Drew Goodall lives rather comfortably today, easily taking in over $250k per year as a result of the success of his Sunshine Shoeshine company. A company which almost exclusively employs homeless people and those with special needs. But while it may seem that Drew lives a charmed life nowadays, he never forgets the time he himself was at rock bottom and homeless.
In his twenties, Drew was on the brink of a promising career in film after securing roles in big hits such as Snatch and About a Boy, starring Hugh Grant. However, after this early success, the work stopped coming and Drew slowly ran out of money.
Drew made the decision to not go back to his parent’s home, realizing that if he did this, he would be admitting to himself and others that his acting dream was dead. The real problems started for Drew when he was evicted from his home and forced to live on the streets for over six months.
Drew didn’t find it easy to live on the streets of London. He slept on cardboard boxes, begged for money and food and often dealt with violence at the hand of drunks and those on drugs.
Drew decided that this was no way to live, so he decided to start offering a service to those passing by him on the streets. Setting up in the business district, Drew started offering to polish and shine people’s shoes. Drew was careful to evade police as they frowned on such behavior and often enforced hawking laws that penalize homeless people for being in ‘well to do’ areas of the city.
After several month’s of shining shoes on the streets, one of Drew’s regular customers offered him the opportunity to set up a tiny shop inside the lobby of his office. This move was perfect for Drew and it allowed him to make more and more money — eventually getting him off of the streets.
Drew decided to expand his one man operation into a real business which he called Sunshine Shoeshine which branched out in office places across the city of London employing dozens of people, almost all of who have experienced homeless or who have special needs. Drew also donates a significant proportion of his personal salary to charity, never forgetting the journey of hardship and deprivation he had to endure to get to where he is today.
