Thanks for the reply Radek
I don't require government support - I have a job so I can sustain myself over the start-up period.
I have spoken to lots of people who have started small and worked their way up - I don't buy into needing to the "spend big or go and do something else" philosophy. I want to do carpet cleaning - if I need to up my budget a little I can, but I need to keep reins on expenditure.
Perhaps I should have asked "if you we starting up today on a limited budget, what equipment would you buy"
Many Thanks
Tref
Don't be discouraged by people saying you can't do it on a small budget. Get any decent (i.e. a good story) twin-vac HWE portable second hand, with hose, a wand & a hand tool. Spend the rest of what you can raise on marketing - leaflets that you can walk out yourself, local parish mag ads - use your imagination, this is the bit that needs creativity, persistence, etc. I would only get into low moisture once you've got the real thing (HWE) under your belt.
Brand of machine is not important, they more or less all use the same components.
Carry on with your second income stream and phase over as & when.
I started by carting a borrowed machine around in a crappy old camper van, never borrowed any money, and now run a 3 van (2 TM) operation keeping 4 people reasonably busy.
As early as poss get on a basic course and network with all the guys.