I started out repairing residential windows. Usually 1-2 hour long repairs. I would do free quotes so I always knew what I was getting into before I agreed to do any work. I loaded the truck with the tools (mostly hand tools) I needed for that specific job and I only bought more tools as there was a need for them. I literally would buy tools the night before a job so I was only out the $ until I was paid the next day when the job was completed.

I did Facebook and Google ads and made a website pretty much from day 1. The calls came in very slow. I would get one call per week and it was a coin toss if that customer would hire me.

I’m not proud of it, but there was even a time I was so slow that I would walk into a business and ask for the maintenance guy and told them I was called out to look at some broken windows. Sometimes they’d say we don’t have any, you must have the wrong place and I’d laugh it off, leave a card and just say “If it ever does come up, we’d (me) be glad to help”. Sometimes they’d say “huh, not sure who called but we do have a few windows with issues.” And I’d send them a quote for the repairs. It actually did occasionally work to get business. I was desperate and willing to go door to door if that’s what it took.

Once the jobs slowly started coming in, I would go above and beyond and do everything I could to get referrals. It took close to 2 years before there were so many people calling that I had to hire a second person. As the volume grew, we just naturally had the random calls for larger projects here or there. Sometimes they were too large and we passed, and sometimes we stretched ourselves and took the leap. Little by little the big jobs seemed smaller and smaller. We have shifted away from residential and now do about 80% commercial and 20% residential. Despite less money to be made in residential, I still have a soft spot for the residential jobs that really shot us into the big leagues.