[Tosh]

To be honest, for the past year-or-so the challenge of setting up a window cleaning round has began to diminish since I got a half-decent work load up-and-running.

Anyway, I'm feeling bored with it; I'd like to do something else a couple of days per week, that'll give me a regular income come rain-or-shine, whether I have to 'chase the cheque', or not.  Something that I can do a couple of days per week; and clean windows for the remainder.  I'm not sure if I can see myself being a full-time window cleaner when I'm in my fifties (I'm 38 years old now; though you'd never think I was that old if you saw me).

I'm actually considering becoming a self-employed mortgage advisor (I know I know); I can afford the training (it's a distance learning package and the total costs including three exams is about 1K); but in the meantime working as part-time Mortgage Introducer, which basically means I push leaflets through people's doors and follow any leads up to pass onto the company employing me.  I would like to think that if I was a self-employed mortgage advisor, it'll give me a sneaky preview into how some market themselves.

I'm also considering flogging gas and electricity for SWALEC a couple of days a week.  I've been asked to do this a few years ago by a window cleaning customer who works for this energy supplier.  He said a 'good looking chap like me could earn a fortune',   (honest to Allah).

I could also do security work; it's low paid; usually, but easy work - a regular income - and an SIA is fairly cheap to get.

I'm just about to do a CV for the Mortgage Introducer (aka leaflet distributor).

So do any of you have part time jobs?  What are they?  Am I just having a low moment and should give myself a good shaking?

[NWH]

You`ll always come back to shining,as the saying goes it`s money for old rope-easy money,in my book any other job is working for a living.

[Tosh]

You`ll always come back to shining,

I don't plan to leave window cleaning; just cut it down to three-days-per week.

[sair]

yes i sell and build,

window cleaning systems, poles and other sundries

still prefer window cleaning

[aztec]

why not give carpet and upholstery cleaning a bash mate

[NWH]

You should be still earning more than most other people just working 3 days a week,it dosen`t sound like the job is getting you down more like your round.

[windowwashers]

I'm also considering flogging gas and electricity for SWALEC a couple of days a week.  I've been asked to do this a few years ago by a window cleaning customer who works for this energy supplier.  He said a 'good looking chap like me could earn a fortune',    (honest to Allah).

little tip there m8, that job is well past its sell by date, I wourked for southern electric when it first started and made a killing, i tried british a couple of years later and it was alot harder and that was many years ago now.

can I ask are you wfp or trad ?

[Village Gleam]

You're having a low moment and need a good shaking.

I have a friend who gets people to switch electric. He earns good money but he's not in our league.

I always thought you were a bit of star at this lark. Maybe you need a makeover, a business makeover that is. You need to work harder not ease back.

That Ian Giles (I know he's local to you) aways impresses me. Take a leaf out of his book.Write a business plan, then implement it.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

[Dean Aspects]

You should be still earning more than most other people just working 3 days a week,it dosen`t sound like the job is getting you down more like your round.

Thats so true in my case this week i like window cleaning the freedom it gives me and the income and everything i have has come from being a window cleaner but since yesterday i have felt abit low and the reason is difinately the standard of my round
So i will need to get up and do something about it better jobs or at least better paying jobs

Dean

[Tim Rose]

I was think about becoming an international man of inaction.

[AuRavelling79]

TOSH!

See my comment in the BEST/FAVOURITE DAY EVER thread.

[rp cleaning services]

Tosh i am the same as you,getting bored with cleaning windows 5 days a week,i have decided to go back to antique dealing part time,i was a antique dealer for 10 years before i started cleaning windows,my round is getting bigger by the week i earn a fantastic wage but the last couple of weeks has started to get on my nerves,bad weather,slow paying customers,phone ringing every day.Antique dealing a couple of days a week will give me a buzz and hopefully stop the boredom.

[Village Gleam]

Online

Posts: 2576


Climbing higher without a ladder!


   Re: MY BEST/FAVOURITE DAY EVER!!
« Reply #4 on: Today at 06:45:16pm »  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tosh, I started w/c part time when I was selling health insurance (self employed) and selling office printer laser cartridges (self employed).

In 2000 I decided I would have to do one job as I felt I was fiddling about with all three. My Health Insurer (WPA) gave me an ultimatum - shape up or ship out -I shipped out. I lost a huge laser printer supplies contract (on price) to a Police force and handed over my few remaining customers to a friend in the business. I would never go self employed sales again.

I have done double glazing sales in the  past too!

My experience of self employed sales is that you get the managers who cream off the "best leads" plus one or two "driven" high flyers and then the rest of the guys faff around in mediocre land because they're fairly bright, think the grass is greener or haven't got a good paying job because of lack of formal higher education/redundancy.

If you want motivation decide you are going to have a day a week like Roy Harding - to do that you need the qualities of a sales person - drive, the ability to handle rejection and focus.

If you're going to sell then sell your wfp services to top end customers and reap the rewards!  

I'd copied this before I saw him tell you to look because I was so impressed with the analysis.
But, I think you are bright enought to know this already and that is part of the problem. You think you can't learn anything you need about the business you are in. You have another neighbour, and I'm not saying there is any similarity, but he thinks the same.
An open mind is a marvelous thing.

[cvdewsbury]

Ideas for another sideline for you was talking to an ex scrimmer over the weekend he nows works as a male escort £150.00 for an evenings work!!!

[windowwashers]

Ideas for another sideline for you was talking to an ex scrimmer over the weekend he nows works as a male escort £150.00 for an evenings work!!!

I thought about that but wife was not to impressed and had to cook my own dinner for a week.  :

[Tim Rose]

lol!

I'd give it a go for few nights, but I think that falling asleep by 9pm might be the end it it for me!

[Feen]

Tosh, I come from a farming background, so I still do a bit in this line now and then. I also have a gardening job. These pay £10 per hour, so you don't need to be top of the class to do the sums However, it gives me a bit of variety and genuinely believe it helps me really enjoy cleaning. I would hate for it to become a slog. Good luck.

[frames to panes]

http://earncashathome.co.uk/  

There you go Tosh
P.s are links allowed?

[Blackbushe Windows]

Tosh,

Only done window cleaning for 25 yrs now. Was mechanic before that. Started windows and home mechanics - the windows took off but the home mechanics didn't, so I went with W/C.

I'm a lot older now and not so quick (48) - (violins please) - buy have always enjoyed my work.

Have thought often about changing - but it's a way of life now and it's kind of hard to change and many custy's are more like friends!!

Maybe I'm too sentimental, but these reasons keep me at it despite the drawbacks.


Peter

[Tosh]

You're having a low moment and need a good shaking.

Yes, I think you're right.

Cheers guys, I've read all your comments; maybe I just need a good kick up the proverbials and get some new work in; I could be getting bored with my current work and I'm in need of a challenge.

I think I just need to sleep on it.

[windowwashers]

You're having a low moment and need a good shaking.

Yes, I think you're right.

Cheers guys, I've read all your comments; maybe I just need a good kick up the proverbials and get some new work in; I could be getting bored with my current work and I'm in need of a challenge.

I think I just need to sleep on it.

thats the way to think Tosh, we all get low days, if you get down just read some of the posts and you will see all is not as bad as it seems, I will help you as will many get you out of the bad mind set you are in at the mo. And I promise I get nearly every year if i clean windows day in day out. Ipod and speaking to others in same boat works at treat 

[Tim Rose]

I feel like this every six months or so, and usually follows a period of holiday or some other break.

[frames to panes]

Many of my customers are on different frequency cleans which can be a pain at times but it does break up the monotony of the job, as i don't always get the same houses on the same days which in my opinion drives you nuts.

[dai]

My cousin has a good side line buying and selling books on ebay. Some people are not much good when it comes to descriptions, he has bought first editions for £20 and after applying the right description and making sure the auction ends around 8 pm on Sunday night, has sold the same book for £150.
A lot of people make good money trading on ebay, and I mean buying on ebay or from local papers and selling it on.
I go fishing with my lad for the odd day in summer, but it doesn't pay the same as WC.
I think your answer Tosh, is to build a round with better paying customers, and just work for 3 or 4 days
a week. Dai

[matt]

tosh, once your bored, your bored, no going back

what about something in the building game, something with a end product ( i know you like your DIY stuff ) get on a plastering / brickie / plumbing / chippie course , you can do it 1 day a week and you will have a trade that you will be able to pick and choose jobs between WC'ing )

i allways come back the " end product " thought, our end product is " clean windows" the guys who do them every 4 weeks clean them when thay are clean, so the start is just the same as the end, that doest work for me, i need something to show ive done a good job, i can stand back and admire my work, thats what ive missed

oh and 3 days a week is very nice

[Richy L]

i know what you're feeling tosh.

i feel the same way. I do quite a bit of graffiti removal and jetwashing these days. Ive been doing for a few years, but im just pushing it foreward at the mo. i actually enjoy graffiti removal and jet washing, but i dread going to work to clean the same 3bed houses avey month or so.

It might be worth doing a tiling course, or plastering. i know someone that is doing a course in plastering for four days. and its costing him £250. not a lot to pay for the training at all, but its in birmingham.

 might be worth thinking about.

[matt]

i know what you're feeling tosh.

i feel the same way. I do quite a bit of graffiti removal and jetwashing these days. Ive been doing for a few years, but im just pushing it foreward at the mo. i actually enjoy graffiti removal and jet washing, but i dread going to work to clean the same 3bed houses avey month or so.

It might be worth doing a tiling course, or plastering. i know someone that is doing a course in plastering for four days. and its costing him £250. not a lot to pay for the training at all, but its in birmingham.

 might be worth thinking about.

good call on tiling, pick and choose well paid jobs, something to look at, at the end fo the day

[Paul Coleman]

To be honest, for the past year-or-so the challenge of setting up a window cleaning round has began to diminish since I got a half-decent work load up-and-running.

Anyway, I'm feeling bored with it; I'd like to do something else a couple of days per week, that'll give me a regular income come rain-or-shine, whether I have to 'chase the cheque', or not.  Something that I can do a couple of days per week; and clean windows for the remainder.  I'm not sure if I can see myself being a full-time window cleaner when I'm in my fifties (I'm 38 years old now; though you'd never think I was that old if you saw me).

I'm actually considering becoming a self-employed mortgage advisor (I know I know); I can afford the training (it's a distance learning package and the total costs including three exams is about 1K); but in the meantime working as part-time Mortgage Introducer, which basically means I push leaflets through people's doors and follow any leads up to pass onto the company employing me.  I would like to think that if I was a self-employed mortgage advisor, it'll give me a sneaky preview into how some market themselves.

I'm also considering flogging gas and electricity for SWALEC a couple of days a week.  I've been asked to do this a few years ago by a window cleaning customer who works for this energy supplier.  He said a 'good looking chap like me could earn a fortune',   (honest to Allah).

I could also do security work; it's low paid; usually, but easy work - a regular income - and an SIA is fairly cheap to get.

I'm just about to do a CV for the Mortgage Introducer (aka leaflet distributor).

So do any of you have part time jobs?  What are they?  Am I just having a low moment and should give myself a good shaking?

I've done other bits at times - usually out of hours cleanoing jobs.  They're far more boring than W/Cing and pay less too.  I did leaflet distribution for a mortgage broker company that specialised in "right to buy" deals.  That paid very well some weeks but very little on others (it was commission only).  That was even more boring (and a lot of leg work too).  I did some work in the caring profession too for the NHS.  Although it was very interesting and fulfilling, it wasn't paid work.  If I didn't need the money, I would probably still be doing it.  Sometimes training for such work can lead to paid work later on but perhaps you need to maintain the cashflow.

[Ian Rochester]

We've all been there, I heard that last monday (21st Jan) was officially classed as the most depressing day of the year, the day when more divorces happen, more suicides, more businesses fail, etc than any other day of the year.

Why...because of the dark days and darker nights, the cold and inclement weather. 

None of it is is going to put a spring in your step!

By the sound of it you are looking towards doing door to door sales, to be honest I can't think of anything more depressing than that!!

Working on windows by yourself can be quite depressing, especially when the weathers bad.  Take a young lad or lass on and get them to work with you, you'll be surprised how much faster the day goes and once they are up to speed you'll be earning more too.

[Londoner]

I am a London Black Cab driver. I have had a licence for ten years now and it took me three years of very hard work to get the licence.
Until last year I have always been a part time window cleaner but I was so disillusioned with the cab work that I packed it in and have gone full time on the windows.
So after starting window cleaning part time at the age of 18 with my mate Steve 35 years ago to earn some spending money I have finally made it to the big time.

The point is, the grass is always greener and loads of people are fed up with what they are doing because most jobs are getting harder and some are going backwards.

Its a natural thing to get bored with any job after you have been doing it for a while and want a change. The beauty of window cleaning is you are flexible and don't have to burn your bridges.
Try new things, if it works out then fine, if it doesn't what have you lost?

[Terry_Burrows]

  stud now sick of wc 

[Ian Rochester]

So that'll be you unemployed then Terry

[Londoner]

You have to remember "The customer always comes first". Terry.

[jouk45]

i work as a p/t security guard weekends only frid to mon morning 16 hr shifts, its just great to know you have guaranteed cash over the winter months, i would recomend this to any window cleaner,

[frames to panes]

So, from this we can conclude that the average windowcleaner doesn't clean thirty to forty houses a day or earn £200+ every day. I thought it was just me. Oh well.

[Tosh]

stud now sick of wc 

So that'll be you unemployed then Terry

No Lionheart,

Terry does quite well at his local pork producing pig farm, so I hear.

[djhaydn]

hey tosh,
dont take a leaf out of my book,
i w/c most of the month.
i run a mobile disco,
and im a retained fire fighter,
and now started up carpet and upholstery cleaning,
somewhere amongst all that i manage to get a pint in,
wife never sees me
priceless

[sherco]

i know what you're feeling tosh.

i feel the same way. I do quite a bit of graffiti removal and jetwashing these days. Ive been doing for a few years, but im just pushing it foreward at the mo. i actually enjoy graffiti removal and jet washing, but i dread going to work to clean the same 3bed houses avey month or so.

It might be worth doing a tiling course, or plastering. i know someone that is doing a course in plastering for four days. and its costing him £250. not a lot to pay for the training at all, but its in birmingham.

 might be worth thinking about.

I'm a tiler, and thinking about going into hard floor cleaning. Tiling is a very skillful job, wall prep, setting out, different tiles, stone, ceramic, porcelain, and very hard on your knees and back, and I'm sorry you cant learn tiling and plastering in four days. people these days in these trades have to work to a very high standard, and it takes years to start earning a decent living.

[Village Gleam]

You'll be surprised to learn Tosh that I'm just as obnoxious in real life as I am on here. Dogmatic, can't keep my nose out of other peoples business, and always offering unwanted advice.

However just think about the open mind idea. What would happen if you invested in your business to make it cutting edge, if you followed through on marketing, and adopted best practice in other areas.
Persistance is the key. Repeat after me. get up in the morning and go to work... get up in the morning and go to work....
Work six days a week for a couple of years, then come back and tell me i'm wrong.

The truth is that everything we do is a reflection of ourselves. If your business is dynamic and go getting then the chances are so are you.

From what you say i'd give you 60% currently, while neighbour 1 scores. 85% , and neighbour 2. 35%.

[Mo]

Do any of you have other occupations besides window cleaning?
Noooooo 4days & half days of window cleaning is enough 


Mo

[NWH]

i know what you're feeling tosh.

i feel the same way. I do quite a bit of graffiti removal and jetwashing these days. Ive been doing for a few years, but im just pushing it foreward at the mo. i actually enjoy graffiti removal and jet washing, but i dread going to work to clean the same 3bed houses avey month or so.

It might be worth doing a tiling course, or plastering. i know someone that is doing a course in plastering for four days. and its costing him £250. not a lot to pay for the training at all, but its in birmingham.

 might be worth thinking about.

I'm a tiler, and thinking about going into hard floor cleaning. Tiling is a very skillful job, wall prep, setting out, different tiles, stone, ceramic, porcelain, and very hard on your knees and back, and I'm sorry you cant learn tiling and plastering in four days. people these days in these trades have to work to a very high standard, and it takes years to start earning a decent living.

The thing is Sherco,that new job your starting and our job have 1 thing in common,the poles are taking over.I know a dry liner and he`s earning less now than he was in 1995.

[DASERVICES]

I was thinking of a Gigolo but I think Tosh has beaten me to that 

[tacky]

the world is ur lobster .nowdays their r so many trade courses.out there . u can pick what u want .but at end of day .there is the best trade of all WINDOW CLEANING .

[macmac]

So, from this we can conclude that the average windowcleaner doesn't clean thirty to forty houses a day or earn £200+ every day. I thought it was just me. Oh well.

You forgot to add- 7 days per week, regardless of weather with no complaints

tony

[groundhog]

So, from this we can conclude that the average windowcleaner doesn't clean thirty to forty houses a day or earn £200+ every day. I thought it was just me. Oh well.

Not all of us are average!! 

[texas girl]

Hey Tosh,

Stick with window cleaning!  I know what you mean about considering other business ventures.

Window cleaning might seem boring because you have done it so long; weather makes it challenging; finding someone to help you; etc.

Stick with it! I have tried other ventures in the past and even with my college education as a teacher I have returned to window cleaning.

It is a needed service; so the need will always be there.

You are your own boss; pain in the rear; but you can always count on yourself. I have been in window cleaning 28 years now.

You see instant results from window cleaning; thus that is why we are window cleaners as we find this fulfilling.

Hang in there. The reasons are many; but obviously you are good at this and spring is just around the corner. 

Cheers,

Texas Girl