First day a lot learnt...

[Flash_P]

I'm only a couple months further on than you, and jobs are taking longer that expected because i'm still learning and like you want to make a good first impression clean.

majority have also been first cleans. I did one on Saturday a 3 bedroom 2 storey L shaped house. I quoted £25 over the phone. He did say when i turned up they hadn't been cleaned since he moved in around July. I still went with the £25. And i was on the job 1hr30 mins! if i'd have had the courage i should have said it will be £35 because they are in poor condition. but because the phone isn't ringing off the hook i didn't change the price..

 I did take a photo of one of the sills.

View attachment 23171

We find out so much from making mistakes, from that I have thought about how I make my approach and do my pricing. I’m going to take advantage and “strike whilst the irons hot” if anyone approaches me. I wanted to have 5 customers by the end of this month and I currently have 4, 3 of which are now regular with the 4th “deciding” but I’m pretty confident they will (it’s a family member ?) also I have 2 jobs to do tomorrow where I’m hoping maybe I’ll get a walk up but we will see what happens...

 

[Iron Giant]

I've had a couple of walk ups while setting my van up, happy days.

I didnt fancy full sign written van, I got 5 magnetic signs done. £180. I just take them off n take van through the  car wash at local Tesco.

They will trash your vans paintwork, a sign written van wouldn't have cost much more, I had my combo fully sign written for £186 just under 3 years ago. 

 

[Pjj]

They will trash your vans paintwork, a sign written van wouldn't have cost much more, I had my combo fully sign written for £186 just under 3 years ago. 

Just had my new van done total cost £380 and some of that is reflective which costs a lot more , it’s the best money you will ever spend on advertising, I have another van waiting to be done we have had it over 18 months now and just been so busy haven’t had time for it to be off the road to get it done ???

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Just had my new van done total cost £380 and some of that is reflective which costs a lot more , it’s the best money you will ever spend on advertising, I have another van waiting to be done we have had it over 18 months now and just been so busy haven’t had time for it to be off the road to get it done ???

I like the grey colour but its no good as a background for signwriting I would have thought. I guess you would need to use silver or white to notice it from a distance. I will stick with white van in the future and keep it simple. ?

 

[Iron Giant]

I like the grey colour but its no good as a background for signwriting I would have thought. I guess you would need to use silver or white to notice it from a distance. I will stick with white van in the future and keep it simple. ?

Grey is perfectly good as a background, my logo has had a grey background for years and the writing is blue and it stands out really well

 

[TWC]

They will trash your vans paintwork, a sign written van wouldn't have cost much more, I had my combo fully sign written for £186 just under 3 years ago. 

I had a 2014 partner and used magnetic signs. I had them on both sides and front and back. I noticed the paint bubbling so removed them. The bonnet however was too far gone and a couple of weeks later I was driving down a country lane when, what looked like a sheet of paper, flew over the windscreen. I got to the next job to find my bonnet had bare metal patches and it was the paint I’d seen detach. 
I remember someone on here saying magnets are fine on much older vans but the manufacturer found cheaper ways to apply paint on newer vans and this is the outcome. 
I’ll never use magnets again that’s for sure

 

[Markyboy 50]

Just had my new van done total cost £380 and some of that is reflective which costs a lot more , it’s the best money you will ever spend on advertising, I have another van waiting to be done we have had it over 18 months now and just been so busy haven’t had time for it to be off the road to get it done ???

If you’re so busy that you ain’t been able to take it off the road in 18 months to have it sign written..... you don’t need it sign written! ??

 

[Pjj]

If you’re so busy that you ain’t been able to take it off the road in 18 months to have it sign written..... you don’t need it sign written! ??

That’s very true but think it looks better when a van turns up at a customers house or commercial premises with it .   

 

[swc1]

Just had my new van done total cost £380 and some of that is reflective which costs a lot more , it’s the best money you will ever spend on advertising, I have another van waiting to be done we have had it over 18 months now and just been so busy haven’t had time for it to be off the road to get it done ???

Quit wasting time ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I learnt something today when I was clearing a gutter out. The person before had stuck 4" webbing all along the inside of the gutter with SS clips. Not sure if it was originally convex and fell inside but it was lying in the bottom with all sorts of vegetation growing through it. I just pulled a metre along and cut it with a pair of scissors and flung it down until there was none left. Must admit it was the easiest gutter clear I have ever did and didn't need to move the ladders. ?

http://www.ukvanracking.co.uk/shop/info.html

I'm not trying to promote a business but I have bought some racking from this guy and its fantastic. Bought 2 racks last week and will be buying more on Monday for my hall to store stuff. Will try and post a photo of one soon. 

 

[steve garwood]

I learnt something today when I was clearing a gutter out. The person before had stuck 4" webbing all along the inside of the gutter with SS clips. Not sure if it was originally convex and fell inside but it was lying in the bottom with all sorts of vegetation growing through it. I just pulled a metre along and cut it with a pair of scissors and flung it down until there was none left. Must admit it was the easiest gutter clear I have ever did and didn't need to move the ladders. ?

http://www.ukvanracking.co.uk/shop/info.html

I'm not trying to promote a business but I have bought some racking from this guy and its fantastic. Bought 2 racks last week and will be buying more on Monday for my hall to store stuff. Will try and post a photo of one soon. 

Wait, what? Your putting van racking in your hall?

Sure that will look lovely ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Got another 3 units coming, no space at the moment so looking for a bigger house.

 

[steve garwood]

Got to be honest, that looks great for a van ?

Looks ?in a hall though ?

 

[Danfire]

I'm only a couple months further on than you, and jobs are taking longer that expected because i'm still learning and like you want to make a good first impression clean.

majority have also been first cleans. I did one on Saturday a 3 bedroom 2 storey L shaped house. I quoted £25 over the phone. He did say when i turned up they hadn't been cleaned since he moved in around July. I still went with the £25. And i was on the job 1hr30 mins! if i'd have had the courage i should have said it will be £35 because they are in poor condition. but because the phone isn't ringing off the hook i didn't change the price..

 I did take a photo of one of the sills.

View attachment 23171

That's not too bad. Yes, you could've quoted a bit higher for the first clean but occasionally, if I really want to land a customer because they are a neighbour of existing work and if I'm 100% sure they will join the round and not screw me over for a "one off" clean then I might do the first restoration clean at the maintenance rate.

The good news is, if they were a horror show on the first clean and took one hour thirty then for your maintenance cleans you should have it done in no more than 30 minutes so your pricing is decent.

 

[Flash_P]

Hello all,

It's been a few months so i thought i would give an update on where i am at because as i am sure you're all bursting at the seams to find out?....

I have moved on quite far from January and learnt a lot during this period. My customer base has increased and i am also getting repeat customers for services including conservatory roof, gutter clears and FSG cleaning. 

To save you time reading back: 

I am currently full time employed and serving a 1 year notice to leave (i have 4.5 months left to complete) of which i will receive 50 working days paid leave prior to starting my next full time employment (Window/ Exterior cleaning). I have been working Friday afternoons and Saturdays (and sometimes evenings during the week) since January to build my customer base and establish regular rounds every weekend. 

So where am i at right now? I have work on every weekend which rages from 4-10 houses per day (61 customers avg £15 per house), I am offering my services 4/8 weekly only and one off cleans are charged at 2 x what a monthly rate would be. I win pretty much 90% of what i quote and i know this is down to the fact i am probably cheaper than a lot of others in my area (its amazing what £1 difference is to someone!). I also offer Gutter Clearing alongside SFG cleans, conny roof cleans etc... I get 1-2 enquiries pretty much every day but i am currently not in the position to take customers on as i will not be full time until the end of the month. I have work lined up for when i go full time but it's just mainly one off jobs but ill be taking on alot more regular customers to... We are also due some heavy rain so more gutter clearing jobs will be coming in to fill any gaps that i have lol.

Anyway i'll stop dibbling on...

kind regards,

Flash

 

[Davy G]

All very good except for being cheaper than the other guys in your area. We should be helping each other to keep the prices buoyant with the aim of increasing all of our incomes and profits over time. That's the only reason our trade can be fairly lucrative, because of the vision and courage of those who started before us and took it out of the "price of a pint, a pasty and a flutter on the horses" mentality, into the more prosperous and serious business it is now for most of us. Some of those you are undercutting could well be the very people who have helped you on the forum.

I wish you the very best but I just wanted to make you aware of the long term importance to all of us in charging professional rates.

 

[Flash_P]

@Davy GI thought this part would get some attention and it may be taken the wrong way. I completely agree with what you say and don't go out to undercut anyone and to be honest wouldn't have much of an idea what the others in my area charge.  My prices range from £10 up to £40 not including a commercial job that is £145 3 monthly.

I personally would love to connect with the local window cleaners in my area and pass them on the work i cannot take on but haven't managed too yet. 

 

[Davy G]

@Davy GI thought this part would get some attention and it may be taken the wrong way. I completely agree with what you say and don't go out to undercut anyone and to be honest wouldn't have much of an idea what the others in my area charge.  My prices range from £10 up to £40 not including a commercial job that is £145 3 monthly.

I personally would love to connect with the local window cleaners in my area and pass them on the work i cannot take on but haven't managed too yet. 

No problem my friend. I couldn't get advice on pricing when I started out either. I asked a long time friend of mine, who had been doing it for over four years for some advice on pricing. I wasted my breath. "Well it's down to how much you want to earn in an hour, Dave" was his reply. No useful guidance whatsoever. ?

I made my own way. Thinking, if I can earn £25 an hour on the brush starting out that will get me started. But that in the very near future, (this was 7 years ago), I'd aim for around £40 an hour. I aim for around £50 an hour at present per man (son and I). We're usually somewhere around that mark. Sometimes significantly more where we've been able to tighten up the round over time.

As you are in Hampshire I should think you have a great opportunity to thrive. I'd keep an open mind on exactly where to concentrate your marketing/canvassing efforts and play around with the pricing quotes to find a healthy balance.

Sometimes a little extra distance can get us into a more lucrative, less serviced area. Without having to go too far out of our way.

Good luck. Onwards and upwards. It's all just an extension to schoolwork. ??

 

[Flash_P]

No problem my friend. I couldn't get advice on pricing when I started out either. I asked a long time friend of mine, who had been doing it for over four years for some advice on pricing. I wasted my breath. "Well it's down to how much you want to earn in an hour, Dave" was his reply. No useful guidance whatsoever. ?

I made my own way. Thinking, if I can earn £25 an hour on the brush starting out that will get me started. But that in the very near future, (this was 7 years ago), I'd aim for around £40 an hour. I aim for around £50 an hour at present per man (son and I). We're usually somewhere around that mark. Sometimes significantly more where we've been able to tighten up the round over time.

As you are in Hampshire I should think you have a great opportunity to thrive. I'd keep an open mind on exactly where to concentrate your marketing/canvassing efforts and play around with the pricing quotes to find a healthy balance.

Sometimes a little extra distance can get us into a more lucrative, less serviced area. Without having to go too far out of our way.

Good luck. Onwards and upwards. It's all just an extension to schoolwork. ??

Thanks for that. I am in the same boat as I have decided that £25-30 an hour will be enough for me and the business to be comfortable. My furthest jobs away are 2 neighbours and each house is £40, it’s an hour there and back but it’s 45 minutes for £80 and I have a few places I do on the way back and get about £200 for that days work which I’m happy with. 
 

it’s always on my mind that the only thing that limits what I am able to earn is how hard I work. 

 

[Davy G]

Thanks for that. I am in the same boat as I have decided that £25-30 an hour will be enough for me and the business to be comfortable. My furthest jobs away are 2 neighbours and each house is £40, it’s an hour there and back but it’s 45 minutes for £80 and I have a few places I do on the way back and get about £200 for that days work which I’m happy with. 
 

it’s always on my mind that the only thing that limits what I am able to earn is how hard I work. 

I would say that these days £25-£30 an hour is survival, treading water rate rather than a thriving rate. OK for starting but I'd be setting my sights for a significantly higher rate in the near to medium term.

As you start to fill in the spaces on your travels to the further jobs with more customers hopefully you will find that you can increase your income significantly.

The key is buoyant pricing, and efficiency in all our business practices : Quality work production, good planning and time management. Economical/fast work effort and open, free thinking mind. 

 

[dazmond]

anything that doesnt earn me at least £40 an hour quite comfortably i wont clean as i only allow 20-30 hours a week to my business,the rest of the time im relaxing with my family,friends or pursuing my hobbies...window cleaning is a lifestyle business to me....

all i ever wanted was a low stress part time job for full time money and ive got that balance now......

you can make window cleaning whatever you want it to be in time......

best wishes mate