I kind of fell into window cleaning in 1996. At the time, I was working at a job I hated; it was full-time and in a small office in a high-rise in the city. A friend was selling his window cleaning business and offered it to me with the provision of paying it off. I had never cleaned windows before and had never run my own business. I resigned from my job, bought some equipment, and practiced on the windows of my house for a few hours. Suddenly, I was cleaning windows on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, and I never looked back.

In the early days, business was primarily commercial jobs, cafes, and shop fronts with the occasional domestic job. I got to drink lots of coffee! After a few years, I sold the business in Sydney and moved further north. Over the years and in various locations, the business has been a good mix of commercial and residential work. More recently, the bulk of my business has been residential.

 

Like many, the pandemic knocked the business around a bit in early 2020. At the same time, a friend needed extra help on her coffee van. So, I did barista work for her a few mornings a week as a side hustle. That lasted the next 12 months and helped us through nicely. Since then, the business has recovered fully, and we have as much work as we need.

McRae’s Window Cleaning Brisbane, Australia