Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: paul alan on March 18, 2017, 08:59:19 pm
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Ive done all kinds of jobs, my previous employ was an electrical engineer working on behalf of british gas installing electric meters for 6 years. Im also qualified nvq level 2 plumbing.
I would never go back, i like the freedom too much.
I think the best part is the repeat buisness for sure!
There seems to be some intelligent people on this forum, what background have you come from?
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I was a bouncer
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Qualified in area of business n finance in addition with nvq's in the same sector. Told over qualified for some jobs and so settled into sales for ten years in different sales environments, funny enough spelling was never an issue then ;D
Left sales to become self employed in cleaning windows, something i did to support whilst in college. Very similar, enjoyed the freedom of being your own boss and only yourself to blame. But same aspect i suppose as sales, an interest in people and lets face it, in this game you meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. Helps me not to really judge people, or it did do ;D
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Porn Star, then Hitman . But in reality 30 years as a HGV Mechanic. now doing window cleaning as a Semi retirement job. ;D
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What have you found most helpful to window cleaning services from your background?
I have brought an air of professionalism from the british gas training with me, i think it realy helps with the customer"experience".
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Ive done all kinds of jobs, my previous employ was an electrical engineer working on behalf of british gas installing electric meters for 6 years.
Shhh. Don't tell Ross.
I'm a fully qualified rocket scientist but only because I found brain surgery to be lacking in intellectual challenge.
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Minimum wage person since leaving school.
Needless to say window cleaning has been the best move I've ever made
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What have you found most helpful to window cleaning services from your background?
I have brought an air of professionalism from the british gas training with me, i think it realy helps with the customer"experience".
Sales n PR
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Yeah was completely uneducated all my life, blagged my way into engineering.
Knew sweet fa about electrics and didnt even have a driving license when applying for british gas, didnt even know how to clean windows when begining and terrified of heights. Still am to this day, at 6 3" im scared to look down.
Suppose drive counts for more than education, school of hard knocks will teach a man so much more!
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Sales is a big one, selling yourself more than your service i believe.
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I was an astronaut.
Sorry I meant space cadet.
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:o
I was an astronaut.
Sorry I meant space cadet.
spaced cadet
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I was an astronaut.
Sorry I meant space cadet.
Are you trying to tell us you are no longer a space cadet?
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International cocaine and arms dealer but then came across this forum and read what everyone makes cleaning windows, especially one guy who was always going away staying in 5 star hotels. So started building a round and never looked back.
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Chemical process operator for ICI
Window cleaning is a step up
Also semi retired ;D
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Clairvoyant, but I couldn't see a future in it.
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I was the stunt double in the Solvite adverts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-54iTBqrD58
I'd like to say it was good while it lasted, but.........
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Second Engineer in a fish and chip shop ;D
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I was the stunt double in the Solvite adverts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-54iTBqrD58
I'd like to say it was good while it lasted, but.........
But.......you just didnt bond with job
;D
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lorry multi drop 20 years whilst 15 on the doors
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pRoof Reedder.
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I sold office equipment - between 1985 and 1988 - largely to Solicitors, County councils, the Police etc. Specifically typewriters, word processors and early desktop PC's with word processing and legal and accounts software on them. Also the printers and consumables for them and maintenance contracts. After three years four of us set up our own business in which I was Finance Director and then both that and Sales Director.
It was always underfinanced, hand to mouth and lacking direction. I resigned after eight years in 1996 (the company folded three years after I left and I took my (then) one third share spread monthly over about ten months and sold consumables for laser printers as a self employed person.
I was scratching a living and a mate was selling about £500 a months worth of trad. window cleaning which I bought at 2X over three months. It grew from there.
High finance indeed.
I did both jobs for about three years and as the round grew without much effort I dropped the sales stuff in 2001 and did FT window cleaning - swapped my Cavalier SRi for a Volvo 240 Estate and got stuck in.
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What did I learn from my previous work? Profit was king. Cashflow was king. Low overhead is king.
Offices, flash cars - extra staff - meant little.
Repeat business kept us afloat. The repeat business came largely from consumable sales and maintenance contracts.
Therefore window cleaning was perfect.
My personal accountant was a bearded character who looked a bit like an old school professor. He retired from accountancy and bought a crazy golf course in Weston super Mare. He worked in it two days a week between Easter and September plus school holidays and some weekends to keep his hand in.
I saw him there one Bank holiday and asked how he was doing and he tapped his nose and said "What did I tell you my boy about cashflow, low overheads and profit?" - he was charging £2 a go, plus selling cold drinks, reading a book in the sunshine and had about two dozen people on the course.
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Crappy min wage type jobs, no future. Glass is hard atm building up but getting their.
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Professional race car driver at the age of 14, made millions by the end of my career at 15 but couldn't find a way to get the funds from the playstation to my bank account so I had to window clean, never looked back since. It's really frustrating the money is there, just need to find a way to get it into my account....
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General bum for the first few years of my life after leaving education. Travelled a lot and worked whilst travelling. Mainly on farms but also lived in Eilat Israel, living on the beach. Did bar-type work, building site work, street sweeping, eventually got a full time job on a liveboard on a scuba diving boat.
Left Israel and finally got in to landscaping, which I did for 11 years. Got sober then after a while finally got in to window cleaning. Been at it since November 1998.
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General bum for the first few years of my life after leaving education. Travelled a lot and worked whilst travelling. Mainly on farms but also lived in Eilat Israel, living on the beach. Did bar-type work, building site work, street sweeping, eventually got a full time job on a liveboard on a scuba diving boat.
Left Israel and finally got in to landscaping, which I did for 11 years. Got sober then after a while finally got in to window cleaning. Been at it since November 1998.
Was the diving job in Eilat ? i worked in Cyprus for a small diving school for 2 seasons, certainly not the best diving there but a great 2 years of my life for sure.
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Yes, it was in Eilat. The boat was moored just off the King Solomon Hotel, we had a great great life.
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When I worked for the Samaritans, ::)roll I phoned in sick one morning...but they talked me out of it! :D
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My professional wrestling career as "The Scissor" was cut short after being beaten by my first opponent Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. ???
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I ran a hot air balloon business.
Never got off the ground.
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Graphic designer for 25 years. At least I can do my own leaflets and website.
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Striker for Sunderland, but was embarrassed by my job title
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I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.
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I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.
So you chickened out then
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I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.
So you chickened out then
He didnt make the cut 😂😂
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I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.
So you chickened out then
He didnt make the cut 😂😂
Thats why he got the chop
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He dropped the butchers block on his foot and he couldn't filet any more.
;D
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School
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setup a bee keeping business but kept getting stung.
NO MONEY NO HONEY lol
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I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.
So you chickened out then
He didnt make the cut 😂😂
Thats why he got the chop
I reckon he was sacked for handling other peoples' meat!