[Steve_c]

What would you have done differently? Different System ? Learnt to trad/ better.
I would have certainly learnt to trad better than when i started, i think you need both skills WFP and Trad.

[Blackbushe Windows]

Gone wfp sooner!

[H S and Son]

Learn't to trad left handed after 3 days instead of 4 whilst up the ladder 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I would have gone with carbon poles from day one.

[GB Window Cleaning]

wish i'd looked at the glass in the direct summer sun after wfping and noticed all the spots on some glass

wish i'd not try and skimp't on water and scrubed and rinsed more

[Tom White]

I wouldn't have been so cheap with my pricing.  I suffered for years because of that.

[LWC]

WFP sooner and not spent so much on stuff i didnt really need as i DIY everything now.

[Johnny B]

Same as Tosh, I didn't have the confidence to charge what I should have.

I will be selling up and moving to Eire in 6 weeks time and starting up over there, so I will make sure I don't repeat my past mistake of underpricing.

John.

[GB Window Cleaning]

Same as Tosh, I didn't have the confidence to charge what I should have.

I will be selling up and moving to Eire in 6 weeks time and starting up over there, so I will make sure I don't repeat my past mistake of underpricing.

John.

are you gonna start from scratch canvassing or buying a round ? good luck by the way!

[mikecam]

What would you have done differently? Different System ? Learnt to trad/ better.
I would have certainly learnt to trad better than when i started, i think you need both skills WFP and Trad.

I'd do some consumer research, find out what people liked about their window cleaner and his service and the what they didn't like about it. Then armed with the information i'd set off marketing as they call it, or canvassing as i know it !!!

[gary999]

i would of got a real job!

[luther1]

I'd canvas and offer to undercut their existing window cleaner

[G Griffin]

Why are people saying gone wfp sooner?
If you are starting now, you can`t be doing things sooner.
You mean, gone wfp straight away?
Unless, you are re-writing history....eyes roll.

[Paul Coleman]

What would you have done differently? Different System ? Learnt to trad/ better.
I would have certainly learnt to trad better than when i started, i think you need both skills WFP and Trad.

I would have done a lot differently.
WFP a lot sooner.
VAT register from the start because I will probably have to head that way eventually - though not for a few years yet.
Also, I would have looked out for a place to buy or rent for my business (impracticaL TO FILTER AT HOME).

[Paul Coleman]

Why are people saying gone wfp sooner?
If you are starting now, you can`t be doing things sooner.
You mean, gone wfp straight away?
Unless, you are re-writing history....eyes roll.

Oh yes.
And I would have gone for WFP sooner      .

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

What would you have done differently? Different System ? Learnt to trad/ better.
I would have certainly learnt to trad better than when i started, i think you need both skills WFP and Trad.

I would have done a lot differently.
WFP a lot sooner.
VAT register from the start because I will probably have to head that way eventually - though not for a few years yet.Also, I would have looked out for a place to buy or rent for my business (impracticaL TO FILTER AT HOME).

Why would you want that from the beginning?  It's also my understanding that you can only register for VAT if reach or expect to reach the threshold within that year?

[luther1]

You can voluntarily register for vat no matter what your earnings are

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

You can voluntarily register for vat no matter what your earnings are

Ok.

I can't see how this could possibly benefit a new start sole trading windy though?  It would be hard enough without carrying a 20% handicap to the competition!   I don't think VAT reclaimed on start up costs would outweigh this & throw in the extra paper work & the vat man. 

[Paul Coleman]

What would you have done differently? Different System ? Learnt to trad/ better.
I would have certainly learnt to trad better than when i started, i think you need both skills WFP and Trad.

I would have done a lot differently.
WFP a lot sooner.
VAT register from the start because I will probably have to head that way eventually - though not for a few years yet.Also, I would have looked out for a place to buy or rent for my business (impracticaL TO FILTER AT HOME).

Why would you want that from the beginning?  It's also my understanding that you can only register for VAT if reach or expect to reach the threshold within that year?

Doing it from the beginning avoids that difficult middle phase when you have to wonder whether your customers will tolerate a 20% increase.  At least you know that they are prepared to pay it from the start.
You can register a business of any turnover for VAT.  Indeed, there are plenty of smaller businesses who buy and sell goods for whom it is a positive benefit.  This is because they have to pay VAT on the goods that they buy so it would put them at a disadvantage if they couldn't claim it back.  Without being able to claim it back, the price to the customer would still have to reflect that they had paid it out in the first place - whether or not part of the price to the end customer was VAT.  So they might just as well reclaim it.
Not so clearcut in a service industry of course.

[Paul Coleman]

You can voluntarily register for vat no matter what your earnings are

Ok.

I can't see how this could possibly benefit a new start sole trading windy though?  It would be hard enough without carrying a 20% handicap to the competition!  I don't think VAT reclaimed on start up costs would outweigh this & throw in the extra paper work & the vat man.  

Possibly, but being VAT registered would have also encouraged me to go for more commercial work as they can reclaim it.  I believe that many customers would be OK with paying this from the start.  It might be more of a problem if 20% was lumped on later though.  It's possible that I'm referring to the sort of customer who wants the security of knowing that the guy who cleans their house as an officially registered business and deduces from that that they are more likely to be trustworthy and not a fly-by-night.
Of course you may be right.  I'm not trying to present this as absolute fact but just putting it out there.

If computerisaTION HAD BEEN THE NORM WHEN i STARTED, I may well have gone for VAT.  Without affordable computerisation (it was 1991), it wasn't practical though.  Apart from that, it took a while for me to decide to stick with window cleaning.