New venture for an old lad

[Teejay]

Hello to all...

After 32 years working as a service engineer for crappy companies, i had enough of no dinner breaks, bog stops and feeling undervalued... and in a part time capacity decided to work for myself last December.

Predominantley i have been working repairing Vacuum cleaners (mainly Dyson), but also selling refurbs which there isn't a massive profit in but it is being proactive

with customers knowing the backup repair service is there too.

I also do a small amount of tv work, aerial / signal faultfinding and electronic repairs - but the problem is there isn't repetitive work - only reactive when things go wrong.

I did a bit of window cleaning in Scarborough many years ago (in the 80's ! so showing my age) when my brother had a round, barrow, buckets and chamois leather style ! enjoyed being out in the air and in all weathers... and still do.

Now then, spotted a gap in the market - or in my area at least, (not scarborough) - i now live in the sticks, very rural villages with a town 5 miles either side of me.

Had a lot of customers out this way, i always notice opportunity - and asked my customers if they have a window cleaner - answer is no from all of them so far, " they don't come back"

I think the reason is the area is "in the middle of nowhere"  (where i live) but there are quite a lot of properties dotted about.

I did a quick repair job on site other day, asked farmers wife about the windows and same reply as above - said i do a bit part time and she asked me to take them on.

Asked how much they were charged - (9 new upvc on one side of building only) she replied £7 - but he aint been back for two years ! i replied that's because you are in between the towns and it wasn't worth his while coming out here... i will do it for £10 i replied and will wipe down the sills etc - oh thats good she said as the other guy refused to do that !

I am going to door knock the whole area - (i am known locally as i live on one of the farms) to see what i can generate in a part time startup capacity initially.

Been through the mill with marketing, website, facebook, google, leafleting, word of mouth etc in the recent past and brought lots of work but i need repetitive work for a bit more security.

I intend to use the car with roof bars fitted (ford fusion 1.4tdci) i love the 55mpg and £30 road tax ! I do have a van but it looks like it's been rolled so not a good image !

Triple ladder  5.69m  18.6ft open  2.58m (8'6") closed   A frame ladder 1.8m 6ft ladder

(but only intend to do up to 1st floor heights) will come in for any gable end aerial or satelitte work i get.

Initially traditional style cleaning only, but will need to add pole system for conservatories etc later. My fear is approaching customers where i can easily do the traditional side but not the conservatory for example ?

I need direction on the following lines if anyone can help...suppliers and safety standards ?

Insurance

Startup kit

Ladders (triple and A frame)   EN131 ???

I have the scruffs work wear and boots.

already use the zettle card payment system.

Trying really to avoid buying useless or poor quality equipment.

Thanks for reading if you got this far !

TJ.

 

[Cookie]

I think the reason is the area is "in the middle of nowhere"  (where i live) but there are quite a lot of properties dotted about.

I did a quick repair job on site other day, asked farmers wife about the windows and same reply as above - said i do a bit part time and she asked me to take them on.

Asked how much they were charged - (9 new upvc on one side of building only) she replied £7 - but he aint been back for two years ! i replied that's because you are in between the towns and it wasn't worth his while coming out here... i will do it for £10 i replied and will wipe down the sills etc - oh thats good she said as the other guy refused to do that !

You're pricing is too low for a farmhouse out in the sticks. You need to add in your travel time, wear & tear to your vehicle along bumpy farm tracks (including cleaning your vehicle), plus the fact that farm windows get really, really filthy - particularly if they have cattle (due to fly droppings).

Also why not go for WFP. You could probably do it all-in for £500 with a backpack, Gardiner pole, 25L barrels etc... For Public Liability Insurance I use Gleaming - around £150 a year for £1m cover.

Good luck!

 

[Teejay]

Thanks for the info Cookie

Interesting re the backpacks.

I live on the back of the farm opposite btw, and am surrounded by them. Roads and access aint that bad tbh.

Don't really want to open a can of worms re pricing, but need to research what lads prices are in the area on the domestic side.

Me and our lad were doing terraced houses (fronts only) in 1986 for £2.40 !  wooden ladders and a barrow on the streets.

 

[Bumblebee72]

Whatever you do don't underprice!!  If you do you'll finish up with a round of poor work in the area where you should have your cream.  Set yourself a minimum for a start - I would think it should be at least £15

Start off doing WFP - even if you have to borrow a few hundred - it's hard enough getting the customers in the first place, don't risk losing them a year down the line when you want to change.

With WFP you can create a decent 'pitch' - describe how it works, tell them you guarantee results etc - it makes it sound much more professional so when you give them the price they're much more likely to accept it.

You need to aim for at least £40 per hour, including traveling time etc so get used to estimating how long a job is going to take before you commit to a price.  Do it on you own house so you've got something to base your quote price on.

Don't be frightened to price high - if you sound confident people will believe in you.  Don't let rejection discourage you - some people think window cleaners should work for peanuts and tug their forelocks (I said "locks"!!) in gratitude for the work.

If you get the odd 'no thank you' then you know your pricing is about right - if everyone falls over themselves to take you on, you're too cheap!

At this stage where you're not relying on making a living from the off, you've got time to experiment with high pricing and you'll be glad in the long run when you're turning over £1500 per week plus instead of a few hundred and still struggling to make ends meet.

Trust me, I've been in this business for 50+ years and still learning!!

 

[Teejay]

Thanks for the reply,

Education seems key with customers, re wfp that is.

It's a long running topic of prices, and yes now looking at it  - it is a £15 job, but when cus has been paying 7 or 8 quid they get that in their heads dont they, as previously mentioned i told them it was incorrect price and thats why previous cleaner is probably dead ( died from starvation being poor )

 i decided to get a bit of gear together and have a mock run traditional style on my own home and adjoining vacant property for the practice. This was up to first floor only.

Enjoyed it, hard work especially at height.

Took me a while but aint done it for years ! and they haven't been cleaned for a few years - so next clean would be much faster.

ideally,  i think i would be better off buying something established tbh.

 

[kevinc250]

where abouts are you in north yorks teejay?

 

[Teejay]

Near malton / pickering

 

[kevinc250]

Near malton / pickering

excellent,far away from me?,I can hook you up with liam,a cleaner in pickering so you can get ideas of prices/who to avoid etc if you wanted

 

[Teejay]

cheers kev that may be wise. will pm you