New to this o - Starting up

[safcftm]

Hi all, ill try to keep this as short and to the point as possible and ill apologise if i dont come across very knowledgeable but im just starting out so bare with me. I was laid off from my job a few weeks ago which isnt uncommon in the industry im in (and the current economic climate) However this time ive been off double the length of time i normally am, with bills/holidays to pay for ive decided that i cant go on like this forever, which has lead me to this forum.

I was online looking for ideas and inspiration on what to do, and taking the good points from my old job and trying to see what type of new business i could set up based around that. I came to the conclusion that it is the right time to become my own boss, and carry on in a van locally. The main thing that caught my eye on youtube was the sky vac gutter cleaning service ? I dont know how much you know on here about that, it looks good, but whether it could pay all the bills i wasnt 100% sure. Which then lead me to gutter/fascia cleaning, and then inevitably drive way/patio cleaning and resealing.

Id just like some information & suggestions if possible on this type of work. Ive noticed the same company who make sky vac also offer a range of patio cleaners, the one that caught my eye is the "Honda Slip Stream Pro 12 with 18" Surface Cleaner" for £1150+vat From what ive looked at so far it looks a good mid sized cleaner. Any suggestions on other good cleaners out that that i could look into?

Also as you lot will be a lot more clued up than me on this, it seems a lot of people dont go for having there drives sealed? is this true ? further from that, what type of sealents work best for you? Ive read that its best to go for material spesfic sealants intead of a all in one jack of all trades sealant? is this true.

:laugh:
Any help people can give me on any of this is massively appreciated. I understand people can just roll there eyes when someone wants to try there hand at a industry they are in, we are all guilty of it to some degree in our lives, but im genuinely driven to try and start something over the next year so like i say any help is appreciated. Sorry i dragged it out a little bit too.


Im sorry if this has been posted in the wrong section

[lutonlagerlout]

do you have any experience of cleaning and sealing?
Ideally you would have some experience before going it alone
I see signs all the time round here (luton)
"gutters cleaned from £25"
do you want to get into that end of the market or go for proper graffiti removal etc
lastly have you any business experience
invoicing,paying bills,doing VAT returns etc

if you start up all this will happen
maybe get in with some kind of trade body that do training or accreditation for cleaning and sealing

good luck
LLL

[DNgroundworks]

Ive often though of stopping the installation of driveways and just doing cleaning and sealing, and then using the same pressure unit to jet drains etc, but in all my time in the groundworks job i bet ive sealed 5 patios/drives and dealt with the same no blocked drains, it wouldnt work for me.

What line of work was you in?

[local patios and driveway]

invest in a better business idea, sealing can only be done after lengthy periods of dry weather, and most people dont have it or diy it. cleaning? most people have a pressure washer or dont bother. gutters can be done by a "do as you likey" for £25 as has been said. i would keep looking for something a lot more lucrative

[Dave_L]

"Do as you likey" lol