[Paul Clapham]

Worked in / managed / owned / brought / sold professional photographic labs for 30 years, all went pear shaped in 2010 , started to look at franchise's and decided to run a small carpet cleaning company ( non franchise ) enjoying the freedom and the fact that I have NO STAFF  for the first  time in years ,   

I had never had my carpets cleaned before I started the business , but I had hired a machine many years ago .

[Allan Simmons]

Cleaned carpets man and boy!

Apart from the pre school paper rounds, milk delivery lad and egg sorting jobs that  I did as a nipper, ooh and golf ball sales job on a Sunday morning, I got straight into carpet cleaning instead of going to Uni after doing A levels.  Love it, especially having found a passion  for the marketing element.

[Hilton]

Paper Hanger,decorator, hated it!

But funnily enough, lately I have been doing some paper hanging for family and a few friends and have really enjoyed it (not painting though).

My niece had someone in recently to paper her dining room, he charged her £160 a day    took 4 days and its crap, I was really annoyed she didn't ask me (she did not want to bother her uncle) and will now have to strip it off and do it again properly.

Apparantly this guy is booked ahead until Spring 2013 and only does it at day rate ( I bet he does) I must just pick up the tools again 

[tim handley]

currently a car valeter with an established round of clients, also a vintage dj/dance teacher/entertainer at weekends, but trying to scale down the valeting for more and more cc ing! sick of working outdoors in all weather to be honest!!!!
just in process of trying to get more cc work and finding it a bit of a struggle!!!!

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

In three days time I shall have been a carpet cleaner for 1 day longer than the 14 years I was a bank manager.

I bought my cc business off one of my bank customers.

Rog

[james roffey]

I worked for over twenty years for a firm of private investigators, debt recovery agents and process servers this was a family business that i joined straight from school the work could be interesting but most of the time was very boring the novelty wore off very quickly, it could also be very stressful knocking on some toerags door in the middle of the night to serve court papers, or carrying out surveillance  on a paedophile  for the councils child protection, or following some ones spouse who is cheating.

Carpet cleaning is much much better, i enjoy life now have more time for the family and better money

[derek west]

i hired a private investigator once, he was rubbish, just stood around all day looking at my hedge, my fault though, turned out he was a privet investigator.

[Completeclean]

 Before cc i worked in a cable manufacturing plant(Telecoms,House wiring,High voltage),before that pet food producing plant,bars and clubs,trained as a painter & decorator.Yes,i've had my carpets cleaned,regularly,don't know how these guys got away it,not one even had a hoover

 Desi

[fenman]

OK I will be the first.
Porn star but cannot go into all the ins and outs.  

[david knowles]

left school to become a assistant train driver for british rail made redundant then went to british coal.worked 14 years as a coal face worker had a year off on strike in 84 then left to join a company selling pumped concrete to the coal industry, made redundant after 3 years back to british coal for  years made redundant again , spent 2 years working travelling to australia and thailand.worked in hotel cleaning in australia came back and worked as contract cleaning manager for asda  cleaning superstore .got oppertunity to be asda produce manager selling friut and veg .then got asked to manage a area with ocs office cleaning did some carpet cleaning with buffer and pads. left to move to spain fpr 10 years gardening and serviceing golf buggies then look after camp sites  back to uk now and looking to start carpet cleaning in the new year when we have a house  and are not living with mates.
Looking at all that I wouldnt employ someone with all that different work history.
when my daughter asks me what should i do when i leave school i tell her i have not decided for myself yet

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

Photographic printer in the west end from school, worked at decca records, ended up in typesetting
firm in the East end. went belly up in 89, bought first machine and still doing it.

[jon barnes]

Worked as a stage carpenter for 5 years or so till the mrs got sick of me working 70 hr weeks. Luckily my old man offered me work carpet cleaning and I got my evenings back! Still do a day or two freelancing at a couple of theatres when I need a break from the old boy tho  

[wayne zabel]

Bookbinder/Print Finisher at various printers in and around Manchester from 1976 t0 2009.

This recession has well and truly ballsed up the print trade.

Last 3 firms I worked for have all gone bust.

Earning twice the money in half the hours that I got in print working double day shifts.

Lets hope it continues.

[Andy Hogarth]

Studied sports science with ideals of a top end sports coaching job...... ended up personal training at a local gym lol
From that worked for a cleaning co and moved into carpet cleaning (inbetween lots of pants jobs, factories/building sites etc)

Never had my carpets cleaned unless part of a tennancy agreement, did however own a george and butchered my own lol...........

[Neil Williams]

Working backwards:
12 years in this industry
7 years in the Police
16 years in the Army

Fully qualified Heavy Plant mechanic and HGV 1 driver, just don't fancy all the out of normal hours working. This allows daylight working hours Monday to Friday.

[Paul Moss]

I was a Lawyer

[Paul Moss]

A Brick Lawyer

[Warren Aldridge]

Fixed Nokia Mobiles
Managed a Hotel
Business to Business Account Manager in IT Sales
Carpet Sniffer

[Richard Basey-Fisher]

drove a tractor and shovelled poop    ps  also was a part time porn star

[Jim_77]

After learning lots at University (none of which academic ) I carried on doing my holiday job working for a building firm for a couple of years.  Then worked as a van driver for 7 months (awful job) before being made redundant at Christmas

Was doing DJ work at night times, actually starting to get some good paid work.  Then a mate who worked as the Tech for the previous owners of my business roped me in to a few jobs..... after 2 years I'd been taken on part time, then full time, then bought the business off them.

The only carpet cleaning I'd ever seen before was when I was a kid, my granddad used to "shampoo" his lounge carpet with a vax every year!