Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Barlow.
Hi Ben, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Ever since I was younger, I was involved in small businesses. While in school at BYU, all I wanted to do was start a business. Inspired by family and friends I decided to get involved with Window Cleaning.
I had a buddy who taught me and a couple of weeks later, I started knocking on doors with the basic equipment. And where my first job took me forever. It was a perfect fit for me and allowed me to enjoy skiing during the winter but I was able to enjoy the outdoors still during the spring, summer, and fall with Window Cleaning.
I’ve always loved climbing things whether it is Rock climbing, ladders, trees, or houses. I also love art, and Window Cleaning to me is something that requires a high degree of skill to get it right. I loved how I can always improve in the industry and visually see the difference between quality and speed. It’s something that I know makes a difference for those who want to make their home at home, and almost feels like I’m offering free therapy to our customers when we do the job right.
Lastly, I was really passionate about making a difference whether it was with employees or in the community and that is why I wanted to be involved. I wanted to make sure that I could leave my footprint in the world even if it’s a small impact. Eventually, after lots of door-knocking and costly mistakes, in addition to many late nights trying to figure things out, the business began to get very busy over the years.
I think people recognized the hustle, and also appreciated the honesty and intentional service mindset as a part of our culture. People naturally wanted to refer their friends. Since then we have been able to work with many employees and we have served thousands of jobs. We love what we do even if it is challenging, we’re growing every day and I will continue to adapt and make our service the best that we can.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been an easy road. From the beginning, I wrote a customer list on paper. Remember one day, I had my list that I had accidentally placed on the top of my car. I drove away with them on the top of my car and found them later in the middle of the road and all the cars ran over them. I had to start fresh again after many hard days of getting customers.
There have been many days that I wanted to give up because of the mistakes that I’ve made. Some of these mistakes come from broken windows and scratched windows that I have had to replace. In some situations, it has been a pretty big financial setback. These have always been very valuable learning experiences.
I couldn’t count the number of times that I have trained someone to provide quality work and they end up not working out or they end up starting their own business. Or they don’t show up when they need to or don’t show up at all. It can be hard sometimes to see that your time and energy in trying to grow sometimes feel stagnant at times. These can lead to late nights, and it can always be hard when you want to be with your wife and child.
Going through the process of growing the business and seeing it change Includes growing pains and if itself. It is amazing to see how the business evolves as you are with it. Some of those struggles include setting up processes, software, and other important foundations. In the beginning, when I started the business I didn’t think it would get as big as it did. I had to go back to words and set things up after things were already busy. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to transition to different things as you grow while maintaining the jobs you have each day.
One of the hardest things for me is sometimes it feels like running as a business owner is a thankless job. Sometimes I feel like you are alone as well. You just have so many things going on and it’s hard for people to realize how much you were doing to try to make a difference for them whether it’s the customer or the employee or even family.
I have been so grateful for all these experiences because it has helped me become a better leader. I have found greater joy in the work because I understand it now from a new perspective. That is a big goal I have a life is to gain experiences So I can see things from a different perspective. This business has had so many obstacles but I have been able to support so many people weathers through school, their families, and even inspired people to start their own businesses.
There has been a lot of good that has come from the business and while I am on the front line Sometimes I feel like I’m standing on the side just watching things happen and it is really exciting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are a professional home cleaning business.
We specialize in window cleaning, gutter cleaning, pressure washing, and Christmas Light Installation. We have many tools that make us unique. We can clean windows both by hand and also on the ground using a water-fed pole system That uses purified water to leave a spot-free clean on the window. We can attack windows from the ground that are four levels up with no problem. When cleaning windows we want to make sure that we get a stamp of approval from our customers.
We are trained well so that we can take on any job using the variety of skills that each employee receives expert training on. We always emphasize a high degree of communication from start to finish. We also have technology that allows us to work smoothly with the customer and provide convenient ways for us to regularly service them. Gutter Cleaning is also an awesome service that we provide where we can do it by hand and we also have a gutter vacuum that allows us to clean gutters from the ground up to 40 feet.
Most gutter cleaning companies don’t have this equipment. We are contracted out to do Gutter Cleaning for the most well-known gutter installation company here in Utah County. We’ve got a high reputation and have done thousands of gutters. One big thing that I am excited about with our company is how we want to tie in a focus on being more than just a window cleaning company, we want to be about the community.
I want to be involved in service and I want to contribute to making a difference. One way we do that is by partnering with a company that offers glasses to people who can’t afford them. We figure that while we help people see through their windows we can help others see in general.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I think the biggest thing is that we need to make sure we respect each other and the different circumstances we are in.
While many of the people who work at Barlow Window Bros are young, we realize that there are many people out there who are struggling And want to do our part to make sure we are contributing to a healthier community
Pricing:
- If you would like a quote, we take the account several things. We base it on the difficulty of the home, the number of window panes, the square footage, and many other factors. We would love to provide a quote for any of our services and can do that over the phone or in person.
- You can reach us at barlowwindowbros@gmail.com, my personal phone number at 801-845-6615, or a business line at 385–383-3132.
- We typically have a $200 minimum. We are happy to work with you and can give you deals based on how often you have the service done.
Contact Info:
- Email: barlowwindowbros@gmail.com
- Website: Www.barlowwindowbros.com
- Instagram: @barlowwindowbros
- Facebook: Facebook.com/barlowwindowbros
