[paul alan]

Mines monday to thursday, 5 hours per day.

At the min lm still building so fridays are first clean days and saturdays too if need be, which lm happy to do.

Thats 20 hours per week, less than half the national average l presume.

[dazmond]

for me its around 25-30 hours a week "on the glass" time but dont forget the other work thats involved in running a window cleaning business(debt chasing,admin,purifying water,end of day jobs etc)which adds another few hours a week.

its still much better than working 55-60 hours a week that i used to do when i was an employee landscape gardening!

i sold some less profitable work a few years ago as it was all getting too much for me to do.i have at least  6 weeks off a year(2 for xmas,usually 2 holidays abroad for a week and another 2 weeks for rest at home,sickness,DIY etc)

i usually get my work done mon-fri having most weekends off throughout the year.fri is usually a half day.of course this changes sometimes due to weather (esp in the winter months).sometimes i have the odd day free which i use for add on jobs.

i could work longer hours and take on more work but why would i?im happy with my work/leisure time balance.anymore hours and i would get really bored/sick of window cleaning.

i also need to fit in 3 hard weight training/cardio sessions a week(lasting 75-90 mins each)and usually a 3 hour band rehearsal playing drums(or a gig instead),see the girlfriend,family and take the dog out!

thats without all the normal crap we have to do(housework,food shopping,washing,DIY jobs etc)

[Dave Anderson]

Not having to work 40 - 60 hours a week, having most weekends off,  8 full days off out of a 8 weekly/40 day work scheduled/cycle with a few early finish days. Rarely more than 6 hours on the glass any given day.

An annual income which pays the bills, equipment costs, holidays, winter slush fund, hobbies and some spare readies to buy the wife something nice every now and then. Not having to fret about dropping/losing the odd customer here and there.

Having an active 'Find & Replace' list based on get 2 to replace 1 i.e repeat later payers, PITAC/PITAH. Yup got some very badly priced work and some prices could do with some serious attention.... But thats all in the pipeline (at some stage).

6 - 8 weeks off during December to Feb which includes 3 weeks actual 'hot holiday' and 3 weeks at home and another 2 weeks for bad weather days if required paid by 'Winter slush fund'.

Have to admit as I have written this and re-read a few times...I'm surprised I bitch about my work so much  ... Who would have thought that being a humble shiner would be so good !!!

Cheers Dave.

[nathankaye]

Mines monday to thursday, 5 hours per day.

At the min lm still building so fridays are first clean days and saturdays too if need be, which lm happy to do.

Thats 20 hours per week, less than half the national average l presume.

Am i right in saying you have about 270 customers a month or is that someone else??
If this is yourself, why is their a need to insist on working full tume hours monday to friday or is it because they are badly priced or your cost of living is quite high??

The purpose of being self employed for me is that 1, not being paid pittance to make someone else rich like employed people are. 2, not to be slaving away for many hours a week but to enjoy the perks of being self employed.

Ive not counted how many customers i collectively have, but im guessing its around 300 or just less. Its nice to get the new work but im not overly concerned with that as you always pick up new customers but at the same time you always loose the odd customers (through death or moving for instance).

Ive worked on windows for many years and now im gettingbround my work quickly and efficiently mostly since going onto wfp. So i can enjoy long wknds off without worrying that i have a day off and i need to fill that day with more work......im not that crazy.

So to me it sounds like your round is full but it might require fine tuning (adjusting the prices) and/or enjoy the fact that you dont have to work as hard as employed people for a full week because you are self employed.

[Stoots]

You are probably full when you start getting stressed about getting behind and its happening frequently.

6 hours a day Mon to Fri is enough physical work but don't forget you can spend quite a few extra hours each week cleaning/tidying the van, ordering and fixing gear, filling tank and maintenance, chasing debts, sending letters, leafletting, marketting,emailing,doing taxes etc.

I probably spend 25-30 hours a week physically doing the job,another 10 dealing with all the other stuff and the rest of my life thinking about window cleaning, strategising and refining etc.  Its a full time job.

[p1w1]

A full round is simply having enough work for the amount of work you wish to do. I'm slightly more laid back nowadays all this stressing about getting behind etc is pointless (unless you employ as there is wages to pay) as long as there is a full days work every day i wish to work then all is good.
Some months when i'm up for it (generally through summer)  ill really crack on as do as much as possible other months i may take a few days off here and there to just do nothing.  Customers dont give a monkeys if your a week late or more as long as they see you on a general regular bases do a good job all will be fine. The only people i have found who mark their calendar are usually over 70   
Although i agree with all the other bits added it is a full time job.

[Tosh]

Exactly. I don't get this having to stick to a schedule malarkey. Give me a full days work, that's all I want.


I spent all day last Wednesday in London pricing up work and will do so next Wednesday. You need to be flexible.

[dazmond]

You are probably full when you start getting stressed about getting behind and its happening frequently.

6 hours a day Mon to Fri is enough physical work but don't forget you can spend quite a few extra hours each week cleaning/tidying the van, ordering and fixing gear, filling tank and maintenance, chasing debts, sending letters, leafletting, marketting,emailing,doing taxes etc.

I probably spend 25-30 hours a week physically doing the job,another 10 dealing with all the other stuff and the rest of my life thinking about window cleaning, strategising and refining etc.  Its a full time job.

so i work roughly  the same as you hours wise "on the glass" with around 5 hours less "non window cleaning work" a week and even with 6 weeks off my annual turnover is £40,000+.hoping to get up to £45,000 this year without working any more hours.

[dazmond]

A full round is simply having enough work for the amount of work you wish to do. I'm slightly more laid back nowadays all this stressing about getting behind etc is pointless (unless you employ as there is wages to pay) as long as there is a full days work every day i wish to work then all is good.
Some months when i'm up for it (generally through summer)  ill really crack on as do as much as possible other months i may take a few days off here and there to just do nothing.  Customers dont give a monkeys if your a week late or more as long as they see you on a general regular bases do a good job all will be fine. The only people i have found who mark their calendar are usually over 70   
Although i agree with all the other bits added it is a full time job.

i get behind when i go on holiday(well i move my work forward!).thats fine but i dont want to get behind schedule any other time because i lose money.over the course of a year it could be thousands i lose out on.no thanks.

[Stoots]

You are probably full when you start getting stressed about getting behind and its happening frequently.

6 hours a day Mon to Fri is enough physical work but don't forget you can spend quite a few extra hours each week cleaning/tidying the van, ordering and fixing gear, filling tank and maintenance, chasing debts, sending letters, leafletting, marketting,emailing,doing taxes etc.

I probably spend 25-30 hours a week physically doing the job,another 10 dealing with all the other stuff and the rest of my life thinking about window cleaning, strategising and refining etc.  Its a full time job.

so i work roughly  the same as you hours wise "on the glass" with around 5 hours less "non window cleaning work" a week and even with 6 weeks off my annual turnover is £40,000+.hoping to get up to £45,000 this year without working any more hours.

30 hours is about right for me physically. More than that and I'm getting bored/tired/fed up.

Looking at increasing turnover too but will be going the employee route. Got a family member doing 1 day a week starting at somepoint soon. So will see how that works, hopefully if all goes well I will keep employing and growing.