Hi everyone

[Jackwindowcleaner]

That's very helpful thanks a lot!

Welcome Jack, this is an idea I worked with for pricing some time back and it served us very nicely, too long to type it all up again so here's the link.
http://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/how-to-start-a-window-cleaning-business.12279/page-4#post-221588

ats br

 

[Jackwindowcleaner]

My tips for a new comer would be, do a great job, do it at a decent price and do it reliably.
Do those things and you will be laughing.

As for quoting never forget you are selling yourself as much as anything else, Mrs Smith wants to feel comfortable with a stranger wandering around her house when she is potentially not there, most people will be happy to pay a good price for a good reliable job with someone they trust rather than someone they don't.

Have a minimum price and stick to it, most of my normal regular style houses are £10-£12, if they have a really awkward window or a conservatory charge a couple of quid more.

My minimum charge is £8 for a small bungalow or flat, £10 for a house, though I do have a couple of really tiny houses that I only charge £8 for.

You'll soon get a feel for it, cool to see a young lad going for it, reminds me of me, I was homeless at 16 and paid my mortgage off at 27, crack on, do your own thing and don't devalue what you do, if someone is haggling over the house being £10 they likely aren't a customer you want anyway.

Thanks for the advice Diwnarch and everyone else for their help. Feeling much more confident pricing a job up now. Nice story as well! Gives me a lot of motivation.

 

[Dave B]

I was working in the west end of london on better prices 8 years ago

Now in Hertfordshire earning less but it all depends what you can get away with where you are

Work out what people will be prepared to pay where you are

Do the best job possible and you will find people will be prepared to pay for a quality service rather than a splash and dash jobbie

 

[Simply Business]

Welcome to the forum @Jackwindowcleaner! What made you decide to start your own window cleaning business? Besides seeing the fun that these chaps have! Quite a change from working as a butcher? /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Jackwindowcleaner]

Thanks :thumbsup:. That's a good question I've tried my hand at a lot of things also very different to butchery but have always been interested since first seeing the art of window cleaning and thinking 'that looks cool I wish I could do that'. From then I looked into doing it for a living and as I'd like to work for myself and run my own business I thought window cleaning seemed like a reasonably easy to manage business which can also be enjoyable and have the potential of good earnings. So why not give it my best shot /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Simply Business]

Great stuff! Best of luck @Jackwindowcleaner! Let us know how you get on with your first canvassing attempt /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Jackwindowcleaner]

Great stuff! Best of luck @Jackwindowcleaner! Let us know how you get on with your first canvassing attempt /emoticons/smile.png

Thanks a lot! I will do!

 

[Danfire]

I'm a relative newbie, only been at it just under 2 years. I was lucky that a retiring colleague gave me part of a small round that was in the next village up the road from me. I started off with just under 40 properties and now I have 65, the new stuff has mostly come from neighbours approaching me while I've been cleaning. The more you clean, the longer you are out, exposed as a window cleaner this will generate more and more contact, new work seems to be self perpetuating if you do a good job. I also put an advert in the village newsagents window, in 8 weeks this has given me 3 jobs one of which led to 2 neighbours, the other 2 I've just started and haven't canvassed the neighbours yet. Once you've got a few you will also get asked to clean out gutters, wash down facias, soffits etc, this also leads to neighbours asking "can you do mine"? Good luck with the new venture, I think it's the best thing I've ever done.

 

[Jackwindowcleaner]

I'm a relative newbie, only been at it just under 2 years. I was lucky that a retiring colleague gave me part of a small round that was in the next village up the road from me. I started off with just under 40 properties and now I have 65, the new stuff has mostly come from neighbours approaching me while I've been cleaning. The more you clean, the longer you are out, exposed as a window cleaner this will generate more and more contact, new work seems to be self perpetuating if you do a good job. I also put an advert in the village newsagents window, in 8 weeks this has given me 3 jobs one of which led to 2 neighbours, the other 2 I've just started and haven't canvassed the neighbours yet. Once you've got a few you will also get asked to clean out gutters, wash down facias, soffits etc, this also leads to neighbours asking "can you do mine"? Good luck with the new venture, I think it's the best thing I've ever done.

Thanks, Dan. All the best.

 

[ocampo]

hello everyone newbie here

I hope to really enjoy being a part of this forum

 

[Simply Business]

Welcome @ocampo!

 

[Gavin]

Welcome acompo

 

[norm]

:laugh: sorry @Gav i couldnt resist it

 

[Dave B]

Welcome gino docampo lol

Throw the script.out the window mate

"Morning /afternoon sorry to bother you do you need a window cleaner?"

If they then ask how much ask to have a peek round the back

While you are having a look tell them you always wipe the frames and sills over and then say i can do that for you for £??

Job done

Once you get to that point you pretty much have the job anyway unless you are priced way to high

On a side note my niece who lives with us is in sales and very very good at it

She keeps telling me off

You never say sorry to bother you because 1 you are not sorry and 2 you are not bothering them you are offering them the opportunity to get their windows professionally cleaned

I just got told off by a 19 year old lol