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Hello. After trying to start businesses for a year, I had a painful, humiliating-in-front-of-everyone FTEvent, and it has made me start something that I was afraid of, refused to think about - a window cleaning business.
It was strange. The first time I walked from the house to buy equipment was interrupted by a realization, that I provably have all the equipment in the house (after walking ~1.5km from the house)
As luck would have it, it was. I lived in a big community housing, and there was all the equipment in a small "inventory" room of the house.
Now I understand that it wasn't very good, but it was almost like a miracle. The fate assisted me, I believe.
The first job I had was a dream "first job". There was a woman with 3 dogs, who barked playfully at me. Before I started actually cleaning, she said that she needs to "do something in the town", and said she'll come back in 20 minutes.
20 minutes of me (who doesn't know how to clean windows) myself! It meant that
1. I can watch videos about how to actually do it,
2. If I mess up noone would see,
It wasn't only these 2 things that made it beautiful - it were the good woman (and her dogs) herself, easy windows and a small building with only 7 windows.
In 10 minutes she returned, gave me 26€ cash, and, after she encouraged me, we parted ways.
In the 4 following hours I've made 139€ and it was the most money I've made in my life for 4 hours. (3 cleanings total) (there was a house with a lot of windows.
After the day was finished, I realised that I had a subconscious goal of making 700€. I needed it to assemble my invention.
Lessons for the day:
1. A F*ck this event changed stuff alright! I literally thought "my whole life is an FTE" and poof! Merry Christmas, you are still a punk-a$$ who hasn't achieved anything in life.
2. Help the fates and the fates are going to help you.
3. ...and all you need to do is just get over your ego...
4. Just help people!
The next day I started right from the morning. Seems an FTE has cleaned brakes up.
And... In the following 8 hours I made... 384€. One lady I've met before even offered me a sandwich, which I accepted.
WHAT???? This is by far the highest day that I did.
For anyone who starts, I recommend learning an S-technique. It allows for stainless cleaning and
The way to go was to go one street, and I went deep on it.
People are generally good! Pretty much everyone I met has helped me and was friendly to me.
Lessons learned for the day:
1. Dont let people flat-out ride on you. There was a woman who asked to clean all her windows for 20€, but
2. Always have a backup-something. I have lost my applicator (the thing to apply soap on windows), but I had a dishwashing cloth. Then I have lost that too, and I was left with wet wipes that I've just dipped into the soap bucket and cleaned the window that way.
Slow? Well, slower than with a professional applicator, no shit. That said, it was a last day job (with 40 windows!!!) and I got it done.
3. Help people. Get paid. Help more people (thanks @Andy Black)
3a. Help people. You want to help them anyway.
As you see, I realised the power of helping people. 2 days total: 524/700
Day 3(today): left the house at 8am. No reason to stay up any longer anyway.
The first thing I did - install SalesRabbit. It is an app to track leads. (borrowed from a notable thread (scaling a service business from
I went knocking on doors, so I choose thd
At 9:00 got my first order.
I then was walking with a bucket of water from the first order for 3 hours without luck.
I went into very rich neighbourhoods, and got 2 of them cleaned (because the owners were chatting while I was doing the work.)
I spent a lot, a lot of time just walking. Contrary to previous days where I cleaned more than I walked (literally 80% of the time probably), today I was walking hours without helping anyone.
Something changed. I... Either I chased the money(numbers) subconsciously.(remember the 524/700), but I didn't go into it as I did yesterday. I should have started with looking for employees (and I know I did), I should've started with getting equipment and getting that out of the head, but... I for some reason put that off, and it is as if a blade would hang on me for the whole day.
Anyway, I managed both in the evening, employee by "working" my way into luck, equipment by working my way into calling.
Need a business card. Need a ladder. Need a brand to be done. I've seen clothes done specifically for the service, am thinking about that myself. Would make me from a man with a mop to a man from a company.
It's 22:23 and I need business card done, today. Better get to designing a logo and thinking though brand and brand colors. I don't know how a brand is to be done.
Also, need to expand something else from just cleaning the windows. My close rate must be higher and I can help people better. How? Washing floors outside, mowing lawns, cleaning debris if there is any (car?),
Gutter cleaning? Can be done, but need a ladder. (I probably do have one, actually).
Good, execution is go.
If there is anything I understood after my FTE it is this:
It's not who you "are" , what you "think", it is what you do, and what impact it has now.
I don't care, I'm not going back to my old life. Hell. No.
It was strange. The first time I walked from the house to buy equipment was interrupted by a realization, that I provably have all the equipment in the house (after walking ~1.5km from the house)
As luck would have it, it was. I lived in a big community housing, and there was all the equipment in a small "inventory" room of the house.
Now I understand that it wasn't very good, but it was almost like a miracle. The fate assisted me, I believe.
The first job I had was a dream "first job". There was a woman with 3 dogs, who barked playfully at me. Before I started actually cleaning, she said that she needs to "do something in the town", and said she'll come back in 20 minutes.
20 minutes of me (who doesn't know how to clean windows) myself! It meant that
1. I can watch videos about how to actually do it,
2. If I mess up noone would see,
It wasn't only these 2 things that made it beautiful - it were the good woman (and her dogs) herself, easy windows and a small building with only 7 windows.
In 10 minutes she returned, gave me 26€ cash, and, after she encouraged me, we parted ways.
In the 4 following hours I've made 139€ and it was the most money I've made in my life for 4 hours. (3 cleanings total) (there was a house with a lot of windows.
After the day was finished, I realised that I had a subconscious goal of making 700€. I needed it to assemble my invention.
Lessons for the day:
1. A F*ck this event changed stuff alright! I literally thought "my whole life is an FTE" and poof! Merry Christmas, you are still a punk-a$$ who hasn't achieved anything in life.
2. Help the fates and the fates are going to help you.
3. ...and all you need to do is just get over your ego...
4. Just help people!
The next day I started right from the morning. Seems an FTE has cleaned brakes up.
And... In the following 8 hours I made... 384€. One lady I've met before even offered me a sandwich, which I accepted.
WHAT???? This is by far the highest day that I did.
For anyone who starts, I recommend learning an S-technique. It allows for stainless cleaning and
The way to go was to go one street, and I went deep on it.
People are generally good! Pretty much everyone I met has helped me and was friendly to me.
Lessons learned for the day:
1. Dont let people flat-out ride on you. There was a woman who asked to clean all her windows for 20€, but
2. Always have a backup-something. I have lost my applicator (the thing to apply soap on windows), but I had a dishwashing cloth. Then I have lost that too, and I was left with wet wipes that I've just dipped into the soap bucket and cleaned the window that way.
Slow? Well, slower than with a professional applicator, no shit. That said, it was a last day job (with 40 windows!!!) and I got it done.
3. Help people. Get paid. Help more people (thanks @Andy Black)
3a. Help people. You want to help them anyway.
As you see, I realised the power of helping people. 2 days total: 524/700
Day 3(today): left the house at 8am. No reason to stay up any longer anyway.
The first thing I did - install SalesRabbit. It is an app to track leads. (borrowed from a notable thread (scaling a service business from
I went knocking on doors, so I choose thd
At 9:00 got my first order.
I then was walking with a bucket of water from the first order for 3 hours without luck.
I went into very rich neighbourhoods, and got 2 of them cleaned (because the owners were chatting while I was doing the work.)
I spent a lot, a lot of time just walking. Contrary to previous days where I cleaned more than I walked (literally 80% of the time probably), today I was walking hours without helping anyone.
Something changed. I... Either I chased the money(numbers) subconsciously.(remember the 524/700), but I didn't go into it as I did yesterday. I should have started with looking for employees (and I know I did), I should've started with getting equipment and getting that out of the head, but... I for some reason put that off, and it is as if a blade would hang on me for the whole day.
Anyway, I managed both in the evening, employee by "working" my way into luck, equipment by working my way into calling.
Need a business card. Need a ladder. Need a brand to be done. I've seen clothes done specifically for the service, am thinking about that myself. Would make me from a man with a mop to a man from a company.
It's 22:23 and I need business card done, today. Better get to designing a logo and thinking though brand and brand colors. I don't know how a brand is to be done.
Also, need to expand something else from just cleaning the windows. My close rate must be higher and I can help people better. How? Washing floors outside, mowing lawns, cleaning debris if there is any (car?),
Gutter cleaning? Can be done, but need a ladder. (I probably do have one, actually).
Good, execution is go.
If there is anything I understood after my FTE it is this:
It's not who you "are" , what you "think", it is what you do, and what impact it has now.
I don't care, I'm not going back to my old life. Hell. No.
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