Entry-Level Positions for Aspiring Owners and CEOs
The CEO of Cleantech Inc. believes that unlike fields with rigid entry points, the path to becoming a CEO is wide open, and suggests starting a simple service business like pressure washing or window cleaning, emphasizing that "you can pick whatever you want, anything", and then scale by training others and helping them start their own franchises to repeat the process, highlighting the accessibility and entrepreneurial spirit of the field.
Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Service Industry, Sales, Financial Literacy
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sean Meer
Owner, CEO
Cleantech Inc.
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
Finance
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Real Estate
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Starting a service business (like pressure washing or window cleaning) is a low-cost, accessible entry point: The interviewee suggests starting a pressure washing or window cleaning business with minimal initial investment as a practical way to gain experience and generate income.
2. Focus on underserved markets: The advice emphasizes targeting businesses or homes with visible needs (dirty concrete or windows) in affluent areas, indicating a strategic approach to identifying potential clients.
3. Prioritize customer satisfaction and reinvest in growth: The interviewee highlights the importance of offering free trials to ensure customer satisfaction, then scaling the business by training and supporting others, potentially even franchising.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that undergraduates and graduate students might consider?
This is my favorite question that has been asked all day. I've been waiting for this one. When you ask what entry-level positions there are in my field to become a CEO, there are more options than any other field.
If you want to be a managing director at a hedge fund, you might start as a financial analyst or an associate and work your way up. It's not like that in this field. With this, you can pick whatever you want, anything.
I'll use an example of what I would do if I were between the ages of 16 and any other age, and I had nothing going on. I would get a credit card, or some way to get $2,000, max out the credit card if I had to, to get my hands on a pressure washer.
I would buy this pressure washer unit and then start knocking on the doors of businesses. I wouldn't go to businesses with clean concrete; I'd go to businesses in nicer areas with the most horrible concrete. I'd watch some YouTube videos to figure out what type of staining is on the ground, likely needing a degreaser from a $10 pump sprayer.
I would sell them the service. I'd offer to do it for free, saying, "If you don't like it, don't pay me. If you do like it, here's the price." I would do a bunch of $200 jobs, pressure washing for two or three hours and making $250.
I'd get general liability insurance. I'd probably bypass regulations at first if I had no money, no business license, no insurance. I'd go out, get those first jobs, and take the risk. It's probably terrible advice, but it's what I would have done. I started selling cars in high school, and that wasn't entirely legal, but I was just trying to figure out ways to make money.
The pressure washer is just an example. Another option that's probably cheaper is to buy a bucket, a squeegee, and a window or glass mop. Go and wash windows, residential or commercial. Knock on doors and get in front of people.
Don't talk to people with clean windows; talk to people with dirty windows. If it's residential, make sure they're in a nicer neighborhood so they can afford window washing from a stranger. I would do that and immediately start printing money.
If you're pressure washing, you can charge a lot. You can make over a thousand dollars a day pressure washing easily. I would do that until I made enough money to pay someone else to do the work.
Then, I would train them and support them in every way possible to ensure they could be successful in pressure washing. Maybe even help them start their own pressure washing company franchise, and then just repeat that. That's it. That's all I would do.
It's very, very easy. Anyone could do it. It's a lot easier than other hard jobs like going into banking or some sort of science, or genetic engineering. If you wanted to start a service business for commercial or residential applications, you could do it today with about a hundred dollars.