[Rob_Mac]

Message left off our website in my email address.
 
Looking for someone to do a bit of jet washing at a high street name. We had dropped a business portfolio at the clients and thought it was a call reference this.
 
It was from a national Painting and decorating business who look after all the stores nationwide. This is a massive company!!!!
 
I go over and look at the job - it is all the cladding, all the windows, all the jet washing all the way round the property. 
 
Put the price in and get this accepted.
 
I have to buy the very best jet washer and flat surface ceaner that I can afford, or can't afford - borrowed money from wife to be.
 
The job starts and I have a meeting in London for a second clean up ( as of writing this is ongoing). We get the job and start spending nights out and making the trek to London.
 
Get a call to do a final clean for a property near Manchester - do the job -3 one of the coldest nights of the year but get the job done.
 
Our biggest client is a national bank call centre - local to us. They have two cleans booked in at the same time as all this is going off. Again two massive buildings.
 
All the work is on invoice
 
Get another call to a meeting up north again to another full property clean for the painting and decorating contractor.
 
This work will be carried out mid April 07
 
I am getting married in two weeks time and am needing every spare bit of cash to go towards this.
 
I run two vans with an excellent bunch of full & part time lads.
 
My van hasn't earnt a bean in over 3 weeks - cash
 
I have had to pay for the new kit, all wages, hotel accomodation, extra fuel, living expenses, the list goes on and on.
 
I know have a large overdraft and more debt than I care to think about, I have cried for the first time in years and am struggling to pay basic personal and business bills.
 
My partner says I have aged 10 years in 3 weeks.
 
Why have I done this?
 
I have a burning desire to be a national supplier of cleaning services. I want to be able to go anywhere in the country and offer the best service and get a reward that goes beyond monetary value.
 
I want the people that work with me to have secure and stable earnings that show financial reward for hard work. I want them to say I was a good employer that really did care.
 
I want the clients old and not yet on our books to say they haver a supplier that they can rely on and that delivers the goods.
 
I cannot put into words how very difficult the last 3 weeks have been and I never imagined it would be this hard. The stress has been incredible.
 
Was it worth it? The invoices are going in and the payments are coming, we have succesfully done the work and the overdraft will be paid off.
 
Yes it was worth it, not for the money, which is very nice but for the satisfaction that my company, that I started over six years ago - from nothing - just a small window cleaning business, has been able to play at a national level and come out shining!!!
 
I dont know about others that work at this level but for me it has been a very steep learning curve, we have made a jump  from regional work to national, very quickly and it isn't about whether you have the right equipment and men but more about having the b*lls to step up to the mark and ride the debt till you get paid.
 
Anyone can say they could do this but the doing it is something completely different - not like anyhting I have ever experienced before!!!!
 
If you have aspirations - chase them but then make sure you have the strength of character to ride whatever comes with the opportunities.
 
Good luck
 
Rob 

[Brewser]

 ???looks like psycho-babble

[D woods]

Good post Midas hope it all goes well for you.

[petski2]

Yes good read that mate.
Well done and good luck in future

[Ian Rochester]

As a leveller:

Did you know over 50% of small businesses collapse due to poor cash-flow!

Make sure you have these jobs secured with signed purchase orders and make sure the bank manager has copies as collateral against any loans.

I wish you all the best and may the stress soon be behind you.

[Tosh]

I am getting married in two weeks time and am needing every spare bit of cash to go towards this.
 
Rob 

Rob,

Be carefull here, mate.  Weddings are a great time to 'show off' how well you're doing, but no-one really remembers an expensive wedding. 

I've been a 'best man' at quite a few (I do a great speach) and my favourates have been those weddings that have been done on a tight budget, which normally means a buffet; rather than a sit-down-meal.

The people attending  a 'buffet wedding' seem friendlier; you have a better laugh; and it's not a case of some mug trying to display how much they can afford to spoil everyone.  Gone are the days where the in-laws pay for everything!

I suggest you save your cash  for the stuff you'll need after you get married.

But, better still; don't get married.

[gary evans]

Rob,

Know what your saying but we are only local realy 60 mile radius.

Mad march for us 3 vans knocking out window after window.

5 days riding cherry picker.

21 house cleans for national builder.

Thats just 1 week.

Work sat & sun again, then carpet cleaner ready to go in new 4th van to do some jobs.

Sunday 5am paperwork, prepare lease vehicle for return & print next weeks work befor 5 hopefully.

What a life running your own business, but, i,d still prefer it.

Gary

[Neil Williams]

Well done Rob. I've still got your broucher you sent me about 18 months ago so I'll keep that to remind me/you of what it was all like back then. 
Do I have asperations? Yes
Do I want that sort of stress? No
I went through a stage last week when I felt like just chucking it all in. Business in 2007 has been great but all the side issues have made me rethink what I want.
All the best to you
Neil

[DaveWilkinson]

Nice post, good to see some people go for it, the stress is part and parcel and is also good and bad, if there was no stress there would be no buzz.

Keep up the good work.

DAve

[Sunshine Cleaning]

Is any job worth making a grown man cry with stress?

[Paul Coleman]

Message left off our website in my email address.
 
Looking for someone to do a bit of jet washing at a high street name. We had dropped a business portfolio at the clients and thought it was a call reference this.
 
It was from a national Painting and decorating business who look after all the stores nationwide. This is a massive company!!!!
 
I go over and look at the job - it is all the cladding, all the windows, all the jet washing all the way round the property. 
 
Put the price in and get this accepted.
 
I have to buy the very best jet washer and flat surface ceaner that I can afford, or can't afford - borrowed money from wife to be.
 
The job starts and I have a meeting in London for a second clean up ( as of writing this is ongoing). We get the job and start spending nights out and making the trek to London.
 
Get a call to do a final clean for a property near Manchester - do the job -3 one of the coldest nights of the year but get the job done.
 
Our biggest client is a national bank call centre - local to us. They have two cleans booked in at the same time as all this is going off. Again two massive buildings.
 
All the work is on invoice
 
Get another call to a meeting up north again to another full property clean for the painting and decorating contractor.
 
This work will be carried out mid April 07
 
I am getting married in two weeks time and am needing every spare bit of cash to go towards this.
 
I run two vans with an excellent bunch of full & part time lads.
 
My van hasn't earnt a bean in over 3 weeks - cash
 
I have had to pay for the new kit, all wages, hotel accomodation, extra fuel, living expenses, the list goes on and on.
 
I know have a large overdraft and more debt than I care to think about, I have cried for the first time in years and am struggling to pay basic personal and business bills.
 
My partner says I have aged 10 years in 3 weeks.
 
Why have I done this?
 
I have a burning desire to be a national supplier of cleaning services. I want to be able to go anywhere in the country and offer the best service and get a reward that goes beyond monetary value.
 
I want the people that work with me to have secure and stable earnings that show financial reward for hard work. I want them to say I was a good employer that really did care.
 
I want the clients old and not yet on our books to say they haver a supplier that they can rely on and that delivers the goods.
 
I cannot put into words how very difficult the last 3 weeks have been and I never imagined it would be this hard. The stress has been incredible.
 
Was it worth it? The invoices are going in and the payments are coming, we have succesfully done the work and the overdraft will be paid off.
 
Yes it was worth it, not for the money, which is very nice but for the satisfaction that my company, that I started over six years ago - from nothing - just a small window cleaning business, has been able to play at a national level and come out shining!!!
 
I dont know about others that work at this level but for me it has been a very steep learning curve, we have made a jump  from regional work to national, very quickly and it isn't about whether you have the right equipment and men but more about having the b*lls to step up to the mark and ride the debt till you get paid.
 
Anyone can say they could do this but the doing it is something completely different - not like anyhting I have ever experienced before!!!!
 
If you have aspirations - chase them but then make sure you have the strength of character to ride whatever comes with the opportunities.
 
Good luck
 
Rob 

Well done but that level of stress not for me.  I know what stress can do to me.  I've experienced big dollops of it at various times in my life.  I can earn very well as a sole trader and that is rising.  My first goal is to maximise my potential as a sole trader.  Beyond that I don't know.  That's a couple of years away yet I reckon.
However, now you have done it once, doing it again should hopefully be less stressful.
I hope it works well for you.

[gary evans]

Hi Thomas,

Wise words, i,m in similar situation, trying to expand, doing tools, paperwork, h&s, qoutes etc. I have a similar decision to make, do i work or run office & expand.

What size of business is yours, types work, staff etc.

Gary

[groundhog]

There is no point being the richest man in the graveyard!! I took up window cleaning to be stress free, not create more!

[Ian_Giles]

A great post. I enjoyed reading, and I certainly got a sense of the background stress, in times past I've put myself under similar stress levels (as a decorator, not a window cleaner)
Massive jobs. tight timescale, the stress of it brings you to tears, you go to sleep eshausted after working a 15 hour day and wake up two hours later just wanting to go back to work and get on with the job.....shudder!!!
And you have to pay the wages, chase bills price new work...it's endless!

I'm older now and I'm finally in almost a perfect position for myself.

I'm only a sole trader, but I'm earning decent money and I've got the balance of domestic and commercial work just about right, cash flow is good...I'm in a good zone at present.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not earning a fortune, but I have money in the bank, I can pay my bills and I can afford holidays....

It's taken a long time to get here, and it is only since Christmas that I've actually realised that I've arrived!

But you also cannot stand still

So I'll continue on in the same vein as I have done for the past 3 years, but hopefully I won't over extend myself, if I end out having to employ again it'll mean a concerted drive to obtain more work and the increasing stress levels that go with it

Whatever...I'm in a good place at the moment and I make sure I sit back now and then and savour the moment....I may not always be able to...

Ian

[Seers]

Hi,

Intersting post, and a great reply from thomas, I find myself in the very same situation he describes. We currently employ around fifteen staff and run seven vans. We've been going for five years.

From going out every day doing build cleans, window cleaning etc I now find myself stuck in the office 85% of the time, chasing payments, sorting cashflow out, chasing new work, meetings, dealing with staffing problems, invoicing etc.

I feel like I am the only person who can do this side of the business and can't/won't delegate it out in case it all goes wrong. Sometimes you do ask yourself if it's all worth it.

Like Rob, the next step for us is expanding into national work, at the moment we're getting a lot of tenders but i'm not pursuing them . I don't know whether I need the extra hassle.

Cheers,

Huw.

[marc al]

   I have read that post with interest, I was toying with the idea of expanding, but have decided to settle on having a nice round with no hassle.

   I worked for a company that started out as a small supplier to garden centers, in 10 years it had grown into the major supplier of its type, with myself running all the goods in and distribution for the major retailers (B&Q, Homebase etc), I had 50 staff working a 250,000sq ft warehouse - I ended up leaving and starting this as the stress was killing me, the money was nice granted, but not having the time or energy to enjoy it or my family.

   I now have less money, although I do well, the real riches are the time I spend with my wife and children, it is now quality time without me being tired or stressed.

  Think carefully

   Marc

[poleman]

Always stick to your price, factor in a small % if the job takes longer and bits you had to purchased that was not foreseen, I was very much set up like your self, OCS asked me to quote 100s of site around the south, I was on the road for weeks, at a cost to me in time, fuel and B&Bs when I submitted my quote and waited, they didn't even get back to me, I found out thought the industry that didn't win the contract, I phoned they up and they said sorry and put the phone down on me     
 
So I have seen and been where you are, and no way would I go back, but the best advice I can give! make it worth it, and look after your self, that's all really
 
Andy

[gary evans]

Thomas,

Good advice, something to think on.

Gary