Meet The Founders


Nate Farrier

Eric Trice

I started my business in 2009 with no experience and borrowed money from my mom to buy my first washer ( which is still in service to this day).  We washed anything and everything and took the first year to really consider all the different services that can be offered with a power washer. I used to say I'd wash a dog if it will sit still and someone will write a check. That first year was also never supposed to last either. My wash company was supposed to merely be a stepping stone until I could really figure out what I wanted to do. I really wasn't interested in power washing at all,  but knew it was a skill I could develop until I could figure out the next step. After the first year losing my ass but experiencing entrepreneurship for the first time I thought that was cool’ let's take it for another spin. I sat down and objectively looked at all the metrics I had. which services were profitable and which ones weren't. what did I like doing and what was less pleasant. I decided fleet washing would be our future as I preferred the fast pace production mindset and lets be honest, there isn't much else you can do in power washing with a foot of snow on the ground in January. I also preferred the recurring B2B sales that seemed much more predictable in the long term.  I studied all the information available at the time, most of which was on old BB style forums. Over the next few years we built our business growing 100% per year or more. We made more mistakes than most people will admit but it was always with the mentality that you can never lose, you can only win, or learn. Everything from over or under staffed, customers and sites over our heads, overextended financially, catastrophic equipment failures, customer dramas, employee drama and everything else you can think of. We went through all of it at one point of another. 

 

 

Our FWA Conference is my favorite thing we do with the Fleet Wash Academy. It's a great time of year to leave the snowy cold north and head to the gulf coast of florida, but more importantly it's a tremendous way to share experience and knowledge with those that need it.  We hire the best experts in every aspect of running a fleet washing business and really help build a community of like minded fleet washers. This event has the greatest impact of anything we do.

 

 I came from the Auto industry,  I worked for a Chevrolet/Cadillac dealership as a technician. I was 22-23 years old, I was 2 certifications out of 8 away from becoming the youngest GM World Class Technician in the country. GM World Class is the PHD of the automotive technician industry. I was bringing home over $80k a year. I was doing great at a young age. The problem was I felt capped out. I was just about maxed out when it comes to an auto technician, I wasn't happy. I knew I was meant to do more. 

 

I decided to make a change. My Grandfather has an extremely successful construction company, My father has a very successful construction company, and my ex brother-in law has a successful construction company.  So my idea was to go work with my ex brother-in law to learn the trade and then start my own company. I had in my head that money wasn't everything and I took a job making $15/hr. It didn't take long to figure out that $15/hr wasn't going to cut it. I had a new truck payment, a mortgage and everything to go with it.  It also didn't take long to realize I hated construction. Most of all I hated being an employee. So I reached out to my brother in law and told him I needed a side hustle, something to make some cash to help pay the bills. A few days later he calls me and says " You should wash trucks!" I was confused lol. He says he washed trucks when he was younger and made good money. That I could wash houses too..  My brother in law is a farmer, and also needed a new pressure washer for his equipment. So we worked out a deal and I washed his equipment and anything else for free for several years.

 

So we got this equipment and had everything set up by early January 2015. He proceeds to teach me how to wash trucks. His way wasn't wrong, it just wasn't profitable and easily scalable. I quickly realized that the way I was taught to wash trucks wasn't going to work in the big picture. I knew there had to be an easier way. 

I went to facebook, and the internet forums to try and learn a better way.  I found a guy who gave me a few tips and techniques that I used to speed things up and was able to sell some more work. At this point for the first time I realized that I really had an opportunity to do something great. It wasn't perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.  I was willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen. Every decision I made was based on making the company grow no matter what. Truck Payment vs Soaps, I bought soap. Mortgage vs equipment, I got equipment. It didn't take long as you can imagine for me to get behind on my bills.  You see I was so committed to making this business work, it was my way out. I was broke when I started and I knew that if I worked hard enough that I could eventually dig myself out of the hole I was getting into. I was already behind on all my bills, so I basically said screw it and doubled down on growing the business.  

 

In January 2016,  I looked back at the year before and thought, man if I was able to make $36k on weekends in my first year.  Imagine what I could do if I did this full time! At this point I was ready to go all in. 

 I went to a truck wash only round table in Fort Wayne Indiana in february of 2016. This event is what gave me the belief and vision of what I was capable of.  I came home from this event with less than $100 to my name. The knowledge I gained was priceless. I started selling like crazy and I was making money like never before..  In August of 2016 I was able to fly out to Ohio and purchase my first box truck with cash. This was an amazing moment for me. Less than 12 months before My truck had been repossessed, my home was in foreclosure. I was committed to making it work, and I was finally seeing success

 

On the drive home from a national event in September 2016 Nate and I discussed creating our own group for all things truck washing and The Fleet Wash Academy group was born.  We hosted our first event in Detroit in 2018. 

 

 What I love the most is being able to help contractors get started and in the right direction. It took me over a year and thousands of dollars wasted to figure out the right way to wash. 

 

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