Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

Somethings gotta give

adamangler

Wakefield Window Warrior
Messages
4,263
Location
Wakefield
Im at the point now where im getting fed up of window cleaning, cant get the prices i want, cant get anything done because of the weather, custies arnt playing ball they either dont want to pay online or they just avoid paying, my cash flow is shite.

In the good weather im stuck in my part time job and when ive got work booked in its chucking it down. Not getting anywhere fast and everything i try seems to fail miserably.

I seem to be in a never ending cycle of chucking money at buying gear or marketting with little in return.

I keep thinking quit my part time job and go for it, then i lose a few custies and get rained off all week and my confidence goes again.

Cant afford to buy a round, cant afford anything tbh, fed up

just a rant lol sick of being skint

 
It's not an easy job in the beginning mate, you'll either have to stick it out for a few years to reap the rewards, or find something else, part time is even harder to get the ball rolling,

If cash flow is bad, you might need to start going out collecting in the evenings...

I'm also feeling fed up, rained all day today, and bored out my brain. Sometimes this job can be a right sucker.

 
you gotta take the good with the bad, every windie has bad days/weeks its just the way it is.

if you commit 100% and go fulltime you will soon see some results, its hard graft for a long time still, but worth it in the end.

 
the way to overcome this is increase your marketing effort 10 fold.

im not talkin about chucking money at it,im talkin about free or very low cost marketing ,shout your daily blurb stuff on - vivastreet, freeads, gumtree, facebook buy n sell groups , streetlife . then theres doling out flyers using local street map to make sure you dont miss any corner

you also need to be working in wet weather , i worked allday today in drizzling rain and even picked up a new job in it , an unexpected bonus that made me smile

if you really cant hack working in the rain well you can be doling out flyers theres absolutely no excuse not to be out there in every weather

 
Did you not just invest quite heavily in Whiz Bizz to come up and hustle for you?

I heard canvassing in Wakefield is an absolute nightmare.

As for working in the rain you have been WFP since the start so where the problem?

 
I don't mean any offence here Adam so please don't take this wrong. The last thread I saw you make like this was on a day where you were rained off again. IMHO in the situation you are in you need to be out dropping leaflets, not p*ssing about on here. Rain is no excuse to sit feeling miserable. Its just a break from the squeegee to go walking the streets meeting people and advertising. If you can't afford the leaflets then bite the bullet and go canvassing. Take a £1 notepad and a 10p pen and go and get some names booked in. Ignore all the canvassing speil advice on here from the pros, just keep it simple; Knock knock, "hi, do you need a window cleaner?". Make posters on the computor and print them off at the library if you have to. Put them in bus shelters, noticeboards, post offices, and anywhere else you can think of. Do all the free listing stuff like boar said.

In short, pull your finger out mate. This place is for evenings, and dossing about when you can afford the time off. I was rained off today so I did one first clean in the pouring rain for 30notes, and then did my overdue bookwork. I was already in my window uniform so was going to go dropping, but decided not to.... but I can afford not to.

No offence meant mate, I wouldnt bother typing all that if I didnt like you.

 
I don't mind heavy rain but do need to have a change of clothes, it getsunder my goretex.

Any villages you could try Adam? If its half hour drive to do, say, 4 hours flyering might get a day of work. I'm considering this if I run out of decent streets for variety

 
I just like moaning guys /emoticons/smile.png lol feel better now, i just get worked up haha

ive no problem at all cleaning in the rain, quite happy to get soaked wet thru

but im not convinced on the quality of the clean in the rain and i cant risk losing a custy by doing a shite job in the rain

plus i had 5 first cleans and im defo not sure about those in rain with all the extra **** on them

@Green Nightmare - PM mate

 
Is it ok pal if I ask what your part time job is?

Surely you earn a better hourly rate on the windows?its just probly you haven't got the work load yet!

I haven't had a day off in 72 days including Sunday's but I've always got odd jobs lined up for rainy days! Pressure washing gutters etc?

Do u offer these?

 
just make it fun like cheapy does....

drive miles and miles in circles waiting for the barsteward custys to bugger off to the shops so he can clean the windows in peace..

cracker new job today...last week she told me any day but tuesday as she was out....

guess when cheapy went...he he he...and got the neighbours wasnt going to do it but then...he buggered off so off I went wife came in on que at the end and so I just said oh your hubby said you were paying...as you do...

as for prices....well...these are nice posh four beds with connys so....

how much was the windy charging I asked...

a fiver....a bloomin fiver..mind you apparently he didnt do the conny :rolleyes:...why didnt the custy want him...?

yeh..sorry but I think he may be an elephant...as rushing along the roof tiles....he had broke about 7 so far...

to be fair he had replaced them but....people not so keen on breaking tiles..

next door stopped him for...

yeh..breaking roof tiles....and as I reached across to check my wfp work....down below was....a well smashed roof tile...

to be fair...it was a bugger to reach even for cheapy....although...as I explained to him, he did say he liked my stick thing....I think he meant my wfp ...

I do a lot of research or some would say chat to new custys...and guess what you can find out lots of things..

apparently he goes to work at two and she comes back at two thirty....so thats two to clean the windows then..

and next door are on holiday when I am next booked.....

I said to the next door how much did he charge and it took a while to get out ...£7 or £8 ....so I charged his wife a tenner cause cheapy only like notes these days../emoticons/biggrin.png

 
Is it ok pal if I ask what your part time job is?Surely you earn a better hourly rate on the windows?its just probly you haven't got the work load yet!

I haven't had a day off in 72 days including Sunday's but I've always got odd jobs lined up for rainy days! Pressure washing gutters etc?

Do u offer these?
i work at halfords mate on 6.50p/h nontheless lol

just dont have the workload/cashflow to get by without it, i do connys, not gutters as dont have a vac, no p/w either. cant afford to buy them either so hmm

@cheapncheerful i dont know how you survive with all the fookin about you seem to do lol

 
Adam a large pressure washer job can bring in really good money you could add it as extra I'm currently turning them down.you can hire a decent Brendan pressure washer for about 40 for the day so to start with ideal and still make a massive profit!

Gutters mate just do buy hand gutter vans in my opinion are useless and a waste of money making a simple job look hard

Your not far from me Adam if you get a pressure washing jobs I can lend you one off mine and there the awesome machines

How's that for windie code

 
I dont adam but....its such good fun...

I went to two houses last week twice and left em....but got em both on monday no one in and both paid online....now thats the cheapy way.../emoticons/biggrin.png

yeh I actually had NO MONEY at all in the house on monday...NO MONEY.....but

in this game you know you will soon have some...I only survive because I do all the jobs on my house and never have to pay anyone else..

they nicely wait for the rainy days..

yeh okay....I put the new shower rail on great...

FOR MIDGETS..okay one day I will re put it up at the proper height.../emoticons/biggrin.png

one thing people do forget in this job is...NO HOLIDAY PAY....be ill and tough..

so having another part time job means money guaranteed..

my wifes money pays all the serious bills like mortgage leccy council tax..and apparently now...car tax....yeh even gone direct debit for bloomin car tax....yeh broke but happy and now the kids mainly not so much in my pocket so hopefully one day...we will get straight but hey ho its only debt....and the universe is soooooo big./emoticons/biggrin.png

I must have six credit cards all with money owing on min payment...but just keep swimming just keep swimming.../emoticons/biggrin.png

 
Last edited by a moderator:
cheers mate, its funny because i have pressure washing written on my van and a website advertising it and have never been asked for it. where abouts are you @Eviestevie ?
Chesterfield mate just off junction 29 m1

I never pushed pressure washing but this year invested heavily in all the gear so had to make it pay.nearly all houses have drives and lots of them needed cleaning so what I did was had some leaflets made up with actual before afters and little quote box for the price and description say,cleaned treated and sanded etc etc

I do them weekends and haven't had a weekend off for ages and have 500 pound job sat and 250 Sunday so can really pay

 
@adamangler Hey man, don't get giving up, you've worked hard so far, but you can always do more.

As has been said, don't get moaning, just funnel that energy into advertising. Canvassing as has been said, FB advertising; go knocking on shops in your local high street, and go in hard with your best price. If you are as broke as you say you are, that's the best motivation you can have.

And finally, set a date, and if it ain't worked, admit it won't, and move on. Say November 1st, and if you haven't got results, then move on. But from now until then, get pushing, work double, even triple harder than you have been.

Hope it goes well bud

J

 
Back
Top