[Davew]

Looking at some of the rounds for sale that come up now and again with descriptions like £40 easily attainable per hour or fifty thousand plus per year, it makes me wonder why anyone would want to sell? Most on here agree windowcleaning is a great way to earn a living and if i could build my round to 50k per year then boy would i be happy! I can understand it if someone is retiring or has poor health but can't understand people leaving the trade with that income?

[groundhog]

Building up a round to the value of £50,000 is a fairly easy thing to do, the hard thing is keeping motivated enough to get that amount of work done day in and day out. So the rounds you have seen for sale probably do have the potential to earn 50k or £40 an hour, but you would have to work flat out every single day, something that many people are unable to maintain for long periods.

[Dean Aspects]

Building up a round to the value of £50,000 is a fairly easy thing to do, the hard thing is keeping motivated enough to get that amount of work done day in and day out. So the rounds you have seen for sale probably do have the potential to earn 50k or £40 an hour, but you would have to work flat out every single day, something that many people are unable to maintain for long periods.

Good point i have the potential to earn £10k per year more than i do but with holidays weather illness and lack of motivation i simply cannot do this although it would be nice
I find that i can work flat out for maybe a couple of weeks then i need a slower week to catch my breath again then hard at it again

Dean

[Kwackers]

Yes like aspects says.

Everyone should be able to work 9-5 5 out of 7 no problems, with 4-8 week break depending on how lazy you are.

The round your talking about generates £54,000 every 4 weeks, that's £1038 a week, so have a 4 week break your gross is less than £50k and an 8 week break £45k gross.

Still a bloody good wage.

[Andy@w.c.s]

You mean you don't all earn that
What are you doing

Only joking
motivation is the main thing with everything
when i came back from holidayi was full of it ,I had a very good few weeks
and then comes the bordom and the same old same old
somtimes its not about the money ,but about trying to find the right balance
Just my thoughts
Andy

[Kwackers]

Your both right with the motivation side of things.

Everyone knows what they need to average over a month/ a day to pay bills and still have a bit to do the usual social things, so after that, it depends WHY you are working, if you have no reason to work long days, personally, i wouldn't!

[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Hi Folks,

I read this post with interest as it is PRECISELY about the problem I have:

I have a good potential round on the books (sorry folks I won't mention figures)

It is theoretically possible for me to do it all in a 35hr week 4 weeks per month.

BUT...........................

I start of well.....do a bit over the daily target ....................Then........
Something or other gives me a bad day and I am behind
Then I start to loose motivation and belief that I can get back on track

I have the long term aim and motivation to achieve

But it's trying to keep up the work daily that's a problem

Now, thanks for this post, it has made me think about how I can overcome my problems, and if this helps any of you folks out there then even better

I think I have to tackle 2 points:
1.  What is the "something or other" that knocks me of coarse?
2.  How can I find the strength to fight back when I do get a bit behind?

Let's try and keep this post going as I feel it will be of great help to us all.

AND PLEASE BE HONEST!  We,re all in the same boat.

David

[Paul Coleman]

Hi Folks,

I read this post with interest as it is PRECISELY about the problem I have:

I have a good potential round on the books (sorry folks I won't mention figures)

It is theoretically possible for me to do it all in a 35hr week 4 weeks per month.

BUT...........................

I start of well.....do a bit over the daily target ....................Then........
Something or other gives me a bad day and I am behind
Then I start to loose motivation and belief that I can get back on track

I have the long term aim and motivation to achieve

But it's trying to keep up the work daily that's a problem

Now, thanks for this post, it has made me think about how I can overcome my problems, and if this helps any of you folks out there then even better

I think I have to tackle 2 points:
1.  What is the "something or other" that knocks me of coarse?
2.  How can I find the strength to fight back when I do get a bit behind?

Let's try and keep this post going as I feel it will be of great help to us all.

AND PLEASE BE HONEST!  We,re all in the same boat.

David

I know this may sound unbelievable but in the past it has sometimes just been 3 or 4 customers who I've allowed to affect my motivation.  What I used to do was delay and delay going to certain places because I just didn't want to work for certain people and that somehow slowed me down.  I would waste a lot of energy thinking through the next negative conversation that they would try to start and how I would overcome it.  Stuff like that can wear me down over time but it wasn't until I started analysing my business a bit more that I realised it.  One customer actually used to follow me around while I was cleaning making negative comments about WFP.  I know it sounds silly but stuff like that can have a negative effect on motivation if allowed to seep through too often.  These days, they probably follow their next window cleaner around making negative comments about their detergent or the colour of the water in their bucket.  I wouldn't know because I actually ditched the worst two and I make sure that there is never an opening for a conversation with the rest.
It would be better I suppose if I were a bit thicker skinned but I would rather work for people where I don't have to be.

[Andy@w.c.s]

Hi  All
I have the same ,Just a few customers that i dont like going too
I can't put my finger on it
Maybe its the house or the customer i don't know
I"ve never had a run
in with any of them and the prices are good , I just seem to get this negative vibe
Perhaps some of the people on hear might be able to give us some practical tips on staying motivated

[windowwashers]

Hi  All
I have the same ,Just a few customers that i dont like going too
I can't put my finger on it
Maybe its the house or the customer i don't know
I"ve never had a run
in with any of them and the prices are good , I just seem to get this negative vibe
Perhaps some of the people on hear might be able to give us some practical tips on staying motivated

COUPLE I THINGS I TO TO MOTIVATE MYSELF:
I look for something i want (normally something to do with computers) I say to myself at the start of the day, if i hit target today I get to put a bit aside for what i want. I also break down my day in steps (say 25 steps as an example) now the fast I work the quicker the steps, count them down 25 24 23 etc etc when i get to about 9 or so left if motivation starts to go down, I think back to what I will be getting if I hit target for the day. this normally adds a little more motivation to me and I crack on.

Now this does not work everytime you hve to have more to work than just earning money, yes money is nice but getting it sometimes seems a nightmare on a long road that never ends. If you do not have and aim you will never hit a target. And if you dont set a target you cannot aim to get to the end of that long road. seems like I am talking aload of rubbish there but if you think about it you will see it is not.

A real good tip for motivation and getting happy in life:

One more thing do not listen to negative people, there are many out there and on this forum, positive attitude brings out the best in you, listen to positive comments and positive people will make you feel a whole lot better when you are down these are the people that give you the helping hand up out of the self destructive negative thought process. the negative thinkers will only drag you down to there negative way of thinking this is a fact and a place i lend not to let people drag me to. Be happy add a smile to your face even look in the mirror and smile at yourself  (try the mirror thing smile at yourself and let me kow if you feel a little better inside)


Well thats my input if it helps just one person then I have done what I set out to do and that is to make you feel add a smile to your day 

if you really want to get more motivated look for a book called: The magic of thinking big.
the book IMO is FANTASTIC 

[r4g1t]

i dont really feel motivation has ever been an issue for me
i love my work, which is motivation in itself, i love the banter with the lads and the customers, i love being on the road i even love the daily hiccups we come across i.e the awkward hard to get to window thats never been cleaned, i make it my mission to overcome these little problems.... and boy does it feel good when you succeed

[Paul Coleman]

Hi  All
I have the same ,Just a few customers that i dont like going too
I can't put my finger on it
Maybe its the house or the customer i don't know
I"ve never had a run
in with any of them and the prices are good , I just seem to get this negative vibe
Perhaps some of the people on hear might be able to give us some practical tips on staying motivated

COUPLE I THINGS I TO TO MOTIVATE MYSELF:
I look for something i want (normally something to do with computers) I say to myself at the start of the day, if i hit target today I get to put a bit aside for what i want. I also break down my day in steps (say 25 steps as an example) now the fast I work the quicker the steps, count them down 25 24 23 etc etc when i get to about 9 or so left if motivation starts to go down, I think back to what I will be getting if I hit target for the day. this normally adds a little more motivation to me and I crack on.

Now this does not work everytime you hve to have more to work than just earning money, yes money is nice but getting it sometimes seems a nightmare on a long road that never ends. If you do not have and aim you will never hit a target. And if you dont set a target you cannot aim to get to the end of that long road. seems like I am talking aload of rubbish there but if you think about it you will see it is not.

A real good tip for motivation and getting happy in life:

One more thing do not listen to negative people, there are many out there and on this forum, positive attitude brings out the best in you, listen to positive comments and positive people will make you feel a whole lot better when you are down these are the people that give you the helping hand up out of the self destructive negative thought process. the negative thinkers will only drag you down to there negative way of thinking this is a fact and a place i lend not to let people drag me to. Be happy add a smile to your face even look in the mirror and smile at yourself  (try the mirror thing smile at yourself and let me kow if you feel a little better inside)


Well thats my input if it helps just one person then I have done what I set out to do and that is to make you feel add a smile to your day 

if you really want to get more motivated look for a book called: The magic of thinking big.
the book IMO is FANTASTIC 

Not sure which book I read it in but in one book the author stated that he used to photocopy his bank statements.  He would then take scissors to the copy and would make up some outrageous numbers for his bank balance.  He would then photocopy the result.  He reckoned it worked very well for him for self motivation      .

[Davew]

I find i have the motivation whilst i am busy but when i hit a quiet patch like i have now i can't get the motivation to look for work. When i do start knocking it only takes two or three refusals and i sink rapidly into a kind of depression i suppose. I end up wasting fuel looking at different areas but not getting out to try. Drive off home and basically do nothing. I am a hard worker normally but consider myself a useless buisiness man.

[Paul Coleman]

I find i have the motivation whilst i am busy but when i hit a quiet patch like i have now i can't get the motivation to look for work. When i do start knocking it only takes two or three refusals and i sink rapidly into a kind of depression i suppose. I end up wasting fuel looking at different areas but not getting out to try. Drive off home and basically do nothing. I am a hard worker normally but consider myself a useless buisiness man.

Although the positive reply rate is much slower, maybe you would be better off trying leafletting instead of canvassing?
Instead of thinking "99% of these leaflets are going into their recycle bins" think" each leaflet I drop will get me 50p - £1 worth of work per year.  The maths are about right in my experience.  I spent an afternoon leafletting a while back.  Didn't count how many I put out but it was probably 300 - 500.  From that I only have two regular jobs so far at £20 and £17 with another likely to come on board eventually.  Just the two certain jobs (at 8 cleans per year) are worth  £296 for the year.  With the first clean rates and conservatory roof cleaning that goes up to somewhere around £370 for the year.  That's a lower return than I would usually expect too.  If I were to do that 3 afternoons per month that would probably end up as a grand a year extra after a month - though it can take a while to filter through.  Do it for a year and that's an extra 12 grand turnover.  I fully expect to get other enquiries from that batch of leafletting over the coming weeks plus, as it's a new area for me, I'm bound to get people asking for quotes when they see me working and there will probably be the odd referral.  Just from that one bit of leafletting I will probably add £1,00 a year to my turnover by this time next year.  No big deal but this isn't about bigshots IMO.  It's about little shots who keep shooting.

[Ian Lancaster]

I've been doing this job for close on 40 years, with the odd foray into other things, but always coming back, and I have to say I have very little trouble with motivation.

Every evening I plan my next days work and phone any customers who need notifying.  My list stops when the value of scheduled work reaches what I want to turn over each day.  Because it's planned, and people are expecting me, I get up the next morning knowing that barring accidents or hurricanes or similar, by about 3.00 oclock I'll have finished my days  work.

I couldn't imagine telling customers I was coming the next day, and then simply not turning up.

On the other hand I never worry about strict schedules - the work gets done about every four weeks but I don't make promises a month in advance - the night before is soon enough for me.

I'm a window cleaner - that's what I do and conscience wouldn't let me lie in bed or skive off on un-planned days off.  I only feel right if I've achieved what I intended at the end of the day.

If you train yourself you'll find, like me that the problem is to make yourself take time off, not the opposite.

[groundhog]

Great advice Ian, I only wish that I was as organised as you!!!

[Russell Macdonald]

Great advice Ian, I only wish that I was as organised as you!!!

Hi Hedgehog. 

I use Window Cleaner Pro, great & very easy to use, does all the organising for you & tells you who needs to be called, does accounts the lot, take a look & you could be as organised as us pro's. 

Macc

[Neil271052]

I think the prime reason for lack of motivation is that window cleaning is so boring. 

There's not a lot of thinking involved as with highly skilled trades.

It is a good way to earn a decent wage but the lack of any intellectual stimulus can have a negative effect on your brain IMO. 

[groundhog]

In some ways you are right about window cleaning being boring Neil, but I think that most jobs get boring after you have done them for a while, I think the main reason that many of us are earning less than our rounds can potentially earn is that it is far too easy to start late or finish early, in most other trades you just can't down tools and leave the job, and most are paid day rate which means you have to put in a full days work. This is one of the reasons that I took up window cleaning, the flexibility of it, and I like to be able to take the kids to school ect, but having sat down and worked it out, I can see that this flexibility is stopping me from making the most financially from my round!!

[Neil271052]

In some ways you are right about window cleaning being boring Neil, but I think that most jobs get boring after you have done them for a while, I think the main reason that many of us are earning less than our rounds can potentially earn is that it is far too easy to start late or finish early, in most other trades you just can't down tools and leave the job, and most are paid day rate which means you have to put in a full days work. This is one of the reasons that I took up window cleaning, the flexibility of it, and I like to be able to take the kids to school ect, but having sat down and worked it out, I can see that this flexibility is stopping me from making the most financially from my round!!

I agree Hoggy.

 There is more to life than money and the fact you can take your kids to school and do other stuff whilst the wage slaves still have their noses to the grindstone is definitely a great thing IMO.