With $15,000, a flooded home and a business idea, Dareem Jeffrey, 27, created EcoWash. Jeffrey was one of the victims of the 2018 flooding disaster where everything in his St Helena home was destroyed. He had no bed, stove, washing machine or couch, but with the government assistance grant of $15,000, he decided he wanted to create something that would give him a constant income.
“They took a year before they gave me my cheque, so I was pretty much on the ground for that year with nothing in the apartment. And when I got it, I said I can either use this money to buy a bed or I can use it to start a business that may bring recurring income into my pocket,” said Jeffrey during an interview with Business Day on Tuesday.
He described this tragedy as the birth story of EcoWash.
The money, he said, did not go that far, but he was able to get banners and the machine that will be used to wash the cars. These machines, he explained, use two litres of water and a concoction of chemicals, secret to EcoWash, to ensure there is no need to rinse the cars.
As the covid19 virus spread across the world leading countries to put restrictions in place, he said everything had to be put on hold, especially as his contract with the Airports Authority of TT was not renewed.
“I’m there and I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do now? Eight months without a job. I remembered I was praying a day and I had the machine in my living room and I thought, ‘Wow, I have this sitting here, this is a fishing rod, go fishing.’”
At the time, he had to ask his family to donate microfibre towels and while accepting these donations, one his friends gave him a “business gift” which was a bar stool.
“She said to me, ‘I am proud of you for starting your business, I know you have no stool to sit on, take one of my kitchen stools.’”
Aside from accepting the microfibre towels, he added that he also had to borrow money from friends, family and wherever else he can.
[caption id="attachment_1025349" align="alignnone" width="683"] Dareem Jeffrey, founder of EcoWash placed first in an environmental competition in Colombia in May. -[/caption]
Now, EcoWash is estimated to have a value of upwards of $3 million as said by Jeffrey after sitting with a valuator recently.
“It has been a journey. When I now started, just dealing with people, the environment and uncertainty, I went through a serious bout of depression… my hair was falling out and everything. My friend just told me, ‘One day at a time, stick to your ground and wait until tomorrow comes,’ and I’m glad I did.”
In its initial launch, EcoWash’s revenue was over $70,000, but has since quintupled to around $400,000 with the profit margin being around 55 per cent with the intent of making its way to be 100 per cent. This, however, is more on a phased basis and he said the vision right now is not about profit, but to see how much the business can employ through opening different locations in TT.
With this in mind, he said, “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart.”
So, his goal is t
