[Tosh]

Sir John Harvey-Jones said (with regards to improving any business):

Well, luck and I think probably the most important thing is the ability to listen.  You can't just do your own thing.  You've got to listen to your employees, you've got to listen to your customers, or sometimes listen to old farts like me.

So can any old farts (or young ones) give us any tips for improving our window cleaning businesses. 

I could do with a few tips!

[DaveG]

dont listen to old farts.....

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I think this guy qualifies.  He's got a lot to say.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCzlBFVOTU

[tomy jackson]

wear not all stuk in the passt as im hot WFP . and if you nead a tip redrum , if you wont one for window cleaning hot, from an old fart

[dai]

I think Dave St Ives should answer this one, his business has rocketed this last 3 years.
John Harvey Jones, my hero, a bastion of common sense.

[tomy jackson]

i see tosh must be stuk for words for wunce , from an old fart

[elite mike]

i see tosh must be stuk for words for wunce , from an old fart

 

[ronnie paton]

stan you begin to need premises in my opinion when you have more than one vehicle and likje to be office based a little more.

you can not grow a business without getting doing so.

Tosh i find it hard to believe the almighty mr right who knows it all could learn any thing from me who is so in experienced and doesnt tell the truth, so i wont waste my breath......you wouldnt belive me any way

[Chameleon]

I think this guy qualifies.  He's got a lot to say.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCzlBFVOTU

WOW! now he really is a Boring Old Fart, with a BIG ego! :

[dai]

There are many young guys out there that were just out of nappies when I started.
Now I must of slipped up big time, because if I had been doing it right these youngsters would not have had a sniff.
It's obvious when I think about it, if the work hadn't been going begging, they wouldn't have got it in the first place.
The biggest mistake we make is in not continuing to develop once we have a full round.
Four days grafting and one day developing is the way to go for success.
And that's one old farts honest oppinion.

[Feen]

This depends a lot on your ambition or lack of it. Do you want your business to grow? This leads to employees, vehicles, overheads etc. Or do you want to develop an efficient, well paying round for yourself as a sole trader? I have no ambitions to fall into the first group (been there in a previous life and hate the thought of spending time office bound "directing my empire") and so I fall into the latter group. For that group, I'd offer this advise. Firstly and most importantly, remember that your job is to clean windows. How you do it is your business. I mix wfp and trad how I see fit. Number 2 is be reliable. If the job is 2 weekly, do your best to do it 2 weekly. Or monthly or whatever. Obviously the weather plays a part in this and people understand that. Number 3 (and this is where I need a good kick on the backside ), be a bit of a hard b@stard when it comes to pricing. I used to be better at this, but somehow I'm slipping. Recently I have priced a few jobs silly Don't really know why, but don't do it

[Tosh]

Four days grafting and one day developing is the way to go for success.
And that's one old farts honest oppinion.

Dai,

That's what we've just started doing, from today.

The weather was looking a bit dodgy this morning here in Chepstow, but we were meant to be working out in the sticks; the first account was a large £48 one right at the top of a hill in the countryside; and the weather is always worse up there.

So we gave it a miss and posted just under 400 leaflets; which to be fair only took two hours; but we'd had enough after that.

I also bumped into a window cleaner (a friend) cleaning a house we'd earlier posted a leaflet through. 

We plan to do 400 leaflets per week; till our 5000 supply is exhausted.