Starting up?

[Jaygti]

The removal of such can be messy as hell, my rate per hour these days is £20, as i like to take my time & do the gutters windows and frames at my own speed.. The look on the customers face when they see the results is priceless, they always looking at me as if I just turned water into wine.. I'll remove them hedgehogs and clean up the mess but i charge a lot to do that tbf... I only turn them down if they are cable tied in, that's hassle tbf.. But bungalows i'll do for £20 per month and £35 of a first clean... they do get very mucky..

Erm, isn’t £20p/h a bit light these days??

7hrs a day ,5 days a week gets you £700.

After van and other expenses, days off for bad weather, illness and holidays. Plus tax and pension, you can’t be left with much.

You could stack shelves at Tescos, for similar money and much less hassle.

I’m not knocking, just wondering. ??

 

[DS WC west midlands]

Erm, isn’t £20p/h a bit light these days??

7hrs a day ,5 days a week gets you £700.

After van and other expenses, days off for bad weather, illness and holidays. Plus tax and pension, you can’t be left with much.

You could stack shelves at Tescos, for similar money and much less hassle.

I’m not knocking, just wondering. ??

tbh that depends on what your talking about, window cleans or gutter cleans? , Gutter cleans i charge £90 to clean & clear inside & out, I do the soffits & fascias with that.. hedgehog removal & clean up, i'll charge between £150-£200 depending on how much of it there is...

But windows i charge £35 for a first clean & £20 on a monthly if they take for 12 months... if it's a one off it's £65..

it's barely enough at that rate tbh but those that take for windows never leave, because they know i'll spend the time..
I have always been the strong advocate that we all charge too little & should uniformly stand together and impose a minimum of £30 per month per clean.

But there are those on here that would struggle to charge even the prices i charge, I am not sure why that is, but that is a question for one of the elders on this forum.

My thinking is that we provide a high quality service & when you look at companies like Virgin media or even your average mobile phone company they charge up to £50 for their most basic packages...

We are only window cleaners i guess, i say that with a big cheesy grin LOL... My dad says i am too cheap for how good i am at the job.. I am like not sure about that haha

 

[ched999uk]

tbh that depends on what your talking about, window cleans or gutter cleans? , Gutter cleans i charge £90 to clean & clear inside & out, I do the soffits & fascias with that.. hedgehog removal & clean up, i'll charge between £150-£200 depending on how much of it there is...

But windows i charge £35 for a first clean & £20 on a monthly if they take for 12 months... if it's a one off it's £65..

it's barely enough at that rate tbh but those that take for windows never leave, because they know i'll spend the time..
I have always been the strong advocate that we all charge too little & should uniformly stand together and impose a minimum of £30 per month per clean.

But there are those on here that would struggle to charge even the prices i charge, I am not sure why that is, but that is a question for one of the elders on this forum.

My thinking is that we provide a high quality service & when you look at companies like Virgin media or even your average mobile phone company they charge up to £50 for their most basic packages...

We are only window cleaners i guess, i say that with a big cheesy grin LOL... My dad says i am too cheap for how good i am at the job.. I am like not sure about that haha

I haven't been going that long or know your area but I think your balance between charges and the time you spend doing the job could be improved.

While we all want to do a great job and not cut corners we have to understand that people will only pay so much to have their windows cleaned. I believe it's a balance between doing a decent job and earning a reasonable wage.

When I was employed at a gov agency my charge out rate ( what my time was charged to a customer) was about 4 times my hourly pay! This took overheads, pension, holiday, sickness etc into consideration.

If you can't increase the speed you do jobs in (have you tried increasing your flow to speed up rinsing?) then you need to try and increase your prices if your area can take it - don't just assume high prices wont be accepted as it's surprising what people will accept even in deprived areas! Maybe 'selling' your services in more detail i.e explain that you spend longer because you do xyz so you charge a little extra for a more thorough service - you also need to get your level of service across to prospective customers! Maybe switch to every 6 weeks to justify increased charges but then you need more customers.

Above all remember that you are working to earn money not just to survive but to have a good standard of living as you are taking the financial risk not an employer!

 

[DS WC west midlands]

I haven't been going that long or know your area but I think your balance between charges and the time you spend doing the job could be improved.

While we all want to do a great job and not cut corners we have to understand that people will only pay so much to have their windows cleaned. I believe it's a balance between doing a decent job and earning a reasonable wage.

When I was employed at a gov agency my charge out rate ( what my time was charged to a customer) was about 4 times my hourly pay! This took overheads, pension, holiday, sickness etc into consideration.

If you can't increase the speed you do jobs in (have you tried increasing your flow to speed up rinsing?) then you need to try and increase your prices if your area can take it - don't just assume high prices wont be accepted as it's surprising what people will accept even in deprived areas! Maybe 'selling' your services in more detail i.e explain that you spend longer because you do xyz so you charge a little extra for a more thorough service - you also need to get your level of service across to prospective customers! Maybe switch to every 6 weeks to justify increased charges but then you need more customers.

Above all remember that you are working to earn money not just to survive but to have a good standard of living as you are taking the financial risk not an employer!

I hear what your saying but there are too many cheap cleaners in my area, so it would be like swimming against the current...

I personally would never do six weekly... Monthly is heavy enough to clean up after round here..
plus i do offer one offs at £65 for windows...

As much as i would charge £50 per month if i could, nobody round here would take it £20 per month is still pushing it...

Although if fuel keeps going up like this i might consider £25-£30 per month...

I know a guy in my area i call him 10 second tom.. he charges £18 and his brush never touches the window for more than five seconds, it takes him 10 minutes per house & his customers are always ringing me up asking for me to come put it right haha oh well that's how it goes i guess...

 

[Jaygti]

If your charging £20 per house, and your earning £20 per hour, then it’s your speed that’s the problem.
A small 3bed semi should take 12-20mins max.
A 3/4bed detached would take 5mins more. And that’s doing a really good job too.
Work efficiently, with a highish flow rate, and limit the chat , and it should be easy.

Why spend all day earning £150, when you can easily earn double that for no extra time.

 

[Part Timer]

i'd just like to know if there is a reason, but why do you do front's of houses only

Because I can't get round the back, we don't climb over fences or garages so if the custy isn't in. or has forgotten, the minimum charge is £8.

 

[Iron Giant]

tbh that depends on what your talking about, window cleans or gutter cleans? , Gutter cleans i charge £90 to clean & clear inside & out, I do the soffits & fascias with that.. hedgehog removal & clean up, i'll charge between £150-£200 depending on how much of it there is...

But windows i charge £35 for a first clean & £20 on a monthly if they take for 12 months... if it's a one off it's £65..

it's barely enough at that rate tbh but those that take for windows never leave, because they know i'll spend the time..
I have always been the strong advocate that we all charge too little & should uniformly stand together and impose a minimum of £30 per month per clean.

But there are those on here that would struggle to charge even the prices i charge, I am not sure why that is, but that is a question for one of the elders on this forum.

My thinking is that we provide a high quality service & when you look at companies like Virgin media or even your average mobile phone company they charge up to £50 for their most basic packages...

We are only window cleaners i guess, i say that with a big cheesy grin LOL... My dad says i am too cheap for how good i am at the job.. I am like not sure about that haha

Half of what you right makes sense the other half leaves me scratching my head as you haven't been clear enough on what the £20 charge is for exactly 2-3-4-5 bed house ?

 

[Mx19]

Hi there DS WC. I’m planning on starting as cheap as I can afford to go really around that price margin. I’m happy to graft it’s the first thing I’m researching and looking into the moment I wake to moment I go to sleep. I’m hoping putting in the research and asking advice is going to pay off.

I like to work. I’m happy to get dirty, wet and sweat for a living. I’m passionate about it oddly ? I’ve done some market research, asked for quotes on our new house and have a rough idea where my prices need to be to compete with the best. I think I’ll do some more, get some more quotes to see where I really need to be to fully understand what price margin I need to be in.

Excellent advice though so thank you very much! I wish you and your company all the best although I’m sure your killing it ?

Don't plan to go cheap!!! you will only do yourself a disservice going forward! Price from the outset like you know what you're doing and are established, be confident. No point being a busy fool!

 

[DS WC west midlands]

I have had to steal myself to answer this, but here we go, because i know plenty will scoff about what i am about to say. It's a home truth most do not want to listen to.

I am not sure where 12-20 minutes to rinse a house comes from. but i do know, as a rule I spend 30 minutes per house, this is because i find that time is more important to produce a better quality of clean, some will disagree some will agree i am sure...
I tend to charge £20 per month regardless of house Size up to four bed, anything bigger i would charge more accordingly..

I have found that customers in my area are fed up of cleaners that spend 15-20 minutes cleaning then expect to be paid.

The complaint from the customers about those cleaners is always the same quote "the brush never scrubbed the frames" or "there are bits all over the sills & glass" or even "they never spent long enough to do it properly" & the golden oldie " he sprayed my windows then just left".

I get a lot of calls from customers who want a decent scrub & rinse, i am not going slow by any means, i just know that rushing is not a good idea because you will miss things... intentionally or not it happens..

I am not a fan of the spray and pray business model, it leaves the customer with a really negative opinion of window cleaners in my experience.

So i am a single parent & I only really get time to do 6-10 houses a day I aim for 100 houses a month, that's £2,000 per month for anyone who can't add up & i am not greedy, i do gutter cleaning at £90 inside & out i get between 5-10 of them a month...

I never met a millionaire window cleaner, i have met a fair few really good ones & a fair few that, well lets just say they are half the problem with the industry, the days of spray and pray speedy mess making are over. customers are not stupid they do check their windows...

The quickest way to end up with no customers is to go too fast... that's why so many noobs fail the first year of cleaning...
Even some of these guys with multiple vans are learning this the hard way... This is just my observation on the matter... I am not saying i am right i am just saying it works that way in my world...

 

[Iron Giant]

I have had to steal myself to answer this, but here we go, because i know plenty will scoff about what i am about to say. It's a home truth most do not want to listen to.

I am not sure where 12-20 minutes to rinse a house comes from. but i do know, as a rule I spend 30 minutes per house, this is because i find that time is more important to produce a better quality of clean, some will disagree some will agree i am sure...
I tend to charge £20 per month regardless of house Size up to four bed, anything bigger i would charge more accordingly..

I have found that customers in my area are fed up of cleaners that spend 15-20 minutes cleaning then expect to be paid.

The complaint from the customers about those cleaners is always the same quote "the brush never scrubbed the frames" or "there are bits all over the sills & glass" or even "they never spent long enough to do it properly" & the golden oldie " he sprayed my windows then just left".

I get a lot of calls from customers who want a decent scrub & rinse, i am not going slow by any means, i just know that rushing is not a good idea because you will miss things... intentionally or not it happens..

I am not a fan of the spray and pray business model, it leaves the customer with a really negative opinion of window cleaners in my experience.

So i am a single parent & I only really get time to do 6-10 houses a day I aim for 100 houses a month, that's £2,000 per month for anyone who can't add up & i am not greedy, i do gutter cleaning at £90 inside & out i get between 5-10 of them a month...

I never met a millionaire window cleaner, i have met a fair few really good ones & a fair few that, well lets just say they are half the problem with the industry, the days of spray and pray speedy mess making are over. customers are not stupid they do check their windows...

The quickest way to end up with no customers is to go too fast... that's why so many noobs fail the first year of cleaning...
Even some of these guys with multiple vans are learning this the hard way... This is just my observation on the matter... I am not saying i am right i am just saying it works that way in my world...

Fair play to you if you're getting £20 a job from the front of a house up to a 4 bed detached, I assume that's without a conservatory?

Unfortunately yes there is plenty charging low prices for a 3 star job, I can clean a house fast but I am really thorough and charge higher prices and have had customers tell me I am more expensive than the last cleaner but I'm worth the extra which is what you want to hear as you know you are doing what you set out to do

 

[Part Timer]

I have had to steal myself to answer this, but here we go, because i know plenty will scoff about what i am about to say. It's a home truth most do not want to listen to.

I am not sure where 12-20 minutes to rinse a house comes from. but i do know, as a rule I spend 30 minutes per house, this is because i find that time is more important to produce a better quality of clean, some will disagree some will agree i am sure...
I tend to charge £20 per month regardless of house Size up to four bed, anything bigger i would charge more accordingly..

I have found that customers in my area are fed up of cleaners that spend 15-20 minutes cleaning then expect to be paid.

The complaint from the customers about those cleaners is always the same quote "the brush never scrubbed the frames" or "there are bits all over the sills & glass" or even "they never spent long enough to do it properly" & the golden oldie " he sprayed my windows then just left".

I get a lot of calls from customers who want a decent scrub & rinse, i am not going slow by any means, i just know that rushing is not a good idea because you will miss things... intentionally or not it happens..

I am not a fan of the spray and pray business model, it leaves the customer with a really negative opinion of window cleaners in my experience.

So i am a single parent & I only really get time to do 6-10 houses a day I aim for 100 houses a month, that's £2,000 per month for anyone who can't add up & i am not greedy, i do gutter cleaning at £90 inside & out i get between 5-10 of them a month...

I never met a millionaire window cleaner, i have met a fair few really good ones & a fair few that, well lets just say they are half the problem with the industry, the days of spray and pray speedy mess making are over. customers are not stupid they do check their windows...

The quickest way to end up with no customers is to go too fast... that's why so many noobs fail the first year of cleaning...
Even some of these guys with multiple vans are learning this the hard way... This is just my observation on the matter... I am not saying i am right i am just saying it works that way in my world...

I agree to a degree, there are lots of poor quality operators around but this isn't always down to speed. We have picked up an awful lot of commercial work and we're considerably quicker than the people before us, over multiple sites and against different companies. We also get very few complaints, and the ones we do get tend not to be down to us. For example we were working away last week on this contract and must have cleaned around 500 flats and not had one complaint, and these are 3 monthly washes.
The only time you should take longer than 20 minutes, on a modern 4 bed semi, is on the initial clean.

 

[Jaygti]

I agree with part timer.
I don’t think I’ve ever lost a customer in 30 years because of poor quality work.

Once a window is clean, no amount of scrubbing and rinsing will make it any cleaner.

A House that takes half an hour will be quite substantial in size, or have a big conservatory.

 

[ched999uk]

as a rule I spend 30 minutes per house, this is because i find that time is more important to produce a better quality of clean, some will disagree some will agree i am sure...
I tend to charge £20 per month regardless of house Size up to four bed, anything bigger i would charge more accordingly..

Interesting way of working - everyone works differently and chooses how they work and what they charge.

It's an interesting business model to effectively have a minimum charge of £20 as you are making a personal visit, getting kit out and putting it away the same no matter how big or small the job is. For my pricing model I have a base fee to cover arriving getting kit out and packing it away again then a fee based on the number and size of the windows (plus additional fee for difficult access (through garage etc) or difficult to reach windows). I'm not sure if one of your customers realises that you are charging the same for a 2 bed vs a 4 bed they would be too happy.

At the end of the day if your happy with what you charge and your customers are happy with the results you give then it's not for us to criticise but I do think it's worth you reading peoples comments as there may be the odd little thing that may help with little changes.

I agree that quality is very important and not something that you can allow to slip.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

Because I can't get round the back, we don't climb over fences or garages so if the custy isn't in. or has forgotten, the minimum charge is

First of all thank you all for you're understanding, it's good to know my mind is in the right ball park.. Some times I over think things and wonder weather i am right in what i am trying to convey... even now after so many years cleaning... I don't climb over gates fences or garages either Part Timer, i am not after the the old bill clapping irons on me for going equipped to the job ?...

Although i have had customers ask in the past... I make it very clear from sign up if they want my services they need to leave the gate open or on the latch so i can get access or i book them in for Saturday when they are in.

I am small time really, when my son leaves school i'll grind out a lot more, i need to be around for him in the evenings my dad was not, i think that was a mistake on his part in some ways... haha Just done the garden cracking day for it...?

 

[AndyD]

Hi guys!

I’m completely new to this and am interested in starting up. I’ll be moving to Swansea in around 4 weeks and really want my business to take off. I have future plans, but I’m going to be starting out small.

Any advice for a guy like Me? I know there’s competition and I’m just hoping to launch and make a living without stepping on anyones toes and making enemies.

Any advice would be much appreciated l! ?

If you’ve got enough back up funds to allow you to go at it full time then go for it. I started about 4weeks ago but I’ve also got a full time job as well. Both start up routes have their pros and cons, but if I had a choice I would prefer the full time route with back up funds. I started by setting up a website, FB web page and getting some leaflets printed and also got some polo shirts and fleeces with my logo on. Actually I started out first by spending months doing research and there’s shed loads of info out there (particularly on here), so get prepping, do your research and ask questions. Keep us up to date with your progress.

 

[Pjj]

The initial clean is key to future speed and clean quality, I don’t care how long the first clean takes as we charge double but for a 3-4 bed house it’s very rarely more than 25-45 muinits a regular monthly clean will be around 8-12 muinits per house doing approx 5-7 per hour on compact work . It’s very rare to get a complaint we clean over 4500 properties per month give or take a bit and if we get 4-6 complaints per year that’s been a very bad year . We all have different standards as to what we call acceptable and what we would class as acceptable if it was our house , there are a lot of cowboys out there but also some very good cleaners who take pride in what they do .

 

[EasySqueeg]

If you’ve got enough back up funds to allow you to go at it full time then go for it. I started about 4weeks ago but I’ve also got a full time job as well. Both start up routes have their pros and cons, but if I had a choice I would prefer the full time route with back up funds. I started by setting up a website, FB web page and getting some leaflets printed and also got some polo shirts and fleeces with my logo on. Actually I started out first by spending months doing research and there’s shed loads of info out there (particularly on here), so get prepping, do your research and ask questions. Keep us up to date with your progress.

If you’ve got enough back up funds to allow you to go at it full time then go for it. I started about 4weeks ago but I’ve also got a full time job as well. Both start up routes have their pros and cons, but if I had a choice I would prefer the full time route with back up funds. I started by setting up a website, FB web page and getting some leaflets printed and also got some polo shirts and fleeces with my logo on. Actually I started out first by spending months doing research and there’s shed loads of info out there (particularly on here), so get prepping, do your research and ask questions. Keep us up to date with your progress.

Thanks AndyD. I completely agree with you doing some research about the area you’ll potentially be working in, the kind of customers you might/wish to gain and what the everyday running of a window cleaning company is like. That’s why I joined here; to get first hand knowledge of people that have been going at it much longer than me and to see what questions I may have forgotten about when other newbies ask. The first hand knowledge and comments and inspiration to keep spuring me on has so far been invaluable and I greatly appreciate all of it. The more you know and all that. ? having some really good reads which are leading to new and more efficient ways of how potentially run my future business and having the positive comments from everyone is a real high and keeping me positive even when I’m doubting about staring to keep at it and not give up.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

With the price of poles, one has got to fit extra locks on our vans and keep the back doors locked when cleaning. Too replace my 3 poles then I reckon it would cost me £2.5k but to look at them I can't see them worth that amount.

 

[EasySqueeg]

With the price of poles, one has got to fit extra locks on our vans and keep the back doors locked when cleaning. Too replace my 3 poles then I reckon it would cost me £2.5k but to look at them I can't see them worth that amount.

Another tip tip! I’ve seen on FB loads of vids on a page called “on the tools” of how people just peel the doors of a steal thousands worth of tools. Absolutely sickening to know people are literally stealing another’s livelihood from them. I’ve only a estate at the moment but I’ll be keeping my kit indoors under lock and key for now. When it’s van time, deadlocks are a must and maybe even a small van vault. I would hate to think someone would attempt it but I would rather be safe than sorry

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Another tip tip! I’ve seen on FB loads of vids on a page called “on the tools” of how people just peel the doors of a steal thousands worth of tools. Absolutely sickening to know people are literally stealing another’s livelihood from them. I’ve only a estate at the moment but I’ll be keeping my kit indoors under lock and key for now. When it’s van time, deadlocks are a must and maybe even a small van vault. I would hate to think someone would attempt it but I would rather be safe than sorry

Absolutely. First thing I did was buy two £130 slipbolts for side and back doors. I see BG have them fitted to all their vans now. Means a thief will see they are engaged and look elsewhere, well that's the idea behind it.

 

[Mx19]

Another tip tip! I’ve seen on FB loads of vids on a page called “on the tools” of how people just peel the doors of a steal thousands worth of tools. Absolutely sickening to know people are literally stealing another’s livelihood from them. I’ve only a estate at the moment but I’ll be keeping my kit indoors under lock and key for now. When it’s van time, deadlocks are a must and maybe even a small van vault. I would hate to think someone would attempt it but I would rather be safe than sorry

With regards to this, this is one of the reasons I got Signwriting, thieves are a whole lot less likely to break into a window cleaning van than an unmarked van that may be full of power tools!