Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Crystal-clear on June 28, 2019, 07:23:55 am
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On Ladders the average round size for a one-man working full-time probably around 200 houses normal houses. With water fed pole it's probably 5 to 600. Granted customers are switching around because of water on windows and other silly things. Anyhow some with multiple vans on the road and some businesses turning around 1500-2000 houses + considering the danger element of the job is dramatically reduced now and new faces coming into the industry who in turn take on another 500 odd customers. Does anyone think in theory there's not enough houses to go about
Or do you think there's more houses out there for us to handle then we can
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Doing fewer houses for more money than when I was trad ;D
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Plenty of houses, too many for us all to cover.
But, there are also more window cleaners about than we think!
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It will saturate at some point
all the canvassing companies cropping up, social media advertising etc
its never been so easy to start as a window cleaner, you can literally buy the gear, read some forums and practice a bit then hand over some money for advertising and learn he rest as you go along.
thats how i started and im sure many others, its hard work but its very simple anyone can do it.
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On Ladders the average round size for a one-man working full-time probably around 200 houses normal houses. With water fed pole it's probably 5 to 600. Granted customers are switching around because of water on windows and other silly things. Anyhow some with multiple vans on the road and some businesses turning around 1500-2000 houses + considering the danger element of the job is dramatically reduced now and new faces coming into the industry who in turn take on another 500 odd customers. Does anyone think in theory there's not enough houses to go about
Or do you think there's more houses out there for us to handle then we can
personally i dont know why you bother your head with thoughts like these......just concentrate on your own work(and keeping it!)
the reason why this job will never reach saturation point is the boring nature of it.....and theres plenty of other ways to earn money which doesnt involve mincing around with a pole and brush..... ;D
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Loads of new start ups, and also loads of failures.
People Give it a go, but realise that it’s not as easy as they thought.
It’s like any business. There will always be work for you if your good at your job.
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Plenty of houses, too many for us all to cover.
But, there are also more window cleaners about than we think!
+1
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Plenty of houses, too many for us all to cover.
But, there are also more window cleaners about than we think!
I dread to think how many more start-ups there are compared to how it was when I started up in the late 90's.
Work does now eventually seem thinner on the ground and the competition on Google is taking its toll. There's lots more websites from newbies vying for space in search engine results.
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Its like any business hairdressers, plumbers, etc there will always be lots of competition! However all you have to do is make sure that your business is either on par with the rest or better!
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On Ladders the average round size for a one-man working full-time probably around 200 houses normal houses. With water fed pole it's probably 5 to 600. Granted customers are switching around because of water on windows and other silly things. Anyhow some with multiple vans on the road and some businesses turning around 1500-2000 houses + considering the danger element of the job is dramatically reduced now and new faces coming into the industry who in turn take on another 500 odd customers. Does anyone think in theory there's not enough houses to go about
Or do you think there's more houses out there for us to handle then we can
Please dont take this the wrong way. The answer to why I personally am NOT concerned at all (I actually want more to start up and join CIU) about there been more cleaners around, lies within your post!
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Loads of work out there for everybody. You see new people all the time and 6-12 months later they disappear. It's all about staying power, turning up and doing a good job. If you can manage that you'll be fine.
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If you go to a local high vantage point which for me would be Emley Moor in Yorkshire.
Go at night and look around, there are thousands and thousands of houses as far as the eye can see in all directions.
Not too worried.
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
just because you havent seen them about or maybe they dont work that street anymore or have a new van?
do people actually fail at building a window cleaning round ? i mean, sure its hard but it very doable for anyone.
im not sure i buy into the theory loads start but quit a few months later, why would they
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I've a very modest round compared to the earnings stated by many on here but it affords me a nice house and good lifestyle with hours to suit me. I don't worry about getting work. I'm lucky to get walk ups and enquiries / recommendations all the time without the need for a website or any canvassing or advertising. Do a good job and prove yourself to be reliable and trustworthy and you've no reason to worry about all the others.
However, if I were a new start up I'd need to put considerably more effort in to generating work.. It must be 2 -3 years since I saw any trad cleaners on ladders where I live, yet wfp cleaners are almost a daily occurance, some I know / recognise, but many I'm seeing for the first time. There is a lot more competition out there these days.
There are enough windows for sure but the demographic for those with a disposable income without a window cleaner and needing one is diminishing, well where I live and IMO anyway.
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
just because you havent seen them about or maybe they dont work that street anymore or have a new van?
do people actually fail at building a window cleaning round ? i mean, sure its hard but it very doable for anyone.
im not sure i buy into the theory loads start but quit a few months later, why would they
I think a lot fail because they haven’t got a job or capital to start with so they can live of that whilst building a round.
It took me a good few years to actually start earning decent money ..... that’s after learning not to price everything at £6 😂 spending an hour cleaning a detached house with a conservatory for £6 :'( doh
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I'm not picking half the work up I did when I started around 9 years ago.
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
Because a common conversation still starts with "we had a bloke for a while but he just stopped coming".
Vin
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
Because a common conversation still starts with "we had a bloke for a while but he just stopped coming".
Vin
What that generally means is " We had a bloke for a while but kept messing him around and paying late so we got dumped"
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
Because a common conversation still starts with "we had a bloke for a while but he just stopped coming".
Vin
What that generally means is " We had a bloke for a while but kept messing him around and paying late so we got dumped"
or he drastically underpriced the job and dropped it rather than try for a decent 2019 price....this is very common also.... ;)
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more houses than we can cover,
new start ups underprice so find it hard going and then winter arrives ;D
Darran
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
Because a common conversation still starts with "we had a bloke for a while but he just stopped coming".
Vin
Had two of those just today, in different areas too.
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I think the market is becoming more and more saturated.
I live in a fairly affluent area and I see a lot of window cleaners from other areas working here because the money is good... Fair play to them but I have no interest in “competing” anymore.
I’ve been in this game for 15 years. I’ve tried expanding by employing / looked into franchising - but it’s not for me.
At the moment I’m working on the glass 3 - 4 days a week and I have a guy doing 5 days a week.
I’m in the process of staring a new business away from window cleaning.. The plan is to work on the glass 2 - 3 days a week and on the new business on the other days.
I still like being outside working window cleaning so it will be a nice balance.
I don’t actively look for new work anymore but any new work I take on is used to refine the business.
Good luck to everyone - oldies and newbies 👍😊
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I see a lot of posts saying window cleaners start up then disappear .....but do they really ? how would you know ?
Because a common conversation still starts with "we had a bloke for a while but he just stopped coming".
Vin
What that generally means is " We had a bloke for a while but kept messing him around and paying late so we got dumped"
A common statement but not true in my experience at all.
Vin
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I think the market is becoming more and more saturated.
I live in a fairly affluent area and I see a lot of window cleaners from other areas working here because the money is good... Fair play to them but I have no interest in “competing” anymore.
I’ve been in this game for 15 years. I’ve tried expanding by employing / looked into franchising - but it’s not for me.
At the moment I’m working on the glass 3 - 4 days a week and I have a guy doing 5 days a week.
I’m in the process of staring a new business away from window cleaning.. The plan is to work on the glass 2 - 3 days a week and on the new business on the other days.
I still like being outside working window cleaning so it will be a nice balance.
I don’t actively look for new work anymore but any new work I take on is used to refine the business.
Good luck to everyone - oldies and newbies 👍😊
Is your 5 day a week man employed by you with a van etc? How did you get him?
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It’s hardly surprising the market is getting saturated, with all the willy waving, I earn this, I earn that, I charge double what the last guy charged etc, that gets spouted on here.....you’d be as well shouting from the rooftops ....WINDOW CLEANERS REQUIRED IN ALL AREAS, MINIMUM £50 PER HOUR, THEN AFTER YOU GET RID OF THE MESSERS AND EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMERS, THE SKY’S THE LIMIT, ROLL UP, ROLL UP!
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I see lots of new vans around...
...but I also get lots of calls saying my last window cleaner was crap!
Personally, I couldn't give a monkeys about anyone else, I just focus on what I do, the service I offer...and how can I earn more money.
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I still feel there's plenty of work still out there, regardless of how many new ones are entering the market. However, it is easier to find work once you have it! I certainly wouldn't like to be starting from scratch again in the current climate. (that's one reason why I'm slowing the option of moving to Scotland).
Even new ones may realise how hard it is to find sustainable work and sadly many resort to lowering the prices in order to get the work, which is false reasoning and damaging to the industry. Rather than thinking outside the box and putting hard effort in.
However, for ones who are established, gaining the odd one here and there on a regular basis might be quite common. This would be due to their experience and proven reliability, quality work and word of mouth.
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For the last two years I’ve had no landline number, this year I’m doing away with my website. If I change the van I’ll not bother with the signwriting either. I’m at full capacity