Morayfield teen, Michael Pronin, has started a successful business specialising in window cleaning, while still in high school.
When Michael Pronin arrived in Australia six years ago with his family, he had a boyish enthusiasm for his new start in life and some doubts. At the time, he was eleven years old and knew only 50 words of English.
He knew nobody near his new home at Morayfield, a completely foreign place, so much different to Belarus in eastern Europe, where he had spent his childhood. The climate was reversed, with no snow and ice, and the people and the Aussie culture were strange and new.
“He also undertook several courses in goal setting and personal development on his way through high school, which have helped him towards founding his own business, Northside Specialised Cleaning, in 2021.”
Michael encountered a completely unfamiliar learning environment at his new school, nothing akin to his old school in his native land.
He was surprised early on by what seemed like lax discipline, even disrespect in the Australian school system.
"Back in Belarus, there is no room for banter and backchat between teacher and student," Michael said.
With a willingness to learn and family support, Michael soon improved his English language skills, navigating his way around new words and phrases and mastering the strange Australian slang.
By thirteen, he had made much progress, doing very well academically and on the sporting field.
He soon found himself singing the praises of his new school, which offered a much-expanded curriculum compared with his experience in Belarus. Michael loves the Aussie way and says Dakabin State High has been great.
"There are so many more subjects on offer, and I found many more options that were specific to me and my preferences," said Michael. "For example, I did coding last year and ended up building a simple video game."
Michael remained keen to go beyond schoolwork and get into the part-time workforce, an aspiration he had nursed since the age of eight. He was partly motivated by a sweet tooth, wanting to explore the lolly and chocolate aisle in the supermarket.
As Michael entered his teen years, he worked at various odd jobs, and when he was old enough, he began a part-time job at a fast food outlet, where he learnt a lot.
He also undertook several courses in goal setting and personal development on his way through high school, which have helped him towards founding his own business, Northside Specialised Cleaning, in 2021.
The cleaning business, specialising in window cleaning, both commercial and domestic, general house cleaning and car cleaning, has gone from strength to strength since then. Michael says he is pleased to earn a much better income than he earned in fast food.
Northside Specialised Cleaning prides itself on high-quality work and reliability. Michael guarantees that the customer will get their cleaning free if his company fails to get to the job within 15 minutes of the set appointment time without warning or explanation.
He is a "hands-on" company director, often completing the cleaning jobs himself. At other times he organises his tight-knit team, sometimes at short notice.
Now in his senior year at Dakabin State High School, Michael intends to grow the business further and continue it through his university years. With his company's success so far, he will be choosing freely from the confectionery aisle in the supermarket now and well into the future.
As for a future career, Michael is keeping his options open. He enjoys the cleaning business, along with coding and computers. He is rapidly proving himself as a competent marketer and networker whilst learning about Australia's real estate market. At the same time, he begins to save for his first home.
Michael is proud to be an Aussie, gaining his full citizenship at a ceremony earlier this year on January 26.
Michael can be contacted directly by phone on 0480 104 786, through his website northsidespecialisedcleaning.com or his Facebook page, Northside Specialised Cleaning.
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