Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: LWC on August 30, 2010, 05:22:53 pm
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Last 4 years ive been on a mass spend. New vans (new to me) All sign written. Advertising, have had banners around town. Leaflets. Ads in paper. Brand new kit latest poles etc...
Always under impression more you by, less tax you pay. Personally i dont think thats the best attitude, i bought things that i didnt really need to keep expenses high, as my accountant said, spend a £1 or give tax man 30p, i know it grates ya to give tax man that money, but why spend more on stuff you dont really need?
Ive seen on here people saying you HAVE to spend to get anywhere in this game. After doing so...I dont think so, in the last year ive stopped it all and have been a lot better off for it.
My latest setup is second hand. I can DIY most stuff. I have my reels, pump controlled by a tap not a varistream! harris poles, i have a supalite for high stuff that ive had and will keep for years. I dont spend on anything i dont need and find it works better for me.
Its only my opinion, but i think the way to make it is by working hard, being reliable and friendly and looking after your pennies. What do you think and why?
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I think it probably depends on "what" you are spending on. All dependent on how big your company is or how you big you want it to be. If you only want to upgrade stuff as a 1 person business, you would be forever buying the latest kit, but not making any profit from it.
If you were to buy equipment that wasnt high end, but would enable you to expand - and move forward, then I think maybe it could be worth investing.
Just my humble opinion
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im cutting right back too iv splashed out on steam cleaners,gutter vacs,pressure washers,airless paint sprayer all the mod cons and bits n bobs and its got me nowhere planning on selling it all off and just concentrating on window cleaning for now. its all just gathering dust now.
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Sorry guys, this was my reply to Richy, it got started in a new thread. Apologies.
Shame that Richy
Is there not the demand?
Or any reason why?
Thats what I was sort of saying even if you have the latest kit, dosent mean that its going to be a profit.
Sorry to hear that.
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Thats another good point. Im just concentrating on window cleaning too. And after a stupid cladding cleaning job the other day that i spent hours on and they whinged and came they came out with a cloth and started rubbing it by hand saying "this is what you need to do" expecting me to do the whole lot like that im probably gonna drop that service to...my answer was "no i dont think so" lol
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I think thats the problem, you can go invest in a load of "kit" and hope for the best.
Or you can carry out market research before hand and assess your potential earnings.
Bit of a catch 22
Get the kit, and promote
Or identify the need first.
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I am more of a saver. I promote myself in village magazines as it really works for me. You have to strike some kind of a balance, but its about making money at the end of the day. You have to "profit" from every business decision.
I think the biggest error guys make from my experience is flashy, expensive vans. Its often counter productive as people think you charge to much and are making to much money. Heard it time after time about one guy with a 10 plate in my town - and I'm dearer than him. Be tidy and professional, but showing off is a mugs game.
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Funny thing is i didnt need the work...i just thought lets promote promote promote to get expenses high.
Couldnt agree more there about the vans etc, i had a nice little pug partner van, simply sign wirtten and used to get work all the time. I then got the vivaro an as smart as it looked i never picked up your general domestic work. Im in a older galaxy now and i pick up work daily...its not even sign written!! And i dont consider myself cheap either!
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A mate of mine spent £9k on a van last year, with a nice wfp set up. It directly generated a HMRC visit. They wanted to check the van actually existed and it was a genuine expense. They also said while they were there, they wanted to view his previous years accounts. Income and expenditure records. He had no problems as his books were in good order, but he is a worrier and really got himself uptight before and after.
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Funny thing is i didnt need the work...i just thought lets promote promote promote to get expenses high.
Couldnt agree more there about the vans etc, i had a nice little pug partner van, simply sign wirtten and used to get work all the time. I then got the vivaro an as smart as it looked i never picked up your general domestic work. Im in a older galaxy now and i pick up work daily...its not even sign written!! And i dont consider myself cheap either!
Hi Matt
why the change from van to car in the first place? Was it for the family.
I'm 10 years in and spend. Not that I want too but I am always looking for the perfect setup and kit. I have spares of most things.
Whats Gary (cookie monsters) new name?
Lee
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Funny thing is i didnt need the work...i just thought lets promote promote promote to get expenses high.
Couldnt agree more there about the vans etc, i had a nice little pug partner van, simply sign wirtten and used to get work all the time. I then got the vivaro an as smart as it looked i never picked up your general domestic work. Im in a older galaxy now and i pick up work daily...its not even sign written!! And i dont consider myself cheap either!
;D I guess the thing is people assume you are poor, and cheap. Even though you could have a Vivaro if you wanted, they only know what they see. More tips for you at christmas and you go in with an advantage when quoting domestic work. I think a smart 6 or 7 year old sign written van is optimum myself. They don't need to know how rich you are.
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I thought he was still the cookie monster lol, im not sure...who are you am i going mad? lol
I sold the van when i was having a momment ... i had enough last year of windows but am back into it again now. I got the galaxy as i thought it would do for now, but i actually reall like it now and it works well for me.
Again guys this is whats working for me, im not telling you what to do ;)
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Does make you wonder doesn't it? There are guys with full rounds working from £400 vans with Harris poles probably with very similar turnovers to some with £30,000 worth of kit paying three to four hundred pounds a month for the privilege.
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Does make you wonder doesn't it? There are guys with full rounds working from £400 vans with Harris poles probably with very similar turnovers to some with £30,000 worth of kit paying three to four hundred pounds a month for the privilege.
;)
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Basic as basic can be. Cheap as cheap can be.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/VWSaxon/IMG00316-20100830-1916.jpg)
And i dont care what you think...it works for me ;D and earns me a mint.
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I'm a bit of a spender I suppose - I like decent poles, kit and clothing. I would love a brand new van but can't justify it at all. I can't take any more work on so wouldn't gain anything. I think the idea of spending to avoid tax is a bit of a myth - you only avoid paying a percentage of the full cost anyway.
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as my accountant said, spend a £1 or give tax man 30p, i know it grates ya to give tax man that money,
You may give the taxman 30p but if you didn't spend you would keep 70p.
I don't understand this attitude at all. There is no gain in buying things you dont need, as with the above sum you have shiny things but no money.
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as my accountant said, spend a £1 or give tax man 30p, i know it grates ya to give tax man that money,
You may give the taxman 30p but if you didn't spend you would keep 70p.
I don't understand this attitude at all. There is no gain in buying things you dont need, as with the above sum you have shiny things but no money.
Exactly. 70p nicer in yer pocket aint it rather than a brand spanking new van and zilch in the pocket.
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I know image is an issue for some customers but I don't think 90% care.
My Movano died in June, I only had it for 8 weeks, spent a good chunk of money and nothing to show for it. In order to save up i'm using the family car and a trailer, not a single customer has failed to pay me because I dont have a big van! And why would they care?
Save it and spend it on something that will bring you happines.
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Make your mind up Ewan.
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Spend or save was the question. First you said spend, now you say save - only to be expected I suppose.
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I'm not in the mood tonight for riddles - cheerio. :)
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Pensions is another subject altogether. I'd sooner invest elsewhere myself, the majority seem to get screwed over by private pensions.
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Sorry guys, this was my reply to Richy, it got started in a new thread. Apologies.
Shame that Richy
Is there not the demand?
Or any reason why?
Thats what I was sort of saying even if you have the latest kit, dosent mean that its going to be a profit.
Sorry to hear that.
no i just let meself get distracted too easily and theres just not enough of me to go round doing everything!! i think im tryin to run before i walk, iv got a really good well known name round my area now, im too eager too try new things always think the grass is greener!! im just now focusing wholly on the window cleaning. i may still keep it all still and try when iv got the windows runnning smoothly
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I'm not in the mood tonight for riddles - cheerio. :)
It’s not a riddle; the question is to simple or even the wrong type question. Maybe it could have been phrased better rather than say save money it should have been to make money.
Yes it shouldve of been that...ill change it
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Cant seem to change it, take "spend" as "make money"
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In my personal opinion, you have to spen a litte to get where you want to go.
I have tried with a nice car with tintet windows, 19" reels and so on :) Do not go that way! haha
In this month I spent some money on a fully equiped WFP hot water system - cost about 7400 ex vat.
Then also a new VW transporter 2010.
For my future, I will more or less just sell, sell & sell. And then I want to have 2-3 fulltime workers, and nothing more.
Then I can manage with making them work, and I can administrate this.
Thats my future plan, and then I have to invest some, but try to keep it to an minimum after I got enough WFP systems and cars.
You have to stay in this game, see whats new sometime. If you got more work then you can manage with 2-3 people, you can adjust your prices. And loose some, but you will have more p/h.
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im cutting right back too iv splashed out on steam cleaners,gutter vacs,pressure washers,airless paint sprayer all the mod cons and bits n bobs and its got me nowhere planning on selling it all off and just concentrating on window cleaning for now. its all just gathering dust now.
hire them out m8 still got em wen u need em innit ;) ;)
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Its madness to spent money on equipment you don’t need its also just as bad to give money to the tax man when you are using essential equipment that could be updated or replaced that includes the van, if your lucky enough to have all equipment sorted, then put as much as you can into your pension fund. Tax man comes…………….last
you only save the tax not the whole amount ie if you have 10 000 spare, in tax it might cost you 3k
but ten k on a van money all gone!
id be tempted to spend 5 k on a decent second hand van and save the remainder, just because some kit is top notch you dont always need it
ie i have one or two jobs where a sl2 would be handy buying one would cost nearly a grand , the job might only £60 a month is it worth it - no, keep using a diy or old heavy pole
its good business sense to save the money as profit for now
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ive spent a fair bit more this year than ive done for years but ive not long converted to wfp.ive spent about £4,500 on all my wfp set up/poles/new van/uniform/leaflets and i reckon its defo been worth it as im getting much quicker and burning through my work now!
im a firm believer in being smart/professional and reliable but certainly not flash in this game!!
also ive found that sticking to window cleaning and the few add on conny roof/fascia/soffit cleans is best for me!keeping it nice and simple! :D ;D
ill be saving a bit more now as ive got the main tools for cleaning windows at speed for the least amount of effort and maximum safety!im pretty tooled up with spares as well!
DO YOU SPEND OR SAVE??
those of us who are a bit older and wiser in this game do both!!! ;) ;D ;D ;D
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seem to keep spending and unable to save
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In the present economic climate its really not worth saving as the interest rate is rubbish.
For me personally though I'm always looking at ways to improve my business. I've just bought a slx pole which cost £420. Its a case of just when I think my overdraft is going to be in the black something else needs to be bought.
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In the present economic climate its really not worth saving as the interest rate is rubbish.
I would say in this climate it is more important to save than to spend. OK so the interest rate is poor but I think it is better to have money put away than to have new equipment that you dont really need.
For me personally though I'm always looking at ways to improve my business. I've just bought a slx pole which cost £420. Its a case of just when I think my overdraft is going to be in the black something else needs to be bought.
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They say interest rates are set to rise over the next 2-3 years. If thats the case then we will see the real effects of the recession start to bite.
Having a bit of money behind you and no debts around your neck might well help things along.
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In the present economic climate its really not worth saving as the interest rate is rubbish.
I would say in this climate it is more important to save than to spend. OK so the interest rate is poor but I think it is better to have money put away than to have new equipment that you dont really need.
For me personally though I'm always looking at ways to improve my business. I've just bought a slx pole which cost £420. Its a case of just when I think my overdraft is going to be in the black something else needs to be bought.
As Martyn Lewis said the other day " If you have any spare money then pay your credit cards/overdraft etc because this will be more benefit to you than saving it"
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Thats entirely different to spending money rather than putting it away for a rainy day. His point is because of the interest rates on both. My point is that you are better putting the money away, even under you bed, than spending it on equipment you dont need.
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wise man say.. spend money where you have to, save money where you can. for instance trying to work at any great height with glassfibre is nackering and time consuming hence costing you money anyway so I bought a superlite carbon fibre and the initial exspense is offset everytime i do a job quicker by time saved plus can now take on work at greater heights.
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Thats another good point. Im just concentrating on window cleaning too. And after a stupid cladding cleaning job the other day that i spent hours on and they whinged and came they came out with a cloth and started rubbing it by hand saying "this is what you need to do" expecting me to do the whole lot like that im probably gonna drop that service to...my answer was "no i dont think so" lol
I hate ppl like that, you should of sed "do it yourself" lol