Up until 25 years of age I played soccer, finished a business degree, and ran a successful painting business. When I turned 25 years old I wanted to switch it up, to try something new. I bought a backpack on Craigslist and a plane ticket to Bangkok, Thailand. I set off on an adventure to take an extended vacation and get some good eats along the way. What I didn’t know was that this trip would open my eyes to the world.What I learned on this trip was that people in our world live in poverty. I saw it first hand and if affected me greatly.
This trip to Thailand started a trend of working hard for 11 months and then backpacking in the winter time to places where they don’t have what we have. For a month each year, I forgo my Starbucks, and car and trade it for sweaty buses and new experiences. The past 3 winters I have explored places in Asia like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as countries in Central America like Costa Rica and Nicauragua. These trips have stretched me and broadened my perspective.
The same lesson rings true in my travels: The rest of the world does not have what we have. It may be easy to believe but this message was not internalized for me until I saw it with my own eyes. The big takeaway is that I realized from backpacking is that I want to help people with their most basic need. I want to help people have clean drinking water.
I came back to Canada after my travels and continued to run my painting business. But I searched for something more. Something bigger then myself. I wanted to do more than just make money. I wanted to create a business that brings clean drinking water to those who need it. I started up a power washing business and called it “Revive Washing” Revive literally means to “bring life to” and because water is life I thought this would make sense. The business model of Revive is such that for each home we wash, we will bring clean drinking water to a person who needs it. One for one. How do we do this? We are partnered with charity:water who overseas the construction of the water wells.
I feel like I have one foot in Canada and I have one foot in poor countries. But I feel that through Revive we can use first world resources to help developing countries with their basic need for water.
Revive is only 6 months old and just getting going. I am excited to market the new business in the Greater Vancouver Area. Revive provides excellent service in power washing, window washing, and gutter cleaning. I am really excited to build a business long term. A business I am deeply passionate about. I believe there is a lot of potential for Revive to grow into a strong brand. A brand representing social entrepreneurship.
D Moerman Blog 