Starting a round

« **on:** February 24, 2012, 08:25:57 pm »

Hello Lads,

I have been on this forum for a while and have been thinking about starting to build a round for longer than that.

Today is the day that I have finally decided to get off my rear and set up my business. Will be looking to go WFP.

I now need to figure out a way to get some finance to get started. I have about £200 at the moment and no van. Any ideas/success stories? Princes trust worth a shout? Loans a good idea?

I am so happy that i have made this decision and am committed to making this work now. Just wanted to tell somebody. No doubt I will come up with a million questions when I start getting my gear together.

Sorry for the pointless post.

How easy it is to learn how to use the WFP gear?

« **Reply #1 on:** February 24, 2012, 08:29:46 pm »

The princes trust is a very long process, with the possibilty of being refused at the end of it.

« **Reply #2 on:** February 24, 2012, 08:36:52 pm »

You could go the trad route to start with, go canvassing, get some customers, build up some income and and go over to wfp when finances allow. £200 will be enough to get you started.

John

« **Reply #3 on:** February 24, 2012, 08:49:29 pm »

I started my business for £180, worked trad for the first 2 years. went door knocking and made my own leaflets. hard work day in day out and went without everything, social life, holidays, nights out. memories of tesco value tooth paste and toilet roll are coming back to me now.

fact is you just dont need a loan. wfp is easy well paid work but starting traditional is cheap and easy to do and will give you a better education of the industry and a greater appreciation of wfp when you switch over having built a customer base.

« **Reply #4 on:** February 24, 2012, 10:55:08 pm »

Quote from: lee pryor on February 24, 2012, 08:49:29 pm

I started my business for £180, worked trad for the first 2 years. went door knocking and made my own leaflets. hard work day in day out and went without everything, social life, holidays, nights out. memories of tesco value tooth paste and toilet roll are coming back to me now.

fact is you just dont need a loan. wfp is easy well paid work but starting traditional is cheap and easy to do and will give you a better education of the industry and a greater appreciation of wfp when you switch over having built a customer base.

Agree with this 100%, for that £200 you can afford a basic trad kit, print your own leaflets, buy a cheap roof rack, and barrow a ladder if you havnt allready got one.
You will move up, and on to better things as time goes by

« **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:23:27 pm »

Loads of people set up as window cleaners and dont last 6 months (7 or 8 grand lighter if they have gone all out listening to the streets paved with gold stories)

If you can go out with £200 and get started, gradually building up your work, equipment, business as you go you will be a success. Ask any window cleaner who has a few vans on the road and employs a few guys and is doing allright and you find 9 times out of 10, they started with nothing more than a ladder, squeegee and determination to make it work.

« **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:40:17 pm »

People die falling off ladders every week don't be one of them!!!

« **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:44:18 pm »

whilst I agree with most of the comments so far, there is no harm in him going to business link, and doing a start up course with a view to getting funding, I did similar and got £250 quid but the guys under 30 got 2 grand I think and others got loans etc, but they had to have really good plans and most dropped out

it took me one night a week to do the course for 4 weeks and it gave many answers that are asked on here, not window cleaning questions, just business ones

« **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:47:03 pm »

Quote from: clarkey1 on February 24, 2012, 11:40:17 pm

People die falling off ladders every week don't be one of them!!!

Please. Idiots and careless people might come off a ladder. Half a brain and you should be fine.

Thousands and thousands of window cleaners (not even counting other trades) use ladders each week with out incident. Its and ideal way to start.

« **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:47:25 pm »

Quote from: clarkey1 on February 24, 2012, 11:40:17 pm

People die falling off ladders every week don't be one of them!!!

every week? that in Britain or worldwide?

« **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:54:20 pm »

Quote from: stuart m on February 24, 2012, 11:44:18 pm

whilst I agree with most of the comments so far, there is no harm in him going to business link, and doing a start up course with a view to getting funding, I did similar and got £250 quid but the guys under 30 got 2 grand I think and others got loans etc, but they had to have really good plans and most dropped out

it took me one night a week to do the course for 4 weeks and it gave many answers that are asked on here, not window cleaning questions, just business ones

I would just get out there and start. Forget grants and schemes, etc, etc if you can get out there and give it a go you are already in the top 10%. Window cleaning is all about attitude, there is pretty much no skill involved. If you have got the right work ethic you will be top dog in no time.

« **Reply #11 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:04:01 am »

Quote from: Ambient Services on February 24, 2012, 11:54:20 pm

Quote from: stuart m on February 24, 2012, 11:44:18 pm
whilst I agree with most of the comments so far, there is no harm in him going to business link, and doing a start up course with a view to getting funding, I did similar and got £250 quid but the guys under 30 got 2 grand I think and others got loans etc, but they had to have really good plans and most dropped out

it took me one night a week to do the course for 4 weeks and it gave many answers that are asked on here, not window cleaning questions, just business ones

I would just get out there and start. Forget grants and schemes, etc, etc if you can get out there and give it a go you are already in the top 10%. Window cleaning is all about attitude, there is pretty much no skill involved. If you have got the right work ethic you will be top dog in no time.

I agree, I did, borrowed a ladder and worked from the off, but went on a course at night, never learned much but it answered most of the questions asked here on a daily basis

« **Reply #12 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:12:15 am »

Ideally looking to start with a WFP if I can get the money together.

I think it will look more profesional to the custies, make my life easier and also speed things up. Just started doing research on here to find out how much I would be looking to shell out on installing a DIY system in a van.

Understand that trad is a good way to start but I want to try to do this WFP if I can.

Thanks for the replies gents

« **Reply #13 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:22:02 am »

With your budget i'd concentrate on building up your skill base and customers using hand tools at first.

« **Reply #14 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:42:01 am »

and yr 200 might just get you
a full set of gear trad wise

« **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2012, 04:36:16 am »

£200 easily enuff to get started trad this coming week. show some backbone and start earning without delay mate .

« **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2012, 06:31:10 am »

Quote from: tom smith on February 25, 2012, 12:12:15 am

Ideally looking to start with a WFP if I can get the money together.

I think it will look more profesional to the custies,

ladders dont look un professional to the customer ..... no one cares so long as they are cleaned properley

had this conversation with my helper yesterday and both agreed that by knowing trad it does help you to be a more round better window cleaner skill wise that is.

I was ladders for about 6 months till I could afford to go WFP

ladders are not dangerous normally so long as your sensible and use common sense

Im off to do a large apartment block this morning and still need ladders for certain parts of it .. without ladders and trad skills then this nice contract wouldnt be mine

as you say get off your bum and just do it

.... good luck !!!

what part of country you in ?

« **Reply #17 on:** February 25, 2012, 06:56:29 am »

First things first .... get some customers and tell them you are starting out and will start cleaning in the next 2/3/4 weeks.

Once you have some customers invest in a set of ladders, window gear, bucket, towels, scrims, etc and a roof rack for your car.

It's pointless spending out £200 and having nothing to use it on.

We've got a £1200 job to do at a school at Easter, it's mainly WFP but we still require ladders to get onto a flat roof and then insides need to be done trad, can't be spraying water all over the inside of the dining hall

« **Reply #18 on:** February 25, 2012, 07:21:43 am »

Why spend thousands on a van and equipment straight away?
You might find you don't like the job or find it hard getting customers.
I would say the majority of window cleaners started Traditional with basic equipment and invested more money into equipment as the business expanded.

« **Reply #19 on:** February 25, 2012, 07:24:56 am »

i think you should bin the idea of getting loans or anything else along those lines.

get a job working for a window cleaner.learn trad and save as much as you can.after a few months you ll find out if you want to window clean for a living.

window cleaning can be tiring trad or wfp.it can get a bit boring as well.

if after 6 months -12 months you want to go for it buy a cheap van and wfp set up and start canvassing/leafleting while still working for another window cleaner then slowly do less for him until you have enough work to go it alone.

this is what i did 18 years ago.never looked back.i bought a small bit of work off him and canvassed like mad for 6 months.

best wishes

dazmond

« **Reply #20 on:** February 25, 2012, 08:20:48 am »

My advice would be to set up a bank account just for window cleaning, business or personal.
At the end of the month pay yourself as a wage HALF of that months income and live off that, use the rest to progress the business.

« **Reply #21 on:** February 25, 2012, 08:57:56 am »

Quote from: lee pryor on February 24, 2012, 08:49:29 pm

I started my business for £180, worked trad for the first 2 years. went door knocking and made my own leaflets. hard work day in day out and went without everything, social life, holidays, nights out. memories of tesco value tooth paste and toilet roll are coming back to me now.

fact is you just dont need a loan. wfp is easy well paid work but starting traditional is cheap and easy to do and will give you a better education of the industry and a greater appreciation of wfp when you switch over having built a customer base.

Pretty similar to how I started really. An old banger of a car and about £100 (I borrowed my first ladder). However, it was still the technological stone age so I got business cards and bills printed at those coin slot machines. Once I had a few sheets of bills printed, I found it was cheaper to get more by photocopying the originals at the library. It was hard graft going out most evenings canvassing. Sometimes I would get no customers at all over a 3 hour stint - though people were paying c. 15% interest for their mortgages so nearly all my work came from older people who were well advanced in their mortgage (or had it paid off), or people who were renting from councils and/or housing associations. It kept me going though until the UK pulled out of the ERM and interest rates plummeted.

« **Reply #22 on:** February 25, 2012, 09:28:20 am »

I have started last year trad. Only after few months I started to think about WFP and I think i could have go on trad for some more time.
When I started I had around £250 to buy my gear, but I had day job. Was doing some leafleting in the evening, then was going around giving some quotes and still had no tools !
A week later bought some tools, roof racks ladders (too short to start with) and started doing it in the evenings after work. Asked to cut my hours at work so I can finish day job earlier and do some window cleaning after work.
That made sense with my small budget, as what ever I have eared had to be put back to the business, print leaflets, buy new ladders (don't make my mistake and get wrong ladders).

I have wfp now and normal income, but it's not all easy I still need a lot of hard work to put in.
Cleaning windows is easy, even with ladders. But bringing customers in every day and making business work, I find more difficult.
Don't make a mistake going wfp. Get a small kit and give it a go, you might find its not for you.
Who will repay your loan ?