Newbie

[bearded llama]

Hi all I'm just about to start my window cleaning business on the isle of Wight. Just wanted to say hi to everyone

 

[ched999uk]

Welcome. Have you cleaned windows before is it a completely new venture? What did you do before, what kit are you using, van, backpack, trad?

 

[bearded llama]

Hi it's a completely new venture. I've gone down the franchise route so I'm seriously hoping I haven't made the biggest mistake of my life.

 

[ched999uk]

Hi it's a completely new venture. I've gone down the franchise route so I'm seriously hoping I haven't made the biggest mistake of my life.

I hope the franchise is providing work as otherwise I would say franchising isn't the best option long term. In my opinion franchising works for household names like McDonalds, KFC, One Stop Stores, Snap On, CEX, Red Driving Schools etc but without a big brand what are you really paying the franchise fee for?
Training? Maybe but there are numerous people on youtube offering that. Equipment guidance - lots of info here.
Gaining customers is probably the hardest thing to do, so if the franchise is providing customers then that will help massively.
I'm not trying to put you off your franchise as it's only my opinion. If you have a cooling off period I would seriously consider pulling out but only after spending a few days reading stuff on here and watching uk youtube window cleaners.
All the info you need to start a window cleaning business is here and on youtube. OK so you have to put the leg work into collate the info and pull the wheat from the chaff but you gain an understanding from the ground up rather than being told exactly what to do and not necessarily why you are told to do something a certain way - I learn better by understanding why.

I am sure the franchise route will work for you and you will be successful.

 

[bearded llama]

Yeah they are guaranteeing work so fingers crossed it will work out ok

 

[ched999uk]

Yeah they are guaranteeing work so fingers crossed it will work out ok

You should be fine, it will be hard work at first especially while your muscles get used to swinging a pole about. Remember that first cleans take probably twice as long as maintenance cleans and you will get faster. You will get used to judging how long to extend your pole, where to route your hose, what order to do the windows etc.
You will be slow at first but that just means you can concentrate on doing a great job.
Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Stuart S]

Hi and welcome. I'd definitely agree with Ched, when you start it feels like you're going so slow, especially if you compare yourself to others. Give it time though and by the 3rd or 4th clean you should be flying through (if you have a reasonable amount of work). First time is always slow, I always worry that I've underpriced! I usually charge 1 1/2 to 2 times for a first clean anyway, depending on the state of the windows, so that offsets the worry a bit.

Hope it works well for you.

 

[bearded llama]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to starting. Won't be up and running for about another month though.

 

[bearded llama]

You should be fine, it will be hard work at first especially while your muscles get used to swinging a pole about. Remember that first cleans take probably twice as long as maintenance cleans and you will get faster. You will get used to judging how long to extend your pole, where to route your hose, what order to do the windows etc.
You will be slow at first but that just means you can concentrate on doing a great job.
Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

I'm expecting it to be hard work but that's fine. I'll let you know how it's going. Should be up and running in about a month hopefully

 

[Yogi1872]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can a franchise guarantee you work in your area ?. And how much work do they guarantee you ?

 

[Pjj]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can a franchise guarantee you work in your area ?. And how much work do they guarantee you ?

They will have work already in that area that you end up doing , usually they will supply as much work as you want or need

 

[Yogi1872]

They will have work already in that area that you end up doing , usually they will supply as much work as you want or need

Is it all compact work they get you ? Or is it all straggler ones. I'm struggling to think how they could guarantee someone a compact round in an area.

 

[bryyy2104]

Exciting times for you then starting out! Window cleaning is great if you like working outdoors, and is usually pretty stress free!

I've been going for almost a year, and I've grown to realise that if you're patient, consistent and persistent, you can't really fail.

What made you choose window cleaning as a job?

 

[Pjj]

Is it all compact work they get you ? Or is it all straggler ones. I'm struggling to think how they could guarantee someone a compact round in an area.

I don’t know as never done a franchise but from ones that I have spoken to think it’s usually fairly compact , many build rounds like this using canvassing to focus on set areas or already have very compact work in certain areas due to the amount of time they have been going . I did look at doing franchises myself but in the end decided against it would rather sell the work than have ongoing contact with franchisees

 

[bearded llama]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can a franchise guarantee you work in your area ?. And how much work do they guarantee you ?

They are guaranteeing a minimum of 3 grand in work for each of the first 3 months. No idea how they can do that but apparently they're marketing is second to none. I have it in writing from them and have contacted other franchisees and they all seem to be doing very well

 

[ched999uk]

They are guaranteeing a minimum of 3 grand in work for each of the first 3 months. No idea how they can do that but apparently they're marketing is second to none. I have it in writing from them and have contacted other franchisees and they all seem to be doing very well

Get you arms and shoulders in training quick as you are going to need them. That's a fair amount of work to start with plus they might be first cleans! So what happens after the first 3 months? Are the first 3 months intended to be regular jobs? Hope it all pans out as that's a good start work wise.
In all seriousness it might be worth going to the gym and getting some proper training as you will need strength in your arms, shoulders and core. Watch out for reaching over conservatories and extensions.

 

[Clean zero]

Hope all goes well for you,on pricing are you happy with the prices they might be getting you 3 grands worth of work but you don’t want to be working 10 hours a day to get it 6 days of the week

 

[bearded llama]

Hope all goes well for you,on pricing are you happy with the prices they might be getting you 3 grands worth of work but you don’t want to be working 10 hours a day to get it 6 days of the week

It's based on a 4 day week and 8 hours a day so fingers crossed

 

[bearded llama]

Get you arms and shoulders in training quick as you are going to need them. That's a fair amount of work to start with plus they might be first cleans! So what happens after the first 3 months? Are the first 3 months intended to be regular jobs? Hope it all pans out as that's a good start work wise.
In all seriousness it might be worth going to the gym and getting some proper training as you will need strength in your arms, shoulders and core. Watch out for reaching over conservatories and extensions.

Yeah it's going to be hard work. The idea is that a lot of the work becomes regular clients but no doubt some will be one offs. I will be doing a certain amount of marketing myself but mostly it comes from them. I assume if I do a good job I'll also get recommendations which go a long way. Especially on the isle of Wight. Hopefully it will all work out ok

 

[Clean zero]

Hi so 32 hours a week =around 128 hours a month divide into £3,000 around £23.50 a hour minus expenses.I would try to get the prices up to double I understand all areas are different and I wish you all the best

 

[ched999uk]

It's based on a 4 day week and 8 hours a day so fingers crossed

Self employed that isn't a great hourly rate at all - hopefully that's already taken the franchise fees out.
Remember being self employed means no sick or holiday pay plus your overheads - van (buying & fuel, tax, insurance, servicing etc) your kit will wear out, your water costs, public liability, uniform, boots, marketing materials, web site, to name but a few of the expenses you will have to account for.

As @Clean zero said, you should, after say 6 months, be aiming at more like double that hourly rate.

At the beginning you will be slow, concentrate on a method and doing a good job, speed will come.