[Carpet Dawg]

Colin, what did you spend the 20k on? Was the van new?

[Neil Williams]

would you start up a Carpet Cleaning business, knowing what you now know.

To be honest with you I don't know if I would or wouldn't.
Basically it's all about the past. You can't change the past so I don't spend too much time dwelling on it.
What is done is done wether good or bad, the main thing to do is learn from your experiences.
I could have stayed in the Police, been on top whack pay, loads of holiday and 15 years off a good pension. I don't dwell on it, I made a decision and good or bad I'll see it through.

[Linds Russell]

No regrets for me other than wishing I had not turned down the opportunities given to me every other month for around 8 years before setting up by my very enthusiastic brother in law who owns a successful cleaning business which started off with carpet cleaning around 15 years ago.

[Colin Day]

Colin, what did you spend the 20k on? Was the van new?

It was actually £19k I got as a lump sum from the Navy. The van was £6k and the rest was wasted on things like YP (Nearly £2k) Thomsons, new computer, really really expensive leaflets £400 for about 5000 (from a local printer), exel, scrubba, second hand exel back up and loads of other rubbish....

Easy come, easy go I suppose. The next batch of cash I received for my medical pension went on moving house and buying a triple vac.... 2 good moves

If I had the cash now, I'd buy this.... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRUCKMOUNT-VAN-Carpet-Cleaning-Machine-/280636193797?pt=UK_HomeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&hash=item4157387c05#ht_2362wt_1139
 

[Paolo]

I came back into the cleaning industry about 4 months ago and I am having no difficulty finding work.

Already have 2 full time staff and 2 vehicles on the road.

My day is spent quoting and organising and very rarely cleaning but I am of course more than happy to help the guys out.

It is general cleaning rather than just carpet cleaning and is 95% commercial.

I am not going in cheap and take a fair amount of time at the quote process explaining this fact and building in the "value" I offer.

I feel the same amount of work is out there, you just need to look a little harder and be pro active in your sales approach.

[fitz2kleen]

Around 20 yrs ago I had the chance to by a 4 b/room house for 6grand being cautious I didnt jump in and do it [[ a regret ]]
Spent the best of 20 years in engineering M.O.D and aerospace work before comming into the cleaning business for other people.
It took me and my partner 4 years before we jumped in with both feet told our bosses a few home truths and started up on our own in 2008 nearly 3 yrs later we have weeded out the better letting agents and have a steady flow of work from them in carpets cleaning and E.O.T cleaning, and have now returned back into the Fire and Flood restoration side of things.
So the only thing I have regrets about if any is that we didnt start sooner.
The down turn in the economy has made it a [[ lowest price madhouse]] but as Ive seen said before its how you sell yourself at the end of the day

Regards Mark