Hey, I'm James and I'm 18. I'm new to this forum and new to window cleaning. I have no experience of or in window cleaning so bear with me, I appologise if I appear ignorant or stupid. At the moment I'm a supervisor in a supermarket, the pay's okay for the hours I do, but it's not challenging, no matter how well I do a job there are no rewards, no job satisfaction. I work really hard at work because I like to do a job well but I've always wanted to be my own boss, run my own business. 1 - Because the work you put in is rewarded, your business grows. 2 - I'd like to earn a decent wage, although my current ones okay for the hours I do, at some point I'll need something more to have anywhere near enough money to get a mortgage and a better car, and I suppose a better life in general. At the moment I'm doing 25 -30 hours a week, at £6.27 an hour, about £650 a month.
So why my interest in Window cleaning? Well it allows me to be my own boss. The work I put in is rewarded, I'd love to make an excellent job and build my reputation. Pride is really important to me. The possibilities and opportunities are pretty big. I also enjoy working outdoors, so it'd be great.
The one thing that's stopped me in the past is my slight fear, or uneasyness of hights. I don't mind being high up, just I can't look down and feel a bit uneasy and uncomfortable about it. It's one thing that in the past has resulted in me being closed off to the idea of becoming a window cleaner. This was until recently, when my window cleaner began using one of the water fed poles, that allowed him to clean our windows within about 20 minutes without the need for ladders. Suddenly the option to become a window cleaner filled me with excitement, it became a real possibility.
So, I've been doing some research and obviously as I'm uneasy with heights, should I start I'd want a water fed pole system from the begining, so I'd need a van, a WFP system, and the motivation to work very hard. I've got the latter but need the first two. I'd probably be looking to spend around £750 on a van, and £700 for a WFP system. I've drawn up a financial forecast to consider and predict costs, revenue and profit and accured losses. For my start up costs, I've estimated I'd need £2015; £750 for the van, £700 for the system, £100 for marketing, with an additional 30% just in case I haven't accounted for any additional costs or unforeseen problems. For a business loan of this ammount (£2015) the monthly repayments would be £65.76, at a rate of 11.9% on a 3 year term. (That's from Natwest).
I'm aiming to charge £7 per house, (I'm in Lincolnshire, near Spalding. This is what my window cleaner charges, is it reasonable?) and aim to get 50 customers my first month, 65 the second, 85 the third, 109 the fourth, 142 the fifth, and 185 the sixth. I've estimated that I'll be in the profit by month five, with £424.28. And hopefully continue expanding thereafter. Do you see this as reasonable and realistic?
Is there anything else I'd need to account for? Any tips or advice?
It'd be much appreciated. Thanks.