[CLEANCARE WC]

i got laid off from jcb excavators nearly 3 years ago was a good paid job but long hours,was on the dole for 6 months,set up a mobile jacket potato stall in a local town centre and market on a sunday liked it at first but it didnt take off as i planned , gave it 6 months and new it was going to fail so i started dropping leaflets and picked up some custys for window cleaning,then i saw a small round for sale in local paper and paid £2500 for £600 a month work and never did the stall again,2 months later brought a further £200 of work off same windy for £800,been going for 2 years now and round is full,just need to convert it all to wfp now and happy days

my brother worked for Jcb, i remember he said it was long hours. once laid off he moved to France and seems happier there

are you happier with him there?  

[magic moments]

Tc I'm currently employed untill the end of the month but I'm serving my notice whilst on the sick,I am an  in the public sector ,good money compared to the way the UK is and full benefits etc ,but stupid shifts,nights,15 hour days,stress,assaults,my kids don't see me much as a result of this ,it made me feel down and could see myself going into a little depression so decided rather then talk about leaving and waiting for the moment to come and it probably never would I decided I can't wait for an oppurtunity it was time to Make an oppurtunity ,so I handed notice ,have no savings managed to buy some cheap gear and well,GAME ON.

[g.brookes]

i did it part time at uni, cleaning the downstairs for a local chap to fund myself.  finished my degree, realised the only jobs out there are call centre jobs and took over a round that was for sale local to me.  ive always been an outside person, and hated the whole 'sucking the bosses ass/stabbing your colleagues in the back for a promotion' thing so window cleaning is ideal for me, as long as my body can still take it in 30 years time

[bobby p]

i got laid off from jcb excavators nearly 3 years ago was a good paid job but long hours,was on the dole for 6 months,set up a mobile jacket potato stall in a local town centre and market on a sunday liked it at first but it didnt take off as i planned , gave it 6 months and new it was going to fail so i started dropping leaflets and picked up some custys for window cleaning,then i saw a small round for sale in local paper and paid £2500 for £600 a month work and never did the stall again,2 months later brought a further £200 of work off same windy for £800,been going for 2 years now and round is full,just need to convert it all to wfp now and happy days

my brother worked for Jcb, i remember he said it was long hours. once laid off he moved to France and seems happier there

are you happier with him there?  

he keeps an eye out and tells me about the window cleaning scene,south of paris

[colley614]

Have you been out canvassing today magic?

[magic moments]

Got 2 and then had 2  recommended from my first customer.

[tom cronin]

Tc I'm currently employed untill the end of the month but I'm serving my notice whilst on the sick,I am an  in the public sector ,good money compared to the way the UK is and full benefits etc ,but stupid shifts,nights,15 hour days,stress,assaults,my kids don't see me much as a result of this ,it made me feel down and could see myself going into a little depression so decided rather then talk about leaving and waiting for the moment to come and it probably never would I decided I can't wait for an oppurtunity it was time to Make an oppurtunity ,so I handed notice ,have no savings managed to buy some cheap gear and well,GAME ON.

Well good luck to ya, you ll look back in 5 years and wish you done it sooner, trust me.

[colley614]

Got 2 and then had 2  recommended from my first customer.

Whats that 11? the snowball effect has started already. I remember finding a street of big detatched houses worth £20-£50 a pop, all the houses were one off builds and I went canvassing and picked one up. I arranged it the next day and when I turned up the next morning her retired Husband had decided to go and canvass the whole road for me and picked me about 10 jobs up worth about £350.

I found some days you ent out all days and got a couple then next you would do nothing a get loads

[magic moments]

It felt good to gain work from an existing customer ,89 to go and 5 weeks to do it..... Is it wrong to enjoy the challenge,I already love the feeling that its all on my terms and no boss to please.

[colley614]

Personally I think your doing really well. Have you thought about going around your local newsagents and seeing if you can pick a few of them up. I find they don't take long and then you can get your leaflet in their window. I used to get a few little shops in a village that would take me an hour in the morning then I found I'd pick a whole days work up either by canvassing the area, picking the shop owners house up or being asked for a quote while I was doing the shops.

[magic moments]

Didn't think of the little shops just assumed they already have a cleaner,I'm going out again tommorow evening a little further out to try and get a days work as I only have 1 custy out in the area so wanna make it worthwhile,but cheers mate I'm going to try a few shops now.

[colley614]

I found aswell that if you have a shopping centre near you, if you pick a couple of shops up there at first the window cleaners grumble at you but after a while they will start letting on to you. I got given a job by an old guy once in a street and he told me he had given me a round. I went down there and as soon as I'd priced the job up and got my ladders off other people came running over. For every job I did that day I picked up 2 or 3 and ended up spending 3 days that week in that road

[Scoop]

You still in nottingham scoop?

Grantham, but I do go over sometimes.

[red star]

Did a BSc in Civil Engineering at Southampton and then an MSc in Hydraulic Engineering at a top engineering University in Paris (and learned the lingo in the process). Started work in France and was quickly sent as an expat to Kuwait for 4 years where money was stupid. Married a french girl and then a chance meeting with a bloke at an airport started me selling wedding dresses to shops in france. Made a mint over 10 years but divorce saw a lot of it off. Came back to UK with new English wife and started a wedding dress shop in Nottingham. Brilliant income from 1997 to 2005 but stupidly I wanted more. I had a mid-life and bought a US franchise. Franchise was a disaster and ended up down the swannee. Lost almost everything.

Dabbled for a year with no success before walking into an agency and getting sent to a factory making cattle feed. Biggest shock of my life. I'd never done any hard work before. Finally scraped a few grand together in 2010 (mainly through www.stealmygold.com) and bought a wheelie bin cleaning van that should have been scrapped 5 years ago. Started leafleting and gradually built it up. Added gutter cleaning last year.

And the happy ending? There isn't one. I'm still the poorest person I know.

  better than a eastenders storyline

[Scoop]

  better than a eastenders storyline

Yes, a bit of a saga. I was in self-pity mode when I wrote it but am feeling better now and I do make a living - just cross with myself that I won't be ordering a new BMW anytime soon 

[Barbara Green]

I used to have about 10 regular clients I cleaned for and in only a couple of years they became around 90 clients. I was doing everything possible to keep the same standard of service although other people were helping me to do the job. In only three years I had 120 customers with a regular service.

[Reachwash]

I really enjoyed reading this thread, very inspirational.

[magic moments]

I really enjoyed reading this thread, very inspirational.

so can we have the pleasure of your start up then reachwash?

[Reachwash]

Me? Oh thought you'd never ask! well I was a rebel as a kid, never went to school (unless it was art) so consequently found myself underqualified for any job other than factory work/petrol pump attendant (remember those days?) so I gave up and dropped out, punk rock, living in a squat, drugs etc.. went off to the states, married a cuban in Miami, ended up in Cal. Come home did a year in college (art & design) then started looking for work, had a painting exhibition in Greenwich, carried on looking for work, courier, bikes, vans ect. My girlfriends bro was a windy, carried around 2-3 wooden ladders at any time on his shoulder and worked like a demon, and had cash!! then the penny dropped, no boss, have a day as and when, so I teamed up with a west Indian mate and called ourselves zebra cleaning, he dropped out and became an art teacher, I brought his half of the round. In between then and now I have had three falls, so WFP came along, cheap trolley (fell apart) nissan van kitted out (stolen, stripped and burnt) brought another, sold it to the mate who carried three wooden ladders, and now Ive got a long wheel based traffic, 900 litre jobby, Gardiner lite weight poles, couple of honey pot websites, missus goes out once a week to canvas (legs and eyelashes) living in a four bed detached rent/mortgage free. working partime, wishing I was an artist!!

[magic moments]

sounds great ,i will be using the other half for a little canvass tonight!!