[frames to panes]

What mistakes have you made when starting out? Mine would be underestimating the cost of running a small business and thinking that an hourly rate double that of local factory work was brilliant, when in reality business wise it's not. Also mistaking how difficult it can be to build up a good compact round in a short time span. Everything else i seem to have got right, most of my equipment is ok, bought the right van etc. How about you?

[pingu]

Where to start....

Becoming too hot-headed with a few customers in my first year....I now will not dump a customer until the next day..gives me time to think.

Underpricing some extra's such at gutter/facia cleaning for exisiting customers.

Bought a 250l tank & a 24ft glass fibre pole...waste of time and money really..have now got a 650l and a 44ft c/f facelift pole...whether I fill the tank or not depends of the work load but nice to have some spare capacity....hated the worrying about running out...

Obviously I have underpriced some of my work and this will have to wait until it is addressed...read...When I have a full book...

All in all without this forum I would have made so many, many more....but there is still time for me to make more mistakes

Cheers
Dave

[frames to panes]

Oops, forgot the underpricing bit on guttering and conservatory cleaning, it always takes far longer and more effort than when i first price it up.

[m b shaw]

my biggest mistake was23 years ago when i first started,got nearly a whole village once a fortnight then one lady says can you do mine once a month of course i will i said, within 2 months the whole place was monthly and i had to find as much work again just to stand still.even now if my best customer wants to change i refuse because it spreads like a cancer and the other thing i ve noticed is because i m like this people respect me more as it seems i really don t need there custom and there glad of my
 services       mick

[scud]

  Not checking the proof of some leaflets and getting 10k with the  phone number one digit wrong!

  And not realising until I had put out a couple of thou, wondered why I wasn't having much success until a lady bothered to find my number and rang me to tell me - still do her windows to this day.

[Sanity]

Mistakes?  I make em every day.  Usually to do with underpricing.

Also believing that £150 a day for 5 hours work is a great wage (then having to work an additional 3 or 4 filling barrels, writing quotes, paperwork, unpaid stuff etc)

Letting the wife see my pocket of cash eat the end of each day...

Taking a week off cos I was bored.  Now working hard to catch up.

[L.J.Thorpe]

nipping home for lunch when the missus is at home :

[LWC]

corrr we all been there

basically mine are buying too small a van, struggling a little now, get through it but struggle at bringing anything else in it

spent far far too much on start up. and still paying for it now  :

pure water, van, tank (big as you can get), pump, controller, pole...keep it simple. its all you need. just get pure water to the window, thats it...simple

[Wayne Thomas]

Being hot headed and acting on impulse when I first started was a drawback for me. I now pause, give myself time to think, then reply carefully.
Underpriced a lot when I first started window cleaning. I didn't know what my local competitors were pricing at. Now I don't quote at the same price as others because I have my set prices which I stick to and won't compromise unless it's a big job that I could compromise on. I don't bother asking the customer what their previous window cleaner was charging them because if I've priced higher they normally tell me or I see a shock reaction on their face anyway. If they don't bat an eyelid I kick myself thinking, 'damned, I could have gone higher', lol and put it down to experience.
I wish window cleaning forums were around when I first started because I wouldn't have made half the mistakes I've made.
The last real mistake I've made was not increasing my prices on a regular basis. I do now.
In the past when I had a full round I wouldn't except any more new work. I do now. I will always take on better paying work to replace the worst work nowadays. I've always got a full round but always want new customers.

[matt]

not finding a off-shore bank account to hide my £750 a day earnings 

i heard of some1 on here who is a big earner who has built a garden shed out of gold bullion bars and rendered over it all with cement

its true i tell ya

[jonah]

Being 40 and looking back to when i was 20 and kicking myself for getting bored and thinking I could get a better job ! Oh well its not how you start its how you finnish  

[L.J.Thorpe]

i never knew you were finnish i thought you came from yorkshire

[TDW]

Tosh

You're an anorak and need to get a life! The £100 difference is because I lost a job worth that much. I was actually talking about myself. Well spotted though.

[Nathanael Jones]

My worst mistake when starting out was using my personal savings to setup and not having a separate bank account. A business should pay its own costs, they shouldn't come out of the owners pocket as they did mine for the first 12 months I was cleaning.
If I could do it all again, a business startup loan would be top of the list, separate accounts from day 1, and me just taking a wage after all the expenses, tax and vat is paid.
I'd also go for a bigger van first day (Relay/Ducato/Boxer size), and go straight for the van mount + backpack setup,... forget the trolley, it just doesn't suit my work.