How to Create a Brand That People Trust

Today we’re joined by the inimitable Matthew Wigham, Founder of Lofty Solution and one of Codebreak’s coolest clients.

Matthew’s a fantastic example of a business owner who’s got the right mindset for growth. He’s also a great example of a man who’s built an empire based on trust.

A few years ago, he bought his mate’s loft boarding business for £5,000. Today it’s a seven-figure business.

Before we explore how he did that, let’s go back to where it all started – when Matthew first became an accountant. So how did he go from that to becoming an entrepreneur?

It started with working for one; Duncan Bannatyne, to be exact.

Fresh out of college, Matthew landed a job as Payroll Administrator at Duncan’s nursing home group.

In that time, he learned a lot about accounts. But he kept studying, and qualified as an Accounting Technician. For those who don’t know, accounting technicians cover everything – bookkeeping, invoices, budgets, tax returns, the lot.

Then a job advert for Enron caught his eye.

He applied for a job in their treasury. It came with a huge responsibility; looking after about £80m.

“I was putting it on different deposits, making sure all the bills got paid, managing cash flow. All that was really good grounding for running a business, now I think about it.”

And the rest is history – literally.

Because if you’ve heard of Enron, you’ll probably know that they went through one of the biggest and most highly publicised bankruptcies ever.

“It wasn’t me!” He jokes. “I just want to be clear on that!”

After Enron, Matthew was playing five-a-side football one night, and a lad on his team wanted to sell his window cleaning business.

“I remember thinking: ‘Wow, you’ve got your own business, you can go on holiday when you want, you can basically write your own wages. Why would you want to sell it?’.”

Matthew had watched some of his mates work good jobs for Royal Mail and the local council, but he also noticed something.

They seemed to devote their lives to work.

He knew he could make far more money working for himself than he could as an Accounting Technician. So he took the plunge and bought a window cleaning business.

“I loved it. I’d go out cleaning windows and be home by 2.30pm, looking for something to do. My mates weren’t even getting back in the house ‘til 10pm at night. I didn’t want that life – I didn’t want to be in the rat race.

“And I didn’t care whether I became a millionaire or anything; I just wanted to pay my bills and be able to say yes to a game of impromptu golf sometimes.

“I wanna live my life on my terms.”

Of course, running a business came with a lot of responsibilities.

But Matthew’s experience at Enron had equipped him to solve problems, and before long, he’d built a successful window cleaning business serving 400 customers.

One of the reasons he was able to build such a large customer base?

Trust – which we’ll get to – and his willingness to go out canvassing.

Sitting in standstill traffic one day in London with his mate Jimmy, he jumped out of the car in the middle of a long queue and knocked on the doors of 20 people with dirty windows.

By the time the traffic started moving, he’d signed up two customers for triple the price he’d get in his native North East.

In fact, he and Jimmy realised they could make so much money in London that once a month, they’d travel down for a few days and canvas from scratch.

They were making between £500 and £1,000 in a single day.

Business was booming, but then a new opportunity came up.

His friend Mark was about to move to Australia, and asked Matthew for help selling his loft storage business.

“He told me all about what he did. He had all these tools, a website, even a Land Rover Discovery to transport loft boards. It was perfectly set up for sale.

“I said: ‘How much do you want for it, Mark?’, expecting him to say £300k or something. And he says: ‘I think about £5k’. I said to him: ‘Are you sure you’re not underselling yourself?’

“But he was happy with £5k. So I bought it.”

Matthew had never run a loft business before. He knew he couldn’t manage it all himself alongside his window cleaning business. But then he remembered that his brother-in-law Johnny, who worked with Matt on his cleaning business, was a really good joiner.

With Johnny on board, he took on the business and called it Lofty Solution.

But it wasn’t long before Matthew spotted something.

All his competitors offered exactly the same package – a ladder, hatch, light and boards – for around £400.

The profit margin in that package was just £100.

And with that kind of margin, it would take countless loft packages a day to make any money. So Matthew upped the package price to £650 – but the service he delivered was exceptional. And he knew good customers would be happy to pay for that.

In fact, some would say he’s single-handedly changed the whole loft boarding landscape in the North East, because everyone in that business makes more money because of Matthew.

He was first person to challenge the £400 limit.

“You don’t have to charge what other people charge to be good value for money. And you know what? We’ve never had a day without a booking.”

Then he started wondering why he was limiting himself to this package.

“Everybody seemed to have decided there was this formula you had to follow; the ladder, loft, hatch, light and seven boards.

“I kept wondering why we couldn’t actually convert that loft into a home office, a hobby room, a better storage space.

“People always need more space.”

Realising the potential of loft conversions, Matt brought another joiner on board alongside Johnny, then hired a second team of joiners.

Right before Christmas, he sent a message out to his database of existing clients to let them know about the new loft conversion service.

That simple remarketing tactic helped Lofty Solution close around £100k of business in December alone, and demand has continued to grow.

Matthew’s success isn’t attributable to any one thing, but a multitude of things.

First, he dropped the fear of rejection.

As Matthew and most other entrepreneurs will tell you, learning not to take rejection personally is the first step to getting customers.

Losing the fear of rejection and being willing to keep knocking on doors, whatever the response, is what’s enabled Matthew and many other successful tradespeople to quickly grow his business.

Second, he earned his customers’ trust.

“Customers trust me because I always do what’s best for them, not for me. I’ll ask them questions and give them advice about what works best for their property. Then let them make the decision.

“I never try to close a deal, ever. Instead, I just give them the best advice, a fair price, and let them know I’m there for anything they need. Ironically, you then end up making a sale with far less effort.

“People think if they don’t shake your hand and buy from you that day, then the deal’s dead. But sometimes it’s just not the right time, and they just need a prompt later on.”

Third, he hired people he could rely on.

He’s recruited his team from amongst family or close friends; people he could trust implicitly.

And he’s built up a solid management team including a Sales Manager and Office Manager, with Matthew acting as the Installation Manager.

This team, he believes, has been instrumental in the business’s success.

Lastly, he delegates.

“A lot of business owners just try and do everything themselves and burn out. I’ll never delegate my accounting, but I do delegate most other things.

“It’s the only way I can keep both businesses ticking over and growing.”

Underpinning all those things, though, is good financial management.

You’d expect nothing less from an accountant, right?

But it wasn’t just his accounting background that shaped his growth mindset. In 2020, he attended James Sinclair’s Business Masterclass.

James’s message hit home; the only way to build wealth is by investing.

Even if that means initially living frugally.

The idea is that 50% of your income – or profits, if you’re a business owner – should be invested.

“And if you can’t do 50%, even 20% would make a huge difference. Those investments could be things like a side hustle, properties you rent out, cryptocurrencies, bonds, stocks, shares.

“As that matures and pays you dividends or rent, use that money to pay for the things you want – a car, holidays, luxuries. But take those things out of your slow money.

“Not from your fast money, i.e. your salary.

“Even if the first time you do it, you only manage to put away £100, that’s a weekend camp in the Lake District. The point is, it’s essentially free money. You haven’t dipped into your earnings to spend it.

“Eventually, the income that comes from those things funds your whole life. And you keep that loop going using your income to invest in your assets.”

And on that note, here are the six biggest business lessons Matthew’s learned as an entrepreneur:

#1. Turn struggles into motivation.

You don’t know the value of something until you don’t have it. There was a hard winter in 2010 so there was less work. I hadn’t been organised enough to collect all my window cleaning money.

And one night I had to go out and collect it, so I could get a gas meter token and heat my house.

After that, I vowed never to be in that position again – walking round in 3ft of snow at night, just for a tenner. 

#2. Consistency is key.

It’s easy to start a window cleaning business and often, people get laid off from their job and they’re like: ‘I’ll start a window cleaning round’.

But then six months later, they get the job they want and just walk away from it. Whereas if you’re dedicated to the business you’re in, and in it for the long hall?

You’ll find that over 10 years you’ll pick up all the jobs others missed, just by being the most consistent person.

#3. Show people they can rely on you.

There’s a stereotype that tradesmen are unreliable – whether it’s loft boarding, window cleaning, plumbing, plastering.

People tell me they’ve lived in their house for three years and had six window cleaners, because the last one just stopped showing up.

Window cleaning is a transactional business; it’s not a one-time thing, people need their windows cleaned every few weeks. Keep showing up.

#4. Make honesty your core value.

Over time, people will begin to realise they can trust you, just because you’re always honest with them. And not pushy.

That’s a core value I’ve always had.

My customers trust me enough to leave their garden gate key with me so we can still clean their windows while they’re away.

#5. Getting started is easier than you think.

So many people asked me: ‘How would you go about setting up your own business?’.

It’s as if it’s something mysterious and difficult. You literally just start. You’ve obviously got to register as self-employed, which is a five-minute job online.

You can use your personal bank account and easily do your own accounts for the first few years. When you grow and take on an accountant, it’ll be well worth it.

#6. Talk to people who’ve done it.

Never be afraid to approach someone who’s doing what you’re trying to do.

If you’re a loft business from another part of the country and want to talk anything through, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

It’s always useful to compare notes and I might be able to help you with materials, prices, loft hatch types. It’s an open invite.

Find about more about Matthew and Lofty Solutions here – and if you need to make a little more space in your house, there’s no better man for the job.

Don’t miss the next episode of Stay Hungry – we’ll dive into straight-talking insights on business marketing, growth mindset, and the realities of running a business. And if you want to take the hassle out of your marketing, we’ve got you covered with our done-for-you service.