and herein lies the problem...

[Mikey P]

found this on a social site...

A friend is moving out of state and he offered to sell his business for $8,000 this includes the van/equipment and the website. The business has a $700/month contract to clean a local business. The equipment is worth at least twice that and if I dont want to buy it from him he would piece it out. I do have the money to buy it from him but it would leave me with 1 months worth of cash. The catch is that I currently work for a nation wide carpet cleaning business and have signed a non-compete agreement, also in the winter the industry slows down about 60%-70%. I usually get laid off in the winter anyways from my current carpet cleaning job. What are your thoughts and if you were in my shoes would you buy it. I am 23 and going to school in the winter.

 

[Mikey P]

I would dare to say that is the norm of most "business owners" getting started in this racket..


How many will take the tiger by the tail and run with it?


maybe 10%.

 

[Royal Man]

Or if you want super low entry into the realm of being a carpet cleaning pro: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Von-Schrade...484?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416fa666b4

 

[steve_64]

i started with about that much and had no clue what i was doing. it was all i had besides a fulltime job.

maybe you just have to be stubborn and ignorant.

id say less than 5%. maybe under 1%.

 

[GCCLee]

I would dare to say that is the norm of most "business owners" getting started in this racket..


How many will take the tiger by the ail and run with it?


maybe 10%.

Tigers getting his ass kicked and stuffed back in his cage!!

Chris Lee

 

[Mikey P]

lets turn this into a "What did you get started with" type thread.


Did you buy a Rotovac package and hit the streets looking for your first non family customer?

Did you buy an existing biz? what was included in the deal?

Work for somebody then go out on your own? What did you do for equipment?

 

[mirf]

Most say they want to own thier own business but never take the leap. It is a scary thing to do.
not always easy but I enjoy it.

 

[XTREME1]

Never even saw carpet cleaning equipment when I ordered my rotovac package
Rotovac, Diamonback dual 3-stage, 3 ht heater, trailer and chems. Bought a val-pak ad and 10 weeks of newspaper ads. I just left and sold as President and Partner of Farragut Restaurant Group and worked carpets part time while working fulltime Mon-Fri as Foodservice Director for a large healthcare company.

 

[idreadnought]

well A you will lose your job.

Good news is that non compete clauses are very hard to enforce an most likely(talk to a lawyer) they can not keep you from seeking work and being a carpet cleaner.

You can always get a second job doing something else if needed. But you could also sub your work to another carpet cleaning company while you learn to build your business. It will suck working for peanuts but in reality you already do so at least it will pay the bills.

Finally you mentioned the slow time. That is the time you want to get started. Then you are better prepared for when it gets busy.

 

[XTREME1]

ride the unemployment wave and work on the side like most in USA

 

[rwcarpet]

lets turn this into a "What did you get started with" type thread.


Did you buy a Rotovac package and hit the streets looking for your first non family customer?

Did you buy an existing biz? what was included in the deal?

Work for somebody then go out on your own? What did you do for equipment?

Got started with a Steamway Ultramatic Portable, with a Little Giant heater and a generator so's I could leave everything in the van. 1988. Was working with 1 or 2 other cleaners/friends. After about 6 months of portable BS, I bought a new SW Mastermatic. The rest is history......a Powermatic, a 405 Performer, a Powerclean Genesis 59 (and a spare for parts), and still use the Genny. Threw in a Conqueror Padder, an RX 20 slo-mo, and a Roto-Vac.

 

[Jimmy L]

I wouldn't do it if I were him.
He's going back to school.
He will make NO money doing it on his own.
Just because he knows how to clean (?) doesn't mean he can go out and get more work.
His CC company will find out he's moonlighting.

I don't detect any long term passion for doing this line of work.

LOSING situation


Or is it LOOSING?

LOL!

 

[Royal Man]

ride the unemployment wave and work on the side like most in USA

I cant believe it. But, I agree. Working now days is for smucks and if you make a few bucks you will be hated.

 

[Scott Rogers]

lets turn this into a "What did you get started with" type thread.


Did you buy a Rotovac package and hit the streets looking for your first non family customer?

Did you buy an existing biz? what was included in the deal?

Work for somebody then go out on your own? What did you do for equipment?

Worked for Stanley Steemer for 14 years, Lead Tech/ Assistant manager ect.. Had to get my ass out of California before i went crazy on the libs. Sold my house for 3 times what it should have been worth. Flew across the country to the deep south bought a house and started my business. Bought a used van and a new TM handed out fliers and got lots of word of mouth and referrals and it took off from there. I was fortunate to move into a area without the high competition of bigger areas but was able to gather enough business to make a comfortable living.

I had good timing and made my move before the economy took a crap, not sure i would be successful if i did the same thing today.

 

[Vivers]

lets turn this into a "What did you get started with" type thread.


Did you buy a Rotovac package and hit the streets looking for your first non family customer?

Did you buy an existing biz? what was included in the deal?

Work for somebody then go out on your own? What did you do for equipment?

I started at SS. worked for 4 other smaller type companies ranging from 1 van to 5 vans and a couple of portable type companies including the best cleaners in the world "Millers Carpet Care"

From there I bought my very own top of the line portable ( 2-3 stage 100psi no heat ) and started working on weekends and building my clientele in a retirement community mainly which took off by word of mouth. Also had a cool place that did weddings and I cleaned up 3days a week there. Carpet, windows, whatever.

Got so busy had to pull my then girlfriend ( now Wife ) from her job to answer phones and do office work.

We then after about a year or so got a new van and TM ( Legend SE ) and the rest is history. Had a pretty big climb and decided to downsize and simplify our life and business of late. We made it through the horrible downturn I believe and we are known in our area as 1 of the tops in our industry for quality and customer service.

 

[Becker]

I started with a rented rug dr. If the job has stairs I had to also rent the hand tool.

Back then the rug drs had a power head, hose, and canister. with no reliable constancy from rental to rental.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Started with a 17" Pacific 175 buffer with shampoo tank and brush, along with a Hild water vac. 1970.

 

[GCCLee]

Step Dad owned a Carpet Business as a kid, worked for SM and did it all, Mostly Fire Restoration (no certs.) crazy background from custom cars, printing presses, firearms/ammunition industry too even helped a Hack CC from time to time until we realized it, wife wanted to open a maid service (NO) so we swapped investments and bought a used 3500 with a Newly Rebuilt SteamGenie in November 2011 (Built by one of our Own Bob Vawter) Installed By Rob who bought it and almost put it all togeather sheewdamn that was long. More or less a business buyout. Came with RotoVac 360i, hoses, wand, old big head uph tool that the paints wore off of. Freshwater Tank yadda yadda yadda. We Installed the Hose reels and did a little more fine tuning... fun project.
My Wife and I are fairly well known in our area between some pretty big groups we felt and have a tremendous amount of contacts far and wide. Especially since she is the http://www.tcaatn.com/board-of-directors.html El Presidento!! in our lil neck of the woods.

We have 1 Apt Contract and they love us, 1 a week if were lucky at this point, we do all our own marketing stuff, a commercial job now and then, as of this morning a Rug Dealer is going to start sending us some work, so we ain't getting rich quick kids!!

(insert some secret private message stuff here)


and there ya have it. I feel kinda naked now ewww

Chris

 

[SamIam]

just figured out how to use IPad left dad bought a truckmount built business slowly.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Mikey P]

Worked for Stanley Steemer for 14 years, Lead Tech/ Assistant manager ect.. Had to get my ass out of California before i went crazy on the libs. Sold my house for 3 times what it should have been worth. Flew across the country to the deep south bought a house and started my business. Bought a used van and a new TM handed out fliers and got lots of word of mouth and referrals and it took off from there. I was fortunate to move into a area without the high competition of bigger areas but was able to gather enough business to make a comfortable living.

I had good timing and made my move before the economy took a crap, not sure i would be successful if i did the same thing today.

What city and how did you pick it Scott?

 

[Askal]

I was living in a car. Grossed 70.00 my first month cleaning windows. Added all of the rest of the services over the next 6 years. Now 85% restoration. I live in a house now and gross more than 70.00 a month.
Al

 

[Loren Egland]

I started in 1970 in Rochester, Minnesota. At the time only one company offered steam cleaning and they owned a carpet sales store. They moved their store to the Twin Cities about a year or so after I started in business, so I was the only company with steam cleaning for a while there. Steam Cleaning was so new at that time. Started with the best then, as Steam Way 400 that was very expensive.

In 1984 we moved to Antioch, CA and started over with a Steam Way Powermatic. Chose the area for its size and affordability. Also, there were only two truck mount cleaners in the area, one of them died later, and another went through a divorce and moved, leaving me with a truck mount, when a lot of guys were still getting by on portables. Also, being a one man show, I wanted to be able to afford a yellow page ad rather than get into a larger are covered by the phone book.

Timing was good both times.

 

[Dolly Llama]

[h=2]and herein lies the problem...[/h]

I don't see a problem actually .
i see a great country that's still the land of opportunity where any person can still "take it and make it" if the desire and drive is there

If there's a problem, it's in the kid's ballzac


..L.T.A.

 

[J Scott W]

Clarke floor buffer with shampoo tank about 1966. Carpet was only for a few side jobs then.
Red fiberglas Steamex box extractor in 1972.
Argo BAM 1976
Refurbished Judson truckmount about 1979. This is when I really focuses on carpet cleaning rather than all types of janitorial.

 

[steve_64]

the only thing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you cant achieve it...