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I'm just glad that I can help anyone who needs it. I don't ask for a fancy title or anything like that. I don't deserve that. I'm just one of the many 'cogs' in the gearbox on this forum who try to help others. I owe the water fed pole system for being able to earn a living these last 15 years because, without it's existance, I probably would be dead by now. I'm grateful for that. When I started wfp window cleaning I knew nothing and there was very little information out there. There was 2 of us in this area who went wfp and we bounced off each other and tried to learn from each others progress and mistakes. I can understand how newbies feel when they first start out and feel for them because I haven't forgotten my early window cleaning beginnings.

I'm sure this has been discussed to death over the years , some work in the rain , some have the day off ; personally i do what ever i can inbetween showers . I find it's a good way to find out your good from your bad customers as well . I had a Lady ?, today tell me i was mad to be trying to clean windows in this weather , i've only cleaned her windows once before . She told me i should come back and clean the windows when i knew for sure it would stay dry , so i've crossed her off my list . I need to make a living all year in Scotland it rains every other day.

With respect this a forum for professional window cleaner's and those wanting to be so, I think you need speak to the relevant government departments

Very humble of you @spruce but you do go way above and beyond mate. There are a lot of us on here that enjoy helping people and just generally chatting sometimes but you go the extra mile. I'm not gonna lie sometimes I have to come back later and read what you put as it is so in depth. The amount of lurkers on this site or people who come on with a bunch of different questions never to be seen again is just a small example of what the general person is willing to do for others. I genuinely appreciate all the help you've given me and should I ever get the opportunity I shall buy you a drink!

When looking for a review on the Phantom 22 pole on YouTube I realised that they were all done on brand new poles so didn’t know if they would last so I’ve used mine for 3 months before reviewing it

Do us all a favour then and get some more work! So we (taxpayers) aint subsidisng your time off.

Josh It is a slow process getting up to speed from a stand start, and as many here will agree,It is frustrating when progress is not what you would like it to be.The truth is though if you keep at it, it will gain a bit of momentum.There is no right or wrong way of building a round, in fact any process that adds to your customer list could only be viewed as positive. Employing a canvaser or a lead generation service will no doubt add to your customer list, but at a cost, the upside is that it can get you off to a rolling start and you will make back the initial investment, so nothing to scary there, it really boils down to the level of capital investment to are prepared/able to commit up front.It's been implied by a previous poster that I am a canvaser (of the commercial type) which is incorrect (not that there is anything wrong with being a canvaser) I do canvas every day, but that is for the expansion of my business, I do not sell leads.Because of this, I can say without fear of contradiction,that although a laborious task, and believe me, there are some mornings I look down a street and say to myself "I really have no humour for this" that first yes of a morning gives a good uplift. I wear a company branded fleece,I ensure I am shaven and kempt I keep the chat to a minimum unless they are keen and I always thank them for their time.I keep a list of the houses I've called on for each street I do and I record whether they were in or out, if they were in and availed and if they were in and declined, the reason I do this is because in every instance I hand out a leaflet, either through the letter box or in to their hands, even when they decline, the reason being is that you will be suprised at how many calls you will receive at a later stage by people who initially said no thanks.The numbers I quoted to you in my previous post in reality, lean towards the conservative side of things and are readily attained. If you go down the paid for canvasing route, do a decent survey of the area's you want to be in first, find out what people are paying to have their windows cleaned either by knocking on a few doors or through friends of friends etc.Then speak to a cavaser and stipulate the minimum price you are willing to accept, if they say they believe your prices are unrealistic, you know from your inquiries they are not, as a previous poster pointed out, you need to insulate yourself from low paying jobs, remember, the canvaser is a business he or she will get you the agreed amount of work in monetory terms and will generaly not refuse anything.I meet canvasers all the time when I'm out and whilst they are good fun and will have a bit of banter,they will freely admit to being on a mission to reach a particular target, be it £1000 or £1500 worth of work and nothing is turned down, I've often had them following me down a street, under cutting my prices just to get the sign up. I would suggest, if you have the time, give it one solid week of door calling, have your flyers organised, be competitive with your pricing and work it Mon -Sat. At the end take stock on what it produced, I think you will be surprised,also, as you go through the week, you will fine tune your approach and gain a little more confidence and thicker skin. Good luck

The Xtreme Sill brush is coming 😊 The tooling for the injection mould is nearly completed now. Then we will make some final test brushes to check it all over. We also are having the final adjustments to the new jet system tooling done following first production test samples. Timing - I am really hoping it will all come together for release in about 6 weeks time. The new 35cm Universal Sill will also be released at the same time.

We always work in the rain even if it’s heavy. The bills don’t stop coming in when it rains. If you’re hopping in and out of the van all day or sitting around for half an hour at a time praying it will stop then you’re only prolonging your day really, and if the days full and you wish to keep your rounds organised then you dont want to end up with the round split over seperate days epsecially if its all in the same area. my problem is with the wind. We lost 3 days this week, worst month of winter by far for us march has been. in my personal opinion it’s pretty irresponsible/unpractical to be using ladders and wfp’s poles in the gales we’ve had. We did manage a couple of gutter clearances this morning as the winds died down but we still got drenched. Need the money in the bank as outgoings have been horrendous. for trad guys i would understand as trad is pretty impractical in the rain as opposed to WFP. if i wake up in the morning and theres torrential rain forecast all day then i may think twice but normally we just deal with it except the very worst cases. For those who’ve paid off their mortgages or have a partner working full time fair enough whats the point if you don’t need the money that bad, but my partner isn’t working full time so money is, & always will be tight.

I think you might lose that one Bart. I remember in the the early days I cleaned the windows of a house regularly for £20. One day the bloke wanted me to clear the gutters too. The gutter clear took me ages and it was dark by the time I'd finished. I knocked the door and said £20 for the windows and £30 for the gutters. So the wife gave me the £50. Happy days so I thought, until I saw the husband a few days later. He was angry that his wife gave me £50 and he thought that it should have been £25!! So I ask him if he thinks clearing his gutters out for a fiver is fair? Tw@t. I never went back obviously. The

Average rain, clean the windows. Absolutly pis*ing down, relax and have a day off. Don’t bother trying to ‘catch up’ at weekends. More to life 👍

What a pleasant, good natured thread. Yep, we're all just trying to make a living, without the hassle I would think most of us have had, of answering to some less than pleasant bosses. At sixty-three years of age I've had several. The people on this forum have helped me an awful lot, by allowing me to read through and gain the knowledge and confidence to make informed choices on equipment and techniques. I now enjoy going to work and the freedom I have to make my own decisions on equipment and working methods. And the ability to take a three day weekend to go sea kayaking when I want is precious. I'm delighted to now be able to contribute to the forum with the help of the knowledge and experience I've gained.

I've ran a very big family business that turned over £7m in the 80's. I've been self employed in the Scrap business since 1999 and was earning £50k a year 10 years ago. All I will say is I wish I knew window-cleaning was as good as it is. I live in a saturated area, cleaner wise, and can make £20 an hour. Would think the vast majority on here can double that without much trouble. The earning capability and flexibility makes this job as good as any, and compared to other jobs is virtually stress free

just ordered david kemps new tfr which is supposed to get rid of the old tiger stripes without getting the ladders out, he's posting it today if it comes on saturday i've a fsg job on sunday too try it out on and report

I've been posting these near properties I already do. I've posted about 30 so far. 2 responses. Condensed works too because its next to ones I already do! Just had some time off with new baby. Out today so will hit all the neighbours in my round with them today!

People never cease to amaze me. I've been doing a big job for well to do folk for about 4 years. Every now and then they'll ask for an extra. Was there last time, and they asked for the inside of the conservatory to be done and a roof section which is only accessible from the inside and has two windows + a raised conservatory roof thing with no pvc just about 20 panes. Hadn't been in done in 12 months but wasn't that bad. Left them a bill, charged £30 extra for both which i thought was a bargain. Get a text later in the day saying they think I overpriced and my hourly rate is too high?! I do quite a few extras for people and charge more than that on some but was really surprised because they've been great customers up til this point. It's really strange how some people think as I'm earning the same or more p/h on the windows than i do on the extras on this particular job and they've never complained at that! I love my job but some people really rub me up the wrong way at times. Any other similar stories out there?

I am on a well earned day off on a long weekend given it is a little chilly today and work is more or less up to date, I thought I would spend an hour giving my window cleaning “story so far”and some inspiration for other who might be starting out in 2019 ! Hope some experienced folk may pick a few tricks and tips up I have learnt thus far I used this forum a great deal earlier last year when starting out April/May. Not posting and asking but I read, noted and kept researching reading, reading, noting things down and more reading. Also youtube vids and a couple of FaceBook groups, I have learned EVERYTHING. From not knowing a squeegee from a ladder, in just seven months I have built a business paying me a good wage, with good customers, very little hassles, 98% GoCardless, best equipment and the sky is the limit mentality. If I can do it YOU CAN DO IT ! I started out proper in June 2018 after deciding window cleaning would be a viable business due to its recurring & regular work In no particular order, general random subjects of what I have learned so far, what I did, in these past seven months. Note the amount of capitalised YOU. Hopefully, it will help YOU build Firstly, “Work smarter, NOT harder” Explains itself, but notice how this is a recurring theme in all of the brain dumpings you read below Remember the 7 P's “Proper, Planning, & Practice, Prevents, Pi$$, Poor, Performance” Noone is an expert to start with. But YOU have to start. Always YOU need be taking action, Set and write round targets, achievements, dates, targets, where YOU want to be. A new customer every day ? X20 new customers a month ? Drop x250 leaflets every week? The ball is in YOUR court "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Write it down, visualise what YOU want. Tick things off. See you new customers added. Seeing it and believing it every day, YOU are the only person that stops in the way of getting to YOUR targets You set YOURSELF BE ACCOUNTABLE – BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR CUSTOMERS With the best will in the world many generations of window cleaners have got us painted with a pretty bad and unreliable brush. Break the mould, be the one who is different. Have passion in your business. Dont be like the 'other guys' Dont be the stereotypical window cleaner. Promise a time, BE ON TIME Schedule a clean, do the clean Promise a ring back, CALL THEM back The saying goes, “It is better to be trusted than liked, Under Promise and Over Perform” Break a promise and be accountable to yourself, Getting into the habit of GOOD habits Work out what your "needed" daily rate is and work towards it, your first step of action is your first step towards getting it I don't have kids, big mortgage, debts. So I used for sake of simple maths of working towards making £100 per day my goal to work towards. Im was beyond that in under five months, by ME taking action EVERY day Set a minimum price for your job/time/to park up and get out of the van. AND STICK TO IT ! Again for the sake of simple maths and round numbers, I chose £10 per job, even if it a bungalow or a “fronts only” mid-terrace. It is £10. They dont want to pay £10, I dont want the job. Have it printed in black & white on your flyers/business card “Prices FROM £10” As Del Boy said “What Cant Speak, Cant Lie” I'm up t'north where lots of £4-£5 houses cleaners still Don't chase or accept every job/house/bit of work that comes your way. Set yourself a profile of house YOU want to do. An enquiry from a centre of town mid terrace with bad parking do you really need it ? Be prepared and happy to turn down and refuse work that doesn't fit the profile YOU wish to work to. YOU are the one driving the bus, work on your terms. YOU dont need EVERY bit of work that comes in, a bad job, a bad customer. The power of being able to say NO is a very powerful tool If you try to get on with another local cleaner, pass work his way Price the job as you see fit and STICK TO IT "The price is £13 a month, if you can do it for £10 we have a deal. Sorry no we don't, the price is £13 you have my details if you change your mind" DOMESTIC – COMMERICAL or MIXED ? Starting out, I have focused on just doing domestic houses only, no commercials (at present). Since losing one house is not the end of the world, but losing a days pay would be an issue Pick the schedule you wish to work to I chose to offer monthly (85% core customer base) or bi-monthly (priced at 25% higher). I think the psychology of offering monthly or bi-monthly this sounds better than saying x6 weekly or x12 weekly personally, but that is just my opinion, monthly cleans also link nicely into my next subject GoCardless, Direct Debit sign up is mandatory, not an option. NO GoCardless – NO CLEAN GoCardless solves on of the oldest & worst pain points of this trade and solves it very well for a tiny cost of the grief and aggregation it takes away - 20p per DD Since Direct Debits come out monthly in most cases for bills & payments, it makes it an easier sell to the customer, as another recurring monthly bill. (quoting a job) "So to confirm Mrs Jones, I will be here to clean once a month, it will be £15 per month paid via Direct Debit. You'll get a text the night before to let you know I'm coming & to leave the gate open, once I'm done I post you this "we've just cleaned your windows receipt" (hand customer receipt to keep) Any issue you have 5 day window to get in touch for me to resolve it. If all is good, the Direct Debit leaves your bank 5 days later, just like your Sky or Vodafone bill" This explains about GoCardless and how it all works, (hands Mrs Jones professionally printed company branded Double side A5) Where you can, if at all possible get GoCardless get in place prior to first clean. But I tend to do cash or card “n person” on the day of first clean. ALWAYS try to have the customer there for your “First Clean”. It is as much for YOU to see and judge them as a customer/person. But also for YOU, to sell YOURSELF and YOUR business. YOU only have ONE chance to make a lasting FIRST impression "Look the part, image is everything" Use fivver.com to get someone to design yourself a "brand/image/logo" for yourself & business, your van signage, your clothing(customiseitnow.co.uk) , your custom lanyard (weprintlanyards.com) & ID photo card (photoidcardpeople.com), your professionally printed stationery, leaflets, business cards, compliments slips (vistaprint or instantprint.co.uk). When done right ALL branding when on your van, your polo shirt, fleece, ID all aligns & links together that make it so much easier the "sell" the GoCardless sign up as just another part of how YOU do YOUR business, that is often the pain point for others to sell & convert. It screams professionalism. Always be working in your uniform when with a customer or potential customer. Be Mr Vanilla – arrive clean shaven, tattoos covered, clean & tidy. You might think your tattoos are FAB a potential customer might judge you as an ex-convict in their mind. ALWAYS be polite, considerate and courteous. Would you give your bank details up to a someone togged out in sport direct catalogue and trainers?. Probaly not If you and your van look the part and is a cut above the competition, YOU can have confidence selling your services at a higher price, with a smile on your face ALWAYS go the extra mile to impress on a first clean and do an AMAZING job but ALWAYS charge accordingly for doing so. You only have one chance to make a 1st impression ! Explain to the customer as "There will be a one-off first clean restoration charge to bring everything back up to gleaming again, as they have not been done in such a long while, this is only due to the extra time, effort, chemicals, pure water used to restore your windows and frames. Your ongoing maintenance cleans every month will then be £15" By charging this one-off first clean restoration fee, not only are you getting fairly paid for the extra work it also serves as a natural filter to weed out those customers who are really just wanting a one-off clean out of the blue and not interested in an ongoing monthly clean AFTER THE FIRST CLEAN By doing a superb and awesome job on the first clean restoration, it makes YOUR job SO MUCH EASIER & FASTER upon your return the next month, as nothing ever gets a chance to get really dirty again First clean out of the way, Explain the GoCardless service in detail BEFORE you leave, offer to answer any questions how it works and leave info leaflets for them to read at their leisure, have an FAQ section on your web page to. Follow up, at the end of the day text from textlocal #REF: XX NORTH ROAD Hi XXXX, XXXXX your new window cleaner here. Nice to meet you earlier and completing your first clean. As explained, here is the sign up link for the Direct Debit service. All recurring cleans are paid via Direct Debit. Please complete before your next scheduled clean on XX/XX/2019 https://pay.gocardless.com/xxxxxxxxxxxx Regards xxxxxx 07xx xxx xxx www.xxxxxxxxxxx.com Not signed up to GoCardless in ¾ weeks? a week prior to next months clean, they get from textlocal #REF: XX NORTH ROAD Hi XXXX, XXXX your window cleaner here. I have your clean booked in the work diary for next week. All my recurring cleans are paid via Direct Debit. The sign up link for the Direct Debit is https://pay.gocardless.com/xxxxxxxxxxxx Regards xxxxxx 07xx xxx xxx www.xxxxxxxxxxx.com DD Not in place, by clean date. DONT CLEAN - SKIP But on day of clean (last ditch effort), drop a compliments slip through door hand written saying “Mr(s) XXX, Sorry but your clean has been missed this month as we notice the Direct Debit was not in place as yet. If you would still like a recurring monthly clean, please sign up before XX/XX/2019 and we will add you to next months work. Regards XXXX “ NO GoCardless sign-up – NO CLEAN. Dump, replace and move on. YOU have made every effort to offer a professional, reliable & safe payment method to them. Note the language in the text/slip above, it is not open for discussion or debate how its going to be. By using textlocal as the delivery vehicle of YOUR message of how YOU do business, it doesn't leave it up for negotiation or changes. Textlocal doesn't give them the option to reply to you or weasel out for good reason, YOU are telling them the terms, how it is and how it will work. The payment option is GoCardless and none negotiable They don't want to use it. YOU don't want their business "Always be looking to drop the worst of your round" YOU want as stress-free a business as possible, ANY job that gives you the slightest amount of grief begin thinking of adding them to the binned list, Just as above you having the best chance to make a great first impression. If the customer doesn't make a great impression on you, trust YOUR gut instincts and judgement. 9/10 they'll be right. i.e. Dog chit in the garden this month, it WILL be there in months to come. Cant be arsed to clean up the ladders, kids toys, patio furniture in back garden for you coming to quote, it will ALL be there the month The exposed property next to busy road, front manky this month, it'll be manky next month. Cancel your quote appointment last minute, they'll think nothing of cancelling a clean in the same fashion Cant be arsed to leave gate open for you you 3 strike rule, once benefit of doubt front only half price for half job, second time add to ½ price and added to potential bin list. 3rd time dumped, front onlys again and dumped, deleted, blocked Snotty or Arsey complaining types of customer, are quick to show their true colours to I have found Just think of Customers are like buses, they come and go. For each one you lose/drop, there'll be another one along in a minute to replace. Even six months in I have binned a few off already Small positive tips for finding nice & reliable gem customers The offer of a brew, if they offer one now they will offer again in future times to, nice in colder months They walk with you around the property and speak to you when quoting, they take a small interest in your business/family asking questions They mention they work most days or normally always out through the day (great, in and out quick job no distractions) Double Drive, (always space for the van) No locks, on side gates (customer gets bonus points for) No gnomes, ornaments, wheely bins stored away, soil lights, no pets (extra bonus points) Use the length of grass in front garden as a guide, since this is the one chore most people still dont mind doing themseleves. A good clean garden will appreciate ongoing good clean windows. Use grass length as a guide of how house proud they are. The longer the grass, the more they couldnt give a chuff Only cleaning properties that best suit how YOU want to work. - HOUSE PROFILING Again building your round how it suits YOU not the customer. I have not seen this mentioned very often on here but I have chosen to only take on jobs that have "a one van stop, all-round access", again building things on YOUR terms. It soon began to annoy me doing a mid terrace to then have to repack and move van round into alley to do the rear. So I choose not to quote these sort of properties these days. Remember again it is YOU driving the bus, you are not in the business to make EVERYONE happy. YOU work on YOUR terms, not there. YOU are not being forced to accept every job that comes your way. I now focus my efforts on getting new builds development, established estates, since they are nearly all cookie cutter "same design" type and council semis with gated sides (quick'n'easy, in'n'out 15mins jobs) ONLY Terraces no interest, work in town centre not interest, high rise not interest, builders clean not interested Any job outside of this, sorry I dont wish to do it You may want a totally compact round on your doorstep, price competitively, and continually canvass same area all year ongoing If your prepared to travel,work slower and doing higher value bigger houses at one house an hour for £25-£40 get looking on rightmove completed for houses £500,000+ in value in the postcodes you want to hit “RESEARCH AND RING BACK POLICY” Linked in with the last point, YOU are the one driving the bus. Don't be caught on the hop or quoting blind over phone. ALWAYS try be in front of your PC at home with your work diary when you are engaging with new customer on phone use : instantstreetview.com rightmove completed sales apple maps to view gardens for conservatory potential A quote call comes in through working day “OK, Thanks I wont be able to quote right now as i'm out working. I have your contact number in my phone. Leave it with me Mrs XX and I will call you back this evening if thats OK, I should be able to give you a quote tonight using my 3D mapping software (sounds posh) at home and schedule a date to visit, can you just text me through the address and postcode please Mrs XXX “ or note the address details if you have pen handy By getting the address details FIRST you can judge if YOU want to take the job on. It doesn't fit your work profile, call them back (professionalism) “ Mrs XXX sadly, the days we work in your areas are currently full, sorry couldn't be of help this time (refer to other local cleaner you may know if you wish)” The job does fit your work profile, GREAT you are responding at home, with all your tools & work diary & schedule at fingers, you will have a 90% good idea of house you are dealing with and can give a TBC quote over the phone. CANVASSING & OBTAINING NEW BUSINESS I have learnt people keep business cards, but will mostly bin flyers. Trialed just dropping business cards only on a few streets about five months ago and nothing came of it originally at the time, but this past two months I have had four calls from folk on these streets i dropped months back. Flyers I have found seem to get a a response under x1 week reply from. After that nothing else. So more instant Also when someone gives you a call ALWAYS ask how they heard about you? So you get to learn what is working and what is not for you Flyer? recommendation? word of mouth? FB page? local FB group ? saw you van? Google? The BT phone book “name drop” hack https://www.thephonebook.bt.com/person/ use this to search a potential street you like the look of, add street name add town name, in surname add * which is called a wildcard https://www.thephonebook.bt.com/Person/PersonSearch/?Surname=*&Location=Newcastle%20Upon%20Tyne&Street=coast%20road Now on this I know x19 people's “surname / * ”, who is in the BT phone, whos lives on the “Coast Road” in “Newcastle” Mention someone by name can break the ice 🙂 Trial different flyers, make x5 different designs of x500 each in small quantities, and see what works before rather than ordering x25,000 **** ones at once of the same design to save a few bob. Also ordering small, should the worst happen and your notice a spelling mistake or wrong phone no/email you are not major out of pocket Note which flyers you drop on what streets/area/postcode. When the work comes in you then know what flyers worked. Always use one type of flyer in one street. So you begin to learn what flyer works and what doesnt Use googlemaps to print where you are flyer dropping, print the area and use highlighter to colour streets you have done Use instantstreetview, and virtually walk where you wish to drop BEFORE you set out to check it fits with the house profiles you wish to build your round around or use it to search new areas which have house profiles you would like to work You quickly learn some flyers work better than others. Let your customers be YOUR own canvassers, spread the love for you when you do their clean drop them their "weve cleaned ticket" offer them a simple x1 FREE clean for every new customer they send my way. The busy body know it all money saving Queen of the cul de sac has not paid for a clean yet as she keeps finding me work, and we have a joke about it when i call she will pay me one day ! i dont mind. Every new customer is a £120+ minimum pay rise per annum (£10 x12 months) there is no one way single best of getting business, you just need to keep plugging away trying to get business every day by all means possible. Also just because you have done one street once, don't mean you cant drop there again. People come and go. Renters move out. Folk get new jobs. Retirees move in One new estate of new builds that are all perfect all round access types that fit my house profile , i leaflet or business card drop there every month, people dont have the memory of what flyers came through their door four months ago. Can you remember which pizza restaurant menu dropped 4 months ago, can you? Because i want to work this estate i am slowly getting more and more there. The more you are seen in one area, the better chance of work. The more work you get in an area you want to be the more work comes to you, word spreads. The more you are there the more you are seen. Even if your flyer ends up in the trash, if your leaflet is branded right with you, your work gear and work van. Your logo may stick in their mind ? They may see your van again or you out cleaning neighbours Also a little tip PRIOR to arriving to a scheduled clean on your round, leaflet drop the neighbours BEFORE starting, The rattle of the letter box, the bark of the dog, the sight of things on the mat and then 10 mins later they see you doing Mrs Jones opposite, they have been soft sold the service already and when they see you if interested they are likely to approach you, making it much easier to seal the deal as they have been soft sold already Whilst not without it problems and 100% perfect, i have trailed doing flyers with £ prices shown and have had a far better up take rate. As someone know what it is going to cost in black and white, also as del boy says "what cant speak, cant lie". If you can back up a cold call door knock with a “here is our price list we work from” its an easier sell/close You can use rightmove completed house sales https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html sort via most recently sold and there you have a fresh list possible customers, that auto updates ever week. Be the early bird that catches the worm and check every week SMILE, BE HAPPY IN YOUR WORK, SAY HELLO! Happily working on a customers job in your branded company gear, smile be happy you are on a paying job. You sense a man/woman walking her dog in your side view, due to pass you take a moment to pause to adjust your pole or work belt and make eye contact by accident, just smile, nod, say Hi or a friendly morning. It is making a personal small connection. Just a small thing and you may have them approach you for a job after fido has parked its breakfast a few mins later THE GARAGE DOOR - UPSELL AT THE END, CLOSING A perfect way to add a few quid to a job. Once the customer has agreed to your price and ongoing services. You can upsell the cleaning of the garage door for £2 more. Garage doors are big in the mind (lots of work, theyre not), the price seems small (£ kerching good value). Agreed to services, but risk looking cheap for an extra £2 ? “So Mrs Jones, that you all sorted on £15 a month for the windows, frames, sills, front & back door. If you'd like, I can do the garage door each month to for an extra £2 ? Yes? – GREAT 🙂 £15 job – just became a £17 for an extra 2 mins works £180 per yr to £204 per yr NO – OK no worries, if you ever need it done just let me know or drop me a message, same price if you need it done USE YOUR MOBILE AS A BAROMETER TO HOW WELL YOU ARE DOING YOUR JOB The less it rings, you knowing you are doing your job right = good work quality. If it is ringing for new work and new quotes to do you know your marketing or referrals are working "to buy or to not buy a round" For my own reasons above, I started from scratch. I didn't buy a round and it didn't even enter into my head to buy work starting out as you are the one starting out you want to pick and choose the areas you wish to clean, and also aside from retirement or accident/ill health buying a round I would have it my mind why do they wish to sell it if they are earning good coin from it? If you are buying chit or underpriced work, paying "x1 to x10" clean premium you are going to be pi$$ed off from day one starting out. If you are doing everything on your terms, you get to be in full control of how you build it. Lead Generation. I used Darren's lead generation service Green Pro Clean and built a round FAST. Fresh leads were always there EVERY day, regular as clockwork new jobs just waiting to be sealed. Whilst nothing in life is 100% perfect, there were messers in there, Jobs in chit areas, wouldn't sign up for GoCardless. But I picked up some real gems and lovely customers who I'm sure will be with me for years and net me in far more than the original lead cost me. My closure rate was about 65%, the other didn't fit around how I wanted to work. Digital lead generation has built around 50% of my round at a cost of around £3k thus far YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BODY ! A POLE CAN BE REPLACED YOUR BODY CANT – BEST TECH, BEST EQUIPMENT From my original research and planning, I kept reading the SLX22ft was great for around 95% of jobs and also in back of the van I had a manual clabber hand reel. Great I order the SLX. Worked hard with it starting out but began getting aches, creaks, tiredness, pains in arms and shoulders after four months daily use. I was questioning whether this job was really for me long term. Researched some more and saw top of the range Gardiners Extreme pole were well recommended, seconded by Darren (green pro clean) on a phone call for maintenance cleans So realised how often, I have the SLX full extended and was only 3 jobs a month. Dropped these three houses and suddenly I dont need a 22ft pole anymore. So adapting my house profile I choose to work on, It then turned to any property that couldn't be done with a Gardiners Extreme 18ft pole doesn't get on the books, again working smarter, not harder and also I can work quick now to. Will I have to say no to people, YES, will I have to turn down three story work YES. The difference between an 18ft extreme and 22ft SLX is like night and day difference. Use an 18ftExtreme for a maintenance clean, then do the same with a 22ftSLX its like tossing the caber literally So with my day to day pole upgraded, I conclude the body pains must also comes from the manual wheeling hose several times a day. Next purchase PowerupHD electric reel Next, lets look how a few more grams could be saved on day to day set up. Carbon fibre gooseneck added and extreme brush heads. More pole weight improvements again. By doing these three lots of upgrades, it allows me to worker faster, longer, with less effort not harder. I can now do more jobs in a day = £more cash, as such thus far has not costs me ANYTHING ! Which leads me to my next point of discussion, £ money MAKE MONEY WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER - GET THE BEST EQUIPMENT 0% if you haven't already sign, up for noddle or clearscore and check your credit file. At a glance it will give you an idea how much of a credit risk you are. It will give you credit cards and your eligibility % of how likely you are to be accepted. If you always pay your bills on time and in good standing there are many option for 0% on purchases for XX of months. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards/ Whilst I have the cash in the bank there, why spend a grand when I dont need to. I saw I was pre-approved & eligible for a 28 month 0% on purchases Virgin Money card So I have chose to spilt this cost of Powerup HD Reel = £492 18ft Extreme Pole & carbon extras = £585 £1077 divided over 2 years/24 months for sake of round numbers = just £44.87 per month OR equivalent of just x4 cleans a month to be using rolls royce top of the range equipment Not eligible for a 0% of purchases card, look to see if you can get a balance transfer for 0% for a few years, usually costs is just 3% of balance transferred Facebook ads/boosted posts Not without its problems and messers. But I found uptake rate on paid for ads and boosted posts MUCH better than using local for sale boards/services. Keep trailing different photos/images and text on a x24 hour £5 boosted post/ad. some work some don't, trail & error. When sorting the chosen target interest for the post, I have found using 'gardening' as an interest tends to get folk with very house proud and clean well maintained properties. Facebook local groups have brought me either the worst of the worst customers or also some total gems. Very hit or miss. Using these forsale boards/ local services groups also leaves you WIDE OPEN for random comments “ooohh he quoted me and he was dead dear him “, competition under cutters “i'll do it for £4” Your local reputation can be easily tarnished & then be visible to a large number of local people VERY EASILY be warned and you will have little control on policing it & the comments Use how a customer responds to your messages as a filter into what they are really like. Avoid single mothers like the plague, worst of the worst. Bad spelling/grammar, misspelling words, txt spk. adding xxxxxxxxxx kisses to everything, calling people hun/dear, use of Instagram filters/animal ears/glasses in their pics etc ALL red flags to watch for When they message you a quick look of their Facebook profile you can usually judge what someone is like pretty quick. Also get off FaceBook messenger ASAP as you've closed the deal. This closes one avenue of them trying to cancel a clean “LISTEN” FOR POTENTIAL £ MONEY “RED FLAGS” Can you leave until after the 30th when I get paid = I dont have a pot to pi$$ in the bank currently until the 30th My JSA/Universal Credit goes in on a Tuesday, a Tuesday would be lovely thanks = I dont have a pot to pi$$ in the bank currently until Tuesday “Oooohh thats dear , my last cleaner was £x” = I dont value a good reliable service and am not prepared to pay for it The perfect customer you want is the one who doesn't mention the price/pay day date/day of clean "don't be afraid to travel when starting out" Your postcode +10 miles AND or /20 mins travel time in ANY direction is what I used. My first six months I have been here there and everywhere. Cleaning, quoting as an when work/queries came in. Now, this past month I have had my first major reshuffle of work and squeezed down working x5 days out of x7 down to, x11 working days in a month to complete, an average of x13 cleans per day. What was previously random and scattered work all around this +10 miles radius of home, now it has made itself into a workable round with jobs now close to each other. ALTHOUGH YOU ARE SELF EMPLOYED TREAT IT LIKE A JOB You would work 9-5 in a normal office job, be working the same hours if not more on your own business you reap what you sew. The more you work at it the more you will be rewarded You are done by 1pm on day, that gives you x4 hours to go chapping doors, First clean scheduled for 10am, arrive at 9am and leaflet drop the street/area around In closing, My current position a few days over seven months in, 160 customers, 157 on GoCardless. All jobs are one van-stop, all round access. Bringing in just under £2k a month, ALL work is priced £10 or higher The average price per job is £13.85 (not fantastic but im up t'north! and there are still lots of "£4 a semi" cleaners here) To be at this position after seven months I am in a pretty happy spot and pleased with my results so far. I'm nobody really special or talented so if I can do it I think anyone could! I am bringing a half decent wage and still have plenty of scope to improve next year Still lots to learn, still lots of customers to find, still lots of things to try, still have lots of neigbours doors to wrap in the new year, still have lots of new build estates to leaflet drop in 2019 Hope you have enjoy my random brain droppings

i’m very impressed with what you’ve achieved. Just one thing to this 1. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover (i’m referring to the part about single mothers) there are plenty of single mothers out there who can hold their own. Some of them are minted, run businesses from home, have very high up corporate jobs etc. some people also have a lot of income simply off dicorce settlements. Even if they appear to be single there is often someone else in the picture who may well be helping them out financially. Regarding the part about text speech yes i agree with you there. I also expect people to have manners. I’ve had texts before saying “need a quote for gutters” and thats it, no “hi, my name is, please or thank you”

I had one today, regular customer but very fussy. She phoned me on Monday asking if I could clear the gutters on her conny next time I was there. No problem I'll be with you on Wednesday. I had a figure of £30 in my head. I know from experience that she likes the inside of the gutter to be clear of any dirty water etc. I cleared them of the leaves and moss and cracked on with cleaning the windows. She comes out and asks if my brush would clean the inside of the gutter. I knew this was coming so I said it won't fit in and I couldn't physically get the dirty water out with my hands. She suggested using the hose pipe. The hose pipe only reached the gutter that was visible from her bedroom so I just cleaned that water away. Then she asks me if I could 'just wipe over' the glass conny roof while I'm there. I reminded her that last time I cleaned her conny roof it took over 3 hours and I wouldn't have time to do it. There was no way I was going to clean a few dirty panels on top for f@ck all extra too.

If any of my customers ask me to do any addon I always give them a quote via text or letter (old people that dont use mobiles)and tell them to contact me if they want to proceed and I will book them in at the earliest opportunity. Puts them under no pressure to proceed if they're not happy with the price of that service.

I bought a small round local to me about a year ago. It was trad and fairly low priced, but it's in my village and I just went at it with the pole and waited for any issues. One of the first houses on the run came out and asked about it, seemed fairly happy that the upstairs windows above the Conny would be done and the frames kept nice. On about the 5th time back they asked if I could do the Conny roof, I said yes and got on with it, from memory about 12 panels with both sides awkward with large step ladders required. I cleaned it well and squeegeed it all off, charged them the usual £10 for the windows (id charge £15 if pricing today) and £20 for the roof (Id normally charge £40-50). They paid, I left thinking I'd done myself but am still trying to be nice to these people as they all are local to me. I turn up on Friday last week to do the windows and the fella comes running out, I thought here we go "it's going to rain later", but no. "I don't think we'll have it done today!". "any reason?" I asked "We just not happy with how you do it and the cost. We're pensioners" "Has there been any problem with the quality of the work, do you have any specific issue ?" "No, it's fine you're just too expensive." "But I charge what the last guy charged and prices haven't changed in 5 years" "But £20 to clean the roof was too much, we can't afford it" "Ok. Bye" And I had someone last week run out saying "why are you cleaning the windows in the Rain?" The sun was shining. I didn't really know how to respond other than to state the fact that it wasn't raining, and the sun was out. People are weird.

What we need is a problem solving flow chart for potential windies to follow who are overwhelmed by the process of wfp and producing water. It could be something like this. Is your drill working when you pull the trigger? Yes; takes you to another box - you have no problem. If you answered no; Is the drill plugged into the wall socket? No. Then plug your power lead into the socket and switch the socket on. Does you drill operate now? Yes - you have no problem. It could become pretty complicated - like my family tree program.

Here is some pictures and information for people on how my dad and me built my diy wfp trolley. All credit goes to my dad I was just there to pass tools and help when I could. We used are as follows: shruflow 100psi pump Yusa 12v 7ah battery Flow controller just a basic one Electrical junction box 300m x 220 x 120 On/off switch Stanely folding sack truck trolley. All parts apart from trolley were bought from ebay. I would just like to thank jimmyboots for his great post on making a diy trolley and Mark Munro (is he banned now) has great videos on YouTube. The idea with an electrical box is fantastic it really looks professional. Just in general this forum has been a fantastic help and thought I would post it to try and give back a little to the forum or at least I hope help or inspire people to make their own.

I Hear by dub spruce The Sprucefather!

Treat a 'first clean' and a 'one off clean' as two completely different things. If it is a 'genuine' first clean and they are really dirty then you should definitely charge more. It will take you longer and the customer should respect that. If the customer is a bit iffy on paying more for a first clean, then perhaps you should be wary about the long term quality of this customer! I usually think, how much longer it would take, and charge accordingly. Some may be only 10 mins more, some may be 3 times as long. You need to be honest, explain to the customer, and charge fairly. You are trying to build a relationship here with the customer, but not get 'had over'! Also, the more thorough you are on the first clean...the more easier the next cleans become. If it is a 'one off' clean and the customer has said they are moving, or just want it done the once, then this is a bit more fun. The simple answer is 'how much do you want the work'? If you are just starting out and need the work then don't go too high, get the cash coming in. If you are overloaded, then you may not even bother quoting, because you won't have the time. The real trick is trying to work out, 'which is which'. We all get custys that say they want a regular and really only want a one off, especially this time of year! That only comes with experience. Go with your gut instinct, price is right and keep smiling. You'll win some, you'll lose some!

Van now SOLD.

I've been shot down on here before for my opinions on running a window cleaning business. I've tried to look over how I word things and see what I can do differently but I just can't see where I go wrong... With this in mind the below is my opinion of how I run my business. I believe I've been relatively successful in the last couple of years and the key things for me were... Built steadily. I had the ability to purchase work several times along the way but never did. If you haven't been a window cleaner and or self employed before then buying a load of work could overwhelm you quite quickly. Keep some money by. You may need £1500 a month for bills but make £3k per month and book a nice foreign holiday or buy a new car. This can wait! I recently moved everyone around to make the round more compact, cost me quite a bit but the fact I didn't spend everything I earned meant I could do it without bankrupting myself If you want to build a successful business not just a window cleaning round then set yourself targets and KPI's and review them. Look at your personal circumstances and plan for that. The OP is struggling to complete a full days work 5 days a week at 40 and as @spruce says that will be even worse at 50. What i'm saying is work out how much you need to live, what you want to earn and make a plan.... Pensions, mortgage etc etc etc Your purpose is whatever you want it to be but on a basic level it will be to pay the bills. Most people have a much bigger purpose than that and that can keep you going when you want to give up. I have 2 things that keep me going, firstly I want to set a good example to my kids of a hardworking person and secondly to prove my old man wrong, he told me so many times I would amount to nothing haha.

Hey guys, we’ve all been there i’m sure, resins given out, tds suddenly risen to 2-5, time to change that resin, panic stations “oh man will i have spotting etc?” Well for those who have major concerns, i did a recent experiment. cleaned our back windows off the outside tap, long story short backpack & water was in the van parked halfway round the block due to the area being a nightmare to park, and couldnt be bothered going round to get it. used an old decomissioned wfp that was lying around in the garage for spares. Windows were getting there, probably cleaned last october...ish. soft water area tds usually between 30 & 70, at present its around 55. There were no signs of spotting whatsoever, however what i did notice in the subsequent 2-3 days is that the windows got dirtier noticeably quicker than had i used pure. Then storm Gareth arrived its two weeks on and they are still looking half reasonable now even after storm Gareth. This leads me to the suggestion that spotting must be (mainly) a result of poor or inexperienced technique, inadequate flow rate or improper rinsing, or simply that rubber seals or other fixtures are deteriorating/oxidising. Now i am not at all advising people to take this as a hint to not change their resin, its just to put a few genuinely concerned minds at ease. So, for those times where you get the un nervy feeling, i wouldnt panic initially and stop half way through the day just to be changing resin, youd probably be causing yourself unnecessary inconvenience & stress. If i can get a decent result off what i did (even if it doesn’t last) then a 2-5ppm would be a drop in the ocean i imagine. The question will always stand though...if your waters not pure...there’s never complete peace of mind.

I watched one of the new Alan Partridge last night and turned it off wasn't that impressed, I like some of the oldies better Only Fools and Horses Porridge Sorry The Likely Lads Rising Damp We have been watching Fonejacker again over the last 2 months funny as and yes Phoenix Nights is legendary

I am not claiming that working from a Fiat Punto is not possible and clearly I have got your back up with a bit of banter; But if i'm 100% honest i'm personally a little offended how you view the trade in which I have chosen to make my living. At the beginning of this thread you were asking if tap water could be used instead of pure. I pointed you in the direction of buying pure so thank other people and dislike my comments I really don't care pal. The fact is you have done no research at all about this and are asking people to spoon feed you all of the answers on how to start out. You haven't even taken the time to see how pure water works. If you give it that little respect to this how do you ever plan to make a ''business'' as you put it. Banter aside I would hate to see the wear and tear on a small vehicle with regular use for window cleaning. As @Craigmac says it works but isnt something to do long term. Best of luck!

Did that small roof clean today and I'm knackered. PW the roof is ok its the cleaning up after you come back down. Only took me a few hours but many more cleaning up the mess. I think I will put a minimum price of £300 on roof cleaning. Neighbours were out talking to me about cleaning her porch roof. Think it will be a talking point and may get a few others from it. I have a big 5 bedroom roof to clean tomorrow so this will be key because its a big posh area with posh prices.

We are about 3-4 weeks away from launching the new brush ranges and the new jet system on our website. Until then I will have to keep quiet on the details 😉 Overall it will simplify and improve the jet options available and make the changing of jets and jet combinations much easier.

Thanx for the reply and I do apologise for my untimely response to peoples comments and help. In my original question I did state that I might be late in replying as I am busy. And seeing when most of the people who have commented were early yesterday morning when I was dealing with my 2 children getting them ready to stay with my mother while also getting ready to head off to clean 2 holiday cottages that I manage I missed them. Sorry it might have slipped my mind to check this site. Too late last night and too tired to even open my laptop. I have a window of an hour this morning to get online,check my e-mails, reply to everyone here now,do my banking,answer cottage owners menial questions about the price of logs in the area and can I find a cheaper supplier as they want to save £3 on expenses and work out tomorrows work rota before I collect my children from my mothers and while the weather is good take them down the beach for the afternoon and then get them ready for school tomorrow and start another week all over again. Maybe you might fancy popping over here to Aberystwyth and I can get you to stand still and hold something for me while I'm rushing around. Thanx again for everyone's help and comments. I do appreciate it. xx Emma. x

Yup, fair play @P4dstar you raise some good points to consider. It is always a wise man who can listen to others and take on board their points of view/opinions. I will check out the Stephen Covey book you suggest, i liked his "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" i read year ago and thought it was excellent, so will check out "The Speed of Trust" you mention You are totally right on Horses for Courses, what i think is right is not what might work for someone else. That is the beauty of this trade, you can build and grow things on YOUR terms and YOUR rules. My calling out of single mothers as bad is definitely a little OTT and all wont be like that. Just be my bad fortune that the few messers who I've had have slipped through the pre-filter net/checks. It could have just as easily been some overly debtted up "Living Champagne Lifestyle on Lemonade budget" houses on a new build that caused me agro, nowt as queer as the general public. Rich or poor. Building a business is always work in progress and for every day you work, every day you learn something new. It is learning to learn from these messers/experiences Being less than a year in myself, i don't feel anywhere near experienced enough to tell folk how things should be done or indeed if there is any perfect way to do this job, just a newby sharing out what hes learnt thus far and giving a little back to the community that was so helpful to me learning the ropes prior to starting up last year

We work in the rain unless it’s really lashing down on domestic I have got rid of those that say leave it today looks like it’s going to rain types , when quoting jobs I stress we work in all weather s all year round , if they hesitate I suggest that we are not the window cleaners for them , I can honestly say I cannot remember the last time someone said not today , when starting out you take on all work you can get but once well established you can refine your work and get rid of the dross building good solid regular customers . Commercial work is done what ever the weather providing it’s safe to work of course

It's good to tell a customer that the price isn't all profit.

Personally I wouldn’t touch that , look at the state of that roof , if you scrape that I guarantee that it will leak then the owner will hold you responsible, I think that’s a walk away job , it’s the moss holding it all together

Thanks @spruce 👍👍 I’d checked and tightened everything and can’t believe I’d put the inlet into the outlet on the pump!! Used my trusty Gardiner backpack today and will switch the things round the right way over the weekend. Thanks again - it’s great having such quick support and advice 😬

That’s your choice mate, good luck to you. I love my weekends and the thought of pushing a pole up and down on a Saturday or Sunday horrifies me. Would rather be enjoying myself

Another thing @MikeL. Is that a Hozelock stop connector onto the hose reel? If it is then I'd suggest you swap it out for one that isn't a stop connector. If the water level in your tank is higher than the pump, your pump shouldn't be sucking air as gravity tends to overcome any leaking joint. On a Shurflo pump the inlet side from the tank is on the left hand side of the pump as you have photographed it. My gut is telling me that you have the pump inlet and outlet connected up incorrectly. *****Edit**** If you look at this illustration and magnify it you will see a small flow direction arrow just below the pressure switch. I positive this is the solution to your problem. https://www.windowcleaningwarehouse.co.uk/aquatec-12v-100psi-pump.html

I hate to say it fella but it doesn’t necessarily get any easier, people will still call you at all hours, the number of customers you’re dealing with increases therefore so does the admin, (receipts, phone calls, texts, emails) if youre cleaning 20/25 houses a day on a window cleaning round then you can imagine how much texting etc there is, then keeping track of 25 payments per day etc. 40,000 profit is nothing to argue about, i’m miles off that window cleaning. I’m not trying to discourage you at all, i dont miss all the risks of working with gas or keeping on top of all the constantly changing regulations etc, working inside horrible houses or ripping out old smelly toilets, this job is certainly a bit more environmentally fulfilling. But the grass isnt always greener on the other side you know. this month 2 new backpacks, one replacement pole, van service,van tax, interior van re-furb, resin, little odd bits of equipment & chemicals, diesel, the odd advert here & there. Expenses of probably 2k + straight away, not ideal for this time of year when its quiet but it all comes at once as they say. the only sure fire way of keeping expenses low is to go trad but its dangerous and then youre limited as to what work you can actually take on you know

I was going to stop window cleaning 5 years ago after clinging onto ladders and window ledges when wind is swirling around you , I thought f this, im not risking my life for dirty windows or to keep a customer happy. then I got a backpack, started to use a 200 Ro . Life has changed for the better. With these forums and the Help and Advice we Share to one another . Without the WFP setup I don't know what I would be doing now. Big Thankyou to all the Guys who are willing to SHARE there gained knowledge and skills they have learned in this work. There are lots on here who whatch the forum to get further knowledge for there work without us knowing. When I started Pressure washing SMURF gave me lots of help to get the right gear. Spruce also has a good knowledge and does not shy away to help . Thanks Window Cleaning is one of the highest paid jobs per hour in this country for a unskilled worker. £20 / £60 per hour.. I have great pleasure telling people this to see there expression when they just class you as just a Window Cleaner. Some still see you as a window cleaner just getting enough money to get to the pub or club. How its changed

A bit like the little street we live in there is only 4 houses and we have a shared courtyard well 5 houses but only 4 of us share the courtyard we all help each other were we can and do maintenance jobs together within the courtyard, one neighbour, me and my wife would be lost without him at times as he has helped us out with various jobs as is really handy and has the tools for most jobs, I usually pay him in beer or a free window clean.

After being a lurker for a couple of years thought it was about time to join up and say hello. I have been in business for 2 years now and must say a big thanks to all that give there experience, advise and opinions. It has been a big help and so rare to find a place where people actually help each other out.

First cleans, clean them twice and charge them double. One off cleans, I tell them I’m not interested 🙂

I used to use 1 pump for two operators and it used to irritate me when the other person stop their flow. Your flow then would increase and then decrease when he switched it back on. As a result went for another pump and Controller.

All of them! You want a flocked for leaded and first cleans, and then you want an extreme for precision work where you have dodgy seals etc. A good al rounder is the ultimate dupont hybrid, has great scrubbing power with the natural bristles. You definitely don't want anything heavy. If you are new then get the pencil jets and learn them first, then progress onto fan jets later. I have 10 different brushes and use most of them daily.

This always ends up being a controversial topic, makes some on here really irate. Everyones opinion is different and in response to the OP I would say that you just need to earn what you want to earn. It's easy to pick yourself up when you're tired and go again when you have kids to feed and rent to pay, if £500 a month covers your bills then you need to find a different purpose to keep you going. I've spoken to lads that say 1 van can bring £650 a day with a large tank and 2 men, I also know a local lad who makes £50 and then keeps going till he's bored. On a Wednesday he cleans the local pub and shop in a village near me, chats for a few hours and then goes home happy. Unlike working for a large company there is no set formula to it. It isn't 40 hours a week with a full induction programme, 5 weeks holiday a year and bank holidays off... It's whatever you want it to be.

This has been discussed quite a lot. I was new to water fed pole 18 months ago. So I had a lot to learn. with thanks to Spruce and Doug I have a great system working. So my thoughts are yes you can get cheap membranes, save a few quid initially. But I would always go to Doug, why? Because I can ring him and he can help me, give good advice, so I prefer his advice, so I will always buy from him. Top man😃

That's why I went with DIY for the van mount. The more you know the more you can fix.