Greetings

Well after posting here a few times I think it's about time I introduce myself

I'm Ben and I will be 19 in the next few weeks. I know it's probably crazy for someone my age to be interested in cleaning carpets and what not but for some reason I'm attracted to it.

I've always been good with business and can handle my money very well. Unlike other people my age, I don't blow my money on nonsense and I invest a portion of my money in anything from stocks to bonds. I always keep a "rainy day" fund so that I can always fall back on it in case I get hurt or just need it for an emergency. I credit my grandfather for the way I handle my money. I'm close with him and he grew up during the depression so I heard a lot of stories on how his family struggled since they didn't budget money well.

I learned a lot from my family when it comes to business. My one uncle was in construction and concrete form and could have been a millionaire twice but each time he managed to bankrupt the company within a few years. He always claimed he got "stuck" on jobs and that's why he folded. While that may be true, it doesn't explain why he took the company funds to buy expensive toys and to buy everyone drinks at the local bar. My uncle stuck my family for a lot of money along with everyone else in my family. I saw how it affected and literally tore apart the family and that's why I will never get a family loan for anything business related.

When it came time to buy all the equipment for my carpet cleaning company, I'm happy to say I paid for it all upfront using my own money. I still even have my rainy day fund, and am happy I don't have to worry about making payments on the equipment, especially with the way the economy is today. I know it takes time to get customers and make money, but I think it will be even harder right now with the way the economy is.

I have been running two companies of my own (LLC's) and make pretty decent money from them. However they are both seasonal and they generate most of the revenue in the winter so I'm usually bored for the rest of the year. That's why I really was interested in carpet cleaning so I could keep busy in the summer, and then have income in the winter when carpet cleaning dies down by running my other businesses.

I graduated from high school this year and didn't go off to college because I just couldn't see the value in it because of how much it costs. My guidance counselor and most of my teachers wrote me off as a failure and it was pretty tough to swallow. I always argued that a bachelors degree will never pay for itself with current tuition rates and that there are fewer jobs to find in the US, and if you are lucky to get one it takes years to make decent money even though you are college educated. My mother is a prominent neuro surgeon but even she agrees that it's not worth going to school today to be a doctor because of the cost of medical school and malpractice insurance. Not to mention you sell your life away to the hospital and it's a stressful job.

I also said to my guidance counselor I think students will default on student loans because in my view they are predatory loans like most home loans were. People are banking on making $100,000 out of college to pay that loan. More than likely that won't happen. I even went as far as to say there will be no more student loans soon because of the way the economy is going. Well after he laughed at me saying that, 4 months later we are hearing this might be happening.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Sorry if I bored anybody but I wanted to explain why at 19 I decided to go into business rather then to go off to college. I'm all for learning from people who have real life experience and didn't learn out of a textbook. In my view you can't always go by the book, and I think this is especially true with carpet cleaning. I really have to admit I have learned so much from here and can't wait to learn more from people who have been doing this for decades.


Edited by luvsnow - 14/October/2008 at 8:28pm

Welcome Ben.. What method/method's do you utilize? Post pics of your equiptment  on "Pics of your rig/tools" thread..