Building a business. Taking the lessons forward.
I built and operated a bin-cleaning business with my son, taking responsibility for customers, pricing and the work behind the service. KAB Group Ltd continues today as the company behind CHNGE Life and BARR Life.
From a local service to a product company.
- Ownership
- Operations
- Products
The outcome
The service became fully operational. Revenue was modest, but it achieved its main purpose: helping my son into work. The service later closed; KAB Group Ltd continues.
The purpose
KAB began with a simple aim: to help my son into work. A bin-cleaning business gave us something practical to build together, with real customers and a service to deliver.
The purpose was personal, but the responsibilities were real. Customers needed a dependable service, and the time, cost and administration behind each visit had to be considered.
My responsibility
As a director of KAB Group Ltd, I took responsibility for establishing the business and making it operational. My son and I did the work together. Alongside the physical service, I had to think through the offer, pricing, customer commitments, recurring payments and administration.
That brought a different perspective from leading within an established organisation: I was also responsible for deciding what the business could offer, what it could support and how much time and money to put into it.
The commercial and operating decisions
Price the commitment
A recurring service needs a clear price and frequency. I had to consider what the customer was paying for, the work required at each visit and the ongoing cost of delivering it.
Connect customers, payments and service
I developed support for customer onboarding, recurring payment setup, service records and administration. The business decision was how payment arrangements should match a service we could actually deliver.
Work within capacity
Service areas, schedules and available time shaped what we could take on. Capacity had to be considered before accepting more work, alongside the practical cost of carrying it out.
Account for the work around the work
Customer communication, records and administration also took time. I learned to judge whether an activity created enough value to justify its cost and effort, and where a simpler system could help.
What happened
We built it from nothing into a fully operational business. Revenue was modest, and its main purpose was achieved: helping my son into work.
The cleaning service later closed. That ended the service, while the company and the experience of running it continued.
The company today
KAB Group Ltd has evolved into the company behind CHNGE Life and BARR Life. They are products under the company, with different purposes and stages of development.
My work now brings together product direction, operational administration, commercial decisions and governance: deciding what to build, what to buy, what to spend and what evidence is needed before work is accepted.
CHNGE is live and in active development. BARR remains in development. I take the lessons from the service into both: understand the customer need, consider the ongoing work and costs, and keep commitments within what can be delivered.
What I learned
Business ownership made the connection between purpose, service quality, time and money tangible. A useful system has to support the customer and the operation that makes the service possible.
I now bring that experience alongside my leadership work: practical decisions about people and delivery, with a clear view of their commercial consequences.
What stays with me
A good idea needs a useful purpose and a workable business behind it.
A useful conversation starts somewhere