Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: mick786 on December 31, 2009, 04:04:00 pm
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hi all i,m new hear, ya thinking of becoming a window cleaner as on the dole and need work, got a few saving to buy tools etc, and any one of you good guys give me some avice like priceing up, getting work, starting out, I have,nt done window cleaning before so trying to get as much info as i can , pleaseeeeeeee help thanks guys hope to hear back ta ta
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go for it the best job you every have,
loads of free time lots of money no stress what more could you want in life. :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
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if you cant find a round for sale locally to you then you will have dedicate alot of your time canvasing but if your not working at the moment thanks shouldnt be a problem for you read through this website it should help you a bit, www.windowcleaningcoach.com/
for pricing its not easy when you fisrt start out and depends what part of the country you live in but firstly work out an average hourly rate you want achieve i go for £15 an hour,obviously you should be around that price or higher to account for your losses ie diesel,tools,tax bill,insurance and many many more,plus you could put a post up if any wc locally could take you out for the day to show you the ropes and help with pricing houses if you dont mind not getting paid for the day lots of wc would be willing to help
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Thanks guys, all very helpfull, prob try to find a right price to chaged, and get me tools etc, then lots of knoking on doors locally,
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where are you from? As (no disrespect) you have time on your hands just advetise advertise and advertise,when they ask when your doing it say about 2-3 weeks in that time if your out 8 hours aday i think you should have about maybe 50-70
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Is it in high demand? will I be having alot of people saying that I already have a window cleaner etc?
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Hi Mick
I started a few months back and I'm realy enjoying it. But as I'm finding out that if the weather is against you then your not going to get out and earn.
As I've found out there is a lot of realy helpfull posters on here, but I would advise you to set your self targets as you go, maybe when you go out canvesing set yourself a target of 6 new customers or xx new customers in a month or a finacial target.
Read through the back posts and as has been said www.windowcleaningcoach.com is a good place to go.
But good luck and welcome to ciu
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do it ;D
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good luck , make sure you start with the pole from day 1 regards alan
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good luck , make sure you start with the pole from day 1 regards alan
why start with the pole?
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saves changing over later on , regards alan
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good luck , make sure you start with the pole from day 1 regards alan
why start with the pole?
Because youll earn a lot more ;D ;)
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yeh but this guy is currently on the dole,so dont think he'd be able to afford to buy a buy and a full wfp system,and it always good to be able to do trad and wfp,gives you more options with your work ;D better of starting out on trad,its alot cheaper and easier and seems tho your new to the buisness i think it will work out better for you mate ;D
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you can buy wfp starter systems very cheaply now , and anyone with a brain should be able to work out how to raise the money needed , far better to start out right , lets face it ladders and a mop is a pretty ancient way of cleaning regards alan
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not an acient way,theys just as much trad cleaners out they compared to wfp. what do you do if sum1 comes up to you and asks you to clean they windows the trad way? do you turn em down? hows that good for buisness,if you can do trad and wfp then you can take on all types of work,but if your jus limited to wfp work then you cant pick up as much custom.and im guessin his current financial situation wont allow him to buy a van and a full wfp set up,its jus to expensive to start with,unless your coined up. best of startin trad,it easier,alot less hassle and stress,ALOT cheaper,and if youve never done window cleaning before its the best option. ;D
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What path in window cleaning you choose is just a choice at this moment you may choose wfp or trad in the future as a change...but what ever you do...bear in mind that you need to be able to cover you expenses and bad weather days...just look at the weather now...
Always have some rainy day money....so far I ve used 10,5 day rainy day money and I expect to use that again in the coming weeks.
Cheers and good luck.
Dave.
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not an acient way,theys just as much trad cleaners out they compared to wfp. what do you do if sum1 comes up to you and asks you to clean they windows the trad way? do you turn em down? hows that good for buisness,if you can do trad and wfp then you can take on all types of work,but if your jus limited to wfp work then you cant pick up as much custom.and im guessin his current financial situation wont allow him to buy a van and a full wfp set up,its jus to expensive to start with,unless your coined up. best of startin trad,it easier,alot less hassle and stress,ALOT cheaper,and if youve never done window cleaning before its the best option. ;D
Yer I would if ever asked to do it as i run my business ;D
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not an acient way,theys just as much trad cleaners out they compared to wfp. what do you do if sum1 comes up to you and asks you to clean they windows the trad way? do you turn em down? hows that good for buisness,if you can do trad and wfp then you can take on all types of work,but if your jus limited to wfp work then you cant pick up as much custom.and im guessin his current financial situation wont allow him to buy a van and a full wfp set up,its jus to expensive to start with,unless your coined up. best of startin trad,it easier,alot less hassle and stress,ALOT cheaper,and if youve never done window cleaning before its the best option. ;D
Yer I would if ever asked to do it as i run my business ;D
well if that your way then good luck to ya :) but personally i think havin the option of both trad and wfp is alot better for your buisness and picking up new custies ;D
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i think 1wayno is sort of right, having both ways is good, but the way this business is going, wfp is the future, with trad inside wfp outside, i see a time when ladders is banned and everything is on a pole personally i started off trad, and went to wfp and now find it easier and takes half the time, i try to avoid trad jobs as than means i got to do some work lol
i would rather lose a few custys with wfp than fall off a ladder and lose them all
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we started a few months back using traditional concentrated on bungelows so everything was low level so we didnt need to but ladders after a few months we brought a backpack from wcw and a pole second hand to reach 3 floors and a brush from ebay and a few fittings etc the set up was about 200 quid inc containers etc
the water we buy locally until we purchase a ro system in the near future
every few weeks we add to the system
it worked ok for us
just invest a few quid back into the business every week and good luck
try the citizens advice they may help as grants may be avaliable
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Mick
Welcome to the wonderful world of cleaning windows, the first thing you need to be aware of is what you put into your business is what you will get out of it.
You are in a fantanstic position at the moment because you have not started yet, you have not made any costly mistakes like the rest of us, and the advise that you are receiving, is already saving you time and money.
You say that you are on the dole, so my first port of call would be the job centre to find out what they can do for you, the goverment are always on abouting helping people get people back to work.
You will be able to claim "Tax Credits - Council Tax Benefit and housing benefit if you rent".
You could try the Arrow Fund who will loan you finance to start up with, or you might be acceptable on the Prince Trust or some other enterprise scheme.
You say you want to be a window cleaner, now you have to decide what type of cleaner you will be?
I would recommend that you start out as a "Water fed Poler", it is the way forward in this industry and it is not that expensive to start out with.
Because you are in Wolverhampton ( soft water area) a basic wfp set up will cost you less that £500.
The next very important thing for you to do is charge the right amount for the job, it can be very scary when you first start out and you NEED that business, that you underprice your work, my advise is DON'T underprice anything, you will not go hungry, you will survive.
I live in Birmingham but I have clients all over the West Midlands, if you want to call me then please feel free to do so and I will help as much as possible.
You can find my contact details via my new website www.purehydrocleaners.co.uk
William
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Mick
Welcome to the wonderful world of cleaning windows, the first thing you need to be aware of is what you put into your business is what you will get out of it.
You are in a fantanstic position at the moment because you have not started yet, you have not made any costly mistakes like the rest of us, and the advise that you are receiving, is already saving you time and money.
You say that you are on the dole, so my first port of call would be the job centre to find out what they can do for you, the goverment are always on abouting helping people get people back to work.
You will be able to claim "Tax Credits - Council Tax Benefit and housing benefit if you rent".
You could try the Arrow Fund who will loan you finance to start up with, or you might be acceptable on the Prince Trust or some other enterprise scheme.
You say you want to be a window cleaner, now you have to decide what type of cleaner you will be?
I would recommend that you start out as a "Water fed Poler", it is the way forward in this industry and it is not that expensive to start out with.
Because you are in Wolverhampton ( soft water area) a basic wfp set up will cost you less that £500.
The next very important thing for you to do is charge the right amount for the job, it can be very scary when you first start out and you NEED that business, that you underprice your work, my advise is DON'T underprice anything, you will not go hungry, you will survive.
I live in Birmingham but I have clients all over the West Midlands, if you want to call me then please feel free to do so and I will help as much as possible.
You can find my contact details via my new website www.purehydrocleaners.co.uk
William
Mick
What a good post William has written. The only thing I would add is this "thinking of becoming" Get some experience, see if you can work with someone for a day or too to see if you like it
good luck
Lee
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my tip is go buy a swivel squeegee and get hold of a lightweight alloy ladder ,bucket and rags and off you go matey . it doesnt take long to get used to ladderwork and good luck ! you are starting at just about the best time of the year too .
once you start off on the street dont fret about pricing , use ten quid as a rough guide and adjust it one way or another once you get feedback from customers. theyll tell u what the big boy in your town charges .when they ask "how much is it boy?" just cheerily reply "a tenner" and that usually works as a rule
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i do agree that wfp is the way forward in this buisness,but youve got to take in consideration that he needs a van aswell as the wfp system,and if you havnt got much money then it can be to costly,its always best to know trad and wfp,and startin out trad is the easiest,cheapest,and quickest way to get yourself set up as a window cleaner. once youve got the hang off window cleaning and start savin up money,then you can always get a wfp system and van,dont rush into it and spend alot of money on something you dont really have a clue about,for you situation id recomend startin trad to get yourself into the buisness :)
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i do agree that wfp is the way forward in this buisness,but youve got to take in consideration that he needs a van aswell as the wfp system,and if you havnt got much money then it can be to costly,its always best to know trad and wfp,and startin out trad is the easiest,cheapest,and quickest way to get yourself set up as a window cleaner. once youve got the hang off window cleaning and start savin up money,then you can always get a wfp system and van,dont rush into it and spend alot of money on something you dont really have a clue about,for you situation id recomend startin trad to get yourself into the buisness :)
I am afraid i have to disagree with you and the reason is just before chistmas I crashed my van on the A5 mountains in wales.
The insurance company have given me a Vauxhall Corsa as a replacement.
For the last 2 weeks I have been working at full pace, using both wfp and my carpet cleaning machines and sometimes both at the same time.
You do not need always need a van to be a wfp window cleaner.
If I was a ladder cleaner, then I would have had to purchased a roof rack to carry on working.
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I am afraid i have to disagree with you and the reason is just before chistmas I crashed my van on the A5 mountains in wales.
The insurance company have given me a Vauxhall Corsa as a replacement.
For the last 2 weeks I have been working at full pace, using both wfp and my carpet cleaning machines and sometimes both at the same time.
You do not need always need a van to be a wfp window cleaner.
If I was a ladder cleaner, then I would have had to purchased a roof rack to carry on working.
not so - my ladder set would fit inside a corsa and iv never had a roof rack and my ladders slide into my car on a wooden sledge ,far better than on top of motor
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wolves is not a soft water area it is hard water
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wolves is not a soft water area it is hard water
Whats the TDS of the water
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at the end of the day,starting up trad is alot cheaper,easier,and less hassle than wfp,and in this guys situation i do strongly think it the best option for him,nearly everyone who has a wfp system has a van,coz they jus to big and heavy for an average car,it ud be alot cheaper to buy a roof rack for ur current car and buy ladders and trad gear,rather than buyin a van and buyin a full wfp system,its jus logical and the best option for him. fair enuff if he was coined up and had the money to spend on a van and wfp system,they yeh,but its always best to know both trad and wfp so id still say he'd be better of doin half trad and half wfp to begin with.
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at the end of the day,starting up trad is alot cheaper,easier,and less hassle than wfp,and in this guys situation i do strongly think it the best option for him,nearly everyone who has a wfp system has a van,coz they jus to big and heavy for an average car,it ud be alot cheaper to buy a roof rack for ur current car and buy ladders and trad gear,rather than buyin a van and buyin a full wfp system,its jus logical and the best option for him. fair enuff if he was coined up and had the money to spend on a van and wfp system,they yeh,but its always best to know both trad and wfp so id still say he'd be better of doin half trad and half wfp to begin with.
Each to their own, I can only comment on what I have achieved.
and if what I know now, I knew 30 years ago, then I would be a very rich man.
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oh yeh i agree each to their own,dont get me wrong i think wfp is great and its deffo the way forward in this buisness :) but you will always need to know trad method,they will always be custies and jobs where you will have to use trad,and im jus considering this guys situation,i jus think trad is the best thing to do atm,ithink it trad is always the best way to start off ;D but yeh different people have different opinions :) but whatever you decide good luck to ya mate
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I think if you unemployed claiming benefits, you can go self employed for six months and still claim all your benefits, but the money you earn has to be recorded go into a bank account and you will need permission to use it, (or the cheques counter signed), not sure of all the details but it is worth having a talk with them. After the six months you have to make a decision on weather to sign off benefits and go it alone or fold the business (if there is one) and remain on benefits.
Good luck
the way i was told when i was on dole is you can get paid £50 per week for 16 weeks off goverment scheme to go self employed but you need to be on job seekers for 6 months which is stupid in my opinion not many folk can survive 6 months on dole ,but like others have said no harm in asking see if its changed now
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good luck , make sure you start with the pole from day 1 regards alan
why start with the pole?
Because the Health and Safety laws regarding work at height strictly limit ladder use,...
Because its faster & easier (You'll earn more)
Because it cleans better (In the right hands of course!)
Because he might have a family who'd miss him if he fell (Newbies often have ZERO ladder training & little experience so the risks are higher)
Because it often reduces public liability insurance costs not using ladders (In my experience at least)
Because it doesn't have to cost the earth,.. a basic WFP backpack setup can cost less than £500 all in.
Because most cleaners convert to WFP eventually anyway
Trad skills are still essential,.. but wfp might help you live long enough to learn them properly!
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Thanks to everyone for the very good avice, can,t beleave how helpful you all are.
Ya I am thinking starting off the trad way for now, going out caversing in about to weeks from now just getting some cards made etc
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look at the advice again and change your descion lively lol regards alan
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good luck , make sure you start with the pole from day 1 regards alan
why start with the pole?
Because the Health and Safety laws regarding work at height strictly limit ladder use,...
Because its faster & easier (You'll earn more)
Because it cleans better (In the right hands of course!)
Because he might have a family who'd miss him if he fell (Newbies often have ZERO ladder training & little experience so the risks are higher)
Because it often reduces public liability insurance costs not using ladders (In my experience at least)
Because it doesn't have to cost the earth,.. a basic WFP backpack setup can cost less than £500 all in.
Because most cleaners convert to WFP eventually anyway
Trad skills are still essential,.. but wfp might help you live long enough to learn them properly!
they no law against cleaning windows on ladders,stop tryin to scare the dude,i dont think it cleans better,i think it cleans just as well,unless your stupid and wreckless your very unlikly to fall,and if you did fall most people only end up with a few bruises,to buy a van and a wfp system its waaay to expensive in this guys position,and a backback only has about 20l of water,last you about 15mins! and youd still have to buy di vessel and maybe ro depending where you live,and most cleaners convert to wfp eventually coz they have the finances to do so,grafting on the ladders for years and saved the money to make that conversion,this guy is on the dole,money is tight,wfp is out of the question in this situation.
youve made a wise and good choice in startin off with trad,im sure you'll do well and earn lots of money,and one day wen you can afford it and if u wanted to,you can buy a wfp system,good luck to ya mate and welcome ;D
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Not "tryin to scare the dude",.. but I honestly believe that the extra few quid on a basic WFP setup is something that everyone should be able to afford.
The £500 I quoted includes a small DI & RO, backpack, diy pole, brush, etc etc,.. everything you need to get started.
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i agree with wfp being quicker and ALOT safer,i really do think wfp are great,but i really dont think this guy has a spare £500 lieing around,and a backpack is no good really,they last 15mins top and youhave to keep refilling em,wastes time and it alot of faffing,if your gunna go in2 wfp you may aswell go in properly and buy a full system,this guy dunt have a clue about window cleaning,and starting out trad,its a nice easy stressfull way to feel your way in2 the buisness,then you can save money and buy a wfp system when your ready and financially stable ;D like we sed b4 diffent people have different views,becoz weve all had different experiences and so on,i agree with most of the stuff you say and i respect your views coz you obviously have a good tidy buisness goin and thats sumot to be respected and to be proud of,i was jus thinkin in this guys situation that trad is the best way,and im sure he'l be glad he's chosen to do it that way :)
best wishes
wayne
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personally i dont think you need to pay money to learn how to clean windows but hey,thats jus me :) i taught my bro how to do it,jus showed him the tech,told him to jus practice on his own windows,and after a week he got it perfect,not a quick on the windows of course coz that jus takes time,but still
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hi all i,m new hear, ya thinking of becoming a window cleaner as on the dole and need work, got a few saving to buy tools etc, and any one of you good guys give me some avice like priceing up, getting work, starting out, I have,nt done window cleaning before so trying to get as much info as i can , pleaseeeeeeee help thanks guys hope to hear back ta ta
dont bother its a nightmare, its either too cold, too hot, or the customers are a complete nightmare and shouldnt even be allowed a window cleaner. and if it rains you will turn to dust or something ;D
go for it and go to buisinees link and see what you can get funding wise and do a business plan then you can make your decisions properly.
wfp vs ladder? do what you can afford. ladders dont fall, window cleaners fall ;) just do what you can and away you go
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i agree with wfp being quicker and ALOT safer,i really do think wfp are great,but i really dont think this guy has a spare £500 lieing around,and a backpack is no good really,they last 15mins top and youhave to keep refilling em,wastes time and it alot of faffing,if your gunna go in2 wfp you may aswell go in properly and buy a full system,this guy dunt have a clue about window cleaning,and starting out trad,its a nice easy stressfull way to feel your way in2 the buisness,then you can save money and buy a wfp system when your ready and financially stable ;D like we sed b4 diffent people have different views,becoz weve all had different experiences and so on,i agree with most of the stuff you say and i respect your views coz you obviously have a good tidy buisness goin and thats sumot to be respected and to be proud of,i was jus thinkin in this guys situation that trad is the best way,and im sure he'l be glad he's chosen to do it that way :)
best wishes
wayne
How much do you think that a newbie will spend going the ladder route??? compared with only spending £500 via the wfp way..
I am a professional window cleaner and without bragging or telling lies, I have at least £1000 of work to complete every week.
For the last 2 weeks, I have had to use a small car and a backpack and I have found that the backpack has not cost me any extra in time of flaffing about as you said, in fact I have learnt that it is far quicker than using the van mounted system on quite a few of the properties I do, including commercial.
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if i was you pal i would start trad first and get ladders and a trad pole.u could easily spend £500 on trad gear but it"d be money well spent.in my opinion there are still quite a lot of windows on some properties that u cant reach with wfp!flat roofs,over garages etc and u would learn the basics.
if i were u i would work for another window cleaner doing downstairs for a few months and see if u like it.not a lot stick at it to be honest.
some of the wfpolers on ere think wfp is the main tool to clean windows!not anywhere near as many as trad cleaners on domestics!a lot of people dont even know what a wfp is?
ladder mitts/ladderstopper a must as well.i do very well with a trad round but im well established.i will be adding wfp later on this year though!
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Well I could spend £500 on trad gear easily enough if I was just starting!
I was thinking the same thing. Ladders (Decent ladders) aren't cheap, and cheap ladders often aren't safe,.. add in the scrims, squeegee's, applicator, spare rubber, spare mop sleeves, BOAB & bucket, GG3, pouch, scraper & spare blades (Get a waiver signed), trad poles, wagtail (Yes, it is an essential bit of kit!) etc etc and you're easy reaching £500.
Granted you'll need trad gear too eventually, but there's a few on here that are wfp only and seem to manage quite well.
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£500 quid on trad gear,if you were buyin gear made of gold maybe lol youdont need a wagtail,u dont need trad poles,most cleaners use fairy liquid,i jus think trad is best way to start despite the argument about prices for trad and wfp gear. but youve chose trad and i think you'l be happy youve made that choice ;D
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£150 absolute tops would get you a good titan ladder+scrim+wagtail flipper+bucket+a harris pole 6metre+ w5 washin up liquid
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Thanks guys, all very helpfull, prob try to find a right price to chaged, and get me tools etc, then lots of knoking on doors locally,
m8 you say you are on the dole? well if you can get onto a local Go for it programme that will give you the first steps into starting up a business, some of it you wont need but it does no harm in having that knowledge, I know in NI it only takes 4 weeks, 2 nights a week to go through it and if you can get access to the Princes Trust they can offer you a loan of up to 4k.
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personally i think trad poles are a must for sole trad window cleaners for awkward windows and ones above wet decking/gravel etc.a lot safer.last year i spent £600 on new trad gear!
3.5 metre trade 2 section ladders/small A frame single pointer
10 metre teleplus pole(5 section)/small 2 metre pole(2 section)
various scrims/microfibres/t mops/swivel squeegys/spare rubbers/sleeves etc
full belt system(pouches/b.o.ab,bottle holder,personal bag etc)
ladder mitts/rojak ladderstopper
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Some good advice on this thread, Jackal gave a good link though, never mind the choice of WFP or Trad, check out the website http://www.windowcleaningcoach.com/
Save you a load of hassle mate. Good luck and get yourself a set of fighting gloves, so later you can come on here and threaten people about whether WFP or Trad is better. It's not important which way you go and how many custies you have, you just have to argue well about WFP Vs TRAD !! ;D ;D ;D
Ofcourse, you could always get a proper job ;D ;D ;D
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we started a few months back using traditional concentrated on bungelows so everything was low level so we didnt need to but ladders after a few months we brought a backpack from wcw and a pole second hand to reach 3 floors and a brush from ebay and a few fittings etc the set up was about 200 quid inc containers etc
the water we buy locally until we purchase a ro system in the near future
every few weeks we add to the system
it worked ok for us
just invest a few quid back into the business every week and good luck
try the citizens advice they may help as grants may be avaliable
I remember when you first posted on here to say you had just started wc.
Just out of curiosity, how many custys have you got now?
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I think if you unemployed claiming benefits, you can go self employed for six months and still claim all your benefits, but the money you earn has to be recorded go into a bank account and you will need permission to use it, (or the cheques counter signed), not sure of all the details but it is worth having a talk with them. After the six months you have to make a decision on weather to sign off benefits and go it alone or fold the business (if there is one) and remain on benefits.
Good luck
ewan this is right, its sometimes called 'test trading' and you can be on other benefits to avail of this too, means you dont have to take the plunge full pelt and it gives you a safely net for 26 weeks.
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Cheaper than ladders guys:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140369378728&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT