Sometimes the best business ideas come from the most unexpected places. For Max Merritt, it was a drunken conversation at Cheltenham races that changed everything. What started as a casual conversation with some window cleaners turned into a 3,000-customer empire that’s revolutionizing exterior cleaning across Lincolnshire.
Max’s story isn’t your typical entrepreneurial journey. He didn’t have some grand master plan or years of business school under his belt. Instead, he had something more powerful – the courage to take a leap of faith when the moment felt right. Did he make the right decision? You can be the judge.
From Burnout to Breakthrough: The Cheltenham Moment
Picture this: You’re working a national role, traveling three or four nights a week, completely burnt out, and your wife’s pregnant with your first child. That was Max’s reality in early 2020. He was climbing the corporate ladder at a company where he’d worked for nearly a decade, but something wasn’t sitting right.
“I was getting pretty burnt out,” Max recalls. “I was away three or four nights a week most weeks, and when I came home, I just wanted to veg out on the sofa because I drove a lot up and down the country.”
The corporate grind was taking its toll on more than just his energy levels. Max found himself missing important family moments and struggling to maintain meaningful relationships outside of work. The constant pressure to meet targets while managing a demanding travel schedule left little room for personal growth or satisfaction. He began questioning whether climbing higher up the corporate ladder was worth sacrificing his wellbeing and family time.
Then came that fateful Wednesday at Cheltenham races. Max wasn’t even there to gamble – he just went along with friends and had a few drinks. But those friends happened to be window cleaners, and they started talking about their lifestyle. “They were talking about how good it is, you know, we finish at two, we take cash, all this kind of stuff.”
It was like that scene from Wolf of Wall Street where someone shows you their bank balance and everything clicks. These guys were earning as much as Max, but they had their evenings free, weekends off, and weren’t constantly stressed about travel schedules.
What struck Max most wasn’t just the financial aspect, but the quality of life these entrepreneurs had created for themselves. They spoke about being their own bosses, setting their own schedules, and having genuine work-life balance. The contrast with his current situation was stark – here were people who had found a way to earn good money while maintaining control over their time and priorities.
By Friday – just two days later – Max had handed in his notice. Talk about decisive action!
Starting During a Pandemic: Perfect Timing or Crazy Risk?
Starting a business in April 2020 might seem like the worst possible timing, but for Max, it turned out to be perfect. “It was during COVID, so people were at home,” he explains. “We had a big sticker on my van, uniformed, and I think we offered something a little bit different.”
The difference wasn’t just in appearance – it was in approach. While other window cleaners were knocking on doors asking for cash upfront, Max introduced something revolutionary for the local area: direct debit payments that only came out after the job was done.
“From the very start, we set up direct debit for the window cleaning that only comes out after we’ve cleaned. So if it got rained off on that day, the payment wouldn’t come out.”
This simple innovation removed all the friction for customers. No more scrambling for cash, no more awkward conversations about payment – just clean windows and automatic billing. It’s the kind of customer-first thinking that separates successful businesses from the rest.
Building a Family Business Empire
What started as a one-man operation quickly grew into something much bigger. Today, Lynx Window Cleaning services between 2,500 and 3,000 customers monthly with a team of seven in the field, two office staff, and even door-to-door canvassers.
But here’s what makes Max’s approach different – this is genuinely a family business. His wife works alongside him, his brother’s on the team, and they’ve built a culture that prioritizes quality over quick expansion.
“All of our staff are fully employed. We pay national insurance. They get holiday. We pay them well, and I think that gives a better quality of clean,” Max explains. It’s this commitment to doing things properly that’s driven their growth.
The business has expanded beyond just windows too. They now offer steam cleaning, graffiti removal, patio cleaning, stonework cleaning, and gutter clearing. “If someone’s gutter is absolutely full and with the rain we’ve had – it’s rained every single day in January – if you’ve got water cascading through your window, then you need someone to come and empty your gutters ASAP.”
The Leaflet Distribution Innovation
Never one to rest on his laurels, Max recently launched Leaflet Lincoln, a GPS-tracked leaflet distribution service. The idea came from his own frustrations with marketing Lincs Window Cleaning. The worst case scenario i thought with using some leaflet companies was handing over thousands of leaflets that end up getting fly tipped or dumped and we end up in court in front of a judge and a big fine, with our business name all over it. Which I have heard horor stories about in the past.
“We never had a guarantee that the leaflets were delivered,” he says. “I just wanted more control over the leaflets being delivered. So printing costs have gone up, delivery costs have gone up.”
The solution? Create their own delivery team with full GPS tracking. “We can literally send you a link, then you can watch the tracker live being delivered around the city, around the county.” It’s complete transparency – something that was missing in the market.
Learning from Past Adventures
Max’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start with window cleaning. He’s had his share of interesting ventures, including one involving 500 gym ball chairs that took over his mum’s house.
“In my bedroom surrounding my bed, I literally had boxes up to the ceiling. I couldn’t see. I had to make a little walkway out. They’re under the bed, all around the room. Some in the dining room, some in the garage. And my mom went crazy.”
But Max doesn’t see these as failures. “I never see anything as a failure. I generally don’t, because they are all lessons.” It’s this mindset that’s helped him focus on growing Lynx Window Cleaning rather than jumping to the next shiny opportunity.
He quotes Steve Jobs: “Discipline is being able to say no to all the great ideas.” And that discipline has paid off – by keeping his focus on exterior cleaning services, he’s built something sustainable and profitable.
Looking to the Future: Solar Panel Cleaning
Max’s next big opportunity is in solar panel cleaning, particularly for commercial installations. “Every day I have to stop myself from investing in solar panel cleaning equipment because it’s quite expensive.”
The equipment he’s eyeing? Solar cleaning robots that cost between £30,000 and £40,000 – and that’s just for the basic setup. With backup equipment and batteries, you’re looking at a £50,000 investment.
But the market is there. “People are wanting to reduce their energy bills because energy bills are just going up, up, up, up, and up.” Dirty solar panels can reduce energy output and even cause safety issues if not properly maintained.
The Secret to Success: Test Before You Leap
When asked for advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, Max’s answer is refreshingly practical: test the market first.
“You can literally do a video of yourself saying your idea. You can put some Facebook ads up. You can create a one-page website, pay for some Google ads and test that idea. Create a waiting list.”
If you can get people interested enough to join a waiting list, you know you’ve got something. If nobody responds to your ads, that’s a pretty clear signal that it might not be the right idea, time, or place.
It’s simple, cost-effective, and saves you from making expensive mistakes. “Test the market would be my advice if you were on the edge of doing it and just not doing it – test the market first.”
Why Lincs Window Cleaning Matters
Max’s story matters because it shows what’s possible when you combine courage with customer focus. He didn’t revolutionize window cleaning – he just did it better than everyone else in his area.
By introducing direct debit payments, GPS-tracked leaflet delivery, and maintaining high employment standards, he’s raised the bar for what customers can expect from service businesses.
Most importantly, he’s built something that gives him the lifestyle he wanted – time with his family, control over his schedule, and the satisfaction of building something meaningful with the people he cares about most.
Sometimes the best business opportunities aren’t about inventing something completely new. Sometimes they’re about taking an existing service and doing it so much better that customers can’t help but notice the difference. That’s exactly what Max Merritt has done with Lynx Window Cleaning, and it’s a lesson every entrepreneur can learn from.
A big thanks to Toms barbers Lincoln for having us on and letting Max tell his story and of course doing a fine job on the hair cut to!.