Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: kris84 on January 12, 2009, 08:24:41 pm
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Hello folks,
I am a newbie on the forum.
I was hoping you guys could give me a realistic idea of how many windows can be achieved per day on your average round using traditionsl method.
I will be starting up soon and am trying to put together realistic targets to establish earning potential and forecasts.
I have no previous experience other than ding my own. I would be targeting terraced houses, semis and detached 2 to 4 bedrooms hopefully front and back.
Any info you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Also I would be aiming to have all work within a 5 mile radious
cheers
kris
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forgot to say, that I would plan on working 0800 - 1600 if I can fill the days.
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well.... does anyone want to answer my to my post :D lol
im just looking for feedback idealy honest, I have a little common sense so, hopefully I can figure out the genuine guys from the not so genuine.
please guys, answer my post if you want to contribute to the forum and help someone in need.
cheers
kris
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no need to big up your own business folks just tell me what you reckon a new window cleaner could achieve providng the owrk is there.
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If you answer my question I would be happy to hear about your business though! ;)
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i would say between 20 - 25 a day when ur up to speed. but when u first start up i would say about 2 an hour would be good going.
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this is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string there are so many determining factors that will determine how many you can do
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tbh, this thread is rather un answerable.
There are too many variables.
you need customers, you dont have much experience - therefore will be alot slower than experienced trad guys that would normally post here, is it raining - trad is pointless in the rain etc etc...
I wouldn;t make this your FT job, unless you have in excess of at least 100 customers, or alternatively, go canvassing every day you are not cleaning.
cleaning windows is the easy bit, building a profitable business is the hard bit, which many soon realise and give up..
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I will answer...sorry.
I do approx 2.5 houses per hour if they are in close proximty (3 bed semis),if they have conservatories it will be less and if they have access issues which i try to avoid this will delay it as well.
This is a hard slog all day though so inevitably you will slow down throughout the day.
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thanks crystal clear, to be totaly honest with you I was hoping that I could do that amount to begin, if I get my rounds all near one and other great. I do expect to do less ofourse if I need to travel to other areas etc.
would welcome much more feedback from erveryone else who views this, whether have been doing this for 1 week or a decade.
cheers
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i think you will struggle to get your round close together, unless you buy a round. as said before building your round is the hard bit.
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cheers for the answer.
I know there will be many factors that will influence this but I gave a description of what answers should be based on at the begining of my post.
I deffo agree, this isnt going to be started as a full time business. I will be aiming to start a part time round initialy only a few days per month to get a better feel and understanding of things.
If I feel I can expand during the summer that will be my starting point, I have experience running busineses so have a general understanding of how to evaluate whether wether something can give me a wage.
A few years back I left a decent career that was only going to get better for me (financialy only) and left to get a job where I could be happier and spend more time enjoying life.
I did this but, I now work for someone else renovating properties and I hate the way I get treated and undervalued and now know that I realy need to be self employed and answer mainly to myself.
Im hoping window cleaning can pay the bills, I dont expect to get rich.
Oh, by the way... I actualy know a guy up hear who started off as a window cleaner and moved on to better things making millions and losing millions, he now own a succesfull business, employs about 30 guys and is once again a multimillionaire. :D
so keep dreaming guys, they might come true. AIM high you may go high etc, etc
any more comments welcomed
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I know it will be hard to establish a decent round. I am going to talk with my own window cleaner and see if he would be interested in me a selling a street to get started. It is my understanding that he has many streets together.
I would be offering property maintenance services too, so will have some work coming in from that. I currently do work for people ion my spare time and get repeat work and reccomendations from this fitting laminate, wooden floor, tiling and painting etc. I already have all tools so wouldn't need to invest in these.
I dont think I have it all fugured out in case anyone is thinking that lol :D
If I dont succed in window cleaning I will still be offering property maintenance services working for myself. I am hoping that window cleaning would help me promote my additional services to people in my local area. I believe that working in my local area helps me in many ways
e.g. becoming known and reccomended
they will see my window cleaning services and my property maintenance services being advertised,
keep work close to home cutting down travel time etc
cutting down fuel costs
building a good relationship with my clients and hopefully becoming there first point of contact for many service requirements which will hopefully open up more opportunities in the future
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hi there,
first house i did took me 2hr 'cause i was paranoid it wasn't right.
now same size place taces 15 / 20 min.
the best thing you an do is work out what you need to earn to cover your household bills and add about 35% to that for tax and expences. that is the minimum you need to earn to survive.
now add a bit for the nice things in life. work this for the year, break it down for a monthly and weekly totals.
work out what you want to charge average per house then
weekly total divided by average price shows how many custs you need each week.
it doesn't matter what anyone else does, you have to work out how many you need to do and get them done.
you just stick at it and the speed comes
you can make a good living and still have personal time :)
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cheer nail,
I reckon I will be a bit paranoid at the beginning going over my work again and again etc
thats the kind of comments im looking for
anymor out there guys lol :D
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oh and gravity will get you down if your not careful, trust me, top of ladder to bottom in record time hurts if you are lucky. so don't try to work to fast :-[
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Kris
First of all, welcome to the magical world of window cleaning.
Next is your question on what you will be able to clean "trad" per hour.
This is a hard question with no easy answer, for starters different people work at different speeds, also some do a complete clean, while others miss things like frames, to save on time.
A starting figure would be about 30 minutes to start with, with this dropping down to 20 over time.
Do not attempt to go faster than you can. because ladders are deadly, instead build your speed up over time.
I would reccomend though that you consider wfp to trad methods, you can achieve a faster cleaning pattern with this system, its also safer.
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3 a hour 6 hour days
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It also depends on the size of the property, its best to work out how much you need to earn at the end of each day rather than reading on here 10/20/30 houses a day, i have quite a few days a month where i only clean 2 or 3 houses over 6/8 hours.
mind you i am slow ;D
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I average £20.00 a hour on my own.
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I average £20.00 a hour on my own.
Yeh but you only charge 50p per house ;D
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When I started I went out with a trad guy to learn the ropes. Man he was fast and good.
I recon I managed two 3 bed houses an hour. that was in a line. 7 windows and 2 doors pur house. All double glazed and simple.
He was cruzing on 4 houses!
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Take your time at first, and dont get too complacent where your placing your ladders.
Good advice.....take it! and good luck.
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On a large estate I do, my record is 40 houses in a day! (thats wfp) I aim to break that record this summer! :)
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On a large estate I do, my record is 40 houses in a day! (thats wfp) I aim to break that record this summer! :)
[/quote
lol !at £3 a house... just incase tax man is looking
;D ;D ;D
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On a large estate I do, my record is 40 houses in a day! (thats wfp) I aim to break that record this summer! :)
so your back on here then fella, any more vids ?
as to subject I do not worry about the amount of windows or houses, it is down to the amount of money always has been.
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Yes,
but is twenty houses at £5 not better than
5 houses at £10
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what I was looking for realy was a realistic amount that I could do per day.
Pricing is 100% to me and I wouldn,t expect another person to set this figure for me.
not being cheecky :D, just wanted to clarify that so, I dont get too many responses that are of of track
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depends how long they take to clean. a wfp cleaner could do maybe 6 terraced 10 pound houses per hour. Not sur what a 5 pound house would look like do you mean fronts???
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I mean that in terms of cost per item alone is not the biggest factor when trying to establish a value.
This was an example, not a fixed price that I would charge for something
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guys try reading my initial post and perhaps some comments before jumping in uninformed and making comments.
I dont give a monkeys about cost this is my responisibilty, I simply wanted to know what you thought was a realistic number of houses to do as a newbie using trad methods.
As my post stated.
Sorry to come across as rude but, I didnt make that post and spend time reasearching the forum to read irrelevant answers and comments to ny post.
:(
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Okay,
As a new window cleaner working trad on 'standard semi-detached houses' (if there is such a beast), I reckon you could do ten houses a day; this is taking into consideration traveling time, because no doubt each one will be a 'drive between'!
Once you get upto speed, 15 would be a comfortable figure.
I hope this has helped.
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What he/she ;D said
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cheers,
I could live with amount initialy, after tax etc I would still manage to pay the bills.
After gaining experience I could start to be a little maore ambitious.
I think 18-20 jobs a day would be a comfortable living for me. I am starting to realise that with trad methods this may not be easily achieved unless realy compacted but, once I have the experience perhaps I could try to take on a little bit of commercial work e.g. small busineses like offices or shops etc
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I think 18-20 jobs a day would be a comfortable living for me.
Kris, there is no such thing as a 'unit' of window cleaning, as in 18 to 20 semis would be a comfortable living.
You'll get some big jobs, some small; but the best advice I can give is don't price too cheaply because you're desperate for work.
I've been going for seven years (which isn't long compared to many here; some of whom are third generation window cleaners), but I still suffer in a few places because I originally underpriced the accounts SEVEN YEARS AGO.
A minimum price would be good, say £10 (though I do a fair few for less), set your terms and conditions and don't let the customer dictate to you; drop rubbish customers straight away; and you'll get a lot of them to begin with.
And don't be so stroppy on the forum.
;D
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Ewan,
I sold most of my underpriced work two-years-ago; the rest I've kept out of habit really. I like the area, I like the customers!
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lol ;D I will try, just gets difficult when you get irrelevant comments coments
I agree and understand your comment on pricing and why underpricing should be avoided.
Hopefully I wont do this, as easy as it is done. I have done many jobs in the past and underpriced them so I know how depressing it can get doing work and realises that time and cost isnt goind to add up especialy when the aches and pains start to kick in after a hard days graft.
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On a large estate I do, my record is 40 houses in a day! (thats wfp) I aim to break that record this summer! :)
You charge £20 plus a house dont you. £800 for a days work must be a new ciu record.
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Ewan,
I sold most of my underpriced work two-years-ago; the rest I've kept out of habit really. I like the area, I like the customers!
They like you to Tosh, put the price up. ;)
I know I know I know I know I know...
I will; I promise; in the Summer; honest!
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Yes,
but is twenty houses at £5 not better than
5 houses at £10
No
why not mate?
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On a large estate I do, my record is 40 houses in a day! (thats wfp) I aim to break that record this summer! :)
so your back on here then fella, any more vids ?
as to subject I do not worry about the amount of windows or houses, it is down to the amount of money always has been.
Hello mate, good to see you back on the forum!! :) I only post occaisionally these days, and I've deleted all my youtube vids as I was fed up with certain people on here using them to attack me! >:(
I totally agree with you concerning money taken being important and not jobs done! but I always like to set myself targets and records to keep myself motivated, these include highest amount of money taken, the most number of houses cleaned in a day, and I always time each job I do, and try to beat that time each time I clean! :)
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I didnt make that post and spend time reasearching the forum to read irrelevant answers and comments to ny post.
:(
You better get used to it buddy!!!!!!!!! ;D
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Yes,
but is twenty houses at £5 not better than
5 houses at £10
No
why not mate?
And chasing twenty payments of £5 is a pain too. All those customers you have to smile at and be nice too; just for a fiver?
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I didnt make that post and spend time reasearching the forum to read irrelevant answers and comments to ny post.
:(
You better get used to it buddy!!!!!!!!! ;D
Yup!
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Okay,
As a new window cleaner working trad on 'standard semi-detached houses' (if there is such a beast), I reckon you could do ten houses a day; this is taking into consideration traveling time, because no doubt each one will be a 'drive between'!
Once you get upto speed, 15 would be a comfortable figure.
I hope this has helped.
I second this - seems realistic.
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to be honest mate, that is one of my biggest concerns about doing a round lol ;)
fingers crossed, how much as a percentage do would you say has to be written off untill the following month? or do you deal with it in a different maner when strugling to get payment asap?
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Okay,
As a new window cleaner working trad on 'standard semi-detached houses' (if there is such a beast), I reckon you could do ten houses a day; this is taking into consideration traveling time, because no doubt each one will be a 'drive between'!
Once you get upto speed, 15 would be a comfortable figure.
I hope this has helped.
I second this - seems realistic.
It means being your own boss, answering to yourself etc this is what I preffer and that cost would justify that for me.
totally agree
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I only post occaisionally these days, and I've deleted all my youtube vids as I was fed up with certain people on here using them to attack me! >:(
That's a shame Groundhog. I found your videos a good way of seeing how to get faster and it's always good to see other peoples technique. It would have been be invaluable if I was starting up again with nobody to show me the ropes.
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to be honest mate, that is one of my biggest concerns about doing a round lol ;)
fingers crossed, how much as a percentage do would you say has to be written off untill the following month? or do you deal with it in a different maner when strugling to get payment asap?
I take it you're asking about cash flow and getting your dosh?
Most of the rich established guys here will shout 'evelopes', as in you clean and leave a SAE with payment instructions.
I do this also, but only for my rural accounts. I have two estate areas I collect from on a Saturday morning; I find arriving there about 10.00 am works for me and it takes an hour; twice a month; I can park up and walk round. If they're not in, I leave a SAE with payment instructions.
If I don't get sent a cheque, I just add it onto the following month.
But if you're new, with loads of drive betweens, collecting is going to be a pain.
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I think a set day e.g. sat would work best for me.
I hope I dont sound niave but, I dont plan on making the sacrifice of having jobs scattered all over the place. e.g. if I can get at least a few houses on a street then I wont bother taking work on that street, I will move on to the next street. I will try my best to have each street within a reasonable distance from one antheron each day if possible.
I am not desperate enough take on scattered work, I will take my time to build up a half dcent round hopefully as I will be starting off part time.
My income will be topped by of home maintenance srevices etc which, I already have at evening and weekends at present.
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I hope I dont sound niave but, I dont plan on making the sacrifice of having jobs scattered all over the place. e.g. if I can get at least a few houses on a street then I wont bother taking work on that street, I will move on to the next street. I will try my best to have each street within a reasonable distance from one antheron each day if possible.
I am not desperate enough take on scattered work,
You're sounding naive! Unless you're lucky enough to find an area that a window cleaner has disapeared from, you'll have NO chance of creating a compact round from scratch.
I'm willing to bet £1000 on this.
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If you guys have work five days a week do you find that your weekly income is consistent that week every month? and how much can your worload/ income vary from week of rounds to the next?
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If you guys have work five days a week do you find that your weekly income is consistent that week every month? and how much can your worload/ income vary from week of rounds to the next?
thyat depends if you work in all weathers or not, some dont like getting wet so this greatly affects there working wage
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I think you'll find the weather is the bugger that plays the biggest part in wreaking havoc with our weekly/monthly totals; that and idleness!
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
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I hope I dont sound niave but, I dont plan on making the sacrifice of having jobs scattered all over the place. e.g. if I can get at least a few houses on a street then I wont bother taking work on that street, I will move on to the next street. I will try my best to have each street within a reasonable distance from one antheron each day if possible.
I am not desperate enough take on scattered work,
You're sounding naive! Unless you're lucky enough to find an area that a window cleaner has disapeared from, you'll have NO chance of creating a compact round from scratch.
I'm willing to bet £1000 on this.
I guess all I can do is try :D
Seriously, It couldnt be worthwile for me traveling all over for a job here and a job there. I couldnt get enough houses completed in a 8hr working day (thats would I intend to work if I can fill it.
If this becomes the case I will need to try and get bigger houses or expand into commercial work.
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
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Honestly mate,
Saturday is the way forward lol ;) take the kids with you as they will off school or nursery, this way you can guilt trip the customers and they will probs be realy nice if the kiddies are there :D
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Seriously, It couldnt be worthwile for me traveling all over for a job here and a job there. I couldnt get enough houses completed in a 8hr working day (thats would I intend to work if I can fill it.
If this becomes the case I will need to try and get bigger houses or expand into commercial work.
Target posh detached houses; I personally like the £20 type that takes about 20 - 30 minutes to do. They're worth doing as drive betweens and this type of customer WILL (usually) post a cheque promptly.
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That sounds better, I could agree these terms at the beging I guess and save the hassle. If payment by cheque is not suitable for them then it should be payment on completion a specific collection date or not at all. It would realy need to be worthwhile for me to travel to a single job.
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Kris, it's normally payment on completion all the time; but if they're not in when you clean, then you can leave a SAE with payment instructions.
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I think you'll find the weather is the bugger that plays the biggest part in wreaking havoc with our weekly/monthly totals; that and idleness!
not all but some I would say, and from reading back posts some is alot more than I thought ::)
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Kris,
What you really need to do is find a local window cleaner who'll show you the ropes; how to work safely, use a squeegie etc.
A lot of lads start up thinking it's easy, then jack it in within a few months when they discover it's not.
I can't help anymore this evening since Wor Lass says I've got to have a bath (I think she's got plans for me (groan)).
Evening all!
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My window cleaner doesnt chap the door on completion these days but, If Im in I always take the cash to him. I even think about taking it to his house sometimes as I feel guilty when Im not at home.
I noticed a few months after he started on my street he began to leave the payment untill next time round if he got no answer on first attempt.
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My window cleaner doesnt chap the door on completion these days but, If Im in I always take the cash to him. I even think about taking it to his house sometimes as I feel guilty when Im not at home.
I noticed a few months after he started on my street he began to leave the payment untill next time round if he got no answer on first attempt.
now if all customers were like you we would all be happy
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Kris,
What you really need to do is find a local window cleaner who'll show you the ropes; how to work safely, use a squeegie etc.
A lot of lads start up thinking it's easy, then jack it in within a few months when they discover it's not.
I can't help anymore this evening since Wor Lass says I've got to have a bath (I think she's got plans for me (groan)).
Evening all!
I plan to talk to my window cleaner when I see him. hes not been round since the begining of December.
Might also attend training day at bwca.
As for thinking its easy etc, I will only do it part time due to this. I understand it might not be my cup of tea. I would never undervalue any mans trade, I hear it all the time (tilings not hard, paintings not hard, window cleaning is not hard) its people who have got an understanding that have this attitude. If after a while I am still enjoying it and its working out then I would deffo plan on making it full time.
goodnight all, Im off to bed also. Early start tomorrow
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
Was that directed at me mate?
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
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when you get started the best thing to do is take almost every job that comes your way, you want to get as much cash as quickly as poss. this way you find what you should charge quicker, and as the book fills you start a list of who you will bin when you get the chance to replace them with a better job.
as for not taking streets where you only get one job, I started a couple of streets and for about 3 months only had the one job, now 12 months ofter that first clean i have 12ish on these streets. if you clean those one per street deals at diferent times people notice them being cleaned, and i believe most people don't realise they want a window cleaner till the see the nieghbour has one ;D
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yes
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yes
I did not at any point say that I do not need to learn. learn to read pal!
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when you get started the best thing to do is take almost every job that comes your way, you want to get as much cash as quickly as poss. this way you find what you should charge quicker, and as the book fills you start a list of who you will bin when you get the chance to replace them with a better job.
as for not taking streets where you only get one job, I started a couple of streets and for about 3 months only had the one job, now 12 months ofter that first clean i have 12ish on these streets. if you clean those one per street deals at diferent times people notice them being cleaned, and i believe most people don't realise they want a window cleaner till the see the nieghbour has one ;D
cheers mate
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yes
I did not at any point say that I do not need to learn. learn to read pal!
lol! :D no offence meant... but you do seem to know what you want before you ask the questions...sorry ::)
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
lol ;)
you got me wrong mate, I was agreeing with you meaning 'yes mate, learn from mistakes etc' in other word I will learn from my mistakes.
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
lol ;)
you got me wrong mate, I was agreeing with you meaning 'yes mate, learn from mistakes etc' in other word I will learn from my mistakes.
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
Kris, you need to learn how to make a post dude as it is confusing, name calling will get you banned by the way, jest is fine but insulting is a no no , p holley is having a laugh as always
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yes
I did not at any point say that I do not need to learn. learn to read pal!
lol! :D no offence meant... but you do seem to know what you want before you ask the questions...sorry ::)
I think I have an ideal answer in my head lol :D but I like to know what others think and it can be a bit encouraging when someone give give you the answer your hoping to hear ;D
It helps to get there opinions too as they are the folks who do this every day si, they know from past experience
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
lol ;)
you got me wrong mate, I was agreeing with you meaning 'yes mate, learn from mistakes etc' in other word I will learn from my mistakes.
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
Kris, you need to learn how to make a post dude as it is confusing, name calling will get you banned by the way, jest is fine but insulting is a no no , p holley is having a laugh as always
yes, I am struggling to get my head wrong this quote thing at this time of night. In adition to this a couple of beers has an impact too. lol
Im spelling everything wrong and even typing the wrong words ::)
Good night folks!
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sorry... :-[ ::) read it wrong...
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I hope I dont sound niave ......
sorry m8 but u have to take what u can and build on it, thats how rfounds are built.... ???
yes mate, learn from mistakes etc
lol ;)
you got me wrong mate, I was agreeing with you meaning 'yes mate, learn from mistakes etc' in other word I will learn from my mistakes.
ay??? i dont need to learn !!!! your the one asking for advice... and i think you need to listen , coz at the moment u seem to be a bit of as richard head :o
Kris, you need to learn how to make a post dude as it is confusing, name calling will get you banned by the way, jest is fine but insulting is a no no , p holley is having a laugh as always
yes, I am struggling to get my head wrong this quote thing at this time of night. In adition to this a couple of beers has an impact too. lol
Im spelling everything wrong and even typing the wrong words ::)
Good night folks!
all you need to do is look t the quotes and delete what you dont need to add, im only trying to help you m8 ;)
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I clean on average 6 houses per day... But they are not £5 jobbies!
Andy
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That's a shame Groundhog. I found your videos a good way of seeing how to get faster and it's always good to see other peoples technique. It would have been be invaluable if I was starting up again with nobody to show me the ropes.
Thanks Bud, I just got a bit fed up with some of the comments I was recieving about my vids! Although I did get a lot of positive feedback also, maybe I'll do some more sometime!! ;)
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£800 for a days work must be a new ciu record.
I very much doubt it!! ;)
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I wouldn't mind having a wee look at them too! would be pretty helpfull :)
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That's a shame Groundhog. I found your videos a good way of seeing how to get faster and it's always good to see other peoples technique. It would have been be invaluable if I was starting up again with nobody to show me the ropes.
Thanks Bud, I just got a bit fed up with some of the comments I was recieving about my vids! Although I did get a lot of positive feedback also, maybe I'll do some more sometime!! ;)
It's easy to criticize, not so easy to get the camera out and do a vid, especially when there is no benefit in it for you. I think it is invaluable to see how experienced and fast people do it.
Thought you had a thicker skin than that anyway :)