[cozy]

I agree with Murdie and Vince.  Also,the safety aspect of this sort of round is spreading your custy base out. If I lose a 10 quid custy, it's easy to replace. A large 35er isn't on every corner. Also, that's one of the reasons I don't do big commercial jobs. Lose 1 of those, let's say one worth 1000 quid or more, you would have a big hole to fill in your monthly biz.

Personaly, I prefer lots of small/average custies and that's how I have built my biz.Some guys want to build a huge biz and some want a comfortable regular income that covers their needs.

We aren't all the same.

[Gleaming windows]

I worked out the average price of properties I clean a couple or so months back, posted a thread on here about it.

The average price was a fraction over £20.

I think you'd have to do remarkably well to have a round full of properties at nearly twice that, particularly running at a 4 weekly frequency. Im in my 13th year of trading and have over the last few years really aimed for the higher priced properties; I think it is possible to do achieve what Ewan is talking about but it would take years of focusing yourself, applying yourself, motivation and effort; Im ALWAYS on the lookout! In the mean time you'd have to settle for lower priced properties.

Saying that I doubt it would be achievable for everyone, I doubt every shiner in any given area could achieve it (there is a limit on pukker properties) and I also doubt custards willingness to have a fairly priced £35 property cleaned at a 4 weekly interval.

Isnt Roy Harding the bloke to ask?

Matt

[cozy]

Replacing a £35 job is no harder than replacing a £10 job? If that's the case, is most of your work on 35 quid custies? If not, why not?

If it were that easy to get 35ers, why hasn't everyone got at least 90% of their round at 35 quid and obove?

It's all great on paper, but all this has nothing to do with reality.If, as you say, it's just as easy to replace a 35er as a 10er, then all WC's need to do is go out and canvass every custy and have a 35 minimum charge. Job done. Don't think so.

[cozy]

For gods sake Ewan, I'm not having a go at you. Calm down, just read what I posted and answer the point, that's all I wanted. It's pretty easy to see what I'm asking.

[macmac]

I don't have a minimum price, I don't restrict my business that way. I do try & get the maximum value possible, within reason to make it a stable account, for every job. I may do a £35 job & they have a neighbour, little cottage with 5 windows all at ground level. 5 minute job, an easy £5. So, for 5 minutes extra work the £35 has become £40. Simples.

Ewan has some very good & true points. It all depends on personal circumstances & business stage though in reality. If you've just started up & need to put bread on the table then it will be very hard to risk being too greedy & losing what could have been a normal account for an ideal one.

At my personal stage I can afford the luxury of being picky & quote what I want & not what I have to to get the job. I still want the job if I quote obviousley but at my price.

[cozy]

I'm not asking you to change my mind Ewan. I thought you had changed your attitude lately and I could have a normal post to clarify a point or two, nothing more. I know you can answer my points, I just wonder sometimes why you don't. Don't know if you noticed, but I haven't had a pop at you at all.

The main point I wanted to know is, are most of your custies 35 quid and above, that's all.

Anyway, it's all a good reason NOT to do my paperwork that's been sitting on the desk waiting to be typed into the bloody system. Back later

[cozy]

is most of your work on 35 quid custies? If not, why not? –

No, some are exactly £35 more are over £35 and others less than £35.
So will you be getting rid of everything under 35?

If it were that easy to get 35ers, why hasn't everyone got at least 90% of their round at 35 quid and obove? –

Good question keep this train of thought up and you will be able to answer these question yourself.

Doesn't the ability to get custies with such size houses depend on how far they are from you and how compact they would have to be?

[cozy]

You know I work my biz in Germany and all my Brit custies are in estates. Compact is a row of 6 or 8 houses of which I would have between 3 or 5 of each row. Now that's pretty compact. The average price is 15 euros. To drop these and just do my other (German) custies would be a bit stupid. My average German custy is about one to one and a half hours work, average price for these type of jobs isabout 80 euroes.

If I dumped all my Brit custies in favour of the bigger German custies, I would be cutting my own throat for no better reason than to have the same money but less custies. Why would I do that? The main reason for being mostly domestic based is the security. If I lose 1 or 2, so what? If I lose 1 or 2 bigger custies it makes a bigger hole to fill.

Just because a custy is bigger than another, doesn't make my biz better. That's my point.

[AuRavelling79]

It doesn't really matter what price your jobs are as long as your hourly rate (including driving around) is as high as you want it. In fact I work on a monthly target of turnover.

If you are getting say £30 per hour turnover all day long then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that a disciplined and motivated sole trader who works in showers and drizzle could earn over £1000 per week in turnover from 33/34 hours of work.

Now, to achieve that £30 per hour including driving you can have all manner of properties - so let's say you have a 4 bed detached that pays £10 for 30 minutes work then you should work toward pricing it at £11 for 25 minutes and work towards £12.50 and doing it in 20 minutes.

So as long as your day is paying you an average of £30 per hour over 8 hours then in 4 days you will be touching on a very good weekly turnover. The extra day will allow you to have holidays and sickness.

My round ranges from (with a handful of exceptions at the lower end) £7 to £30 on domestic with the vast majority at £10 - £20 and (again with exceptions at the lower end) £20 to £140 on commercial.

If you want to earn top dollar as a sole trader then:-

1. Raise your hourly rate (including travelling) by pricing higher, compacting work and working faster - but do not compromise quality too much or you will be more susceptible to undercutting and competition.
2. Drive less
3. Work in more inclement conditions than you do at present
 

[cozy]

Why did'nt I put it that way? : Sounds better than the drivel I just posted.

[Murdie window cleaning]

So we are in agreement then that size doesn't matter, as long as we can achieve the desired hourly rate. In fact probably better having a good mix as to minimize any lost customer. 

[AuRavelling79]

So we are in agreement then that size doesn't matter, as long as we can achieve the desired hourly rate. In fact probably better having a good mix as to minimize any lost customer. 

Yes; but Ewan's ideas of pruning and sifting to always improve your round is a very valid point.

[Murdie window cleaning]

So we are in agreement then that size doesn't matter, as long as we can achieve the desired hourly rate. In fact probably better having a good mix as to minimize any lost customer. 

Yes; but Ewan's ideas of pruning and sifting to always improve your round is a very valid point.

Of course you should always look to improve your business. It doesn't matter what industrie you are in, sole trader or employer. You should always want to improve income and customer base. But I would feel it is to risky putting all your eggs into only a handfull of baskets(so to speak) 

[Clive McDonald]

He's at it again, he he he, a sole trader is not a solo trader.Sole traders can employ and be quite a large firm, just as some ltd companys are very small.That aside your figures are rubbish, yes you can run a biz on 120 custies, but why would you want to?

[wizard]

What are we realy talking about here chaps its all down to the market we opperate in and we all cannot work in the same market.Its margin or volume. Margin: less work and bigger profits. or More volume ,more custies per hour, higher  turnover less profit per customer. Its should be the same if our hourly rate is the same and that = what we think we are worth.

[macmac]

For me it's about profit & being reasonably happy at work. I don't strive to appear big & employ etc. I still invest in my business with good poles & equipment.

I prefere larger jobs, These are what I will go out of my way for these days. Smaller jobs I'll take on if they suit me & accept my price. I'd rather do 4 houses in a day for the same profit as 20.

Less hassle, good profit, better work. I'm pretty much full to the limit at the mo' but I'll still take the plush jobs & refine when nesessary.