Looking to start up using water fed pole

[Shinyboy]

Thanks, no don't want to undercharge I need to try and find the local rate in my area and base it around that.
As someone starting out and learning so much thanks to this forum over the last couple of days I'm trying to get a gauge of what £2000 per month equates to in regular customers required, its just to give me some ide from a business outlook and what I would look to achieve and how quickly. I totally understand this is all guess work at this time, but thanks again for any input much appreciated.

Call a few window cleaners in your area and get them to come round yours or a family relative and give you a price. Or some might have prices online. Obviously don't let them knw you looking to start you own business lol.

 

[GSM]

Call a few window cleaners in your area and get them to come round yours or a family relative and give you a price. Or some might have prices online. Obviously don't let them knw you looking to start you own business lol.

Sorry meant great idea cheers

 

[ched999uk]

Looking for window cleaners near Christchurch I found this site: Ideal Window Cleaning - Rickmansworth & Christchurch that gives quotes without email addresses etc. They might be typical prices for the area I don't know.

If you could build up to 2 days a week, 10 X £15 jobs that's £1200 a month before costs! So you maintain your regular job and build up your window round. OK so working 7 days a week is hard but doable. Obviously weather plays it's part too but you can work through most if you have to.

As for stepping on toes, don't try and undercut anyone's price or 'steal' customers and you will be fine. Just door knock, look professional and you will be good.

 

[GSM]

Looking for window cleaners near Christchurch I found this site: Ideal Window Cleaning - Rickmansworth & Christchurch that gives quotes without email addresses etc. They might be typical prices for the area I don't know.

If you could build up to 2 days a week, 10 X £15 jobs that's £1200 a month before costs! So you maintain your regular job and build up your window round. OK so working 7 days a week is hard but doable. Obviously weather plays it's part too but you can work through most if you have to.

As for stepping on toes, don't try and undercut anyone's price or 'steal' customers and you will be fine. Just door knock, look professional and you will be good.

Thanks great advise , thanks for taking the time to help very much appreciate the advice ?

 

[Pjj]

That's great, thanks for the information it helps give me some idea moving forward.
Like others have suggested start building from maybe a trolley set up to begin on my day off and maybe get some flyers out and knock some doors, I live in the south and there a lot of bungalows and Terraced houses as its a largely retirement on the coast here.
Is there any way to try and not upset local window cleaners without knowing where there rounds are, or is just basically relying on customers response, thanks again.

I wouldn’t worry about other window cleaners there is no such thing as patches , if they are doing a good job for a reason price they have nothing to fear , obviously don’t go under cutting others prices deliberately, if we get enquiries from ones that have a window cleaner and they aren’t happy with him we always charge more than him so if they swap it’s for genuine reasons . A trolly is ok for starters but when funds allow a van system will be much easier and quicker especially when you get more customers , just a tip with terraced houses just offer to do the fronts if access is an issue they are very good earners especially if you can get a few in a row . My experience was knocking doors produced the best results leaflets I found were a total waist of time , speak to the householder sell your services I found this worked well and cost nothing but your time .

 

[spruce]

I wouldn’t worry about other window cleaners there is no such thing as patches , if they are doing a good job for a reason price they have nothing to fear , obviously don’t go under cutting others prices deliberately, if we get enquiries from ones that have a window cleaner and they aren’t happy with him we always charge more than him so if they swap it’s for genuine reasons . A trolly is ok for starters but when funds allow a van system will be much easier and quicker especially when you get more customers , just a tip with terraced houses just offer to do the fronts if access is an issue they are very good earners especially if you can get a few in a row . My experience was knocking doors produced the best results leaflets I found were a total waist of time , speak to the householder sell your services I found this worked well and cost nothing but your time .

In the early days, I would consider a small trailer to carry 25 litre plastic containers around with. It will stop the inside of the car's carpets getting wet from spilt water and smelling real bad.

There is a local lad who has used a trailer for this purpose for many years, towed by his second 2005 Ford Mondeo. Obviously, learning to reverse a trailer is good if you have customer's in cul-de-sacs.

We started off with a wfp trailer. We live in a hilly area, so we never unhitched the trailer from the Suzuki Carry 1.3 Van I was using as a tow vehicle back then.

Once we got started, we found networking was the best way to gain new customers. Ask your customer's if any of their friends and family living in your area who would need your services.

Knock on neighbours doors around your customer and leave a leaflet if no one is home. This is a way of developing a more compact round. At least you aren't going into a street to just clean one house if you can find others in the street.

It does take a long time to get a good round. You will also be vulnerable to picking up customers other cleaners have dropped because they are messers. You also need to recognise these time wasters early and dump them. It's the only way to refine your business and get good customers on your round. Also, in time you might find that some good customers become bad. Don't hesitate to dump them.

 

[Part Timer]

Forget upsetting others , your first, and only concern, is to get established. You'll, initially, get loads of messers that you'll have to put up with. To put everything in perspective though, once fully established you'll be doing 20+ houses a day at £12-£15 a house.
This however will only be achieved with far harder graft then you've probably ever done.

 

[Iron Giant]

I'd start with a backpack and a trolley I wouldn't go all out blowing what savings you have https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk is the place to start looking for equipment, those 25ltr containers are sold on eBay for a decent price brand new, not sure what a minimum charge in your area is but I live in the North East of England where prices can be low but I have a £10 minimum even for small terraced fronts.

 

[Crystalalan]

That's a very king offer are you local to Christchurch area ?, Thursdays are my day off in the week if this worked for you whenever you were available

No worries Gavin. Yep can do a thursday. Will send you a private message when xmas period is over and we can get the ball rolling.

 

[GSM]

No worries Gavin. Yep can do a thursday. Will send you a private message when xmas period is over and we can get the ball rolling.

Thanks that would be great, Happy New Year ?

 

[GSM]

In the early days, I would consider a small trailer to carry 25 litre plastic containers around with. It will stop the inside of the car's carpets getting wet from spilt water and smelling real bad.

There is a local lad who has used a trailer for this purpose for many years, towed by his second 2005 Ford Mondeo. Obviously, learning to reverse a trailer is good if you have customer's in cul-de-sacs.

We started off with a wfp trailer. We live in a hilly area, so we never unhitched the trailer from the Suzuki Carry 1.3 Van I was using as a tow vehicle back then.

Once we got started, we found networking was the best way to gain new customers. Ask your customer's if any of their friends and family living in your area who would need your services.

Knock on neighbours doors around your customer and leave a leaflet if no one is home. This is a way of developing a more compact round. At least you aren't going into a street to just clean one house if you can find others in the street.

It does take a long time to get a good round. You will also be vulnerable to picking up customers other cleaners have dropped because they are messers. You also need to recognise these time wasters early and dump them. It's the only way to refine your business and get good customers on your round. Also, in time you might find that some good customers become bad. Don't hesitate to dump them.

That's great advice, I guess ideally obtaining as many in a close area street block as possible, and then remembering each week, month which customers to return to and in what order ? thanks again for the help?

 

[ched999uk]

That's great advice, I guess ideally obtaining as many in a close area street block as possible, and then remembering each week, month which customers to return to and in what order ? thanks again for the help?

Some use excel to manage their customers some use an app like Squeegee or CleanerPlanner but they are both paid apps. Trying to get customers close to home is the best plan but your local area could be saturated so you may have to select a slightly different area maybe based on demographics - i.e. not the cheapest houses in the area as you ideally need customers with disposable income.

 

[GSM]

Some use excel to manage their customers some use an app like Squeegee or CleanerPlanner but they are both paid apps. Trying to get customers close to home is the best plan but your local area could be saturated so you may have to select a slightly different area maybe based on demographics - i.e. not the cheapest houses in the area as you ideally need customers with disposable income.

Ok thanks will take on this advice on board

 

[Pjj]

Ok thanks will take on this advice on board

Ime a dinosaur we have a large round and use spread sheets , they dont crash ,freeze , or cost a monthly fee or need updates. I personally don’t want to be reliant on some 3rd party that might loose or get hacked to run my business , I accept ime in the minority hear but you dont have to use apps to do this job , especially when starting out with a small number of customers, but some prefer to its a personal decision.

 

[spruce]

We have found George works for us. It's old and doesn't have the features cloud based system do, but its a one time payment of £50 with no monthly subscription.
In early days we were able to update the main computer at the end of the day by synchronising the days work via a Palm PDA. These days, George works well on a Surface Go tablet using Windows 10.

George does have an invoicing facility, but when we started with it, it didn't, so I have always used an Excel based invoicing and statement program.

 

[adamangler]

George is/was briliant. I used it till i got to about 300 customers and then switched to cleaner planner...the ease of intergrated go cardless, bulk texting and worksheets downloaded to phone that can be opend with google maps was a game changer but George is a great place to start when on a budget. Its like anything else such as electric reel and high mod poles you can pay for things to make your life easier but a clx, clover reel and george will get you going and even has that retro feel haha

 

[Conservatory Valet]

The

The search option is your starting point

Hi my name is Gavin,
I have been considering starting a window cleaning business for some time, and maybe also offering gutter cleaning.
I am currently employed in a sales role and have been for many years but have always wanted to work for myself and enjoy the outdoor life.
I have zero experience but eager to learn and if need be attend a course to get the basics.
I have around £8000 that I could use to get going, so would really appreciate any help and suggestions to get started.
One thing I don't have though is the possibility of a water system at home due to where I currently live, I understand though that you can purchase pure water from fill stations and there is one relatively near where I am.
I also would be looking at small combi van so I guess 350 litres would probably be my preferred size of container to start
Thanks in advance Gavin

Don't just think windows, As you are starting out go for a conservatory. It doesn't matter if it takes you 2 days to start as this could be the same income as X20 window cleans depending on the size and area you pitch. We charge a minimum of £250 external and £350 internal external. If you can get x1 of these a week it will ease the pain while you build up the window cleaning round. They do take longer and they are normally a lot more work than windows, but you will also spend more time with the customer so they will get to know you a bit more and hopefully you may be able to pick up their family and the houses around the location as the van will be parked there all day which gives people a chance to come and find you or take your number off the van.
You say you are in sales so door knocking and talking to people should be your easy part.
Always flyer or knock the houses next to the one you are servicing as this will bring your round up quicker and less start stop when you have a few in a row.

 

[GSM]

Don't just think windows, As you are starting out go for a conservatory. It doesn't matter if it takes you 2 days to start as this could be the same income as X20 window cleans depending on the size and area you pitch. We charge a minimum of £250 external and £350 internal external. If you can get x1 of these a week it will ease the pain while you build up the window cleaning round. They do take longer and they are normally a lot more work than windows, but you will also spend more time with the customer so they will get to know you a bit more and hopefully you may be able to pick up their family and the houses around the location as the van will be parked there all day which gives people a chance to come and find you or take your number off the van.
You say you are in sales so door knocking and talking to people should be your easy part.
Always flyer or knock the houses next to the one you are servicing as this will bring your round up quicker and less start stop when you have a few in a row.

That sounds again some great advice, if property's you clean have conservatory's do you always charge and include the windows and roofs on your monthly clean ?. If I understand correctly though your quoting to properly clean the frames gutters fascia's etc as a completely separate item.

 

[ched999uk]

That sounds again some great advice, if property's you clean have conservatory's do you always charge and include the windows and roofs on your monthly clean ?. If I understand correctly though your quoting to properly clean the frames gutters fascia's etc as a completely separate item.

Most window cleaners clean the sides and doors of a conny as part of the regular clean and price appropriately. A conservatory roof or internals would normally not be a regular clean - maybe once a year. I believe @Conservatory Valet specialised in a very thorough deep clean of conservatories on a one off basis - I think it takes 2 off them a whole day to clean one!

 

[GSM]

Most window cleaners clean the sides and doors of a conny as part of the regular clean and price appropriately. A conservatory roof or internals would normally not be a regular clean - maybe once a year. I believe @Conservatory Valet specialised in a very thorough deep clean of conservatories on a one off basis - I think it takes 2 off them a whole day to clean one!

Thanks I guess that is something they very much specialise within and can understand the price if for two days work, but appreciate their response. I need to learn as I am every night on here how to price add for a conservatory as a lot of the property's near me are bungalows with these.

 

[ched999uk]

Thanks I guess that is something they very much specialise within and can understand the price if for two days work, but appreciate their response. I need to learn as I am every night on here how to price add for a conservatory as a lot of the property's near me are bungalows with these.

Personally I count the panels and charge per panel bit less than per window