17/05/2026
9 years ago this month, Sparkling Ovens & Carpets officially started.
Although the journey probably started a few years before that.
Back in 2012, at 32 years old, I went back to university to study International Business while driving a taxi at night to pay the bills.
During that time my mum became seriously ill with cancer and sadly passed away in 2014.
I graduated in 2016 with a 2:1 and somehow managed to get all the way to the partner interview stage for a management consultant role with PwC.
I still remember being told:
“You could do the job… but we don’t think it’s for you.”
At the time that was hard to hear, but looking back they were probably right.
After a few more failed attempts at graduate jobs, I realised I needed to stop waiting on somebody else giving me an opportunity and just back myself.
That’s when Sparkling Oven Cleaning Company started (before it eventually became Sparkling Ovens & Carpets).
And no… it definitely wasn’t an overnight success 😂
For around a year I worked at NFU Mutual during the day selling insurance in Glasgow, then rushed home, got changed, and cleaned ovens most nights until around 9pm, plus weekends.
Looking back, I genuinely don’t know how I kept that pace up.
Over the years there’s been van breakdowns, equipment issues, quiet periods, times where the phone barely rang, stress, mistakes, COVID, and plenty moments where I questioned what I was doing.
But somehow, 9 years later, we’re still here.
Thousands of customers served.
Thousands of ovens and carpets cleaned.
And the business has grown into something far bigger than I imagined when I started with one oven cleaning kit.
Honestly, I’m grateful to every single customer who booked us, recommended us, shared our posts, or trusted us in their home over the years.
A lot of people only ever see the finished version of a business.
They don’t see the years behind it.
So thank you genuinely to everybody who helped us get this far.
