Husband considering career change

[Dave B]

I don’t think it matters on area too much but more towards the type of work you are doing. Part of my round is out in the sticks cleaning large cottages, farms and and barn conversions etc and maybe getting one or two jobs per hour. Those prices range between £20-80 per property.  On the other hand some of my other work is very compact doing small semis, terraces and fronts etc were I can do maybe 5-10 jobs per hour. On that basis @ £25 minimums I’d be averaging £200 an hour which on a domestic run I find very hard to believe. Maybe cleaniac could elaborate on what kind of work he does as his comment was very vague and could be very misleading to the op. 

Most areas I would agree with you but I have family on the hants/surrey border and know that they can charge what @cleaniac is stating.

Unfortunately that is how it goes in an affluent southern county.

Better prices than london where my old round was.

 

[MrsC2014]

This is the area you should be asking advice for. What have you found, do you know your water TDS. Is it big enough to produce twice as much as you will be using currently?

To me you are talking gobbledegook but I am sure Tom would know the answer.

It's a pure freedom window cleaning pole system. it has a trolley battery powered 22ft pole 250 litre water tank comes with water purifier system which purifys the water also comes with the resin and filters.

As we are only wanting it for the initial few months to start us with weekend jobs it looks OK to me but like i say i am no expert and will be building my knowledge so when we do need to purchase equipment i know whats what. 

 

[wezza13]

To me you are talking gobbledegook but I am sure Tom would know the answer.

It's a pure freedom window cleaning pole system. it has a trolley battery powered 22ft pole 250 litre water tank comes with water purifier system which purifys the water also comes with the resin and filters.

As we are only wanting it for the initial few months to start us with weekend jobs it looks OK to me but like i say i am no expert and will be building my knowledge so when we do need to purchase equipment i know whats what. 

In hindsight, the best thing I ever did was buy the Reverse Osmosis system to purify my own water and the Gardiner Extreme pole. Start off with good, decent equipment and it'll last you ages. I also recommend buying new too. 

 

[MrsC2014]

In people's experiences what would be a better name?

So i think something simple as TC (his initials) Cleaning Services but hubby being hubby likes a more jokey play on words name and has come up with Mr Bit Cleaning Services. 

We are having our leaflets designed tonight so your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[THL4KEL]

Whatever you name it base it on area location and something like - window cleaning. 

The name of your business is important as far as websites are concerned because what it's called helps where it ranks in Google search. 

 

[MrsC2014]

In hindsight, the best thing I ever did was buy the Reverse Osmosis system to purify my own water and the Gardiner Extreme pole. Start off with good, decent equipment and it'll last you ages. I also recommend buying new too. 

The only reason we would be buying second hand would be for him to start building a small client base whilst he's still working and before he buys his round. Just to get him a feel for it and the experience. 

 

[kevinc250]

In people's experiences what would be a better name?

So i think something simple as TC (his initials) Cleaning Services but hubby being hubby likes a more jokey play on words name and has come up with Mr Bit Cleaning Services. 

We are having our leaflets designed tonight so your thoughts would be appreciated.

I would hold off for the moment until you've decided on a name first, @THL4KELnailed it on the head when he said name the business by where you live, don't go mr bit or bang tidy window cleaning as just the name would mean you'll not get any larger commercial work or larger domestic work as you'll be perceived as a joke-honestly, if you go down the window cleaning route only then lets say upton or Hemsley window cleaning is fine, if you intend to offer say, gutter cleaning/pressure washing etc then think upton or Hemsley exterior cleaning services.

I've only mentioned upton and Hemsley as I know they are on the outskirts of ponti but you get the jist.

when you rush things you get two results mistakes or babies so please slow down a bit and let things slot together organically and logically as the mistakes you make now will be hard and costly to change later on when you realised you've cocked up in the early days, 

i'm living proof of that as my business name whilst relevant to where I live doesn't really relate to the services I offer, It did back then in 2006 when I started but now, to change/alter the name or re-brand could be costly 

 

[dazmond]

I dont really have a minimum charge and just go off time. I usually aim for around £40/50 per hour so if a 3 bed semi takes 15 mins it’s a £10/12. I’ve been experimenting with going in high on price just recently to see what I could get and I have been surprised but I don’t think anyone would be willing to pay £25 for ten mins work on say a small semi with 8 windows or so. 

marc lives down south though mate in a very affluent area (not manchester!)...the cost of living is astronomical where he lives so he needs to charge a lot higher prices than us....ive been going 27 years and an average hourly rate of £40-£50 is great...no need to be greedy...its a really good rate for a self employed window cleaner IMO..?.

 

[Davy G]

As others have said "Take a bit of time and thought to aim to get it right first time" (before printing leaflets, or, as in my case, no leaflets just good cards which I feel are more likely to be kept than to end up in recycling). I personally would not use a jokey name, or cartoon style graphics. I use a large, clear looking logo on my van which rightly or wrongly I feel looks more professional. I also would choose a nice name, perhaps incorporating the name of one of the nicer local towns that you might want to target and perhaps center your business around, rather than initials, which I don't feel demonstrate quite the same prestige as a good name.

This is my personal and honest opinion. Some will probably disagree with me, that's ok. Between everyone, you'll have some ideas to hopefully help you on your way.

The very best of luck for your new business venture. ?

 

[Iron Giant]

As others have said "Take a bit of time and thought to aim to get it right first time" (before printing leaflets, or, as in my case, no leaflets just good cards which I feel are more likely to be kept than to end up in recycling). I personally would not use a jokey name, or cartoon style graphics. I use a large, clear looking logo on my van which rightly or wrongly I feel looks more professional. I also would choose a nice name, perhaps incorporating the name of one of the nicer local towns that you might want to target and perhaps center your business around, rather than initials, which I don't feel demonstrate quite the same prestige as a good name.

This is my personal and honest opinion. Some will probably disagree with me, that's ok. Between everyone, you'll have some ideas to hopefully help you on your way.

The very best of luck for your new business venture. ?

Good to have you back, I have some initials in my name, which is memorable to most and makes think of some very famous chocolate sweets, I even had one job who said it must be fate to pick me as her and her husband had the same initials, they had shoddy window cleaners previously who were always letting them down. 

@MrsC2014 a trolley system will work just fine, in the early days, but there is a lot of lifting and lugging around of 25 litre water containers and the trolley and Tom will quickly run out of water in the early days he may use 25 litres per house even a small 3 bed house

 

[cleaniac]

Personally the name of your business is based on the reputation you build up, it doesn't matter really what you call it. 

I agree with the comment that naming a business should be serious though,  if you go for a humorous flippant name (Pane in the Glass)  (Window Lickers) etc etc you are showing everyone that your not serious about the business. 

Most just either go with their surname or an acronym of sorts..

marc lives down south though mate in a very affluent area (not manchester!)...the cost of living is astronomical where he lives so he needs to charge a lot higher prices than us....ive been going 27 years and an average hourly rate of £40-£50 is great...no need to be greedy...its a really good rate for a self employed window cleaner IMO..?.

How's the creatures over on CIU?

??

Keep drumming!

 

[Cleanco]

marc lives down south though mate in a very affluent area (not manchester!)...the cost of living is astronomical where he lives so he needs to charge a lot higher prices than us....ive been going 27 years and an average hourly rate of £40-£50 is great...no need to be greedy...its a really good rate for a self employed window cleaner IMO..?.

Never knew that until Dave pointed it out earlier on the thread. Maybe Marc could have included that as it could be misleading to the op unless they live there too. 

 

[cleaniac]

Sorry about that. Yes I am in the Surrey area. My point was that don't short change yourself on a minimum charge that brings in minimum profit. The whole point of minimum charge is to maximise your profits. So when considering a min charge, take into consideration the average hourly chargeable turnover you are aiming for and divide it by four.

All trades have a min call out. Window cleaning should be no different.

 

[NoName]

It amazes me the number of trades/businesses who call themselves some impenetrable alphabet soup which conveys zero image/message they should be projecting... AJ Electrics....GDT Builders...MKT Window Cleaning...completely pointless means nothing to no one but the numpty who owns the initials ..It's a total opportunity fail, totally forgettable, impersonal and distance...surely you wanna project a message (we cover area x) or these are our 'values' e.g and services...Pristine Property Cleaning etc. Never understood why so many put their initials in their business name ? (lack of imagination?)

 

[Cleanco]

It amazes me the number of trades/businesses who call themselves some impenetrable alphabet soup which conveys zero image/message they should be projecting... AJ Electrics....GDT Builders...MKT Window Cleaning...completely pointless means nothing to no one but the numpty who owns the initials ..It's a total opportunity fail, totally forgettable, impersonal and distance...surely you wanna project a message (we cover area x) or these are our 'values' e.g and services...Pristine Property Cleaning etc. Never understood why so many put their initials in their business name ? (lack of imagination?)

Exactly that, it’s easy, personal to you and as long as you’ve included what you do like “window cleaning” or “cleaning services” then your still getting your message across. I’d probably end up coming up with something tacky that I’d later regret so just played it safe with my initials. At the end of the day as long as the business is thriving then who cares?‍

 

[Iron Giant]

It amazes me the number of trades/businesses who call themselves some impenetrable alphabet soup which conveys zero image/message they should be projecting... AJ Electrics....GDT Builders...MKT Window Cleaning...completely pointless means nothing to no one but the numpty who owns the initials ..It's a total opportunity fail, totally forgettable, impersonal and distance...surely you wanna project a message (we cover area x) or these are our 'values' e.g and services...Pristine Property Cleaning etc. Never understood why so many put their initials in their business name ? (lack of imagination?)

? says the member called NoName, I set up almost 20 years ago there wasn't the need to stand out as much in this industry as there is now, I see a good number of vans of different trades with fancy names but they have nothing to say what it is they do or the writing is either so small you need to be right next to van to make out the writing clearly, this includes national companies 

You can have a fancy name, but you also need to build a brand, to set you apart from the competition around your work area, this is something people miss, I have also viewed a few window cleaners websites over the years, no name of who the owner is or pics of the owner, a good many people want to know who is going to be turning up at their property, logoed workwear, website fb page signed vehicle, creating a brand identity I did all this years ago with my alphabet soup name, people instantly know who I am and what I do

 

[mike007]

It amazes me the number of trades/businesses who call themselves some impenetrable alphabet soup which conveys zero image/message they should be projecting... AJ Electrics....GDT Builders...MKT Window Cleaning...completely pointless means nothing to no one but the numpty who owns the initials ..It's a total opportunity fail, totally forgettable, impersonal and distance...surely you wanna project a message (we cover area x) or these are our 'values' e.g and services...Pristine Property Cleaning etc. Never understood why so many put their initials in their business name ? (lack of imagination?)

B&Q, MFI, DFS... oh and DHSS

 

[dmw]

B&Q, MFI, DFS... oh and DHSS

I thought I'd be different and get rid of DM Window Cleaning, and 3 years ago had a rebrand and called myself Purevision window cleaning and I've been mistaken on more than one occasion for the man coming round to fix their telly or satellite. 

If you do a good job for a fair price, what's in a name?

 

[mike007]

I thought I'd be different and get rid of DM Window Cleaning, and 3 years ago had a rebrand and called myself Purevision window cleaning and I've been mistaken on more than one occasion for the man coming round to fix their telly or satellite. 

If you do a good job for a fair price, what's in a name?

Agree...and when you wrote Purevision, I immediately thought TV ,s too

 

[Davy G]

Agree...and when you wrote Purevision, I immediately thought TV ,s too

It definitely takes a good bit of serious thought when choosing a brand name.

If the name doesn't show what you do, a brief description needs to be very close to it, and that needs to be large and clear on any cards or sign writing.

I hate trying to decipher what a company does from "clever" sign writing on a van : Blah Blah Blah Solutions... Solutions to what!? World poverty, transport logistics, broken computer systems, Etc.

 

[NoName]

Hey @Iron Giant, red card ?, that's a cheap swipe...this forum is public and has no commercial benefit to be 'known' on here in fact quite the reverse ...quite of few of the guys on here don't realise that...and use their trading names...and then post things like ' how do I clean a windows properly' etc, personally I'd prefer not to advertise to customers/potential customers that I 'm asking 'how do I questions' (When you google 'Iron Giant' your comments on here will eventually appear on a page on google, possibly page 1...so anyone googling Iron Giant Window Cleaning Services...could across you haranguing some poor nameless person ? 

Besides, I suggested a meaningful name which clearly communicates where/what it is you do, so any potential customers immediately can understand that if they need your service, they can contact you - EXACTLY the point you make - seeing 'conceptual' names which communicate very little is a missed opportunity. e.g "Conceputer Services' or "XZY Services"

I appreciate you feel offended because you say you used an 'alphabet soup', I wasn't personally criticising you...but you seem to agree with my point that a name should communicate something about you, an obvious service/value/area that you provide, rather than being an exercise in ego. (which was my point).

I appreciate you've NOW (20yrs later) built a reputation that 'IG Cleaning Serivces' etc is synonymous with, no doubt after 10,000s/1000s of personal great experiences. But that's because of who you are/service you provide not BECUASE your trading name is an obscure impenetrable set of initials...you gotta admit that...anyhow the context is someone starting out...and the idea of using initials...which apart from the person concerned are absolutely meaningless initially (before you have fully functioning customer base - at which what point it really doesn't matter what you call yourself because you reputation goes before you...which brings us to....Mike and DW comments...

IBM were originally called International Business Machines (then when everyone knew of them the could afford to change it to IBM..

ditto MFI...Mullard Furniture Industries diito (yawn)

DFS...Doncaster Furnitture Superstore

etc...

When starting out in business, your name is an advert for your services if you use 'LWC' compared with 'London Window Cleaning' you many not be contacted by as many potential customers and are stacking the odds of success against yourself..hard to argue against that guys, come on you know it makes sense. ?