[colley614]

They're squashing my lawn at the moment. The missus will hit the roof when she gets home in a minute

[dazmond]

we are all cleaning windows to make money right?if your not making a good healthy profit at the end of the year after all expenses and taxes are deducted your doing something seriously wrong!!

work hard,keep expenses to a minimum and look after yourself first and dont take on employees unless you ve got enough work for them.keep it simple and reap the rewards and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

best wishes richy.hopefully youll be in a better position this time next year with a few lessons learnt.


regards



dazmond

[Erithwc]

I don't know what your situation is but if your business is strugling to make ends meet due to crap staff & work you need to cut the fat fast.

If a boat has a slow leak the boat will sink unless you throw the excess weight over board to gain you tiime to fix the leak.  

The question you need to ask your self is would your staff help you out when the business goes tits up and you have debt collectors on your door demanding money  

If i was in your position i would keep enough work for you and one employee and get rid of the lockup sell exess equipment and the work you don't want with the money you get from the sale of the work and equipment you could pay off the staff you don't need and have enough to have i bit left in the bank or pay off some outstanding bill.

good luck mate  

[Danny Guest]

How many customers do you have and what frequency I'm playing with idea of downsizing as really finding it difficult to progress business I feel I've hit a brick wall,I've tried to grow big but can't seem to motivate staff even tho I try, I don't think I have authority to manage I back down too much.im sick of staff wanting high wages and not being productive enough and it's really getting me down all they care about is themselves.

Since break in we prob had 1000 customers thru jobbing off messers and losing a lot after break indown to below 700 now not enuf for myself n 3 staff.

I offered to keep them all on butbegin canvassing tues n thurs evening with basic wage plus 5quid a customer they get on.

I don't think they are that motivated they just want to clean windows and do admin and really do not understand I can't keep them all on at present unless we do some serious rebuilding.

I've got to point I don't want to go to work now only option is going it alone and selling or jabbing off the crap work and rebuild steadily and grow when I'm ready,problem is I'm signed into 5 year lease on unit etc which I have another seperate business idea to utilise the space

You need to instill confidence in them richy. How can you motivate them if you are telling them the business model isnt working and things need to change. Thats bad moral mate.

You need to tell them they are doing a great job but you believe they can do better. Its ok for them to hear it from customers but think of what a boost it will give them from their boss. Massage thier egos and give them the recognition and satisfaction that they seek. Its human nature. You have to give to get something back

I think they have are looking after themselves but it may be bad energy coming from you. Be more positive and it will be infectious.

If i was working for you i would be thinking about my job security as you bounce from idea to idea. You need to get a clear vision and share it with your employees and get them to be inspired by it. Be a confident leader and use your poker faced instead of wearing your heart on your sleave.

Also think about why they are asking you for money. It sounds like your asking them to take on more responsibilities to which case i would demand higher wages.

Good luck
Danny

[Paul Coleman]

It's all sine the break in things were going ok except for van being off road two weeks before break in I just don't think they give two hoots if things go tits up I am pretty close to breaking point money wise

Having seen some of your posts over the past year or whatever, I did wonder when (not if) this point would be reached.  It always came across to me as someone expanding more quickly than he could cope with and spreading himself too thin by trying to diversify too much.  At first I thought that maybe the problem was mine because I don't do stress very well - a big reason why I've remained a sole trader and kept the jobs where I need to pre-notify the customer to a minimum.
I know you want to be off the tools but I'm wondering if your best route might be to sack the staff, sell all vans except the best one, sell all sellable work except enough for you to do a full round by yourself (400 customers should be more than enough) and keep the cream work for yourself.  I don't know what you pay for the unit but it might be a big drain for a sole trader.  What's the chances of sharing it with another window cleaning business - of course keeping your own work confidential?  Or maybe some variation on the above items as I don't know your exact situation.
It's unfortunate that understanding our limitations sometimes has to go hand in hand with ego deflation but hey, nobody's died.  If this is the worst you go through, you've done a lot better than I.

EDIT:  I wrote this before reading the other responses so I arrived at this independently from the rest of the tread.

[Paul Coleman]

I'm going to watch Port Vale instead and then drink, ill need a drink after that.

port who

The mighty valiants,

I'm there now waiting for the action to unfold, the fans are protesting against the board.

Being a port vale fan can be very distressing at times.

If you travel down with them when they get thrashed at Crawley, give us a shout and hook up if you want?  I've got a season ticket at Crawley (and none of that "Where were you when you were sh**?" if you please 

[edward1]

listen to what colley has to say m8.he is offering you some help .

[Danny Guest]

Richy
Your skills as an employer should be identifying what motivates your staff. People are motivated by different things, some money, some satisfaction and some for acceptance. You need to find what works for them and give it to them. Its more of an instinct and a balancing act that is essential to getting what you want

I ask my employees every week if they are happy, i ask them if they are ok, i ask about their families. I tell them about the big plans for the future and let them know they will be apart of them and they will benifit from the success of the company. I think big and my employees are excited by it. If they cant think big for themselves they certainly get excited by others that do.

Positive thinking brings positive energy. Negitive thinking zaps your energy and if transmitted to workers can by detrimental to any business.

I think you need to learn about human nature and study the art of motivating.
Unless you do you may never be able to successfully manage employees and reap the benifits of employing.

When you are in business you need to handle pressure. If you cant handle pressure get a job!

Danny

[Danny Guest]

we are all cleaning windows to make money right?if your not making a good healthy profit at the end of the year after all expenses and taxes are deducted your doing something seriously wrong!

I still struggle to believe how people can have difficulty running a window cleaning business when profit margins are so high. If a wc business is in a position to employ it should be done with ease. Tax deductions and NI contributions are not a problem if you put them aside every week.

I guess not everyone is meant to be in business and then theres those that have the potential and ability that just dont act on it.

[Frankybadboy]

richy do you still have the guy in the office working for you?

[TomCrowther]

My thinking about growing a wc business is to start the work yourself, build it up intil you can't manage on your own, get one part time helper, keep building, make the part timer a full timer and etc etc. As previous posts say, put the tax/ni money aside every month and you shouldn't have massive problems. If you go to step G without going thru B,C,D,E and F things will go pear shaped. Throw in a fire, bad weather and the stress levels pick up big time!
Having said that, I am still on A 

[Helen]

How many customers do you have and what frequency I'm playing with idea of downsizing as really finding it difficult to progress business I feel I've hit a brick wall,I've tried to grow big but can't seem to motivate staff even tho I try, I don't think I have authority to manage I back down too much.im sick of staff wanting high wages and not being productive enough and it's really getting me down all they care about is themselves.
Did you really believe that they would care about anything else?

Since break in we prob had 1000 customers thru jobbing off messers and losing a lot after break indown to below 700 now not enuf for myself n 3 staff.
Then  you have to lay soneone off

I offered to keep them all on butbegin canvassing tues n thurs evening with basic wage plus 5quid a customer they get on.
Lay someone off........you get the customers in....not them othewwise you will end up with crass custies
I don't think they are that motivated they just want to clean windows and do admin and really do not understand I can't keep them all on at present unless we do some serious rebuilding.
Until you have started to re-build  you can't afford to keep them on

I've got to point I don't want to go to work now
You have a problem then

 only option is going it alone and selling or jabbing off the crap work and rebuild steadily and grow when I'm ready,problem is I'm signed into 5 year lease on unit etc which I have another seperate business idea to utilise the space
can you sub let?

Richy I am now seriously concerned about you
The guy that helped you through the bad times you had a few years ago is he still with you? If so this is the bloke you need to be keeping hold of, but this time you HAVE to work it through with him.

Ditch all ideas of " extra's" and stick to the window cleaning side for at least one year and consilidate and build up again. Promise yourself that for one year you will not do your own head in with thinking of new ventures. You have to concentrate SOLELY on the window cleaning side. It's ggod to have ideas and be motivated, but you are doing yourself damage....so stop it now.
I am not getting at you or being sarcastic at all I am genuinely concerned

[richywilts]

richy do you still have the guy in the office working for you?

Yeah this the problem he came into do sales , and since the aftermath of both break ins he's not really got bk focussed on the sales and is Idley doing bits of admin, I've confronted him about smoking and making cups of tea too often and never picking up the phone to cold call etc but it doesn't seem to sink in he's in work 9 hours a day n it's frustrating me badly coz he says he doesn't have enuf time to do sales.iv turned a blind eye since break in but it's been n gone n I need things to begin happening now, came back in jan thinkin fresh start let's start smashing it, n he took first week off with virus and took two half days off last week for car problems and midwife appointment not the start I was after.since October we have been dumping customers by the handful and we lost a lot and it's got that out of hand now coz we haven't been replacing them.its been a really hard year iv had a baby girl last Xmas and iv had to take a lot of time off to support my girlfriend as my little girl suffered really bad stomach and diorreaha.we had a canvasser who got a shed load on for us in the summer and it's turned out to be a load of crap work and messers.i can hopefully turn this round it's just going to final chances this week

[roundbuilder]

Not being funny but if i was you id canvas much much more work. 3 staff is that 3 vans or 2 vans?. Im london and 700 high priced houses wouldnt cover work for a month for 2 vans we have near 1100 customers.
surely to cover everything you would need 200 a day cleaned minimum per van. with 3 vans on the road you should be laughing.
 i have 2 vans and 3 workers enough work for each van to do 1000 a week with a bonus if target hit.  they usualy do the target in 4 days but when crap weather etc they do the odd saturday to get there brucie which is an extra 50 notes in there bin..
keep going how you are as would be a waste of effort to downsize go and get enough work in so you can get a steady pattern of profit each month and you will be quids in. simple.
the more customers you have that are priced right then the more profit you will gain.

[Steve CM]

Rich the first thing I'd do is stop spouting on here as you will get abuse as well as advice. It's not rocket science and you need to be ruthless enough to cut out the dead wood. Sit back take stock and do what you need to do to earn money and turn the corner. If you ever want a chat give us a bell.

[Pure Shine]

had a similar problem years back change there pay struckture rather than a daily rate a percentage they either work and earn or earn nothing or like already suggested take ya best man sell the rest and make the others redundant trust me they are not sitting at home worrying one bit about your concerns ,bills, or worries

[Frankybadboy]

richy do you still have the guy in the office working for you?

Yeah this the problem he came into do sales , and since the aftermath of both break ins he's not really got bk focussed on the sales and is Idley doing bits of admin, I've confronted him about smoking and making cups of tea too often and never picking up the phone to cold call etc but it doesn't seem to sink in he's in work 9 hours a day n it's frustrating me badly coz he says he doesn't have enuf time to do sales.iv turned a blind eye since break in but it's been n gone n I need things to begin happening now, came back in jan thinkin fresh start let's start smashing it, n he took first week off with virus and took two half days off last week for car problems and midwife appointment not the start I was after.since October we have been dumping customers by the handful and we lost a lot and it's got that out of hand now coz we haven't been replacing them.its been a really hard year iv had a baby girl last Xmas and iv had to take a lot of time off to support my girlfriend as my little girl suffered really bad stomach and diorreaha.we had a canvasser who got a shed load on for us in the summer and it's turned out to be a load of crap work and messers.i can hopefully turn this round it's just going to final chances this week

if he aint earning you money mate then get rid,that be a big saving to start with.DEAD WOOD SIMPLE.

[Danny Guest]

I would try and address the problem first before firing.

Hes telling you he has no time for sales when hes job i take it is sales. Have you burdoned him with paperwork and admin duties?

If so get someone else to do your admin and utulise his skills in sales. If i had a top sales guy thats what i would want him doing 24/7. How can he build up good momentum by doing other tasks?

Another tip is praising him for work hes done well. If you really want to praise him give him praise in front of or to other people. Tell them hes the best and theres nobody who can sell like this guy. Really if you have to do it with tongue in cheek do it and you will soon have him doing overtime for nothing. Believe me ive done it!

If you dont want him maybe i could be interested 

Danny

[richywilts]

I don't wanna sound like he's a big massive waste of space coz he isn't n he basically got business bk up n running after second break in coz I suffered depression after it n cudnt focus I was angry n upset for quite a few weeks Chris and his wife sat there at home for hours on end loading hundreds of customer details on to a spreadsheet too send to round pro, this is why I have a dilemma, on one hand he's hard working and get things done which I detest doing but on the other he doesn't seem motivated he tends to get involved with lesser more simple tasks to keep busy which aren't benefitting the business so to speak.he had a decent routine going on before the break ins. I know it's down to me to give him specific targets now and deadlines etc he just doesn't seem to take note of what I want n chooses to do as he pleases

[Helen]

I don't wanna sound like he's a big massive waste of space coz he isn't n he basically got business bk up n running after second break in coz I suffered depression after it n cudnt focus I was angry n upset for quite a few weeks Chris and his wife sat there at home for hours on end loading hundreds of customer details on to a spreadsheet too send to round pro, this is why I have a dilemma, on one hand he's hard working and get things done which I detest doing but on the other he doesn't seem motivated he tends to get involved with lesser more simple tasks to keep busy which aren't benefitting the business so to speak.he had a decent routine going on before the break ins. I know it's down to me to give him specific targets now and deadlines etc he just doesn't seem to take note of what I want n chooses to do as he pleases

Ok, take off him what he shouldn't be doing as he seems to be going into a comfort zone of "simple" tasking. Do not ask him to do these tasks again or let him, you will have to do them for the time being.
Draw a line under the past, what has happened has happened and you can't change that, what you can change is the direction you are heading in now
He may have lost confidence in your business as he obviously has first hand knowledge in what is going on being that he is office based.
Get him back to what he should be doing, give him realistic targets and deadlines. Maybe offer him a realistic incentive for all new business bought in between now and the end of February.
It's going to be tough on you for a while, but you need to step up to the challenge of running a relatively easy to run type of business. Don't make it hard for yourself, keep focused on the window cleaning and nothing else, build that with firm foundations and the rest will follow, but NOT this year.
Get rid of those that don't want to take your business forward with you, they are not worth your time and effort.
Back to basics for you and keep there until it is firmly running, or you will end up with nothing which will be a darn sight worse than what it seems to be now.