[Perfect Windows]

not knocking you perfect, but remember not everyone shares the same vision



just aswell really because there isnt room for everyone to be alan sugar

That's why I was very clear (read my post again if you want to check) to point out that a perfectly valid reason for trying to run WC as a business rather than just a way to make money is so that you can spend more time with the kids.

[G Griffin]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

[stuart mc]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

who is he anyway and why is he famous

[G Griffin]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

who is he anyway and why is he famous

Is it the fat bloke that used to be in Emmerdale? He might still be in it but I don't watch it anymore; honest.

[Pete10]

....I'm going to guess at contrast, being the thing that window cleaners lack? It's early days for me, but so far I feel the job offers a rewarding low pressure lifestyle, rarely avalable in today's society.

For example; the customer base is fragmented with contracts being typically low in value (£10-20).....not like a kitchen fitter or plumber where the client is laying out 10-20k and can be v stressed....making you stressed if something goes wrong, if a client hacks you off, you can move on and it's unlikely to impact your reputation materially. In addition, you work when, and for how long you want, you have no deadlines, no meetings, no boss and probably limited commuting....you can even pop home for lunch. But without contrast, i.e. not having had these freedoms, you probably won't value them as a material advantadge to the job.

[CLEANCARE WC]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

who is he anyway and why is he famous

Is it the fat bloke that used to be in Emmerdale? He might still be in it but I don't watch it anymore; honest.

yeh the vet? i think his name is phil mitchell

[stuart mc]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

who is he anyway and why is he famous

Is it the fat bloke that used to be in Emmerdale? He might still be in it but I don't watch it anymore; honest.

yeh the vet? i think his name is phil mitchell

don't be silly phil was in corry, it was sinbad that was the vet

[lyndy]

I'm with George on the franshise bit,why do it and earn 20%
With the same hassle you can earn 50% by not franshising

[gary999]

A sense of humour.
And to have a forum thread without Alan Sugar getting mentioned.......whoever he is.

[davids3511]

I'm with George on the franshise bit,why do it and earn 20%
With the same hassle you can earn 50% by not franshising

If you think it is the same hassle then you don't understand how it works. I have a franchisee and he is responsible for -
Pl insurance
Diesel
Van purchase
Van insurance
Van tax
Equipment wear and tear/breakages
Holidays/time off
Sick days
wet/windy/frozen days
Van maintenance
van wear and tear
water
Di resin
organising his own round - texting, ringing,, billing, chasing payments and so on
There is more, I just can't remember them right now.

[lyndy]

I know what you are saying,but I don't see them things on
On your list as much hassle for an extra 30%.me and my wife
Spend between us about 5-10 hours a week running one van
And one staff.

Saying that iam interested in the franshise route,what worries
Me,is he may screw up all the work he is given

[davids3511]

I know what you are saying,but I don't see them things on
On your list as much hassle for an extra 30%.me and my wife
Spend between us about 5-10 hours a week running one van
And one staff.

Saying that iam interested in the franshise route,what worries
Me,is he may screw up all the work he is given

It's all in picking the right person. Train him well and check his work for the first few weeks. I have it written into the contract that if more then 4 customers are lost in one monthy period, the contact is void.

You only have one van but how many hours would you need to spend if you had 5 vans. Ian Lancaster has 8 franshisees, how much time would you spend on admin if you had 8 vans on the road. How much would your insurance bill be, diesel and so on. You would have to buy those 8 vans too.

[lyndy]

I get your point.

So how does it work? You give him a list of say 300 custys,how
Do you keep a check on if he loses any? How would you know
If he did work you didn't know about?.

[davids3511]

I get your point.

So how does it work? You give him a list of say 300 custys,how
Do you keep a check on if he loses any? How would you know
If he did work you didn't know about?.

He gives me an update at the end of each week with a list of any new customers and a list of any cancellations. His george is saved into a drop box account that I have access to and I restore that every other day to see what is going on.

I won't know if he has the odd customer here and there but if he had many I would find out. My number in on his van, eventually I would get a call. Also, we work the same areas, there is a good chance I would pass him on the road while he is doing a foreigner.

I also know how much he should be doing every month. If I give him 3k and he is getting through it ok for a year but then can only manage 2.8 then 2.6 then 2.5 I would know he was building his own round and would set about finding out about it. He can't be in two places at the one time so can only do so much work. If he has his own work, he can't do as much of mine as he should.

I started him off in Feb with new work I had found from the middle of January. I had planned on giving him 100 of my customers but have only had to give him 20 because I found 2.1k of work since the middle of January. His round is now worth 2.3k and still building. I have 22 people to quote next week.

[lyndy]

I woundnt mind speaking to you at some stage in the future

[davids3511]

Sure, 07999522999.

[wightsurf]

Quote relatively unskilled job
How many think this ?

Because this is where you are going wrong if you do.
I have a list as long as my arm of tickets and window cleaning is just as demanding.
Learn to price
custy relations  
round management
staff managment
Tax and accounts
H&S
COSH
and im not realy thinking yet

[g.brookes]

window cleaning is deffo an unskilled job. 
round management takes ten mins every night, custy relations just requires you to work with a smile and establish a few simple rules, tax and accounts is no effort if you have an accountant, h and s again takes a bit of reading or a one day course. 
Cosh and staff management are the only ones where it can be hard and you have to be able to deal with a bit of stress.
Yu rarely have to use your brain with window cleaning, the hardest problem solving you have to do is work out the best place to park your van.  I cant think of any jobs where the gap between money earnt and skill required is so vast.  You can earn more than teachers, policemen, electricians, engineers etc.
When i worked in a call centre for 6.50 and hour I needed more training then i do for running my own window cleaning business.
What you do need is confidence and belief in yourself, and drive.  When I look at my friends who are mostly highly educated and highly skilled, the reason I earn more than most of them is because i can get out of my bed every day without the threat of a boss shouting at me, and i can trust in myself on a sunday night that by the end of the week i can earn the money needed to pay my bills relying solely on my self

[wightsurf]

I took on another windy last August as a subby.
He thought after doing the job for a yr or so that he new what there was to know.
Since then to now he has learnt so much with me and has said countless time how do you work with such speed and good results .I can walk pass glass and see a smear that he has to look at ,at all angles to wipe out lol
Yes anyone can clean glass,any one can hold a hammer and hit a nail,but it dont make them a carpenter

[Dave Willis]

It's an incredibly highly skilled job - sometimes I don't know if I should scrub sideways or up and down.