Hello, my name is Lorna Brown, and I am one of the Hampstead Heavies. Since I intend this to be the first of many blog posts capturing our journey, introductions are in order. Today, the Hampstead Heavies are a group of cleaning enthusiasts who created a small local tenancy cleaning startup in NW3. Almost twenty years ago, we were nothing of the kind. So this will be the story of our transformation.
It all began at the beginning of the new century at University College School in Frognal. A group of rebellious (more in outward appearance than in spirit) teenagers who loved hard rock and heavy metal formed a secret society and aptly named it The Hampstead Heavies. Our goal was a revolution and subsequent world domination. Still, for the time being, we limited our underground activity to listening to Iron Maiden, Dream Theatre, Metallica, Slayer, Ronnie James Dio, and so on.
Then, life happened. We graduated from high school and went our separate ways – some to college, some to work, others yet to travel or family. But the bond that only high-school years can create remained. While we no longer called ourselves The Heavies, we had pledged on graduation day – to gather at least once per year and share what we have achieved or lost during the last twelve months.
Looking back, I am still amazed that we never wavered from this promise. I remember how once, while we were having pints of ale at The Spaniards Inn, one of the guys had to rush to the emergency because his wife was giving birth. So we all swept through the waiting room of The Royal Free Hospital to welcome little Lilly into the Heavies’ ranks. And though our career and personal paths seemed to diverge ever more as years passed, for one evening every year, we pretended that we were still the rebellious teens listening to The Trooper in the basement.
Two of the guys in the group – John and Henry – were working as cleaning technicians for a large London service provider. A recurrent theme in our meetings was their mild rants about the inadequacies of poor management and planning, wasting time travelling from point A to point B, and bad HR policies. At first, I thought it was the attitude of people who did not like their job and were blowing off some steam. But I soon realised John and Henry actually liked cleaning and interacting with people but didn’t approve of how their company was run.
“So why don’t you do something about it?”, I innocently asked a couple of years ago. “Like what?”, incredulously retorted Henry. “Like doing something about it instead of constantly complaining. Go to the management and say your piece, or quit your job and start something on your own.”
My buddies were not impressed. We moved on to a more neutral topic that night, but the idea festered in my mind. Full disclosure, at that very time, I also was not particularly happy with my job. I was working at the support centre of a well-known international apparel company. Although I was already moving up the ladder, it was not the most fulfilling of career paths. So a few weeks later, I called John and Henry and said I wanted to talk.
Oh, my heavy metal knights were so cute! They arrived at the pub all freaked out, thinking I was in some sort of trouble. When I told them what all the ruckus was about, they were a bit disappointed. “Look, Lor, it is not that simple. We cannot just quit our job and go haywire”, started Henry. “The cleaning industry is super competitive, and the big companies have all the advantages on their side.”
I wasn’t about to give up so easily. “If that is the case, then the complaints I had to listen to so many times were all nonsense. Either we can manage a cleaning business more successfully, or you are just unhappy with your company.” John and Henry could not refute that argument. “Listen, let me be the team manager on that. I will talk to David and Marge (two other members of the Heavies) and pick up their minds. Let’s see what they will say.”
David was the business guru of our little group. He had an MBA from Birkbeck and worked for a city venture capital fund. Recognising good ideas for a startup was his forte. “Most people don’t realise it is not capital or even a great idea that makes the difference. It is the team. Find a group of like-minded people, point them in one direction, and they can achieve unimaginable things. I like the idea. I see no reason why it should not work except for lack of guts.”
Next was Marge – my high-school bestie and the godmother of my two children. She was also fully immersed in the high-tech world of online marketing, SEO, and creating digital business platforms. “Oh, I like the idea. I like it a lot! And you know what – we can create some really cool features about the customers that other service providers probably do not offer. Of course, I will have to do some research, but let me get back to you in a couple of weeks, and I will have a comprehensive set of ideas on how to get this baby running.”
I confess – my head was in the clouds after these two meetings. Was it really possible? Could we pull it off? Our very own, local-based cleaning business! And I already had the perfect name for it – The Hampstead Heavies. Now I only had to convince the main culprits in this adventure to jump on board.