[Dave Willis]

I often hear this figure quoted as the target to aim for. It's been the same since I started in 2007. So who came up with it and why has it never changed?

[Perfect Windows]

Certainly not me.  You should go for what you can get.  As I know you're full, you can certainly bid for much higher as not getting jobs won't hurt you.

Do bear in mind that £30 an hour might be completely unachievable in Dundee but severely underpriced in Kensington.

Vin

[MWC]

Barry Bullpoop came up with it.

Like above comment, Possible in some areas/jobs but not really for most normal folk.

[DaveG]

Wouldn't get outta bed for that    :

[gary999]

somedays i earn £30 nd over...i have plenty of other days when i earn less than £20

[*Hector*]

somedays i earn £30 nd over...i have plenty of other days when i earn less than £20

The op was on about PER HOUR Gary NOT per day 

 

[EandM]

There may well be a formula for it but the figure has been around for some time.

It's based on what you DON'T have being self employed that you would have if you were employed:

No Pension plan,
No Sick Pay,
No Holiday pay,
Vehicle expenses,
Accountancy expenses.
Insurances and business sundries etc.....

and then trying to work out a target hourly rate to ensure that you can meet your running costs and still afford to live and eat.

[William McCafferty]

I think it also comes down to how many houses you do in a hour, against what you charge, for instance when I first started, I could clean on average 3 houses per hour at £10 each.

I now can clean faster and my prices have increased, so my hourly figure is now higher.

[Dani J]

somedays i earn £30 nd over...i have plenty of other days when i earn less than £20

 

[Dani J]

I think it also comes down to how many houses you do in a hour, against what you charge, for instance when I first started, I could clean on average 3 houses per hour at £10 each.

I now can clean faster and my prices have increased, so my hourly figure is now higher.

£35 ? 

[Smudger]

i don't know where the £30 figure came from - it was already being used as the benchmark but it is a good
starting point as a business rate and thats where some forget that an hourly rate as self employed or biz is not
your wage so you shouldn't be settling for £15/20 p.h

Darran

[William McCafferty]

I think it also comes down to how many houses you do in a hour, against what you charge, for instance when I first started, I could clean on average 3 houses per hour at £10 each.

I now can clean faster and my prices have increased, so my hourly figure is now higher.

£35 ? 

£31

[dazmond]

when you think that your only earning when  actually cleaning the windows!! so for most of us one man bands thats 5-7 hours a day max.so take off cups of coffee with customers,faffing about with hoses/poles,lunch break,driving between jobs etc.

no holiday pay,sick pay,downtime etc

tax,insurances,van/equipment expenses etc.

absolute min for me is £25 an hour but mostly its £30+.sometimes up to £60 an hour on certain commercial/large domestic accounts and £40-£60 an hour on the add on conny roof/fascia clean jobs.

i do ok but im in the north west.if you live and work in london i think you d struggle on my hourly figures and you would be doing VERY WELL if you lived in some parts of scotland!!!

[geefree]

Hi ,

I am unemployed and i pay my window cleaner £10 per month.... but after falling on to this forum and reading that you guys earn £30 per hour ,.... i am going to set up a window cleaning round ... and tell all my underpaid ... or unemployed mates to do the same....oh and we can then save ourselves some money into the bargain by sacking our window cleaner....

and i will be very happy to undercut all the window cleaners to get myself £15 per hour...

Thank you all so much, .. i never knew there was so much money in window cleaning.

CHEERS.



 : : : : : : :

[DaveG]

Pleasure 

[Gray1]

Many years ago My stepfather (Freemason/Industrialist) said when quoting workout what it will cost then x2 when working an hourly rate for your workers remember they have to be multiplyed by 5 to cover the cost of the non productive employers.
If you only charge what you think you could earn working for someone, then you do not have anything to re-invest, what about wear and tear on equipment? or are you going to ask your last cusomer for a new pole 'cause you just broke it on the drain pipe!
So if you had to employ someone, lets say you pay them £7.50 per hour about £275 per week, then they will have to earn you about £37.50 per hour.
So £30 then was probably Ok

Gray1

[roundbuilder]

Hi ,

I am unemployed and i pay my window cleaner £10 per month.... but after falling on to this forum and reading that you guys earn £30 per hour ,.... i am going to set up a window cleaning round ... and tell all my underpaid ... or unemployed mates to do the same....oh and we can then save ourselves some money into the bargain by sacking our window cleaner....

and i will be very happy to undercut all the window cleaners to get myself £15 per hour...

Thank you all so much, .. i never knew there was so much money in window cleaning.

CHEERS.



 : : : : : : :

You say that but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that window cleaners can earn a good living. Customers seeing us bang out rows of houses day in day out. Why would they come onto a forum searching about it??good luck to anybody starting out. Better that than be unemployed claiming.

[dazmond]

the problem is getting the work!!

lots of window cleaners starting out soon realise its harder than they thought.downtime due to weather and the work can get very boring!

its took me many years to get where i am today(too many!)and in hindsight i undercharged for many years and struggled to get by.

why shouldnt i make a half decent living?ive invested in equipment/van,work hard and deserve the rewards that window cleaning offers.

its not for everyone though.sorting out tax and insurances and being disciplined to put your tax money to one side every month and keeping on top of admin etc,no holiday pay,sick pay and making sure you have an emergency fund built up for very bad weather etc is often overlooked when starting a window cleaning business.

its not a bed of roses thats for sure but im so glad ive stuck at it all these years!

how many of you know guys that have given window cleaning a try and given up after 6 months?i know LOADS!!they just couldnt hack it and struggled to get work and certainly didnt earn anywhere near £30 an hour!!


regards


dazmond