[jonah]

Have been looking for some more work , when I noticed a commercial round for sale taking £2,200 a month . He wants £22,000 for it ! Takes 24-36 hrs a week to do . Does this sound over priced or am i out of touch 

[trevor perry]

that is well over priced it would have to be really good work to even achieve £8000.

[Alan Rowley]

Well over-priced. How do you know his customers will stick with you? What's to stop him starting up again in a couple of months and poaching the best customers back?

[angela stone]

I've never understood why anyone would want to pay thousands for business that can easily be sought with a bit of determination.

Before we started our cleaning business 1 year ago, we bought a bar in Spain and paid thousands (nearly £50,000) for a lease.

As soon as we opened the doors, the old customers pee ed off cos we weren't the old owners. We eventually managed to build our own regulars but what did we pay the original money for??

Lesson learnt (we got our money back luckily) and when we set up our cleaning business we didn't buy anything, we printed some leaflets and got out there and started building OUR  reputation. 

If we can do it anyone can!  A year later we have 22 customers, 1 member of staff and about to start really pushing forward - but above all we are happy!

Keep that money in your back pocket!

Ange

[Alan Rowley]

We nearly spent £50,000 on a franchise that was up for sale in the locality. We decided against it and set up on our own. From having no customers at the start of April 2007, we now have over 20 regular customers and four members of staff.

This is despite my business partner being unable to work due to her daughter getting struck down with cancer and one of my main cleaners diagnosed with breast cancer.

We have done next to no advertising, only the free stuff. We had no experience in running a business when we started. We have only distributed 1,000 leaflets, yet we are making a reasonable profit.

If we can do it, with all our problems, anybody can.