President Roosevelt once said, "You must do the things you think you can not do". This quote rang true as I first started my carpet cleaning business with no experience.
A little about me – 29 years old, have 15 years’ experience with customer service and plenty of time working dead end jobs and nothing to show for it. I recall vividly putting in 60 hours a week and clocking in 40 hours to prevent getting laid off – it was common – and it sucked. I had enough money to eat ramen and live in a studio. Meanwhile I saw locals driving Mercedes and living like kings. It was defeating but I accepted my fate in the work force - until I got fed up.
Things were going great, had a beautiful girlfriend and a steady job, until I got laid off. It was a job in the medical field and decided I needed to go a new direction. Turns out even the medical field has layoffs like the Detroit factories did – which is the very reason I moved 3,000 miles for a better shot. I was fed up. I wanted a change – needed a change. Problem was I didn’t know what to do.
I got great memories of going door to door as a kid - shoveling snow, Christmas caroling, raking leaves and selling candy bars door to door– It was exhilarating. I wanted to reconnect with those ventures. While surfing online I found Truckmount forums – I was blown away. Here were veterans in their field sharing stories like modern war heroes. Things like: working huge jobs having no idea how they would get it done - and doing it the best of their ability. At the same time giving each other $hite and goofing around. But in the midst of their goofy posts, were true stories that shared knowledge of their craft that catered to the essentials of business- hard work, innovation and success. I decided this was it - I wanted to start a carpet cleaning business. Problem was I didn’t know wool from construction grade.
Times were getting rough: no money, shrimp flavored ramen, PG&E shutoff notice. I couldn’t do carpet cleaning -didn’t want to. Figured I should just flip burgers and suck it up. I mean, all I had to my name was a 600,000 mile Saturn station wagon with dents that smelled like cheese. Not to mention only $1,500. Compare this to the guys on truckmount forum that have tons of experience wth $20,000, at least, invested in their powerhouse equipment and trusty vehicles. Also, who was I to start competing with the local 10+ carpet cleaning businesses?
That’s when I met the carpet cleaner who sold me my first extractor. Found him on craigslist. He posted an ad for a carpet extractor. I drove 6 long hours up north to buy his portable extractor called a “TruckPort” with 500 PSI, 1.5 inch 25- foot hose and 2 dual stage motors. He sold it to me for $900 along with a trade of some personal valuables – my favorite guitar amp, and recording equipment. This guy was seasoned with over 10 years experience. He taught me the ins and outs. Not only of carpet cleaning – but owning a business. He saw my boy like interest and told me things that inspired me like, “When you hire your first cleaner- make sure to pay them a decent amount to stick around” and “This business is tough, do your research, get experience and when you make enough cash – buy the best equipment”.
So with this knew knowledge - I finally had an extractor and it was time to work. I’ll never forget my first job. I introduced myself like a 12 year old on his prom date – sweaty palms and a handshake that was way too enthusiastic. I charged her $89.00 for a 2 bedroom apartment. It had CGC with stains and heavy soil along with 16 stairs. She merrily went shopping while I lugged my heavy porty up 3 flights of stairs – 4 including her apartment. Spent an hour setting up, pre-sprayed like I was putting out a fire, and blew a fuse while cleaning. I texted her the situation and she said “take all the time you need”. 3 hours later and a gallon of sweat worth of work - her carpets looked immaculate. Plus, she gave me a $20.00 tip – I was a kid all over again – it was incredible. I followed up the next day and texted her to be sure the carpets were still dry and clean – luckily they were.
Flash forward 5 months and I’ve branched to home cleaning services for foreclosures - and cleaning carpets. I'm not rolling in Benjamin's but I'm not scrapping by. I learn something new every day and am by no means an expert. But too all the newbies like myself - If you feel like giving up in this business, go over the numbers and make an informed decision. But don’t quit because your overwhelmed and think you can’t keep up. With hard work, experience and knowledge – you can do it.
A little about me – 29 years old, have 15 years’ experience with customer service and plenty of time working dead end jobs and nothing to show for it. I recall vividly putting in 60 hours a week and clocking in 40 hours to prevent getting laid off – it was common – and it sucked. I had enough money to eat ramen and live in a studio. Meanwhile I saw locals driving Mercedes and living like kings. It was defeating but I accepted my fate in the work force - until I got fed up.
Things were going great, had a beautiful girlfriend and a steady job, until I got laid off. It was a job in the medical field and decided I needed to go a new direction. Turns out even the medical field has layoffs like the Detroit factories did – which is the very reason I moved 3,000 miles for a better shot. I was fed up. I wanted a change – needed a change. Problem was I didn’t know what to do.
I got great memories of going door to door as a kid - shoveling snow, Christmas caroling, raking leaves and selling candy bars door to door– It was exhilarating. I wanted to reconnect with those ventures. While surfing online I found Truckmount forums – I was blown away. Here were veterans in their field sharing stories like modern war heroes. Things like: working huge jobs having no idea how they would get it done - and doing it the best of their ability. At the same time giving each other $hite and goofing around. But in the midst of their goofy posts, were true stories that shared knowledge of their craft that catered to the essentials of business- hard work, innovation and success. I decided this was it - I wanted to start a carpet cleaning business. Problem was I didn’t know wool from construction grade.
Times were getting rough: no money, shrimp flavored ramen, PG&E shutoff notice. I couldn’t do carpet cleaning -didn’t want to. Figured I should just flip burgers and suck it up. I mean, all I had to my name was a 600,000 mile Saturn station wagon with dents that smelled like cheese. Not to mention only $1,500. Compare this to the guys on truckmount forum that have tons of experience wth $20,000, at least, invested in their powerhouse equipment and trusty vehicles. Also, who was I to start competing with the local 10+ carpet cleaning businesses?
That’s when I met the carpet cleaner who sold me my first extractor. Found him on craigslist. He posted an ad for a carpet extractor. I drove 6 long hours up north to buy his portable extractor called a “TruckPort” with 500 PSI, 1.5 inch 25- foot hose and 2 dual stage motors. He sold it to me for $900 along with a trade of some personal valuables – my favorite guitar amp, and recording equipment. This guy was seasoned with over 10 years experience. He taught me the ins and outs. Not only of carpet cleaning – but owning a business. He saw my boy like interest and told me things that inspired me like, “When you hire your first cleaner- make sure to pay them a decent amount to stick around” and “This business is tough, do your research, get experience and when you make enough cash – buy the best equipment”.
So with this knew knowledge - I finally had an extractor and it was time to work. I’ll never forget my first job. I introduced myself like a 12 year old on his prom date – sweaty palms and a handshake that was way too enthusiastic. I charged her $89.00 for a 2 bedroom apartment. It had CGC with stains and heavy soil along with 16 stairs. She merrily went shopping while I lugged my heavy porty up 3 flights of stairs – 4 including her apartment. Spent an hour setting up, pre-sprayed like I was putting out a fire, and blew a fuse while cleaning. I texted her the situation and she said “take all the time you need”. 3 hours later and a gallon of sweat worth of work - her carpets looked immaculate. Plus, she gave me a $20.00 tip – I was a kid all over again – it was incredible. I followed up the next day and texted her to be sure the carpets were still dry and clean – luckily they were.
Flash forward 5 months and I’ve branched to home cleaning services for foreclosures - and cleaning carpets. I'm not rolling in Benjamin's but I'm not scrapping by. I learn something new every day and am by no means an expert. But too all the newbies like myself - If you feel like giving up in this business, go over the numbers and make an informed decision. But don’t quit because your overwhelmed and think you can’t keep up. With hard work, experience and knowledge – you can do it.
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