Best way to get idea on pricing for new startup

[JamesHoll]

Hello guys

basically another startup dude wanting an idea on how to work out pricing any ideas appreciated and taken into consideration.

 

[ched999uk]

Hello guys

basically another startup dude wanting an idea on how to work out pricing any ideas appreciated and taken into consideration.

Never an easy answer. Try and ask family and friends what they pay as a starting point but really you need to work out what you want to earn. There are lots of people who charge peanuts for cleaning windows, so if you want to earn decent money you need to do a great job, be reliable, you also need to be presentable and act professionally. Make sure you know what you are doing, have insurance just in case, and act confidently. The customer is trusting you to be around their property when they may not be there so they need to trust you!!!

It's much easier to reduce your prices if you don't get any customers take you up on your quote (for other quotes - don't haggle) than it is to raise prices as you have under priced!!!

 

[JamesHoll]

Never an easy answer. Try and ask family and friends what they pay as a starting point but really you need to work out what you want to earn. There are lots of people who charge peanuts for cleaning windows, so if you want to earn decent money you need to do a great job, be reliable, you also need to be presentable and act professionally. Make sure you know what you are doing, have insurance just in case, and act confidently. The customer is trusting you to be around their property when they may not be there so they need to trust you!!!

It's much easier to reduce your prices if you don't get any customers take you up on your quote (for other quotes - don't haggle) than it is to raise prices as you have under priced!!!

Thanks mate well appreciated just being looking on various West Yorkshire window cleaners websites got a basic idea for now also I don’t know what to do equipment wise if that’s something you can help with I don’t know If to start small with a pure freedom trolley and a static tank or go and buy a heated van system and prey I get somewhere 

 

[Pjj]

Thanks mate well appreciated just being looking on various West Yorkshire window cleaners websites got a basic idea for now also I don’t know what to do equipment wise if that’s something you can help with I don’t know If to start small with a pure freedom trolley and a static tank or go and buy a heated van system and prey I get somewhere 

Van system is always the best option in my experience and hot is very good but if just starting out your main concern should be gaining customers ,worry about that and technique for getting a good clean and don’t worry about hot water now . 

 

[ched999uk]

Thanks mate well appreciated just being looking on various West Yorkshire window cleaners websites got a basic idea for now also I don’t know what to do equipment wise if that’s something you can help with I don’t know If to start small with a pure freedom trolley and a static tank or go and buy a heated van system and prey I get somewhere 

Equipment wise it a tricky one. I am only 6 months in and have been using barrels and a Gardiner backpack on a trolley. It's going quite well so far and I am not pushing to gain more customers very quickly at all. I would say it all depends on how much money you have to invest and how quick you need an income! If you have lots of money going spare than a van system will allow you to work faster and maybe look more professional. If you are on a budget or wanting to test the water then a Gardiners 'back pack' is a good device, but don't think you can actually put it on your back ?, use a trolley.

There are a few ways to do a heated system if you want to use hot water. If you can park close to your house off road then you can use a 2Kw immersion heater installed in a a tank. If not then you are looking at a diesel heater which is a few £K!!!! Don't be tempted to use a gas shower unit as they are not designed to be bounced round in a van and can cause an explosion!!!!!

If you have a van/car then to test the water I would just get a back pack, pole & brush, and some barrels as long as you have a Spotless Water station near by or you will need to produce Pure for yourself (search on here for RO and DI or tds etc).

Winter will be a challenge (so I am told ? ) and not necessarily the easiest time to gain customers.

All the info you need is here just use the search at top right, there is masses of info. I spent about 9 months or so reading before I started and while I know the theory, practical stuff is a little different in the real world!

A lot of people here and on other forums have been doing the job for a good few years and have built their rounds, their methods and systems over the years so don't expect the money to just come rolling in, it takes lots of hard work, dedication and time!!!

Hope that helps?  

 

[JamesHoll]

Equipment wise it a tricky one. I am only 6 months in and have been using barrels and a Gardiner backpack on a trolley. It's going quite well so far and I am not pushing to gain more customers very quickly at all. I would say it all depends on how much money you have to invest and how quick you need an income! If you have lots of money going spare than a van system will allow you to work faster and maybe look more professional. If you are on a budget or wanting to test the water then a Gardiners 'back pack' is a good device, but don't think you can actually put it on your back ?, use a trolley.

There are a few ways to do a heated system if you want to use hot water. If you can park close to your house off road then you can use a 2Kw immersion heater installed in a a tank. If not then you are looking at a diesel heater which is a few £K!!!! Don't be tempted to use a gas shower unit as they are not designed to be bounced round in a van and can cause an explosion!!!!!

If you have a van/car then to test the water I would just get a back pack, pole & brush, and some barrels as long as you have a Spotless Water station near by or you will need to produce Pure for yourself (search on here for RO and DI or tds etc).

Winter will be a challenge (so I am told ? ) and not necessarily the easiest time to gain customers.

All the info you need is here just use the search at top right, there is masses of info. I spent about 9 months or so reading before I started and while I know the theory, practical stuff is a little different in the real world!

A lot of people here and on other forums have been doing the job for a good few years and have built their rounds, their methods and systems over the years so don't expect the money to just come rolling in, it takes lots of hard work, dedication and time!!!

Hope that helps?  

Thanks for that mate honest really appreciate the advice and you giving me 5 mins of your time ground is up route I reckon if the business grows I can buy the van system 

 

[THL4KEL]

Ideally you want to buy a TDS meter to check your water to find out if you need to buy either DI vessel or a reverse osmosis system to make pure water.

 

[JamesHoll]

Ideally you want to buy a TDS meter to check your water to find out if you need to buy either DI vessel or a reverse osmosis system to make pure water.

I’m collecting one tomorrow from pure freedom also off to look at different bits of equipment to get a better idea 80 miles there 80 back but I suppose it helps a lot with understanding and the fact il have my tds meter there and then 

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Hello guys

basically another startup dude wanting an idea on how to work out pricing any ideas appreciated and taken into consideration.

Reading the forum and it's associated threads is the only way to grasp an insight into the trade. Plenty of valuable information 

 

[JamesHoll]

Reading the forum and it's associated threads is the only way to grasp an insight into the trade. Plenty of valuable information 

Thanks mate appreciate you giving me even just one mine of your time ?

 

[Jaygti]

Somewhere between £1.00-£2.00 per window. ( not per pain). 

look out for tricky access. Make an allowance for travelling. Add on for Georgian and lead windows. Also old wooden windows. 
Charge more for every other month windows. 

 

[laddergarder]

It's different all over the country, and will always raise differing opinions on here.

It you want a stab in the dark answer. £1.50 per window on average, won't be far off.

For me I have a 'price per minute' and I know how long each type of window takes roughly.

So if its 3 minutes for a double hung, and my PPM is 50p(just an example), then I charge £1.50 for that window. But if its a bay window that will take me 6 minutes, I charge £3, and so forth.

I calculate my PPW from my business model. Which gives me an accurate PPM  to charge. So when the NI tax was increased, I knew right away to the penny how much I has to increase prices to compensate.

Basically work out what its actually going to cost you, wages, overheads, taxes, capital investment etc. Then how much your going to work(hours per year), taking into account, holidays and downtime, and base your prices on that.

Also once you have an hourly target, you need to take into account time for logistics between jobs, before working out your PPM.

 

[Iron Giant]

It's different all over the country, and will always raise differing opinions on here.

It you want a stab in the dark answer. £1.50 per window on average, won't be far off.

For me I have a 'price per minute' and I know how long each type of window takes roughly.

So if its 3 minutes for a double hung, and my PPM is 50p(just an example), then I charge £1.50 for that window. But if its a bay window that will take me 6 minutes, I charge £3, and so forth.

I calculate my PPW from my business model. Which gives me an accurate PPM  to charge. So when the NI tax was increased, I knew right away to the penny how much I has to increase prices to compensate.

Basically work out what its actually going to cost you, wages, overheads, taxes, capital investment etc. Then how much your going to work(hours per year), taking into account, holidays and downtime, and base your prices on that.

Also once you have an hourly target, you need to take into account time for logistics between jobs, before working out your PPM.

Your pricing has always intrigued me, as to what you mean by a window and how you manage to have a charge of £1.50 a window, I don't and wouldn't get anywhere near that as at a rough guess I'd be asking around £20 for a 4 bed detached house on a new build estate that just wouldn't happen in the north east of England 

But on your 50p a minute charge over 1 hour that's a total of £30 an hour minus chatting to people some days and stops in between some jobs then  breaks that ain't great money at all over a 7hr working day for example that's £210 less expenses and so on that is even less again. 

 

[laddergarder]

Your pricing has always intrigued me, as to what you mean by a window and how you manage to have a charge of £1.50 a window, I don't and wouldn't get anywhere near that as at a rough guess I'd be asking around £20 for a 4 bed detached house on a new build estate that just wouldn't happen in the north east of England 

But on your 50p a minute charge over 1 hour that's a total of £30 an hour minus chatting to people some days and stops in between some jobs then  breaks that ain't great money at all over a 7hr working day for example that's £210 less expenses and so on that is even less again. 

I'd rather not get into that to be honest. I think it's more helpful to the OP to talk about how to do the maths.

Once he has done a few houses himself, he will know for sure what he can do an hour.

If he diligently does that maths, and gets quote for everything,  he'll know exactly what he needs to charge, because he'll know what it's costing him to do it.

Then what others charge or make won't mater.

 

[Iron Giant]

I'd rather not get into that to be honest. I think it's more helpful to the OP to talk about how to do the maths.

Once he has done a few houses himself, he will know for sure what he can do an hour.

If he diligently does that maths, and gets quote for everything,  he'll know exactly what he needs to charge, because he'll know what it's costing him to do it.

Then what others charge or make won't mater.

Fair do's 

I was as thick as ? at school and not much better now, I know how much I want to earn and make a good wedge which is great deal more than I ever though I could make 

 

[Jango]

I’m collecting one tomorrow from pure freedom also off to look at different bits of equipment to get a better idea 80 miles there 80 back but I suppose it helps a lot with understanding and the fact il have my tds meter there and then 

Pure freedom are very good. Don’t be talked into there poles though they are heavy. You would be better with a little bit of understanding before heading off, otherwise you could be talked into stuff you might later regret. 
Their van systems are very good. The trolleys are very good but when constantly lifting barrels and the trolley on a daily basis it’s very tiring. Have you window cleaned before? You might be better to give it a try before investing big money. 
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