Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: JamesFirth on February 23, 2015, 07:19:06 pm
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Hi guys! It's my first time on the forum and I thought I would use the opportunity to introduce myself. My names james I'm 23 years old and live in Wakefield West Yorkshire. I am currently and events manager working for minimum wage in a small banqueting and conference centre and I'm utterly miserable. I want to be out there doing something for myself earning good money. My brother in law is a window cleaner and makes a very comfortable living and tells of how he loves the job. My son was born November last year with Down syndrome and heart defects and I want the very best for him and 3 days working for minimum wage is not enough but i need a little help and inspiration to hold my nose in take the plunge! Thanks for reading guys ;D iv read through a few threads and you seem a friendly lot :D
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Best of luck mate head down and keep going sounds like you have plenty of motivation so I'm sure you'll do great 😀
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go out with the brother in law and learn
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There's no easy route to a decent living mate; my advice would be to get out knocking doors in the evenings and clean them the following day. It's hard work but in time you'll have a full month's work each month. Don't go down the route of buying a round as it's too risky.
Failing that undercut your brother and take all of his customers haha!!!
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Hi James welcome onboard mate.
You will get good advice on here, I wouldn't be where iam now if it wasn't for the help of the guys on here.
Hope all goes well for you
trippy
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Thanks guys! I wernt sure if anyone was even going to respond! :) I'm going to begin canvassing next week... Slightly nerve wracking but a needs must. The good part is I live on and street of belive it or not 150 terrest houses and I've not seen a window cleaner once ;D
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Sorry about any typos and errors aswell guys my mobile has seen better days
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Welcome and good luck mate.
ANOTHER FROM WAKEFIELD!!!!! ;D
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Hi guys! It's my first time on the forum and I thought I would use the opportunity to introduce myself. My names james I'm 23 years old and live in Wakefield West Yorkshire. I am currently and events manager working for minimum wage in a small banqueting and conference centre and I'm utterly miserable. I want to be out there doing something for myself earning good money. My brother in law is a window cleaner and makes a very comfortable living and tells of how he loves the job. My son was born November last year with Down syndrome and heart defects and I want the very best for him and 3 days working for minimum wage is not enough but i need a little help and inspiration to hold my nose in take the plunge! Thanks for reading guys ;D iv read through a few threads and you seem a friendly lot :D
Good luck mate I've also had lots of good advice from here,but at the end of the day it's down to you,it's hard work,building a good round,In my opinion the best way to do this is canvassing,but others get good results by dropping leaflets.
Whatever you choose to do just keep doing it and don't give up,you will get there in the end
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Hello James, welcome to the forum mate,
First mate, defo go out with bro in law learn how to clean windows before you take the leap. I can understand 3 days on min pay isn't going to look after your family, but getting your street with that many houses in would for sure.
Best of luck with getting started and just being a dad makes you want to go to work so should be all good there.
Are you looking to work traditional or wfp, if I was starting out on domestics I would go right to the wfp. IMO
Good luck
Matt
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Good luck mate, keep us posted with your progress! :)
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Mate, So many times I have wished I started my biz when I was early 20's instead of leaving it until I was 35. I have just celebrated my business' 9th birthday on Saturday and it was the best decision I ever made.
As someone said earlier, get out and canvass and dont buy a round. before I started my biz my wife and I used to put £850 each into our joint account to pay for mortgage, bills, food, holiday fund etc etc so when I started my biz I knew that I needed to find that much regular work per month. I was out every night and got that figure by the end of the second month of canvassing. It was such a relief!
Another thing I did was I went out with other window cleaners to work free of charge just so I can gain experience. Two WFP guys and one trad. Found that very valuable.
Finally, keep every single receipt when you buy work stuff whether its uniform, shoes, to tools, van.
Best of luck and always ask on here if you are unsure of anything and best of luck to you and your family. Your boy is very lucky to have such a caring and responsible Dad.
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Go trad - it's far quicker.
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Thanks so much guys your support is really what I needed as that kick and I was going to go straight wfp as my preference but after reading on i see there is pros and cons to both wfp and trad but looking at start ups now a days it seems wfp is the way forward (no offence intended to experience trad cleaners ;D ) I will keep all updated and iv just to remember "if you really really want something you'll find a way, if you don't you'll find an excuse"
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I James , I'm from wakefied , clean Thornes , Outwood , centre , sandal and Normanton . And a few other areas .
The terraced houses near you would be a great start .
As Dave Willis stated , start trad for 6 months and build up the customer base , and monies .
Then go for Wfp .
I'm always here for help if required as are others on here .
Great way to earmark money and get time for your SON , who needs you
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Hope it goes well for you.
Learn trad (it's a good skill to have) but I'd go wfp straight away if you can afford it.
Ladders can be very dangerous if working on your own at this time of year.
I'm nearby in Barnsley message me if you want any tips on doing wfp on a budget.
Mine cost me a fraction of what some on here have paid.
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Good luck agree with DG if you can go wfp asap less wear on knees mine are knackered from climbing ladders
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go out with the brother in law and learn
+1
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Hi James, good luck with your venture.
Defo go out to get the basics with other cleaners, trad and wfp. That's what I did, helps pick up techniques.
Also, set your stall out with regard to payment methods from the off. Don't collect as it's a waste of your time, you don't get paid for that time. Get them used to paying online, or, leave an envelope (no stamp) post cheque. Kindly explain these methods to the customer, make it seem like the norm as all your other customers pay you this way.
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Thanks kempy & DG it's much appreciated. The only other concern I have is the amount of cleaners there is in Wakefield, I don't want to be stepping on anybody's toes or struggling for customers. What is your experience on this kempy?
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I bought 4 small rounds and started earning straight away
you need Trust though and that can be hard to find
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Approach the Prince`s trust for financial help and go out with brother in law on your off days build a round in off time so that the change will not be a battle then when you have a few days work you can tell the min wages / asses to take a jump. Please do as I say you will get to the top in a short time with help to get a van and some equipment.And if you can speak with a bit of knowledge of this industry the trust can help. Tell about your son and your dreams for him. Good luck.
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how friendly is your brother in law? have you told him you want to start ?
Your sister might give him a push to help you with any work he doesnt need or gear and myabe give you some days to start learning and earning
The upside is from what you have said your on part time minimum wage?
So on £150 ish a week after tax?
You will be cleaning that in a full day 6 months from now easy and in a couple of months replacd that money with your own work, its hard but keep at it , it gets better , now is the best time too , from march to november its much easier
If you were any closer to me i'd help you out .. good luck
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Welcome and good luck mate.
ANOTHER FROM WAKEFIELD!!!!! ;D
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;D
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Get out and work with your bro in law. Is he traditional or water fed pole? Pick his brains as much as you can and you'll learn loads. Learn about cleaning but also pricing and dealing with customers. Don't worry at all about other window cleaners and just focus on what you want to achieve. If you want it and you work hard, you'll get it. Sounds like you could do ok. Good luck.
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Im in wakefield as well mate and in a similar boat, although im a bit older (33)
was (still am ) Working for minimum wage, 3 kids to support, miserable, it took a relationship breakdown over a year ago for me to act and decide to do something about it.
I started out last april doing car valeting around my full time job, realised i needed more time so quit that job and now work 30 hours for minimum wage so, anyway i realised windows was a more reliable steady income so got in that about last august.
Was poop scared of canvassing so only started doing that about 2 weeks ago and only managed about 4 hours total to date, half hour here and there. although i have picked up about 8 custies from it so it defo works. i mainly got jobs off facebook, and self made website along with other bits, today i did an hour canvassing and signed up my 48th customer lol. I need 100 to go full time and 200 to be comfy.
Its a hard road starting a business, youll doubt yourself and want to quit at times. Im only now starting to see its possible but just keep plodding on. set yourself targets and chunk it down dont think too far ahead. Aim for 1 custy, do a good job, aim for 2, 5, 10 etc, just keep going, feel like poop? scared? wanna quit? keep going anyway..
good luck
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My three ha'penny worth. Get your van sign written. If you can afford even the most modest web site, do it and get on Facebook for Business, it's free so everyone on here really ought to be on it.
Finally, after you've done your first three or four cleans, ask customers for REFERRALS. Don't be shy!!
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Don't worry too much about other cleaners.... MOST established cleaners who are doing a decent job for their clients won't see you as too much of a threat.
Be safe on the ladders. Find an experienced pro and let him show you how it is done.
Go for standards over speed in the early days.
Expect to work very long hours as you get established. But you might luck out and pick up another cleaners work (who has maybe been 'seen off' by the bad weather).
Good luck.
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My three ha'penny worth. Get your van sign written. If you can afford even the most modest web site, do it and get on Facebook for Business, it's free so everyone on here really ought to be on it.
Finally, after you've done your first three or four cleans, ask customers for REFERRALS. Don't be shy!!
^^^ what he said especially about referrals.
In the early days I got a lot of customers in a street of terraced houses which initially started by asking for a referral in another village. The potential customer I was referred to introduced me to them all and even got me a couple of additional jobs that there was no one at home and were later confirmed. And my price in those days was nearly twice what the previous cleaners were charging. We still clean the majority of them 10 years on.
We find that the referrals are the best customers to have as they are inclined to stick with you - they are more loyal - in our experience anyway.
Focus every conversation around window cleaning - think, talk, sleep, breathe window cleaning. You will never have enough time to talk, even if your customer is the same team supporter as you are, so don't get into the habit. You can waste hours talking.
When you finish a house, knock the doors around the house. Canvass every spare moment you can.
Use any gaps in your day to knock doors and leave a leaflet.
Try to clean on Saturdays. People are more likely to be at home and see you working.
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You have gone down the right path! I started when I lost my job, had to sell my car to live on the cash, was broke as a joke. Been scared of heights all my life so a window cleaner was the last thing I thought I would become, didn't let it stop me.
Off I went with my bucket and ladder, on foot. Didn't even know how to trad.
Today I have a 2 man setup in my van, for me and my wife. All paid for by window cleaning, we work 2-3 days a week, I'm not saying how much we earn but we don't need to work any more than that and have the rest of the time with the kids.
I no longer look for work, work looks for me. You have to know how to be with the customers is the best advice I can give you, if they like you as a person then your in!
Be polite, bucket loads of respect for them and there property. Go the extra mile now and again, give them something for nothing. Be complimentary(cheesy but works a treat if done right) take complaints seriously, make sure they're satisfied with your work. Be regular, let them know if your not going to be on time,, some people hate not knowing.
You can make this work as many before you have.
Get in touch with local window cleaners(good ones) and ask to go cleaning with them, I did, and learned a lot.
If there's anything I can do to help you then I defiantly will mate.
I'm sorry to hear about your son, keep him in mind when the going gets tough
As it always does.
The very best of luck to you.