Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

Register Log in

Speaking to another local window cleaner

ECLM
WCF

Help Support WCF:

Dt 20 said:
Haha I thought he was full of **** tbh 

he was like I’m planing on putting a van on the road every 6month 

I said good luck to you 
Click to expand...
It's usually small window cleaners that do this......always feeling like they have to prove to you how well their doing.....its called small man syndrome....??....

Usually I say 'I'm on the phone' if I want to avoid talking to them(I've usually got a bluetooth ear bud in)...works a treat!?

 
Chris34 said:
Yeah this is very true.  The ones who don't flash it can be very wealthy, I've known a few like that.  Happier to wear a 20 year old coat and drive the cheapest cars they can find.  Strange really when you think about it.  Guess they just don't want to buy into all this keeping up with the jones'.
Click to expand...
There’s a couple who’s windows I clean who have the biggest property on my round, plus a house in Chelsea. I frequently see them shopping at a Lidl next to my house. 
 

I almost dropped my shopping the first time I saw them in there. Well I didn’t, it would have been an appropriate response though. 

 
Part Timer said:
My mate had one, before turbo's were standard on diesels. Never been as embarrassed, in a vehicle, when the caravans were passing us going up hills.
Click to expand...
I had a 1993 Escort 1.8d - no turbo in about 1996, about 60hp I think. It was great as I did 120 miles a day to work and back and it did 50mpg. It was the slowest thing going but it was fine at 70mph on motorway. It had 70K miles when I bought it and 3 years later it had 225K miles - only a back box, ignition barrel and 1 ball joint (plus services). It only had 6 digit speedo so when traded in the dealer put down it had done 125k miles ? he assumed it was that low, he didn't even ask and gave me valuation based on that mileage ?. It was very reliable but soo slow. It didn't matter what you did with the throttle it just accelerated the same from half to full made zero difference ?  

 
ched999uk said:
I had a 1993 Escort 1.8d - no turbo in about 1996, about 60hp I think. It was great as I did 120 miles a day to work and back and it did 50mpg. It was the slowest thing going but it was fine at 70mph on motorway. It had 70K miles when I bought it and 3 years later it had 225K miles - only a back box, ignition barrel and 1 ball joint (plus services). It only had 6 digit speedo so when traded in the dealer put down it had done 125k miles ? he assumed it was that low, he didn't even ask and gave me valuation based on that mileage ?. It was very reliable but soo slow. It didn't matter what you did with the throttle it just accelerated the same from half to full made zero difference ?  
Click to expand...
My mate was in the RN and was based in Bristol and travelled home on a Friday night, he allowed 7 hours to do it on Sunday going back down. I can do it in my fully loaded van in less then 5 hours ? Never been in a car as slow, when he pulled away from a junction I wanted to jump out and give him a push to make it quicker.

 
This always makes me laugh when you hear of self employed window cleaners boasting that they earn 2k a week ect ect. 

The things they forget..

1. £104,000 a year, your in the top tax bracket as a self employed person, just your payments on account for the next year for self assessment is going to be something like 15k on top of your already eye watering personal tax bill for the current year, and that's not taking into account your VAT liability. You'd have to be really stupid to work that hard to give just over a 3rd of it away to the tax man, you might as well take 2 days a week off and reduce your income, to reduce your tax liabilities. Over a 3rd of your hard graft is going straight to the taxman at that level. ?

You need to be set up as Ltd company really to benefit from that level of income, set up a salary on paye, and let the wealth build up in the business.

2. They probably can make 2k in a week, but the rest of the month they are knackered and can't keep up with the pace, so it's more like 2 grand week one, 1 grand week two, 700 quid week three, and 400 quid week 4. 

3. My average price down here in Surrey is £38 for a 3 bed semi, I could argue that if I did 15 houses a day 5 days a week I could make 2800 quid a week,  but what people forget when they come up with claims like this is that although it's POSSIBLE to earn that, by doing a numbers game, in order to achieve that you need a hell of a lot of customers, at a very high price,  consistently cleaned every day week after week, month after month year after year, not only would you be knackered, you'd be working really hard to line the pockets of the taxman, as a self employed person, you'd give that up pretty quickly when you got to find a 35 grand payment on account to make for the next year. 

It just doesn't make sense.

Now I'm not saying you can't earn these numbers, anything is possible with anything if you work hard enough, but to do it as a sole trader, your either very stupid, or plain pork pie tellin.

Imo if your starting to exceed 3.5 grand a month, you need to consider going Ltd in order to reduce the tax you pay out, and start to build wealth in the business.

??

 
cleaniac said:
This always makes me laugh when you hear of self employed window cleaners boasting that they earn 2k a week ect ect. 

The things they forget..

1. £104,000 a year, your in the top tax bracket as a self employed person, just your payments on account for the next year for self assessment is going to be something like 15k on top of your already eye watering personal tax bill for the current year, and that's not taking into account your VAT liability. You'd have to be really stupid to work that hard to give just over a 3rd of it away to the tax man, you might as well take 2 days a week off and reduce your income, to reduce your tax liabilities. Over a 3rd of your hard graft is going straight to the taxman at that level. ?

You need to be set up as Ltd company really to benefit from that level of income, set up a salary on paye, and let the wealth build up in the business.

2. They probably can make 2k in a week, but the rest of the month they are knackered and can't keep up with the pace, so it's more like 2 grand week one, 1 grand week two, 700 quid week three, and 400 quid week 4. 

3. My average price down here in Surrey is £38 for a 3 bed semi, I could argue that if I did 15 houses a day 5 days a week I could make 2800 quid a week,  but what people forget when they come up with claims like this is that although it's POSSIBLE to earn that, by doing a numbers game, in order to achieve that you need a hell of a lot of customers, at a very high price,  consistently cleaned every day week after week, month after month year after year, not only would you be knackered, you'd be working really hard to line the pockets of the taxman, as a self employed person, you'd give that up pretty quickly when you got to find a 35 grand payment on account to make for the next year. 

It just doesn't make sense.

Now I'm not saying you can't earn these numbers, anything is possible with anything if you work hard enough, but to do it as a sole trader, your either very stupid, or plain pork pie tellin.

Imo if your starting to exceed 3.5 grand a month, you need to consider going Ltd in order to reduce the tax you pay out, and start to build wealth in the business.

??
Click to expand...
The guy who i was talking about is limited 

 
ched999uk said:
I had a 1993 Escort 1.8d - no turbo in about 1996, about 60hp I think. It was great as I did 120 miles a day to work and back and it did 50mpg. It was the slowest thing going but it was fine at 70mph on motorway. It had 70K miles when I bought it and 3 years later it had 225K miles - only a back box, ignition barrel and 1 ball joint (plus services). It only had 6 digit speedo so when traded in the dealer put down it had done 125k miles ? he assumed it was that low, he didn't even ask and gave me valuation based on that mileage ?. It was very reliable but soo slow. It didn't matter what you did with the throttle it just accelerated the same from half to full made zero difference ?  
Click to expand...
AHH I loved my escort van. Believe me the TD version was no rocket ship either but so reliable.

 
I got chatting to a local shiner on Friday, says his doing 30/40 jobs a day, earning a fortune as he drives away in his total shed of a van that's held held together with string and ducktape.  Crack on do your own thing.       

 
I saw a Sierra cosworth for sale at a garage when I brought a van last February. Not the sapphire, the original one with massive spoiler. 

£90k and it wasn’t even in that greater nick 

 
TWC said:
I saw a Sierra cosworth for sale at a garage when I brought a van last February. Not the sapphire, the original one with massive spoiler. 

£90k and it wasn’t even in that greater nick 
Click to expand...
One of my customers had one of those back in 88/89. It was a couple of years old then. Light blue. Let me sit in it. Popped the bonnet and showed me the engine. Bet he wishes he still had it now. 

 

Similar threads

S
When you meet another window cleaner in person
Replies
14
Views
809
Stuart S
S
Pjj
Customers !!!!!!!
Replies
18
Views
1,180
K in Kent
K in Kent
K
Just starting my own round, but another window cleaner is in the area already any advice?
2
Replies
38
Views
2,681
Gadgetfox
G
ashley1337
Does anyone take their young lad to work in the holidays?
2
Replies
30
Views
1,912
AMcleaner
A
C
Cheap window cleaners
2
Replies
25
Views
3,049
Yogi1872
Y

Latest Posts

Back
Top