By Samantha Kunz
It all started with wanting some spending money. Emiel Madonna, a senior marketing major from Seattle, Washington, and Mason Winger, a senior entrepreneurship management major from Rancho Murieta, California, started brainstorming money-making ideas. They landed on window washing. Madonna and Winger bought $50 of supplies and ventured out to local neighborhoods to rustle up customers.
“We knocked on the first door in anticipation, carrying our buckets and ladder. No answer. Knocked on three more, no answer. Mason looked at me and said ‘You know what that means; the next house will be a sale,’” Madonna said. “I laughed. But sure enough at the next house we found our first customer and made our first $75.”
The duo kept knocking on doors and washing more windows. They created designs (logo, t-shirts, van wrap), built a pricing structure and a website. They began advertising, and their company, Squeekers, was born. In the best month in their inaugural year, they earned just over $14K.
Both Winger and Madonna credit the College of Business and Economics with helping them start their business.
“I have to say the college provided many resources and it’s been amazing to work with the faculty whenever I have a problem that is over my head. I often talk to the marketing department about strategy and business structure, especially Dr. Hunt [David Hunt, department chair and associate professor of marketing]. The whole department has been awesome for that,” Madonna said.
Winger said that much of what he learned in the college’s entrepreneurship program has come in handy, like how to identify a target market and answer the needs of potential customers. “And, when I learned it only costs $100 to start an LLC [limited liability company: a simple business structure that helps protect its owners from being personally responsible for a company’s debts], it made me want to start one immediately. I also learned all about the very nice tax breaks.”