiration is, of course, my family. I tell them that the most important thing is for us to be good, happy, healthy, comfortable, safe. So they inspire me a lot. Commitment. commitment commitment is important especially if it's something for you if i commit to run a successful business i must do it if i commit to getting the hours of sleep so i'm functional the next day if i commit to doing a certain job even though it if it's an That were a way to show up happy.

22:17Commitment is important to me. Discipline. Discipline over motivation. Every time I hear the word discipline, that's what comes to mind. Motivation is almost searching for that feeling. But discipline is doing it whether you feel like it or not. Just get it done. That's something that I'm really working on this year. I started last year. I did decent last year. But I'm definitely disciplined to do everything that I need to do from getting up at five in the morning, working out three or four times a week and working hard, showing up with a smile, coming home with a smile. If I had issues at work, something broke down, leave it at the door.

23:02Just discipline. Yep. Important. Risk. Risk. Risk is something you have to take in life. I would much rather say I tried it, failed. Now I get to try again with more knowledge instead of what would have happened if I would have done that. One of my biggest fears is to be on my deathbed thinking, what if, what if, all these what ifs. Instead of, man, I tried it. I did it. It worked. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. And the last word is execution. Execution. So execution, I think, is the difference between those who dream and those who do. It's beautiful to have a dream, write it out. But if it's just written out and it's laying on your desk for years, months, whatever.

23:55But if you execute, man, the sky's the limit. It's a game changer. Everything changes. Your family can change. Your financial status can change. Your happiness can change if and when you execute anything you say you might not have to do. which, yeah, mindset. Mindset is everything right up there with execution. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. I appreciate that for the quickfire round. So, you know, and I want you to be as candid and as honest as you can with this next answer and this next question here. But let's just say if a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode with you today, Ruben, and, you know, let's say they're feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

24:35They're just having a bad day. Let's say they're having a bad month or let's just say they're having actually a bad start to 2026, I know we're almost through the first quarter now, and they're feeling stuck or overwhelmed and just, man, nothing's going right. What's a piece of advice you would give to them today? Fantastic question. Three things come to mind. Execution, mindset, consistency. I feel like they all go hand in hand. Just do it. And you said to be candid, so we're all going to die. I mean, come on. No one is getting out of this alive. We're all going to die. Just do it. Don't be afraid if someone's going to say something, make fun of you.

25:19Don't worry about them. Your own competition should be you, yourself, and you to be better than you were yesterday. Be consistent. Again, discipline. Whether you feel like it or not, just do it. I promise you the payoff is worth it. i love that now that's great i love that piece of advice there any any other piece of advice for anybody who's looking to grow their business you know seeing that you've you know you know like you said the last the last couple of years you've done better than the last any advice for people looking to grow their business and do better than their last year network network network surround yourself with like-minded people yes you might have an awesome group of friends but But if all you guys ever talk about when you're with each other is gossip, sports, or the newest beer that came out, believe me, that has its place.

26:14But also get with people who want to reach those first six figures, those people who are looking to reach the first seven figures. I promise you it's possible. Get with the right people. Network. Read great books like Think and Grow Rich. build a business you love the buddha and the badass things like that just keep a good mindset mindset is everything whether you think you can or you can't you're absolutely right so might as well think that you can if you need that extra push again start networking there's amazing groups out there like BNI, et cetera, and many others, find someone who already is where you want to be.

27:02You'll be surprised. They'll be more than happy to let you pick their brain and ask them questions. At the end, entrepreneurs want to see other entrepreneurs succeed. Nice. Now, I love that. I love that. That was a great answer. And so you've talked about this a a couple of times now on this episode today, but do you have any, you did say BNI, do you have any other networking groups you'd recommend for small business owners? I do a lot of the Facebook groups. For example, just all the ones in the triad, each big city has at least 10 plus pages. I try to be on those pages. So when I'm not working, I'm literally just scrolling on Facebook and there's always someone.

27:52Do you know a carpenter? Do you know a landscaper? At this point, I've built up a nice vendors list and I'm happy to refer them. There's also, I'm trying to think off the top of my head. It left my mind. I'm sorry, but just Google networking near me and most definitely a lot of names will pop up. This is actually the first year that I truly made it a goal to network as I feel like all my other marketing resources have reached top. And so now it's time to go further. And I said, this is the year we network and here we are. And it's been wonderful so far. And it's only March. Yeah. So what's next for Triad Press and Washington?

28:37What should people be excited about coming up in the near future for your business? It's crossed my mind to do some rebranding. Rebranding? I'm not sure. Perhaps I'm rebranding some new colors and new logo. We shall see. But and then just keep offering the same excellent customer service and quality work that we have been. I'm amazed about more than half of my five star Google reviews mentioned how they just love our customer service. So customer services is everything. And that's something that we take great pride in. and we will always do our best to exhale it. Okay. Okay. Perfect. Perfect. And finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you all do?

29:23Our website, triadpw.com or give me a call or text. And more than likely I can respond within a couple of minutes if you have a question about what we do or if you have a question about pressure washing. I've had customers reach out, hey, I just have a tiny patio. Help me out. Sure. Grab this. Grab that at Lowe's. Done. And, of course, we're all over social media. We're on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook as well. Perfect. And that's all I try at Press Washing and Social Media? Correct. Okay, perfect, perfect. All right. Well, Ruben, hey, this has been fantastic. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind the scenes of building your business.

30:09I feel like you really gave some really good nuggets for small business owners to build upon. Thank you so much. I hope so. And again, if you're thinking of starting that business, just do it. You're going to love it. You can learn most of it along the way, but I promise you the struggle will be worth it and you'll be glad you did. Perfect. Thank you. My pleasure.