Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ryan @ Transparent, Carlisle on January 15, 2010, 09:59:40 pm
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Have you been a windy cleaner all your working life? or do you have a trade behind you? or any other jobs?
Personally, i was an electrician before this, and was paid off from my £400 a week job during the 'credit crunch'
Now, about 4 years ago, someone advised me to become a window cleaner, however i had no money to buy a car/van and the idea faded after getting a £300 a week job.
Looking back, i wish i had took there advise.
Well, after the £400 a week job, i decided to try my hand at becoming a window cleaner. I taught myself how to do it, starting with vertical strokes, and soon became efficient at the 'S' stroke. However, i was going through 6 or more scrims a day.
After some further guidance i learned to use a "wet/sill cloth" & now im down to one or two scrims a day ;D
Working as a self employed window cleaner, i reflect on the times where i had supervisor's & boss's breathing down my back. Sick of running the 'rat race' lining the pockets of other people.
although, now, im not on £400 every week, i have the freedom of working for myself, lining my own pockets, and working less hours for more money ;D
Well, how did you become a window cleaner, and what was it that made you 'try' this business?
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i was brought up with it. my dad, brother and any other out of work relative have did it. my dad and brother ran a succesfull window cleaning business and when i was 13 i started a small saturday round and did commercial on holidays with my dad. then i left school and wanted a proper job ::) did various jobs and was always doing w/c on weekends and time between jobs then joined the army and did 15 years but still helping my old man and bro when on leave. anyway went self employeed when i left the army and here iam.
by the way my old man is now late 70s and still taking a wage from their business
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I've only been in the wc game since October last year. Prior to that I was a truck driver for 20yrs tramping around Europe. In the end, it cost me my marriage and when I became involved in a new relationship I vowed to give up truck driving.
A big step to change from previous job to being self-employed but, I'm enjoying it and often ask myself why I didn,t do it sooner.
Still, as they say, better late than never!
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I was in sales in a small office equipment company and got to the level of "sales executive" in the Swindon branch. In 1987 they paid me £14000 a year plus commission and I had a Vauxhall Carlton company car (the other salesmen had Cavaliers - what a star I was! ;D). My bosses sold out to a big company from Manchester and they came down throwing their weight around, cutting salaries and thinking we'd take it.
Four of us left and set up our own business which initially did well but due to being strapped for readies and internal disagreements we did not react well to the computerisation of office equipment. In 1996 I negotiated to leave and cash in my shares and due to "my leaving agreement" had to take different work for 12 months.
I lived off of my share money and went self-employed selling health insurance for Western Provident Association (BUPA like stuff). I did OK but it was commission only and just after I started Labour came to power and scrapped tax-relief on health insurance for the over-60's (which was a good market) this meant a dearth of policies being bought and I was struggling with two small children and one on the way and a mate had a small round for sale making £300 per month which he sold me at 1X and so I took it.
As I was selling self employed I continued with the health insurance part time for two years and was given an ultimatum in 2000 - all or nothing! I had built up my round to about £1000 pcm and chose to give up the health insurance (and a bit of office equipment toner cartridge sales) and go w/c full time.
By 2002 my round grossed about £1500pcm and slowly increased by word of mouth and canvassing and I bought another £200 worth from David Bishop (used to be on this forum) as he had got some big contracts.
WFP came along in 2005/6 and by natural growth and word of mouth things have improved year on year since then.
In the early years (late 90's) I wondered whether I should have left my office equipment firm but they went bust in 2000 and so I'm glad I did.
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I did a few different things before W/Cing. My main job was as a printer's assistant that I had for 13 years until the place closed. I had several shorter jobs before that. After the print I did multi drop delivering bath and kitchen fittings, then I worked in a nuthouse, and after that, I worked for an ad company that used noticeboards - mainly in supermarkets. Quite a variety really. W/Cing is the longest I've stuck with one line of work.
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I trained in upholstery & antique restoration from school but found there was very little demand for it and even less money, so despite how much I enjoyed it I had to move on. I worked in a pottery after that, glazing the pots and working the kilns,.. but the kilns require attention 7 days a week, and after 18 months of 60 hour weeks with no holiday I couldn't hack it anymore.
After that I got a job in construction & worked my way up from a labourer to being a site agent. It was well paid, but long hours and lots of travelling. I'd leave the house before 7am most days and it'd be nearly 7pm before I got home. despite that I kinda enjoyed it,.. it was interesting and varied work,.. we built everything from housing estates to factories and apartment blocks and it was amazing to see how it was done. The companies I worked for kept going bankrupt tho,.. after the 3rd one went under in 4 years I decided to call it a day.
My father in law and my dad are both cleaners, so I kinda fell into this job,.. never looked back!
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Agriculture for a number of years, interspersed with lots of travelling.
11 years landscape foreman.
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I worked for an organisation that advertises on tv, were watching you.
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carpenter for years ( both employed and my own company )
foreman / supervisor for building companies for a good few years
i used to do fair sized jobs, extensions, garage conversions, new kitchens, refurb of houses, good money at times
I started to do window cleaning to help some1 out who broke his arm and leg ( to save his round i then decided it was stress free, i could work the hours i wanted without some1 on the phone to me asking where i was with the new kitchen etc etc
i miss the job satisfaction though , when you complete a building job you can stand back and say " great job " window cleaning just doesnt have the same
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Judging by the replies, there is a wealth of talent that can pool their resources to help each other.
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iv worked weekends for about 4-5 yrs (well satdays) with my m8 on his round.then last june i was made redundant from a good job as a area merchandiser for a firm in leeds id been there for 12yrs and it came out off the blue .as we worked only for b&q there was 10 made redundant at the same time out of 35 .i have my class 2 hgv so i had a choice driving or trying to build my own round so i went for building my own round lent sum money off me dad and got a van wfp system and ladders my m8 helped me out with work and more experience.i bought a round with 100 custy for 2x and have gained 30 more my self.i also offer driveway cleaning.i only wish i had dun it yrs ago.as woking for yourself is a lot better than sum jumped up manager breathing down your neck.
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Hi all,
trained in sports tuf managent. Worked all over Europe and Uk as a greenkeeper. Went travelling. Then just fell into window cleaning.
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i am an upholsterer and car trimmer to trad, life was great, until all the cheap imports arrived, leather suits for £400, :'( o forgot, i am a leather doctor to ;D
w/c is so relaxing and less pressure, best thing i ever did was go wfp
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various factory work, hospital porter, worked as a healthcare in a secure unit and fitting out offices. Came into window cleaning because i couldnt get a job. 9 months later i have a cracking business and laugh at the fact i got turned down for an interview at macdonalds (thats true)
never cleaned a window before, i even had about 20 - 30 customers lined up before. You Tube was a very good teacher ;D
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i was a mechanic for donkeys years,but in my last year of it injured myself 3 times by not paying attention and i knew my time was up-so sold all my gear, then had a Huge fire and burnt everything else including the office. took up cleaning windows a few months later,spur of the moment thing .
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Judging by the replies, there is a wealth of talent that can pool their resources to help each other.
Good idea, right, i want-
House extension
Full rewire
Garden landscaped, then a greenkeeper for it
Some french pollishing
Bit of printing
My own sales executive
Personal driver
Van sevice
Oh, I want to be on TV too!
Anyone help? 8)
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I USE TO MAKE COPPER LAMPS FOR 14 YEARS FOR MY DAD BUT CHINA FLOODED THE MARKET WITH CHEAP COPYS
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why didnt you become a self employed electrician?
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We just made the lamps and brackets they went on my dad is stll makeing them
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trained as a bricklayer , worked for someone wc when 17yrs old then worked on building sites and various jobs in then every so often i would drop back to working for some guys i know window cleaning , then 10yrs ago i was out of work and after 3yrs wc experience i decided to buy a window cleaning round of someone i know never looked back best thing i ever did
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i started working on farms at 14 at weekends and holidays then worked at a plant nursery when i left school doing 56 hours a week for £2.32 an hour! ::)went to college one day aweek.did that for a few years,then landscape gardening fencing,flagging,turfing,garden mantenaince,planting trees and shrubs etc.playing drums in various bands ,painting jobs then got into window cleaning at 21 and started on my own aged 22.
i would hate to work for anyone else now after all these years!round about 7-8 years ago i nearly lost my business due to illness but luckily i managed to sell some of my work before i lost it!im 38 now and building my business up nicely again after years of drink and drug abuse!clean and sober over 3 years now!i have a much better attitude to my work and life in genera! ;D ;D
regards
dazmond
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hgv driver many years ago, started window cleaning weekends then it took off , bin at it 10/11 years now , best job ever :D
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why didnt you become a self employed electrician?
Too much red tape & regulations. To start up as an electrician on my own i was going to have to fork out about £1000 to go on further courses and another £1000 for testing gear.
Plus, there doesnt seem to be much demand now, a lot of firms are going bust.
Then of course, sometimes being a sparky can be hard work. Knocking holes in walls, crawling through small lofts, often with rat poop all over.
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Army for around 5 years then out a few odd jobs then into computing finished working for a major betting company as internet security bod.
Left and went to The Gambia for 3 years (worked for American company) securing various African banks again internet side.
Left and ended up teaching people to dive and taught people to become dive instructors in Thailand for 3 years...lots of mixed gas deep diving and then rebreather diving using mixed gases.
Must be the only westerner to go to Thailand and come back with a European girlfriend ;D ;D
Now in the land of cheese, windmills and bad driving.
Now a wfp window cleaner 3 years..I do not love it but it does provide a good living for what is essentially sweeping up....and for many would be deemed part-time hours.
Cheers
Dave.
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i miss the job satisfaction though , when you complete a building job you can stand back and say " great job " window cleaning just doesnt have the same
I know what you mean,.. it is the only downside to this job (Apart from the rain, ice, dog muck, late payers, ignorant customers etc!)
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Went straight from school 15 to working in a mobile phone shop (before digital phones existed) at 16 I was running a shop in another town, Left this at 17 and became a chef which I did for 8 years working for £12.00 a hour during this time I had 2 children and not seeing them at weekends and evenings was not nice especially in the summer months so I went to work with my mum in care work which is a very rewarding job, but I only worked 07.15-9.00 then back at 15.00-2100 and alternate weekends off so for 2 years of the 5 I worked there I saved and with quite a few k behind me I decided to set up a w/c business, this soon took off so here I am now.
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Printer all my life, made redundant with miniscule payout facing another redundancy with peanuts for a payout so quit and started cleaning. Three years now and getting a bit fed up with it to be honest. No other choice 'cos stacking baked beans has even less appeal, longer hours and worse money. Roll on the spring!
p.s. Printing must be the only trade I know which manages to wriggle out of decent redundancy payment.
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i use to be a plumber, had my own business, hated it in the end, so when i moved 300 miles, decided to try and get a part time job, around the kids, wc was the only thing that made it worth while working,
my best mate when i was growing up, his dad family where all wc and looking back his dad was really happy, started at 9 finished at 3 and was outdoing stuff every weekend, actually having a life, compared to a lot where i lived who worked for ford or ici
i think becoming a wc is probably the best decision, i have ever made, sure you get the stigma of just a wc, but look at what it gives, you, better payed per hour, freedom,
work out what your hourly rate is ie 20 - 30 or what every it is for you, then have a look at what jobs are around in your area for that pay and look at the stress that goes with it
u will be suprised by the results
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Army for around 5 years then out a few odd jobs then into computing finished working for a major betting company as internet security bod.
Left and went to The Gambia for 3 years (worked for American company) securing various African banks again internet side.
Left and ended up teaching people to dive and taught people to become dive instructors in Thailand for 3 years...lots of mixed gas deep diving and then rebreather diving using mixed gases.
Must be the only westerner to go to Thailand and come back with a European girlfriend ;D ;D
Now in the land of cheese, windmills and bad driving.
Now a wfp window cleaner 3 years..I do not love it but it does provide a good living for what is essentially sweeping up....and for many would be deemed part-time hours.
Cheers
Dave.
Dave...with all those russian birds down in pattaya now you would find it easy to get one ;D
Not like the good old days when you could get a tasty thai bird...untill the yanks came in ;)
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Was an engineer for 27 years til I got made redundant had a year running a newsagents til that went belly up so thought I would try w/c back in jan 2005 mainly to get over fear of heights . Wouildnt go back to working for any one else now
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Printer all my life, made redundant with miniscule payout facing another redundancy with peanuts for a payout so quit and started cleaning. Three years now and getting a bit fed up with it to be honest. No other choice 'cos stacking baked beans has even less appeal, longer hours and worse money. Roll on the spring!
p.s. Printing must be the only trade I know which manages to wriggle out of decent redundancy payment.
I don't think it's the printing industry specifically. It's more about whether a company is reducing staff or going bust. The one I worked for went bust (I worked under receivership for two years before they finally pulled the plug). For 13 years service I got 11 weeks money - and even that was at a lower weekly rate because the government paid it. I got nine years at one week per year and four weeks at half a week per year (I was 18 when I started there and the rate doesn't go up until you get to 22). The people who took redundancy a few months before the receivers walked in were getting about three weeks per year. I've no regrets about sticking around the extra two years and getting a lower payout because I wasn't ready to move on at that point.
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[p.s. Printing must be the only trade I know which manages to wriggle out of decent redundancy payment.
Yoyr not wrong there, I spent 22 years with same print company, it was sold to some shark , he ran up 500k in tax debts then folded, left us to claim redundancy from gov, Thats when I went self employed I will never work in the rat race again, when Im too old to work as a window cleaner i will get someone to clean for me and i will go and work for a charity
tom
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We've done this one so many times...but...
Left school at 16.
Worked in 2 shops in Gloucester, assistant manager in one.
Broke my back and had to stop working.
Did the Princes Trust course and worked at Slimbridge wetlands park.
Worked for Prudential as an insurance agent in Gloucester.
Worked at Nissan dealership in Gloucester as valeter, but got shipped off to Oxford and Coventry a few times.
Worked at Ford dealership as driver/valeter, then weekend sales.
Couple of days at Coldseal windows (tossers)
Then worked for Ian Giles cleaning windows, before setting up on my own in 2001.
Pretty sure there's more, but I can't remember it all. ;D
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Left school became an apprentice mechanic, hated it left, got a job as a forklift driver in a warehouse
I got payed off one of the guys who was laid off at the same time mentioned his brother was a window cleaner so followed that line of enquiry and from 1984 to present that's been me.
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started off as a lapdancer ;D wasnt very good so plumbing and bathroom was my main stay for a few years
now theres to many plumbers, bought the round last year enjoying it but will be building up the plumbing/bathroom work this year to get thru the next winter! wont get caught again like this year
bob
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We've done this one so many times...but...
Left school at 16.
Worked in 2 shops in Gloucester, assistant manager in one.
Broke my back and had to stop working.
Did the Princes Trust course and worked at Slimbridge wetlands park.
Worked for Prudential as an insurance agent in Gloucester.
Worked at Nissan dealership in Gloucester as valeter, but got shipped off to Oxford and Coventry a few times.
Worked at Ford dealership as driver/valeter, then weekend sales.
Couple of days at Coldseal windows (tossers)
Then worked for Ian Giles cleaning windows, before setting up on my own in 2001.
Pretty sure there's more, but I can't remember it all. ;D
You learn something new every day
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Left school at 15 and trained to be welder / fitter. Company went pop so moved on to another company doing welding / fabrication. Didn't like it so left by mutual agreement. Went to work in a ferry port and stayed there for 22 years working for 2 different ferry companies in that time. Started at the bottom and worked up to supervisor, load controller and then duty manager. Firm pulled the plug on the operation and moved on to a freight company arranging ferry crossings worldwide. Needed a little extra money, so started wc part time, liked it and bought a lot of work to start full time 2 years ago.
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left school went to be a car mechanic did not like it so moved into the parts department walk out off that job after 3 yrs , went to work at a paper factory cutting paper for chip shop etc that went bust then did a bit off production line work making flymo,s left there had the summer off did so run,s to France in my van bought and sold a few cars then got a job as van driver did that for year or so left there worked in a warehouse got the supervisor job after three years was force back to the shop floor started wc on weekend then warehouse closed down so now im building my round up nicely.
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Printer, The last two years were a complete nightmare. I used all my pittance of redundancy pay to set my self up.
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Aeronautical Engineer for BAE and then Airbus.
I was involved in many areas of R+D and all sorts of really fancy stuff but at the end of the day it was a mundane job like the rest of them.
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I was an IT Specialist and still am part time.
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Paper boy aged 12, worked in kebab shop aged 15, joined army at age 16, became a window cleaner aged 33. Now 40 and having a mid-life crisis. :o ;D
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started with my dad after school
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although, now, im not on £400 every week,
Do you only work part time or something?
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Avionics Technician in Army from leaving school in 1981 to 1992, then Engineer for Twinings Teas, then department manager for Twinings Teas, Shift Manager for a Food Factory, before eventually becoming a Factory Manager for a Food Manufacturer in Sunderland (£48K salary, bonus scheme and company car).
Got made redundant in Nov 2002, starting doing carpet cleaning in Jan 03, moved into window cleaning in the August of the same year.
Back in a management role now.....and wishing I was back on the ladders/Poles !!!!
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Paper boy aged 12, worked in kebab shop aged 15, joined army at age 16, became a window cleaner aged 33. Now 40 and having a mid-life crisis. :o ;D
only 40, i had you down as mid 50's
:o :o that surprises me
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Paper boy aged 12, worked in kebab shop aged 15, joined army at age 16, became a window cleaner aged 33. Now 40 and having a mid-life crisis. :o ;D
only 40, i had you down as mid 50's
:o :o that surprises me
And i thought you were a girl!! ;)
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before i was a window cleaner i was a trad guy
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i was a bouncer before window cleaning
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Before window cleaning I was a money maker.
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although, now, im not on £400 every week,
Do you only work part time or something?
you could say that.
I only started building my round august 2009. but ticking over just nicely.
The most work i have in one week is 3 days. which is just enough for me ;D
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Before window cleaning I was a money maker.
someones doing something wrong here ;D
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i use to collect money
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We've done this one so many times...but...
Left school at 16.
Worked in 2 shops in Gloucester, assistant manager in one.
Broke my back and had to stop working.
Did the Princes Trust course and worked at Slimbridge wetlands park.
Worked for Prudential as an insurance agent in Gloucester.
Worked at Nissan dealership in Gloucester as valeter, but got shipped off to Oxford and Coventry a few times.
Worked at Ford dealership as driver/valeter, then weekend sales.
Couple of days at Coldseal windows (tossers)
Then worked for Ian Giles cleaning windows, before setting up on my own in 2001.
Pretty sure there's more, but I can't remember it all. ;D
You learn something new every day
You fairly new on here then? That's been common knowledge for years!
We used to call him the Fat Controller. Don't tell him that! ;D
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Smithy,
What brush are you using on your poles on your website mate?
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self employed couirer.
hgv long distance
forlift driver
warehouse manager
night transport manager
started w/c 2006 after helping a m8 for a few days .
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i use to collect money
i got some custys that are late payers , will you have a word for me ;D
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i use to collect money
i got some custys that are late payers , will you have a word for me ;D
he looks the part
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in this order paper round .working on market
milkman
icecreamfactory
brickyard
tuffs shoe factory
steel works ( redundunt )
miner ( redundunt)
bricklaying course
labourer on
building site
turkey factory
window cleaner
im 58 now so i hope this is my last job
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We've done this one so many times...but...
Left school at 16.
Worked in 2 shops in Gloucester, assistant manager in one.
Broke my back and had to stop working.
Did the Princes Trust course and worked at Slimbridge wetlands park.
Worked for Prudential as an insurance agent in Gloucester.
Worked at Nissan dealership in Gloucester as valeter, but got shipped off to Oxford and Coventry a few times.
Worked at Ford dealership as driver/valeter, then weekend sales.
Couple of days at Coldseal windows (tossers)
Then worked for Ian Giles cleaning windows, before setting up on my own in 2001.
Pretty sure there's more, but I can't remember it all. ;D
You learn something new every day
You fairly new on here then? That's been common knowledge for years!
We used to call him the Fat Controller. Don't tell him that! ;D
Been here 2 years nearly,
when you back in sunny Bexhill.
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God knows!
Long old drive to to my auntie's. 4 or 5 hours.
Only usually go for family events or every few years if not.
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When I was in Israel, which I didnt mention before, I worked picking oranges, picking avocados, tractor driving, fitting out the naafi in Eilat before it opened, washing up, road sweeping, block-paving, fitting out a pub, unloading delivery lorries at Hilton Hotel Taba, decorating, sieving sand on the beach looking for dropped coins using a chip frying sieve, working in the bakery, sweeping the tennis courts at the police station and fitting out and painting a 60' scuba launch.
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motor mechanic
lift engineer
CNC operator setter
JLR electrical mechanical maintence man
Maintenence man
Windy
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Windy
I have problems with wind sometimes too. Nothing to be ashamed of.
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Windy
I have problems with wind sometimes too. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Even us Carpet Cleaners have problems with wind....Which is bad as we're working "Inside" the customer's house... :D
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its not a problem for me, the wife doesnt like it though, especially when were doing spoons haha
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;D ;D ;D
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before window cleaning i sold double glazing for everest, this taught me canvassing and face to face sales, also my first self employed role. before that i was a sales and marketing manager for the daily mail group, where i learnt how to manage a large team and how to control a big budget.
I wanted to start my own business and thought of a cleaning company (office) one day my girlfriends dad turns round and says you never see enough window cleaners around. so while selling the windows and doors i started asking my customers if they had a window cleaner, what they charged and so on. the rest is as they say history.
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I'm a bit miffed i can't say anything good on this.I feel my life was wasted in a career sense. Dead end jobs where i thought i could do so much.I didn't get a promotion and a respected superior said"If you were going to get anywhere with your life you would have done it by now".
Sadly i had accept as a fact that he was right.I thought i was the best thing since sliced bread but other people didn't.It can be very hard for some (me ) to face up to the fact that they are ordinary.
Things got worse.My wife left but got the house and i ended up at thirty five living back with my parents with no job and skint. Just at this point, when i was least expecting it i started a business to take my mind off my own misery more than anything else, and made a lot of money (not millions but nice car house hols etc). Started wc as bolt on biz 3yrs ago..
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i,m a joiner by trade, and out of work can,t get a job. hopeing to set up as a wc learning from people of this form
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Mick Do it! Get a bucket and a ladder and start knocking on doors. Once you get your first customer you are a window cleaner. Its all uphill from there.
Unless you live in Pinner in which case the advice is Nah, dead loss, don't bother.
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Smithy,
What brush are you using on your poles on your website mate?
it was the old original Bentley brush,
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before i was a window cleaner i was a trad guy
;D ;D ;D
He's a "very naughty boy!"
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Just at this point, when i was least expecting it i started a business to take my mind off my own misery more than anything else, and made a lot of money (not millions but nice car house hols etc). Started wc as bolt on biz 3yrs ago..
Wow!! :o
You started a business totally unexpectedly? How did that happen? And you made lots of money??
So spill - what sort of business was it? and how well did window cleaning fit with what you are doing? I bet there's plenty on here wondering if they can do the same thing ;D
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Spent about 14 years in manufacturing, then the next 10 in retail management, working my way up to managing a store that turned over in excess of £2million and had a staff of over 30. But for at least the last year of my time there I was truely unhappy at the way things were going, so I looked into a few ideas of setting up on my own. Window cleaning was actually some thing I had never thought off untill maybe last summer, then I started looking into it a bit more, read the window cleaning coach website, discovered CIU, bought some trad gear and away I went. Still a long way to go but other than an enforced lay off with the weather I'm realy enjoying it. 2010 is going to be a good year for me, I can feel it. ;D
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market trading for 17 years before window cleaning and pressure washing
earn t a good living nice hols ect
but like a lot of butchers/bakers tesco/aldi and alike it got to the stage
that you just couldn't com-peat
oh we sold cakes/sweets/biscuits/drinks and grocery lines
7.5ton lorry plus 2 vans 35ft stall all gone
shop at TESCO now!!
happier now though
robin
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An unexpected point in my life . Pretty much everything had fallen to bits for me.The extent of my expectations was not to make money but only to take my mind off things.If you have a high opinion of yourself, but objectively most things you've done have either been failures or mediocre at some point you accept this.
I don't know if you have ever tasted failure Ian, or if you have, if it bothered you, but it used to bother me.Some of these guys stories crashed and burned but at least they had some interesting high points.I didn't.
What is success? A lasting marriage, being a good dad,being happy?
I wouldn't dream of ridiculing the arc of your life Ian , but mine has been pretty much that i talked a good game but little else.
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Wasn't anyone here born wiv a spoon in their mouth?
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An unexpected point in my life . Pretty much everything had fallen to bits for me.The extent of my expectations was not to make money but only to take my mind off things.If you have a high opinion of yourself, but objectively most things you've done have either been failures or mediocre at some point you accept this.
I don't know if you have ever tasted failure Ian, or if you have, if it bothered you, but it used to bother me.Some of these guys stories crashed and burned but at least they had some interesting high points.I didn't.
What is success? A lasting marriage, being a good dad,being happy?
I wouldn't dream of ridiculing the arc of your life Ian , but mine has been pretty much that i talked a good game but little else.
We hear what you say mate....but what business did you start that made a lot of money so that you could add window cleaning as an add on?
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Before I was a window cleaner I was a Millionaire with so much money I made in a great and successful business had 200 people work under me...................... in the basement .Drove a Bentley. Dated the rich and famous birds of the time.
GOT tired of been happy, so became a window cleaner. Now I rub shoulders with you guys and have never been so broke. But I am on the up again on ladders this time Reaching greater heights than before..................zzzzzzz
AND
When I woke up from my coma my coffee was cold.
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was a porn star
still using my pole window cleaning
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The answers on this thread do have common elements.One is that seldom do we choose our path, it tends to be chosen for us. And a second is that trends either sink or float us, very little, or a smaller part than you might think has to do with our efforts. So when it was easy as falling off a log wiz made his money in the sweet trade, and lots of it apparently.When the supply chain forced local manufacturers out, wholesalers couldn't compete with supermarkets, and buying habits altered, the money stopped.
A few told a different but similar story about the print trade.For decades this industry had the best pay of any, and then along comes some new technology and old skills are worthless.
If kodak was a person instead of a company he would probably be a wc too.
The lesson? Be prepared to change,get in at the start and go in as hard as your circumstances will allow.
you became a politician? ;)
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I used to collect trolleys at Sainsburys.
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What wasnt i before a window cleaner !
Paperboy
Panel beater
Mechanic
Burton menswear
Pronuptua wedding shop
Baker
Kleaneze agent
Classic car restorer
Baker
Tropical fish seller
Baker
Vac sales
Betterware agent
Petrol station
Window cleaner
Tyre manufacture
Self employed car sales
Gearbox rebuilder
Delivery driver
Takeaway delivery
WINDOW CLEANER !
Rich P @ F
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What a rich life many of us have led. And what a variety of experiences.
For myself it's:
Tech college student
Engineering inspection (made redundant)
Window Cleaner
Engineering inspection (went to night school)
University student
Maths teacher
University student
English teacher (Africa)
Maths teacher (Birmingham)
Maths teacher/teacher trainer (Africa)
College student (Learning to teach English)
English teacher (Africa)
English teacher (Saudi Arabia)
Trainer (Saudi Arabia)
Trainer (back in UK after 9-11)
Window Cleaner (after my training busines collapsed)
The wheel came full circle!!
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What a rich life many of us have led. And what a variety of experiences.
For myself it's:
Tech college student
Engineering inspection (made redundant)
Window Cleaner
Engineering inspection (went to night school)
University student
Maths teacher
University student
English teacher (Africa)
Maths teacher (Birmingham)
Maths teacher/teacher trainer (Africa)
College student (Learning to teach English)
English teacher (Africa)
English teacher (Saudi Arabia)
Trainer (Saudi Arabia)
Trainer (back in UK after 9-11)
Window Cleaner (after my training busines collapsed)
The wheel came full circle!!
Bloody students ;D
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Tropical fish seller
You could still do that.
Bet you've got a huge tank in your van. ;D
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An unexpected point in my life . Pretty much everything had fallen to bits for me.The extent of my expectations was not to make money but only to take my mind off things.If you have a high opinion of yourself, but objectively most things you've done have either been failures or mediocre at some point you accept this.
I don't know if you have ever tasted failure Ian, or if you have, if it bothered you, but it used to bother me.Some of these guys stories crashed and burned but at least they had some interesting high points.I didn't.
What is success? A lasting marriage, being a good dad,being happy?
I wouldn't dream of ridiculing the arc of your life Ian , but mine has been pretty much that i talked a good game but little else.
I wasn't ridiculing you, and I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I'm genuinely curious as to how you managed to start what was obviously a very successful business "accidentally". And, of course, I'm curious as to what that business was and how it fitted in with window cleaning
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An unexpected point in my life . Pretty much everything had fallen to bits for me.The extent of my expectations was not to make money but only to take my mind off things.If you have a high opinion of yourself, but objectively most things you've done have either been failures or mediocre at some point you accept this.
I don't know if you have ever tasted failure Ian, or if you have, if it bothered you, but it used to bother me.Some of these guys stories crashed and burned but at least they had some interesting high points.I didn't.
What is success? A lasting marriage, being a good dad,being happy?
I wouldn't dream of ridiculing the arc of your life Ian , but mine has been pretty much that i talked a good game but little else.
We hear what you say mate....but what business did you start that made a lot of money so that you could add window cleaning as an add on?
I don't think he wants to tell us,Dan ;)
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oh come on Calamity tell us! :)
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English teacher (Africa)
Maths teacher (Birmingham)
Maths teacher/teacher trainer (Africa)
College student (Learning to teach English)
English teacher (Africa)
English teacher (Saudi Arabia)
you have done alot of teaching to foreigners
was that rewarding ? ? ?
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before i was a window cleaner i was a painter and decorator but always helped my dad on a saturday doing windows. i ended up working as a window cleaner full time employed for 3 years and now have been working for myself for the past 8 years and wouldn`t change the way things have turned out.
steve