[JSMC]

basically if i go full time into htis i am leaving what looks likea good career behind me. i have final salry pension, paid sick leave, holiday entitlement, college course, work for a very healthy company who have ben good with me.

at end of the day i am not unhappy in my job but i had last year something changed my outlook on life. it's no longe rbaout the job etc it's about me and what i want and be happy etc.

make my own decisions

[Rayleigh Window Cleaning Services]

Some great answers.

Having started my own business in 1980 I can honestly say I can only feel pride in what I do.I have built a strong company with great customers who trust me 100%. Thats what I try to always put in.

Lots of people out there who hate or are not happy in what they do for a living.

I dont give a stuff what other people think, I provide for my family and keep a roof over our heads.

Dont ever feel embarrassed about your work.

Regards

Steve  

[L.J.Thorpe]

i started window cleaning because it was a quick way out of a job that i had grown to hate (printing)and because the outlay to get up and running was minimal.I didnt think i would spend more than a few months or a year at most doing it and viewed it more as a way of earning a living wage while looking at other careers or training.Somehow it didnt work out like that and it just sort of became a small business without that much effort on my part .Now i am just concentrating on refining the round further and maybe investing in some gear for cons cleaning.All in all i am well happy with my lot :)all the usual pro,s of being self employed outweigh the con,s imo.Proud? well i aint doing the "shout it from the rooftops" bit ,on the other hand tho i sure aint embarassed either

[macmac]

I am not embarrased at all, infact i find peoples perceptions amusing & i use them to my benefit & amusment.

As far as customers are concerned I actualy encourage their perception that it's a tough job & making ends meet is sometimes a struggle ( while i'm proudley smiling inside ). Most (not all) customers would dread the thought that my hourley rate is 2-3 times that of theirs, i work when i want, hardley have any debt etc.etc. As long as they think they are in a better position than me & i am only their w/cer they will happily pay me & not moan when i put my prices up. I have an excellent relationship with all my custy's BUT, I'm sure if many of them knew exactly what i earned from them & the easy-going lifestyle that the job gives me then i think this would affect their attitude towards paying me what they do. I am smartley dressed, polite, friendly, professional & good at my job BUT I would never dream of letting a custy into my little secret

As far as friends etc. go i just grin back & say- I know, but where else would i get 150 to 200 quid a day with no stress, minimal overheads, cake & tea thrown at me all day, every weekend off, work when I want, my own boss, have total control of my own finances, monthly income constantley growing with no effort etc.etc. After a (usualy long & though provoking silence) the conversation swiftley moves on funnily enough

Never be concerned with what others think, there isn't enough time in life. As long as you are happy & the job gives you what you require then that's what counts IMO.

[simon knight]

Never be concerned with what others think, there isn't enough time in life. As long as you are happy & the job gives you what you require then that's what counts IMO.

100% correct

[macmac]

For the ones who are in the "keeping up with the Jones's" circle there is only one outcome to their lives, a sure sharp road to constant pressure, an un-happy home life & usualy lots of debt! I know many people like this, i just pitty them

Tony

[Jago]

My Grandad used to say he was a Diamond Polisher
they never used to ask about his money then
If he said Window cleaner he used to have people try and justify his earnings

I have had it now I started off a window cleaner then IT gone back to W\C for sanity

people say to me, my god what a change of direction?
it cost me my marrige and that I am ashamed of that and only that.
I am now happy and chilled before I was stressed and unhappy, Go Figure

I would rather them look down at me and laugh at me behind my back for working in all weathers
are they really on £25 - £40 an hour with no one but themselves to answer too?

If they are then we are Equals if not let them live there life in there litlle narrow minded world and we can have the last laugh
Regards J

[tompoole]

hi

YOU ARE NOT ONLY A WINDOW CLEANER! your friends if employed are ONLY doctors ,accountants office workers, sales men / women plumbers, brickies , managers printers, designers etc etc or what ever politicly correct or important title they can think up.

Listen be more confident You run your own business ,yes  its labour intensive but you do the lot so you work in sales and marketing , admin , payrole , bookkeeping management labour , procurement etc etc etc don't ever value somebody elses job more highly than your own after all you now have experiance in many more fields than you did when you did the 9/5 job so get on with it and forget about what people are thinking, and think more about selling your own business, cos thats wot u r, a BUSINESS MAN!!

[windowwashers]

try telling people you are a vision technican sounds miles better

lol

I have said as few times I was a vision enhancement technican a few times they tended to get baffled and say that sounds really technical 

[Jason Atwell]

ALL MEN ARE EQUAL!
SOME ARE JUST MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS!
 

[alan andrewswestsi]

the so called stigma of being a window cleaner is actually a positive because for as long as people say oh he,s only a window cleaner then it obviously puts people off getting involved in what is a cracking business , let them look down on you who cares

[AuRavelling79]

the so called stigma of being a window cleaner is actually a positive because for as long as people say oh he,s only a window cleaner then it obviously puts people off getting involved in what is a cracking business , let them look down on you who cares

Spot on!

But also ... don't be defined by your occupation - ask yourself: what kind of husband, father, son, brother, uncle, friend am I?

Way more important! IMHO

[gary999]

who cares what people think life too short!!

rather be concerning myself with earning good money on my own terms
and enjoying my life

[peter holley]

when i pick the kids up from school...i often wonder how many other fathers have finished,and whether they have earn't x amount....also has their day been as stress free as mine...

but i do get a bit annoyed sometimes....eg  i am moving house hopefully soon..and i have been shopping around for different mortgage deals...
anyway i was talking to a financial advisor earlier ... his attitude changed when i told him i'm a w/c  , infact he was quite rood....

i felt like putting him straight....but i'v got used to letting it go over my head...

each year that i progress my smile of satisfaction grows

[Terry_Burrows]

in 2006 I was in Tampa Bay Florida doing a TV comercial with Kim and Aggee,very nice there ok! but it was there manager, lady after having some drinks with her,put me down by say just that,yer but u are only a window cleaner I can tell u guys I pulled no punches in what I said to her,how very dare she, she no like me no more tough she sounded as common as muck just because,she has people on her books that are very famous,

so I dont care who or what they are dont slag as off for what we do.or are
so it dont just happen to u guys I am right with you

[Feen]

If I'm honest....both.

[cbcs]

Very proud! 

Top of the world me.

[Ian Rochester]

My daughter is proud that her dad is a cleaner/window cleaner/carpet cleaner/ etc.

We clean for a lot of her friends houses and I'm not a bit embarrassed about it, neither is she, we have 4 vans, all the latest equipment, everyone is uniformed and professional ........... and we do a good job and  have a good reputation, why should I, or anyone be embarrassed about that?

[Village Gleam]

We are not alone in having doubts.
Actors, even the top well known ones such as Kim and Agee spend most of their life unemployed. This leads to insecurity and having to constantly suck up to producers etc. Meanwhile self esteem is built by putting others down, such as Terry.
Have you heard Teachers moan about how undervalued they are by society? Market traders can't even get van insurance. Farmers incomes are below the national poverty level. Doctors get abuse on home visits- ambulance men and fire people regulary get called out to have stones thrown at them.

For the most part we're ignored. Good.

[frames to panes]

Very embarassed for the first six months and like Mr Thorpe it was the only way to get out of a dead end printing job. I felt very sad for my seven year old at school too. However over a year down the line and i couldn't care less what people think! I had to double check my figures this week for four and a half days work because i couldn't believe it. Total control over my life, no more crummy shifts, no more petty rules, no more pleading for holiday dates six months in advance, no compulsory overtime, much less pressure, hold my daughters hand on the way to school.  Embarrased? not any more.