Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: robert mitchell on April 27, 2012, 01:10:05 pm
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My system is now on order from pure2o:-)
All I need now are some customers !
Hate the idea of canvassing but guess I will have to bite the bullet !
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Hi Robert
I'm with you on that - 2 weeks left before redundancy.
Sort of excited but bit scared at the same time.
Easy to get used to that regular salary.
Where are you starting up?
Good Luck
Granny
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Southampton I expect.
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good luck to you and i hope it works out for you , when you see other window cleaners stop and say hello you will be suprised just how helpful they will be ,
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My system is now on order from pure2o:-)
All I need now are some customers !
Hate the idea of canvassing but guess I will have to bite the bullet !
Gerroff my patch!
Give me a call (on website) if you need any help.
Vin
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Thanks for the offer vin , have to admit I am finding it a bit of a minefield at the moment !
Because of my domestic situation will be looking at two rounds , southampton/ Portsmouth and another one in Bournemouth .
I live in Southampton but my girlfriend lives in Bournemouth.
So my time is split between the two .
The bit I'm nervous about most is finding customers .
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hi Rob,
it can be nerve racking, but just get out as soon as you can and get knocking - every no you get you are that much closer to a yes! Good luck - be determined treat it as a "proper job" and get out and knock knock and knock some more - it does get easier!! Weekends are a good knock too!
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Just go knocking doors , everytime you get a no!! Your nearer to getting a yes !! Try to stay posative you will soon have customers 8)
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Thanks for the offer vin , have to admit I am finding it a bit of a minefield at the moment !
Because of my domestic situation will be looking at two rounds , southampton/ Portsmouth and another one in Bournemouth .
I live in Southampton but my girlfriend lives in Bournemouth.
So my time is split between the two .
The bit I'm nervous about most is finding customers .
Give me a call any time.
Vin
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Thanks for all your replies , very friendly forum :-)
I have to wait three to four weeks for my system to be fitted and should probably get some practice first too !
Vin , If you want some free labour one day in return for teaching me a few things .......
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Thanks for all your replies , very friendly forum :-)
I have to wait three to four weeks for my system to be fitted and should probably get some practice first too !
Vin , If you want some free labour one day in return for teaching me a few things .......
he learnt from the best ;D
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ive bin goin 10 weeks now rob biggest and best decision of my life i had so many doubts people were saying good window cleaners are hard to find and i found out they are if ure good and reliable you will soon be flying ,,listen to me i think im a pro ,i was a newbie on here a few weeks ago ,,best site ever ;D ;D ;D id wish you good luck but i dont think you will need it ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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if you can afford it, maybe look into buying an existing round from someone, the 2 part rounds i have bought in the past have been good investments.
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Best of luck, we have some friends who live in Holbury on the edge of the New Forest and they can't get a decent window cleaner for love nor money.
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Thanks for the replies guys :-)
Paul , your post has bouyed me up a bit , looking forward to getting started .
As for buying a round , unfortunately no funds for that after paying for my system so will have to do it the hard way .
If your friends in holbury are still struggling to find somebody once my system is installed and I'm ready to go it could be worth my while going that way if I can get a some of their neighbors too .
Have to get my head round designing a flyer , sorting a website and getting some practice in on the pole .
I don't even have a name for my business yet !
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Have to get my head round designing a flyer , sorting a website and getting some practice in on the pole .
I don't even have a name for my business yet !
Give me a shout for some practice next week.
Ian Lancaster will be here ina minute to tell you to call your business "Robert Mitchell Window Cleaner".
Vin
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Good luck! I started out the start of this year. I don't have many customers but still enjoying it which is the main point. Its amazing how I never have seen any window cleaners in my area but since I started I have seen loads!
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There is lots of good folk on here that helped me a year ago so dont be afraid to ask , and as for being worried about knocking on doors dont be , what i did was to leaflet a area then go back a day or 2 after and holding the same leaflet in my hand i would knock and when the answered i said , hi sorry to trouble you but i post ed a leaflet through you door a few days ago i i was wondering if you are looking for a regular and reliable window cleaner (or words to tha affect ) it worked a treat .
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Rob,
Give me a shout: Friday's an easyish day and you're welcome to pop out with us.
Vin
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You might have just got very lucky due to your location,I`d get talking to Perfect Windows sharpish if i were you.
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Best of luck Guys ;)
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Thanks vin , definately up for that !
Unfortunately in bed with man flu :-(
I may actually be dying ! Lol
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Thanks vin , definately up for that !
Unfortunately in bed with man flu :-(
I may actually be dying ! Lol
That'll stop the day you're self-employed. You'll go out even if you later realise that the reason you're feeling tired is that you died in the night.
Vin
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if vin cant help you try his m8
jamie (luther1) also southampton based
a most excellent lad
ring the bell say gav sent ya ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Naah, Jamie's a ****
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Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Some friendly advice. Unless youre sitting on a serious amount of money, you should be worried!
If you've ordered your van and equipment you need to get out there and get some customers ASAP. You can line work up to 4 weeks in advance without any problems. Use your nervous energy to get yourself out the door and knocking. THe best time to knock for clients is before youve ordered your equipment!
Don't bother about a website. There is plenty of time to get a site up and running in the future. And don't waste time designing a leaflet either. Just get one that another larger (successful) company is using, or one off here that is working, and just get a designer to copy it for you and change the essentials.
You need to fill the next month up with work, so that you can get started as soon as the equipment is here, so that you can get money coming in right away.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the advice , I have been led to believe from searches on here that it's better to wait until you have the equipment and can clean there and then if necessary .
Also need to get some practice first to ensure I do a good job .
I'm lucky that I can do this part time around my current job to begin with as my hours allow me plenty of time .
After your post I'm confused now !
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Thanks for the advice , I have been led to believe from searches on here that it's better to wait until you have the equipment and can clean there and then if necessary .
Also need to get some practice first to ensure I do a good job .
I'm lucky that I can do this part time around my current job to begin with as my hours allow me plenty of time .
After your post I'm confused now !
you will get different advice. some good and some bad!
if your aim is to make money, which i'm guessing it is, you need customers.
its very easy to spend money by convincing yourself itll let you clean more houses, faster, easier, whatever... but the truth is that we all need enough customers to give us a worthwhile profit at the end of the month.
the sooner you start getting customers and making money the better. there is no point in waiting until you get the equipment if you can line the customers up already.
the truth is that it will most likely be tough going at the start with door knocking, unless you've had plenty of experience before (and even then it can be hard), so its best to get started right away.
;D
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Good point there.
When I started I just used to knock and once they'd said "yes" I'd tell people I'd be with them in a month or so. Only one of that lot said "no" when I finally turned up - their guy had reappeared in the interval. I didn't even have the van when I first knocked, let alone the equipment.
Vin
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Hi vin , was just wondering if you get much work from your website ?
Only really getting started now due to being very busy with other stuff last few months .
Just looking into getting a website and just want to know what to expect .
Also wondered if you have ever used southampton leaflet distribution , found them on a google search and they claim to use gps tracking that you can access in real time ?
Also interested in buying a couple of hundred quid a month of work to get me started if you or anyone you know is interested in selling some ?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help :-)
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Hi vin , was just wondering if you get much work from your website ?
Only really getting started now due to being very busy with other stuff last few months .
Just looking into getting a website and just want to know what to expect .
Also wondered if you have ever used southampton leaflet distribution , found them on a google search and they claim to use gps tracking that you can access in real time ?
Also interested in buying a couple of hundred quid a month of work to get me started if you or anyone you know is interested in selling some ?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help :-)
About five a week form the website if the sun's out.
I've not used any leaflet companies as they are generally utterly awful. Tracking may help but I prefer to have my own people doing it.
Not heard of any work up for grabs... sorry.
Give me a shout if you fancy a chat.
Vin
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Robert! Why spend money having leaflets distributed for you? Deliver them yourself, you can target the areas you want and RE- leaflet/knock them on a regular basis to build up a compact round. If you dont have any customers yet you must have the time to go out and leaflet/knock yourself?? Forget about a website (until you are thinking of commercial or running a multi van operation.) YOU WILL be your best advert IF you do a good/top quality job! People talk if they get a good job done!
Hope this helps.
Just get out there
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Robert! Why spend money having leaflets distributed for you? Deliver them yourself, you can target the areas you want and RE- leaflet/knock them on a regular basis to build up a compact round. If you dont have any customers yet you must have the time to go out and leaflet/knock yourself?? Forget about a website (until you are thinking of commercial or running a multi van operation.) YOU WILL be your best advert IF you do a good/top quality job! People talk if they get a good job done!
Hope this helps.
Just get out there
I couldn't agree more.
For some reason, there is always a negative about knocking on doors and speaking to each potential customer face to face.
10 years ago the success of leaflets was about 4% in the motor trade, now its less than half of 1%. And this is in an industry where the dealership is known to the customer as is the car model he is considering. This is why you don't see many leaflets in your mail these days from that industry.
While KentKleen did have some good results from leaflets a few years back, I know of someone else who had 50000 leaflets printed with hardly any response in the same area.
A website may catch the odd customer, but door knocking is still the best way of growing a round. If you are well presented, speak nicely and politely, a potential customer will choose you over a faceless leaflet any day.
Once you get a few customers, get them to help you look for customers. As them for referrals of their friends in the local area who could also benifit from your services. Regularily knock neighbours of the house you are cleaning.
When you have no work, your physical job is to find customers yourself.
Spruce
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Robert, To my mind the most important thing when you start (and allways) is self discipline. Do something every working hour - if your not cleaning windows, knock on some doors or tidy up your equipment. It's very easy to think f..c it I wont go out today or I'll knock off at lunchtime. When you were employed you had a set time that you worked - do the same when you work for yourself.
Also, I did the full four days at the BWCA and thought it was money well spent, but your budget might not stretch to it. Either way try and get some training - an offer of going out with an experienced w/c is gold.
Good luck and keep at it!!!
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Robert, To my mind the most important thing when you start (and allways) is self discipline. Do something every working hour - if your not cleaning windows, knock on some doors or tidy up your equipment. It's very easy to think f..c it I wont go out today or I'll knock off at lunchtime. When you were employed you had a set time that you worked - do the same when you work for yourself.Also, I did the full four days at the BWCA and thought it was money well spent, but your budget might not stretch to it. Either way try and get some training - an offer of going out with an experienced w/c is gold.Good luck and keep at it!!!
Excellent post.
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As its already been said the website and leaflets can follow you need to get out there knocking now!! book them in and say you will be there within a month!!
first cleans take much longer then regular cleans anyway so you might as well be ready to roll as soon as your system is done!!
offering to help other windies will give you some practice!!
Also having the set times to start with is a defo good idea!!
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Thanks for the info vin and im sure you will hear from me soon.
Kent kleen , im not unemployed and do have quite a busy life .
will be building it up part time to begin with and im quite happy to build it up slowly but i dont have lots of spare time for leafletting thats why im looking at companys that can do that for me .
If i struggle i may well end up knocking doors .
cheers for the advice guys . :)