How did you start, what equipment did you purchase?

[Mike Draper]

What made you think about being a carpet cleaner?
I had a friend call me and tell me some kid was trying to sell him a rusty van with a dynachem in it. Because of my mechanical experience My friend asked me to come down and see if I could help get the pos running. WE got it runnning for 30 seconds and then it would shut off. The kid wanted $10,000 for the setup :shock: . Thank God I passes on that one. Anyhow, that got the wheel turning and I bought a porty and a rotovac. Quit my job and started cleaning full time dont know how I made it, becuase the first couple years were horrible and that's an understatement. anyhow, I beyond rich now, I'm pretty much in the 1%. 8) shiteatinggrin I even had OWS losers in front of my house. till I shot the rat bastards dead

 

[Chris A]

LOL, when we took over the business, it came with a 10 year old Chevy van/cds that had some issues. The machine needed electrical work, and the van probably needed a tranny (was starting to get kind of goofy on occasion.) The van itself was in excellent cosmetic condition. Instead of putting the 4k or so it needed into it, I bought a brand new truck/cds from interlink and dumped the other one off for peanuts . I still see it driving around my hood every now and then, and cleaning carpet.

 

[Marc Imbesi]

What made you think about being a carpet cleaner?

I backed into this side of the industry as an add-on sale. I had been installing floor coverings for 6 years prior. I was learning the value of a referral and wanted to be in front of the retail stores' clients more often than every 10 or so years. I went top of the line immediately and purchased a SW Powermatic from distributor in DE (45min away). 3 weeks later, I'm taking an IICRC carpet cleaning class at Pembertons.

It was hard to shed my installation reputation so cleanings were far and few btwn. The distributor went under a few years later. I am far from mechanically inclined and started to hate pulling hose in the winter. It was too much machine for me and advise anyone starting out to go small and grow into bigger equipment.

 

[Brian R]

Parents owned one of the first Chem Dry's in Oakland CA. So I got to work in the ghetto of the ghetto for a few years and I guess I fell in love with it. :roll:

When I was 18 I didn't want to be a crapet clenor so I worked for the city of sunnyvale for a while, part time at UPS and Kmart etc until I found out that I could make more money cleaning part time than any of those jobs full time.
The city job had amazing benefit, slacker job, total cake career....But I wanted more.

So I went to work full time with Mom and made a ton of money working on commission.

Went into business with sister in law (partners) and that was the worst/best thing I could have done....Learning experience to say the least.

Sold out of that...Lost my arse...Moved to Sacramento and worked for Chem -Dry by Dan White...Which turned to Skyline Express carpet care (porty steamers)

Saved up enough money to buy a ninja and astro van and started cleaning in my own city.

Saved up enough money and bought a Steam Genie and a ford full size van

Saveed up enough money and got financing for a white magic and gmc full size (brand new both) Second worst/best thing I ever did.

Got rid of that POS and started subbing....Saved enough money to move out of CA anto the hell hole known as TX ...3rd worst/best thing I ever did.

Going back to CA. sooner or later unless that economy is just too bad to handle.



Wait, what was the question?? :|

 

[Derek]

me and the missus had a janitorial biz for 5 years when the sub we used for our CC'ing was selling his Bain porty. he offered it to me, with an agreement that i help him on a bunch of near-campus college apartment complex's for the summer of '98. got a $5k loan, bought an '86 gmc 1/4 ton rusty vandura and put the bain in it. a few years later i sold the bain to a fella 1000 miles away that i met on the forums.

still terribly poor :mrgreen:

 

[cucu]

i got of the boat and needed a job....

 

[juniorc82]

I used to work as a reposesor clrent a center. I had worked for a carpet cleaner in my past and enjoyed the work so I bought a piece of equipment at a time and eventualy quit rent a center to be a bdcc full time

 

[Steve Toburen]

1972 Ford Pinto station wagon and a Castex Model 700 portable. Seriously.

Before carpet cleaning I started my little janitorial service at sixteen with a grand total of 70 bucks- used everything including used mop buckets, used wringers and used mops and dust mops. (I still have the receipt around somewhere.)

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Then Sioux fell asleep at the wheel at 3 AM in the morning near La Junta, Colorado and the Pinto slammed into a bridge piling at 60 mph. When I came to the right front wheel was between my legs and the car looked like a taco. (We both walked away from that one with nothing more than matching broken noses.) Then I embarked on the endlessly stupid quest to build my own TM but that fits in another thread ...

 

[renegade_cowboy]

I started with a Carpet Jenny portable and 89 T-Bird. I printed fliers/cards off my computer handed them out. Went after some commercial places.

I started working in this industry in 1998-99 I think it was. I started at SS, worked there.. moved and went to go work at Coit, Actually worked with Mikey P brother. He trained me in sales.

Then bought a 1976 van and put a TM in there.. sold the van shortly after for a new one and poof here I am. A 1 1/2 truck operation that has been growing every year, I base my whole company off customer service and quality, which I think is the easiest formula for success. I am not a part of the 1%, but I did have a guy try and sell me steaks out of the back of his truck the other day in front of my house. I didnt shoot him, i just said no.

 

[Connor]

Parents owned one of the first Chem Dry's in Oakland CA. So I got to work in the ghetto of the ghetto for a few years and I guess I fell in love with it. :roll:

So I went to work full time with Mom and made a ton of money working on commission.



Wait, what was the question?? :|

The question was, why does Brian R act like such a mama's bOy?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

My mom and dad had a cleaning biz on the side when I was a boy. Cleaned lake cottages and a factory on the weekends in Coldwater MI. When we moved to Murray KY in 1969 (I was 17 then), I bought a Pacific buffer with solution tank and shampoo brush, and a Hild water vacuum. Started mainly doing grocery store vct floors...lots of them.

I "officially" started my business in 1970, same phone number since 1971 when we started doing more carpets than VCT.

 

[Bob Foster]

Started out with a three year old Chevy 1 Ton with a 1200 hour Aquatec CDS (made by Cleanco) with a RX and a few other goodies. As part of the deal I had a 2 week ride along from the guy I bought it from.

I used to own a bunch of vacuum trucks (honey wagons - no I did not clean portapotties) and I figured pulling a hose on a property and making a homeowner happy sucking shit that I could make a lot of money and less headaches by dragging a smaller hose on the property and sucking crap out of carpets. I'm serious when I say that.

I figured I was smarter than the rest of you dumb fookers.... and would advertise my way to ICS glory.

I was wrong on both counts but most of you guys are dumb fookers anyways.


Love the business.

 

[Connor]

I used to own a bunch of vacuum trucks (honey wagons - no I did not clean portapotties) and I figured pulling a hose on a property and making a homeowner happy sucking shit that I could make a lot of money and less headaches by dragging a smaller hose on the property and sucking crap out of carpets. I'm serious when I say that.

So, you do it for the love of the hose. :mrgreen:

Worst part about both of those gigs is there is always some guy wanting to do it cheaper.

 

[Becker]

No lie.

Rented rug dr. The old school style.
Line jobs up. Rent it.
Then started renting a ninja, by the time I bought my own ninja I was renting weekly.
Image my disappointment when it was rented to someone else.
The a new van and chem-tex pos panther.
Then hydramaster.


But yep. Rug dr.

 

[Jim Martin]

I have worked on all type of machines and different equipment for as long as I can remember...then I went into electrical and did this for many years..I was already on the edge of getting tired of wiring homes and buildings and having to hunt for work all the time...and wanted a change....I had just got done laying tile and painting a 2 story home that we had and called in SS to clean the carpets...after they got done I noticed they tore up every base board in the place and I had to re-do them....thats when the light came on and I decided that I could do this... and if I could do it better.......I would have people call me for work instead of me having to call them..so in 2003 I hung up my tool belt and went out and bought a brand new chevy van....took it down to interlink and leased a new CDS 4.8 unit..( stupid mistake) and then loaded the van with thousands of dollars of crap they said that I would need to have....( another stupid mistake)...spent the first few years loosing my ass and in a panic...and finally turned it around..it took about 3 to 3.5 years before I really got it going and out grew the van and the CDS....sold it and bought the Vortex...ran it for 4.5 years...sold it and now I am running the W4500 with the thermal wave....

It was not easy to get where I am today...I flushed away thousands of dollars on marketing and crap that everyone convinced me that I needed....But to date.... my new truck and machine are both paid off....and I spend my days sucking dog piss out of peoples carpets and living the dream.......and if there was anything that I could honestly say that I would have done different...it would be that I wish that I would have found out about this and started it long before I did.....

 

[Mikey P]

Miller's Carpet Care

2 rooms and hall $12.50
5 rooms and hall $24.95

Uncle Sam porty and a 175 in the back of a Datsun B210 Hatchback.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I bought a 160 pound power flite portable and all the accessories. Someone told me not to, but I didn't listen. I guess I had a leaky quick connect and I had no clue what I was doing. I tried to clean my carpet and just knew there was no way I could make it work with this behemoth machine.

I gave it up. A month or so later I went on a job with a guy that all he had was a vacuum, some shampoo, a 175, and a worn out carpet brush. He cleaned five rooms and a hall in like 45 min and he vacuumed. I was mesmerized with the fact he was bringing in 1500-2k per week working from his car doing 4-6 jobs per week just calling people from the phone book and past customers. I was sold. I bought a 175 and have never looked back.

 

[Connor]

Miller's Carpet Care

Uncle Sam porty and a 175 in the back of a Datsun B210 Hatchback.

How'd you manage that one, Hightower, did you pull the out the front seat and sit in the back?

3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAPk9KZbdAE3]

Where'd you get the name "Miller's" from, favorite beer?






:mrgreen:

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

Started screwing up wool aircraft carpet for Cessna a couple moons ago with a fiberglass portable but NOT out of the trunk of my car. We kept it in the line service shack. Swear, if I hear about another "ex" carpet cleaner who started with a porty out the trunk of his crappy ride I'm going to vomit. The stories that start with that end up spreading more manure then you can possible pick up.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

It is what it is Scott. Why does that fact bother you so?

 

[dealtimeman]

Started cleaning with my uncle at the age of twelve, mostly during the summer. I cleaned the private school during the school year, my mom was a teacher so I would be there for hours after school anyways so I might as well make money. Ran a few small franchises for my uncles and one for my dad until I turned 18. The day I turned 18 got my business dba and was on my way to getting rich!

I started subbing janitorial from a guy at 60% and borrowed all the equipment I needed from my uncles. Any equipment like burnished or buffer would be rented from the janistore. Did m first flood with a rigid wet vac, a Drieaz 1200 and two power flight air movers. They offered me 3000 for that water job so I was determined to buy more of the magical and wonderful drying machines. I bought a slightly used in great condition Cobb unIt in a newer van on payments from an investor and have never looked back. I had to go to cobbs in Dallas and get their parts department to show me how to run the machine correctly.

 

[Brian R]

Parents owned one of the first Chem Dry's in Oakland CA. So I got to work in the ghetto of the ghetto for a few years and I guess I fell in love with it. :roll:

So I went to work full time with Mom and made a ton of money working on commission.



Wait, what was the question?? :|

The question was, why does Brian R act like such a mama's bOy?

Don't be talkin bout my Mama!!

 

[Ron Werner]

doing night janitorial for 6mths and was getting tired of working nights.
Started with the Bay In Home Cleaning, 2 weeks training with a guy that knew what he was doing, both truck and porty, then threw a Ninja in my trunk, chems in my back seat and away I went. A year and half and 1300 jobs later I had enough of their POS $30 2rm and hall jobs earning 20%, ie $6. Figured I could do better on my own. Can still remember the knot in my stomach when I left that day to go out on my own.

My Dad gave me $6000, bought a Cheyenne, some tools, chems, new tires for my Jetta, put the Cheyenne in the back seat, the chems in the trunk, wand and groomer in the passenger seat and away I went. That was Dec 93. Knew nothing of marketing or busn, someone said take your initials and put "Carpet Care" after them so I began as RW Carpet Care. I spent/wasted a lot of money on ads then had to run an ad to pay for the other ad :roll: Found out people in advertising knew less than I did about marketing. But I just did good work, told many times I did a better job than the last guy with a TM. I went door to door handing out cards, never got a job from that but I got work from somewhere and the busn kept growing.

Started vacuuming in 95, got certified on carpet in July 96 plus a marketing talk over a beer and burger from Mike West who gave the CCT class, bought a Big Red in Aug 96 for $15K (the guy allowed me to pay him $500/mth till it was paid for), connected with Piranha Marketing in 97 which really changed my busn. Just kept moving, asking questions, learning, taking my time doing the best job I could.

 

[Mikey P]

It is what it is Scott. Why does that fact bother you so?

because he blew his Hawaii funds going to a bootcamp.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

Fool me once..........

 

[Greg Cole]

My mom and dad had a cleaning biz on the side when I was a boy. Cleaned lake cottages and a factory on the weekends in Coldwater MI. When we moved to Murray KY in 1969 (I was 17 then), I bought a Pacific buffer with solution tank and shampoo brush, and a Hild water vacuum. Started mainly doing grocery store vct floors...lots of them.

I "officially" started my business in 1970, same phone number since 1971 when we started doing more carpets than VCT.

Wow! I was born in 1971! lol

 

[Steve Toburen]

I hate it when people brag about how young they are.

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS That's OK, Cole. Both Nick Paolella and I live by one simple creed, "You may only be young once but you can have fun forever." (Nobody has more fun than Nick at 76. Heck, maybe 77 by now!)

 

[Brian R]

Yeah, Nick is a cool dude to just sit an listen to.

 

[Greg Cole]

Yeah, Nick is a cool dude to just sit an listen to.

Agreed!

 

[sam miller]

Miller's Carpet Care

2 rooms and hall $12.50
5 rooms and hall $24.95

Uncle Sam porty and a 175 in the back of a Datsun B210 Hatchback.

You didnt get a servasteam??? 2 three stage vacs and a 100 psi pump went with 2 2 stage vacs?

I was 11 when my dad and his bros started thier business sat behind a desk for 20 years or so cleaning here and there with a porty.

bought a shop from my dad in 1990 ran 10 crews and got a steam genie on a trailer had my wife answer phones and went out and cleaned for a year and thats where I got the cleaning bug! 92 went back behind a desk for my Dad sold steam genie.

In 2000 left Millers bought a ford van with a used prochem 150a for $10k best deciscion I ever made! got 2 new vans and a couple 405's now! Pays the bills! second best thing was going from 20 per room to 30 I know its not enough but it helps!