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Starting Out

Dub Man

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Hi guys, as the title says I'm just starting out window cleaning and haven't done it before. I've been reading this forum for the past few months and got some great tips.

I work during the week in an office and want to do it in the evenings and weekends. Long story short I'm basically financially screwed and being threatened with repossession so I need an extra income to help cover the bills. If I can earn an extra €400 - €500 pm part-time it will get me out of this hole.

I have a few questions:

1. Looking at the pricing of jobs on here they seem to be a lot cheaper than where I live (Dublin). I bought most of the equipment from a local supplier who has been cleaning windows for decades now and he said he typically prices a 3 bed semi (outside) for €30. That seems like a lot so how do I find if that is normal?

2. In my area there are a lot of housing estates that have been built in the last 20 years and most of them are built with the bottom section slightly further out than the top section with a small roof section between them. You can't stand on these roofs so I am going to order a ladder standoff next week which gives a clearance of 17" - 24" which I'm hoping should clear these roofs, has anyone ever used these?

3. Do you use Ubik to clean the frames or is that just for wfp?

4. I've been practising on my relatives houses but the squeegee leaves a trail of water at the edge, I don't know if it's the squeegee itself or if I'm doing it wrong?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

 
It' not the squeegee, when you 'blade' across the glass left to right for example the top end of the squeegee should be tilted further to the right than the bottom this will cause the liquid to run off the bottom of the squeegee.

Want to price up an area, have your mom call three windies for quotes and then you will know what the average is.

I have jobs around here from £10 - £60 on domestic work so there is really no 'typical' price so to speak. depends whats involved.

Ubik in a spray bottle on your belt will help with manky frames no bother.

Good luck and welcome!

 
Like green says, jobs vary so pricing will vary. Weigh up whats involved then give a price what YOU think is worth it. At first you'll probably find yourself undercharging in fear they wont accept what you want to charge, at least i did at first. But soon you'll have the confidence to charge appropriately and when a custy accepts you'll be thinking what the **** was i afraid of. As long as you explain to them whats involved for yourself custys tend not to grumble if they're expecting you to do the job for peanuts.

Its down to technique which comes with practice so just keep hammering your windows and take greens advice how to work the blade till you feel confident with it and the speed will come with it too.

I hope everything works out with the predicament you're in and good luck!

 
id ring the biggest firm in the area ,find out their prices and you want to price a little under that,but not much, a quid or is it a euro where u are

 
I thought you were called DUB Man as musical reference but turns out its Dublin ...

I'm dissapointed but never mind

Anyway ... Hope you get your finances sorted - is it bad debts?

 
It' not the squeegee, when you 'blade' across the glass left to right for example the top end of the squeegee should be tilted further to the right than the bottom this will cause the liquid to run off the bottom of the squeegee.
Want to price up an area, have your mom call three windies for quotes and then you will know what the average is.

I have jobs around here from £10 - £60 on domestic work so there is really no 'typical' price so to speak. depends whats involved.

Ubik in a spray bottle on your belt will help with manky frames no bother.

Good luck and welcome!
Thanks Green, I should have mentioned that I put a "typical price for a 3 bed semi €25" on my flyers which was probably a bad idea as it won't give me much room for negotiation and I don't know the market.

The blade on my squeegee seems to be very loose and bends at the edge is that normal?

 
I thought you were called DUB Man as musical reference but turns out its Dublin ...I'm dissapointed but never mind

Anyway ... Hope you get your finances sorted - is it bad debts?
I'm not sure what you mean by "bad debts", I'm about €45K in arrears on the mortgage repayments so they told me a couple of months ago they would be starting repossession proceedings this month. I haven't heard anything yet but expecting a letter soon. I should be able to stall the process if I can show an increase in earnings and ability to start clearing the arrears every month.

I will never take out a loan from a bank again, or a credit card. It will strictly be a credit union loan if necessary where the loan is not much more than the savings.

 
The rents have gone crazy over the past few years and would actually cost more than the mortgage so it's not really an option. If I put together a business plan outlining projected earnings it should be enough to get a couple of defferals for the next 6 - 9 months so I still have some breathing space.

Anyway I spent a couple of hours leafleting this morning and when the ladder standoff arrives should be ready to go at the end of next week. I've also put up ads on adverts and donedeal and will have an ad in the local paper.

Reading some of the threads here, particularly the canvassing ones, has helped a lot with motivation. I'm going to put in at least an hour after work each day to do the leafleting and see what response I get.

 
And hate to say it but first thing u know of a repo will be if it passes court u come home on day and locks changed another waitin to help u get few essentials out

U really need to talk to them stay in contact mate. Sorry to hear

 
Rental prices have gone mental

We rent and been given notice so gonna be getting my pants pulled down next year by some landlord

 
Good luck mate I hope it goes well for you and you get yourself out of the repo stuff. I would say don't just leaflet but knock every door and offer your service. As you need money fast have you thought about any other stuff you could offer initially as well as windows to get cash coming in like gardening, painting etc just till you get more window

 
And hate to say it but first thing u know of a repo will be if it passes court u come home on day and locks changed another waitin to help u get few essentials outU really need to talk to them stay in contact mate. Sorry to hear
I've heard of this alright, and sometimes the banks call you in for a meeting while the property is being repossessed. I've been advised that I should be able to get a court deferral by turning up and outlining my case. I just need to show a business plan and hopefully have some customers to show an increase in earnings that will go towards repayments.

I live in Clondalkin. Next time you're in Dublin I will buy you a couple of pints and pick your brain. /emoticons/smile.png

 
Rental prices have gone mentalWe rent and been given notice so gonna be getting my pants pulled down next year by some landlord
That really sucks, it just makes it harder to save up to get your own place. It's definitely a landlord's market out there, there hasn't been any houses built here in the last 8 years since the crash and there's a lot of people looking to rent.

 
Good luck mate I hope it goes well for you and you get yourself out of the repo stuff. I would say don't just leaflet but knock every door and offer your service. As you need money fast have you thought about any other stuff you could offer initially as well as windows to get cash coming in like gardening, painting etc just till you get more window
Thanks Chris, I'm going to just concentrate on the window cleaning for now and spend my time and advertising on that rather than trying to do too many things and getting nowhere. I just need to get past the initial stage as many on here have described.

 
I agree you should offer any service you can if you really need work

If you got a ladder you can do all sorts

Make sure you get Unger pole with gutter cleaner , soft brush and stiff brush attachment

I used mine for so much over years would never be with out that -cost about £100 the lot

 
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