Squeeky....you have shown time and time again that you are bright guy but you seem to like having no money and working very hard all year long and then have to worry about your tax bills....There is another way of working as you know that cleans windows and would appear to make money as well...without wanting to 'have a go at squeeky' ....who cares how you clean windows...just clean em and make money to do the things you want to do...30k (sterling) sounds like a decent income p/a....15k on the other hand sounds not as good....
As you know I started only 27 weeks ago...if I did not take on another customer this year....I would be at 15k sterling....Window cleaning is just that...were not creating art, making people well....just taking dirt from windows...thats all....so why not make a good living and use either the extra time or money to do something else...perhaps spend those hours/money doing your photography?
Respectfully
Dave
Leaving WFP out of it, it is still possible to make a very good living from window cleaning though.
Only speaking for myself but I believe that I suffered from a self image/self esteem problem for many years. That reflected in the rates that I charged people. I didn't believe in myself and I found it hard to look them in the eye if I was taking £20 an hour. These days I'm looking to dump the job if I make that (though these rates only exist on my older work and only in small batches now). I wish I'd talked with other window cleaners years ago.
Sometimes, things happen to change your outlook. I know many people who have trundled on for years then something happens to change the way they do things. With a friend of mine it was his wife leaving him. With me it was getting and recovering from serious illness and a couple of my friends dying. With another guy I know, it was losing his job. This is not a dress rehearsal (cliché I know). Some customers try to hold you back with guilt manipulation. I don't buy it any more. I have compassion for people - always have done. But what about me? How about a little compassion for myself struggling away in the bitter cold or the searing heat with no toilet facilities, customers who want to send me away because of a few clouds, people who expect me to turn up four times a year for less than a tenner a pop and think they are doing me a favour. No way. I won't deal with them unless I have no choice. I only want people who are prepared to pay me well for giving them a quality service. These days, if they question my rates, I tell them that I'm the guy who has solved their window cleaning problem. They need never hunt for a window cleaner again. But in return, I expect to be well paid for my efforts because I'm not one of the one Summer wonders that they may have grown used to down the years. If I'm well paid for it, I will be happy to clean their windows until I retire or they decide they don't want my services any more. I can look them in the eye now and say such things. A window cleaner for life is still a rarity in many areas.
Soap box now removed
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