Neil,
I was making a far broader point.
£15,000 to start up any small business is peanuts in this day and age, peanuts.
You are quite right, marketing is very important, so call it £20,000, that's still peanuts for any serious entrepreneur. Let's not forget carpet & upholstery cleaning is what, 90% profitable, that's 90 pence in every pound generated going towards overheads and yes, start up expenses. Some small business owners would kill for those kind of profit margins.
But if you look at the market a Truck Mount will offer a start up cleaner, he can do anything from lounge carpets and suites to cinema complexes and office blocks, could he reach those markets and be able to serve them properly with an entry level portable, no sir.
I'm not trying to make a Truck Mount case, I'm making a business case, a case any switched on business person should be looking at very closely indeed.
Simon