Meet Jonathan Prata | Window Cleaner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Prata and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Ever since I was young, I have wanted to start my own business. From selling gum in middle school, washing cars and cutting grass, to tutoring kids, I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit. When I moved back to Miami a few years ago, I decided it was time to create my own brand. I wanted a business that brought value to our community and help me achieve work life balance. To be able to focus on what is truly important to me, my family, friends, and volunteering in our community.

What should our readers know about your business?
I run a boutique window cleaning service here in south Miami, it is just me, my wife and my younger brother who do all of the work. We have focused on quality results and relationships, instead of scaling our business. Early on I decided I wanted to have a small operation and focus on getting to know our customers and really providing the best quality we could. Because we run a small crew, it was difficult to get started and finding customers in a highly competitive field. We didn’t have the capital like larger companies for marketing and advertising. But with time we found our niche and we value our customers as much as they value us. The biggest challenge was developing a web presence, I created our logo, website, and social profiles. It was relentless in the beginning, but now we can have a much better work life balance.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a hard question because a week isn’t enough time to explore all of Miami. We would have to break up neighborhoods by day. First we will do an all day trip throughout Homestead, we would start in Everglades National Park and explore the Anhinga trail with some kayaking sprinkled in, then we would have Lunch as Yardie Spice for some of the best Jamacian food this far south, and explore the farms down there. Another day we would have to explore the Keys, a snorkeling excursion from John Pennekamp, beer and Tacos at Florida Keys brewing company and grab a slice of Key Lime pie to go and catch a view of the sunset. And another day we have to enjoy our favorite beaches in El Farito, otherwise known as Bill Baggs state park, and grab dinner at Tam Tam, my favorite restaurant in Miami.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are two people I really have to thank for all of my success, first is my wife Raquel. Starting your own business is hard, and I decided to do it after moving and being newly married. The risks would give me a lot of anxiety. But she gave me unconditional support, and when I felt like I couldn’t do it, that it wasn’t meant to be, she would reassure me that is will all workout. And I need to thank Lance from Aquaclear Window Cleaning, he took a chance on me, taught me everything I know and really helped me to get started.

Website: https://www.windowcleaningbythebay.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windowcleaningbay/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Window-Cleaning-by-The-Bay/100090581808206/

Other: https://g.co/kgs/6YwkAGu

Image Credits
Greg Smith from Thru Your Lens and Jesse Colon from Colon Films