Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: sherco on January 03, 2009, 09:27:43 am
-
What made you guys decide to do carpet cleaning? Was it a career change, fed up with your other job, redundancy, dreams of making mega money, do you do it full time or part time. And do you still enjoy it.
-
Interesting question and something that I ask myself on a daily basis ! I was getting fed up with what I was into and knowing a little bit about furniture bought into a franchise...for carpet cleaning and hey presto....now at approaching 51 and getting more sore elbows knees wrists im thinking how much longer do I want to carry on doing this Cheers Simon
-
sherco, i got into c/c'ing about 15 yrs ago, i had a couple of mates (perry matcham & simon shepherd) who had been c/c' ing a few yrs prior.. & they got me involved.. i've always been a very clean & tidy person, so i think i was well suited to do cleaning.. i could'nt work for any employer, as i feel i would'nt last the day.. & i have only one overhead & thats my wife.. the pros of this line of business for me is that i see my kids go to school & i see them come home ;D as a lad i very rarely saw my dad because he worked alot, weekends & shiftwork etc.. also i only work about 20 to 30 hrs a week.. ;D regards charlie
-
sherco
theres a thread on page 2 by ryan i think, called "the journey" pretty much the same thing with some interesting reads on there, mines a 2 part serial. and yes still loving it but its early days for me.
derek
-
Derek
I've just read your autobiography, didn't realise you sold the house. :o
Now that's commitment.
-
Derek
can not fault your commitment so good luck mate :)
-
mike
a calculated risk in this economic down turn, got top price for our house and hopefully in 2 or 3 years time, house prices will bottom out just in time to buy again, thats the theory anyhoo.
derek
-
'Expert' on tele today reckon 2-3 years but I reckon it will be sooner. The herd principal works both ways.
Had a nice little endowment due in 2011, hoping for a major rival by then. :'(
-
it was either carpet cleaning or killing my boss! i did not want to spend time inside so a friend of mine who realised the stress i was under at work mentioned carpet cleaning, i found this site doing a bit of research and thought this might be for me, no years of training which at 43 would be inpractical i did the NCCA course etc have yet to startup though although i have had some practical experience with a qualified carpet cleaner and i really enjoyed it, i know it may sound corny but doing something that hopefully makes people happy i got some reward from and i felt good, at the moment i am still in the sh.t job but not for long, i dont expect to get rich, and have no intention of ever employing anyone else as i believeonce you do this your standards may fall as noone will do as good a job as the owner of the company, i just want to make a resonable living and have noone to answer to, except the wife.
-
I Buy property and rent them out, i have three at the moment and rental prices are booming as people cant get mortgages, houses prices in my area havent dropped as i was in the estate agents today looking for a bargain...I dont think the wife would let me sell a house and buy a truckmount, so i will have to stick to my porty... ;D
-
I can pick and choose when I work... My wife is the bread winner as a teacher, so I can concentrate on doing a proper job, which is what the Cornish want!
-
Colin
Your luck as mine is at uni doing law so am shelling out for everything ::)
-
what my girlfriend does;
http://www.alannabanana.co.uk/
go on buy a diet plan ;D
-
Craig
Great looking site I hope she does well with it, especially this time of year.
Is someone doing the SEO for her?
-
Craig
A good web site she has got :)
Good luck as well :)
She looks like my mrs too :o
-
ive got my level 2 fitness training certificate cardio and weights, was going to open a gym years ago and felt i'd benefit from the qualification, not WABBA though.
only had a quick look at her website but i'm guessing the diet is mainly bananas?
derek
-
Fat people eat too much and don't move around enough. It's as simple as that, but in the modern world it's hardly surprising.
-
Yes its a banana based diet! ;D
Its not fully up and running its a new venture for Alanna, she knows someone doing simular and its not seo'ed its more refered word of mouth (clients)
Many clients are doctor refered to her gym, high blood pressure, had heart attacks, over weight ect.
I have suggested SEO to Alanna, not sure if it will go that way, she will see how it goes.
PS Mike your right it is as simple as that, eat less do more!
-
Hi
Actually it isn't always 'that simple'
Improper thyroid function or hormonal imbalance can lead to significant weight gain.
Regards
Martin 8)
-
And don't forget people with Elephantiasis ::)
-
Getting back to the first question, why carpet cleaning, I left school knowing absolutely nothing, and as the careers officer said when my turn came around, Name Worn Farmer's Son Next, apparently my career was already mapped out and basically that was it.
After leaving school I did work for my father for two years, but ran off with one of his female workers, and spent the next three years doing fairly mundane jobs, when this affair ended I secured a skilled job as a welder sheet metal worker and I may say it took a little bit off Bullpoop but I got the job, which I continued for another seven years, unfortunately the state of the country and finances, a bit like it is now, there was this new thing called a three-day week, so I thought to myself what can I do to earn some extra money, funnily enough when I worked my father back in 1965 i used to take the exchange and Mart, where I had noticed an ad for the Von Schrader carpet cleaner, and rang to enquire of price, and was shocked to find that cost would be in the region of £2000.
I then noticed on the same page that Lloyd Owen from Stevenage was selling an extractor for £850 including training and chemicals, say no more I was down there like greased lightning and bought the package, and this was my first step in carpet cleaning.
I am sorry that the explanation to why I started is so long winded, but I'm sure that a few of you that have been going as many years as I, have probably got a similar story to tell. Ted
-
Hi Ted
I too bought my first machine from Lloyd in 1982 having seen it in Exchange and Mart.
I was working as an R&D Chemist and a colleague and I decided to set up a cleaning business.
I loved working in Industry but the writing was on the wall for british manufacturing and now I would need an awful lot of money to work for someone else.
Cheers
doug
-
Hi Doug, nice of you to reply, it is consoling to hear from a fellow carpet cleaner who started the same way as me.
It is only the elite and probably the longest serving that started in the era of Lloyd.
And if those people basically you and me are still going, which obviously we are, then we have done all the right things!!
I was glad to see that you have finally got a truck mount, I don't think you would have got a lot further with the portables, all the best Ted ;D
-
I nearly bought machines off Lloyd but opted in favour of Extracta.
It all seems along time ago.
-
Hi Ted
I was doing pretty well with portables but am looking forward to what the TM can add.
I also do quite a lot of texatherm and as I mentioned earlier may set up a dry cleaning arm.
Also have the green carpet cleaning network and loads of websites, so expect a busy year.
As for the Elite, I'm not sure but we certainly have stickability.
Cheers
Doug