Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Frequently Asked Questions & Useful Resources => Topic started by: Philip Hanson on April 28, 2004, 10:38:20 pm
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Starting a window cleaning business - The Cost
Many people are attracted to window cleaning because it is perceived to be a low start-up cost business.
The equipment (lets disregard wfp for the sake of this post) costs less than £500 to buy, and there are few overheads.
But there is an important, hidden cost in starting any business that may well mean the difference between success and failure. It is by FAR the biggest and most significant cost all start-up businesses face, and it is usually overlooked! DRAWINGS.
For example, lets say you are sick of your 9 to 5 job and want to start window cleaning. You have about £1000 saved up (or available on a credit card) and you go out and buy this equipment:
Ladders : £150
Bucket : £2
Applicator & T-bar : £12
Squeegees : £20
Roof rack for your car : £60 (max)
Scrims x 10 : £30
Pockets : £20
Insurance : £120
TOTAL : £414
[please nobody argue about these prices or say i've missed things, thats not the point here]
So, you now have everything you'll need to start your business for about £414. But! Even though you are just starting up, you still need to eat, pay your mortgage or rent, put petrol in the car, buy clothes etc. It is this cost, the cost of living, that is the real expense. It takes time to develop a round that will pay what you were getting while employed, and your bills need to be payed in the meantime.
Lets say for the sake of this example that :
-your living costs are £1,100per month
-you are leaving a £20,000 a year job to start window cleaning.
(£20k will be about £1,240 per month after tax)
-you can canvass about £150 worth of new business per month
-you paid for the equipment on a credit card.
Month Profit Living Exp Surplus/(Defecit)
1 150 1,100 (950)
2 300 1,100 (800)
3 450 1,100 (650)
4 600 1,100 (500)
5 750 1,100 (350)
6 900 1,100 (200)
7 1,050 1,100 (50)
Total 4,200 7,700 (3,500)
So just to reach the same income as you had been getting, it has taken 7 months, and the defecit over that time was £3,500. The start-up cost is now very much more than the cost of the equipment, and if you don't have this finance available from the very start, you are heading for some serious trouble.
This is just a conservative estimate, but the point is make sure you have this in place before you begin your venture. Also you need to take into consideration illness and holidays (for which you will no longer get paid) and unexpected expenses.
-Philip
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Not so silly after all
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Excellent post Phil!
It certainly helps if you got a payoff package from your previous employer - that's what got me up and running - can start up part time at weekends while still in the 9-5, or buy into an established run.
I was lucky enough that my wife was in an excellent job when I got into the window game, and no kids at the time either, so we didn't go short. Nowadays - I'm back to being sole breadwinner, plus we have one 14yr old, and it seems I'm always short! ;)
Hmmm, what happened there, then?
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What an exellent post, that should help any newcomer decide on whether this is the business for them.
Its been three and a half years down the line for me and i'm now making good money, but as the post rightly points out it was a serious struggle to begin with.
Denzle
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Yup great post, i only been going for 2 months and its hard work getting the business but i am getting there. I have some very nice jobs and there starting to roll in now.
This week is the first week i have had nearly a full week of work and its well over 1k for this week alone, but thats not every week looking at next week i have got 3 days work and thats it, unless i get some conservatory cleans booked.
Justin
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£150 worth of new business canvassed in a month???
Me and my bro canvassed for 3 hours today and got £160 worth... You just have to be persistent and not get down when people say no.
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or buy a established round :)
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whats the best way to canvas i mean do you people clean the hole house for them if they want a window cleaner am not sure how to do this as i started today going asking on wednesday??
Please help thanks
dave
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great post phil.
i have had to go back to agency work for awhile until things pick up for me, but not giving up
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Great post silly! Just a note on the price of Buckets, I got mine at Wilkinsons in Hpool for a quid!! 50% saving straight away.