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In
13 months their running turnover has jumped
to a whopping £11.5 million!
In
other words, it's more than doubled.
John
and Hazel have nothing but praise for the part
that the Sunday Post has played.
"We
had lots of phone calls and letters", recalls
John. "Not just from people wanting to
join the team, but also from those wanting to
congratulate us on our success, which was great
to hear."
Of
the people who joined the Kleeneze team, some
have gone on to carve a living out of it.
Says
John, "One guy who called in after the
article started off part-time, but packed in
his car business to go full-time last December
because he was doing so well with Kleeneze."
Now
John reckons he and Hazel are on track to up
their turnover by more than £9 million
this year.
No
mean feat for the couple who less than a decade
ago had lost their business, their house and
even half their furniture.
By
1990 John's 13-year career as a fisherman, sailing
out of Peterhead and Mallaig was over because
of the huge costs to refit his boat.
With
their two young children, Carol (11) and James
(9), they moved to Airth near Falkirk and it
was there where they first heard about Kleeneze,
the Bristol-based company established in 1923.
After
borrowing money from John's dad they signed
up with the company and dropped catalogues through
letterboxes.
Over
the years the couple have introduced all types
into their team, from doctors and teachers to
private detectives.
Collectors
get between 17 and 37 percent commission, with
John and Hazel picking up an over-ride.
The
couple haven't splashed their profits on Ferraris
or the like, but in the past year they've bought
a powerful 4x4 car for Hazel and a go-kart for
Son James.
On
the top of that, they also treated themselves
to three foreign family holidays.
John
says, "It took guts to change direction
after generations of fishing in the family,
and that fear of change is something which holds
a lot of people back."
"It's
important to push yourself forward though. Always
have goals to aim for. One of the mistakes we
made at the beginning was making our goals too
small. Now they're collosal."
"You
can have what you want - but you have to have
the courage to change to get it. If you do,
the sky's the limit."
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