[Ryan Smyth]

A survey or questionnaire out of curiousity,how did everyone end up in this profession?
did you start off in it?come to it later? etc etc
I asked so il start....
served my apprenticeship bricklaying done it 10 years,started to get bored p**s*d off with the whole thing but realised i had to continue being my own boss (irish temperment) nearly bought a carpet cleaning franchise (no names ) investigated further,decided to try it myself and low and behold....I love it!!!! and of course forums like this with all you learned,wise and p*ss taking gentlemen (and ladies you know who you are ) have a good sense of comraderie,fellowship and general something..iv run out of big words,ah well its christmas and thanks to all who have took the time to offer advice and to have a laugh

Ryan

[Andrew Briscoe]

I was in the carpet retail business with my brother.

People used to ask me if i knew anyone who cleaned carpets, think there was only CD in my area so started up part time that was 89.

Andrew

[Jim_77]

If I ever catch up with the bloke who got me into this, I'll bloody kill him

[Andrew Briscoe]

Just wish i had the internet and forums like these,

think i would be 10 years advanced from where i am now,

will have to retire at 55 instead of 50

Andrew

[derek west]

i feel an auto biography coming on.
might serialise though. otherwise i'll be here all night.
derek

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Have supplied and fitted carpets and flooring for 27 years.

Did the prochem course and bought the equipment 12 years ago - but only ever offered cleaning as an add on. I could kick myself when I think of all the hundreds of clients I supplied and laid for and walked out of the property without ever mentioning cleaning or maintenance.

Decided 18 months ago to set it up as a stand alone business - if only I had done this 12 years ago, I wouldnt be wasting my time talking to you lot 

Only kidding - Merry Xmas everyone, thanks for all the help and advice this year - I wish all of you an extremely prosperous 2009.

Steve

[carlton care]

Started by accident when clients in my property maintenance business started asking for their windows, then carpets to be cleaned. That was in 1983.

Done a lot of other things, mainly self employed since 20 years old.

Interesting year ahead.

robert m

[Ian Rochester]

Got made redundant 6 years ago and went round my aunties for a cup of coffee in between sending off job applications, she'd spilt a glass of red wine on her carpet and the local CC was booked up for weeks ahead, saw there was a gap in the market and went for it. 

Started with an Extracta Exel, now got Prowler TM, makes the job so much easier.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

well my dad run the buisnees many years  befoure i came on the planit so i guess that ive always been around cleaning , after a few years of liveing in essex with my partner who was doing the doors down the my farther took ill and died with in a week and we never went back to essex which was one of the in one way sad but a god send in anthor

[M.Acorn]

Got made redundant  wife and brother in law ran a cleaning company ,and were subbing all the carpet cleanng work out,spent redundancy money on carpet machine,went and asked Barclays for a loan,they said no ! which i am pleased about now 
5 years later still going strong

[clinton]

I was doing car valeting in late 80s then my mums neighbours did c cleaning so they asked me to help one day so never went back onto valeting and started c cleaning

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Like Victor Kyam and the Remington Razor adverts from the 70's and 80's.

"....I thought so much of the product I bought the company"

Doctor Carpet was one of my clients when I was a bank manager. The owner wanted to emigrate to Spain, and I bought the business off him.

The business was 10 years old then and I shall be celebrating doing this for 10 years in April 09.

Roger

[derek west]

was a market trader for 14 years selling computer games, blank cd-r and dvd-r discs and printer inks, did really well untill the likes of asda and tesco's started taking over the world and killing town centres, also internet shopping didn't help. got to a stage where i was only earning a good living so decided i'd had enough, takings were going down and i knew i had to get out before it stated eating my saving.

anyway, carpet was filthy after my misses moved in with so decided to, errr! to, err!.......... okay okay, i decided to hire a rug doctor, there! ive come out. happy now!
got it back from sommerfield, cleared the living room out and noticed something underneath th RD, turned it over and it was caked in cat hairs and poo and all sorts. rang the shop and told them i want money back, then frantically rang round evry cc i could find in yellow pages hoping one could come out that day.
to be cont.............
derek

[clinton]

Derek

 

Roger

Always thought you had been going longer than you have :)I do remmember the other guy who you bought it off mind you and do remmember you when you worked in finance
Also my mums neighbour was brian philbin from nu life

[dave123]

I was a Chef for a bank cooking for the Executives until '89 called into office at 2:50 pm out of work at 3:00pm .Applied for about 70 jobs only being offered half the salary i was earning at the bank .Went mini cabbing for about 10 years then one of the guys started doing cc .Went round with him on a few jobs ,joined the same company as him ,got trained up went on Prochem courses and also Ashby's,, sub contracted with the company for a while then went my own way .Still struggling but getting there slowly but surely .

[Dave_Lee]

Serve a 5 year apprenticeship with ICI as a maintenance fitter, got fed up worked as a bus conductor in Manchester for 18 months, got fed up, drifted around doing various engineering jobs for a few years until the bad reccesion of the early 70's kicked in and put me on the dole for 3 months. This coincided with my wife giving birth to our son - panick stricken - need for a regular wage and job security, so joined the Army. Stuck it out 9 years, started Carpet cleaning part time for my last year in the army, and went full time on discharge in 1981.
Dave.

[derek west]

previously on decs life story!!!!!
rang the shop and told them i want money back, then frantically rang round evry cc i could find in yellow pages hoping one could come out that day.
to be cont.............
eventually i found one, (should i name names?)
"got a small living room empty, can you clean it today?"
"yes, £65"
"how much" go on then.
came round, (remember i knew nothing about carpet cleaning) didn't vac didn't presparay, switched on truckmount, cleaned carpet, took money damned off. 20 mins.
i was well impressed with the truckmount, blew me away.
"i could do that for half the money"
that was 2 years ago, did all my research and got training, then invested all y money into the business, didn't have a penny left so sold the house to give me time and space to push the business.
doing well i think.
ps..... the carpet resoiled after 2 months. thats my competition, he wasn't very competant was he?

derek

the end, starring derek west, script by derek west, chief grip derek west

[spindle]

been a chef for 18 yrs hotels and private clubs............

8 yrs ago the wife started cleaning business.............as the business grew the need for cc also grew.........

the wife saw the potential of cc............after a few years of handing them to a local cc(without ££)the wife told me that i need to go on a cc course or 2 and buy a machine..........

still a chef.........but slowly doing more carpets.............i  am happy to work 2 jobs espcially now!!(economcally)

[C A Payne]

started about 15yrs ago, 2 mates of mine were already c/c ing, & they got me involved. they set me up with a crappy numatic machine...... then went on loads of courses at alltec, plus did IICRC etc.... was using alltec machines..... then got involved in bonnet cleaning, of which i still perform..... then a couple of years ago i went down the enviro route, with CFR cleaning systems...... love the job, get alot of satisfaction from it   before all that i was a grouter on tunnel boring machines.... regards charlie

[Len Gribble]

Started at the age of 11 as bucket boy, mom & dad had a sideline plus their other fingers in what ever pie (never ask me to make a cup of tea) the workhouse people had it easy, sore the light and moved into banking, light then flickered took what I could (thank you very much fools I signed up under another org contract a contract)


Chris

Noted the wife a lot taller than you (told me you wimp )


Len