[bluez]

I am not in the habit of repeating myself
sorry about that

[gordonswindows]

You all have the right idea in the wrong way

Forget about good bad employees, forget about employees as people

if you can't manage that you will never succeed as an employer

If you can be friends with the people who work for you that's great but they don't come to work for the friendship ,they come for the money

the secret of employing is systems. You already have as a sole trader your own system of how to clean windows

now you have to employ other people to clean windows your way

take away their personality, their strengths/weakness' and make them follow YOUR system

don't let them say " but i thought if i did this" or " i think" NO just follow the system

Systems systems systems. if your employee can't or won't follow your system get rid.

Best example is McDonalds. They make the same chip fried in the same oil for the same length of time no matter who makes it as long as they follow the tried and tested system

some of you will disagree and that is your right but you will still be wrong

the successful business' of this world are the system based one's the other's just come and go

last bit of my own opinion is if you have to ask if you should employ DON'T. As the old saying goes if there is a doubt there is no doubt.

cheers

Gordon

[groundhog]

Good post Gordon, but I don't think that the question being asked is 'should I employ' but 'How should I employ' I know myself that I really need to start employing to progress my business to the next stage, I am just unsure of the best way to do this. 

[Ian Rochester]

I have 4 lads working for me permanently window cleaning and 14 staff now in total, I took my first window cleaner on 6 months after starting the business.

How do we work it?  my window cleaners and carpet cleaners and any others where they are not having to go in for a fixed time scale (office and domestic cleaners), are paid piece work, ie they get paid for the work they do.

If our window cleaners go out and earn £200 a day for the business, then we pay them a percentage of that.  As a result they often earn more than £100 / day on good rounds with no overheads or hassle. 

However if they don't go out, or the weather is really bad, then they either don't get paid, or get very little.  It's swings and roundabouts.

Some people like the idea, others don't, I employ the people who like the idea because they are the ones who aren't scared of work and won't just sit on their arses if it starts drizzling on or take a wage for doing the minimum they can get away with.

We now have in excess of 1500 domestic and commercial properties that get cleaned on a monthly basis and even with the weather we've had lately, they are bang up to date with the rota.

I only go out to clean windows now when I have someone on holiday or is on the sick, however, I can't remember when the last person was on the sick.

[jhagger]

i too am in a similar situation at the  moment i have a friend working for me full time but is set up as self employed. hadn't thought anything of it until the other day thinking about taking on another as picking up work all the time. up until now i have been paying him a lump every week directly into his account from mine but am wondering if i should be doing this or if it would be better to withdraw the cash and then give to him?? if i was to do it this way would i still be able to class this as expenditure on my returns as there would then be no proof of me putting it anywhere?or is it ok to be paying into his account as he is self employed? any help would be gratefull!

[seandyer2003]

i too am in a similar situation at the  moment i have a friend working for me full time but is set up as self employed. hadn't thought anything of it until the other day thinking about taking on another as picking up work all the time. up until now i have been paying him a lump every week directly into his account from mine but am wondering if i should be doing this or if it would be better to withdraw the cash and then give to him?? if i was to do it this way would i still be able to class this as expenditure on my returns as there would then be no proof of me putting it anywhere?or is it ok to be paying into his account as he is self employed? any help would be gratefull!

theres question answer online form on hmrc website as to what the actual status of a worker is ie employed/self employed, so if they say he is employed, you might be better paying cash or doing paye!

[markbonham]

IF ANYONE IS LOOKING TO EXPAND THEIR WINDOW CLEANING BUSINESS AND ADVICE ON THE BUSINESS SIDE CALL THE CANVASSING KINGS 07591 250 517 OR LOOK AT EBAY UNDER 'Window Cleaning Rounds For Sale'. Very good at pricing and can build up rounds very quickly!!

[groundhog]

I have 4 lads working for me permanently window cleaning and 14 staff now in total, I took my first window cleaner on 6 months after starting the business.

How do we work it?  my window cleaners and carpet cleaners and any others where they are not having to go in for a fixed time scale (office and domestic cleaners), are paid piece work, ie they get paid for the work they do.

If our window cleaners go out and earn £200 a day for the business, then we pay them a percentage of that.  As a result they often earn more than £100 / day on good rounds with no overheads or hassle. 

However if they don't go out, or the weather is really bad, then they either don't get paid, or get very little.  It's swings and roundabouts.

Some people like the idea, others don't, I employ the people who like the idea because they are the ones who aren't scared of work and won't just sit on their arses if it starts drizzling on or take a wage for doing the minimum they can get away with.

We now have in excess of 1500 domestic and commercial properties that get cleaned on a monthly basis and even with the weather we've had lately, they are bang up to date with the rota.

I only go out to clean windows now when I have someone on holiday or is on the sick, however, I can't remember when the last person was on the sick.

This is very iinteresting, thankyou for this post! can you tell me are the four window cleaners employed by you, or are they self employed? Also do you supply the vans and equipment ect, and do they collect the money for you as well? Thanks for the help! 

[Clive McDonald]

There are a good mix of skills on this site, lionheart, gordon,ww, and m clean, seem to me very good leaders.They don't bother too much with the thinking it's more about the doing.

My skill sets are more on the thinking than the doing side.Most of us are already successfull or we wouldn't be here but it's using our strenghts and papering over the cracks where we are a bit week that's the hard part.

[matt]

well ive now been offered 19 K of comercail work PA and its 100 %

its mostly close to the M25, surrey, some in essex aswell

i woul dneed to equip a van, pay a % to the group who have got me the work  and take some1 on to do it

im not sure 19 K is quite enough

[Clive McDonald]

I've always respected your abilities too, but you seem to have this working man thing that stops you wanting to be a boss.
My critisisms of you;

1. A slacker.  (withdrawn because you obviously work quite hard now)
2. Lack of ambition (also withdrawn)
3. Not seeing owning a van as important (withdrawn)
4.Not taking from here what others have found successful.(stuck in the rut of your own ideas)

[Clive McDonald]

On the specifics it sounds good, and I beleive this is how these things work, and you are obviously trusted, so in all probabiltiy more will follow on the same terms.

You might have to work five or six days a week with long hours, but this wouldn't be forever. After two years things would get easier.

[matt]

I've always respected your abilities too, but you seem to have this working man thing that stops you wanting to be a boss.
My critisisms of you;

1. A slacker.  (withdrawn because you obviously work quite hard now)
2. Lack of ambition (also withdrawn)
3. Not seeing owning a van as important (withdrawn)
4.Not taking from here what others have found successful.(stuck in the rut of your own ideas)

point 4 is very true, im of the opinion that if its working now, then why change it, i guess its because im happy with my lot at the moment ( i have a nice life )
the cost of equiping a 2nd van with a 650 L van mount is nothing,

im seriously considering this work though, i have even done some sketch's of a inside of a van ( its a VW LT 35 ) 650 L tank under a false floor, with sleeping / living arragment above, that way the guy can work the hours he likes, sleep in the van and when the job is done return home

[Ian Rochester]

They are all on the books, 24 days holiday, we supply all the equipment, vehicles, uniforms.  They collect the money if people are in, otherwise they leave a slip and it's paid either by cheque or online within 7 days.   They are also able to price up new work if required.

We don't go out collecting anymore.  Also we use George software and find it on the whole to be excellent, would like to see it able to do a couple of extra reports