Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Oliver James on March 09, 2018, 06:13:41 am
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[/size]Definition of a Super-Round
In the 1970s a "Super-Bike" was defined as high performance motorcycle with an engine larger than 500cc.
Here is my definition of a “Super-Round”.
1. The business running the super-round has at least 30 reviews on their google business page and the average rating is above 4 stars.
2. All the customers on the round have personalities that make them a pleasure to do business with.
3. The round has great cashflow; with at least 90% of the customers paying by direct debit; and there are no cash or cheque payers. All customers that pay by BACS pay within 48 hours.
4. NTD’s (Not Today) are rare.
5. Most of the homes the round have clear, open air access via a garden gate.
6. The Average Transaction Value is over £30.
7. The net profit on every job is at least 30%. By net profit I mean earnings/operational profit before tax. Just to be clear; I’m not talking about what you earn. I’m talking about what your NET PROFIT MARGIN is before you’ve paid taxes on profit; and AFTER “owners drawings” (which include National Insurance and your personal tax bill).
EG: The business turns over 100k per year. Your “owners drawings” and all expenses including wages are 70k; so the net profit before tax (earnings before tax) is 30k; giving you a net profit margin of 30% (before taxation on the profit).
8. The travel time between jobs is less than two minutes.
To summarise: A “Super-Round” has 30 reviews with an average rating of over 4 stars. 30% net profit, £30 average transaction value. 90% pay by Go Cardless. Most have clear access.
Just so you know; I don't own a super-round - Yet.
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And the owner gets changed in a telephone box.
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I think the profit margin depends on the size of the company.
If turning over 70k with no vat and minimal expense with yourself cleaning glass 30k pre tax profit is terrible.
If you turn over 1m it's probably very good.
Most of the other stuff I agree with.
Reviews, not so much, I mean if you have somewhere where people can leave them then yes they will help your business but not having them doesn't make it any less great a round.
1. Good payers
2. No skippers
3. Good access and parking
4. Pleasant people
5. Great prices
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£30 a pop? Try having a £10 front only round like mick kent- that’s what you call a super round
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2. All the customers on the round have personalities that make them a pleasure to do business with.
I like the ones that don't talk, where they don't even acknowledge me, and just stick the payment in my bank.
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i dont think you ll ever be happy if you think you ll have a round like that because itll never happen.... ;D
ive got a mega round because its mine and not anyone elses...its not perfect but its a good earner for the hours i work....
plus most customers are good as gold and dont give me grief,cashflow (whether its BACS,cheque,cash or standing order) is good,i have a few access issues on some jobs but not enough to trouble me....thats it...
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It suprises me how many people on here do not read properly, or do not understand what they read.
To have 30% after tax profit left in the business bank account from 1 years trading , after your drawings, after your expenses is VERY GOOD.
In my case, my year profits are going to be around £6.2k for the COMPANY PROFITS, after taking my wages & employee expenses.
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2. All the customers on the round have personalities that make them a pleasure to do business with.
I like the ones that don't talk, where they don't even acknowledge me, and just stick the payment in my bank.
The best customers are the ones that are out. The ones I've never met or had to speak to on the phone, reply to emails or message on Facebook.
My customer service is second to nobody's; I pride myself on it. It's much better if it's not needed though.
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I have no customer service at all , all calls are automated , i will email or text a reply , I only want to know if you cancelling or are a new customer anything else is a waste of my time I will email or text a reply , never really have a complaint and the customers that like to talk went a long long time ago , payment in full before the next clean and all online , sounds risky but we get bigger every month . Also no ladders no walk through sand no gate climbs ever
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This is a typical customer on a super round.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1520606613_c2782cf775ffa33da243507751f0c553.jpg)
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This is a typical customer on a super round.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1520606613_c2782cf775ffa33da243507751f0c553.jpg)
My round is full of babes like this
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1520610611_axe-500x465.jpg)
Bugger!
I knew I shouldn't have moved to Bournemouth ;D
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1520610611_axe-500x465.jpg)
Bugger!
I knew I shouldn't have moved to Bournemouth ;D
Likewise
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A super round is a mix of all types of properties. price per customer isnt an issue.
A round that is hastle free. a round that has no outstanding money at the end of the week . A mixture of cash cheques and bacs!
my highest hourly rate is on terraces and fronts only ( this includes collecting as i work) . all at home and pay for each other .
A round that doesnt get hindered by the occasional not this time!
cash is king!
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[/size]Definition of a Super-Round
In the 1970s a "Super-Bike" was defined as high performance motorcycle with an engine larger than 500cc.
Here is my definition of a “Super-Round”.
1. The business running the super-round has at least 30 reviews on their google business page and the average rating is above 4 stars.
2. All the customers on the round have personalities that make them a pleasure to do business with.
3. The round has great cashflow; with at least 90% of the customers paying by direct debit; and there are no cash or cheque payers. All customers that pay by BACS pay within 48 hours.
4. NTD’s (Not Today) are rare.
5. Most of the homes the round have clear, open air access via a garden gate.
6. The Average Transaction Value is over £30.
7. The net profit on every job is at least 30%. By net profit I mean earnings/operational profit before tax. Just to be clear; I’m not talking about what you earn. I’m talking about what your NET PROFIT MARGIN is before you’ve paid taxes on profit; and AFTER “owners drawings” (which include National Insurance and your personal tax bill).
EG: The business turns over 100k per year. Your “owners drawings” and all expenses including wages are 70k; so the net profit before tax (earnings before tax) is 30k; giving you a net profit margin of 30% (before taxation on the profit).
8. The travel time between jobs is less than two minutes.
To summarise: A “Super-Round” has 30 reviews with an average rating of over 4 stars. 30% net profit, £30 average transaction value. 90% pay by Go Cardless. Most have clear access.
Just so you know; I don't own a super-round - Yet.
9. Owner rides to work on a unicorn.
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i think this thread should be renamed the "fantasy" round because thats all itll ever be...!! ;D
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1520610611_axe-500x465.jpg)
Bugger!
I knew I shouldn't have moved to Bournemouth ;D
She's got a good grip on that shaft though.... Get yer teeth oot!
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I have no customer service at all , all calls are automated , i will email or text a reply , I only want to know if you cancelling or are a new customer anything else is a waste of my time I will email or text a reply , never really have a complaint and the customers that like to talk went a long long time ago , payment in full before the next clean and all online , sounds risky but we get bigger every month . Also no ladders no walk through sand no gate climbs ever
That's how I like it, I'm not into being personal. It's a business transaction, tell me if you want to cancel otherwise leave your gate unlocked and stick the money in the bank and if you can be at work when I call as there's nothing worse than a customer who is in.
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I have no customer service at all , all calls are automated , i will email or text a reply , I only want to know if you cancelling or are a new customer anything else is a waste of my time I will email or text a reply , never really have a complaint and the customers that like to talk went a long long time ago , payment in full before the next clean and all online , sounds risky but we get bigger every month . Also no ladders no walk through sand no gate climbs ever
That's how I like it, I'm not into being personal. It's a business transaction, tell me if you want to cancel otherwise leave your gate unlocked and stick the money in the bank and if you can be at work when I call as there's nothing worse than a customer who is in.
I prefer the opposite. The best part of the job for me is having a bit of banter with the customers. I don't think I could hack life as as a window cleaner without the odd cuppa & a natter. If it means I earn less so be it! (I do quite well in Christmas tips though!)
Just goes to show that one persons "Super round" is different to the next persons.
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I have no customer service at all , all calls are automated , i will email or text a reply , I only want to know if you cancelling or are a new customer anything else is a waste of my time I will email or text a reply , never really have a complaint and the customers that like to talk went a long long time ago , payment in full before the next clean and all online , sounds risky but we get bigger every month . Also no ladders no walk through sand no gate climbs ever
That's how I like it, I'm not into being personal. It's a business transaction, tell me if you want to cancel otherwise leave your gate unlocked and stick the money in the bank and if you can be at work when I call as there's nothing worse than a customer who is in.
I prefer the opposite. The best part of the job for me is having a bit of banter with the customers. I don't think I could hack life as as a window cleaner without the odd cuppa & a natter. If it means I earn less so be it! (I do quite well in Christmas tips though!)
Just goes to show that one persons "Super round" is different to the next persons.
Fair enough, what I enjoy is seeing how fast I can get through the work and watching the ££ pile up. I also enjoy working way in peace with my own thoughts.
Don't get me wrong I say hello, smile and thankyou and I will say how are you but I'm not very good at making conversation anyway so I tend to avoid it.
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Conversation just slows you down and ruins your momentum. Better with the headphones in, even if you've not got a reception you can rubber ear them!
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Some great comments here. Love the pics ;-)
Just to be clear; I'm talking about 30k net profit AFTER your owners drawings. According to window cleaning legend Ian Lancaster; a good rule of thumb for small businesses is: 1. 33% profit, 33% wages, and 33% expenses.
Maybe super-rounds are fantasy; maybe they are not.
Perhaps one question we can ask is:
HOW do we build Super-Rounds?
Is it perhaps a combination of:
1. Ruthlessly effective marketing and sales. This means the service MUST be stellar; because these days; if something is really good; it won't be long before everyone knows about it.
2. Pre-qualifying customers politely; and giving them solutions if they are not a great fit. We find that some of the local JW window cleaners (Jehovas Witnesses) are sometimes happy to take on one-off work.
2. Pricing. You can see my prices online. I'm not pretending that all my customers pay these prices; there are many customers who aren't. But all the newer ones are paying these prices; and if they have an extension; they are paying slightly more.
3. Marginal gains. Grabbing every marginal gain you can; because they really add up. By marginal gains I mean things like: 1. Have payslips filled out before you start work. 2. Get people to pay by Go Cardless so they are not faffing around with cheques. 3. Have a spare reel in the van so you have a spare if it breaks and if needed; no parking is not an issue becaause you have 200m of line when you need it. 4. Have spare pole hoses with all the fittings on them in the vans so you can just swap over pole hoses if one breaks. 5. Have needles in the van so you can quickly clear a blocked jet etc, etc.
3. List Segmentation. List segmentation is all about working out what the profit margin is on every job and segmenting / banding the list into A-customers, B-customers. and C-customers in terms of their CTP (Contribution to Profit).
This is what we do:
1. Work out expenses and all wages, including your own.
2. Divide the above figure by number of minutes in the week you work (don't forget to multiply this figure by 0.84 to allow for holidays and illness.)
3. This gives you a figure of how much it costs you per minute to run the business.
4. Time all jobs.
5. Using a bit of spreadsheet mathematics on excel you can now work out the net profit margin on each jobs.
6. Be sure to factor in your productivity ratio in your calculations. Ours is 75%. Basically, we are productive 75% of the time. So if we are billing £20 for a 20 minute job; then we always multiply one of these numbers by 0.75 to get actual earnings per minute.
As we all know, adding more staff and more vans does not always equate to more net profit in our game.
If you segment your list into profitable customers, marginally profitable customers, and customers that cost you money to work for; then you can increase your profit margins WITHOUT the risk, hassle, and expense of adding capacity.
Basically, list segmentation means that small businesses like ours can increase profit margins as they reach capacity, WITHOUT adding more capacity.
Just kiss off unprofitable customers nicely; because what comes around goes around.
I'm honest with my customers that I'm not the most competitive in terms of price; and if they are nice to work for; I try to hand them onto an up and coming window cleaner who will be happy to have them on their books - Don't forget to nominate me for Nobel Prize :-))
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At some point your going to ask if someone wants to work for you!
:)
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Some great comments here. Love the pics ;-)
Just to be clear; I'm talking about 30k net profit AFTER your owners drawings. According to window cleaning legend Ian Lancaster; a good rule of thumb for small businesses is: 1. 33% profit, 33% wages, and 33% expenses.
Maybe super-rounds are fantasy; maybe they are not.
Perhaps one question we can ask is:
HOW do we build Super-Rounds?
Is it perhaps a combination of:
1. Ruthlessly effective marketing and sales. This means the service MUST be stellar; because these days; if something is really good; it won't be long before everyone knows about it.
2. Pre-qualifying customers politely; and giving them solutions if they are not a great fit. We find that some of the local JW window cleaners (Jehovas Witnesses) are sometimes happy to take on one-off work.
2. Pricing. You can see my prices online. I'm not pretending that all my customers pay these prices; there are many customers who aren't. But all the newer ones are paying these prices; and if they have an extension; they are paying slightly more.
3. Marginal gains. Grabbing every marginal gain you can; because they really add up. By marginal gains I mean things like: 1. Have payslips filled out before you start work. 2. Get people to pay by Go Cardless so they are not faffing around with cheques. 3. Have a spare reel in the van so you have a spare if it breaks and if needed; no parking is not an issue becaause you have 200m of line when you need it. 4. Have spare pole hoses with all the fittings on them in the vans so you can just swap over pole hoses if one breaks. 5. Have needles in the van so you can quickly clear a blocked jet etc, etc.
3. List Segmentation. List segmentation is all about working out what the profit margin is on every job and segmenting / banding the list into A-customers, B-customers. and C-customers in terms of their CTP (Contribution to Profit).
This is what we do:
1. Work out expenses and all wages, including your own.
2. Divide the above figure by number of minutes in the week you work (don't forget to multiply this figure by 0.84 to allow for holidays and illness.)
3. This gives you a figure of how much it costs you per minute to run the business.
4. Time all jobs.
5. Using a bit of spreadsheet mathematics on excel you can now work out the net profit margin on each jobs.
6. Be sure to factor in your productivity ratio in your calculations. Ours is 75%. Basically, we are productive 75% of the time. So if we are billing £20 for a 20 minute job; then we always multiply one of these numbers by 0.75 to get actual earnings per minute.
As we all know, adding more staff and more vans does not always equate to more net profit in our game.
If you segment your list into profitable customers, marginally profitable customers, and customers that cost you money to work for; then you can increase your profit margins WITHOUT the risk, hassle, and expense of adding capacity.
Basically, list segmentation means that small businesses like ours can increase profit margins as they reach capacity, WITHOUT adding more capacity.
Just kiss off unprofitable customers nicely; because what comes around goes around.
I'm honest with my customers that I'm not the most competitive in terms of price; and if they are nice to work for; I try to hand them onto an up and coming window cleaner who will be happy to have them on their books - Don't forget to nominate me for Nobel Prize :-))
somebody who over elaborates more than nathan kaye.!...................i didnt think that was possible until i read oliver james posts! ;D
sounds like you ve swallowed an american business book(or two!)........ ;D
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i really like this post, for example mine and cookies opinions are completely opposite, neither is right nor wrong, we are just both in the pursuit of happiness, the perfect round is achievable for everybody and anybody, if you are happy its perfect
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You seem to like the number 30 ??? ???
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And Oliver, then you woke up.......
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I'm sure Oliver will obtain his super round, after all it's not difficult just will take a few years of hard effort.
I think most who will say it's not possible just haven't got the motivation to achieve it.
I've said this before but I think how specific you want to be with your demands is going to depend on the size of your round.
As to obtain this "perfect round" definition as a sole trader would take a few years. If you wanted it on 20 van scale it would take decades. So its going to be an effort Vs reward thing, is it worth fine tuning it to that extreme ? Or would your time be better invested in other business opportunitys?
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Agree that building a "Super-Round" isn't easy.
Perhaps 30% net is too extreme.
Maybe 25% net is the figure to shoot for.
Here are some examples of how marginal gains have led to big results over time:
1. Speed Record for climbing The North Face of the Eiger. I know that the first ascent and most ascents up until the 1980s took days; with climbers sleeping on the side of the mountain. Now it has been done (solo) in two hours and 22 minutes.
2. Isle of Man TT race average speed. Back in the day doing an 80mph lap of the Isle of Man meant you were a motorcycling legend. Now the mountain circuit has been lapped at the sensational speed of 133mph.
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Agree that building a "Super-Round" isn't easy.
Perhaps 30% net is too extreme.
Maybe 25% net is the figure to shoot for.
Here are some examples of how marginal gains have led to big results over time:
1. Speed Record for climbing The North Face of the Eiger. I know that the first ascent and most ascents up until the 1980s took days; with climbers sleeping on the side of the mountain. Now it has been done (solo) in two hours and 22 minutes.
2. Isle of Man TT race average speed. Back in the day doing an 80mph lap of the Isle of Man meant you were a motorcycling legend. Now the mountain circuit has been lapped at the sensational speed of 133mph.
Where are you getting this stuff from Oliver? What books have you been reading? Are you American?
Don't get me wrong I agree with the principal of what you are saying but it all sounds like it's straight out of a tony robins book. (I love tony robins btw I've got a few books)