01/09/2026
This photo's from March 2023, out in the wind and rain washing someone's car. Glamorous stuff 😅
About five years ago I started washing cars on the side just to make a bit of extra money. Some weeks it worked out at roughly £7 an hour, which isn't exactly retirement money, but it was better than sitting watching telly or playing the computer all evening, and it gave me a purpose and a bit of cash I otherwise wouldn't have had.
Word got around, and before long I was getting more requests than I could keep up with. I started putting my prices up thinking it might slow things down a bit, and if anything it got busier. I still don't fully understand how that worked, but I wasn't complaining.
I had to knock the car cleaning on the head about two years ago when the videography work started to take over. There just weren't enough hours in the day for both (as well as everything else in my life), and funnily enough I've ended up with the exact same problem now, just with cameras instead of buckets of soapy water. It's only me, so I can only manage so much.
But building up a client base from nothing, the reputation, the friendships, the business contacts I've made along the way, it's been brilliant. Very challenging, but brilliant.
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this post is, other than to say if you've been thinking about trying something for yourself, whether it's a service, a product, a wee side hustle, whatever it is, just go for it. The worst thing that happens is it doesn't work out, and even then the stuff you learn about yourself and about business is worth more than you'd expect.
Now honestly , it can be tough, but I've learned more in the past five years than I did in the first forty years of my life, and now I'm a 45 year old bloke who wishes he'd started twenty years ago.
If you've read this far and you know someone who's been sitting on an idea, or they've got a passion they've been wanting to do something with, send it their way. Sometimes all someone needs is to hear that it's worth a go, rather than look back and wish they had.
Cheers
Kev
