How I Built Gianni Shine & Clean | window cleaning Santa Rosa
When I was 16 years old, I was doing small jobs here and there to make a few dollars usually just enough to buy candy or little stuff that didn’t matter. But every time worked, I kept thinking:
“How do people work for $12–$20 an hour their whole lives?”
Even working for my uncle, making a little money, I realized something important:
I didn’t want an average job.
I didn’t want average pay.
I didn’t want to spend my life trading hours for tiny checks.
I demanded excellence from myself.
I felt like wasting my time at a normal job even a fun summer job was wasting crucial years where I could be learning REAL skills.
Skills that could actually build my future.
I always wanted to own my own business.
I just didn’t know how yet.
One day I was watching YouTube videos on low-cost businesses you can start as a teenager. Window washing came up, and instantly something clicked. It was simple, low startup cost, and the perfect way to learn business at a young age.
But the truth is, it wasn’t the video that made me start
it was my uncle.
He owns an auto mechanic shop in Santa Rosa and multiple other businesses. He knows business inside and out, and he’s one of my biggest mentors. Watching him succeed made me want to build something of my own.
So I told him I had an idea I wanted to start a window washing business — and I asked if I could work for him to earn $60, enough to buy the tools I needed. He agreed to pay me $12 an hour.
I did five hours of yard work for him mowing, blowing leaves, cleaning everything and earned $60.
I was 16, I couldn’t drive yet, so my parents drove me straight to the store.
I bought:
• a bucket
• a squeegee
• soap
• towels
• everything I needed to start washing windows
That $60 instantly became the start of Gianni Shine & Clean.
⸻
The Door Knocking Begins
I watched some videos on sales, but honestly, I wasn’t good at selling yet.
Still, I started knocking doors anyway.
I heard no about 20 times in a row.
Door-knocking is brutal when you’re new.
Most people would’ve quit.
But I had a burning desire.
I only needed one yes.
And I got it a $200 window washing job.
⸻
$60 In → $200 Out Proof That It Works
I invested $60, and made $200.
That’s a $140 profit, on my first-ever attempt at a business.
That moment changed everything for me.
I reinvested the money into:
• better tools
• business cards
• supplies
• online marketing
Every reinvestment grew the business.
And that growth showed me something life-changing:
I can build any business I want.
People in my family joked that I’d never stick with it.
But I did.
Their doubt added fuel to the fire.
Gianni Shine & Clean became proof real proof that a teenager can start something meaningful from nothing.
And now, this window washing business in Santa Rosa is still growing, still improving, and still teaching me everything I need to know to build future businesses too.