A pair of entrepreneurs from Cottam have won an award just 12 months after starting out in business.

James and Rob Harrison recently won a Prestige Award with their firm J and R Cleaning Services NW.

Prestige Awards recognises small and medium size businesses that have proven to be the best in their market over the last 12 months, based on quality of service, value, ethical or sustainable methods of working, and consistency in performance.

J and R Cleaning Services NW won the award for Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners of the Year.

James and Rob – who are partners in life as well as business – gave up their full time jobs during the first lockdown in 2020, and said the pandemic had presented various challenges.

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James said: “We started the business at the beginning of last year. We went on to give up our jobs as cleaning technicians during the first lockdown so we could continue pushing our business forward and we’ve never looked back.

“We didn’t know where we were going to be in six months time or how the pandemic was going to impact us, so it felt like a huge risk to give up full time work with a regular income.

“The pandemic has been challenging because we have had to provide our services differently, keeping our customers’ safety always at the heart of what we do.”

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James said he and Rob feel ‘immensely proud’ to have now been recognised for their hard work.

“We won this award because we were able to demonstrate our consistency in performance, value for money and high standards of cleaning backed up by over 200 five-star reviews from our customers.

“It makes us feel immensely proud to have been recognised for our hard work and consistency to deliver customer satisfaction over the last 12 months.”

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James said the pair are now looking ahead to what the future holds.

“It has been a hard year during the pandemic and it was a big risk at the time, but we are still going.

“We just hope for the best in the future, and our goal is to eventually expand.”

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