How many houses and hours should I be doing daily ?

[ched999uk]

Really appreciate all the comments here. I did increase my flow rate today to mid speed and have gone quicker. I have managed to do £10 houses in 13 minutes and £12 houses in 16 minutes. I have however used quite a bit more water so I am going to get a bigger tank and try for around 20 houses a day (£200) in 6 hours. I feel like this is a realistic aim from what I have seen in the comments and my own situation. The price situation however it would just be to big a risk I would lose alot of clients. I have increased prices before and lost quite a few. So bigger tank, increase flow, have to canvass to try for 20 per day and I will see how it goes.

Canvas and then quote at a higher price. Within the first 10 quotes or so you will know if higher prices are accepted. It's much easier to quote a higher price than to increase prices.

 

[steve garwood]

Really appreciate all the comments here. I did increase my flow rate today to mid speed and have gone quicker. I have managed to do £10 houses in 13 minutes and £12 houses in 16 minutes. I have however used quite a bit more water so I am going to get a bigger tank and try for around 20 houses a day (£200) in 6 hours. I feel like this is a realistic aim from what I have seen in the comments and my own situation. The price situation however it would just be to big a risk I would lose alot of clients. I have increased prices before and lost quite a few. So bigger tank, increase flow, have to canvass to try for 20 per day and I will see how it goes.

That is a realistic aim ?.
As a couple of others have said, ignore some of the boasting on here. Most talk sense, but others tend to bull?.
Good luck to you ???‍?

 

[Jaygti]

Just to add, personally I’d rather get stuck in.
I do 8 hrs+ every day, and I don’t stop for breaks, I’ll just grab something on the go , and keep going.
This means I can have Fridays off.
If I finish early I’ll just get something to eat and fall asleep on the sofa, which is just a waste.

 

[Jaygti]

That is a realistic aim ?.
As a couple of others have said, ignore some of the boasting on here. Most talk sense, but others tend to bull?.
Good luck to you ???‍?

Yes be realistic ??
If you aim to constantly do a bit better all the time , you’ll eventually have a very good well paying round. It might take a while but you’ll always be heading in the right direction ??

 

[kevinc250]

i think first things first, forums, whether it be this one or other ones have people who brag about earnings per hour or year etc just ignore them mate, these people seem to want post earnings as some kind of badge of honour or to make others think they are "higher" than the others-just ignore them,
you do need a bigger tank or in the meantime some water butts to top up the tank during the day, try asking the local car wash people to see if they have any empty ones.
next thing, water is the cheapest thing on your van, i'm not on a meter but i think a cubic metre ie 1000litres costs around a fiver to produce and it makes you how much?.
you are cleaning a house in twenty mins for a tenner? you are pretty much on the mark their.
instead of increasing prices, think of how you can become more efficient?, this can cost a fair few quid but it pays dividends down the line.
think about an electric reel or maybe an slx pole if you don't have one already. either of these will save you 30 mins a day, that 30 mins means £15 extra a day thats £80 per week or £320 per month just by altering some of the ways you do things.
these are just ideas but, ones which i have used in the past and i have made a lot of profit and an easier day from some simple changes from not listening to those "high earners" and to look at how i do things and how they can be improved.
the trick to all this self employed malarky is to make as much as you can in the shortest time available so you can do the things that are important to you.
i hope this helps.

 

[Chris34]

Really appreciate all the comments here. I did increase my flow rate today to mid speed and have gone quicker. I have managed to do £10 houses in 13 minutes and £12 houses in 16 minutes. I have however used quite a bit more water so I am going to get a bigger tank and try for around 20 houses a day (£200) in 6 hours. I feel like this is a realistic aim from what I have seen in the comments and my own situation. The price situation however it would just be to big a risk I would lose alot of clients. I have increased prices before and lost quite a few. So bigger tank, increase flow, have to canvass to try for 20 per day and I will see how it goes.

Increasing prices is part of business, I've increased 3 of mine today, I think I've lost one because of it, but that's just business. One went from £35 to £45, one from £35 to £40 and one from £25 to £30, it's the last one I think I've lost. But you can't look at keeping them all on cheap prices as you're just going to end up running yourself and the business into the ground.

If I kept the prices the same all the time then I'd end up like a lot of the window cleaners near me, 800 houses at around £6 per house packing the whole lot in to go and work at Aldi. At some point those £6 houses were probably good money in the mid nineties, but eventually with the price of everything going up you just end up working faster and faster to try and justify charging a cheap price.

You need to improve efficiency but also improve your pricing. You might lose 1 but if 3 accept the price increase then you are on your way to better money, especially if you speed up as well.

Do like Ched suggested, the next 10 quotes, quote them higher, you've not really got anything to lose by doing it, but you need to be fully on board with the price and be determined to get the price accepted.

Set yourself a plan, it's good to have goals and to set targets to push yourself and the business forward. Not everything will work out but with a bit of thought you can achieve more, more work and higher prices.

Personally with the money you're on I wouldn't bother with electric reels and all that, you can't afford to be spending money. Get the work in and then consider spending the money but only if you feel it will significantly change the way you work. A bigger tank will be a necessity though by the sounds of it.

 

[spruce]

4-5 hours a day to do 10 houses so are you saying it’s taking you aprox 2 hours to do one house ? We are all different and will all work at different speeds but that’s impossible to take that long .
The most important factor isn’t the number of houses per day but price per job that is what matters . Technique and being methodical with the job can make you a lot quicker , also working a full day will increase your productivity.

That's me! ? The thing is that I don't do 10 houses.

 

[spruce]

i think first things first, forums, whether it be this one or other ones have people who brag about earnings per hour or year etc just ignore them mate, these people seem to want post earnings as some kind of badge of honour or to make others think they are "higher" than the others-just ignore them,
you do need a bigger tank or in the meantime some water butts to top up the tank during the day, try asking the local car wash people to see if they have any empty ones.
next thing, water is the cheapest thing on your van, i'm not on a meter but i think a cubic metre ie 1000litres costs around a fiver to produce and it makes you how much?.
you are cleaning a house in twenty mins for a tenner? you are pretty much on the mark their.
instead of increasing prices, think of how you can become more efficient?, this can cost a fair few quid but it pays dividends down the line.
think about an electric reel or maybe an slx pole if you don't have one already. either of these will save you 30 mins a day, that 30 mins means £15 extra a day thats £80 per week or £320 per month just by altering some of the ways you do things.
these are just ideas but, ones which i have used in the past and i have made a lot of profit and an easier day from some simple changes from not listening to those "high earners" and to look at how i do things and how they can be improved.
the trick to all this self employed malarky is to make as much as you can in the shortest time available so you can do the things that are important to you.
i hope this helps.

A very good post and a lot of food for thought, Kevin.

 

[rafterys2003]

Thanks everyone. What would you guys say is the best way to double your client base ? Usually I canvass but alot don't tend to last that way I think it's a bit of an impulse buy.

 

[Pjj]

Thanks everyone. What would you guys say is the best way to double your client base ? Usually I canvass but alot don't tend to last that way I think it's a bit of an impulse buy.

Knock on a lot of doors

 

[Chris34]

Thanks everyone. What would you guys say is the best way to double your client base ? Usually I canvass but alot don't tend to last that way I think it's a bit of an impulse buy.

There isn't a single best way, it's a mixture of everything.

When I look at my last 10 new customers, I aquired them like this

Customer 1 - Recommendation (did the neighbours)
Customer 2 - Recommendation (did the neighbours)
Customer 3 - Response to leaflet
Customer 4 - Walk up (next door neighbour)
Customer 5 - Response to leaflet
Customer 6 - Walk up (neighbour opposite)
Customer 7 - Response to leaflet
Customer 8 - Canvassed house next door to response to leaflet
Customer 9 - Response to leaflet drop
Customer 10 - Walk up

Looking at the above you can see that the more work you get the easier it's going to be as you have more recommendations and then more customers which give more recommendations. You just have to keep plugging away at it and look at the bigger picture.

I've found the best method is to leaflet drop and then canvass the areas where you get a response to the leaflet drop. Leaflets allow you to cover a lot of ground and generally where you get a response is where there is a need for a window cleaner so that's when it's worth spending the time to canvass. However I'd continue to regularly canvass and leaflet drop in areas you already do to make the work more compact.

I'm currently getting all my clothing embroidered and will be getting the van sign written when I can afford it. All these little things help.

 

[Chris34]

There isn't a single best way, it's a mixture of everything.

When I look at my last 10 new customers, I aquired them like this

Customer 1 - Recommendation (did the neighbours)
Customer 2 - Recommendation (did the neighbours)
Customer 3 - Response to leaflet
Customer 4 - Walk up (next door neighbour)
Customer 5 - Response to leaflet
Customer 6 - Walk up (neighbour opposite)
Customer 7 - Response to leaflet
Customer 8 - Canvassed house next door to response to leaflet
Customer 9 - Response to leaflet drop
Customer 10 - Walk up

Looking at the above you can see that the more work you get the easier it's going to be as you have more recommendations and then more customers which give more recommendations. You just have to keep plugging away at it and look at the bigger picture.

I've found the best method is to leaflet drop and then canvass the areas where you get a response to the leaflet drop. Leaflets allow you to cover a lot of ground and generally where you get a response is where there is a need for a window cleaner so that's when it's worth spending the time to canvass. However I'd continue to regularly canvass and leaflet drop in areas you already do to make the work more compact.

I'm currently getting all my clothing embroidered and will be getting the van sign written when I can afford it. All these little things help.

and just to add, the canvassed customers won't show that high for me as I don't really do much canvassing, I prefer to just drop the leaflets. I canvass if I think it's worth the time (like when I've just aquired a customer or gone to do a quote, I'll knock on the neighbours 5 houses each side and 10 houses opposite).

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I was finishing the bin shed at the church today. A guy came over and asked if I could finish a bit of decking at his home. I told him although I'm a joiner I now clean windows. So now I have to clean his windows and finish off the decking. Sometimes without even trying the work comes to you. The reason is when we see someone working our mind automatically heads down a route regarding our own needs. You see it on TV all the time when they set the scene. A couple walks down a wide corridor with plenty of glass and a man in a white jacket with a stethoscope hanging out of his pocket. Our mind will tell us they are walking in a hospital. So best way to get work is dress like a window cleaner, plain van saying window cleaner and be seen where plenty of folk will see you. Never gave it a thought till I started getting asked for my card when I was working at the church. Today I realised the best day to work there is Sunday morning because hundreds of folk watch me and see my van. This happened just by pure luck but I did help them when they were running a quiet church. Now they are running a very busy church in an affluent area so I got called to help out. Its the old adage, work begets work, money begets money. The first year in any business is really hard unless one has plenty of money because you will become demoralised all the time. ?

 

[rafterys2003]

Does everybody here use the same brush, jets and technique for all windows ? Any recommendations for making cleaning large hydrophobic ones easier ?

 

[Pjj]

We use the same brush and jets for everything, but different techniques for upvc , sash , and Windows with ledges half way down the pains etc, just give them a good scrub and thorough rinse you shouldn’t have an problems

 

[scottish cleaning service]

If you scrub the tops of vents then expect dirt run off to one side. This then runs down the glass and leave dirt line. I scrub above vents once every 6 months, give good rinse then head back and scrub glass and rinse. It takes longer but means no dirt left on glass.

 

[adamangler]

Does everybody here use the same brush, jets and technique for all windows ? Any recommendations for making cleaning large hydrophobic ones easier ?

Just a high flow.

Remember if you are changing brush or jets for 1 job you are wasting time, the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

 

[Damo]

Don’t get too hung up on a high flow as a lot of the time the water just bounces off the glass. You’re using a rinse bar though so that will help a bit.

£10 house for 20 mins does seem a bit low but I used to work on £30 an hour. Start at 9am - finish at 4pm £210 and have some lunch.

I used to do that 5 days a week, 48-50 weeks of the year. Get that as a good starting block then move on from there.

A lot of window cleaners get confused with their “best day” and “average day”

You can earn ridiculous money in this job but it takes time.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

You can make a few ton a day easy but you need the equipment. After 4 years I have noticed you need a reliable van, reliable wfp big tank system and preferably 2 man system. Money on one side of see saw and time on the other side. That's why electric reels and hotwater system is good for speed, throw in many Xtreme poles and large brushes and it all fits together. Advertising to begin with, until one has enough customers and everything just comes together. That's what I'm finding after 4 years but you need funding to begin with and that's the problem with setting up a new business. First year one will be spinning plates trying to keep customers, bank manager and vehicle lease company happy. After a year it gets easier and then after 4 years it's a pleasure to be a window cleaner. fwiw

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

Don't pay attention to what other people are claiming they earn on Facebook, you'll see a lot of people claiming they earn £500 a day etc which is definitely possible, but that is a fantastic wage. I personally focus on what other people are earning in my area, I look at what my friends and family earn - for example, I have friends in the construction industry and I make similar money to them and they are considered to be earning well.

From my personal experience also, when you're building a round up quickly from scratch you'll go through a lot of jobs that are timewasters, some will stick with you. Let's say for example you want 400 customers on a 4 weekly rota, you might go through more like 600 customers to establish a solid base of 400.

 

[rafterys2003]

I honestly don't know how you could be earning more than £300 a day by yourself in this job. I'm in my 6th year and still only on £100 a day. I realise I could have been doing much better and am now planning on upgrading and doing £200 on a 6 hour day so my earnings will be around 50k per year which I think is amazing. I realise that alot of areas are more lucrative than mine and I get how you could be on 60-70k by yourself but some of you're claims are more like you are on 100k...

Could you guys tell me how much you yourselves are actually earning per year after expenses including paying employees.