We recently connected with TRAVIS WALKER and have shared our conversation below.
TRAVIS , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
Out of any trait from my parents that has been conducive to me as an entrepreneur I would definitely say work ethic. They both worked for 35-40 yrs. I’ve seen them go to work sick, rain, sleet, hurricane and the list goes on and on and never complained. I’m more of an observer so they never had to come and say, “hey we won’t you to work for so many years” or “maybe you should start a business because working for so many years is hard.” I was really young but in the early 90’s I could remember my dad getting laid off I didn’t know what that meant at the time but he came home, changed clothes and went find another job. He didn’t take it as a break. I can also remember my mom having hardship and to keep things going she worked 2 jobs. She would come home get dressed and would work till 10pm at night and get back up and 4am to do it all again. She gave up weekends, holidays, etc. Although, they both were employees for many years they never discouraged me when it came to taking a risk at becoming an entrepreneur. I’m sure at some point seeing the start of an entrepreneur journey and the rollercoaster that it is may have been a bit scary for them because they just wanted me to be successful, but seeing the work I put in daily gives them comfort that they’ve instilled a no quit mentality and assurance that I will be successful.
TRAVIS , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Travis Walker the owner of Mighty Clean Pressure Washing. I’m a father of 2 girls. I would consider myself laid back, a jokester and extremely observant. Being observant is what helps me tremendously and it’s also what led me to being a pressure washer. In about 2006 I saw my mom needed her house washed so I went to Lowes and purchased an electric washer and although I was able to wash the house all I could think was there has to be a better way. It took me hours, but I enjoyed it because I was enjoying the result I was getting and saw the difference when I was done. Right away I started doing research on machines, chemicals and pricing. My mom got me my first customer and I quickly realized I had not done enough research. I would get a customer here and there by word of mouth and wouldn’t turn them down because I would take those as opportunities to learn the craft. I went through many adjustments with pricing, services offered, areas to cover etc. When I figured that part out, I realized how easy it was to get one customer, but the question was how I get the next one and the next one and the one after that. There were times when I would say “it would just be easier to work a job,” but for someone who’s an entrepreneur at heart that’s completely false. At the time I hated social media but then found I could use it as a tool for my business. I started my LLC in 2020 and in the beginning, I was terrible at posting my work but eventually disciplined myself in that area and started to see results slowly. Since 2020 I’ve grown quite a bit from washing residential exterior houses, fences, driveways, windows and graves to now commercially washing hotels, churches, fast food places and even shopping centers. I try and separate myself from other businesses by making sure I’m focused on “complete customer satisfaction.” Before I leave my customer, I always let them check my work to make sure upon leaving we are on the same page. At this point I’m most proud of my growth. The things I’ve accomplished at this point I had those as a long-term goal since then I’ve been back to the drawing board setting new goals. For new and old customers, I would say there’s so much more that’s coming such as new services, products, incentives and discounts. Stay Tuned!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
2020 was a trying time. There were so many things that were coming my way and losing my fulltime job was the biggest, At that time I wanted to be a fulltime entrepreneur but I was not putting in the effort I should have although I saw the way to success. I had a seasonal business and loss my job “out of season.” That was a terrible combination. There were friends, mom, dad and family all telling me I know you’ll be fine because they all had seen me work through tough times but I could not find it this time. I remember I went to my younger brother house and he showed me something that was a combination of motivational videos called success vibes. That literally changed my life I listened to it daily while putting out flyers and handing out cards. All before I had no energy to focus on business, Had I not loss that job I’m not sure I would’ve been a fulltime entrepreneur going on year 3 and at this point I still watch those videos weekly. Also having a fiancé whose been a full time entrepreneur for quite some time is a daily reminder and a blueprint on how to navigate as an entrepreneur.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Year 1 at being a fulltime entrepreneur once I began to stay booked, I lost focus of making time to continue to advertise and research additions to my business. When my “season” was over I went through a complete dry time and was forced quickly pivot. I added new services such a grave washing and painting and window washing commercial buildings which since has landed me commercial contracts with multiple businesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mightyclean.club
- Instagram: @mightyclean985
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mightycleanpw