2,4 or 6 week cycle?

[Davy G]

We have also found that customers on entry level new build estates aren't always the best long term customers. They sometimes over extend themselves financially and good intentions, such as clean windows, can be a dream which may not end up to be the reality. A local lad who does gardening services says the same - his advice to me was to stay away from entry level new build estates. 

Amazingly though, these new estates are 'swamped' with window cleaners distributing leaflets offering their services. I haven't had one through our door for a long time now.

We found exactly the same: Young families, new mortgage, 2 cars on finance, credit card bills. When I started I was given the same advice by a seasoned windy buddy as the gardening guy gave you.

 

[Iron Giant]

We have also found that customers on entry level new build estates aren't always the best long term customers. They sometimes over extend themselves financially and good intentions, such as clean windows, can be a dream which may not end up to be the reality. A local lad who does gardening services says the same - his advice to me was to stay away from entry level new build estates. 

Amazingly though, these new estates are 'swamped' with window cleaners distributing leaflets offering their services. I haven't had one through our door for a long time now.

I've not found that to be the case, in last 9 years I have built up 2 days across various new build estates, that's 2 days work or more on each I only have one estate that I have just under 1 days work  which has took around 5 years to get, others have been spot on with some jobs been on my rounds since day one around 9 years ago

Yes they are swamped to a point as they are like a honey pot is to bees and competition on these for some is price based, but my rounds are built through reputation of a quality service, anyone on any estate will jump ship for quid if they are that sort of person and we have all had them over the years. 

 

[francie]

Thanks Francie, I'm well on the mend but it's a slow process. Onwards and upwards with your business mate. Don't forget it's your business, not your customers.

Give em hell!..

Only joking on the last bit. ?

Good to hear @Davy G keep her lit?

I knocked on my first doors today, was doing a wee job for the mate in a retirement village.

I noticed there windys an frames are minging, so when I finished the job, I knocked on four bungalows, one answered an I said my piece, an she said yes, an to call back tomorrow as she tell rest of the neighbors the craic. 

So I'm a happy man today?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I went to see a job last week and the guy had a car that cost more than my flat! I priced it high and was glad I never got it. Then on Monday I was out doing my round and noticed a new couple had moved into the area. I knew them and got them added to my round every month. Got a call this morning to price a cottage with a conny and an extension so after my round I went and had a look. Nearly an hour trying to find the place because it was a house name. In the end I tracked it down and have that to do every month. Sometimes work just arrives with folk checking through the internet. Anyhow, 2 up this week and Spring hasn't even arrived yet.

 

[Davy G]

Good to hear @Davy G keep her lit?

I knocked on my first doors today, was doing a wee job for the mate in a retirement village.

I noticed there windys an frames are minging, so when I finished the job, I knocked on four bungalows, one answered an I said my piece, an she said yes, an to call back tomorrow as she tell rest of the neighbors the craic. 

So I'm a happy man today?

Keep going Francie, you'll get there. ?

 

[Dino]

I went to see a job last week and the guy had a car that cost more than my flat! I priced it high and was glad I never got it. Then on Monday I was out doing my round and noticed a new couple had moved into the area. I knew them and got them added to my round every month. Got a call this morning to price a cottage with a conny and an extension so after my round I went and had a look. Nearly an hour trying to find the place because it was a house name. In the end I tracked it down and have that to do every month. Sometimes work just arrives with folk checking through the internet. Anyhow, 2 up this week and Spring hasn't even arrived yet.

That's it.  Make it all about you ?

 

[Iron Giant]

4 weekly work means I get 12 cleans in a year even after holidays/time off,most of my work is 4 weekly,I do have 8 weekly work too which makes up around a third of my round,as well as annual/bi annual,some 6/12weekly....I dont care what frequency tbh.....

This is my preference as well as it's less jobs to clean most likely compared to lads on 6 weekly who are needing 100's more jobs for the same annual turnover. 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

That's it.  Make it all about you ?

If it wasn't for me you would have nothing to read or even post. ???

 

[Davy G]

Rn

This is my preference as well as it's less jobs to clean most likely compared to lads on 6 weekly who are needing 100's more jobs for the same annual turnover. 

A higher turnover surely? As we can do the same amount of total washes per day but charge more.

 

[Iron Giant]

Rn

A higher turnover surely? As we can do the same amount of total washes per day but charge more.

Yes possibly, but what I shall do is use me and your good self as a example based on what we have both said in that I clean my jobs every 4 weeks with 100 jobs and lets say you have a 100 every 6 weeks (Not sure if I am doing this correct mind) 

100 jobs priced at £10 cleaned every 4 weeks will achieve 12 cleans per annum 100x10x12 =12,000 and 1,200 cleans

100 jobs priced at £12 cleaned every 6 weeks will achieve 8 cleans per annum 100x12x8 = 9,600 and 800 cleans 

Now I did initially have you as doing 150 jobs on each cycle as you mentioned previously having around 50% more jobs on your rounds than me not sure if using that would have been the correct way to do your calculation for the purposes of the example above.

 

[Part Timer]

Yes possibly, but what I shall do is use me and your good self as a example based on what we have both said in that I clean my jobs every 4 weeks with 100 jobs and lets say you have a 100 every 6 weeks (Not sure if I am doing this correct mind) 

100 jobs priced at £10 cleaned every 4 weeks will achieve 12 cleans per annum 100x10x12 =12,000 and 1,200 cleans

100 jobs priced at £12 cleaned every 6 weeks will achieve 8 cleans per annum 100x12x8 = 9,600 and 800 cleans 

Now I did initially have you as doing 150 jobs on each cycle as you mentioned previously having around 50% more jobs on your rounds than me not sure if using that would have been the correct way to do your calculation for the purposes of the example above.

The 6 week / 4 week comparison assumes you can charge more per wash for the extended period. If you can and if you can get more customers, you'll need an additional 50%, then you're better off working the 6 week rota.

 

[Davy G]

The 6 week / 4 week comparison assumes you can charge more per wash for the extended period. If you can and if you can get more customers, you'll need an additional 50%, then you're better off working the 6 week rota.

Exactly that PT, 600 customers @ 6 weekly 100 jobs per week = 20 jobs per day for example. A minimum of £2 per job extra over what I would charge 4 weekly =£40 per day for the same amount of work. Multiply that by week, month, year and that's a very substantial amount of money. 50% more customers but the same amount of work as the extra jobs are fitted in the spaces created by going 6 weekly. This is the key!

The bit that some people forget when I try to explain it is; 6 weekly gives the spaces to fill in, and all at a higher rate. Wife had a job getting her head around it too when I first said that's what I'm going to do. ?

What I'm trying to do is help drive the prices and income up for all of us. ?

 

[High-tower]

Yes possibly, but what I shall do is use me and your good self as a example based on what we have both said in that I clean my jobs every 4 weeks with 100 jobs and lets say you have a 100 every 6 weeks (Not sure if I am doing this correct mind) 

100 jobs priced at £10 cleaned every 4 weeks will achieve 12 cleans per annum 100x10x12 =12,000 and 1,200 cleans

100 jobs priced at £12 cleaned every 6 weeks will achieve 8 cleans per annum 100x12x8 = 9,600 and 800 cleans 

Now I did initially have you as doing 150 jobs on each cycle as you mentioned previously having around 50% more jobs on your rounds than me not sure if using that would have been the correct way to do your calculation for the purposes of the example above.

You’ve compared what it costs the customer not what you’ll be earning.

its either 100x£10 x 46 weeks worked = £46,000

or 100x£12 x 46 weeks worked= £55,200

In my experience you need the same amount of customers for both 4/8weeks or 6weeks, as 50% wanted 8weeks. I have far fewer requests for a longer frequency from domestics on 6 weekly and less skips than when I was bang up to date on 4 weekly. 

 

[Part Timer]

The longer the gap between frequency the more customers you need. If you've got 240 customers on a 6 weekly schedule you have to do 40 a week. 

If you have 240 customers on a 4 weekly schedule you'll have to do 60 a week, 50% more. So for the 6 weekly model to work, i.e. earn more money, you need 50% more customers.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

The longer the gap between frequency the more customers you need. If you've got 240 customers on a 6 weekly schedule you have to do 40 a week. 

If you have 240 customers on a 4 weekly schedule you'll have to do 60 a week, 50% more. So for the 6 weekly model to work, i.e. earn more money, you need 50% more customers.

Aye and just found out after I did my first 2 month clean that it takes longer with more scrubbing power. Not a fan of anything over 1 month to be honest but I only have 2 customers that are bi-monthly.

 

[High-tower]

I found that I almost needed the 50% extra anyway with customers wanting 8 weekly. And when I changed it to 6 weekly no one even noticed. 
I think unless you have either a very established round, or a small round, having everyone on 4 weeks is very difficult to achieve. Especially with so much competition now, if you won’t do it every other time, theres plenty of other cleaners that will.

 

[Davy G]

Exactly that PT, 600 customers @ 6 weekly 100 jobs per week = 20 jobs per day for example. A minimum of £2 per job extra over what I would charge 4 weekly =£40 per day for the same amount of work. Multiply that by week, month, year and that's a very substantial amount of money. 50% more customers but the same amount of work as the extra jobs are fitted in the spaces created by going 6 weekly. This is the key!

The bit that some people forget when I try to explain it is; 6 weekly gives the spaces to fill in, and all at a higher rate. Wife had a job getting her head around it too when I first said that's what I'm going to do. ?

What I'm trying to do is help drive the prices and income up for all of us. ?

For anyone who is still trying to get their head around the 6 weekly business model. Can I suggest that you show this whole conversation to your accountant. Ask them to read it in it's entirety and see if they agree or disagree. 6 weekly makes more money for the operater but at the same time saves money for the individual customer over the year.

 

[Davy G]

Aye and just found out after I did my first 2 month clean that it takes longer with more scrubbing power. Not a fan of anything over 1 month to be honest but I only have 2 customers that are bi-monthly.

You're right. I found 8 weekly need a fair bit of work too, but at 6 weeks they're just as easy as at 4.

 

[Iron Giant]

You’ve compared what it costs the customer not what you’ll be earning.

its either 100x£10 x 46 weeks worked = £46,000

or 100x£12 x 46 weeks worked= £55,200

In my experience you need the same amount of customers for both 4/8weeks or 6weeks, as 50% wanted 8weeks. I have far fewer requests for a longer frequency from domestics on 6 weekly and less skips than when I was bang up to date on 4 weekly. 

 I wasn't working it on cleaning 100 jobs every week my example was based on simply cleaning the same number of jobs within either a 4 week cycle or a 6 week cycle, which I thought would be a little more relevant to a new business, even if I tweaked my example to give the 6 week cycle 150 jobs which would be 150x12x8= £14,400 which means 50% more jobs to clean for an extra £2,400,

I will happily accept if my example is worked out incorrectly, the way I saw me in this example was if I did a 100 jobs every 4 weeks that we give me £1,000 per cycle x 12 that's £12,000, 6 week cycle with a 150 jobs per cycle would earn more than me but be doing more work in my eyes for not much more money, which was what I fully understand that be, which is 50% more jobs to be cleaned just to increase turnover by an extra 20% only 20 more jobs on a 4 week cycle to make the same money,

of course in the real world there will be other factors that come into play as to what works within an area and what will work for each of us individually, I worded this as best as I can but I am not very bright on the whole ?

 

[mike007]

The hardest part of this job is not the actual cleaning of the windows, but getting customers. Would love all my customers to be fortnightly (like the good old days) but the norm is Monthly. Longer periods means you need more customers (the hardest thing to get) and less customer reliability as they do not see you so often, and so more chance of losing them to competition, be it established or newbies starting out.

 

[Iron Giant]

Longer periods means you need more customers (the hardest thing to get)

I think this is the thing right now for me been established almost 20 years, I would need around an extra 200 jobs for a 6 week cycle to work, of course this could happen over the course of months more likely a year or so, as I have been raising my prices over the last 8 weeks so bringing in a change and increase would have to be very carefully done,

Right now the factors to consider are firstly if it was forced on me because of Covid-19 I would lose in excess of 10k over my tax year, then next shifting my current jobs to 6 weekly with a price increase this would have to done with a well written letter to explain the change, some may see the instant benefit of saving money and not be too bothered about a change in frequency, others may not want to change and won't accept the increase because they see it as more money out per clean, it will be managing the perception and thoughts of current custy's whilst trying to hopefully ensure I don't take too much of a hit.

The above and my previous replies is why I am trying to get more of an understanding of a 6 week cycle and the pros and cons that will go with it. Be prepared or prepare to fail, is what my wife says