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Did I Chose The Right Path ?

All Round Cleaning

Well-known member
Messages
3,075
Before I started window cleaning some 12 months ago I had the opportunity to go and work for jaguar land rover I passed all the tests passed all the exams and interviews etc but got fed up of waiting . I applied last November and ended up waiting 9 months before I eventually turned them down To pursue a career in window cleaning .

Now for a stable job and regular income JLR would have been a brilliant opportunity at a pay rate of a minimum of £12.70 an hr for a starting rate .

Instead I decided this path with window cleaning and my wife working part time 26 hrs a week !

And me scrubbing glass at the moment I'm making over 11k a yr after 5 or 6 months not killing myself

Working when I want .

I'm averaging when I'm on the glass £20 an hr , but for some reason I'm feeling like maybe I should have gone for he JLR opportunity ????

Now for those of you who don't know me July 2011 I suffered a cardiac arrest and was very very Ill

It knocked me about a lot and put an end to my welding and fabrication business and my career due to my defibrillator implant .

Just this week my brother got a start at jaguar and he seems to be rubbing it in every 5 mins how great everything is .

Then I'm gettin people owing me money every week and it is annoying me to the point I'm thinking maybe I should have done it .

Rant over .

 
Yeah u chose the right path mate /emoticons/smile.png cos your doing well and it hasnt even been a year...

Your brother might be earning more now... but in july next year i bet ull be on over £2,000 a month /emoticons/smile.png like me /emoticons/smile.png

plus people owing money can be annoying... but just think when your earning 2,000 per month u wont ever be owed more then £300.00 and plus ull be earning more so to be honest mate it can only get better and better /emoticons/smile.png

wait till summer comes in.... for u and me mate we will pick up a lot of work cos this summer we started 2,3 months late /emoticons/tongue.png

your doing very well mate /emoticons/smile.png and your not putting in many hours but get up to 200 customers for yaself and ull be raking it in mate /emoticons/smile.png

 
the grass is always greener. There is no right path in life. Just your own. All I can tell you, is that if you continue on with doubt, you will not put everything into it, and won't achieve your potential. I know one guy who is in he 50's has been window cleaning all his life, mostly works on shops, and finishes everyday by dinner time. I know another guy who has been at it for decades, he focuses mainly on large scale commercial contracts and now makes over 100k profit.

With any job, there is a ceiling price when it comes to what you can earn, there is also a boss to answer to, who decides when you can and can't spend time with your family. With window cleaning, you can decided where the balance is that suits you.

 
Theres allway going to be people owe you money. Im allways due atealst 100 quid in each week. Unless you have them all on standing order this wont change much im afraid. Not everyone can wait in for the window cleaner.

Sorry to hear about your cardiac arrest though must have been tuff on you and you missus.

Dont let your bro **** you aff, im guessing its him thats yout you second guessing you career path. Whats happends a year down the line? How much do you ex[ect to be making then. Go back and rub that in his face lol

 
You made your decision which, in my opinion, is probably the best decision.

Your brother works for someone else; he had to be there when he's told, do as he's told and make money for other people of which he gets a small part in return.

You on the other hand work for yourself and do what you want when you want. You have the flexibility to do other things, take time off etc without having to ask your boss. All the money you make you get to keep.

Also, I have found window cleaning to be pretty stress free whereas when I was in paid employment it was a pretty stressful environment. Given your medical history I can only say that you've got to be better off with the least stress possible.

Also, don't worry about not getting paid. You'll find that you get the money eventually. I have a rule that I'll clean three times and then on the fourth time I'll not clean but leave a reminder. If I still don't get paid then I'll drop them. There are plenty of customers out there.

Dave

 
You made your decision which, in my opinion, is probably the best decision.

Your brother works for someone else; he had to be there when he's told, do as he's told and make money for other people of which he gets a small part in return.

You on the other hand work for yourself and do what you want when you want. You have the flexibility to do other things, take time off etc without having to ask your boss. All the money you make you get to keep.

Also, I have found window cleaning to be pretty stress free whereas when I was in paid employment it was a pretty stressful environment. Given your medical history I can only say that you've got to be better off with the least stress possible.

Also, don't worry about not getting paid. You'll find that you get the money eventually. I have a rule that I'll clean three times and then on the fourth time I'll not clean but leave a reminder. If I still don't get paid then I'll drop them. There are plenty of customers out there.

Dave
I did the 3 clean thing but found I was getting robbed more. I took it down to 2 cleans

 
Before I started window cleaning some 12 months ago I had the opportunity to go and work for jaguar land rover I passed all the tests passed all the exams and interviews etc but got fed up of waiting . I applied last November and ended up waiting 9 months before I eventually turned them down To pursue a career in window cleaning .

Now for a stable job and regular income JLR would have been a brilliant opportunity at a pay rate of a minimum of £12.70 an hr for a starting rate .

Instead I decided this path with window cleaning and my wife working part time 26 hrs a week !

And me scrubbing glass at the moment I'm making over 11k a yr after 5 or 6 months not killing myself

Working when I want .

I'm averaging when I'm on the glass £20 an hr , but for some reason I'm feeling like maybe I should have gone for he JLR opportunity ????

Now for those of you who don't know me July 2011 I suffered a cardiac arrest and was very very Ill

It knocked me about a lot and put an end to my welding and fabrication business and my career due to my defibrillator implant .

Just this week my brother got a start at jaguar and he seems to be rubbing it in every 5 mins how great everything is .

Then I'm gettin people owing me money every week and it is annoying me to the point I'm thinking maybe I should have done it .

Rant over .



It just comes across like you have those similar concerns as most self employed window cleaners when they start, just that most wont be in the same situation as you with having a brother constantly reminding you what you turned down, and that how great an opportunity it was.

Time will tell if you have made the right choice financially. Generally speaking you have far more opportunity than any employee. It is up to you to fully realise this, if you think having a basic job is better, you still have a lot to learn

Your job of window cleaning is easy, your job of building a successful window cleaning business isn’t as easy. You could always remind you brother, after tens years working for this company how much will he get when he sells his job!

Good luck

Richard

 
It just comes across like you have those similar concerns as most self employed window cleaners when they start, just that most wont be in the same situation as you with having a brother constantly reminding you what you turned down, and that how great an opportunity it was.

Time will tell if you have made the right choice financially. Generally speaking you have far more opportunity than any employee. It is up to you to fully realise this, if you think having a basic job is better, you still have a lot to learn

Your job of window cleaning is easy, your job of building a successful window cleaning business isn’t as easy. You could always remind you brother, after tens years working for this company how much will he get when he sells his job!

Good luck

Richard
Thanks Richard .

And everyone else , I was having a bad day and had a few beers and got thinking .

But deep down I think I have made the right choice .

It is just going to take time to build this business into something successful .

 
I think all window cleaners do that.

Just remember a being an employee with a job, usually means you have no residual value. This means a days pay for a days work, doesn’t matter if you have been working there for 40 years.

Build a business with value and at least you have something to sell, the better you do this part, the more in return you will get back.

 
Mate Extremecleansussex is right.

Yourl always get paid even if it takes time, eventually you can drop them if they take the **** to pay, just do what H does get better round and drop the bad custies.

You and I are in the same boat, we are starting out, we have messers but eventually we can drop them!

You told me once that ok your not earning as much as you would in jaguar land rover, but eventually yourl be earning more then you could ever earn there.

what are you on nowe £20 an hour, ok you might do one or two hours a day but when your full time 8 hours a day.. ker ching!

How much you earn in jaguar? £8 an hour, **** init?

I do love window cleaning, sometimes get bad days, but now am selfemployed I could never work for another company.

I might help friends out,but being self employed I can do other stuff to make money too not just window clean, so makes my life more interesting, if you worked at Jaguar, yourd be doing same **** day in day out.

Hope this helped dude.

G.

 
I think the guys have said it all Gav, only you would know the answer though but I think you possibly know it already just occasionally doubting it.

 
Mate Extremecleansussex is right.

Yourl always get paid even if it takes time, eventually you can drop them if they take the **** to pay, just do what H does get better round and drop the bad custies.

You and I are in the same boat, we are starting out, we have messers but eventually we can drop them!

You told me once that ok your not earning as much as you would in jaguar land rover, but eventually yourl be earning more then you could ever earn there.

what are you on nowe £20 an hour, ok you might do one or two hours a day but when your full time 8 hours a day.. ker ching!

How much you earn in jaguar? £8 an hour, **** init?

I do love window cleaning, sometimes get bad days, but now am selfemployed I could never work for another company.

I might help friends out,but being self employed I can do other stuff to make money too not just window clean, so makes my life more interesting, if you worked at Jaguar, yourd be doing same **** day in day out.

Hope this helped dude.

G.
Well to be honest mate it was £15.70 an hr basic pay .

 
When you and your bro tell people what they do, they will be more impressed with him. Inevitable. Big corporate business worth billions vs a window cleaner. If you can see past that perception, and i think it affects most of us sometimes, youll see the facts. you work for yourself, choose what jobs you take on, he can't, good or bad, he's no option. You earn 20+ an hour, you'll pay less tax on that from fuel clothing etc coming off, which you still have to do on paye. I'm not saying he doesnt have some advantages, paid hols, doesn't have to motivate himself, no tax return. But say you're having one of those days where you just feel completely off it, you can finish early or not start, so much more flexible. And as was mentioned, if you've had a cardy, you need less stress, and it doesn't get much more laid back than wc! /emoticons/smile.png

 
Mate if u like working for yourself this is the job for you, if u dont like it then jaguars for u mate but look at the pros & cons for both jobs /emoticons/smile.png window cleaning business has the best scope to increase takings then any other business /emoticons/wink.png trust mee

 
you have had a chance to have decent income that is garanteed untill the job fell though. and at the time you should have done windows on the weekends and would have had enouth money to get you the van and more prepared and build up your customer base.

but you have to deal with the cards you have got on the table right now not back then.

 

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