Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: timsterT on November 20, 2015, 05:14:25 pm
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Hi All , :)
I'm hoping you can help me .
I am a big believer in forums , and getting and giving advice from people who are actually doing the job
I recently became redundant after working for a company for 10 years .
And have decided to start my own window cleaning business .
This will be a totally new job for me , as I've mainly done indoor retail sales jobs n the past . But I'm a hard worker and not afraid of putting the effort in .
I'm from N.Ireland and have a budget of about 4500 quid .
I will be on my own to start and I'm looking for some help and advice . Or point me in the direction of a post / topic that has it .
My main questions are :
Is my budget realistic for a van and WFP system ?
Is it workable to do on your own ?
What will my average start up costs be ?
What's an average income per week ?
Is this a bad time of year to be starting ?
I was thinking of contacting window cleaning companies that are about 100 miles ( so as nit to infringe on their business area ) away to see if I could volenteer for some on the job experience
Any help I'd much appreciated , as I'm pretty much sh#tting myself about blowing all my savings and going out on my own in a new business .
Thanks
Tim
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You've come to the right place, welcome. We can help. Most of us are self-employed sole operators with a few who employ one or two others.
Most of us have self assembled a system and put it in a van.
Now to the nitty-gritty. Have you got any say as to when you leave your job? If so then having a few months to plan makes a lot of sense.
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Well, before you even consider spending any of your money, answer a few questions...
What makes you think you can be a window cleaner ?
Have you been out knocking on doors to get customers lined up ?
Are you prepared to knock doors and canvass for business?
Can you survive for a few months on a small income until your get customers?
What's your business plan for the first 12 months ?
You can easily blow 4.5k and not like window cleaning, not get customers, hate the job, and all that money is gone, I'd be inclined to do some trad first, or just get a backpack and run it from my car, or buy a cheap van (combo) for around 1k - then expand the equipment as you build you customer base
Darran
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You've come to the right place, welcome. We can help. Most of us are self-employed sole operators with a few who employ one or two others.
Most of us have self assembled a system and put it in a van.
Now to the nitty-gritty. Have you got any say as to when you leave your job? If so then having a few months to plan makes a lot of sense.
Thanks for the Welcome :)
I've been an active member of a number of car owners forums for many years giving people help and advice on servicing and repairs , and always believe the info from forum members is the best .
I've about 2 weeks before I finish up at work .
From what I've read on the forum , the WFP system is the way to go , and I've been looking on ebay and gumtree and on here for vans with equipment included .
Not sure how many members on here from N.Ireland , but prices over here for window cleaning a domestic house 3 bedroom seem to be a fair bit less than the mainland .
Average price seems to be 8 - 10 quid for a house ( 4 weekly ) .
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Frankly this isn't the best time of year to start. (But there seldom is) My suggestion would be get a part time wage job especially between finishing and Xmas and start banging doors right now explaining that you are "expanding in the new year". This will let you gauge interest and maybe sign a few up.
If the signs are good then use the quiet Xmas period to get yourself a van and kit it out. Or build a trailer system and stick it on the family car.
What are your obligations? (Wife/kids/single/rent/mortgage etc?)
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If you don't have money to buy someone's established round I wouldn't think about it.
I'm 23 now been in business 5 years and I have just hit the 3k a month mark, my average house price is £11.54.
Which is great for the north east of England, I'm sure I will get some southerners laughing at me ;D
I started with no work just a van and tools... Believe me good customers are hard to come by, leaflets only work well if your doing 50k drops every couple of months.
Canvassing is possibly the best way, but it's sole destroying getting so much rejection(you might be used to this working in sales)
I would say a realistic startup cost would be 10k, this could get you a small round maybe £1000 a month, and a cheap van and DIY system
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Well, before you even consider spending any of your money, answer a few questions...
What makes you think you can be a window cleaner ?
Have you been out knocking on doors to get customers lined up ?
Are you prepared to knock doors and canvass for business?
Can you survive for a few months on a small income until your get customers?
What's your business plan for the first 12 months ?
You can easily blow 4.5k and not like window cleaning, not get customers, hate the job, and all that money is gone, I'd be inclined to do some trad first, or just get a backpack and run it from my car, or buy a cheap van (combo) for around 1k - then expand the equipment as you build you customer base
Darran
Hi Darran
Thanks for getting back to me .
I enjoy working outdoors and have never been afraid of hard work .
I have worked in the customer facing / sales industry for 18 years and have no problem calling door to door , delivering flyers , and promoting via social media .
Tbh , I really just want to be my own boss , and if I can get by on making a half decent salary per week I'd be happy enough .
On the limited research I've done to date , there does not seem to be to many window cleaners in my area ( going on a 15 - 20 mile radius ) , and my hope is to start off doing window and then hopefully expand to pressure washing , guttering , and other cleaning services .
My first though on a business plan for the next year after I've left work was to set up a local car wash , but with my budget and set up costs locally this is not possible at the minute .
I haven't been out knocking doors yet , as I'm not at that stage at the minute , with redundancy meetings etc .
I know this is an open question but whats an average income for the first few months likely to be ?
I've based a start up estimate on me doing a lot of canvassing to start up , via door knocks , leaflets , social media , and word of mouth .
Maybe something like an introductory offer ?
A rough starting estimate I would hope for is 5 - 8 houses a day at about 30 / 45mins per house at £10 , over 5 days would be an income of about 350 - 400 ( before costs / fuel / tax / insurance etc )
Does this sound realistic , or have I got it completely wrong ?
Thanks again for all your input , really appreciate it .
Cheers
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Tim,
Good on you.
Don't underprice; you'll regret it later and resent doing the underpriced jobs. If you're in a part of the country where people have cash, charge more; they'll pay it. Customers you gain in winter will stick with you like glue.
Leaflet and canvass together. Work out what frequencies you're going to offer and stick to them. Decide now how you're going to get round your customers and how you'll add new ones (much easier than reorganising later).
Get a notebook. Read through fifty pages of posts on here and make a list of who posts sense. Go back into the past to find good posters. Ian Lancaster might be a good start, though he doesn't post too much now. Then use the search facility to find all their posts and read the lot. Note what they do and take the best of their ideas. However, don't be afraid to improve what they are doing if you are sure you know better - that's how people beat the opposition. Ignore any posts that look like they are just a whinge. (Not just when you start, keep up the habit - people who whine about weather and van problems on here just sap your willpower)
Surround yourself with optimists.
Expect to work twice as hard for everything than you initially expect.
When you start cleaning, make sure you're eating enough. It's hard work at the start and when you're low on fuel, your morale will drop. Keep well fuelled by eating and drinking enough.
Finally, the simple bit. If you keep on turning up and you keep on getting their windows clean, you'll not lose many customers and they'll recommend you to everyone they meet.
Vin
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If you don't have money to buy someone's established round I wouldn't think about it.
I'm 23 now been in business 5 years and I have just hit the 3k a month mark, my average house price is £11.54.
Which is great for the north east of England, I'm sure I will get some southerners laughing at me ;D
I started with no work just a van and tools... Believe me good customers are hard to come by, leaflets only work well if your doing 50k drops every couple of months.
Canvassing is possibly the best way, but it's sole destroying getting so much rejection(you might be used to this working in sales)
I would say a realistic startup cost would be 10k, this could get you a small round maybe £1000 a month, and a cheap van and DIY system
Thanks for the reply mate .
Where I live there is not the option to buy someone else's round , ad I'm hoping because of the small market that I can build on that .
And yes your right , being from a sales / retail background , I'm no stranger to ignorant customers and a fair bit of rejection .
My budget is pretty set at 4500 to 5000 max , so no way I could stretch to 10k for start up ! .
Prices for an older van and WFP system seem to be pretty good for my budget .
Although I do have a decent sized 4x4 , so I could start off with a trailer system , but that's not really ideal for me .
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Tim,
Good on you.
Don't underprice; you'll regret it later and resent doing the underpriced jobs. If you're in a part of the country where people have cash, charge more; they'll pay it. Customers you gain in winter will stick with you like glue.
Leaflet and canvass together. Work out what frequencies you're going to offer and stick to them. Decide now how you're going to get round your customers and how you'll add new ones (much easier than reorganising later).
Get a notebook. Read through fifty pages of posts on here and make a list of who posts sense. Go back into the past to find good posters. Ian Lancaster might be a good start, though he doesn't post too much now. Then use the search facility to find all their posts and read the lot. Note what they do and take the best of their ideas. However, don't be afraid to improve what they are doing if you are sure you know better - that's how people beat the opposition. Ignore any posts that look like they are just a whinge. (Not just when you start, keep up the habit - people who whine about weather and van problems on here just sap your willpower)
Surround yourself with optimists.
Expect to work twice as hard for everything than you initially expect.
When you start cleaning, make sure you're eating enough. It's hard work at the start and when you're low on fuel, your morale will drop. Keep well fuelled by eating and drinking enough.
Finally, the simple bit. If you keep on turning up and you keep on getting their windows clean, you'll not lose many customers and they'll recommend you to everyone they meet.
Vin
Thanks Vin
Really good positive response :)
In my spare time I compete in extreme endurance events and mud runs , and defo keep an eye on my eating / fuelling habits .
Seems to be a lot of info on the site , and seems very easy to get lost and spend hours going through posts
Thanks for your info
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I am in the south west of Ireland, so don't have any idea how it compared to the north. BUT
I (re)started up 4 and a half years ago when I moved here from England. It was in the middle of the recession, and my new area was ravaged by said recession.
I knocked doors from within a week of moving, and found work straight away, although it has taken me the best part of the 4 years I have been here to build a run which generates enough to make a reasonable living. There were lots of people who didn't want a regular clean, some were one-offs, some were non-payers. You get the drift...
It was tough going, and I did it all by canvassing, although I am now picking up all of my new customers by word of mouth or walk ups (mostly the former).
My mindset from the word go was that failure is not an option, and this made me very determined to succeed, even though I was told by well meaning friends that I'd never find enough work to make a living.
I use traditional methods still, and it may be an idea for you to start this way, as initial outlay is minimal,
so you can try this game out to see if it is for you, before going the waterfed pole route.
These days it will take you at least 2 years to build a decent run (as I said, it's taken me 4 and it's still growing) so don't set your expectations too high, too soon.
I find that December gets very busy (everyone wants clean windows for xmas) so I see no reason why you shouldn't go out there and canvass now.
Hope this helps in some way, and welcome to the madhouse btw.
John
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Frankly this isn't the best time of year to start. (But there seldom is) My suggestion would be get a part time wage job especially between finishing and Xmas and start banging doors right now explaining that you are "expanding in the new year". This will let you gauge interest and maybe sign a few up.
If the signs are good then use the quiet Xmas period to get yourself a van and kit it out. Or build a trailer system and stick it on the family car.
What are your obligations? (Wife/kids/single/rent/mortgage etc?)
This is a great idea , start canvassing and leafleting now saying that I'm expanding in the new year and gauge an idea of potential market size , and hopefully sign up customers .
Atm I am renting , and have no mortgage or kids . And no major debts
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I am in the south west of Ireland, so don't have any idea how it compared to the north. BUT
I (re)started up 4 and a half years ago when I moved here from England. It was in the middle of the recession, and my new area was ravaged by said recession.
I knocked doors from within a week of moving, and found work straight away, although it has taken me the best part of the 4 years I have been here to build a run which generates enough to make a reasonable living. There were lots of people who didn't want a regular clean, some were one-offs, some were non-payers. You get the drift...
It was tough going, and I did it all by canvassing, although I am now picking up all of my new customers by word of mouth or walk ups (mostly the former).
My mindset from the word go was that failure is not an option, and this made me very determined to succeed, even though I was told by well meaning friends that I'd never find enough work to make a living.
I use traditional methods still, and it may be an idea for you to start this way, as initial outlay is minimal,
so you can try this game out to see if it is for you, before going the waterfed pole route.
These days it will take you at least 2 years to build a decent run (as I said, it's taken me 4 and it's still growing) so don't set your expectations too high, too soon.
I find that December gets very busy (everyone wants clean windows for xmas) so I see no reason why you shouldn't go out there and canvass now.
Hope this helps in some way, and welcome to the madhouse btw.
John
Hi John
Thanks for your reply mate . I appreciate it .
What do you charge down south per house ?
How do you promote customers to sign up for regular cleaning ? .
Is once per month cleaning the standard ?
Thanks
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The reason I said 10k was to buy a window cleaning round included.
Been serious for you to be making £350-400 a week it's going to take you at least 2 year I reckon, (that's based on north east prices) you will obviously get extra jobs in summer, but to have a round generating £350-400 a week will take a couple of years.
If you have a house, overheads, car finance, kids then I wouldn't even think about it unless you have another half working or you buy a round
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Thanks for the reply .
I had no idea that it would take 2 years to build up a 350 - 400 a week round .
Is this pretty standard ?
I'm hoping that canvassing and sign ups will give me a better idea of potential income .
I've no kids , mortgage or finance to speak of .
Thanks
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I am in the south west of Ireland, so don't have any idea how it compared to the north. BUT
I (re)started up 4 and a half years ago when I moved here from England. It was in the middle of the recession, and my new area was ravaged by said recession.
I knocked doors from within a week of moving, and found work straight away, although it has taken me the best part of the 4 years I have been here to build a run which generates enough to make a reasonable living. There were lots of people who didn't want a regular clean, some were one-offs, some were non-payers. You get the drift...
It was tough going, and I did it all by canvassing, although I am now picking up all of my new customers by word of mouth or walk ups (mostly the former).
My mindset from the word go was that failure is not an option, and this made me very determined to succeed, even though I was told by well meaning friends that I'd never find enough work to make a living.
I use traditional methods still, and it may be an idea for you to start this way, as initial outlay is minimal,
so you can try this game out to see if it is for you, before going the waterfed pole route.
These days it will take you at least 2 years to build a decent run (as I said, it's taken me 4 and it's still growing) so don't set your expectations too high, too soon.
I find that December gets very busy (everyone wants clean windows for xmas) so I see no reason why you shouldn't go out there and canvass now.
Hope this helps in some way, and welcome to the madhouse btw.
John
Hi John
Thanks for your reply mate . I appreciate it .
What do you charge down south per house ?
How do you promote customers to sign up for regular cleaning ? .
Is once per month cleaning the standard ?
Thanks
Hi, I charge 1.50 euro per 'frame', so a standard 3 bedroom semi would be around 15 euro, or 18-20 for the same with a bay window. I'm told this is cheap, but as I am in County Kerry where we're all paupers, I feel this is enough. Obviously if you are in an affluent area, you will be able to justify charging more than this, so it's an open ended answer really.
I don't sign anyone up to a specific frequency, as I quickly found that some peoples' word mean very little, but I do have customers who I clean for on 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weekly intervals. I also have some weekly shops as well. In addition I have a good number of customers who call me as and when, so I fit these in around my regulars. It does sound complicated, but I have found that keeping my customers happy keeps me busy enough and it works well enough for me to be making a reasonable living.
Things may be different where you are, but I hope some of what I have said may help.
John
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Thanks for the reply .
I had no idea that it would take 2 years to build up a 350 - 400 a week round .
Is this pretty standard ?
I'm hoping that canvassing and sign ups will give me a better idea of potential income .
I've no kids , mortgage or finance to speak of .
Thanks
I'm just going from my experience and my uncle who also does the same.
The rewards are there but the first 2/3 years are a killer.
Imagine me at 17 trying to pay £160 insurance on a van, plus costs... I honestly didn't make a penny some weeks but I would not give up and sit on my A like my other mates.
Been realistic, imagine if you started Monday.
Do you think you could go out and get 45 customers at £10.00?
I think you would struggle to get that in one month at first... It takes years mate, that's why it's best to buy a round so at least you have say £1000 a month coming in minimum.
I only managed because I lived at home and had understanding parents who looked after me when I need loans etc
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If you don't have money to buy someone's established round I wouldn't think about it.
I'm 23 now been in business 5 years and I have just hit the 3k a month mark, my average house price is £11.54.
Which is great for the north east of England, I'm sure I will get some southerners laughing at me ;D
I started with no work just a van and tools... Believe me good customers are hard to come by, leaflets only work well if your doing 50k drops every couple of months.
Canvassing is possibly the best way, but it's sole destroying getting so much rejection(you might be used to this working in sales)
I would say a realistic startup cost would be 10k, this could get you a small round maybe £1000 a month, and a cheap van and DIY system
Thanks for the reply mate .
Where I live there is not the option to buy someone else's round , ad I'm hoping because of the small market that I can build on that .
And yes your right , being from a sales / retail background , I'm no stranger to ignorant customers and a fair bit of rejection .
My budget is pretty set at 4500 to 5000 max , so no way I could stretch to 10k for start up ! .
Prices for an older van and WFP system seem to be pretty good for my budget .
Although I do have a decent sized 4x4 , so I could start off with a trailer system , but that's not really ideal for me .
You've just revealed a vital piece of info - you have a vehicle. Would you be able to throw the value of that vehicle on top of your £4.5 to £5k to get yourself a reasonable van and basic system. Also, do you have facilities at home to set up a holding tank (with filters) in a garage or insulated shed? Are you able to borrow a bit if necessary?
First things first though - you need customers. I like Granville's suggestion of part time job while you are building. When I first started, I was on the dole. I had an old car and about £200. I bought some roof bars, borrowed a ladder and went door knocking. Even though I had very low outgoings, I was still VERY grateful for a well paid driving job (self-employed) where I went away one week per month plus a few days here and there from a couple of job agencies. I would be sweeping the pavement one day, unloading boxes from a conveyor belt another day, going away driving - and filling the gaps with window cleaning. Gradually, it reached the point where I didn't have time for the other jobs. It took a while though. I door knocked after 5 pm - not so easy in winter but I did it anyway. Some evenings I wouldn't get a single customer but others, I might get 6 or 8.
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No 2 years is not standard, neither is 3 months - everyone's resolve to get work is different and no 2 areas are the same, 6 years ago I started out with less than £1000 to my name by month 3 I was bringing in £350p/w which just about covered the rent,food etc.. But I started a little earlier in the year ( sept ) I had to canvass, canvass, canvass - for a couple of months I did it trad, before getting a basic van with a tank and Ali pole for £1100
Ro system, etc I had to buy and learn how to operate and learn how to WFP without bad results, that's why a bit of trad will help you in the early days,
Time of year is your biggest obstacle as many now will only want a one off Christmas clean, but if you can keep it going then you should be in a great position to pick up work from Feb. ( assuming we don't have a late hard winter )
Vin and I have been going around the same time, and both have a similar size biz but got there in different ways, vin is defo one to listen to as is Granville and spruce, some others too, but I'm sure you'll soon see for yourself who is worth taking note of.
Research will be your best friend so search the forum for answers.
Darran
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Agree with smudger, its hard to put a time frame on things
Depending on your effort & what you hope to achieve will determine alot
My advice, see if you can go out with someone and learn the ropes. Just a few days, so you can actually work out if its something you can & want to do
Van & system is the easy bit. The hard bit is customers. (I say hard, this is where your effort level will come in)
Canvass (and expect alot of rejection) and clean everyday for 3-6 months and theres no reason as to why you cant get a livable income in
(5 a day, 5 days a week for 3 months is 15 a day or £150 a day at £10average. With drop offs etc...you'll still not be doing bad...the main thing is effort/motivation to do it)
Its alot of work, but short term effort for long term gain will make it worth it
It always seems a great idea before you try something, when you start just remember your motivation, keep going even when you cant be a55ed and you'll pick up customers in no time
Good luck :)
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Timster the majority of new businesses fail because of the lack of cash flow, as Darren has said there is no set period for
building a round but you will still need to plan on how your going to cope if it does take a year or two, hopefully it wont.
You will need to keep a certain amount of your budget for any unexpected bills and so on.
You have a vehicle that's a start.
Do you have access to a water supply? do you have somewhere to store a trailer if you decide on a trailer set-up ?
Personally if I where in your shoes I would head over to Omagh and have a word with Arthur from Sureclean, he will sort you
out with something that will suit your budget and if you buy from him he will throw in a bit of training at the same time.
I'm going to gave a different take on Christmas cleans yes you are going to get a lot who will be looking for a one off but
when you have little or no work this is better than nothing just don't be alarmed when they drop off after Christmas as it wont
be the norm.
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Be prepared to diversify a bit - there are loads of houses with dirty/blocked gutters and they are easy to spot. Don't canvass houses with really filthy windows - they will use you once only. Be polite, cheery and honest - once they like you word spreads, many windowcleaners are lowlifes, be smart, professional and do the best job you can. Eventually it snowballs and you'll be swamped.
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I'll say it again, don't underprice. Don't worry about what other people are charging, get more for yourself. By all means tell people you're canvassing to put second cleaner on the road. Firstly it gives you and excuse for a delay to the first clean ("We're expecting him to start in six weeks") and it gives them confidence that you're not a fly-by-night.
Vin
PS Don't underprice.
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With any new customers who have windows where the frames are black and covered in cobwebs and things explain that you initially charge double as it takes two to three times longer than normal to clean them and that the price will be half that for the routine, regular, cleans thereafter ........it weeds out some but not all customers who intentionally deceived you into a possible 'one off' clean. That way you at least cover the extra time it takes to clean really dirty windows.
As you pick up more customers you'll get wiser to who might possibly be a 'chancer' and you'll pick up the signs when in conversion with them upon introducing yourself whilst canvassing. Trust your gut instinct and keep a mental note so you can reflect on your intuition to see how many times you were right.
Good luck!
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Have to disagree with Vin, be honest with your customers as most can spot BS from a distance, there's no need for
it in this game if somebody needs a cleaner they will happily give you a go, again that's where the one off messers can help they
give you the chance to be seen cleaning in the area, so there's always a plus from every clean.
He is spot on about undercutting though.
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Sean or vin - both can work, depends if your comfortable playing the "poor but determined" window clearer who is making his way n the world..
Personally I always went down the " we clean your neighbours " in the road/next street/village route.
Always charge extra for the first clean - it's too demoralising spending hours on cleans to earn £30 for the day.
Oh yes...
Don't price cheap !!!!
Darran
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Thanks for the reply .
I had no idea that it would take 2 years to build up a 350 - 400 a week round .
Is this pretty standard ?
I'm hoping that canvassing and sign ups will give me a better idea of potential income .
I've no kids , mortgage or finance to speak of .
Thanks
Hi Tim, first off welcome to CIU and just to share there are many other options and ways of developing good income from different aspects of cleaning where overtime you could generate more money to invest in a good van and high quality wfp equipment, if you like send me an email to info@jskcleaning.ie and i will be happy to share a few ideas with you under no obligation. Tadgh
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Hi Tim.....i think it would be a really good idea to help another window cleaner (preferably one that is outside the area you plan on working) out for at least a few days possibly a week or more until you feel comfortable with going it alone, offer to work for free, this way you get to see what equipment is used and how to use it. Window cleaning isnt rocket science, but there is a learning curve, if there was just one type of window with one type of frame life would be easy, but there are different types ie...upvc, wood, aluminium, powder coated aluminium, self cleaning, all can sometimes have there own method of cleaning, for various reasons, some glass you may have to do traditionally. then there`s leaded windows, leaded arn`t a problem in themselves unless you get the really old leaded glass, you may have to do those traditional because if you WFP them the water will stream down the inside. we also use chemicals at times, again for various reasons, maybe 1st cleans, or when someone`s had a BBQ next to the patio sliding door, or maybe they water there hanging plants and your left with limescale on the glass. You`ll learn how to overcome spotting and runs. and many other bug bears. Again all these areas are easy to deal with....once you know how.
working with someone just to be shown the ropes will benefit you tremendously and will build your confidence
tony
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Sean or vin - both can work, depends if your comfortable playing the "poor but determined" window clearer who is making his way n the world..
Personally I always went down the " we clean your neighbours " in the road/next street/village route.
Always charge extra for the first clean - it's too demoralising spending hours on cleans to earn £30 for the day.
Oh yes...
Don't price cheap !!!!
Darran
Why would you be playing the poor but determined window cleaner ? when I said be honest I don't mean tell them you only
have two customers, just don't feed them a lie where you might get caught out down the line and make yourself look foolish.
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Hi Tim,
I've built many rounds over my long association (nearly 50 years) with window cleaning and I've written a tutorial for effective canvassing based on my experience. If you'd like some guidance email me. Address on my website.
Cheers,
Ian
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Tim.
http://www.tecbuk.com/products/winning-at-window-cleaning
I found this book useful but by the time I'd read it I'd already been going 8 years.
Books only about a ¼ of an inch thick and I paid £25 it's gone up!
But basically it crunches the numbers how many days your actually work a year/month.
Pricing structures, equipment, canvassing etc.
Yes alot can be found out on here.
And there are some great people on here.
Youtube is very useful also, few guys on here have very good vids for van setups and also how to clean windows water fed pole and traditional.
I think one of the best lines in the book is being able to earn at least the national average wage in 3 days.
Don't expect to work 5 days a week every week!
I'd say 14 days work a month would be a manageable round for a one man band if you start getting more than 16 it will be hard to stay on time.
Keep refining your customer base, only take on work if it adds value to your round.
Not easy when you start !
(increases your hourly rate, underpriced work will obviously bring your hourly rate down).
If you make a mistake pricing tell the customers.
"I'm charging you the price I quoted today but next time it will be £x.
But keep canvassing for new work you won't get scared of increasing your prices or ejecting messers from your round.
It took me 2 years to have a round I was pleased with.
I worked for a window cleaner traditional for 18 month's.
Wanted to buy his round as he was retiring but fell out with him.
I do think if you could get a part time job it would help financially while you get nearer to where you want to be.
Obviously depends on your outgoings.
You might not need too!
I'd got made redundant from printing industry at 32 done it since leaving school.
Worked with a window 4 days a week and did 2 nights a week bar work, whilst building a round by canvassing so that's why it took me 2 years.
Best of luck to you Tim.
Take what you read on here with a pinch of salt, earnings, working in pouring rain etc.
Ps. Gardiner pole systems make very good equipment in my opinion.
But there are others on here also keep posting :)
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Try trad to see if you like cleaning and its the cheaper start up option , and freezing weather wont stop you with frozen hoses . If no one will show you the ropes practice on you own place until you get perfect results every time then practice some more to get quicker . If you start in winter and can stick with the cold will prove to customers your not a fair weather cleaner . when I started 10 years ago in January only made £17 almost gave up after 6 months through lack of work now I turn work down so stick with it.
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If you don't have money to buy someone's established round I wouldn't think about it.
I'm 23 now been in business 5 years and I have just hit the 3k a month mark, my average house price is £11.54.
Which is great for the north east of England, I'm sure I will get some southerners laughing at me ;D
I started with no work just a van and tools... Believe me good customers are hard to come by, leaflets only work well if your doing 50k drops every couple of months.
Canvassing is possibly the best way, but it's sole destroying getting so much rejection(you might be used to this working in sales)
I would say a realistic startup cost would be 10k, this could get you a small round maybe £1000 a month, and a cheap van and DIY system
Thanks for the reply mate .
Where I live there is not the option to buy someone else's round , ad I'm hoping because of the small market that I can build on that .
And yes your right , being from a sales / retail background , I'm no stranger to ignorant customers and a fair bit of rejection .
My budget is pretty set at 4500 to 5000 max , so no way I could stretch to 10k for start up ! .
Prices for an older van and WFP system seem to be pretty good for my budget .
Although I do have a decent sized 4x4 , so I could start off with a trailer system , but that's not really ideal for me .
Define 4x4 if you have a Pick up truck then you will easily get a 400ltr flat tank in the back strapped in with a full diy set up for under £1,000 but you must be properly insured to carry a water tank .
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Being self employed isn't all that it's hyped up to be. The expression 'I want to be my own boss' was started by a franchisee seller to promote sales of his product. It takes a real sense of discipline to go out when the weather isn't good. It's too easy to 'give it a miss today and I'll work harder tomorrow to catch up.' Being self employed also means that you are supposedly free to run other errands and do favours you wouldn't do as an employed person. Family members are the worst 'culprits' - "are you going past the post office?" usually means more than is initially asked.
Most of us avoid one off Christmas cleans like the plague as we have enough work without them. They will also tend to be more dirty as they aren't cleaned regularly and so harder work.
But as Darran and Vin have said, if you have no work then don't be afraid to take them on. Price them higher and do a good job. Each good job you do adds to your experience. In a way each job you do is your advertising board. It may get you a regular customer. What is right for us and our circumstances ie. one off Christmas cleans, may not be right for you. But it doesn't mean either of us are wrong.
Once you have done the clean to their 'delight' then don't be afraid to offer a regular window cleaning service even if its for next Christmas. If they say 'no' then don't be afraid to knock on their door in a few months and ask again. As Vin says, you will need to work twice as hard for everything you get to begin with. You need to walk, talk, eat & sleep window cleaning. Forget trivial talk for the next few years. 'Networking' must replace that.
When you clean a house canvass the neighbours. If you see someone cleaning their own windows, stop and politely offer your services. If they say No then move on. Don't see rejection as a negative, see it as a positive - its one step closer to a 'yes'.
Canvass your area systematically. Record each street and the numbers as you door knock. If they have a cleaner then thank them, and in true Colombo manner, ask them for their cleaners name before departing. If its John, note that down. You are trying to get as complete a picture of the area as possible. Others may have George as a window cleaner. If you hear George has stopped window cleaning in the few years, you will have a list of some of his customers you can canvass. TBH most won't even know - sometimes they say they have a window cleaner to get rid of you. Leave them a leaflet and move on. We had one customer phone us afterwards to ask for a quote, and no, they didn't have a window cleaner. We have also had clients ask for a quote who already have a window cleaner. They either aren't happy with the service or are looking for a cheaper price. We aren't interested in the latter.
We know all of our customer's names - most fly-by-night window cleaners don't. Aim to run your business professionally from the start.
Listen to your customers - sometimes they are right. We were tipped off by a customer that the windows cleaners who worked her brother's street in a nearby town had had a tiff and stopped cleaning. We got one customer in that street and before we had finished we had another 5 or 6 approach us.
But then we have also canvassed a street on a customer tip and found nothing.
My advise is to decide what your core business is to be and focus on that. Initially you may be tempted to offer other services as well, but they will eventually stifle your growth. We used to offer internal window cleans, gutter clearing, gutter fascia and soffit cleans, but we don't encourage them anymore. We are too busy with windows and I personally haven't the energy to take on other stuff. A friend of ours took on window cleaning alongside his garden care service about 5 years ago. It didn't work long term. he does the garden service side and his son does the windows and they don't work together. Remember the old saying; "A jack of all trades but a master of none" applies to window cleaning as well IMPO.
Darran has recently put a separate van on for pressure washing; that's fine as it can be treated as a separate identity with its own operator.
We still continue to do a number of fascia, gutter and conservatory roof cleans on an annual basis for existing customers. We do these despite some of those customers having their own regular window cleaner. We don't clash with other service providers.
You maybe tempted to take on internal cleans which can be done during inclement weather. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. We have a large internal commercial job we do every 3 months. We need to give a couple of days notice before each clean. The long term weather forecast is never right in our area. We have only done it once as we planned. The long term forecast for bad weather usually ends up to be totally the opposite.
We wish you the best for your future endeavours.
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I run backpack with 25 l barrels out of a Mitsubishi outlander no problem so don't worry about a van yet
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Nice to see a fellow barrel user. :D
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Nice to see a fellow barrel user. :D
I run backpack with 25 l barrels out of a Mitsubishi outlander no problem so don't worry about a van yet
I started off with 25L barrels and a trolley - a good way to start WFP window cleaning IMO. However all the heavy lifting and the time it takes to refill the barrels at the end of the day is very tiring. Have now purchased a 350L tank & talking to the local garage about getting it installed...
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Some good advice on this topic.
Notepad and write door numbers down and mark them if you get a reply. If not keep trying until you do.
Defo start out traditional as it really does help.
Trolley or backpack a good idea for start up. Pick up can be used easily for the barrells.
What is water quality in your area? Buy a tds meter as this will decide how you set up making pure water. I live in soft water area n only use twin di to fill my tank.
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I'd like to thank you all for your input and replies . Some really great info .
I think I am going to contact a few companies ( not too local ) to see if they are happy with me going out with them for a week to see if it's really what I want to do and go forward with getting started .
Then my plan is to canvas and canvas and see what sort of a base I can get built up .
A few people have given me their emails and I will contact them
Thanks
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I run backpack with 25 l barrels out of a Mitsubishi outlander no problem so don't worry about a van yet
I had to work like that for a while when my van was broken. It messed up my arms - my left elbow is still not right. I'm knocking 60 though - a younger guy could probably get away with it.