[Rob_Mac]

Scud

When I bought my first wfp system I didn't go out and get more window cleaning customers to fund it I put a price increase onto every customer and they paid for my system.

If you want to employ put the increase in and there you have the money for your employee - work smart - not hard!!!!!

Rob

[scud]

  Rob

    Some prices will be rising soon, but with the economic climate as it is I think we need to be very careful at the moment.
  I have just bought another round that is priced very well, it fits in with alot of my work extremely well and would lend itself to a 2 man operation with it being possible to do 8/10 houses without moving the van (100m hoses), but to set that up I need to invest in new hoses, pumps etc, at the moment I am going to put the hours in and clean the full round twice to fund the equipment and pick up new customers, then the time will be right for an employee and price rises.

[matt]

I think 80k plus is good if you want a straight answer.Plenty of people such as doctors earn more. Life's upside down, i'm out in all weathers, and I work very hard. I do -by chance- my gp's house, now my house is okay, albeit on an estate, but his backs onto the golf course and has a two tennis courts in the back garden.

Where's the justice?

he spent years training, he also has a little more stress in his life, he makes decisions that can make or break lives 

we can pick up a pole and get on with it

[Ian Rochester]

Put prices up at your peril, in the current economic climate all you need is a 0.5 or 1.0% rise in interest rates and you will get them calling to cancel their window cleaners or look for cheaper suppliers.

Remember, window cleaning, like a lot of other cleaning services, is a relative luxury not an essential, can people survive without having their windows cleaned??  I think so!

[Wayne Thomas]

I put a retirement home up today by 5% just to keep up with inflation. If you don't put up your prices just because of the credit crunch and the state of the economy then you are not doing yourself any favours because basically you are taking a pay cut by not increasing your prices just to keep up with inflation. Be brave or lose out. Your choice.

[matt]

Very good posts from everybody, not just Midas. An excellent thread that restores faith in the forum. When I read the topic i thought, here we go.....

thats because i missed this post 

Many a true word spoken in jest!!


Mark

if you thought you had it bad with me , L.J has now found the post aswell 

[matt]

or flashing amber lights for my van

Already done, got one on my orange van!!!!! and 24hr callout on the side ( joke )

watch them now, the dawn of the 24 Hour callout window cleaner

£250 min call out charge

its the future, its orange and it flashes

[L.J.Thorpe]

Very good posts from everybody, not just Midas. An excellent thread that restores faith in the forum. When I read the topic i thought, here we go.....

thats because i missed this post

Many a true word spoken in jest!!


Mark

if you thought you had it bad with me , L.J has now found the post aswell

actually i have left it alone a bit lately,i even posted a polite and helpful reply (tho off topic) on the motorised reel post....however .....oh i really cant see the point in stirring up an argument with someone who thinks that the fact that his gp has a nicer house than him is an injustice (i am sure he will be on to tell us it was ironic and he missed the   off the end by mistake...at least i hope so)

[alanwilson]

it all depends on what you term a good wage - £1500/month?  £2000/month?  £2500/month??

I feel I make good money, its taken a lot of work to get here but you get out what you put in. 

i know guys making £5000/month from it (they have guys working for them)

[Niall McAllister]

does what you earn pay all the bills? yes/no
you see a little something in a shop, you can just buy it there and then? yes/no
the important one!
you sleep well at night and your family know how you are? yes/no

if you can answer yes to all these then that's a decent living
 
Niall

[Londoner]

The question I would like to ask is this.

What do you think you would be doing now if you weren't cleaning windows? Suppose that you hadn't taken the path in life that you did. Or for some reason you had to give up.

Then ask yourself, which is better. What are the alternatives? How much would you earn then?

  So far this thread has concentrated in income to decide what is a decent living. Im not disagreeing with that, but there is more to it than just money.

I would say look at the bigger picture, put all the factors, not just your income into the mix.

On that basis I think window cleaning gives me a pretty good living.

[JSMC]

for me it's about lifestyle if i go down the wC route. I have worked in companies  and saw backstabbing, sackings, redundancies etc. I have a god job with good prospects. sometimes in life this isn't everything. I had an awakending last year and feel my life has changed. Mu outlook is now different altogether.

i used to frown at people who came away with this crap, oh i have had an awakening. trust me  it has happened to me and i am forever grateful for the help i received from the person involved. I now credit them for changing my life and way of thinking

[frames to panes]

Funny you should say that, but it does happen particularly if it's a health scare - it turns your priorities right around - the materialistic life just flies out of the window.

[Helen]

Helen - are you Neil Williams wife or relative as you both have the holiday website on your entries ( sorry to take it off topic - noticed this the other day)

I'm the secret one..........shhhhhhh don't tell his wife
our secret meeting place can be found on that holiday website

[Helen]

The one problem I have is the inability to say "no" I take on jobs that are not really worth the bother. Help me be more selective

If you have trouble saying "no". we've all done it...brain screaming "no way" and mouth going "of course we will!!!!"
Jobs that your feel are really not worth the bother price them higher than normal. The custie may not accept the price - problem solved. If they accept at a hgh price then they won't be classed as "not worth the bother"

[suds window service]

it,s about life style change for me too example mon 6-5 tue 6-4 wed cleaning and trying to build my round today 11-9 fri 11-9 sat 6-5 sun oh have to do stock take 2-10.......plus as jsmc said the back stabbing ,bullying  that goes on in these places i must say that i hate every minute of it.  thats why i am working every spare minute to build a round.

[laddermonkee]

from some of the posts i have read and some of earnings claimed, am wondering where i am going wrong

What do you qualify as a decent living?

Andy

Sorry for the late reply, i would say about  £150 per day bearing in mind i live in the south. Good brickies would earn around that in london and the south, then when you take into consideration insurance, tax, N.I. ect. i don't think £150 per day would be unreasonable.

[Helen]

from some of the posts i have read and some of earnings claimed, am wondering where i am going wrong

What do you qualify as a decent living?

Andy

Sorry for the late reply, i would say about  £150 per day bearing in mind i live in the south. Good brickies would earn around that in london and the south, then when you take into consideration insurance, tax, N.I. ect. i don't think £150 per day would be unreasonable.

so if you think you are going wrong somewhere, what is your average day at the moment. £150.00 per day is achievable on your own, but again don't compare window cleaning with other trades

[geoffreyspecht]

can u really earn £150 a day cleaning windows

[NWH]

can u really earn £150 a day cleaning windows

Your new to this window cleaning lark arn`t you.