When I show potential customers round the Business & IP Centre I like to give little demonstrations of some our key databases.
I often start with Cobra (Complete Business Reference Adviser) from Cobweb. This is an essential encyclopaedia of practical information for starting, running and managing a small business. And includes more than 4,000 fact sheets, plus local area profiles and guides to writing business and marketing plans.
In order to illustrate how wide their coverage is, I ask for suggestions for obscure small scale business ideas. When Wheelie Bin Cleaner was suggested I had to supress a laugh at the idea for this as a serious business. However on entering the terms into the search box, Cobra came straight back with BOP477, a four page report. Included, were such gems as:
“Anyone considering starting a wheelie bin cleaning service will need to be comfortable dealing with the sights and smells contained in both domestic and commercial wheelie bins. Some of these bins may not have been cleaned or disinfected in some time, and may have contained all manner of rubbish, including food and sanitary waste.”
So I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when reading my local paper the Mid-Sussex Times this weekend to see a report headed “Paul’s cleaning up”. Apparently Crawley resident Paul Fraser cleans the dirty bins using a jet wash in the back of his white van, and charges £3 for a monthly wash.
If he had access to the Cobra report he might be considering joining the National Association of Wheeled Bin Washers. A membership association, which endeavours to promote high standards in the industry.
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