For any newbies or thinking of starting up thought I'd update you on my situation....started week before 1st lockdown in March 2020 with 3 customers, after packing my full time job in ( wont bore you with the deets on that). Tools down through 1st lockdown and stayed at home. Back out there after 1st lockdown with a better plan of how I was gonna make this work. Asked/messaged absolutely everyone me and my wife knew about having their windows cleaned. Got out there, leaflet dropped, advertised on Facebook ( the Facebook adverts got us lots of work), our new customers recommended us and so on. I worked my a**e off last Summer, 7 days a week, also doing gutters and fascia cleaning for extra cash to put away to get thru Winter. My shoulders and back were in agony and I was knackered ( I'm 50 so not a spring chicken anymore) but we had just enough money coming in by Winter to pay bill's etc. I got rid of a few customers that were a pain/ dog **** everywhere/out of area/ rude/non payers and come up with my next plan of where I want to be by this Winter and as weather getting better I'm now on it with getting more new customers. Getting lots of recommendations so far from my regulars which is great, lot more people approaching me for quotes while Im out. I can now be more choosy with which customers I want which is great. I have quite a few new customers booked in over next 4 weeks. It's really really tough to get it up and running but if you are prepared to put in some serious graft, prepare for sunburn, being frozen, wet through and work, eat, sleep repeat for months it is possible. Short term pain for long term gain. By Autumn if my next plan works I should be earning more than I was in my old job, working 25 hours less than I was before, having weekends off (I worked weekends in old job) and actually having a life with my family. After getting rid of customers I didnt want I now have around 150 good solid customers ranging from prices £10 up to £40. 4 & 8 week cleans. Plan is to get around 200 customer mark by Autumn and my diary will be as full as I want it to be ?? and actually enjoy having a life more than I have in years. If you are thinking of starting out this might inspire you or put you off, if you are gonna go for it make plans of where you want to be and how you gonna get there but good luck to you whichever decision you make ?
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Update newbie 1 year on....
- Thread starter Shaun70
- Start date
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ched999uk
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Congratulations for all your hard work is paying off. Well done. Keep us updated.
dazmond
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you ll soon be doing £50k a year working part time hours window cleaning...well done mate!
Paul mc
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Glad to hear you’re doing well
I’m just starting out myself, I’m in a full time job which will hopefully last till next April and is very flexible so I can fit in other jobs around it . I’m aiming to do a range of cleaning jobs from window cleaning / jet washing / gutter cleaning etc
I would be interested to know what works best for obtaining new clients ...I’m thinking canvassing myself . Any info would be greatly appreciated
thanks
paul
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Best way to get customers is go door knocking , the customer gets to meet you and you can build a rapport and trust with them , obviously some will be time wasters but if you set your stall out with what you are going to do for them and explain your terms and conditions from the outset there will be less messers . Hope it goes ok keep us informed how you get on .
RWCleaning
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Personally leaflet drops by the thousands has worked well for me. Although it can take time to get them out, do you have anyone else who could help you drop leaflets?
I did canvass a lot in the first 12-18 months as well. Got quite a few yes.
Ideally if time and money permits you want several different marketing basis covered, canvassing, leaflets drops, sign written vehicle, website & free google business listing, Facebook page (I don’t have Facebook but hear it can work well)
I did canvass a lot in the first 12-18 months as well. Got quite a few yes.
Ideally if time and money permits you want several different marketing basis covered, canvassing, leaflets drops, sign written vehicle, website & free google business listing, Facebook page (I don’t have Facebook but hear it can work well)
There were 2 ways we built client base quickly, asked absolutely everyone we knew,neighbours, work colleagues, school gate mums, family and gave them leaflets for their friends etc. The other was advertised on Facebook. You can pay as little as a tenner for a few days advertising, did it over a weekend where more people are looking on facebook.. As the advert went out I contacted a few friends to comment on the post which then pushed it further out. Got lots from that. You do the have to sift out the good from the **** customers but its a good start.
