Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Roy Harding on December 24, 2014, 02:26:36 pm
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I will be spending loads in the new year, new van & system and that means new sign writing roof bars etc.
But hope to take on more work and may be run our 3rd van.
What do you plan?
Ps also price rise across the board. ;D
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Fine tune work and workless really.
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To sell up and go fully commercial.
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Get a newer van (can't afford brand new) - this may happen very early depending on the quotation to fix my existing one (been working from a hire van for over two weeks).
I want to remain a sole trader - at least for now - and to be turning over an additional £800 - £1k a month by June/July time.
On the non-window cleaning front, by this time next year, I want to have a reasonably solid first draft completed for the book I'm writing.
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Extra van on the road and another person working.
Take over the running of a particularly large commercial venture we took on this year and manage it independently.
Expand into a couple of different fields of external cleaning, high-level commercial pressure washing.
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My plan is to find my first franchisee within the first 6 months of 2015.
Andy
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Same as every year- work less for more money!! ;)
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Same as every year- work less for more money!! ;)
+1
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win the lottery then retire. should be easy enough.
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Same as last year for me, profit up 22%
And working hours down by 5 hrs a week
Spend as much time as possible with the wife and
Kids, zero ambition for more commercial work and vans on
The road etc
It's all fine as it is 👌 merry Xmas one and all 🎅🎅
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To tread in less dog sh*te.
That is all. ;D
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To keep doing what I'm doing which seems to be working quite well.
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find a new member of staff will be the 1st thing todo on first day back
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millionaire status
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To be better organized, refine the biz and increase turnover by around 20% over last year.
John
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millionaire status
You will be upgrading from escorttdi to mondeotdi next year i hope too see ;D
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To realise that work is less important than the family.
Work less.
But we've had a good year.
2015 to match & I'd be happy.
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You need to get some pictures of 'er next-door by this time next year Darren ;)
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You need to get some pictures of 'er next-door by this time next year Darren ;)
Lol.
You'd never get any work done.
It funny here ATM. He turns up, take some kids but not them all. Then brings them back. Then storms off in a huff. Then he's back a bit later.
There was a 5 series parked on the drive for about 3 hours this afternoon with the engine running.
Can't work 'em out.
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My neighbours are wierd ATM. Chap called Dave. He's a dick. A body builder.
He's got a kid, lovely lad. Very polite but really quiet, stands back, doesnt engage. Dave's other half I dont think is the lads mother. She gets a good mouthful a couple of times a week. He's got a mouth on him. Thing is he obviously doesnt realise we can hear just about every word hes saying as the place is a row of victorian terraced cottages. Their downstairs bathroom is right next to the bottom of my stairs, just a single skin of brick separating the two where a small piece of brick has come out, leaving it open to all and sundry to whoever wants to earwig :)
He gives her a really good seeing to, only verbally so far. But its the lad i feel sorry for. I am getting tired of it all, think I'll be having a word with him shortly if it continues.
As for her, I dont know why she stays. He gives her so much grief - F's and C's at her. Runs her down. Critiscises her, slags her off, rants and raves. He is just a bully, which is hwy he's a body builder I guess, just a defence mechanism. Make people think he's something he isnt, which in reality is someone who's just a bully.
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Is he juicing?
Sometimes the real person isn't the one talking on that bud.
I'd steer well clear if I was you.
If the red mist come down it's a different story... :-[
We were in ikea last month.
Fella went off. Shouting at his Mrs. Got the rage. Lashed out. Punched a 'Malm' chest of drawers.
Bust his hand proper. >:( ;D ;D ;D
About 3 of us made eye contact with her. In a sort of 'are you alright love?' Type of look. She just rolled her eyes. It obviously wasn't the first time. We all smiled though.
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I dont know if he's a drinker, Id say no if anything. Never seen him drunk.
More likely Roid Rage if anything. Steroids.
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I dont know if he's a drinker, Id say no if anything. Never seen him drunk.
More likely Roid Rage if anything. Steroids.
I've seen a guy suffer from that in the past, he was in a right state, his was from hemorrhoids though not steroids!
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I aim to sleep more and advance onto choccy digestives :)
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I aim to sleep more and advance onto choccy digestives :)
Skip the choccy ones and go straight to Oreos. Can't beat them.
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To sell up and go fully commercial.
Why's that Mick?
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Its coming in so fast and i have gained some great contacts and decent priced work in just 6 months and already it is overtaking my domestics on a daily take and now all my domestics are getting in the way and falling behind.
My domestic work is the nuts even though i find commercial better so will only sell if i get a good price! If not ill have to employ a few more to do it whilst i carry on with commercial but id rather just focus on commercial with my all as i have found im verey good at gaining the contracts and contacts, im hitting more than the telesales girls i use.
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Its coming in so fast and i have gained some great contacts and decent priced work in just 6 months and already it is overtaking my domestics on a daily take and now all my domestics are getting in the way and falling behind.
My domestic work is the nuts even though i find commercial better so will only sell if i get a good price! If not ill have to employ a few more to do it whilst i carry on with commercial but id rather just focus on commercial with my all as i have found im verey good at gaining the contracts and contacts, im hitting more than the telesales girls i use.
That's really good mate. I know a couple of guys who do just commercial and they do very well.
Personally if it was me I would do all I can to keep the domestics as well. A guy I know lost a £40k a year contract overnight due to a company going bust. It didn't send him under but he was worried for a bit and had to build it back up.
Commercial is high gains definitely but it also comes with high losses - but I'm sure you know that anyway :)
Out of interest what is your domestic work worth and what would you sell it for?
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Fine tune work and workless really.
Same here, the less I can do the better. 49 years old and I realise time is more important than working it . :)
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Work less earn more. I've found working more hours and having more work in the past doesn't guarantee more money at the end month.
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World domination. I have bought the white cat and shaved my head...
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Get a newer van (can't afford brand new) - this may happen very early depending on the quotation to fix my existing one (been working from a hire van for over two weeks).
I want to remain a sole trader - at least for now - and to be turning over an additional £800 - £1k a month by June/July time.
On the non-window cleaning front, by this time next year, I want to have a reasonably solid first draft completed for the book I'm writing.
What book you writing out of interest?
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My neighbours are wierd ATM. Chap called Dave. He's a dick. A body builder.
He's got a kid, lovely lad. Very polite but really quiet, stands back, doesnt engage. Dave's other half I dont think is the lads mother. She gets a good mouthful a couple of times a week. He's got a mouth on him. Thing is he obviously doesnt realise we can hear just about every word hes saying as the place is a row of victorian terraced cottages. Their downstairs bathroom is right next to the bottom of my stairs, just a single skin of brick separating the two where a small piece of brick has come out, leaving it open to all and sundry to whoever wants to earwig :)
He gives her a really good seeing to, only verbally so far. But its the lad i feel sorry for. I am getting tired of it all, think I'll be having a word with him shortly if it continues.
As for her, I dont know why she stays. He gives her so much grief - F's and C's at her. Runs her down. Critiscises her, slags her off, rants and raves. He is just a bully, which is hwy he's a body builder I guess, just a defence mechanism. Make people think he's something he isnt, which in reality is someone who's just a bully.
If hes competing he will be living on next to zero carbs and low cals and basically no water coming up to his show.... if u tried it , you wouldnt be too nice of a person urself lol.... many a relationship have been wrecked because of the diets and stress coming up to a show...
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My neighbours are wierd ATM. Chap called Dave. He's a dick. A body builder.
He's got a kid, lovely lad. Very polite but really quiet, stands back, doesnt engage. Dave's other half I dont think is the lads mother. She gets a good mouthful a couple of times a week. He's got a mouth on him. Thing is he obviously doesnt realise we can hear just about every word hes saying as the place is a row of victorian terraced cottages. Their downstairs bathroom is right next to the bottom of my stairs, just a single skin of brick separating the two where a small piece of brick has come out, leaving it open to all and sundry to whoever wants to earwig :)
He gives her a really good seeing to, only verbally so far. But its the lad i feel sorry for. I am getting tired of it all, think I'll be having a word with him shortly if it continues.
As for her, I dont know why she stays. He gives her so much grief - F's and C's at her. Runs her down. Critiscises her, slags her off, rants and raves. He is just a bully, which is hwy he's a body builder I guess, just a defence mechanism. Make people think he's something he isnt, which in reality is someone who's just a bully.
If hes competing he will be living on next to zero carbs and low cals and basically no water coming up to his show.... if u tried it , you wouldnt be too nice of a person urself lol.... many a relationship have been wrecked because of the diets and stress coming up to a show...
Its very selfish then.
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I hope to achieve pre 10 am starts.
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I'm going to avoid tax.
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Tax?
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All family and friends remain Fit & Healthy .
We take it for granted .
Money is secondary to Health . I'll always have windows to clean so no worries .
Have a healthy year people
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Get a newer van (can't afford brand new) - this may happen very early depending on the quotation to fix my existing one (been working from a hire van for over two weeks).
I want to remain a sole trader - at least for now - and to be turning over an additional £800 - £1k a month by June/July time.
On the non-window cleaning front, by this time next year, I want to have a reasonably solid first draft completed for the book I'm writing.
What book you writing out of interest?
Sorry to be slow in replying - I've stayed at a friend's place for a couple of nights. Sometimes people feel a bit sorry for me spending Christmas on my own but it is misplaced because I'm perfectly happy with that.
As for books, I have two on the go. The main one is autobiographical - though I am considering the possibility of wrapping it up in a little fiction too (not decided upon this latter course yet). The other is an amalgam of short stories - mostly of the humorous variety.
When the autobiographical work becomes too difficult or painful, I break off for a while and attempt to write a little comedy. I find that comedy writing is not as easy as some may at first believe. I've had a fairly unusual life in some respects and an autobiography is helping me to make more sense of it; I believe it would be entertaining for some other people to read as well.
My main motivations are about achievement and the therapeutic. It would be gratifying to feel that enough people enjoy my writing for me to make a part-time income from it. If so, that would be a big bonus. If not, at least I've used some time doing something that I enjoy. I like some aspects of window cleaning too but it's more about the relative freedom of employment than the act of washing glass.
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Its coming in so fast and i have gained some great contacts and decent priced work in just 6 months and already it is overtaking my domestics on a daily take and now all my domestics are getting in the way and falling behind.
My domestic work is the nuts even though i find commercial better so will only sell if i get a good price! If not ill have to employ a few more to do it whilst i carry on with commercial but id rather just focus on commercial with my all as i have found im verey good at gaining the contracts and contacts, im hitting more than the telesales girls i use.
That's really good mate. I know a couple of guys who do just commercial and they do very well.
Personally if it was me I would do all I can to keep the domestics as well. A guy I know lost a £40k a year contract overnight due to a company going bust. It didn't send him under but he was worried for a bit and had to build it back up.
Commercial is high gains definitely but it also comes with high losses - but I'm sure you know that anyway :)
Out of interest what is your domestic work worth and what would you sell it for?
Id only sell if got 10-12x which i know is a long shot but it is super work.
Will test the water after march to see what interest i can build up.
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My aim is to finally clean out the garage so I can finally park the van in it.
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My aim is to finally clean out the garage so I can finally park the van in it.
Thats my job for 2moz... Dump run and garage clean including fixing the leaky roof.
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Its coming in so fast and i have gained some great contacts and decent priced work in just 6 months and already it is overtaking my domestics on a daily take and now all my domestics are getting in the way and falling behind.
My domestic work is the nuts even though i find commercial better so will only sell if i get a good price! If not ill have to employ a few more to do it whilst i carry on with commercial but id rather just focus on commercial with my all as i have found im verey good at gaining the contracts and contacts, im hitting more than the telesales girls i use.
That's really good mate. I know a couple of guys who do just commercial and they do very well.
Personally if it was me I would do all I can to keep the domestics as well. A guy I know lost a £40k a year contract overnight due to a company going bust. It didn't send him under but he was worried for a bit and had to build it back up.
Commercial is high gains definitely but it also comes with high losses - but I'm sure you know that anyway :)
Out of interest what is your domestic work worth and what would you sell it for?
Id only sell if got 10-12x which i know is a long shot but it is super work.
Will test the water after march to see what interest i can build up.
For that sort of money it would possibly need to be a buyer who is already employing and has deep pockets; someone who sees it as a longish term investment to profit from otherts doing the manual work rather than someone making a good wage from a partnership or as a sole trader.
When I bought work previously, I found that some customers saw the change of cleaner as the right time to terminate the service. They seemed to take the view that if they were having a new cleaner, they would prefer it to be someone of their own choosing. I suppose it's a bit like when a new person moves into our old customer's house - some of us might view it as a time to increase the price (or if it's a very awkward job - to not go back).
Still, that's a buyer's problem.
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short version .... to have £500 a month spare when all bills have been paid :)
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Its coming in so fast and i have gained some great contacts and decent priced work in just 6 months and already it is overtaking my domestics on a daily take and now all my domestics are getting in the way and falling behind.
My domestic work is the nuts even though i find commercial better so will only sell if i get a good price! If not ill have to employ a few more to do it whilst i carry on with commercial but id rather just focus on commercial with my all as i have found im verey good at gaining the contracts and contacts, im hitting more than the telesales girls i use.
That's really good mate. I know a couple of guys who do just commercial and they do very well.
Personally if it was me I would do all I can to keep the domestics as well. A guy I know lost a £40k a year contract overnight due to a company going bust. It didn't send him under but he was worried for a bit and had to build it back up.
Commercial is high gains definitely but it also comes with high losses - but I'm sure you know that anyway :)
Out of interest what is your domestic work worth and what would you sell it for?
Id only sell if got 10-12x which i know is a long shot but it is super work.
Will test the water after march to see what interest i can build up.
So what is the turnover per year for it?
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To get 2 franchisee's at bursting point and to take on number 3.
Maybe employ 1 person to work my round so I can concentrate on building the franchise side of the business.
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My aim will to be up prices some by nearly 4 quid others around a pound. And to fill any gaps in the round to make it more compact. And to stop thinking of employing as I don't want the stress and I don't want to go over the vat. and to pay as little tax as poss.
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Get a newer van (can't afford brand new) - this may happen very early depending on the quotation to fix my existing one (been working from a hire van for over two weeks).
I want to remain a sole trader - at least for now - and to be turning over an additional £800 - £1k a month by June/July time.
On the non-window cleaning front, by this time next year, I want to have a reasonably solid first draft completed for the book I'm writing.
What book you writing out of interest?
Sorry to be slow in replying - I've stayed at a friend's place for a couple of nights. Sometimes people feel a bit sorry for me spending Christmas on my own but it is misplaced because I'm perfectly happy with that.
As for books, I have two on the go. The main one is autobiographical - though I am considering the possibility of wrapping it up in a little fiction too (not decided upon this latter course yet). The other is an amalgam of short stories - mostly of the humorous variety.
When the autobiographical work becomes too difficult or painful, I break off for a while and attempt to write a little comedy. I find that comedy writing is not as easy as some may at first believe. I've had a fairly unusual life in some respects and an autobiography is helping me to make more sense of it; I believe it would be entertaining for some other people to read as well.
My main motivations are about achievement and the therapeutic. It would be gratifying to feel that enough people enjoy my writing for me to make a part-time income from it. If so, that would be a big bonus. If not, at least I've used some time doing something that I enjoy. I like some aspects of window cleaning too but it's more about the relative freedom of employment than the act of washing glass.
Sounds interesting. Hope it works for you.
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1. Existing franchisees' rounds to be expanded until they beg me not to give them any more work.
2. Start two new franchisees.
3. Be even happier in 2015 than I was in 2014.
Vin
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1. Keep on beating Vin at golf every Friday!
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To get below the tax threshold and be happy.
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More commercial work, another van, another employee, qualifications. Re-jig the websites with Nath and use Becci Swan.
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im initiating price increases at the minute getting all properties up to level im happy cleaning for, i have lost 1 in 35 so far as i tried to increase it by £3 to £18 large 4 bed property with large conservertory so not too bothered she said she going to shop around.
not really got any concrete things i want to achieve this year it was all just about taking back over and getting things ticking over nice, getting pricing correct and then building a little getting work more compact hope to build about another 100 new customers thru the summer.
change over to newer van ive bought in next month or so then hopefully change over to a newer large van that can be a two man system ready to take on another worker on part time basis and work at a level just under the vat.
moving into new house next month or so so gonna be spending time doing it up etc
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1. Keep on beating Vin at golf every Friday!
And how's that gone so far in 2015?
Vin
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More sex QPR to stay up Derby to stay in the chumps league just to pee off donkey, 6 more vans, to avoid Matt Bateman.
Not to get blown up by Islam nutters when watching QPR. Drink more quality wine eat less at Matt Batemans favorite café Fat Joe's, work wise im appy ;D.
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To try and not get murdered by Vision extremists especially JK999 and just get on with things.
Same here work wise I'm happy.
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More sex QPR to stay up Derby to stay in the chumps league
No chance of any of that happening. Especially the sex, unless you become a farmer.
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Sorry mate I mis-read your original post.
More sex with QPR players
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;D wally
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to see out the year with my 1st full-time employee ;D ;D ;D
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Sorry mate I mis-read your original post.
More sex with QPR players
Up the R's.
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to see out the year with my 1st full-time employee ;D ;D ;D
Gonna be vat registered then mate, plus you will be looking forward to the higher tax band,worth it?
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to see out the year with my 1st full-time employee ;D ;D ;D
Good luck with that mate I hope its works for you.
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My first employee starts on Monday. Full time. I am 4 weeks behind on 8 weekly so I am hopeful that with work coming in as leafleting is ongoing and upselling the odd fsg/con roof to not run out of work. If last spring/summer is like this one I would be confident of a second van out by mid/late summer. I ought to have gone limited before now, but that takes place on 1st April. Then onwards and upwards.
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My first employee starts on Monday. Full time. I am 4 weeks behind on 8 weekly so I am hopeful that with work coming in as leafleting is ongoing and upselling the odd fsg/con roof to not run out of work. If last spring/summer is like this one I would be confident of a second van out by mid/late summer. I ought to have gone limited before now, but that takes place on 1st April. Then onwards and upwards.
Well done mate.
You will find that taking someone on is a game changer and a steep steep learning curve.
Don't start thinking about a 2nd van just yet... Make sure the employee is the person you want long term... Can you trust them to go out on their own etc etc..
Try and maximise the earning potential of one van first - as it keeps expenses down and keeps you in control.
I've learn't from experience... I now have 2 part time guys who work with me (in one van) 2 seperate days a week... I'm scrapping the 2nd van and going the franchise route.
Having said all that there are guys on this forum who employ and it works well for them.
Andy
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I've started year by buying an 11 plate Dispatch 2.0 hdi van I've been looking around for ages! I'll be selling my Connect with all gear in soon so if anyone interested drop me a line! Hopefully within a month I'll have a new two man system fitted plus sign written and a nice website to go with it!
I've had my Connect for 8 years now which has never let me down I just wanted a bigger van.
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My first employee starts on Monday. Full time. I am 4 weeks behind on 8 weekly so I am hopeful that with work coming in as leafleting is ongoing and upselling the odd fsg/con roof to not run out of work. If last spring/summer is like this one I would be confident of a second van out by mid/late summer. I ought to have gone limited before now, but that takes place on 1st April. Then onwards and upwards.
Well done mate.
You will find that taking someone on is a game changer and a steep steep learning curve.
Don't start thinking about a 2nd van just yet... Make sure the employee is the person you want long term... Can you trust them to go out on their own etc etc..
Try and maximise the earning potential of one van first - as it keeps expenses down and keeps you in control.
I've learn't from experience... I now have 2 part time guys who work with me (in one van) 2 seperate days a week... I'm scrapping the 2nd van and going the franchise route.
Having said all that there are guys on this forum who employ and it works well for them.
Andy
Cheers for that. I'm pretty sure I have the right person, but if not I will just get someone else. I have a strategy and a bad hire won't change that.