[EandM]

pRoof Reedder.

[AuRavelling79]

I sold office equipment - between 1985 and 1988 - largely to Solicitors, County councils, the Police etc. Specifically typewriters, word processors and early desktop PC's with word processing and legal and accounts software on them. Also the printers and consumables for them and maintenance contracts. After three years four of us set up our own business in which I was Finance Director and then both that and Sales Director.

It was always underfinanced, hand to mouth and lacking direction. I resigned after eight years in 1996 (the company folded three years after I left and I took my (then) one third share  spread monthly over about ten months and sold consumables for laser printers as a self employed person.

I was scratching a living and a mate was selling about £500 a months worth of trad. window cleaning which I bought at 2X over three months. It grew from there.

High finance indeed.

I did both jobs for about three years and as the round grew without much effort I dropped the sales stuff in 2001 and did FT window cleaning - swapped my Cavalier SRi for a Volvo 240 Estate and got stuck in.

[AuRavelling79]

What did I learn from my previous work? Profit was king. Cashflow was king. Low overhead is king.

Offices, flash cars - extra staff - meant little.

Repeat business kept us afloat.  The repeat business came largely from consumable sales and maintenance contracts.

Therefore window cleaning was perfect.

My personal accountant was a bearded character who looked a bit like an old school professor. He retired from accountancy and bought a crazy golf course in Weston super Mare. He worked in it two days a week between Easter and September plus school holidays and some weekends to keep his hand in.

I saw him there one Bank holiday and asked how he was doing and he tapped his nose and said "What did I tell you my boy about cashflow, low overheads and profit?" - he was charging £2 a go, plus selling cold drinks, reading a book in the sunshine and had about two dozen people on the course.

[C & S]

Crappy min wage type jobs, no future. Glass is hard atm building up but getting their.

[Marc Stock]

Professional race car driver at the age of 14, made millions by the end of my career at 15 but couldn't find a way to get the funds from the playstation to my bank account so I had to window clean, never looked back since. It's really frustrating the money is there, just need to find a way to get it into my account....

[Tosh]

General bum for the first few years of my life after leaving education. Travelled a lot and worked whilst travelling. Mainly on farms but also lived in Eilat Israel, living on the beach. Did bar-type work, building site work, street sweeping, eventually got a full time job on a liveboard on a scuba diving boat.

Left Israel and finally got in to landscaping, which I did for 11 years. Got sober then after a while finally got in to window cleaning. Been at it since November 1998.

[p1w1]

General bum for the first few years of my life after leaving education. Travelled a lot and worked whilst travelling. Mainly on farms but also lived in Eilat Israel, living on the beach. Did bar-type work, building site work, street sweeping, eventually got a full time job on a liveboard on a scuba diving boat.

Left Israel and finally got in to landscaping, which I did for 11 years. Got sober then after a while finally got in to window cleaning. Been at it since November 1998.

Was the diving job in Eilat ? i worked in Cyprus for a small diving school for 2 seasons, certainly not the best diving there but a great 2 years of my life for sure.

[Tosh]

Yes, it was in Eilat. The boat was moored just off the King Solomon Hotel, we had a great great life.

[PHILIP HARDY]

When I worked for the Samaritans, I phoned in sick one morning...but they talked me out of it!

[PHILIP HARDY]

My professional wrestling career as "The Scissor" was cut short after being beaten by my first opponent Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

[Dave Willis]

I ran a hot air balloon business.



Never got off the ground.

[robbo333]

Graphic designer for 25 years. At least I can do my own leaflets and website.

[DaveG]

Striker for Sunderland, but was embarrassed by my job title

[Dave Willis]

I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.

[p1w1]

I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.

So you chickened out then

[nathankaye]

I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.

So you chickened out then

He didnt make the cut 😂😂

[p1w1]

I was a butcher for five years but as I'm only five foot tall I found the steaks too high.

So you chickened out then

He didnt make the cut 😂😂

Thats why he got the chop

[CF Facilities]

He dropped the butchers block on his foot and he couldn't filet any more.

 

[Richard Stevenson]

School

[Smurf]

setup a bee keeping  business but kept getting stung.
NO MONEY NO HONEY lol