[dazmond]

i met i guy from oldham today who was doing some building work near some of my work(as he s a brickie by trade).nice young chap.he was in a  smartish van with a list of all his services on the side WINDOW CLEANING,PRESSURE WASHING,GARDENING,CLADDING,ETC,ETC.

i approached him as i dont do pressure washing so was hoping to get a card for my customers who ask for this service.

he s contemplating taking on a school caretakers job as well as keeping his gardening business and window cleaning business going plus doing building work for a mate!

he say he only cleans apartment blocks(subbying)and contract work and doesnt know how i can clean individual domestic houses.

he had a 250 brodex tank in the back and a lawnmower plus loads of other gear and says he s never ran out of water doing a days window cleaning.

i told him the best thing you can do is make your mind up what you want to do whether its window cleaning,gardening or building and throw yourself 100% into it.

id hate it myself.id rather concentrate on one business and make that the best it can be.

[Stoots]

My current services list

Window Cleaning
Pressure washing
Carpet cleaning
Car valeting
Gutter clearance/fsg
conservatory cleaning

One reason i did this was because starting out it meant i had more opportunitys to get work, it really helped.

You are right in what you are saying though, certainly as a sole trader if you can just doing one thing makes it so much easier, one lot of gear, one lot of marketting etc.

But it depends on the individual, i would like to have 3-4 days of windows then a day or two free for other bits,  windows for the bread and butter, the extras as a bit of  bonus, makes your business more flexible, rainy day do some pressure washing or carpets, red hot go home  and still get all your windows done for the week.

[the king]

i class conny cleaning as window cleaning as its same thing

i do window cleaning
upvc cleaning
gutter clearing
soft washing
im flat out but considering a pressure washer 

[paul alan]

Thing is..to earn the top money you have to get awesome at something.

Doing a bit of this and a bit of that dont make you awesome at anything.

[Smudger]

Thing is..to earn the top money you have to get awesome at something.

Doing a bit of this and a bit of that dont make you awesome at anything.

if you say so.....

Darran

[paul alan]

Thing is..to earn the top money you have to get awesome at something.

Doing a bit of this and a bit of that dont make you awesome at anything.

if you say so.....

Darran

Its a generalisation but l think its right!

As the title, jack of all-master of none!

[nathankaye]

Though to be honest, window cleaning, pressure washing and soft washing isnt quite rocket science is it. To get good in these avenues, its quality equipment and experience/knowledge. It wont take you overly long to master and be very good in these fields, it just depends how big you want it to become in those fields which steps it up a little.

[dazmond]

in general the guy was coming across as not being happy(or stressed!).he said he was unsure of which direction to go whether full time gardening or try and get more window cleaning work or go back to being a brickie and taking a caretakers job.

we re all different.i like to keep things simple.mainly maintenance window cleaning and the add ons using existing equipment.i dont see the point in investing in say a carpet cleaner,pressure washer and lawn mower when i can make good money doing add ons with the same equipment.less expense and faffing about leaving more time for earning money or enjoying leisure time.

i have built up a very good window cleaning round in the last 24 years that most window cleaners would be very happy with (excluding the extra add on work.)

[Tom White]

id hate it myself.id rather concentrate on one business and make that the best it can be.

Me too; keep it simple.

[Og]

Does window cleaning even qualify as a trade? Scrub a bit and rinse it off.............

[paul alan]

Does window cleaning even qualify as a trade? Scrub a bit and rinse it off.............

...........if only..........

[Soupy]

id hate it myself.id rather concentrate on one business and make that the best it can be.

Me too; keep it simple.

Everyone hates you already Tosh, one more is no great shakes.

[Steven Biggs]

I've just stopped doing any gutter, fascia roofline work . Whether it can be done with the pole ( hurts the shoulders ) or the ladders ( too risky ) . The ladders and standoff have gone . I only started taking em on 2 years back to boost the lads wage till I got more maintenance window cleaning . But I've picked up about 150 new jobs in 2 years so that more than covers his wage . I've also got rid of all my inside work. Ball ache and hating the squeegee. We are now 100% wfp maintenance cleaning .everything gets done with a slx 25 . It's a doddle and the best hourly rate .

[slap bash]

Since I have been in this window cleaning game I have done many different things for my customers. Tiling replumbed a bathroom.Serviced a few cars fitted brakes for one. Rebuild a conservatory including all glass replacement. Plumbed a few outside taps. Repaired many garage doors as well as fitting a new one. Replaced all gutters on 3 houses. Done many gutters repairs from snow damage.  Rebuild a few boundary walls.  Removed trees for 2 customers and repaired a few tool sheds. I will do anything if it pays well, O yes and done a few paving jobs. Fence replace and resprayed them on a regular basis. Which is a nice earner? Fitted a shower booster pump.  I find these jobs a challenge and keep me from getting board.

[dazmond]

Since I have been in this window cleaning game I have done many different things for my customers. Tiling replumbed a bathroom.Serviced a few cars fitted brakes for one. Rebuild a conservatory including all glass replacement. Plumbed a few outside taps. Repaired many garage doors as well as fitting a new one. Replaced all gutters on 3 houses. Done many gutters repairs from snow damage.  Rebuild a few boundary walls.  Removed trees for 2 customers and repaired a few tool sheds. I will do anything if it pays well, O yes and done a few paving jobs. Fence replace and resprayed them on a regular basis. Which is a nice earner? Fitted a shower booster pump.  I find these jobs a challenge and keep me from getting board.

well done mate.you sound like a very handy person to know!

most of us havent got the skill (or time and energy) to attempt some of them jobs.

[Tom-01]

I would never get rid of our window cleaning work, too profitable and with GoCardless it's even better.

We do a lot of gutter cleaning, and some larger properties we have a full service schedule for exterior cleaning: pressure cleaning a few times a year, gutters, fascias etc as well as regular windows, brilliant for cash flow and a bit of variety.

We did two render clean jobs this week for existing customers, very good hourly rate and the payments are much bigger so that's great. It's just with that sort of work you need to constantly be getting it in and to be honest I would rather enjoy life a bit more instead of continuously thinking about work.

[Marc Stock]

I just do one thing.

Window Cleaning.

I'll do the following if asked nicely and for a good rate...

Conservatory roof cleans (although I offer to demolish the blasted retched things for free)

Render & Wall washing
Facias; soffit gutters and bargeboards.

That's it. 

[Shrek]

I just do one thing.

Window Cleaning.

I'll do the following if asked nicely and for a good rate...

Conservatory roof cleans (although I offer to demolish the blasted retched things for free)

Render & Wall washing
Facias; soffit gutters and bargeboards.

That's it.

So you do 4 things 

[the king]

i think its inportent to injoy what we do thats all that counts realy i do mostly window cleaning , upvc cleaning as a add on these are my bonus jobs and a bit of soft washing again add on bonus  work that pays a lot more than window cleaning,, but window cleaning is reguler so its bread and butter for me, im flat out on the glass i clean over 160 bizzness in a small sea side town but still make time for the add on work i just cant help my self 

[chris turner]

Who cares what you do, as long as ya"ll is getting that £££££££. I'll suck **** for the right price