Squeaky clean: Nevada County man launched own window washing business at 18, still growing five years later
The Union, May 21, 2017
Donning a holster with cleaning supplies and a squeegee perfectly poised in his hand, Nathan Rhoades assesses the large window in front of him and deems it a candidate for the "butterfly technique."
"The goal is to clean the entire expanse of glass in one swipe," he said. "It's a method I learned from my dad."
With precision and grace, Nathan carefully executes large figure-eight-like motions, followed by a quick flick of the wrist at the bottom so as not to leave any streaks or water stains. Spotless. Perfect. Impeccable.
Anyone who questions whether window washing is an art should spend a morning with Nathan, who is a third generation window washer. In the 1960s, his grandparents started a carpet and house cleaning business in Southern California. Nathan's father, Ron, was trained by his own father in the window washing arm of the business, before moving his family to Nevada County in the id-70s.
Today, Ron's business, "Rhoades Family Janitorial" has been cleaning offices in Grass Valley and Nevada City for more than 30 years. At the age of 14, young Nathan began working with his father to learn window washing, with the goal of opening his own business upon graduation.
In 2012, at the age of 18, Nathan graduated from Forest Charter School and launched his own business, "Rhoades Window Cleaning."
Despite the success of his one-man business, Nathan says he's not interested in adding more employees. Instead he'd rather "keep it small and keep life simpler."
More than the reward of a job well done, Nathan, a Jehovah's Witness, says he has used the money he's earned to take two missionary trips abroad — one to Nicaragua and another to Bali, Indonesia. More trips are in the works, he said.
While Nathan is currently taking classes at Sierra College, he says he's happy with the rewards of a small business.
