[dragonet]

Hi all,
you will see from my earlier posts that I am in the middle of setting up my cleaning empire

I picked up some work from this forum (THANKS TOSH)
but I had a little idea that might bring me more
and I would like to share it with you all.

I placed a free ad in our local ad trader asking for work for sale last week and guess what at the last count I have been offered from 2 people approx 6000 pounds worth of work per month Not only that but I have had individual households ringing me telling me about areas that can't get window cleaners

I am meeting one of the guys who offerd me a 10 year established round (Domestic and Comercial) taking 4000 per month the price is very  very reasonable and the bank has already give me the nod

So If anybody is seriously thinking of starting in window cleaning then do what I am doing remember the ad was free and i did it online in two minutes flat!!

On one last note: I would never have made it this far if it was not for this forum, thanks guys.

Got to go my new scrims have finished there boil wash

Martin

[Philip Hanson]

Glad to hear your doing well, well done Martin.

A word of caution though, buying work is often a bit of a gamble.  Make sure you see a good slice of the round (at least a third) and the prices charged before you part with your cash.

Also, ask how long ago it was worked.  If its not up-to-date (and many for sale are not) , the customers may have already found new window cleaners.  Some people will guarantee their sold work, thats great.

Hope it works out ok!

-Philip

[dragonet]

Thanks for the encouragment Phil every bit helps.

I spent three hours driving around with the guy and a printed out booklet on my lap with every house number, price and what windows needed doing in it.
He showed me every house and I was very happy with the prices he is charging. (very nice area ) He also showed me the piont in the round he is currently at so I can hopfully just start where he left off.

On Monday I plan on Posting each household with a copy of a letter from the former owner and a note from me informing them of the changes and apologising in advance for any short delay in service and if they had any problem to contact myself. I think that will help releave the pressure a little, What do you think people is there a better way?

I walked out of work on Friday for the last time today after 10 years I must say it was a solum moment and had to remind myself why I'm doing it !! The boys had a stainless steel bucket engraved with 140 quid inside
brought a bit of a lump to my throut but the money covered the money I had to spend on public liability  

Anyway thanks for the advice once again it all helps.

Onwards And Upwards

Martin  

[sham33]

Has he introduced you to any of the customers. If i was buying a round i would want to be introduced to every single one before i parted with my cash. Be carefull.

[dragonet]

Hi sham,
thank you for the advice.
I was introduced to the commercials which I cleaned on Tuesday.
As for the domestics there are 450 of them and not even I would like to go around every single customer it would take days. However I have all the books going back as far as January.  The customers are used to different faces as the previous owner employed 4 boys.

I was going to post a letter through every household to inform them of the changes but decided against is in the end  

I started the first domestic work Yesterday I introduced myself to the customers who where  home and they where fine about it infact had a two pound tip off the very first house for taking paint splashes of the kitchen window (that did pick up my confidence up a bit ) and she introduced me to a friend who wants her windows cleaned

As for the customers who where not in I used the call slips from the previous owner as I am continuing to use his bussiness name for a couple of months so not to rock the boat and let all the customers get used to my face first.

I had a  baptism of fire yesterday the close I had to do had massive bay windows upstairs which took four ladder rises to complete All where white upvc windows and the frames took an age to clean ( it does not look like the previous owner did them) only did about nine houses (worth 70 pounds) and I am aching from head to foot which suprised me as I have been a gardener for nearly 20 years and thought I was reasonably fit.

I noticed with upvc windows the sills are quite slippery for the ladder and I was struggling to reach the top of the center panes in the bay and felt a little unsafe so ran down the hardware shop bought two sets of mole grips taped up the teeth as not to scratch the upvc and just clamped them either side of the ladder on the sills.
the first house i tried it on it took a minute or so to get the adjusment right but after that I just run up the ladder secure the clamp no sideways movement at all takes about 10 seconds to attach
Is there a tool around that does this already?
If not I might lock myself in the shed for a day and Fashion up something that does not look so crude perhaps make the clamps so they are attached to the ladder.

Does anybody use stand offs,  and if so does this mean I can place the ladder up higher to reach the top of the windows and does the extra height get in the way of cleaning the lower part of the window?

Anyway sorry to waffle on but the wife is getting fed up with me talking windows and I just got to get to get it out of my system

Martin
Optical Aluminator Inhancer  

[advanced]

Do yourself a favoue and get a  wfp system  , no l, and twice the speed.addders

[dragonet]

I am really thinking about buying a water fed system
I saw an ad in the april issue of window talk showing a new reach and wash system with van from eight pounds a day plus vat from ionic systems limited.

What puts me off is that I might get a negative reaction
from domestic customers I don't want to spend lots of money on a system and the bulk of my domestics refuse to have there windows done with this system. Has anyone else used them on domestics and what was the reaction of your customers

[pjulk]

Regarding your ladders are you using standard ladders.

If so invest in a double A frame you can position them in a lot more ways than a standard ladder and even put them on the frame in between the glass

I think you would feel a lot safer with these

Paul