$3,000 STARTING CAPITAL
BOOTSTRAP — $3,000.
The 'solo operator with a pickup truck' path. You're betting on your own labor, cold-water cleaning, and aggressive local sales. Works. Has worked for hundreds of operators.
THE PLAN
What this tier actually buys you
At $3k you're cold-water only, solo, and marketing with sweat. You will win your first 3 accounts by walking into restaurants at 2pm on a Tuesday and offering to clean the hood for cash at cost. Once you have 3 accounts on quarterly cadence, you have $15–25k a year of recurring revenue and the economics to upgrade into the $10k tier.
EQUIPMENT
The gear you need on day one
Cross-linked to the equipment page. Prices reflect the most recent range we've seen quoted to operators.
PRESSURE WASHER
4,000 PSI / 4 GPM Gas Pressure Washer
Entry-level cold-water rig with a Honda GX390 or equivalent. Enough pressure to strip an average hood if you pair it with a strong degreaser.
Why: Cold water plus hot degreaser will work on most jobs. Hot water skids are nice-to-have, not mandatory on day one.
$1,200–$1,500Where to buy →
CHEMICALS
Caustic Hood Degreaser Concentrate (5 gal)
Dilute 4:1 for soak, 10:1 for wash-down. One 5-gal jug handles ~15–25 standard hood jobs. Buy concentrate, never ready-to-use.
$85–$110Where to buy →
CONTAINMENT
Containment Tarp + Clamp Kit
Heavy-gauge poly tarps, magnetic clips, 3M blue tape, and plastic sheeting. Seal off the kitchen before the first trigger pull.
Why: Kitchens getting slimed with runoff is the #1 reason an operator gets fired before their second job. Containment is non-negotiable.
$180–$240Where to buy →
PPE
Caustic-Rated PPE Kit (per tech)
Tyvek CHF suit, nitrile-over-neoprene gauntlet gloves, full-face splash goggles, P100 half-mask respirator, steel-toe rubber boots.
Why: Caustic degreaser splash on skin or eyes is a medical emergency. Buy real PPE, not dishwashing gloves.
$150–$180 per techWhere to buy →
LADDERS ACCESS
12-ft Fiberglass A-Frame Ladder
Fiberglass (not aluminum) for electrical safety near rooftop power. 12-ft reaches most hood plenums without extension.
$180–$240
DOCUMENTATION
General Liability — $1M / $2M
Non-negotiable. No restaurant will hire you without a COI. NEXT Insurance or Thimble can get you covered in under an hour.
$55–$120 / monthWhere to buy →NFPA 96 Cleaning Certification Stickers
Dated stickers you affix after each clean. Fire marshals open the hood and look for these first.
$25 per 100Where to buy →
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products and training we'd point a new operator toward anyway — the affiliate relationship doesn't buy a listing.
CREDENTIALS
Certifications this tier calls for
Get these pre-launch if you can. They're sales tools as much as they are credentials.
OSHA-authorized trainer
OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety
Basic jobsite safety card. Every tech should have one. Many commercial property managers now require OSHA 10 before a vendor sets foot on site.
Cost: $60–$125 online
MARKETING
The moves that land accounts at this tier
Stack-ranked. Do them in order. Don't skip to the fun ones until the first three are done.
- 1
Walk-ins. Visit 25 restaurants in your target radius in your first 30 days. Bring a one-page flyer and a photo portfolio of your first pro-bono clean.
- 2
Do your first job free. A real restaurant, real photos, real documentation. This is your portfolio and your case study.
- 3
Google Business Profile — fully populated with 25 photos, your service area, and 10 starter reviews from people who have actually seen your work.
- 4
Find 3 facility maintenance groups on LinkedIn in your city. Send a plain-text message asking who handles their hood cleaning.
LICENSING & INSURANCE
The paperwork, in order
- ✓LLC formation ($100–$300)
- ✓EIN (free, 10 minutes on irs.gov)
- ✓$1M/$2M general liability policy (NEXT Insurance, Thimble)
- ✓Business bank account
- ✓Accounting software — QuickBooks Self-Employed or Wave (free)
WHAT COMES NEXT
The upgrade path
Plow the first $10k of profit into a used hot-water skid. That single upgrade cuts your job time by 30–40%, which is the economics that make the $10k tier possible.
COMPARE
Browse the other tiers
READY TO LOCK IN THE PLAN?
Drop your email and we'll send the full $3k / $10k / $30k PDF comparison — the exact equipment list, phone numbers for the insurance carriers, and the 10-account target-list template.
SEND ME THE PDF →