[wcs.]

T

[pingu]

Persistance.

Put away & save the tax money.

Do not underprice to get the job.

Know everythng about the operation of your business.

When it's raining....leave the house, go park-up and wait for it to subside.

I am sure there are plenty more but here is my nonsense.

Dave.

[TDW]

Dont be a penny pincher. Invest in good equipment and good work. Think long term not just on trying to save a few quid here and there.
All those making good money have invested well.

Treat customers with respect but dont be pushed around.

[ronnie paton]

there a thousands of window cleaners so you have to STAND OUT and BE DIFFERENT.

offer a service second to none

look the part uniform van letter headed paper

get a a good schedule arrange work to maximise time

work very hard

be very motivated

work your cash flow well and dont bite of more than you can chew

invest wisely

when you employ it may not bring in instant profits but be patient

and remember to be a success is to achieve your goals, we all have different goals, some just want to earn good money some want to become a regional company

[pingu]

oooh, oooh...I just remembered another one....

Buy good quality workwear...i.e good workboots....Quality boots with Gortex....

I hate wet feet.....that'll drive me into the depths of depression everytime..

Dave.

[DASERVICES]

The simple answer is "YOU"

You need to sell yourself, then everyone will refer you on. 80% of my business has been from referals, have never advertised.

[ronnie paton]

but if you want to be a big company you need to advertise in my opinion if gives your company a good image

[Kev R]

but if you want to be a big company you need to advertise in my opinion if gives your company a good image

there a thousands of window cleaners so you have to STAND OUT and BE DIFFERENT.

offer a service second to none

look the part uniform van letter headed paper

get a a good schedule arrange work to maximise time

work very hard

be very motivated

work your cash flow well and dont bite of more than you can chew

invest wisely

when you employ it may not bring in instant profits but be patient

and remember to be a success is to achieve your goals, we all have different goals, some just want to earn good money some want to become a regional company

I couldn't really put that any better myself 

[frames to panes]

  so if your partime your not a success? That rules Matt out straight away!

[NWH]

All of the above + being WFP,you simply cannot turnover and keep up with a large amount of work any other way.

[peter holley]

you get out .....what you put in...

dont be cheap....but dont be too expensive..

work hard , but dont become a busy fool, better to work smart than working hard for nothing.

do a good job, and always go back and rectify a complaint .

set small and realistic goals.......

present yourself as a proffesional ....signwritten van etc.

when you find a way that works and reaches your targets ...stick to it!

dont become disheartened when youv knockrd doors for hours canvassing and found nothing....remind yourself of the times when you knocked for half an hour and found several nicely priced jobs.... and remind yourself that it will happen again many times as it always does.

read the forums and always listen with an open mind to other ideas  :

oh !!! and the most important....GO WATER FED POLE!

[Wayne Thomas]

Be polite  to your customers. Keep yourself motivated. Take a break from window cleaning when you're too stressed out from work if you can. Keep perservering as failure cannot live with persistency. Don't take rejection personally as it's part of business. Don't become a busy fool. Don't take on jobs that are too big for you alone and lastly don't put all your eggs in one basket.

[vivaro 013]

oooh, oooh...I just remembered another one....

Buy good quality workwear...i.e good workboots....Quality boots with Gortex....

I hate wet feet.....that'll drive me into the depths of depression everytime..

Dave.

1 off my pet hates as well wet feet, what are those good quality boots

[windowwashers]

oooh, oooh...I just remembered another one....

Buy good quality workwear...i.e good workboots....Quality boots with Gortex....

I hate wet feet.....that'll drive me into the depths of depression everytime..

Dave.

1 off my pet hates as well wet feet, what are those good quality boots

Northface are a good pair or shoes/boots

[pingu]

My boots are Meindl..they are a good quality German made boot....I have made the mistake of saving money on boots...never again....

Loads of other great quality makes out there.....but it is the gortex type material that makes it worthwhile....


Dave.

[Paul Coleman]

The simple answer is "YOU"

You need to sell yourself, then everyone will refer you on. 80% of my business has been from referals, have never advertised.

You hit the nail on the head there. Agree with you 100 %.   
   
But was hoping for more detail on what people do that actually improves, accelerates there business. Because of the steps they have (eventually) taken.


Ewan 

Persistence.  Just keep going back year on year, be polite but firm (where necessary), do a decent job, and it will happen.  That's for domestic W/Cing.  Commercial seems to be a bit different.  It seems to require more cold calling and/or advertising.  I've not got too much experience with larger commercial stuff.
Funnily enough, I have also found that putting the word out amongst other W/Cs is a good thing too.  Although WFP is more popular now, most W/Cs still don't use one.  I let it be known around that I'm happy to receive jobs that they are unable to do.  Some decent work has come my way through this.  I generally end up making a "donation" when someone passes work my way although no-one has ever yet asked for one.  I picked one up recently worth nearly a couple of grand a year like this.  He doesn't know it yet but he's got a nice surprise coming his way soon.

BTW.  I'm not particularly presenting my business as a success in its current form.  However, I do earn a good income for someone who has no special skills.  I've not currently got plans to build an empire but as I get older, I may start thinking more about earning from others' labour.

[Helen]

We had a long debate with someone years ago about the definition of "success" and everyone has their own definition of it.
As you progress your definition will probably change as does your business.
We think we are successful in what we have achieved over the years, as we have set goals and targets and reached and maintained them. We live comfortably, work less hours than when we were employed by others and are not so stressed. To us that is success. The other party argued with us saying that this is not success and we had no ambition!! Ok his point of view so fair enough
The other party debating with us said that "no-one is successful until they have many staff working for them and have work coming out of their ears which they can't cope with and can call themselves a large organisation"
Our point of view on that is that is not success that is stressful

So what is your defintion of success?

[classcleaning]

Hi buddy,
               You guys have already discussed a lot on this topic, but i also have some of my points which are useful for each and every topic.

               First do the Financial Planning for your business. Once you are done with it concentrate on your marketing strategies and also established a networking.

[NWH]

The saying a busy fool is so true,if you spend alday having to run your doing something wrong.Get rid of the deadwood or pass it on,lots of WC`s out there and a lot of busy fools.

[simon knight]

All of the above. But I'll add 2p's worth as well...!

You earn no money being indoors at home (unless you've planned to).

Need to get out of the house and see what's cooking.