Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Moderator David@stives on March 21, 2010, 10:04:52 pm
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Would you buy a window cleaning book, by someone who has made a decent amount of money window cleaning and how much would you pay ?
This is just an hypathetical question and as far as I know no such book exists
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Yes, enjoy reading business books and look forward to it
idealrob
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all depends on what was in the book, would it tell you how to run ur business and how to be a wc etc,
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probably,depends how big it was :P
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if it had big words yes. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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yes i would ;D money wise dont know how much books r ??? at a guess £15/£20 ;D
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id read your book dave yes / what was it you did before you started your business,the early years ?
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Dave be careful not to make it sound like a get rich quick book.
I for one stay clear of these type of books.
Matt
p.s.
About £15-£20 per book is about the norm now.
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wharts and all, including how they did it every inch of the way.
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OH WOT A GUESS ;D
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Will it have pictures. ???
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Will it have pictures. ???
LOL ;D & will it have peter & jane in it? haha :)
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could come in handy for tradders to put under the ladder to level it up on uneven ground ;)otherwise couldnt imagine it selling well
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I believe there is a 400 page book out by a guy called John Baxter - not related to me.
It was all about starting a WC business - looked very comprehensive but may not still be in print.
It was either on Amazon or Ebay I think.
EDIT
Just found a link - he has 3 books out but they are American. It doesn't say on this link but I'm sure the yellow book has 400 pages.
http://www.express-cleaning-supplies.co.uk/oos/windowcleaningbooks/
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Found this one too.....
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yes
if it could be used to level ladders on a hill
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I would buy your book!
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the only people who get rich is the people selling the books!! :P :P
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It is allways interesting to read biographies of which people have made a success in their lives.Success comes in all forms and shapes but in financial terms unless you have made an absolute fortune from nothing will it be entertaining enough to get a publishing company to print for you?
Of course if you go to print by yourself that is one way.
I dont personally know you but from what i have read on this forum you obviously have business accuman and have built upon that,but there are many others out there that have found similar success...it's nothing new to the industry.
Now what would be interesting is if Ian Lancaster managed to get his story down.
:)
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No .... but if it was an example of how not to do it, and some of the mistakes that were made.
The standard for this is very high.Read the jims mowing book for example.
Your greatest days are still to come dave.
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The way to make money with this idea is to offer training courses on how to win window cleaning contracts.
These courses all ready exist for carpet cleaners, the only problem is I don't think enough window cleaners would pay the money to make it worth while.
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The book
I was thinking of was a real life human study of how they made it what worked what, didnt, every step of the way, from £0.00 - £??
There are loads of how to books, out there.
D woods would be an excellent example, a humble shop window cleaner who went on to create one of the biggest firms in London.
How you doing Dave ? Casino any good ?
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Hi Dave
I am fine thank you.
The Casino was OK. I never gamble I only went in for a few beers.
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The question was - Would you buy a book?
No, I wouldn't. I would rather watch paint dry!
Some would buy it, but I am convinced it would not be a best seller.
Profit margin would probably work out at about .001p per hour for work put in to complete it. If you want to make your name a tiny bit more well known then it would do that, but as advertisers call it- it would be a "lost leader", a "throw away". you need a "spin" on it, like "I used to be married to Cheryl Cole but I made more of a success window cleaning".
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unless its by a billionaire window cleaner not interested ;D
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wharts and all, including how they did it every inch of the way.
Would it be any good?
Would the author be able to spell warts?
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I would buy a copy Dave
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The book
I was thinking of was a real life human study of how they made it what worked what, didnt, every step of the way, from £0.00 - £??
There are loads of how to books, out there.
D woods would be an excellent example, a humble shop window cleaner who went on to create one of the biggest firms in London.
How you doing Dave ? Casino any good ?
Hi Dave,
With regards to a "study", do you mean study someone that has already made a success of window cleaning, or do a study from a new starters perspective & showing everything from earning £0.00 to however much?
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No, Why would you want to read about someone else's success. Make your own mistakes, learn from them, plus I'm to busy make my business a success.
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These books have been sold on the net some years ago now but there not books as in paper books more like E books.
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As it happens i am just reading dunacan bannatynes book "wake up and change your life" and it is a good read.
Some of the case studies are very inspiring and i love to allways hear of people who have built their businesses up from zero to million pound plus status...
So on that basis Dave...if you are turning over millions and have done it from zero yes then why not i will buy it...mind you the above book only cost £7.99 so if you are not as inspirational as them i would want it a lot cheaper.... ;D
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I would but not if you wrote it dave.
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Would you buy a window cleaning book, by someone who has made a decent amount of money window cleaning and how much would you pay ?
This is just an hypathetical question and as far as I know no such book exists
no
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Not me. Would you buy a book from Joe Bloggs Painter and Decorator? or" How I made a living cleaning toilets?"
I think after you have sold about five to your immediate family that would be it.
Did you have a few drinks Dave then someone nudged you and said "you should write a book Dave?"
Seriously, I think you would be way out of pocket should you decide to print. There''s a few get rich quick cd's on ebay including how to make a fortune from windowcleaning - did you buy one?
Unless you are the Tiger Woods of window cleaning then I can't believe there would be much interest to be honest.
Sorry :)
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Dave it is purely hpothetical
the story would be a start to finish of someones business life of how they built a successful business, how they did it, what techniques they used etc,
It would not be a get rich book or , how to make a fortune book.
Anyone can talk about the principles of making money
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Has anyone read the book the window cleaner from Glasgow wrote
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Dave it is purely hpothetical
the story would be a start to finish of someones business life of how they built a successful business, how they did it, what techniques they used etc,
It would not be a get rich book or , how to make a fortune book.
Anyone can talk about the principles of making money
Yes, but if I wrote that very book - nobody would buy it. Nobody knows me, same with most of the trades out there.
Unless the person was a comic genius a celebrity or a stud who would buy it?
Would you buy a successful carpet cleaners life storey? Not me.
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I read lots of business books, every book by Bannatyne, Branson,and Dennis (he's the uk's richest man- went to jail as publisher of ozz- and hit the big time when Bruce Lee died because he had the rights to loads of pics and rushed out an autobiography, then magazines, then calenders.Later he launched a computer magazine)
Gordon Ramsey is a good business read, and to a degree chris evans.
I also like books about business theory and marketing.One of my favourite books was one hundred brand disasters.
These books have informed my window cleaning career and i usually take one on holiday and come back fired up.
As regards tv biz progs, well kitchen nightmares is great, and i like the business inspector lady on chanel five.
Most of the people i mentioned are serial entrepreneurs.They spend their time looking for opportunities. Window Cleaning is an opp but it's not on their radar it can provide a good living but it also has faults- such as a low barrier to entry.For anyone who is interested here is a skeleton of how to make money by starting a business.
1. Address a need
2. Present it in a novel way
3.Tell people about it
4.Find a way of adding value
5.Look for repeat business and a path to expand.
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These people become well known through the media they have a massive audience first then they bring out the books. Seldom happens the other way round. Even then they have to plug it further on chat shows etc to whip up some enthusiasm.
Slumps, who is Dennis? Is he the poet guy?
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I read lots of business books, every book by Bannatyne, Branson,and Dennis (he's the uk's richest man- went to jail as publisher of ozz- and hit the big time when Bruce Lee died because he had the rights to loads of pics and rushed out an autobiography, then magazines, then calenders.Later he launched a computer magazine)
Gordon Ramsey is a good business read, and to a degree chris evans.
I also like books about business theory and marketing.One of my favourite books was one hundred brand disasters.
These books have informed my window cleaning career and i usually take one on holiday and come back fired up.
As regards tv biz progs, well kitchen nightmares is great, and i like the business inspector lady on chanel five.
Most of the people i mentioned are serial entrepreneurs.They spend their time looking for opportunities. Window Cleaning is an opp but it's not on their radar it can provide a good living but it also has faults- such as a low barrier to entry.For anyone who is interested here is a skeleton of how to make money by starting a business.
1. Address a need
2. Present it in a novel way
3.Tell people about it
4.Find a way of adding value
5.Look for repeat business and a path to expand.
I would love to read from your book shelf Clive.
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I might be interested in a memoir Dave, that might be a bit about yourself (i include your wife) but also bits about other people.You could give Craig Mowlam his own chapter, Glynn from omnipole would be worth a few pages, and i think Alex Gardiner has a very good story to tell.
You probably know of more people than this(charlie Price?)- if you could find about eight really interesting people prepared to write their own precised stories with you being both the least interesting and the linking factor then maybe you would have a book.
Yes the poet guy Felix Dennis, he's a lonely old man with few friends who writes poetry.He never married.He writes poetry overlooking one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and he owns everything he can see
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Yes, he bought the print firm I used to work at. Drinks like a fish and owns an island somewhere, mad as a hatter.
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I read business books and anything that is of interest to me, read the three John Baxter window cleaner books. Not really interesting as the U S market is not like ours.
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No point when you have this forum ;D
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Do a bit for us as a sample. You can start with- I expect you all want to know what really happened with the Association of professional window cleaners ......
You see, what people really want to read- the juicy bits- might not be what you want to write.
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Would this be aimed at the established window cleaner market, or the ever increasing unemployed & desperate for work market, as a kind of instructional book? ???
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unless its by a billionaire window cleaner not interested ;D
we be waiting a while for than then :P :P :P
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I read lots of business books, every book by Bannatyne, Branson,and Dennis (he's the uk's richest man- went to jail as publisher of ozz- and hit the big time when Bruce Lee died because he had the rights to loads of pics and rushed out an autobiography, then magazines, then calenders.Later he launched a computer magazine)
Gordon Ramsey is a good business read, and to a degree chris evans.
I also like books about business theory and marketing.One of my favourite books was one hundred brand disasters.
These books have informed my window cleaning career and i usually take one on holiday and come back fired up.
As regards tv biz progs, well kitchen nightmares is great, and i like the business inspector lady on chanel five.
Most of the people i mentioned are serial entrepreneurs.They spend their time looking for opportunities. Window Cleaning is an opp but it's not on their radar it can provide a good living but it also has faults- such as a low barrier to entry.For anyone who is interested here is a skeleton of how to make money by starting a business.
1. Address a need
2. Present it in a novel way
3.Tell people about it
4.Find a way of adding value
5.Look for repeat business and a path to expand.
Felix dennis is not the UK'S richest man that is the duke of westminster.....
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isnt it time this thread went into the chat section
moderator!!
oh yeah he started it :) ;)
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I'd be interested to hear how you folks with big businesses started and about the key moments in the building up of your business - crunch points, risks taken etc. I'm not taking the mick I'm genuinely interested.For example Window Wipers emailed me some stuff about how he built a business quickly which I have to say was really useful. How did you start Dave? (st Ives)
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I started through a chance encounter, my wife was aked if she knew a wc for a camp site by a mum at the gates of my kids school, i said i would do it, but didnt know how, pulled up in my rusted out estate car with a bucket and sponge, learnt on the job with loads of dodgy advice off really bad window cleaners, the rest is another chapter.
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how long ago Dave? (I'm having lunch thats why i'm on here briefly! not slacking ;D)
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12 years ago, only really got stuck in 5 years ago.
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12 years ago, only really got stuck in 5 years ago.
Did that "get stuck in" bit coincide with starting WFP?
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yes it did, I did employ before wfp, but nowhere to the extent i do now.
I had enough of ladders and was ready for quitting
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why had you had enough of ladders ?
what job were you in before w/c ?
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Last question ;) apart from the camp site how did you get your first big contract for cleaning say an office block? cheers, Tom.