[lukedella]

Hi

I'm sure you guys are probably asked this all the time but how do you go about starting out?

I'm currently a postman and a few months ago i got talking to some window cleaner who said he moved down here (torquay) bought a round and away he went and he has to turn down work.

Now i would never have even thought about being a window cleaner due to the fact when it comes to heights i turn into the jelly man. The other month i bumped into another window cleaner just starting out who said ' its the best job i've had ' i said i couldnt do the jump because i cant do heights, He then went on and told me about this WFP system or something? where you can actually do all the work from the ground!!?

Ever since he told me about this i've become very interested in maybe giving it a go? Like i say i'm a postie at the moment but i'm going traveling pretty soon for a good 6 months or so then when i return i'll have no job so i've got this window cleaning idea in the back of my mind.

I was thinking maybe buying myself a van getting one of those systems which you use from the ground? and then giving it a crack but of course i have no expirence or how much these things costs.

So i'm asking what is the best way to get started ? The whole 'old way' just wouldnt work for me so i'd be looking into new technologys is there big DO's and DONT's when setting up? Like i say its just a idea for when i get back being your own boss sounds good to me!

Cheers
Luke

[Slash]

I done WC on weekends to start with as I too was a postie,I was a reserve for 8 long years,can you believe it,8 years of drifting from one round to another,I got loads of flyers made and canvassed the whole area while delivering the letters on different rounds,the manager knew and turned a blind eye to it, was a good job then as when you were finised your round you could go home so I ran my round like a headless chicken and was done at 10 or there abouts every day and could do WC for the rest of the day,a good way to start your buisness,in the end WC was taken over and the money was far better the what Royal Mail had to offer,now I see my postie mates I used to work with and have a chat and I joke "Maybe one day you can come and work for me!"
Onwards and upwards!
NOW I CAN TAKE MY HOLIDAYS WHEN I LIKE,NOT WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN TO ME,AND FOR EARLY MORNINGS,A THING OF THE PAST!

[steve bell]

Hi,
I second the word about how disheartening it can get. I left the navy back in May and set up as a Home Information Pack supplier. As you can imagine with the housing market the way it is, I've fallen flat on my face there.
So, Window cleaning it was. Something I did do a while ago prior to being in the mob so I did have previous experience.
I spent the money and bought the reverse osmosis unit and a bunch of 25 litre drums off ebay. The big pole I have came from ebay too, although I stumped up the £200 for a good 18ft Brodex pole. The trolley system that I got was through a freind that sells them on ebay. In total I think it's been about £1750- £2000 investment. I did the IBC container thing and I catch the water off my roof, process it into another IBC and then draw off into the drums as required.

So far I will admit to only really having enough work for two weeks in the month, but having said that it does net me around £800 so far. I could do with some more to top up the coffers. It is really difficult to motivate yourself sometimes, especially with it raining as it did today. The up side is I won't have to top up the tank with the hose pipe!! And of course even if it rains you can still go out and drop leaflets! Exactly what I was doing today.  

You can buy a round, but you gotta ask.... what am I actually buying? In some cases all you are buying is someone elses poop work they don't want to do. Or of course if the guy is wrapping up you could buy some good stuff. Or, like me, you could say I'll go and get it myself instead of spending money. If you do buy, all you are buying is the time it would take to build your own, if you see my meaning. But doing it yourself, you know what you are getting.

[lukedella]

Cheers for the replys. I suppose yea it would be wise for me to get some expirence in before i give it a blast.

Are there any recommend trolleys out there i should look at? i go on ebay now and then and notice some of them are weighing in at 4 grand for a trolley!.

Is a trolley alot better than having one of those systems intalled into a van? i suppose its alot easier to be mobile isnt it? But is it possible to use a trolley to do a full days works

I see what you mean about buying a round Steve . And if you do it yourself then you know what your getting but is the best way of doing this doing a door 2 door and speaking to people asking them? Or do leaflets actually work have any of you had sucess with this?

And slash yea the job is just going down and down and down its not a nice place to be at the moment. Tell me do you still wear your shorts? ha ha!

Cheers

[Slash]

Never was one to wear shorts but the high visability bib comes in handy now and again,had to rip the logo off though!

[Clive McDonald]

Use the money you've saved for traveling to set up. You can do all that thai bride stuff when you are middle aged.

[Klean07]

I went round the world for 4 months in  2006 at the age of 47. Backpacked around Australia/New Zealand/Fiji and the Cook Islands. Hired a car in Los Angeles and drove to Vegas to stay in Excalibur hotel for £30 a night for 5 nights. Stayed in 5 star hotel in Singapore as part of a stop over. Best thing I've ever done. Btw my son came with me too.

[lukedella]

Hahaha I'm not heading that part of the world. I'm doing the eastern/southern europe tour then maybe that place they call the USA

But it's true i could setup with the money i've got buy i've been waiting for this blow out for far to long to let it go now

 

[Jeff Brimble]

Its a good business if you can get established and have the drive, I too used to be a posty.

[monkeyman]

hi ya luke,i,m in the same position as you ,i work as a postie at the mo and have just started in the window cleaning bussiness.i too was scared of heights,but heard about the wfp system,and after a lot of research about different systems.i chose to go with the pure freedom trolley system(purefreedom.co.uk)it cost £850 for the complete system and includes every thing you will need.everything about this system is superb and well worth the money.i had some leaflets printed the first week in january and started leafleting two weeks ago and have already got thirty customers,its the best thing i,ve ever done and i really enjoy the work,if all goes well hopefully i can leave royal mail by the end of the summer and be my own boss.if i can say one thing luke its go for it i only wish i had done it sooner,all the best mate and good luck.be sure to check out purefreedom.co.uk they are a really helpfull company and well worth the money.all the best

[Mr Sparkle]

Gemma you work as postie you look more like an extra in the elephant man

[monkeyman]

HOW DARE YOU...................takes one to know one mr sparkle

[Niall McAllister]

Hi Luke, if you are set on your hol, are you taking it as unpaid leave?
you are entitled to one year unpaid leave, if full time, and restored to your pay grade when you return.
if you can take advantage of this then why not take your hol, come back with the P.O. job waiting. then just work to your hours and set up a part time round. put adds in local shops and call on people.
I built up a round when with the P.O. Most of my original custs were from the rounds I worked as a reserve. I would throw the fact I was cleaning windows in to chats and then ended up cleaning their windows.  As a postie you have the trust in place that a cold call has to build.
I left the P.O. with in about 8 months of getting started.

[lukedella]

thanks alot for all the replys and cheers for the link to that freedom trolly i'll give it a look over tommrow. when i'm not so nackered! just got hammered in 7's

Also good to hear that the leaflet thing does work! good news

It seems everyone here is a postie or has been working as a postie at some point!

It's a career break which they are suppose to give you which is upto 2 years leave and they keep your job for when you come back, I'm only a part time bag carrier and have been now for 2 years! shocking since people have come after me and been given better contracts - I did ask about  them holding my job and when i asked i was told ' it has to be aproved and its rarely given you have to be a very good worker ' ' so i got no chance then? ' ' no '

So thats that i'm actually looking forward to leaving and then off soul searching around europe for 6 months then i have to get back to REAL life and decide what i want to do.

But many moons will pass untill i return IF i return but WC is what i'm looking at at the moment Cheers for all the help

Weather for tommrow RAIN lovely!