[AuRavelling79]

And what kind of area do you cover? Estates, towns, country and if more than one type of area is it different in each area?

[jonnyald]

mostly i work on the town council estates and prefer it to the country houses.

seeing the police helicopter hovering overhead and  hearing brawling  makes the day more interesting to me . hope to see a proper chase one day soon !

[stfc]

we cover a radius of 150 miles.

[paul rulton]

we cover a radius of 150 miles.

        flippin heck         
25mile radius 4me 

[Rcs]

been going sinse october getting busier month by month
going over to spain in august to live been advertising sinse xmas local english papers had fliers distributed and cards in shops had over 300 inquiries in 3 months
but here in  west sussex have seen a dopzen or so cleaners this week in a 10 mile radius

[paul rulton]

been going sinse october getting busier month by month
going over to spain in august to live been advertising sinse xmas local english papers had fliers distributed and cards in shops had over 300 inquiries in 3 months
but here in  west sussex have seen a dopzen or so cleaners this week in a 10 mile radius

u luck sod  bet u cant wait 2 leave this country behind ya 

[Paul Coleman]

This may sound daft but I have voted for less enquiries.
The funny thing is that I earn more though.
Two reasons for this.
1)  I am applying myself better and getting around my work on time rather more - or at the very least, I am less late.
2)  The smaller number of enquiries, on average, are for much larger jobs.

So it's a funny mix at the moment.

[paul rulton]

This may sound daft but I have voted for less enquiries.
The funny thing is that I earn more though.
Two reasons for this.
1)  I am applying myself better and getting around my work on time rather more - or at the very least, I am less late.
2)  The smaller number of enquiries, on average, are for much larger jobs.
So it's a funny mix at the moment.

the only way 2do it Paul  music 2 my ears m8  a man after me own heart 

[Ste M]

i cover everything from compact estate work to one off country houses, i find its busier now to be honest cos i now have a sign written van and people are getting to know my work through word of mouth, there are not many wfp in my area so im reaping the rewards, plus i know of people with wfp who think the system does everything for you and thats its got nothing to do with the operator.

since the start of feb i have picked up over 30 new houses and added a good few £ to my income

[Tom White]

been going sinse october getting busier month by month
going over to spain in august to live been advertising sinse xmas local english papers had fliers distributed and cards in shops had over 300 inquiries in 3 months
but here in  west sussex have seen a dopzen or so cleaners this week in a 10 mile radius

That surprises me.  I believe Spain is having it tough at the minute with millions unemployed.

[paul rulton]

i thought they were all just havin a really long siesta 

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

i thought they were all just havin a really long siesta 

[bobplum]

have had to find 10 new customers since jan
more cleaners about
more customers want to change from 4 to 8 weeks cleans
i think it will get tougher this year probably have to do more to just keep the same level as last year
bob

[AuRavelling79]

I do feel that when newbies come on here for advice that they need to understand it is a "longer harder haul" to start up and get established than it was, say, three years ago.

[Sir Squeaky]

No chance is it tougher.
More new work last year than I've ever had, and my best year's turnover by a long way.
This year I expect to beat it. I'm ahead so far...

[formb]

Been doing this 12 years.

When we want new customers we go out leafleting. Always get around 1% call back.

Did 1000 leaflets last week 14 call backs.

1%.

Same as always.

[actualcleaning]

No chance is it tougher.
More new work last year than I've ever had, and my best year's turnover by a long way.
This year I expect to beat it. I'm ahead so far...

So you wont be crying about your tax bill this time then...

[Sir Squeaky]

No chance is it tougher.
More new work last year than I've ever had, and my best year's turnover by a long way.
This year I expect to beat it. I'm ahead so far...

So you wont be crying about your tax bill this time then...

Hopefully not, as I've been able to put some aside for it each week.
But like mystery man above says, don't hold your breath. Bills get bigger all the time with it...

[Rcs]

there are thousand umemployed but many take advantage of the sick benefits system cash in hand etc
there are over 100000 ex pats where were going
 life is still good

[Johnny B]

I have been in this game for 13 years, so am pretty well established. I am not looking for work, but it still keeps coming to me.

I went out today to do 2 houses, next door to each other,  inside and out, customers which I have had for a few years now. I had no other houses in the road, then today I get the house next door to one of them. It poured with rain before I was able to do it, but the customer confirmed a definite booking for next time.

Prior to this, in March I picked up 6 new customers (just by being seen working) and got a former customer back (whom I had let go 3 years ago when I let the whole area go, but again, I got the area back when seen by another former, now regular customer who asked me to go  back, resulting in former customers engaging me again).

To me the only thing that is getting tough is being able to keep up! It does, however make it very easy to drop the bad payers and messers

John.