[colley614]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering how long it would take to canvass a round. I've got to the point now where I'm considering handing my notice in at work and going for it. I was thinking of starting canvassing about 10 am and wirking right through until dark then the next day cleaning new customers and starting canvassing again. I know that the is no exact answer but was hoping somebody who built a round this way could say. "It took me 4 weeks.." or 3 months or 12 months. Even better would be someone being able to say where the were at after certain intervals.

Thanks guys.

[colley614]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering how long it would take to canvass a round. I've got to the point now where I'm considering handing my notice in at work and going for it. I was thinking of starting canvassing about 10 am and wirking right through until dark then the next day cleaning new customers and starting canvassing again. I know that the is no exact answer but was hoping somebody who built a round this way could say. "It took me 4 weeks.." or 3 months or 12 months. Even better would be someone being able to say where the were at after certain intervals.

Thanks guys.

Bit of merseyside slang there!

[Ian101]

3 months to get 100 customers I rekon then another 3 months to get to 150 in total cos after 6 months u prob binned some of the 1st customers as for wages well set urself a min of say a tenner then u can do the maths .. Good luck !

[colley614]

Thanks Ian!

[Ian101]

Think ur on Wirral ?? For a small fee I will pop over from sunny north Wales and spend half a Saturday with u if u want a hand

[colley614]

That would be a good idea. Get me back into the swing of canvassing plus get to know someone from the area. I've been trying to find work local but all seems to be out my price range.

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

ian is selling a small round 

[colley614]

How much work and how much bud?

[Blue Frog Systems]

When i first started ( April 09 ) it took 6 months from nowt to 289 customers

That was cleaning all day and knocking all night myself and my wife knocking for 4hrs a day a few times a week for 4 months.

It is harder to pick up work this time of year, but not impossible. The ones you get now will be good solid customers though being winter time.

[SB Cleaning]

When i first started ( April 09 ) it took 6 months from nowt to 289 customers

That was cleaning all day and knocking all night myself and my wife knocking for 4hrs a day a few times a week for 4 months.

It is harder to pick up work this time of year, but not impossible. The ones you get now will be good solid customers though being winter time.

I have picked up loads of work in the last couple of weeks, mostly recommendations and being seen working though.

[Inside Out]

work was doing my head in too. i built work up and cleaned windows on weekends. canvassed on work nights till i couldnt manage to keep on top of it all. this way, i had an income the day job finished. you wont need to get many before you start being given family and friends to go and quote for. - if you do a good job.

and TELL people about any extras that you do, fascias and gutters, conservatorys etc. if they dont know, theyll not ask!!

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

How much work and how much bud?

ian h20 ask him 

[Johnny B]

I restarted from scratch on 8th August due to my family and I relocating to Ireland.
Up to and including today I have 111 customers who have had at least one clean, with a further 11 new customers awaiting a first clean.

I have canvassed during the day only, and have cleaned any newly found customers there and then wherever possible.

I have to be flexible with cleaning intervals, because here in the Emerald Isle window cleaning is way down the list of priorities for many people. I therefore reckon that I need to do an average of at least 100 cleans per month, consistently, before I consider that my round is established enough to be able to stop canvassing, based upon the average price that I charge per property.

At the rate my round is developing, I calculate that I will meet my target by the beginning of February, therefore I make that 6 months to build my round. 

Best wishes,
John     

[northstar161]

I started in June 2011 doing trad. I now have 82 customers. I was learning on the job so I was really, really slow at cleaning at first.

If I started again I would charge all first customers 50% more for the first clean. I also charge 50% more for 12 weekly cleans (most are on a six weekly).

I do not recommend trying to build a round in the winter. Good luck.

[Pope vader]

if you put all your spare time in to knocking,  then cleaning them, you could have a very good round in 3 months,  if i was to start again, this is what i would do

[windiewasher]

I started in June 2011 doing trad. I now have 82 customers. I was learning on the job so I was really, really slow at cleaning at first.

If I started again I would charge all first customers 50% more for the first clean. I also charge 50% more for 12 weekly cleans (most are on a six weekly).

I do not recommend trying to build a round in the winter. Good luck.

why not?
you haven't worked a winter yet!

[Crystal-clear]

how long is a piece of string

Getting the customers isnt a problem you will have to define to what level you would like them established personally i feel after 6 cleans/one year the customer is some what established if you work hard you could build a busy round for yourself within 18 months - 2 years some may say sooner and you could have a day job sooner but im talking about a round that you could stop canvassing and say these are truly my customers.

[colley614]

I'm trying to grasp how long it would take to start being able to start earning a wage from the business. I understand that at first I'd be looking at drop outs and cancelations and I'd have to canvass to pick these back up. I'm presuming that it will take me about three months of door knocking and leafleting to get back to where I will feel secure.

The winter isn't a big thing to me. I've been cleaning windows for over ten years now so I'm used to the cold. Plus my wife would start feeling that I was letting them down if I didn't work at it.

I wouldn't mind finding a local window cleaner with a couple of days work for a few months to get me going.

[Crystal-clear]

colley the more time you put in it the more cash you will earn!
on the weekend say sat and sun i dont see why you couldnt pick up say 40 customers? regardless that after 6 months you may only have 20 of them left you will still be earning from all 40 when you clean them!its a slowish process but the more you canvass the more you pick up and the more you will be left with!


the only thing i was saying before was you will have drop outs and in general if you work hard in 1-2 years you will have a good round!

[colley614]

I don't mind going out of a weekend canvassing. I end up working most weekends at the moment so I would be prepared to do it for myself.

As you say the more you put in, the more you get out