Photography by inspiro 8 studios
SQUEEGEE CLEAN
“What really draws me is the instant gratification of seeing what you’re doing to someone’s home, beautifying it in front of your eyes.” Michael Holmes has a passion for glass – clean glass. The Wofford College graduate discovered his love for cleaning windows when he took a summer job in Martha’s Vineyard as a college sophomore as – you guessed it – a window washer. “What really draws me is the instant gratification of seeing what you’re doing to someone’s home, beautifying it in front of your eyes,” explains Michael. Michael maintained his window washing as a side business as he worked in the real estate and computer fields. But when the economic downturn in 2008 resulted in a job lay-off from an industrial real estate company, he decided to wash windows full time, and Squeegee Clean was born. “I learned how to do windows properly, safely, and I learned the tools of the trade that summer in Massachusetts,” says Michael, whose employees are fully insured and licensed. The home-grown company, specializing mostly in residential window cleaning, gutter cleaning and flat-surface pressure washing, has grown 20 percent in revenue each year since it opened. The company works in crews of two or three, and Michael himself travels to homes or offices to give same-day estimates. The company, which will clean any kind of glass including chandeliers and mirrors, also has some commercial high-rise clients in the Greenville/ Spartanburg market. Although he won’t divulge his secret cleaning ingredients, Michael uses 104
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a water-based cleaning solution formulated for windows and squeegees that are cut to fit any type of window. “It’s not really the ingredients, but how you use them that’s key,” he says. Michael believes the difference that his customers enjoy with Squeegee Clean is the company’s reliability, attention to detail, and the willingness to go the extra mile. “That’s what our customers have told us. We show up on time and surpass expectations,” Michael says. For Michael, making the transition from being part of a crew to management has been challenging, and he misses the gratification of cleaning. “But I trust my guys, and I think it will be easier for me to grow this business because of them,” Michael says. When he’s not working on growing the business, Michael enjoys hiking and mountain biking and spending time with his wife and five-year-old daughter. “My daughter’s ladder climbing skills are impressive,” he says, “but her window cleaning technique needs some work.”
1355 Pinecrest Rd., Spartanburg mysqueegeeclean.com | 864.415.9007
Behind The Counter
3/27/15 5:05 PM