Nicholas Mello wanted to start a trucking business but the start-up costs were mind-boggling.

“The general trucking permit alone was $86,000,” Mr Mello, a fireman, said. “That was on top of the cost of the vehicle, importing it and other fees. It would have cost me upwards of $100,000.”

He scaled back, importing a smaller dump truck from Japan.

Even that had its hiccups.

“There was a delay in Japan,” he said. “Then there was no space on the car boat that comes to Bermuda, so we had to make a deal with some other people who were bringing in trucks. We put my truck in their container.”

He was emotional when his vehicle finally arrived. His wife took photographs of him hugging his new truck.

Instead of general trucking, he started Gone in Sixty Seconds, offering outdoor cleaning tasks such as power washing.

“Trash removal is our most popular service,” Mr Mello said. “Many people have trash that they cannot put out beside the road for collection and need help taking it away.”

He started Gone in Sixty Seconds, named for his favourite film, because he had time on his hands.

“I am a fireman with the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service,” he said. “I thought, I am young. I might as well do something else with my downtime.”

Mr Mello found that many of the skills he learnt while training as a fireman, such as knot tying, equipment operation and safety awareness, came in handy running Gone in Sixty Seconds.

He enjoys the physical labour involved in the work.

Years ago, he used to help his father, Allan Mello Sr, with his excavation business.

For Mr Mello, the hardest part about running Gone in Sixty Seconds has been handling the finances.

“I am not the best accountant in the world,” he said. “I make do. It was hard to decide how much to charge people without selling myself short.”

Another difficulty has been just finding the time to do it all.

In addition to his full-time job with the fire brigade, he and his wife also have a six-month-old daughter.

“I try to organise myself so that my customers get good service, but I also have time to spend at home with my wife and daughter. I am still trying to find that balance.”

He would like to get Gone in Sixty Seconds to a point where it is self-sustaining, with his brother, Allan, running day-to-day operations.

“I would probably still do things in the business, because I enjoy it, but I would not have to,” he said. “That would be a long way off though.”

His dream is to build Gone in Sixty Seconds up enough so he can one day buy that bigger dump truck.

“I’m not going to go broke getting it, though,” he laughed.