Surface Work is leaving Virginia Beach soon…

…but there is still a bit of time left for opportunity.

Since 2022, Surface Work LLC has proudly delivered high-quality power washing services to homeowners across Virginia Beach. After three productive seasons in this market, I have made the decision to shift operations to a new location - one that offers a better balance of demand, respect for craftsmanship, and a generally more sustainable working environment.

My name is Brian, and I’m the owner-operator of Surface Work LLC. I’m also a disabled veteran doing my best to remain a productive member of society. I do this work because I am compelled to do… things… my past colleagues can attest to my frustrating drive to be productive. I take pride in my work, no matter what that work is – because the reward, frankly, is in being the best at something – especially when the barrier from an 80% job to a 100% job is nothing but effort. Pressure washing gives me an outlet for my productive drive, and I enjoy getting out of the house and making people smile with surprisingly good service in an industry that seldom cares about customer experience. I was proud to integrate concepts from chemistry and engineering to optimize my technical processes to the max, while applying statistical modeling to understand business processes and ensure that I am offering my services at just barely above what it actually costs to provide those services in a sustainable way. I was doing this because I genuinely wanted to.

Over the years, I’ve relied on affordable marketing channels – like yard signs and flyers – to attract new business in an otherwise extremely crowded field; however, regulatory crackdowns have decimated these marketing channels, leaving small service providers like me to battle in the overpriced arena of online ads. In cities like Virginia Beach, where pressure washing is a saturated market, an average lead now costs over $60… that is before I even speak to you. So, what happens? You Google “house washing,” and dozens of contractors compete for your click – your attention – not by being better at power washing, but by outbidding each other with Google provided algorithmic bidding strategies that leverage… who knows what data… to qualify you as a potential lead and sell the attention of that lead to small business owners like me. Meanwhile, the proceeds of selling your attention can easily exceed the proceeds from the service that produced that sellable attention in the first place. In a way, each business buys a piece of the pie, but the baker is only able to deliver a slice to one of us. 

This system is broken, and I no longer wish to participate in it. Simply put, it is just not enjoyable anymore. It is not enjoyable for me to spend thousands of dollars per month for you to be bombarded with ads and hope that you click one – and only one – just so I can then hope to do the right song and dance to land the five-seconds “elevator pitch” as you scroll through the rolodex of competing companies. Then, I have to hope that at the end of the month, my operating costs don’t exceed my deliberately affordable revenues.  

What sets Surface Work apart isn’t marketing – it’s execution. I’ve trained my competitors while cheering them on and sharing information freely. I’ve written a technical blog (linked above) to raise the bar for homeowners and professionals alike. I applied principles from more complex engineering environments to perfect what most consider as a basic service – and in the process, I watched many competitors come to me for advice while still making mistakes that damaged property after explicitly being warned against it. In short, I have earned the right to say no.

Surface Work LLC is no longer accepting new customers in Virginia Beach, unless you value quality, you will accept the prices listed without complaint (they are cheap) and you will treat me with basic decency and respect. I show up with a smile, friendly demeanor and willingness to either engage in conversation or get to it… and I expect the same courtesy in return.

I really hope that I have not come across as bitter; I am incredibly grateful for the experiences that I have had – the countless conversations, random life storyline glimpses, random facts and anecdote – and I would do it all again just for the experience, but also… I am going to enjoy my last summer in Virginia Beach, dammit!

Surface Work is planning to close shop in early August. If you are a past customer, please, feel free to reach out. I would be delighted to do whatever you want to have done. If you are a new customer, I have limited availability, but shoot me a text at 757-633-2888, and we can see what we can squeeze in here at the end.  

With humble gratitude,

Brian Jones

Owner, Surface Work LLC