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Barrett Pressure Washing: A Grandfather’s Legacy
Episode 724th February 2024 • Celebrating Small Family Businesses • Kuder Consulting Group
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In this episode, Jay Barrett from Barrett Pressure Washing shares his journey in the industry and how his grandfather's principles influenced his approach to the business.

Jay trained extensively in lift safety, chemical safety and chemical interactions to apply best practices and safe operations in pressure washing jobs which he believes sets him apart from his competition.

He discusses that he doesn't start a job unless he knows exactly how it's going to work out, a lesson imparted by his grandfather. Jay also mentions the importance of kindness as a mantra for both business and personal life.

00:00 Introduction and Welcoming Jay Barrett

00:18 Learning Business from Grandfather

00:47 Starting Barrett Pressure Washing

01:13 Getting into the Pressure Washing Business

02:14 Differentiating from Other Pressure Washers

03:39 Lessons from Grandfather

05:03 Grandfather's Influence and Legacy

06:42 High Standards and Quality Control

07:46 Applying Grandfather's Lessons in Business

08:37 Grandfather's Gift of Wisdom

10:26 Working with Family in Business

10:46 Overcoming Challenges in Family Business

12:40 Grandfather's Impact on Business Approach

16:28 Competitive Advantage in the Industry

18:43 Importance of Research and Preparation

23:55 Contact Information and Closing Remarks

You can reach Jay and learn more at https://barrettpressurewashing.com or call 888-658-WASH

Transcripts

Speaker:

John and Connie Kuder: Today, we are

Speaker:

celebrating Jay Barrett and by proxy, his

Speaker:

grandfather, of Barrett Pressure Washing.

Speaker:

Hi, Jay.

Speaker:

How are you doing?

Jay Barrett:

Hello.

Jay Barrett:

I'm doing well.

Jay Barrett:

How are you?

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder:

Jay Barrett:

Welcome to the party.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah!.

Jay Barrett:

Thank you.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: So, this is

Jay Barrett:

a little bit unusual for our podcast

Jay Barrett:

because we're normally interviewing two

Jay Barrett:

family members and, uh, but when we had

Jay Barrett:

a, a, chat, everything you learned about

Jay Barrett:

running a business and, and the quality

Jay Barrett:

in business, I believe was, you know, that

Jay Barrett:

you had learned from your grandfather.

Jay Barrett:

when you were younger.

Jay Barrett:

And so I thought, wow,

Jay Barrett:

let's talk about that.

Jay Barrett:

Let's see what, um.

Jay Barrett:

what, you learned about it from

Jay Barrett:

your grandmother and we could share.

Jay Barrett:

So, , first, I don't want to

Jay Barrett:

like get things out of order, but

Jay Barrett:

whatever, your current business

Jay Barrett:

is Barrett Pressure Washing

Jay Barrett:

It is

Jay Barrett:

Barrett Pressure Washing

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: In St.

Jay Barrett:

Petersburg, Florida, right?

Jay Barrett:

Yes, I cover Pinellas

Jay Barrett:

County, Hillsborough County,

Jay Barrett:

Manatee County, Southern Pasco.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: But you

Jay Barrett:

didn't start in Florida, did you?

Jay Barrett:

I did not.

Jay Barrett:

I am from Maine.

Jay Barrett:

I am a Mainer.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: And so how did you

Jay Barrett:

get into the pressure washing business?

Jay Barrett:

So, uh, pressure washing

Jay Barrett:

and exterior cleaning was something

Jay Barrett:

that a former employer, I was an

Jay Barrett:

operations manager for a very large

Jay Barrett:

commercial facility management company,

Jay Barrett:

And without going into huge detail,

Jay Barrett:

pressure washing and exterior cleaning

Jay Barrett:

and maintenance of commercial buildings

Jay Barrett:

was one of the services that we offer.

Jay Barrett:

So, in order for me as the operations

Jay Barrett:

manager and to instruct other managers

Jay Barrett:

and employees on the best operations

Jay Barrett:

and how to do it safely, those kinds

Jay Barrett:

of things, uh, did extensive training,

Jay Barrett:

uh, in, lift safety, chemical safety,

Jay Barrett:

chemical interactions, those types

Jay Barrett:

of things, uh, in order to, best to

Jay Barrett:

instruct those employees on safe practices

Jay Barrett:

and how best to do those cleanings.

Jay Barrett:

So that's how I got started.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Okay.

Jay Barrett:

So that's a whole different level

Jay Barrett:

than, the person that's, mounts a

Jay Barrett:

pressure washing pump on their, on

Jay Barrett:

their truck and, goes to the pool

Jay Barrett:

store and buy some chlorine and sets

Jay Barrett:

themselves up in business, right?

Jay Barrett:

I mean, it's way different.

Jay Barrett:

It is.

Jay Barrett:

I have a much different background

Jay Barrett:

than a lot of people in my industry.

Jay Barrett:

I find that.

Jay Barrett:

Lots of guys in my industry, uh,

Jay Barrett:

started pressure washing because they

Jay Barrett:

maybe didn't want to have a full time

Jay Barrett:

job or maybe they do it on the side.

Jay Barrett:

It's their side hustle.

Jay Barrett:

They do it on weekends, you

Jay Barrett:

know, something like that.

Jay Barrett:

Uh, I come from a very, um, uh, I

Jay Barrett:

guess professional background where,

Jay Barrett:

you know, I've had the certifications,

Jay Barrett:

done certification classes, and,

Jay Barrett:

uh, I really enjoyed The, the work.

Jay Barrett:

So, you know, backing up a bit as the

Jay Barrett:

operations manager wasn't supposed to be

Jay Barrett:

doing labor, but found myself doing lots

Jay Barrett:

of labor when we had these large scale

Jay Barrett:

pressure washing jobs going up on the

Jay Barrett:

lifts, you know, with the harnesses and

Jay Barrett:

being, uh, toggled into the, to the lift

Jay Barrett:

and having these big 30 foot extension

Jay Barrett:

lawns that we were using to clean.

Jay Barrett:

I mean, it was just so much fun for me.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder:

Jay Barrett:

Boys and their toys.

Jay Barrett:

That's all I can think of..

Jay Barrett:

Right, right.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Okay.

Jay Barrett:

So now your grandfather.

Jay Barrett:

I know you said you learned a lot,

Jay Barrett:

earlier days from your grandfather.

Jay Barrett:

How does that kind of connect

Jay Barrett:

back to what you learned from your

Jay Barrett:

grandfather and what did you learn?

Jay Barrett:

Tell me about your granddad

Jay Barrett:

and your relationship with him.

Jay Barrett:

Well, so, I

Jay Barrett:

mean, about my grandfather, my

Jay Barrett:

grandfather was a Navy veteran.

Jay Barrett:

You know, he was, uh, in World War

Jay Barrett:

II, very, very, you know, my memories

Jay Barrett:

of him, very, very meticulous man,

Jay Barrett:

very organized, and I mean, like,

Jay Barrett:

over the top obsessive organized.

Jay Barrett:

And I have this clock here, right there,

Jay Barrett:

and I, you know, I can tell you the

Jay Barrett:

date that my grandfather got that clock.

Jay Barrett:

Do you know why?

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Because he wrote it on

Jay Barrett:

the back of the clock.

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Not only that, but there's also

Jay Barrett:

dates on that clock of every time

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he changed the battery since 1986.

Jay Barrett:

When he got the clock.

Jay Barrett:

So, he was, you know, one of those

Jay Barrett:

people who journaled every day about the

Jay Barrett:

weather, you know, the news of the time.

Jay Barrett:

Uh, you know, not personal

Jay Barrett:

journaling at all.

Jay Barrett:

It was very much structured of

Jay Barrett:

what the weather was, what was

Jay Barrett:

going on, those types of things.

Jay Barrett:

Maybe his to do list of

Jay Barrett:

the day, things like that.

Jay Barrett:

So he was a very, very organized person.

Jay Barrett:

And, he taught me, first and foremost,

Jay Barrett:

how to have a very, strong work ethic.

Jay Barrett:

And how to do things to perfection.

Jay Barrett:

So my, , some of my earlier memories of

Jay Barrett:

him was, or working for him was mowing

Jay Barrett:

his lawn and after I was done mowing

Jay Barrett:

his lawn, he would go around with a

Jay Barrett:

yardstick and actually measure different

Jay Barrett:

points of the yard to make sure that I

Jay Barrett:

had not missed any parts of the lawn.

Jay Barrett:

When I would do snow removal for him,

Jay Barrett:

he would go around and inspect to make

Jay Barrett:

sure that every little inch of asphalt

Jay Barrett:

had been uncovered and scraped down

Jay Barrett:

so there was no possibility of ice

Jay Barrett:

forming on any part of that asphalt.

Jay Barrett:

So he was, it was very overbearing, but

Jay Barrett:

at this, you know, and I kind of resented

Jay Barrett:

it when I was young, but You know, fast

Jay Barrett:

forwarding to now, I have that in me to

Jay Barrett:

do a job to literal perfection, where I

Jay Barrett:

am not satisfied until the job is perfect.

Jay Barrett:

And it kind of suits what I do for

Jay Barrett:

work because in a lot of trades

Jay Barrett:

there are kind of gray areas,

Jay Barrett:

but in cleaning there's no gray.

Jay Barrett:

Something's either dirty or it's clean.

Jay Barrett:

And it's either, you know,

Jay Barrett:

all clean or it's not clean.

Jay Barrett:

So that's one example of something that

Jay Barrett:

he definitely taught me in business.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Nice.

Jay Barrett:

Nice.

Jay Barrett:

So really high standards, quality

Jay Barrett:

control and high standards.

Jay Barrett:

Very, very high standards.

Jay Barrett:

Yes.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Did you find

Jay Barrett:

that that was, um, very supportive of

Jay Barrett:

when, when you got into the facilities

Jay Barrett:

management and you were doing these

Jay Barrett:

certifications and, and, you know,

Jay Barrett:

and getting that, you know, much more

Jay Barrett:

professional training in, in those,

Jay Barrett:

uh, you know, operating all that

Jay Barrett:

equipment, the chemicals and everything.

Jay Barrett:

Did that background really serve you?

Jay Barrett:

Oh, absolutely.

Jay Barrett:

So, I mean, as another example, um,

Jay Barrett:

as he was getting older, you know, his

Jay Barrett:

hands weren't working quite as well.

Jay Barrett:

He had really, really bad

Jay Barrett:

arthritis in his fingers.

Jay Barrett:

And he, uh, also sold used cars as

Jay Barrett:

a, you know, kind of a side hustle.

Jay Barrett:

And.

Jay Barrett:

Wasn't able to actually do the work.

Jay Barrett:

So would have, you know, would sit back in

Jay Barrett:

his chair and have me, you know, doing the

Jay Barrett:

operations on the, on the car and fixing

Jay Barrett:

the cars, but, you know, telling me why.

Jay Barrett:

Things went in a certain order like you

Jay Barrett:

have to remove this piece before you

Jay Barrett:

can get to this piece And you know, it's

Jay Barrett:

very important that you know, you don't

Jay Barrett:

you know Go over here and and mess with

Jay Barrett:

this part because you know You're gonna

Jay Barrett:

open up a whole can of worms that you

Jay Barrett:

so, you know things like that, which

Jay Barrett:

yes really served me in especially

Jay Barrett:

in management where you're trying to

Jay Barrett:

convey order of operations and systems

Jay Barrett:

to employees and and conveying the

Jay Barrett:

importance of those and explaining, you

Jay Barrett:

know, why these things are important.

Jay Barrett:

So yeah, I mean, absolutely.

Jay Barrett:

And again, another thing that I really

Jay Barrett:

resented when I was young, and I

Jay Barrett:

was like, Oh man, this guy's a jerk.

Jay Barrett:

But you know, he was really

Jay Barrett:

teaching me something.

Jay Barrett:

And A lot of people

Jay Barrett:

laugh at this story too.

Jay Barrett:

So when I was, when I graduated

Jay Barrett:

from high school, lots of my family

Jay Barrett:

were giving me gifts and money and,

Jay Barrett:

you know, just a real celebration.

Jay Barrett:

And my, my grandfather gave me

Jay Barrett:

this card and in it was written

Jay Barrett:

10 keys to a successful life.

Jay Barrett:

And it was I get a little, you

Jay Barrett:

know, choked up when I think about

Jay Barrett:

it, but it was, keeping your

Jay Barrett:

credit good and when to pay your

Jay Barrett:

bills and , just things like that.

Jay Barrett:

And then at the bottom it was

Jay Barrett:

always take care of your mother.

Jay Barrett:

And, you know, it's just, it was a

Jay Barrett:

really, it's one thing that, and I

Jay Barrett:

don't have the card anymore because, um,

Jay Barrett:

unfortunately I lost it in the fire, but

Jay Barrett:

it, it's something that I still remember

Jay Barrett:

all of those things that were in there

Jay Barrett:

and, you know, wish that I would have

Jay Barrett:

maybe taken it more into consideration

Jay Barrett:

when I graduated from high school, not,

Jay Barrett:

you know, when I was in my 30s and 40s.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: No

Jay Barrett:

18-year-old understands anything.

Jay Barrett:

So it sounds like it was very, it

Jay Barrett:

sounds like it was very important

Jay Barrett:

yes.

Jay Barrett:

Yes.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: That he that

Jay Barrett:

he conveyed to you, you know, that

Jay Barrett:

he shared with you what he felt was

Jay Barrett:

most valuable, which wasn't cash.

Jay Barrett:

Or a gift.

Jay Barrett:

It was the gift of his wisdom of what

Jay Barrett:

he had learned, you know, here's here's

Jay Barrett:

what's going to make your life better.

Jay Barrett:

Yes, absolutely.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: And you probably

Jay Barrett:

don't remember any of the other gifts.

Jay Barrett:

I don't I

Jay Barrett:

well, no, that's not true.

Jay Barrett:

I got a sony stereo that

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: That was

Jay Barrett:

pretty awesome, but still that the

Jay Barrett:

one thing went into your heart.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

Oh yeah, absolutely.

Jay Barrett:

Absolutely.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: We want to stick

Jay Barrett:

with our theme of family business.

Jay Barrett:

So in working with your grandfather,

Jay Barrett:

what are some things that you

Jay Barrett:

learned about working with family?

Jay Barrett:

You know, What what was it?

Jay Barrett:

What were the strengths of,

Jay Barrett:

of, working with family rather

Jay Barrett:

than just having a boss?

Jay Barrett:

And were there any challenges

Jay Barrett:

that you remember, you know,

Jay Barrett:

dealing with and overcoming?

Jay Barrett:

Well, yeah, I mean,

Jay Barrett:

so working with him, there was, as

Jay Barrett:

opposed to a boss, there was a lot more

Jay Barrett:

fostering, you know, going on, you know,

Jay Barrett:

a lot more, uh, a lot more attention,

Jay Barrett:

you know, I got, you know, really good

Jay Barrett:

instruction and really was there to

Jay Barrett:

help me every step of the way, you know,

Jay Barrett:

and As far as challenges go, I mean,

Jay Barrett:

it was me being a young, young kid and

Jay Barrett:

him being an old man and very stubborn

Jay Barrett:

and stuck in his ways and he wasn't,

Jay Barrett:

uh, he didn't have abusive language or

Jay Barrett:

anything like that, but he, very stern.

Jay Barrett:

You know, when you weren't doing things

Jay Barrett:

right, that very stern voice would come

Jay Barrett:

out, , you're not, this isn't right, this

Jay Barrett:

isn't the way you're supposed to do this.

Jay Barrett:

It wasn't, you know, like a boss might do

Jay Barrett:

where, , you tried and that's great, but

Jay Barrett:

, here's the way we'd like to see it done.

Jay Barrett:

No, it was, "No, you're

Jay Barrett:

not doing that right.

Jay Barrett:

You got to do it right or

Jay Barrett:

you can't do it anymore."

Jay Barrett:

So, , and that was a big challenge.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Okay.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

So that's kind of typical family

Jay Barrett:

stuff , where a lot of times

Jay Barrett:

we dispense with the niceties.

Jay Barrett:

uh, we don't show our family members

Jay Barrett:

necessarily the same courtesy

Jay Barrett:

that we would show, a non family

Jay Barrett:

member, an employee or employer.

Jay Barrett:

Obviously if you talk to a boss like that,

Jay Barrett:

you'd probably get fired pretty quick.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah, right.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Very cool.

Jay Barrett:

The other thing that you brought

Jay Barrett:

up was that the two generations,

Jay Barrett:

you know, a lot of people that

Jay Barrett:

work together in family businesses,

Jay Barrett:

they're just one generation apart.

Jay Barrett:

It's, a daughter and father,

Jay Barrett:

father, son, that kind of thing.

Jay Barrett:

So that that generation skip

Jay Barrett:

is a little bit wider age gap.

Jay Barrett:

And so, , you brought that up.

Jay Barrett:

Um, so.

Jay Barrett:

any any other thoughts about, it?

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

So it was, , him coming from, and I think

Jay Barrett:

a lot of it had to do with his military

Jay Barrett:

background, you know, very, very rigid,

Jay Barrett:

very, very, very, um, no room for error,

Jay Barrett:

you know, there are certain steps that

Jay Barrett:

need to be taken to accomplish whatever

Jay Barrett:

it is, even if it was mowing the lawn.

Jay Barrett:

There was a, there was a class

Jay Barrett:

involved in me mowing the lawn.

Jay Barrett:

It wasn't just, here's the mower.

Jay Barrett:

It was, you know, you got to know

Jay Barrett:

where the cotter pins are and how to

Jay Barrett:

change the blades and how to change the

Jay Barrett:

oil and how to change the pull cord.

Jay Barrett:

And, you know, you got to know

Jay Barrett:

about the machine before you

Jay Barrett:

can even push the thing, right?

Jay Barrett:

So it was.

Jay Barrett:

It was, uh, you know, a total knowledge

Jay Barrett:

of everything that you could possibly

Jay Barrett:

need to know in order to cut a blade of

Jay Barrett:

grass and cut them all evenly, right?

Jay Barrett:

So, and me, I've always

Jay Barrett:

been, , kind of aloof, right?

Jay Barrett:

You know, I'm, uh, I'm very laid back

Jay Barrett:

and very easygoing and, I'm into that

Jay Barrett:

type of lifestyle and I'm not, my

Jay Barrett:

personality isn't built like that, but him

Jay Barrett:

instilling that in me makes it possible

Jay Barrett:

for me to be like that in business.

Jay Barrett:

So I can separate, my personality from

Jay Barrett:

who I need to be and what I need to do

Jay Barrett:

in order to run a successful business

Jay Barrett:

and in order to, you know, be able to

Jay Barrett:

manage employees like I used to, and,

Jay Barrett:

you know, be able to, uh, effectively

Jay Barrett:

convey instruction and things like that.

Jay Barrett:

So, but the.

Jay Barrett:

It didn't come without its battles, right?

Jay Barrett:

I wasn't always the happy, you know,

Jay Barrett:

Okay, Grandpa, you know, that wasn't me.

Jay Barrett:

You know, I would fight it.

Jay Barrett:

I would fight it, and he would get mad,

Jay Barrett:

and you know, there would be, you know,

Jay Barrett:

a little silence there, and you know,

Jay Barrett:

but then it would come back together.

Jay Barrett:

As far as the generation gap, I think

Jay Barrett:

that was probably the biggest, and

Jay Barrett:

the military background, you know.

Jay Barrett:

I think that really affected his The way

Jay Barrett:

that he was with, with life in general.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Well, and when

Jay Barrett:

was he roughly, when was he born?

Jay Barrett:

Do you remember?

Jay Barrett:

In the twenties.

Jay Barrett:

So yeah, he was,

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: okay, so he

Jay Barrett:

had lived through some hard times.

Jay Barrett:

Oh yeah.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: And plus, war

Jay Barrett:

time and uh, that was no small thing.

Jay Barrett:

And so, yeah, I think that that

Jay Barrett:

gave people an edge, that, us

Jay Barrett:

baby boomers , and beyond,

Jay Barrett:

I count myself as a baby boomer, you

Jay Barrett:

know, that that were born after World

Jay Barrett:

War II, um, haven't just haven't

Jay Barrett:

lived through, haven't experienced.

Jay Barrett:

So, um, to add to that,

Jay Barrett:

you know, I think now that I have

Jay Barrett:

my own business and the only person

Jay Barrett:

that I'm accountable to is myself

Jay Barrett:

and, you know, I don't have a boss

Jay Barrett:

and I don't have employees yet.

Jay Barrett:

Um, it's, it's given me that, you know,

Jay Barrett:

somebody said to me, a peer of mine,

Jay Barrett:

uh, who is getting out of this business.

Jay Barrett:

Uh, and I've been talking to him

Jay Barrett:

about acquiring his customer base

Jay Barrett:

and, you know, in talking with him

Jay Barrett:

and I've worked with him a little bit.

Jay Barrett:

And he's an, he's also

Jay Barrett:

an older, uh, gentleman.

Jay Barrett:

He's in his sixties now.

Jay Barrett:

And what he said to me was, you know,

Jay Barrett:

I feel like you're above this industry.

Jay Barrett:

And I kind of was like, well, and I

Jay Barrett:

think what he meant was, is that I have.

Jay Barrett:

So much knowledge of, you know, practices

Jay Barrett:

and, and chemicals, and chemical

Jay Barrett:

interactions, and, you know, how to, what

Jay Barrett:

chemical neutralizes another chemical,

Jay Barrett:

and how do they interact, and how do they

Jay Barrett:

interact when they're put on a particular

Jay Barrett:

surface, whether it be metal, or wood, or

Jay Barrett:

concrete, or plastic, You know, because

Jay Barrett:

they all interact differently and what's

Jay Barrett:

best for each application and, and, you

Jay Barrett:

know, a lot of these guys are calling,

Jay Barrett:

um, cleaning chemicals by their brand

Jay Barrett:

names, where I am talking about, you know,

Jay Barrett:

what they're, what they're composed of.

Jay Barrett:

And I really think that it doesn't

Jay Barrett:

put me above the industry, but it

Jay Barrett:

puts me above my competition for sure.

Jay Barrett:

Like, straight up, that's my biggest

Jay Barrett:

competitive advantage is that I have that

Jay Barrett:

that knack for just, and it's not a knack.

Jay Barrett:

It's, well, if I could show you

Jay Barrett:

my notebook the other day, because

Jay Barrett:

people always ask me, you know, well,

Jay Barrett:

what do you know about chemistry?

Jay Barrett:

You know, so I started writing in my

Jay Barrett:

notebook and I just, you know, started

Jay Barrett:

with a chemical, oxalic acid, and I just

Jay Barrett:

started writing things that I know about.

Jay Barrett:

You know, and that's my geek out, right?

Jay Barrett:

Like SDS sheets is my geek out,

Jay Barrett:

you know, I know how to read them.

Jay Barrett:

I know how to, you know, interpret them.

Jay Barrett:

I know how to find, I know how to

Jay Barrett:

find lies, you know, where chemical

Jay Barrett:

manufacturers will say, well, this is

Jay Barrett:

biodegradable and I can go and look

Jay Barrett:

at the SDS sheet and I say, Oh, well,

Jay Barrett:

it says right here that you can't,

Jay Barrett:

you shouldn't put it down a drain.

Jay Barrett:

And I've, and I've called

Jay Barrett:

vendors out on this before.

Jay Barrett:

It's, it's, you know,

Jay Barrett:

just part of what I do.

Jay Barrett:

So when you talk about, you know, what do

Jay Barrett:

you bring to the table as far as, um, you

Jay Barrett:

know, your industry, that is by far, and

Jay Barrett:

I, and I learned that from my grandfather,

Jay Barrett:

you know, you don't do, you don't push the

Jay Barrett:

mower until you know how to fix it, until

Jay Barrett:

you know how it runs, until you know,

Jay Barrett:

you know, how to cut a blade of grass.

Jay Barrett:

And, and that's the same

Jay Barrett:

way with pressure washing.

Jay Barrett:

I do not do a job unless I 100

Jay Barrett:

percent know from start to finish

Jay Barrett:

exactly how it's going to work out.

Jay Barrett:

And I will get on the computer or open

Jay Barrett:

a book and I will research exactly

Jay Barrett:

what I need to do, if I don't know

Jay Barrett:

already, what I need to do from start to

Jay Barrett:

finish to make sure that when I'm done,

Jay Barrett:

that that job is absolutely perfect.

Jay Barrett:

And he taught me that.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: That's awesome.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Yeah, I'm,

Jay Barrett:

confident that that is, is your, you

Jay Barrett:

know, professional differentiator

Jay Barrett:

for sure within the industry.

Jay Barrett:

and that, that kind of knowledge

Jay Barrett:

I think is very uncommon uh, to,

Jay Barrett:

to have that level, the depth the,

Jay Barrett:

depth and the, the breadth and

Jay Barrett:

the certifications to go with it.

Jay Barrett:

We have had in our previous,

Jay Barrett:

uh, homeownership, our

Jay Barrett:

(house), um, pressure washed.

Jay Barrett:

and it wasn't pretty.

Jay Barrett:

Uh, so one of my, one

Jay Barrett:

of my things is I take pictures.

Jay Barrett:

I take pictures of damage whenever

Jay Barrett:

I'm walking or driving somewhere

Jay Barrett:

and I see a driveway that's damaged.

Jay Barrett:

I'll, I'll snap a picture of it.

Jay Barrett:

And you know, there, it's very widespread.

Jay Barrett:

And, and I, and I think, well, if

Jay Barrett:

you take, um, a driveway, a paver

Jay Barrett:

driveway, for instance, and a normal

Jay Barrett:

on average paver driveway to install

Jay Barrett:

is anywhere from $50 - $80,000.

Jay Barrett:

So why, why then would you take that

Jay Barrett:

$50 - $80,000 investment and spend

Jay Barrett:

it on, you know, the maintenance on

Jay Barrett:

somebody who doesn't have any sort of

Jay Barrett:

background in the industry, doesn't have

Jay Barrett:

the knowledge of the chemicals that he's

Jay Barrett:

using, or how it's going to interact

Jay Barrett:

with your particular, , environment?

Jay Barrett:

Uh, is using chemicals that are dangerous

Jay Barrett:

to not only the applicator, the person

Jay Barrett:

who's using these chemicals, but to

Jay Barrett:

everything around it, only to pay a

Jay Barrett:

few hundred dollars less when you're

Jay Barrett:

talking about an $80,000 driveway.

Jay Barrett:

Why would you spend, $150 for somebody

Jay Barrett:

to clean it and seal it when you could

Jay Barrett:

hire somebody who you know will do a

Jay Barrett:

good job, who will own it until it's

Jay Barrett:

done, and pay a little extra money?

Jay Barrett:

I mean, it's, uh, it's a no brainer for

Jay Barrett:

me, and trying to convey that out into

Jay Barrett:

the world has been my biggest challenge.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Sure,

Jay Barrett:

Sure, Yeah, I understand.

Jay Barrett:

Because it's, it's that, um, well, it's

Jay Barrett:

just overcoming the general ignorance.

Jay Barrett:

I mean, most of us, I think in, in,

Jay Barrett:

you know, in almost any, um, service

Jay Barrett:

and a lot of products that we buy we

Jay Barrett:

don't buy them that often and we don't

Jay Barrett:

we really don't know how to buy them.

Jay Barrett:

You know, what I mean, how do I go, how

Jay Barrett:

do I buy a professional service and,

Jay Barrett:

how do I compare one against another?

Jay Barrett:

That's, I think that's a challenge service

Jay Barrett:

providers to, to deal with and overcome

Jay Barrett:

and the ones that can do it and convey,

Jay Barrett:

communicate that successfully, uh, you

Jay Barrett:

know, I think are going to dominate.

Jay Barrett:

So kudos to you for continuing to do that.

Jay Barrett:

And, and to follow in your

Jay Barrett:

grandfather's footsteps.

Jay Barrett:

that's that's quite amazing.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah.

Jay Barrett:

Is there anything, um, so one of the

Jay Barrett:

questions we like to answer, anything

Jay Barrett:

about, and, and, you know, feel free

Jay Barrett:

to, but anything about family business

Jay Barrett:

that you know, now that you wish you'd

Jay Barrett:

known when you started, I know you're,

Jay Barrett:

you're right now a solopreneur, but,

Jay Barrett:

um, yeah, I'm trying to think how to

Jay Barrett:

pivot that, like, I know you were a kid

Jay Barrett:

when you worked with your grandfather.

Jay Barrett:

What is there, is there

Jay Barrett:

anything there anything?

Jay Barrett:

you know now, uh, that, you know,

Jay Barrett:

if, if you had been a little

Jay Barrett:

older or or if you guys were, you

Jay Barrett:

know, one generation apart vs.

Jay Barrett:

two that you could, you could, draw

Jay Barrett:

more from what he, his example?

Jay Barrett:

Um, I mean it, so if

Jay Barrett:

we take the, you know, being in

Jay Barrett:

business for myself aspect away from

Jay Barrett:

it, it would've been to, if I could

Jay Barrett:

have done something differently.

Jay Barrett:

It would have been to really solidify

Jay Barrett:

my work history earlier in my life.

Jay Barrett:

Um, and been more responsible with,

Jay Barrett:

you know, my employment and things

Jay Barrett:

like that, you know, before I had

Jay Barrett:

the, the operations manager job, I

Jay Barrett:

was, you know, all over the place.

Jay Barrett:

I would do this for a while and quit,

Jay Barrett:

do this for a while and quit and

Jay Barrett:

never really took that responsibility.

Jay Barrett:

And, um, so I guess if I had something

Jay Barrett:

to learn, um, you know, just that I

Jay Barrett:

would have done that differently and, you

Jay Barrett:

know, maybe I would be someplace else.

Jay Barrett:

And, but, you know, I'm very content

Jay Barrett:

on where I am now and looking forward

Jay Barrett:

to this year and my business growing.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Well, so,

Jay Barrett:

um, how, where can people, how can

Jay Barrett:

people, get ahold of you if they're,

Jay Barrett:

if they're looking for your services,

Jay Barrett:

pressure washing, uh, that protects

Jay Barrett:

the environment and gets it done right?

Jay Barrett:

So, uh, my website

Jay Barrett:

is barrettpressurewashing.

Jay Barrett:

com.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: That's

Jay Barrett:

Barrett with two R's, two T's, right?

Jay Barrett:

Barrett

Jay Barrett:

with two R's and two T's.

Jay Barrett:

And my phone number is 888

Jay Barrett:

658 WASH, which is 9274.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Awesome.

Jay Barrett:

Cool.

Jay Barrett:

And

Jay Barrett:

I'll just, uh, in case somebody when

Jay Barrett:

somebody goes to your website and they,

Jay Barrett:

uh, see your little, um, video, audio

Jay Barrett:

commercial, um, I wanted to,

Jay Barrett:

you know, mention that I know

Jay Barrett:

that you sang, sang that so that

Jay Barrett:

you're the voice in your Jingle,

Jay Barrett:

that's what it

Jay Barrett:

was.

Jay Barrett:

I am.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: He's,

Jay Barrett:

multi- talented, guys yeah.

Jay Barrett:

You are.

Jay Barrett:

You've been so much fun to learn about.

Jay Barrett:

We've enjoyed your friendship.

Jay Barrett:

Talented.

Jay Barrett:

Look at that.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Who knew?

Jay Barrett:

All right.

Jay Barrett:

That's right.

Jay Barrett:

Any last thoughts or words of

Jay Barrett:

wisdom before we wrap this up?

Jay Barrett:

I mean, so, you know,

Jay Barrett:

my mantra lately has just been No

Jay Barrett:

matter what just be kind to people,

Jay Barrett:

you know And uh, it helps in business.

Jay Barrett:

It helps in personal life.

Jay Barrett:

It helps in everything Uh, it helps

Jay Barrett:

when you go into the grocery store

Jay Barrett:

and somebody wants to cut you in line,

Jay Barrett:

you know, just be kind to people.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Well, you don't

Jay Barrett:

know what stress they're going under also.

Jay Barrett:

Great advice.

Jay Barrett:

Yeah, very true.

Jay Barrett:

Very true and be kind

Jay Barrett:

to the earth Be kind to the earth.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: There you go

Jay Barrett:

yeah without it.

Jay Barrett:

There are no more issues

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Right

Jay Barrett:

Jay, thank you so much

Jay Barrett:

for spending this time

Jay Barrett:

with us.

Jay Barrett:

We appreciate it.

Jay Barrett:

And, uh, we look forward to

Jay Barrett:

it's always

Jay Barrett:

fun with you guys.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Thanks

Jay Barrett:

Look forward to seeing you again soon.

Jay Barrett:

All right.

Jay Barrett:

John and Connie Kuder: Bye.

Jay Barrett:

Take care.

Jay Barrett:

Thank you.

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