Meet The Former Homeless Man Who Now Runs A Six-Figure Dollar Business And Helps The Disadvantaged

You may recognize him from a couple feature films, like About a Boy and Snatch.Drew Goodall was a successful actor when he faces a setback in life and stopped getting roles in movies. In his early young aspiring age actor found himself without any means to support himself. For six months Drew was in bad condition and forced to live on the streets of London and had to endure cold nights, begging for food and and drinks form him. But the time change and now Drew is the CEO of a shoe-shining company making a six-figure salary and giving back to those helpless and homeless people and it’s all thanks to a chance encounter with a stranger.

But one day a unknown person on the street stopped to talk to him and suggested him something that turned his life around. “He told that, ‘There are many people who work in the offices in the city of London and they clean shoes.’And I thought, ‘Yeah, you know I could do that.’ I mean it’s some brushes and some polishes and it’s really not expensive and hard work to do,” he told BBC News.

Drew used some money that he got from begging to buy a brush and a tin of polish and headed into London’s financial district to shine shoes of people. But he had to watch his back as he didn’t have a license to do this work so what he was doing was considered unlawful. Then one of his regulars coustmer offered him a place in the lobby of his office so he would no longer have to look over his shoulder while he worked. Drew named his business Sunshine Shoeshine and today more than 50 locations across the city london. The company makes profit over $300,000 in a year and Drew donates a proportion in charity. He’s transform his life and now he gives back, helping other people who are less fortunate to also turn their lives around.

‘It has given me a purpose’

One of his employees Alan, who has poor and suffer from mental health and sight issues, tells BBC News what this opportunity means to him. “It has given me a purpose,” Alan told. “It has made me feel more confident and charged, Having a job and a work history, it has given me a bit of a better future which I didn’t really have. “Sunshine company has given me a work history. They’ve clarified that I am articulate, and with skills and abilities, and that’s what an employer wants to see when they see a resume.”

Drew said we’re all feeling guilty of judging the homeless and he understands but what he can’t forgive are those people who are unwilling to changing their minds about the homeless. “You might have certain ideas and perceptions about that person sleeping rough, but then if you take the time out to talk to them and you’re not willing to see them for who they are…that is a problem,” he added.