Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Skyglide on October 01, 2007, 06:44:19 pm
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Hi All
I've worked hard for 2.5 years without a proper break to get things flying. Main problem is I started without any capital, due to 2 divorces. All WFP.
Now have 2 employees on good money and have to register for Vat.
One employee is regular and no complaints. Other one went sick today and peed me off.
Do I stick to my guns and go for a business that is saleable or run off the tools?
Do I jack all the prices up and delay the Vat, work for more money and less customers?
Do I get rid of 2nd employee?
BTW getting 8 - 10 new customers every week, today 9 flats at £15 per flat .5 mile away.
Advice please after a **** day!
Chris
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First of all get rid of the T***** that keeps letting you down,then put all prices up on jobs you don`t mind losing and only a fraction on the good work,any rubbish work replace with new work at the prices you want.Send the employee out on his own and pay a basic wage with bonus on work given and completed,this should ensure that he`ll do the work otherwise he`ll be only earning his basic pay.This can be the only way i can see with employing,if you just pay a set wage your never gonna get the best out of him in my experience.
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SELL THE LOT OFF AND GET A JOB SELLING ICE CREAMS ON THE BEECH ON THE COSTA BLANCA?
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Hi All
I've worked hard for 2.5 years without a proper break to get things flying. Main problem is I started without any capital, due to 2 divorces. All WFP.
Now have 2 employees on good money and have to register for Vat.
One employee is regular and no complaints. Other one went sick today and peed me off.
Do I stick to my guns and go for a business that is saleable or run off the tools?
Do I jack all the prices up and delay the Vat, work for more money and less customers?
Do I get rid of 2nd employee?
BTW getting 8 - 10 new customers every week, today 9 flats at £15 per flat .5 mile away.
Advice please after a **** day!
Chris
dont think about it today, you have had a bad day we al have them (had a very bad one yesterday, bought new van and ten mins later got pulled so did the guy that works for me that was following me, 2 speeding fines and 6 points) you day should feel better. Right back to the point.
If you jack up the prices how can you delay the vat?
give employee a vebal warning that this will not be tolorated, does it again written and rid. you cant build a business on wasters good fondations and all that.
"Do I stick to my guns and go for a business that is saleable or run off the tools?"
did not understand that???
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Hi NWH
Gonna give the T....r a b........g tomorrow - last chance and final written warning. Don't mind holding their hand, but not going to change their nappies.
Still feel that I can get a good saleable or manageable business out of this after doing all the hard work.
I'll work my backside off if there is an end goal, but it gets a bit clouded sometimes and I don't want to think I have wasted my efforts.
Chris
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That`s the trouble i had when i employed,they can end up draining you of enthusiasm.You`ve put all the hard work in over the years and they think they can turn up when they feel like it,been there and done that.The best thing i did was to downsize the round and keep all the cream work,every job i now do i enjoy doing and it`s at the price i want,when new work comes in i`ll go to quote and if it`s not the kind of property that`s going to earn me my price i pass it on to a newbie.If you do this process in the right way i promise you you will earn more money than you can with 1-2 workers,add up there wages holiday pay and all those sick days and it`s a no brainer,who knows in the future but at the moment i`ve never been happier going to work.
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Well done NWH, I feel a lot better!
I agree you don't know what the future has in store and the main thing is you have to work so why not enjoy it.
Maintenance cleans on windows is a breeze and actually cleaning windows is enjoyable in my book.
Trouble is I'm thinking long term as I'm 54, but fit. Do I clean until I drop or create a saleable business?
Chris
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Keep getting the work and get some more vans on the road allowing you to be a manager in a few years.
3/4 vans on the road should see a good retirement fund
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Employing other window cleaners and looking after them can be a nightmare!
My ultimate goal is to one day hire some other window cleaners + a manager who is there to look after them and the day to day planning/running of the business, allowing me the time to concentrate on expanding even more.
Andy
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just plod on your self i had 8 lads 4 vans made loads of dosh
but my customers wernt happy so i wasent happy'
gave me endless bad heads
ive spent 20 yr building this up with a good reputation for some one who dnt care less about my buisness to come along & ruin it.i took the plunge 2 yrs ago sacked them all 1 morning,
now i have 1 van 1 employee am on his back all day
i no every window is done to perfection cos iam on every job with him,
told him he either works well or he doesent bother
i get less bad heads now know all my customers well
if they get a problem iam there to sort it
life sorted ;D
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I had an employee that was more hassle than it was worth
Did my year end accounts and realised i was only earning slightly more than when i was on my own
iwent back on my own and my turnover went down by an average of ten pounds per week i had to work a little harder to achieve that but now 6 months down the line i have creamed off the best work and now average £50 per week more and no hassle
I wouldnt say i loved w/cing but i now dont mind it so much no stress
Dean
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Christies,
You're at the point we were a couple of years ago, ask yourself what you want to be doing in 5 years, do you still want to be working hands on in all weathers and earning a reasonable living, with no hassle, or do you want to bite the bullet and see if you can turn this business into your pension plan?
Heads or tails, your choice!
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It's a tricky decision to make isn't it ??? I had a business 4 yrs ago and employed 10 staff, turnover was great, profit was good, but what a headache! Staff can be great don't get me wrong, BUT at the end of the day, nobody is going to be a thorough as you as it's not their business. At the end of a working day they go home and forget all about it, have no concept of how much effort goes into running a successful business, very nice! if you want that.
I was at the same point that you are at, with this decision to make, it seems to me you have to decide whether you can or want to deal with all the extra legalities and problems of having staff, or would prefer the simpler life, running and doing the majority of the work yourself. I chose not to employ as i don't want to take the risk of staff killing my business or deceiving me further down the road by nicking work, i know this cannot apply to all staff, but i'm happier knowing that i'm in complete control!! You can still achieve good wages and a saleable business with one van, as it's obvious to increase your prices and only take on lucrative work.
Of course there are pros and cons with each option, and it's down to the individual to decide if they can manage staff effectively and reep the rewards! I have learnt from my past experiences i'm not particularly great with staff! hence the tribunals i ended up in! ::) all a learning curve, but i'd rather give it a miss! Good luck with the decision though.
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If you don`t have honest good working WC`s working for you you don`t have a business,how many people who employe actually know if there customers are happy honestly,not many i bet.Cos the moneys coming in it don`t mean that the customers are happy,half of them don`t know any better.
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Newpy and NWH have got it about right in my opinion.The key question is whether you can stand taking a backseat and trusting others to do the work for you. A lot of people talk about building an empire but they always seem to miss out this one difficult question. Forget about the headaches and the fact that you may well doing more work for less money.
Are you the sort of person who can let others do it or are you too hands on and only happy to be at the front end doing the windows?
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A lot of people who employe don`t realise that there employees are out there doing a C*** job but a lot of customers are just glad to get there window`s clean that`s why the turnover of work has to be high and constantly replacing lost work.Just cos your turning over a lot of work it dosen`t mean that the quality is there,you need to be at the sharp end out there with em making sure things are getting done right.
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i see all my customers all the time, if they get a problem they tell me, my turn over of work is really small maybe lost 5 jobs in a year, & i no the quality is there like tday i made the lad with me re do 11 windows on 1 house really sunny sothey streaked a bit with the squeege, he has only been here 6 wk but is on a very steep learning curve but when he re done them in his time not mine he got the message, he went home at 5.30 not 5.00
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Well done NWH, I feel a lot better!
I agree you don't know what the future has in store and the main thing is you have to work so why not enjoy it.
Maintenance cleans on windows is a breeze and actually cleaning windows is enjoyable in my book.
Trouble is I'm thinking long term as I'm 54, but fit. Do I clean until I drop or create a saleable business?
Chris
Expand and take on staff, if you dont try you will never know, I have staff, yes they can be a pain in the a== sometimes, but if they are trained correctly they will do the job right, if they get complaints they have to re clean in thier own time or lose the money from their wage packet, that keeps them doing the job right in the first place, may seem a littlwe harsh to some but at the end of the day they are fronting your compnay and should do what they are paid for and that is to clean windows to a high standard everytime.
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I don't think much of your options. All the bad points as above plus it will never be worth much- not even annual turnover.
I would look at two things, expanding in other areas, and giving your good employee more responsibility and maybe a share in the firm for taking on more.
To move on you have to work as part of a team.
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The trouble is in this game is that in the end they start to think that they are more then just part of a team,they start to think there your business partner.Get to comfy cosy with employees and they will take libertys,that`s from experience.
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firm but fair NWH, draw the line and keep em on thier toes, give a bit take a bit back, show respect and you will recieve it back.
If not then get shot of them and replace them with someone that will show respect
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The thing is Nat it`s a job in itself finding these people.
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i really have found it alright, i've been bitten a few times but i learn from my mistakes, i have found there is a fine line bewteen being the boss and being a friend, make people feel wanted but pull the reigns in when people take the mick.
I must just be lucky? or maybe i'm just damn good with people i don't know ;) ;D
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I wonder if bill gates thought of working on his own or sir richard branson thought stuff employing people i can dot it on my own.
There is nothing worse than saying what if!
Once you have found the right staff then life becomes so much easier
trust me i know
rgds, stu
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Very grateful for all this response.
A friend of mine told me that Boeing was about to go bust during the development of the 747. Basically if they abandoned the project it would have cost them dear. They took the decision that they were so far into it they had to carry on. The 747 became the world's biggest seller and transformed pasenger air travel and whole economies around the world.
My second employee has turnd around today, but I'm going to keep him hungrier for a while. My number one employee has been schooled to be ops supervisor in the future with financial overrides. (All my employees are on incentives and penalties)
A Lithuanian wants to work for me, as does a decent fit hard working drug free 25 year old with a clean driving licence.
Pulled in a load more decent paying work today, so all in all back on track to build and build.
If it gets too much aggravation then I will cream off the best and go me + one.
Chris
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Very grateful for all this response.
A friend of mine told me that Boeing was about to go bust during the development of the 747. Basically if they abandoned the project it would have cost them dear. They took the decision that they were so far into it they had to carry on. The 747 became the world's biggest seller and transformed pasenger air travel and whole economies around the world.
My second employee has turnd around today, but I'm going to keep him hungrier for a while. My number one employee has been schooled to be ops supervisor in the future with financial overrides. (All my employees are on incentives and penalties)
A Lithuanian wants to work for me, as does a decent fit hard working drug free 25 year old with a clean driving licence.
Pulled in a load more decent paying work today, so all in all back on track to build and build.
If it gets too much aggravation then I will cream off the best and go me + one.
Chris
IBM said the same years ago the internet will not take off so they forgot about it, cost them big time as it did work and other filled the gaps they then had to try as hard as possible to get in on the action, if only they did what was said to them, then again people with a narrow mind never listen to anyone else as they think they are right all the time, it is the people that listen and learn that make more money.
Good luck to you Chris ;)
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A fool learns from his own mistakes,a wise man learns from others. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
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A fool learns from his own mistakes,a wise man learns from others. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
NWH thats got to be the best relpy I have heard this week ;D
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I took my cousin on last november, for 3 / 4 days a week. He promised me he would be driving within a few months of me taking him on.
Everything was fine for the first 6 months or so, but since June / July he's really slacked off (misses windows etc...), he still can't drive which means I have to pick him up from the station every work day (which is sometimes 10+ miles out of my way depending on where we are working).
He's now costing me money... I can earn more in a day working on my own instead of having him with me... He only really earns his wage, and it's costing me petrol and time etc.. picking him up and dropping him off each day.
So... Last week I gave him 4 weeks notice. Not easy as he is in my family, but it had to be done :(
That being said... Real money can be made if you can find the right people to employ.
My future plans are to build a solid commercial customer base and employ people to work on this commercial work, hiring a manager to deal with day to day issues.
Andy
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I took my cousin on last november, for 3 / 4 days a week. He promised me he would be driving within a few months of me taking him on.
Everything was fine for the first 6 months or so, but since June / July he's really slacked off (misses windows etc...), he still can't drive which means I have to pick him up from the station every work day (which is sometimes 10+ miles out of my way depending on where we are working).
He's now costing me money... I can earn more in a day working on my own instead of having him with me... He only really earns his wage, and it's costing me petrol and time etc.. picking him up and dropping him off each day.
So... Last week I gave him 4 weeks notice. Not easy as he is in my family, but it had to be done :(
That being said... Real money can be made if you can find the right people to employ.
My future plans are to build a solid commercial customer base and employ people to work on this commercial work, hiring a manager to deal with day to day issues.
Andy
good on you Andy, family is a hard one been there and done it aswell, I treat all the same now, pull your weight or cya it really is that simple firm but fair.
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My future plans are to build a solid commercial customer base and employ people to work on this commercial work, hiring a manager to deal with day to day issues.
Andy
Commercial is an easier one to monitor, and in effect this is my position in my company, a manager that deals with the day to day issues.
But i still do not neglect the fact that there is money and so much business in houses. as time moves on, as business grws, i'm implementing more and more things which makes it more difficult for people to slack, do a poor job, etc etc...
I really have so many ideas that are being put in place where by it makes my business a lot more secure, i would list a few of them but really i don't want to blurt it out on the internet, but what i will say is vehicle tracking, that has a big part to play as well as constant supervision. these two things alone have made my day to day running a lot more efficient, and harder for people to slack off!
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Andy i was in the same situation as you,he was only earning his wage but at the same time costing me money.