Nicholas Huffman Wins Young Entrepreneur Scholarship

First Coast Home Pros roots its business in the entrepreneurial spirit. Today, the company is pleased to encourage United States students to push their entrepreneurial boundaries. It’s with that goal in mind that the office is pleased to offer its $2,500 Young Entrepreneur Scholarship to Nicholas Huffman of Ohio State University.

Nicholas’s scholarship essay exhibited a boundless drive to innovate and the gumption to challenge his industry. First Coast Home Pros looks forward to seeing where his ambition and college education take him in the years to come.

The Founding of Peak Pressure Washing

Nicholas Huffman makes it clear from the start of his essay that he’s more than another student. From his introductory paragraph, it’s clear that he knows how to approach a consumer audience:

“It’s bright and early at 6:00 am, right on schedule for your morning walk. As you walk around

your neighborhood you begin to look around when a strikingly green wall catches your eye. To

your disbelief, you realize it is your own vinyl siding being consumed by green algae and dirt.

What do you do?”

Nicholas goes on to describe how he and his brother founded Peak Pressure Washing, a self-run business that brought real competition to the other pressure washers serving the Toledo and greater Monclova, OH, area.

The Nooks and Crannies of the Pressure Washing Business

Nicholas and his brother didn’t go into the pressure washing business blind. Instead, in his essay, Nicholas elaborates on the research he did prior to the founding of his business. He states that he researched both the equipment he and his brother needed to clear houses of algae and the price points that would make those start-up expenses manageable.

What’s more, Nicholas took the time to determine what his competition lacked. With the help of careful research, he opted to help found Peak Pressure Washing on the tenets of timeliness, professionalism, and authenticity.

His efforts paid off. Following Peak Pressure Washing’s first year in the greater Toledo and Monclova area, the team had several glowing recommendations to include on their website. The year after the company’s founding, Nicholas and his brother boasted a 230 percent increase in their profits despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overcoming Challenges in the Pressure Washing Industry

Establishing a successful pressure washing business wasn’t without its challenges, however. Nicholas cites the waxing and waning of the seasons as one of his business’s primary nemeses. To combat the seasonal decrease in pressure washing clients, Nicholas strove to ensure that Peak Pressure Washing’s revenue stream during the summer compensated for its losses.

He did this both by cultivating a client base of repeat customers and by partnering with clients outside of his immediate wheelhouse. Nicholas reports that Peak Pressure Washing has expanded its business model beyond houses and now has a contract with a semi-truck trailer company.

Peak Pressure Washing and Its Impact on Nicholas’s Future

All of this labor stands as the groundwork on which Nicholas now builds his academic career. Intent on pursuing a degree in real estate with a focus on entrepreneurship, Nicholas has real-world experience that he can apply to his college career at Ohio State University.

It was Peak Pressure Washing’s inconsistent income stream, however, that drove him to seek out the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship. Even though he and his business partner saw consistent business growth, Nicholas knew he could apply this scholarship specifically to his continued education.

Always Looking Forward: Nicholas’s Next Steps

With the help of the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship, Nicholas intends to see his academic career through before pursuing a position in the real estate industry. He wants to save enough to start his own personal investment portfolio and eventually grow on his experience with Peak Pressure Washing by starting his own business.

In the immediate future, Nicholas strives to keep Peak Pressure Washing operating at or above its current rate of success while also pursuing an internship at CBRE.

As of 2022, he is a sophomore at Ohio State University who intends to grow his professional network through connections with Phi Gamma Nu, the Fisher Real Estate Society, and the Second-Year Transformation Program.

Keeping One Eye Turned Toward Home

Nicholas’s entrepreneurial achievements are impressive for someone his age, but they’re borne from the support of his family. When asked what inspired him to pursue entrepreneurship so ferociously, Nicholas cites his father as his best friend and his biggest advocate.

While his father passed away in 2021, Nicholas talks about how the skills his father taught him throughout his life have transformed the path he intends to take in the future. Nicholas also says that the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship has given him the confidence in his creative abilities and actionable intent.

First Coast Home Pros applauds Nicholas’s efforts so far and is thrilled to award him $2,500 to dedicate toward his continued education. The team looks forward to seeing how he transforms the real estate industry and any other business he helps build in the coming years.

First Coast Home Pro Looks Forward to Receiving Your Scholarship Application in 2023

Nicholas Huffman is the second student to receive the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship from First Coast Home Pros. He joins 2021 recipient, Simon Barn, in the ranks of young entrepreneurs making a name for themselves in the world.

First Coast Home Pros wishes Nicholas luck as he enters another year at Ohio State University. Students interested in applying for the Young Entrepreneur Scholarship in 2023 can learn more about the materials they need to include in their applications by visiting the scholarship’s terms and conditions on the First Coast Home Pros website.