I'm David - aka Mr Soot Chimney Sweep - and I've just become a full Guild member. My patch includes Lancs, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and parts of Merseyside and High Peak.
I started my training in October with Dave W and Stefan and since then have spent days with Steve Borrowdale and Lawson Wight - all top guys who I have learned tonnes from.
I trained with a great bunch of trainees and we've all kept in touch. I've also met some great Guild members at last week's exhibition/AGM.
This forum has proved invaluable to me as a trainee and I'm sure I'll continue to plunder it in the years ahead!
I look forward to joining in this forum and hopefully providing some useful info.
Best wishes
David
Mr Soot Chimney Sweep
www.mr-soot.com
www.facebook.com/mrsootchimneysweep
www.twitter.com/mr_soot
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David,
Mr Soot Chimney Sweep
Serving Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire
Welcome David. You will find tons of info on here already so make good use of the search box, but don't forget post! As a new sweep in your area, you will probably pick up more business from new to the area and never swept before customers, so there's probably going to be a good few horrors out there waiting to be found.
Thanks for the comments guys. It's great to be here.
Yes, I think I made a good choice with the Guild. Before I signed up, I did the usual scouting around other organisations, as you do.
In the end, I went for the Guild based on recommendations from other sweeps who I contacted. I also liked the fact that when I contacted the Guild, Dave W took the time to explain and discuss the training/qualifying process on the telephone. He must have answered about 20 questions from me and was really helpful. No hard sell or slagging off any other organisations, just straight facts about what the Guild could offer.
The Guild is highly regarded in the industry and the training was much more comprehensive than what appeared to be on offer elsewhere. So in the end it was an obvious choice.
I've met a good few fellow Guild sweeps now and all have been really helpful. The thing I've noticed is that they were all more than happy to share their experiences and business advice. They also let be have a good nosey around their vans for ideas. Very welcoming people. For a newcomer, this kind of stuff is worth its weight in gold.
I'm only just starting out really but the phone started ringing a lot more last week for some reason. Hopefully, with the Guild link, it'll increase it further!
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David,
Mr Soot Chimney Sweep
Serving Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire
Welcome. I could have written exactly the same when i joined. Dave Woofinden is a legend! So are the others but unfortunaly i don't know some of them as well as i would like. Good luck and i hope your phone keeps ringing x
