Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Hoffman.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Windowshine came to life towards the end of the 2020 pandemic. Thankfully, I had a great partner to help to bring this vision to life, Sierra.
It was around October, and I had just gotten back from aiding in the South Florida Covid Operations with the Army National Guard for roughly the last six months. The return was hard. Jobs were slim, there were more closed down businesses than there were hiring signs. Even though jobs were slim and hard to find, the bills were not and easier to find me. Rent still needed to be paid, food still needed to be provided, car payments, electric and more bills.
In all my years, I always had a vision of working for myself. In my mind, I believe you will only gain financial freedom by obtaining one of two things: You either find something that you truly love doing or you create it for yourself. I have been working since I was 13 years old, and I had absolutely nothing to show for it. No good credit and some young financial bad decisions are what I have to show for.
My dad had the first idea of what is now called “Groupon.” That was first started back in the early 2000’s. Unfortunately, it never came to be more than just an idea, as he passed from cancer. We never had the strongest father and son relationship, but one thing he stilled in me was the idea of financial freedom. You have to create it for yourself or find that something that manifests within you to better you.
After talking it over with my partner Sierra and getting her full support, that is what I did. I created that “something” for me. Plus, I had the background to show for it, I used to do High Rise Window Cleaning. You might have seen me outside of your office building, repelling down the side maybe 10 to 15 stories up as I cleaned your windows.
I stumbled upon a certain someone on the web who goes by the name Keith Kalfas. He now owns a very successful window cleaning and landscaping business and is a well-known name in the industry. I watched quite a few YouTube videos of him, how he came to be and making the impossible possible. How he managed to get 40 accounts in a day or two and save his family from losing their home. I did exactly what he did, went to Lowes, bought a squeegee, a bucket, an extension pole, a few micro-fiber towels and a bottle of dawn dish soap. All for roughly $50.00.
Now that I had all the gear needed to clean windows, all I had to do was find some windows to clean. It all started at a single plaza in Kissimmee, FL. I went from storefront to storefront asking to clean their windows for $10 to $15 dollars. One storefront owner came out and said, “Wow, I have never had cleaner windows before.” He went ahead and introduced me to the plaza owner, who asked me for a quote for the whole plaza. I made nearly $300.00 that day. She added on cob-web removal of all the lighting fixtures, and her second building cleaned as well. Almost $600.00 later and in less than two days, the business idea had become much more promising.
A year later in the business, and 100’s of homes and businesses cleaned by Windowshine is coming to fruition in the Orlando & Central Florida area. We have added much more than just window cleaning to our business. We have incorporated roof cleaning, soft washing, pressure washing to our business. There is a long road ahead still, many obstacles still in play, and we are still fighting to achieve the ultimate dream. The ultimate dream is not becoming rich. Our ultimate dream is creating opportunities not just for myself but the opportunity for everyone else. The dream of growing a successful company that will create not just jobs but high paying jobs, with great insurance, 401k’s, paid vacation time and more. The ultimate dream is giving someone else the opportunity to change their lives and their family lives. However, that opportunity starts with me. A nobody with debt, bad-credit, and a handful of bad financial decisions in his younger days. This nobody made more money last year than in any job in almost two decades. All of which has gone towards building the business and bills. This new year will be a game changer. I know this because I have an amazing partner in my life, Sierra. If it had not been for her hard work and support since day one with me in this business, we would never have come this far.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The struggle along the way consists of many. As a small business, the struggles consist of back-end office work. Making sure your business is consistent through all social media platforms and search engines with weekly updates. As well as covering yourself with high quality insurance in your industry. I would say finding the right insurance company was tough. Honestly, it was not until recently that I found the right one. It covers my business entirely on all grounds and does not cost an arm and a leg, it was surprisingly affordable!
Also, having unforeseen events come into play. For example, we recently had to go from owning our own vehicle to monthly payments on a new vehicle. Our last vehicle came to its last legs, and you have to be able to manage and find something relatively fast. You cannot run a business on a full schedule without a vehicle. We had to literally scramble within 24 hours to find a replacement. As I already have stated, my credit doesn’t hold much ground yet, so the monthly payments are a handful.
Lastly, as I said earlier, back-end office work. Marketing is huge. I cannot emphasize enough on marketing. You can have all the right tools and gear but if no-one knows about you, none of it matters. One of my daily tasks is researching and trying out many different marketing strategies to implement into the business. As a small business, our marketing capitol is small. Making the right decisions and learning from my mistakes is a work in progress.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Windowshine LLC?
Windowshine LLC is a window cleaning and pressure washing company servicing the Orlando and Central Florida area. We are based out of Kissimmee, FL. We are a small veteran family-owned business. Our inspiration came from wanting to make a change. A change that consists of creating jobs and opportunities for not only ourselves but for others. We set ourselves apart from the rest of the industry by what we stand for integrity, determination, reliability, and perfection. I personally value how I have been able to serve a small part to my country and state. Now, I am slowly transitioning to better serve our communities in the Sunshine State with a better service.
We want to leave our clients with a feeling of joy and bliss. Imagine this, you see us walking into your home, wearing our funny little shoe covers to protect any dirt from tracking inside. You notice we are putting down drop cloths in front of us to keep any water from spilling as we begin to work on giving your windows a brilliant shine. You find your favorite cozy spot in your home to sit in and sit back leisurely, sipping on your morning coffee or tea. You turn on the T.V or find the next chapter on your book that you were reading. Right before you get to the end of that exciting chapter, you look up and see a bright new shiny view outdoors.
We do not just clean windows; we specialize in full window and glass restorations. From hard water-built ups to scratched glass we have gone to extreme measures to provide our clients with that bit of extra shine to their homes and businesses. We always provide our clients with a million-dollar service. For example, taking an extra minute to change the direction of their sprinkler systems or putting a sprinkler cap on to avoid further hard water from consistently beating on their windows. Sometimes it is something as small as taking an extra second to grab a ladder and change a lightbulb on their ceiling area that makes our clients day, and in return, it makes ours as well. It’s the small things that really separate us, it is not always about every dollar that you can charge the client but the long-term relationship that builds trust and keeps our clients calling back and referring us. Keeping clients informed to better protect themselves is something I love to pride the business in.
I’ve had quite a few calls in the past of homeowners calling me and saying, “Jonathan, I am out of town and just had my windows cleaned by this guy and my windows are still dirty. Can you please come out and see if you can help me?” Come to find out, this one such client’s home had some mild to hard-water and oxidation built up. Hard water deposits are caused by the excessive amounts of minerals such as calcium and other compounds that are found in hard water such as your sprinkler system water. It leaves the glass looking foggy and what appears to be raindrops on your windows. Unfortunately for this client, the guy that was paid to clean his windows was long gone but, in the end, he paid me to do a full window restoration on his entire home. Not only that, but I made a great connection and a long-term client,
Other services that we offer with Windowshine is low-pressurized roof cleaning, soft-washing, house washing, pressure-washing, window screen repairs & gutter cleaning. We are licensed, insured. & BBB accredited.
What matters most to you?
Quality and Service. In my own personal experience working and/or spectating other companies, I’ve noticed a lot of short cuts and lack of quality in the service provided. Windowshine was built on being different from all of that. This is not a company based on how many clients we can charge and finish quickly in a day. This is a company built on quality, integrity and the love for the work provided to be different. Services such as window cleaning is a luxury service, so why not provide that service? Providing our clients with all the expectations on what’s to come and exceeding those expectations is what I love doing. I love the “Wow” I get from my client’s reaction. How many times my clients have had a cleaning before but did not know that they were not being serviced correctly, I love changing that. I once had a client call me during a bad rainstorm and asked me to please help them, their window had actually fallen inwards. Thankfully, the client’s window was safe, and all I had to do is put the window back on its tracks and secure it. Quality and Service, I cannot emphasize that enough, and that is why we consistently get the reviews and feedback we do.
Contact Info:
- Email: flwindowshine@gmail.com
- Website: www.flwindowshine.com
- Instagram: @FLwindowshine
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/FLwindowshine
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WindowshineL
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/windowshine-kissimmee
