[magic moments]

After some inspiration .

What's your start up story and where your at now?

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

Started by being granted princes trust loan. Bought van, equipment etc.
Very few customers, then van blew up.
Couldnt make repayments to princes trust so had to get another loan and buy a round an hour drive away, and buy another van.
Payed off both loans.
Sold the round to buy another round closer to home, which also needed a third loan to fund, along with a nice new van which i still have.
5 months left on third loan, the end is near.
Started employing 1 person 6 months ago.
Now have to much work and toying with the idea of getting a 2nd van and employee.

Its been a long hard few years but the end is in sight...

[Dougaldum]

once upon a time blah blah blah blal now i make loads of money

[magic moments]

James what did you do before ,and what made you go for it?

[magic moments]

once upon a time blah blah blah blal now i make loads of money

Helpful thanks for your time.

[idealrob]

Not my story but my fathers, after refusing to go to war and remaining neutral, he couldnt get a job, mother in law said area need window cleaner, turned to it and in a few months was earning 6 times the national wage, employed a deaf boy aged 15, who still works for us today aged 72, and eventually employed 18 window cleners , cleaning domestics, school and all the chemical industry on Teesside and ended up a millionare, and the company is still going strong, third generation after 55 years

idealrob

[colley614]

Not my story but my fathers, after refusing to go to war and remaining neutral, he couldnt get a job, mother in law said area need window cleaner, turned to it and in a few months was earning 6 times the national wage, employed a deaf boy aged 15, who still works for us today aged 72, and eventually employed 18 window cleners , cleaning domestics, school and all the chemical industry on Teesside and ended up a millionare, and the company is still going strong, third generation after 55 years

idealrob

Very inspiration that. He's a credit to our profession!

Did he start out wfp or trad

[magic moments]

Nice story

[CLEANCARE WC]

Not my story but my fathers, after refusing to go to war and remaining neutral, he couldnt get a job, mother in law said area need window cleaner, turned to it and in a few months was earning 6 times the national wage, employed a deaf boy aged 15, who still works for us today aged 72, and eventually employed 18 window cleners , cleaning domestics, school and all the chemical industry on Teesside and ended up a millionare, and the company is still going strong, third generation after 55 years

idealrob

Very inspiration that. He's a credit to our profession!

Did he start out wfp or trad

you may joke but wfp was around then (in usa) 

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

James what did you do before ,and what made you go for it?

Worked for a window cleaning firm for about 8 months when I was 17, and thought why cant I be the boss? Why cant I be that bloke who is making all the decisions and telling me what to do?
My brother had just set up a aerial and satellite company, and is only a year older than me, so even now im trying to improve all the time just to compete against him.
Looking back, I made some very stupid decisions, decisions that Ill never make again, but I guess its all a learning curve.
No one belived in me, no one. Even my neighbours used to say to me 'why are you window cleaning when you could work for your brother' i felt like murdering the bloke, and still dont really speak to him, but it spured me on to sucseed.

[Dougaldum]

once upon a time blah blah blah blal now i make loads of money

Helpful thanks for your time.

any time mate nice to help out

[magic moments]

James what did you do before ,and what made you go for it?

Worked for a window cleaning firm for about 8 months when I was 17, and thought why cant I be the boss? Why cant I be that bloke who is making all the decisions and telling me what to do?
My brother had just set up a aerial and satellite company, and is only a year older than me, so even now im trying to improve all the time just to compete against him.
Looking back, I made some very stupid decisions, decisions that Ill never make again, but I guess its all a learning curve.
No one belived in me, no one. Even my neighbours used to say to me 'why are you window cleaning when you could work for your brother' i felt like murdering the bloke, and still dont really speak to him, but it spured me on to sucseed.

I got that no belived in me parents, brothers etc
 that's another reason for me failure is not an option.

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

James what did you do before ,and what made you go for it?

Worked for a window cleaning firm for about 8 months when I was 17, and thought why cant I be the boss? Why cant I be that bloke who is making all the decisions and telling me what to do?
My brother had just set up a aerial and satellite company, and is only a year older than me, so even now im trying to improve all the time just to compete against him.
Looking back, I made some very stupid decisions, decisions that Ill never make again, but I guess its all a learning curve.
No one belived in me, no one. Even my neighbours used to say to me 'why are you window cleaning when you could work for your brother' i felt like murdering the bloke, and still dont really speak to him, but it spured me on to sucseed.

I got that no belived in me parents, brothers etc
 that's another reason for me failure is not an option.

Prove them wrong then!!

Failure IS NOT an option.

[Paul Coleman]

After some inspiration .

What's your start up story and where your at now?

Three redundancies in two years in the early 90s recession saw me on the dole and unable to even get an interview.  I was down to my last £100 and had an ancient car.  Bought a few small tools.  Borrowed a ladder.  Went door knocking.  Two months later signed off the dole as I was just about earning enough not to qualify (this was done the legal way BTW).  Phoned an accountant in the small ads who I'm still with.  After 6 months the car's engine was on the way out.  Borrowed from the bank to get a second hand Nissan Sunny van (called it a car loan as they are always pickier about business loans).  Also bought my own ladder.  Door knocked 3 - 4 evenings a week for a year or so.  Did the work I picked up the following day.  After a while, I started joining up the dots.
These days I'm a millionaire and the plebs make me money cleaning windows while I sail my yacht around the Mediterranean.

Nah.  The last bit's a lie  but the rest is how it was.

[colley614]

Not my story but my fathers, after refusing to go to war and remaining neutral, he couldnt get a job, mother in law said area need window cleaner, turned to it and in a few months was earning 6 times the national wage, employed a deaf boy aged 15, who still works for us today aged 72, and eventually employed 18 window cleners , cleaning domestics, school and all the chemical industry on Teesside and ended up a millionare, and the company is still going strong, third generation after 55 years

idealrob

Very inspiration that. He's a credit to our profession!

Did he start out wfp or trad

you may joke but wfp was around then (in usa) 

I know I've seen the pics on here. Got the impression it didn't take off though until it got linked with pure water

[Richard Neal]

I had a completely different business with huge overheads and when i started a family i just couldnt make enough money, my wife suggested trying window cleaning so i started while still running the other business and realised after a year that this was the way to go!

 so i got rid of my unit, vans, staff and got on with the windows!

after 3 years i went wfp and i now have a good solid round and a lot less stress! the best thing i did was throwing my old business phone in the sea, i will never go back to my old trade  

[CLEANCARE WC]

Not my story but my fathers, after refusing to go to war and remaining neutral, he couldnt get a job, mother in law said area need window cleaner, turned to it and in a few months was earning 6 times the national wage, employed a deaf boy aged 15, who still works for us today aged 72, and eventually employed 18 window cleners , cleaning domestics, school and all the chemical industry on Teesside and ended up a millionare, and the company is still going strong, third generation after 55 years

idealrob

Very inspiration that. He's a credit to our profession!

Did he start out wfp or trad

you may joke but wfp was around then (in usa)  

I know I've seen the pics on here. Got the impression it didn't take off though until it got linked with pure water

Im pretty sure it was pure water back then..tucker poles usa

http://www.tuckerusa.com/profile.htm

[d s windowcleaning]

was i little  when younger ended up in all sorts of trouble .
cut a long story short I BOUGHT A LADDER 

[gr cleaning solutions]

I started in 2009 working sat only as had a full time job then three weeks after starting got told that I was gettin laid off in the august, so I built up to work every Saturday all day.  Then just before getting finished leafleted like mad picked up a bit more work then when got laid off sign on and got as much help and equipment as I could off them. Then signed off a got £50 a week self employment credit.
Then once I got 150 customers Istarted carpet cleaning   as well as gutters power washing etc I now have 270 customers both commercial and domestic and have bought this www.procleanconservatories.co.uk and also still picking up New work all the time on all the services I offer

[Ian Rochester]

Got made redundant in as Factory Manager in Nov 2002 and started carpet cleaning in Jan 2003, on the expection that it would be temporary until I could find myself a "proper job", added window cleaning in the summer of 2003 when a carpet cleaning customer asked me if I knew any window cleaners as they couldn't find one.  Still clean for her.