Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dazmond on January 04, 2019, 07:46:05 am
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non for me apart from the usual refining and a few price rises in april.......... :)
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Last year I went from about 350 customers to 500 and dabbled with employing with various results! Made some mistakes but learned a lot. There are lots of pros and cons with employing Vs solo and it certainly is easier on your own mentally if not physically. However I know if I don't try to grow I will always think what if plus I get bored when standing still I need challenges to keep me motivated.
This year I want to get up to the VAT threshold with a full time employee.
I will continue to push go cardless offering a free clean or other incentives for doing so if I have to as cash flow will become increasingly important. My first ever price rise is planned for April.
I will be expanding the areas I cover to new pastures having flogged my local work radius to death and realising prices in my area will always be difficult to push. Just started working in York which is 25 mile drive from me but a nice change and so far better prices and easier to pick up work.
I will also push on with my lead gen business that I have dabbled with for quite some time now on and off which will be the platform to build my round faster over the next few months.
I suppose the ultimate aim is to earn more, build an asset and have more free time to look after the things that really matter such as family and health etc. The biggest decision I fear late on in the year will be whether to go over the VAT threshold and really push on or just keep a nice small business in return for 3 days a week graft myself.
But like all plans in January only time will tell how it pans out.
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Last year I went from about 350 customers to 500 and dabbled with employing with various results! Made some mistakes but learned a lot. There are lots of pros and cons with employing Vs solo and it certainly is easier on your own mentally if not physically. However I know if I don't try to grow I will always think what if plus I get bored when standing still I need challenges to keep me motivated.
This year I want to get up to the VAT threshold with a full time employee.
I will continue to push go cardless offering a free clean or other incentives for doing so if I have to as cash flow will become increasingly important. My first ever price rise is planned for April.
I will be expanding the areas I cover to new pastures having flogged my local work radius to death and realising prices in my area will always be difficult to push. Just started working in York which is 25 mile drive from me but a nice change and so far better prices and easier to pick up work.
I will also push on with my lead gen business that I have dabbled with for quite some time now on and off which will be the platform to build my round faster over the next few months.
I suppose the ultimate aim is to earn more, build an asset and have more free time to look after the things that really matter such as family and health etc. The biggest decision I fear late on in the year will be whether to go over the VAT threshold and really push on or just keep a nice small business in return for 3 days a week graft myself.
But like all plans in January only time will tell how it pans out.
surely any work thats 25 miles away even at better prices will not really be that much more profitable once you factor in the extra fuel,wear and tear on the van(over time)and the driving time it takes to get there and back.....
ive decided not to offer gocardless,im happy with cash,cheque,BACS,standing order and card payments using a card machine.....
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Last year I went from about 350 customers to 500 and dabbled with employing with various results! Made some mistakes but learned a lot. There are lots of pros and cons with employing Vs solo and it certainly is easier on your own mentally if not physically. However I know if I don't try to grow I will always think what if plus I get bored when standing still I need challenges to keep me motivated.
This year I want to get up to the VAT threshold with a full time employee.
I will continue to push go cardless offering a free clean or other incentives for doing so if I have to as cash flow will become increasingly important. My first ever price rise is planned for April.
I will be expanding the areas I cover to new pastures having flogged my local work radius to death and realising prices in my area will always be difficult to push. Just started working in York which is 25 mile drive from me but a nice change and so far better prices and easier to pick up work.
I will also push on with my lead gen business that I have dabbled with for quite some time now on and off which will be the platform to build my round faster over the next few months.
I suppose the ultimate aim is to earn more, build an asset and have more free time to look after the things that really matter such as family and health etc. The biggest decision I fear late on in the year will be whether to go over the VAT threshold and really push on or just keep a nice small business in return for 3 days a week graft myself.
But like all plans in January only time will tell how it pans out.
surely any work thats 25 miles away even at better prices will not really be that much more profitable once you factor in the extra fuel,wear and tear on the van(over time)and the driving time it takes to get there and back.....
ive decided not to offer gocardless,im happy with cash,cheque,BACS,standing order and card payments using a card machine.....
It's about an extra £10 a day to get there and back.
Wear and tear maybe a bit but it's all motorway miles to get there.
You are right in that it wont be a great deal more profitable, probably negligible once you consider the extra travel etc however profit isn't the sole motivation. It's more to do with the area Im in seems to be much more saturated with cleaners and I am finding picking up work there much easier. Which has drawn me to the conclusion rather than moaning and flogging a dead horse to go seek out better areas. Also it's just a change of scenery
As we currently rent there is also the option of moving house to be a bit closer to any work further down the line.
As for go cardless I am happy to have a mix also but a good chunk of go cardless is very welcome for cash flow. If I can get half of my round on it I would be more than happy currently it's about 20%
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Last year I went from about 350 customers to 500 and dabbled with employing with various results! Made some mistakes but learned a lot. There are lots of pros and cons with employing Vs solo and it certainly is easier on your own mentally if not physically. However I know if I don't try to grow I will always think what if plus I get bored when standing still I need challenges to keep me motivated.
This year I want to get up to the VAT threshold with a full time employee.
I will continue to push go cardless offering a free clean or other incentives for doing so if I have to as cash flow will become increasingly important. My first ever price rise is planned for April.
I will be expanding the areas I cover to new pastures having flogged my local work radius to death and realising prices in my area will always be difficult to push. Just started working in York which is 25 mile drive from me but a nice change and so far better prices and easier to pick up work.
I will also push on with my lead gen business that I have dabbled with for quite some time now on and off which will be the platform to build my round faster over the next few months.
I suppose the ultimate aim is to earn more, build an asset and have more free time to look after the things that really matter such as family and health etc. The biggest decision I fear late on in the year will be whether to go over the VAT threshold and really push on or just keep a nice small business in return for 3 days a week graft myself.
But like all plans in January only time will tell how it pans out.
surely any work thats 25 miles away even at better prices will not really be that much more profitable once you factor in the extra fuel,wear and tear on the van(over time)and the driving time it takes to get there and back.....
ive decided not to offer gocardless,im happy with cash,cheque,BACS,standing order and card payments using a card machine.....
It's about an extra £10 a day to get there and back.
Wear and tear maybe a bit but it's all motorway miles to get there.
You are right in that it wont be a great deal more profitable, probably negligible once you consider the extra travel etc however profit isn't the sole motivation. It's more to do with the area Im in seems to be much more saturated with cleaners and I am finding picking up work there much easier. Which has drawn me to the conclusion rather than moaning and flogging a dead horse to go seek out better areas. Also it's just a change of scenery
As we currently rent there is also the option of moving house to be a bit closer to any work further down the line.
As for go cardless I am happy to have a mix also but a good chunk of go cardless is very welcome for cash flow. If I can get half of my round on it I would be more than happy currently it's about 20%
You can't grow if you stay in a narrow radius. You've got to travel
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Hi 8weekly, please dont take this the wrong way but your comment is not good advice, its your opinion. Massive growth and domination in very small areas can be achieved if done correctly. I will be adding another 3 vans to my business this year, without increasing the area covered by us.
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If you spend a day or 2 in an area that's going to cost a little time and money is worth it to help give your van a good run clearing out its filters and battery care.
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Hi 8weekly, please dont take this the wrong way but your comment is not good advice, its your opinion. Massive growth and domination in very small areas can be achieved if done correctly. I will be adding another 3 vans to my business this year, without increasing the area covered by us.
Tell us how to do this correctly. What will you be doing to add 3 vans in 1 year to an area the same size. How big is that area?
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My conclusion is that every area is different.
The city where I live I target a 5 mile radius and the city where I've just started to work also is a 5 mile radius. The population and housing density is very similar.
Yet I find It far easier picking up work in one than the other doping identical marketing/advertising.
So when someone comes on and says oh you can build 10 vans is one city and another aaays oh no you need the entire county I reckon we are all right.
It depends where you are and what the local market is like as simple as that.
Of course you can get anough work in one area if you hit it with canvassing, leaflets and online over and over relentlessly. How long it takes to build say 1000 custs will just depend on YOUR chosen area.
So I think as long as we experiment ourselves and draw our own conclusions that's all that matter.
What someone achieves in Bournemouth or anywhere else has no relevance to what I achieve in Wakefield.
You might think it does but that's not the same thing.
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Hi 8weekly, please dont take this the wrong way but your comment is not good advice, its your opinion. Massive growth and domination in very small areas can be achieved if done correctly. I will be adding another 3 vans to my business this year, without increasing the area covered by us.
This is very true.
It all depends on how you do your marketing and marketing isnt just leaflet dropping, its your whole attitude and the way you deal with the customer. I have whole roads of £30 houses now, some started 12 years ago, and most recently yesterday, so i pretty much have the monopoly on quite a few roads now and will continue to focus within my 5-10 mile rad.
The key to it is to keep the customer happy. Evenutally just through housing stock turnover, you will get the monopoly of any road you work if the exisitng custoners you work for are happy with your work ethic, and reliability.
I have met so many window cleaners who are gobby, rude, and treat their customers with contempt and disrespect, they constantly have to replace with new customers by canvassing and marketing.
One particular fella round here is developing a pretty bad reputation for being rude and arrogant with his customers, and has lost a lot of work, i know because some of them are now mine, and they approached me.
I am always polite and respectful when dealing with my customers, even if they are in the wrong. And smiling doesn't cost anything, and that the best marketing
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We have one van that covers some small commercial work that is around 7 miles or so from our base along with a weeks worth of domestic round. The rest of our vans (12) travel no more than 5 miles from base. I will be adding the 3 vans within 3 miles of our base.
We are based in Redcar in Teesside. Please take a look on google maps. . Redcar has been hit by the closure of the steel works. Its grim up north. ;D
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We have one van that covers some small commercial work that is around 7 miles or so from our base along with a weeks worth of domestic round. The rest of our vans (12) travel no more than 5 miles from base. I will be adding the 3 vans within 3 miles of our base.
We are based in Redcar in Teesside. Please take a look on google maps. . Redcar has been hit by the closure of the steel works. Its grim up north. ;D
Impressive Dave
Can you tell us what you will do to generate the work the 3 vans will need.
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Hi 8weekly, please dont take this the wrong way but your comment is not good advice, its your opinion. Massive growth and domination in very small areas can be achieved if done correctly. I will be adding another 3 vans to my business this year, without increasing the area covered by us.
I think it entirely depends where you live. I live in a small town with small towns dotted around. We travel 15 miles each way.
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We have one van that covers some small commercial work that is around 7 miles or so from our base along with a weeks worth of domestic round. The rest of our vans (12) travel no more than 5 miles from base. I will be adding the 3 vans within 3 miles of our base.
We are based in Redcar in Teesside. Please take a look on google maps. . Redcar has been hit by the closure of the steel works. Its grim up north. ;D
Ok, cheers for the info. Population of Redcar 135,000. Population Mytown. 34,000. See a difference? ::)roll
To reach 135,000 I have to travel further. Plus, I recall yours are franchisees. Mostly they seem to be part time. So possibly not comparing like with like. 3 vans for you might be 1 for me. One van is 550 regular 8 weekly jobs for me.
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One van for me is also 550 houses. We do 6 and 12 weekly with a 50/50 split.
Its also very true that how many vans means nothing, how much money they do is what matters.
So if they are franchises its their money and time that will generate the business. Again this is very different than trying to grow with the company money.
Fair play though, I am still impressed by the idea of adding 3 in 1 year.
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
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We have one van that covers some small commercial work that is around 7 miles or so from our base along with a weeks worth of domestic round. The rest of our vans (12) travel no more than 5 miles from base. I will be adding the 3 vans within 3 miles of our base.
We are based in Redcar in Teesside. Please take a look on google maps. . Redcar has been hit by the closure of the steel works. Its grim up north. ;D
Ok, cheers for the info. Population of Redcar 135,000. Population Mytown. 34,000. See a difference? ::)roll
To reach 135,000 I have to travel further. Plus, I recall yours are franchisees. Mostly they seem to be part time. So possibly not comparing like with like. 3 vans for you might be 1 for me. One van is 550 regular 8 weekly jobs for me.
WOW, I would never have known that different areas/regions/ towns etc all had different populations :o honestly, the things you learn on here!! ;D ;D
It's like Dragon's Den for Two year olds here at times!! ;D
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We have one van that covers some small commercial work that is around 7 miles or so from our base along with a weeks worth of domestic round. The rest of our vans (12) travel no more than 5 miles from base. I will be adding the 3 vans within 3 miles of our base.
We are based in Redcar in Teesside. Please take a look on google maps. . Redcar has been hit by the closure of the steel works. Its grim up north. ;D
Ok, cheers for the info. Population of Redcar 135,000. Population Mytown. 34,000. See a difference? ::)roll
To reach 135,000 I have to travel further. Plus, I recall yours are franchisees. Mostly they seem to be part time. So possibly not comparing like with like. 3 vans for you might be 1 for me. One van is 550 regular 8 weekly jobs for me.
WOW, I would never have known that different areas/regions/ towns etc all had different populations :o honestly, the things you learn on here!! ;D ;D
It's like Dragon's Den for Two year olds here at times!! ;D
Well it had to be pointed out so possibly not everyone is as smart as you.
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
Mmmmm come on Dave, the secret is not out at all in what you just said.
Going above and beyond and not charging more for a first clean does NOT pull in hundreds upon hundreds of customers required for 3 vans. Fact.
So you supply all the customers they need. Tell us how because its not what you just said.
Oh and Im not trying to be a hater in anyway I am genuinly interested in this.
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
An hour for a 3 bed? No wonder you need so many vans. We take about 8/10 minutes on a modern 3 bed.
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
An hour for a 3 bed? No wonder you need so many vans. We take about 8/10 minutes on a modern 3 bed.
That is some serious overkill and can indeed work against you.
I did a first clean last year on a farm house and it took about 30 mins because i was talking to the owner and having a coffee.
He was telling me that the previous cleaner took less than ten minutes to clean the house (a couple of years before). I told him it was taking longer because its a first clean and preparation to make further cleans easier and the next clean would in deed be 10 minutes or shorter.
Sure enough the 2nd clean took ten minutes and i again explained why as he was a carpenter. I said its like him using power tools over traditional tools which he grasped. Yet the third visit he cancelled as he didnt like it being cleaned innten minutes compared to the first clean. Even though he couldnt fault the clean.
So taking an over kill in your first clean cant seriously help you in the long run, but surely if your not charging appropriately for your time, it has to be costing you as well.
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Seriously, examine what I have just said about the first cleans.
Imagine the impact in a quiet little cul-de-sac, picture the scene, a curtain twitches, maybe a neighbour who's window cleaner is spending 7 to 10 mins to clean there property, they see a window cleaner actually taking his time, what!!!!! even wiping sills upvc cleaner and a CLOTH! Whats he doing now? That little bit of fascia board above the door that was ever so dirty, 'our window cleaner doesnt do that' the on looking neighbour shouts to her husband.
On a serious note :- Imagine painstakingly delivering this type of service day in day out for the last 9 years and expecting the same across all your vans! These vans are seen day in day out in the same 5 mile area.
I am looking very long term with my business, Im building locally, will my 3 boys or daughter want to run the business in the future and go regional? Who knows.
I have happy, work when they want (as long as the work is cleaned on time and up to standard) franchisees, earning what THEY want to earn.
The comment about the vans pulling in work on a daily basis. This is from walk up's and neighbours not leafletting. door knocking, facebooking etc etc.
Im not trying to be clever AT ALL. I very rarely share information on here or elsewhere. (I used to years ago but got laughed down and at most of the time)
I respect peoples opinions and have great respect for all window cleaners, especially those growing larger businesses, the effort and resolve to do this is BIG.
Remember there are always 2 ways to skin a cat. (sorry any cat lovers)
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
An hour for a 3 bed? No wonder you need so many vans. We take about 8/10 minutes on a modern 3 bed.
That is some serious overkill and can indeed work against you.
I did a first clean last year on a farm house and it took about 30 mins because i was talking to the owner and having a coffee.
He was telling me that the previous cleaner took less than ten minutes to clean the house (a couple of years before). I told him it was taking longer because its a first clean and preparation to make further cleans easier and the next clean would in deed be 10 minutes or shorter.
Sure enough the 2nd clean took ten minutes and i again explained why as he was a carpenter. I said its like him using power tools over traditional tools which he grasped. Yet the third visit he cancelled as he didnt like it being cleaned innten minutes compared to the first clean. Even though he couldnt fault the clean.
So taking an over kill in your first clean cant seriously help you in the long run, but surely if your not charging appropriately for your time, it has to be costing you as well.
Its a case of short term pain for long term gain. (Believe me Nathan, doing more than is expected will NEVER end up costing you.)
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Ok so your not going to tell us then.
Lets say your vans need less customers than mine. I would need 1650 to fill 3 vans.
Lets then say you would only need 1000
so your telling me that walk ups and curtain twitchers and going the extra mile in small area will add 1000 houses, plus replace the years losses toping up your existing round.
I really hate telling people on here that their talking rubbish because ive had a lot of that when im telling the truth, but this just isnt possible.
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each to their own but im very "splash and dash" these days even with my larger jobs.if you blink you d not know id been! ;D(until you looked at the windows of course!) ;D
even my cheap compact estate work i fly through my work.... im getting upwards of £50 an hour on some stretches.....great stuff.... :)
first cleans i usually charge higher prices.......it could be 25%/50%/100% more depending how dirty they are and i will spend extra time cleaning them but not excessively so.....
this is where a high flow/xtreme poles,electric reels and hot water come into their own (and being very organised too)
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8weekly, yes I have a couple of part time vans and a couple that have 2 operators in them. I supply all our franchisees with there work, none have ever delivered a leaflet or knocked on a door. They do however pick up work on a daily basis (as a group) from been recognised and how they work.
Here is 'MY' secret/reason why I will add 3 vans in this year without massive spending on advertising/marketing :-
Our average time for a first clean on a standard, normal sized 3 bedroom property is around an hour (some local cleaners take around 20 mins on a first clean of this size (I supply water to some of them and gently discover there working practices during conversations when they are filling up.), add a conservatory and its 2 hours, we dont charge double for a first clean and I actively encourage doing far more for a customer than is expected, especially on a first clean.
Thats it, the secret's out.
P.S. I dont charge a franchise fee.
An hour for a 3 bed? No wonder you need so many vans. We take about 8/10 minutes on a modern 3 bed.
That is some serious overkill and can indeed work against you.
I did a first clean last year on a farm house and it took about 30 mins because i was talking to the owner and having a coffee.
He was telling me that the previous cleaner took less than ten minutes to clean the house (a couple of years before). I told him it was taking longer because its a first clean and preparation to make further cleans easier and the next clean would in deed be 10 minutes or shorter.
Sure enough the 2nd clean took ten minutes and i again explained why as he was a carpenter. I said its like him using power tools over traditional tools which he grasped. Yet the third visit he cancelled as he didnt like it being cleaned innten minutes compared to the first clean. Even though he couldnt fault the clean.
So taking an over kill in your first clean cant seriously help you in the long run, but surely if your not charging appropriately for your time, it has to be costing you as well.
Its a case of short term pain for long term gain. (Believe me Nathan, doing more than is expected will NEVER end up costing you.)
Sorry, I misread. An hour on the first clean. Not every clean. It’d have to be gopping to take an hour on a 3 bed for me.
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Ok so your not going to tell us then.
Lets say your vans need less customers than mine. I would need 1650 to fill 3 vans.
Lets then say you would only need 1000
so your telling me that walk ups and curtain twitchers and going the extra mile in small area will add 1000 houses, plus replace the years losses toping up your existing round.
I really hate telling people on here that their talking rubbish because ive had a lot of that when im telling the truth, but this just isnt possible.
Losses are very rare, as you can imagine.
I have never said this is the only way we use, I have merely mentioned 'my' secret for attracting with ease (1000 cutomers is bang on by the way) window cleaning customers in a very compact area.
Here's my 2018 marketing.
Leaflet's delivered 10,000 (repeat delivering in areas at certain times of day and during certain weather conditions to maximise results)
Door knocking total hours for the year, 56
Facebook adverts £100 a month give or take.
Results:- similar to what Im looking to achieve this year, both in customers and vans.
Drop off rate:- tiny.
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I find it all very odd what I hear from others that's why I just draw my own conclusions.
If I was to rely on walkups my round would dissapear eventually.
I probably get 1 walk up a month. If that
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I find it all very odd what I hear from others that's why I just draw my own conclusions.
If I was to rely on walkups my round would dissapear eventually.
I probably get 1 walk up a month. If that
virtually all my new work ive picked up over the last 10 years has been through walk ups and recommendations.when your well established with a lot of work in an area your round becomes self sustaining with no effort required in actively seeking new jobs....
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
How many of the 10-15 become customers? I reckon 90% of mine do at the prices I quote (average £25). So you must be adding around 600 customers a year. How many vans have you got?
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
How many of the 10-15 become customers? I reckon 90% of mine do at the prices I quote (average £25). So you must be adding around 600 customers a year. How many vans have you got?
That's good I convert about 30-50 % of quotes
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
How many of the 10-15 become customers? I reckon 90% of mine do at the prices I quote (average £25). So you must be adding around 600 customers a year. How many vans have you got?
That's good I convert about 30-50 % of quotes
I think it depends where they come from. 95% are leaflets. Web leads are lower because they phone around for the cheapest.
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
How many of the 10-15 become customers? I reckon 90% of mine do at the prices I quote (average £25). So you must be adding around 600 customers a year. How many vans have you got?
That's good I convert about 30-50 % of quotes
I think it depends where they come from. 95% are leaflets. Web leads are lower because they phone around for the cheapest.
That's a good point.
All my leads come from online.
Tried leaflets in the past and they do get a better conversion rate but the cost per lead is much higher.
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......
Well I've been going 4 years now daz have always had sign written vans, uniformed etc and it's not happened yet. Not that I'm bothered really it is what it is.
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......
Well I've been going 4 years now daz have always had sign written vans, uniformed etc and it's not happened yet. Not that I'm bothered really it is what it is.
Whenever I see a new one and have a chat I tell them to just do a good job and your reputation will spread and you’ll be inundated within a few months. Obviously it’s bollix.
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I grew my round entirely from walk ups and recommendations. Well apart from the very start, that was a couple of months of canvassing and marketing, from then I just concentrated on doing the best job possible ( especially on first cleans ) then the round quickly grew itself. Once I reached about 100 customers it just took off, this was without a website or any form of marketing.
The best customers are the ones that come to you, eager from all the good things they've heard.
Once I reached 400 customers I put my prices up by quite a bit, ditched any rubbish work and then set up a website to bring in a slow trickle of work.
My total spend on advertising is exactly £16.99 a month ( website ), from that and recommendations I average 10 - 15 enquiries a week, even more during spring summer. In fact during August September last year I was receiving 4-5 enquiries a day from doing absolutely nothing my self.
From my own experience I can clearly imagine how @kentkleen could build by 1000 customers, when you multiply the amount of vans he has to mine.
It's not rocket science, get new customers and keep those customers. If you have 12 - 13 vans out everday being seen in a local area, that have an excellent reputation for workmanship and customer retention, then you always be inundated with enquiries.
It's a slower process of building but far cheaper and also produces far more reliable customers.
How many of the 10-15 become customers? I reckon 90% of mine do at the prices I quote (average £25). So you must be adding around 600 customers a year. How many vans have you got?
Nope I add around 30 - 40 customers a year.
Most enquiries are ignored as I'm not looking to expand, I only take on if it's better then anything I already have.
For example in december, which I would normally consider a quieter month for enquiries, I took on 3 new jobs, a £35 house, £50 and £70 house, all regulars. They will replace lower priced jobs.
Not looking to expand or employ, just always improve on what I already have, which is another form of growth.
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......
Well I've been going 4 years now daz have always had sign written vans, uniformed etc and it's not happened yet. Not that I'm bothered really it is what it is.
That's strange. I actually took the sign writing off my van during the summer as I got sick of walk ups. I had more work then I could handle and dreaded the curtain twitches whilst I was working in a street.
I always wear logo'd uniform but in my case a sign written van is no longer necessary.
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It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.
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That really is fantastic if that how it happened.
I've invested thousands to grow my round.
Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.
My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.
I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.
give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......
Well I've been going 4 years now daz have always had sign written vans, uniformed etc and it's not happened yet. Not that I'm bothered really it is what it is.
Whenever I see a new one and have a chat I tell them to just do a good job and your reputation will spread and you’ll be inundated within a few months. Obviously it’s bollix.
I think its down to the area and how saturated it is with window cleaners. I feel for ones who have recently started up in last couple of years as it cant be easy for them.
When i went solo and did my ownnwork back in 2003 i went door knocking as i worked and back in those days most of the other cleaners were doing it to top up the doll money or it was for beer money. Well atleast in my areas and so they wasnt reliable nor very good. So it was easy for me to build several rounds in different areas and like daz is saying, word of mouth took over and work flooded in.
However its a different story now. Because im well established in my main areas, i have the majority of the work. So for newbies or ones wanting to expand in my areas will be picking up the odd house here and there and so they soon fade away.
Granted, if i did a rubbish job then this wouldnt be the case.
Ive branched out into new areas due to word of mouth and this year I am going to focus on expanding in these areas. However Im not expecting it to be as easy as before due to the amount of shiners in the areas and their cheap prices, but im expecting to win them over with a much higher price and 8 wkly rotation as most are trad lads and cleaning every 2 - 4 wks. So word of mouth will be important as most will/may be sceptical about wfp and so im planning on free cleans to my customers who recommend me and the recommendation ends up being a customer.
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It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.
Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!
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It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.
Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!
Not sure if you have taken my reply the wrong way or not, I wasn't being sarcastic 90% of my round did come from recommendations and walk ups from people who watched me clean, I did remove my van signage over the Christmas hols for similar reasons to yourself.
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It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.
Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!
Not sure if you have taken my reply the wrong way or not, I wasn't being sarcastic 90% of my round did come from recommendations and walk ups from people who watched me clean, I did remove my van signage over the Christmas hols for similar reasons to yourself.
I would suggest at the time you started it wasn’t so competitive as it may be now. I started 9 years ago and in my home town it was much easier to pick up work than now. I’d say I was one of the first wave of straight to WFP. Now there are loads doing the same. Almost monthly there’s a new one starting up. We’re a town of about 35,000 and I’d describe it now as saturated. I pick up much more work in nearby similar sized towns.
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
I agree. It just looks more professional and people know why you’re there.
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
I agree. It just looks more professional and people know why you’re there.
Absolutely agree! Its part of your business image, not just for advertising.
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Back to the original topic: Recently I lost all my work schedule data (which was only held on my ipod) when I put it in the washing machine!
As the data wasn't stored anywhere else I had to recreate it from scratch. This prompted me to re-jig the whole schedule and standardise my frequency on residentials to 6 weekly (apart from a few exceptions which wouldn't conflict.
This done, all data is now stored and backed up on 2 devices, and it has given me room for growth and add-ons etc.
Before revamping, I was struggling to reschedule jobs in different areas that were due on the same day, but now I have things organized so much better and the difference it has made to my state of mind is amazing.
My goal is to keep on improving efficiency and refining so I only need to work Monday to Friday and maybe even take the occasional day off!
John
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Back to the original topic: Recently I lost all my work schedule data (which was only held on my ipod) when I put it in the washing machine!
As the data wasn't stored anywhere else I had to recreate it from scratch. This prompted me to re-jig the whole schedule and standardise my frequency on residentials to 6 weekly (apart from a few exceptions which wouldn't conflict.
This done, all data is now stored and backed up on 2 devices, and it has given me room for growth and add-ons etc.
Before revamping, I was struggling to reschedule jobs in different areas that were due on the same day, but now I have things organized much, much better and the difference it has made to my state of mind is amazing.
John
Silver lining...
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I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.
I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.
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I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.
I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.
I started with 4 weekly only but I got a lot of cancels/skips. I think it has a bearing on price people are willing to pay too. So I can get for example £20 8 weekly but 4 weekly people are less willing to pay that amount.
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If like me, you was trad first, it would have been pointless offering 6 wks in my opinion and thats why i never did. Saying that I never offered fortnightly either.
However wfp allows you to do so in many areas, (obviously coastal n some others this aint the case, before some nit pick) as the glass stays cleaner for longer. I have a mixture of 8 wkly but not too many to make it not work. However im trying to build one round up this year which is just 8 wkly whichbi can manage with ease. Apart from this im going to stick to 4 wkly as its more manageable for me.
Yet 6 wkly would be better from my customers viewpoint and the higher price they pay. It stops them from possibly saying skip this clean as they are still clean (which hasnt started yet but can see it has potential to do so.)
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,
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I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.
I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.
I have quite a few 8 weeklies that I have moved to 6 weekly. Over here I really don't think many will notice. If they do and object I'll give them the choice to go on 12 weekly so at least there will be no conflict regarding different areas, which was the reason for making the change to 6 (or multiples of) in the first place.
John
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,
I think that’s right. When you’re a one man band with an established round and prices are seen as reasonable, you just don’t get the number of dropouts. Probably every customer knows your van too.
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i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......
im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....
Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,
I think that’s right. When you’re a one man band with an established round and prices are seen as reasonable, you just don’t get the number of dropouts. Probably every customer knows your van too.
This is my experience too.
John
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I’ve still got the signage but removed the telephone numbers.
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back to the title
so last years plan as a sole trader was to add 100 customers which would have meant that I would have struggled to be on time, each month . I would be able to charge over and beyond for gutter jobs as wouldn't really want it.
however in march my 18 year old daughter gave up college ,and I had her help me until she decided her next career move.
fast forward on a year... she is still with me and now full time ....she is a real asset and enjoying it. ( god . I remember taking her to work with me , since she was 3 years old . she would sit in the van watching films lol )
well...I did hit the 100 new customers , but the extra money from that has gone to her for her wages....
however I did benefit as all the new customers were mainly gained at a steady rate between march to November, and I charged more for first cleans.
so on to this year....I bought a nice ford custom last week for cash . not new but cost 7.5 plus vat. so new enough to get a good few years.
my goal for this year is to add another 100 customers ....I will start in march.....same as last year ...just 20 mins after each work day ...posting around 30 - 40 flyers a day ( 4 days a week ) my flyers are home printed on card , very basic, and I put a price on them , and have a caption on them allowing extra if they have a conservatory...I also put a first clean price on.
I have had a good return on this , and coupled with my website and yell, this has around 4 new customers a week over about 8 months of the year.
of course out of them, around 20 will be messers, but it doesn't matter as I will have charged a first clean price.
I have been doing this job for 27 years now, and don't really enjoy doing gutters fascias etc... I like to go to work , and come home knowing just where I am . what I am going to get... my debt list rarely goes over £30 as I never let anyone miss a payment... I am very strict, and as soon as I am messed around , I delete and move on.
this forum has really helped me over the past year to improve my mind set towards pricing etc ...tho I rarely post much as the criticism is not helpful .
happy new year
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I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.
I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.
i do 4 weekly and 8 weekly mainly but do have some 6 weekly and 12 weekly jobs (as well as the odd job thats once or twice a year)......
it doesnt matter what frequency your work is when virtually all your work is within the same 5 mile area.....its took many years to compact my work like this though (especially with at least another 20 window cleaning companies working the same areas)
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I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.
I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.
Split the 10-8 weeklys in half and do half each month.I've done this in the past, people don't mind either waiting or being done sooner as a one-off.