[Window Washers]

Helen

So so true

I have been there and I am now learning to chill, got a full time admin and a full time ops manager

I think that's the 2 main things you need, to make your life easier, along with letting an accountant deal with the tax issues and a friendly hr firm for staff issues
Until that time in the words of dean taberner " window cleaning can be very distressing at times"

Ian , when I have more time I will elaborate on some of the hundreds of stressful times we have had

dave how many staff do you have now ? and at what size did you get the ops manager ?

[LWC Ltd]

Ever heard the story of the fisherman from Benin?
Was related on here a while ago...

Why not just get rid of any poor work, up your prices an refine the round you have.

[H S and Son]

A few years ago, a very rich businessman decides to take a vacation to a small tropical island in the South Pacific. He has worked hard all his life and has decided that now is the time to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He is excited about visiting the island because he’s heard that there is incredible fishing there. He loved fishing as a young boy, but hasn’t gone in years because he has been so busy working to save for his retirement.

So on the first day, he has his breakfast and heads to the beach. It’s around 9:30 am. There he spots a fisherman coming in with a large bucket full of fish!

How long did you fish for?¯ he asks. The fisherman looks at the businessman with a wide grin across his face and explains that the fishes for about three hours every day. The businessman then asks him why he returned so quickly.

Don’t worry¯, says the fisherman, There’s still plenty of fish out there.¯

Dumbfounded, the businessman asks the fisherman why he didn’t continue catching more fish. The fisherman patiently explains that what he caught is all he needs. I’ll spend the rest of the day playing with my family, talking with my friends and maybe drinking a little wine. After that I’ll relax on the beach.”

Now the rich businessman figures he needs to teach this peasant fisherman a thing or two. So he explains to him that he should stay out all day and catch more fish. Then he could save up the extra money he makes and buy and even bigger boats to catch even more fish. The he could keep reinvesting his profits in even more boats and hire many other fisherman to work for him. If he works really hard, in 20 or 30 years he’ll be a very rich man indeed.

The businessman feels pleased that he’s helped teach this simple fellow how to become rich. Then the fisherman looks at the businessman with a puzzled look on his face and asks what he’ll do after he becomes very rich.

The businessman responds quickly You can spend time with your family, talk with your friends, and maybe drink a little wine. Or you could just relax on the beach.

[Helen]

Gazza

Bit busy to explain to much, but with 5 vans comes a mental rollacoaster that will change your working life forever.

Maybe you will come out the other side ok, , but its not without a big price you will pay, both physically and mentally.

It also has huge rewards but, you will have to work hard 24 hours a day, for a few years  to acheive your goal.

If you want a chat, give us a call, maybe I can give you pointers to make that journey easier.

Dave I can see what your saying.

You expanded from 1 or 2 vans to quite a few very quickly as last time I spoke to you you where a lot smaller outfit, I know that was a while ago, could be years ( ).

could you add some of the growing pains for found and learnt the hard way going from 1 to 3 vans thew more staff etc ?>

Growing pains!!!!
No sleep, so suitcases under your eyes and shares in pro plus
No hair left (pulling it out withe stress of staff)
No holidays without being to turn off 100%
Your business runs you, not the other way round.
Hangovers every morning as "staff" issues drive you to drink

When it all goes right!!!
Well worth all the hard work you put in and the income is your reward(if you've got it right on pricing and wages)

It worked for us and got us what we wanted whilst we did it. Would we do it again, no thanks

lol sounds about right Helen 

do you feel like adding in some details there at all ?

Not really , it would regress me 4 years into the counselling I had to take after stopping employing


Like what?

[Window Washers]

Ever heard the story of the fisherman from Benin?
Was related on here a while ago...

Why not just get rid of any poor work, up your prices an refine the round you have.

I have heard that story and will post it below for others to read, as it does make perfect sence.

For me: The difference is window cleaning is a veichle to get where I want to be , to be able to do this I need to increase my turnover to do this I need to leverage other peoples time.


If your happy doing 4/5 days a week poodling alongs thats awesome (not saying you do thats just and example or a lot of people) and I am no one to say otherwise, but I am not working everyday till I die, I watched my grandfather do this I have learnt from mis mistakes I do not want year on year having to take on more work to get the same return, thats not my model at all nor is it to build a big business to get back to the start and have simple things.

My plans are not like this story below, my plans or for me, and my children and there children I am happy with what I have I want more for them and I want to spend more time with them in places others only dream about.
I have a plan and to follow that plan and enjoy doing it is a bonus.

A dream will always be a dream, if you don't have a plan to make it a reality.

That was a little deep  

Ian

Here's the Story for others to read:

This story has been told thousands of times with many variations. Recently, one senior villager in Benin, West Africa, related the following version to some younger ones. The fisherman returns home in his pirogue (a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with West African fishermen)and is met by a foreign expert serving in this developing country.  The expert asks the fisherman why he is back so early. He replies


 that he could have stayed out longer, but that he had caught enough to care for his family.
 
“And now, what do you do with all your time anyway?” the expert asks. The
fisherman responds: “Well, I do a little fishing. I play with my children. We all have a
siesta when it gets hot. In the evening, we have supper together. Later, I get together with my friends for some music, and so on.”
 
The expert interrupts: “Look, I have a university degree and have studied these
matters. I want to help you. You should stay out fishing longer. You would earn more and soon be able to purchase a bigger boat than this pirogue. With a bigger boat, you would earn still more and soon be able to build up a fleet of trawlers.”
 
“And then?” the fisherman inquires. “Then, instead of selling fish through a middleman, you could negotiate directly with the factory or even start your own fish-processing plant. You would be able to leave your village and move to Cotonou, or Paris, or New York and run the whole thing from there. You could even consider putting your business on the stock market and earn millions.”
 
“How long would that all take?” the fisherman asks. “Perhaps 15 to 20 years,” the expert answers. “And then?” the fisherman continues.
 
“That is when life gets interesting,” the expert explains. “Then you could retire. You could move away from the hustle and bustle of it all to some remote village.”

“And what then?” asks the fisherman. “Then you have time to do a little fishing, play with your children, have a siesta when it gets hot, have supper with the family, and get together with friends for some music.”
 

The End

[Helen]

Helen

So so true

I have been there and I am now learning to chill, got a full time admin and a full time ops manager

I think that's the 2 main things you need, to make your life easier, along with letting an accountant deal with the tax issues and a friendly hr firm for staff issues
Until that time in the words of dean taberner " window cleaning can be very distressing at times"

Ian , when I have more time I will elaborate on some of the hundreds of stressful times we have had

Really glad for you as I know how close you came to not going forward a couple of times

The trouble is others will read your post and think that's where I want to be and there is nothing wrong with that, but they will think that it comes in a relatively short time......it doesn't.

In order for you to be chilling a little and I bet that "little" is nowhere near as much as it should be.....you have staff in place that know what they are doing. In order to do that though you have to have the income...i spoke to someone the other day that wanted to take on staff (non related industry) and they didn't even realise that the employer had to pay extra NI cont's for the staff! or have employers liability insurance........ I changed the subject

We made it to the fine line of appointing a general manager.  He knew the cleaning industry inside out . The perfect candidate to help us to take things forward so we thought. He enthused about taking our business forward and wanted to be a big part of it as he had had enough of working for large concerns. 6 weeks down the line, he told us he had to leave as he had cancer. Cut to the end of the story........he lied, he didn't........ after all the other s***e we had been through with others, this was probably the start of us looking to do things differently.

Today, staff long gone, (on windows anyway). Major part of Window cleaning sold 2.5 years ago. Doing what we enjoy best, leather restoration, carpet & upholstery cleaning, start 9.00a.m finish by 3.30pm most days. Only work weekends if we want to! Perfect

[Window Washers]

Cheers for that Helen,

We all want different things in life most on here do not want the hassle of employing, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the pressures that brings, some love it some hate it, I love to hate it.

looking forward to when dave add some things to the pot, more of the working on growing would be good in staff numbers and getting the work load.

Helen when you took on the gen manager, how many staff did you have  ?


Ian
just thought I would add this from Napoleon Hill: "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

[Helen]

Cheers for that Helen,

We all want different things in life most on here do not want the hassle of employing, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the pressures that brings, some love it some hate it, I love to hate it.

looking forward to when dave add some things to the pot, more of the working on growing would be good in staff numbers and getting the work load.

Helen when you took on the gen manager, how many staff did you have  ?

3 full timers, 2 part timers. plus me + hubbie.
I ran the window cleaning from the office and would cover staff holidays, sickness . Doing all aspects of marketing, admin, paye  etc etc
Hubbie did all the leather, carpets etc. (obviously we helped out on either side if needed)
General manager was going to replace me, so I could get out more and market/sell the business and gain new business which I had little time for.
The guy was also experienced on the carpet cleaning side and he offered to help out on that side if he was needed. We agreed a "deal" on that away from his job title as the role of general manager could not be put off to do something else.
We believe that we had the structure right and if our faith in human nature hadn't had been so hard hit with this bloke, we may (not saying defo) have just got to where Dave M is now.
Saying that success is based on many many things and I am a believer in that " things happen for a reason"
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I am now so glad we did an about turn and did things differently
Ian
just thought I would add this from Napoleon Hill: "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

[Window Washers]

Cheers for that Helen,

We all want different things in life most on here do not want the hassle of employing, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the pressures that brings, some love it some hate it, I love to hate it.

looking forward to when dave add some things to the pot, more of the working on growing would be good in staff numbers and getting the work load.

Helen when you took on the gen manager, how many staff did you have  ?

3 full timers, 2 part timers. plus me + hubbie.
I ran the window cleaning from the office and would cover staff holidays, sickness . Doing all aspects of marketing, admin, paye  etc etc
Hubbie did all the leather, carpets etc. (obviously we helped out on either side if needed)
General manager was going to replace me, so I could get out more and market/sell the business and gain new business which I had little time for.
The guy was also experienced on the carpet cleaning side and he offered to help out on that side if he was needed. We agreed a "deal" on that away from his job title as the role of general manager could not be put off to do something else.
We believe that we had the structure right and if our faith in human nature hadn't had been so hard hit with this bloke, we may (not saying defo) have just got to where Dave M is now.
Saying that success is based on many many things and I am a believer in that " things happen for a reason"
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I am now so glad we did an about turn and did things differently
Ian
just thought I would add this from Napoleon Hill: "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

Thank you for adding that, hindsight is a waste of energy, things always happen for a reason Helen i'm not a firm beliver in that too, and your happier now so thats a blessing for you and your hubby
Helen did you have premises when doing this or from home ?

I'm looking at the structures of business. anyone else want to add into this good or bad ?

[Moderator David@stives]

Hi Ian

I don't want elaborate on here, a lot of people just give me a kicking if I talk about myself too much.


Give us a ring and we can catch up

[Moderator David@stives]

Helen

It is hard work,

I gave 24 hours a day 7 days a week to growing my business.

How's Neil ?

Dave

[bobby p]

Helen,so what happened with the cancer guy? did he go sick and you had to keep paying wages or what?  how did u find out he wasnt on his way out ?

[Helen]

Helen

It is hard work,

I gave 24 hours a day 7 days a week to growing my business.

How's Neil ?

Dave

He's fine thanks.
Carpet cleaning etc is where he started out, so we are back in the comfort zone

[Helen]

Cheers for that Helen,

We all want different things in life most on here do not want the hassle of employing, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the pressures that brings, some love it some hate it, I love to hate it.

looking forward to when dave add some things to the pot, more of the working on growing would be good in staff numbers and getting the work load.

Helen when you took on the gen manager, how many staff did you have  ?

3 full timers, 2 part timers. plus me + hubbie.
I ran the window cleaning from the office and would cover staff holidays, sickness . Doing all aspects of marketing, admin, paye  etc etc
Hubbie did all the leather, carpets etc. (obviously we helped out on either side if needed)
General manager was going to replace me, so I could get out more and market/sell the business and gain new business which I had little time for.
The guy was also experienced on the carpet cleaning side and he offered to help out on that side if he was needed. We agreed a "deal" on that away from his job title as the role of general manager could not be put off to do something else.
We believe that we had the structure right and if our faith in human nature hadn't had been so hard hit with this bloke, we may (not saying defo) have just got to where Dave M is now.
Saying that success is based on many many things and I am a believer in that " things happen for a reason"
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I am now so glad we did an about turn and did things differently
Ian
just thought I would add this from Napoleon Hill: "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

Thank you for adding that, hindsight is a waste of energy, things always happen for a reason Helen i'm not a firm beliver in that too, and your happier now so thats a blessing for you and your hubby
Helen did you have premises when doing this or from home ?
[color=Red]From home,  but then we are lucky as we are tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac, have parking for 5 vehicles. separate office space and a large plot for storage etc etc[/color] H
I'm looking at the structures of business. anyone else want to add into this good or bad ?

[Helen]

Helen,so what happened with the cancer guy? did he go sick and you had to keep paying wages or what?  how did u find out he wasnt on his way out ?

On the day he told us, he wanted to quit then. We told him to go home, talk it over with his family and doctors and then make a decision about the job.
We put him on sickness pay...... within the week (thankfully ) we had his official resignation letter which stated that the doctors said he would not be well enough to work throughout the treatment.
We were disappointed, but say hey, it was his decision and his illness and he had to cope whatever way was best for him.(so we thought )

He didn't realise it, but a friend of mine moved to the house next door to him......
She said to me "hey, that guy "name" that used to work for you is my neighbour now. He goes out to work every day for "wont mention the business". I was surprised to say the least and then told her "his" story.
She made some enquiries lets call them, around the neighbours and well....you can guess the rest can't you

[geefree]

Well thanks again,

i really do believe some of the horror stories are due to the perception that window cleaning is perhaps not a proper job to a lot of people,

1. An 18 year old lad would be possibly embarrassed telling his cool mates , that he is a window cleaner.

2. A 40 year old person, would probably be using window cleaning as a stop gap until something "better" comes along.

3. If someone seems perfect, trustworthy and a good worker, there is a chance he would see how it all works and set up alone.

It seems , judging by some replies above, that it is harder to get decent employees in window cleaning, than most other trades.


And thats before i even begin to build for my first employee.

Great. 

[Perfect Windows]

its simple my plan, i want 5 vans on the road in the next 4-5 years

Aren't you putting the cart in front of the horse there?

Why not move up from the question of "Need 5 Vans on the road" to what you're actually trying to achieve.

The point I'm making is that if you truly aim for 5 vans on the road, you can do this easily by working out exactly what it will cost you to run a van and then building just enough business at the right price.  You'll have 5 vans on the road and no income.  I'm 100% certain that won't be your aim, so clearly your target is not specifically 5 vans but something more.

You'd be better off working out what you're looking for, be it income of £x; hours worked of Y per week; a twelve week cruise every winter or whatever, but if you start from your requirements you'll end up with a much more sensible answer than you'll get from your original question.

Vin

[colley614]

A few years ago, a very rich businessman decides to take a vacation to a small tropical island in the South Pacific. He has worked hard all his life and has decided that now is the time to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He is excited about visiting the island because he’s heard that there is incredible fishing there. He loved fishing as a young boy, but hasn’t gone in years because he has been so busy working to save for his retirement.

So on the first day, he has his breakfast and heads to the beach. It’s around 9:30 am. There he spots a fisherman coming in with a large bucket full of fish!

How long did you fish for?¯ he asks. The fisherman looks at the businessman with a wide grin across his face and explains that the fishes for about three hours every day. The businessman then asks him why he returned so quickly.

Don’t worry¯, says the fisherman, There’s still plenty of fish out there.¯

Dumbfounded, the businessman asks the fisherman why he didn’t continue catching more fish. The fisherman patiently explains that what he caught is all he needs. I’ll spend the rest of the day playing with my family, talking with my friends and maybe drinking a little wine. After that I’ll relax on the beach.”

Now the rich businessman figures he needs to teach this peasant fisherman a thing or two. So he explains to him that he should stay out all day and catch more fish. Then he could save up the extra money he makes and buy and even bigger boats to catch even more fish. The he could keep reinvesting his profits in even more boats and hire many other fisherman to work for him. If he works really hard, in 20 or 30 years he’ll be a very rich man indeed.

The businessman feels pleased that he’s helped teach this simple fellow how to become rich. Then the fisherman looks at the businessman with a puzzled look on his face and asks what he’ll do after he becomes very rich.

The businessman responds quickly You can spend time with your family, talk with your friends, and maybe drink a little wine. Or you could just relax on the beach.

Sorry but I'm missing the moral to this story?

[geefree]

Dumbfounded, the businessman asks the fisherman why he didn’t continue catching more fish. The fisherman patiently explains that what he caught is all he needs. I’ll spend the rest of the day playing with my family, talking with my friends and maybe drinking a little wine. After that I’ll relax on the beach.”


The businessman feels pleased that he’s helped teach this simple fellow how to become rich. Then the fisherman looks at the businessman with a puzzled look on his face and asks what he’ll do after he becomes very rich.

The businessman responds quickly ][i]You can spend time with your family, talk with your friends, and maybe drink a little wine. Or you could just relax on the beach

[lee smart]

i used to employ 4/5 guys what a head ache..think of 20k wage each plus holiday pay plus national insurance having to pay there taxes ,the fuel bill was mad,the cost of repairs on the vans were high ,employing just 2 seems easy now.although just empolying 2 it works out they cost me roughly 50-60k then i need aprofit on top..dont forget you have to pay them before yourself and then you are still waiting for the money to come in