Whats your happy place

[mupps]

I find that's it's not about the hourly rate for the customer - it's the price for the job. This morning I did a clean for a regular customer that has a very big property with large windows. They have a family party tomorrow and on this occasion just wanted the exterior cleaned as they usually have the interior cleaned as well. 2 1/2 hours to make the property look sparkly again and charged £85. That equates to £34 an hour. A very happy customer and I didn't feel that I over charged. Window cleaning is a well paid profession and a service that people actually want to pay for. Don't compare it to other services out there as it is a totally different way of charging from the norm. 

 

[Pjj]

I target myself a weekly goal of £800. I find an hourly goal sometimes stresses me out if I'm stuck in traffic on a rubbish job. Moving forward though I'd like to aim for £1000 a week so £200 a day consistently even through winter. We shall see, always good to have a target to aim for

Thats good but don’t just say to a customer my daily rate is £200 , price each job at the correct price as an example say you want to earn £40 per hour , if you think the job will take 30 muinits then it’s £20 and always try and add a bit for travel time , unless your work is compact , by pricing work this way you should be able to earn a lot more . When doing gfs cleans always charge more than your window rate , so if you earn £40 per hour on the glass , when pricing gfs price it at say £60 per hour so if you think the job will take 1:5 hours then it’s £90 for the gfs clean plus what ever the windows would be , this way you will increase your earnings by quite a bit . Not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs but I know cleaners who tell the customer my day rate is £200 so that’s what I’ll do the job for , on add on jobs you should be able to double your earnings make the extra jobs worth your while . 

 

[P4dstar]

What you’re happy with is the answer @HWCS

Being content is the best place in life. Not striving after a carrot on a stick. Paying all your bills, enjoying the odd holiday & saving even just a tiny bit is the minimum (in my opinion) but in this job if you work fairly hard and give it time you can go a lot further than that.

On any public forum there will always be a mixture of people: liars, exaggerators, materialistic money grabbing people, normal down to earth people and people too lazy and no self respect to even earn enough to pay there bills sadly. 

Most on here seem fairly normal and honest. So no personal digs at all. 

But as @Incheck says if you aim higher than you plan/get that helps.

But Do whatever YOU want?

Im not the fastest window cleaner, never will be, my stuff is quite well priced in an expensive area of the country. I don’t work really hard, never ever do more than 45hr weeks, often a lot less, and I’m content but long term would like to take on 1 employee to work in the same van in a few years. Because if you can earn more money in the same amount of time with not much more stress/responsibility that’s smart business in my opinion.

Obviously some have gone a lot bigger than that, fair play to them! 

I agree mate, some need to remember the goal isn't to be the richest man in the graveyard!

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

so what green pro said is true

Had I been drinking again? ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I'm in this job because I enjoy it and enjoy talking to my customers. I wouldn't do this job if I had to act like a robot and crack on all the time. My big difference is having a company pension so its immaterial what I make. Today I got an email to price for 5 flats because the guy that does it is going back to college and it came through Checkatrade. So I may have 70 monthly customers soon and its growing exponentially without really trying. Would like a full week of window cleaning a month so I could do the add-ons the rest of the time. 

 

[Iron Giant]

I know i shouldnt, but if I know I aint gonna get a £15 job done in 20 minutes or under, I tend to go like the clappers and not be so thorough. Bad, yes, i know. One time, an Indian lady just kept adding more and more 'And can you just.... And this..And etc. I said that wil cost extra etc, but I couldnt keep up with her add ons. In the end, exasperated, I just said i didnt have time  :banghead3:

Should be 100% first time and every time, if you sold them a 5-star service when quoting then that's what they expect and are paying for 

 

[ks789]

Should be 100% first time and every time, if you sold them a 5-star service when quoting then that's what they expect and are paying for 

Thats true, of course. very rarely happens, more likely i just surrender to it and tell myself to make sure price right next time. but the Indian lady can find another window cleaner/gardener/general odd jobber. Haha I gotta laugh really looking back, better than crying.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I will add that anybody absolutely anybody can make £40 per hour plus in this business but the secret is not being able to make £40 for one hour the secret is being able to make £40 per hour all day long.

You go out for an 8-hour day with a 15-minute break in the morning half hour break for lunchtime 15-minute break in the afternoon that's 7 hours of total work done at £40 an hour.

That's  £280 a day so as long as you are coming home at £280 per day Monday through Friday then you are quite comfortably clocking £40 an hour all week-long

£1400 Per week.  Quite achievable just as long as you're willing to treated as a business and work hard on it

 

[Damo]

Earn what you're happy with and ignore what other people are earning or claim to be earning.

We've all seen the "I earn £500 a day" plonkers who post asking for the cheapest price for a £4 fitting or post as soon as a customer skips a clean. 

Some people will never be happy with what they earn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR8K8HRoqz8

 

[BigFoot]

As a self-classified social recluse, I can talk for 15 minutes easily with some clients, one of mine is top fella at 93 years old and as bright as a button we always have a good natter and a laugh and he always thanks me for taking the time to stop and chat, GoCardless clients are great no one in to talk to me so I get loads more done makes up for all my talking  ?

I can lose an hour or more talking with customers a day, summers are not so bad but the two shortest daylight months and my customers think I have the hump with them I'm so fast off their property...

 

[adamangler]

I'm in this job because I enjoy it and enjoy talking to my customers. I wouldn't do this job if I had to act like a robot and crack on all the time. My big difference is having a company pension so its immaterial what I make. Today I got an email to price for 5 flats because the guy that does it is going back to college and it came through Checkatrade. So I may have 70 monthly customers soon and its growing exponentially without really trying. Would like a full week of window cleaning a month so I could do the add-ons the rest of the time. 

Depends what you enjoy, talking to customers all day wouldn't be on my list of enjoyment factors...i like to be left alone and enjoy seeing how fast I can get done and how much I can earn. My enjoyment comes from seeing the money come into the account and getting home early to spend more time doing the things do enjoy rather than being out all day because im dawdling about chatting and supping pots of tea.

But working like this does lead to burn out, you can't work like a machine forever but that's why i don't work 5 days a week anymore.

 

[adamangler]

When I started I could only do about £20 a hour now it's up to about £40 or more some days  Still same prices pretty much, £10-£12 average. Just a typical house is now a 10 minute job rather than a 20 min job as the busier you get the less of a perfectionist you become and realise just how fast you can go with wfp maintenance cleans. 

 

[steve garwood]

Compromise is the word here.

Yes, dawdling around chatting and drinking tea too long with the customers obviously is going to cost you.

However, zooming about like sonic the hedgehog and giving no time for your customers to me is a bit rude.

I’ve said it before on here I think it’s important to build a relationship with the customer, that way they’ll never want to dump you, plus it makes your day a happy place.

One or two minutes of being nice enjoying your day against an extra tenner, feeling knackered and making your round almost clinical?

I know what I prefer. 

Each to their own etc ?

 

[Cleanco]

Compromise is the word here.

Yes, dawdling around chatting and drinking tea too long with the customers obviously is going to cost you.

However, zooming about like sonic the hedgehog and giving no time for your customers to me is a bit rude.

I’ve said it before on here I think it’s important to build a relationship with the customer, that way they’ll never want to dump you, plus it makes your day a happy place.

One or two minutes of being nice enjoying your day against an extra tenner, feeling knackered and making your round almost clinical?

I know what I prefer. 

Each to their own etc ?

Spot on that but I think you only start to look at that way once you get to a certain point in life. For the younger ones it’s all about the money. A good friend in this game once told me “graft while you can because you won’t be able to do it forever as this job is physically demanding”. 

As for the op, 

Firstly go wfp. Set up costs aren’t cheap and you will take a hit whilst you convert your work getting all the frames etc right, you may even lose a few customers but the end result is well worth it and you will most certainly see higher profits even though your running costs will be higher. 

Secondly you have to graft to earn good coin in this game. Get your speed up and you will obviously earn more. Just remember if complaints start to come in then your goin to fast. Slow down a little until you reach a happy medium. I usually aim for no more than ten mins on your average 3 bed semi so around six an hour. 6 x £10 jobs is better than 3 x £15 jobs. 3 small houses an hour is not good enough even if your prices are high which leads me to my next point. 

Get a good established round. Even if you have to pay over the odds for it. It’s no good driving around all day. I dont care if you have £10 minimums and charge £15-20 for 3 bed semis. If your driving round all day to get to em your losing money. I know lads still charging £5/6 a pop but because they have good work they can easily smash £50+  an hour. 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

In an age obsessed with speed, slowing down requires special training. I read that last night. It all comes down to one's personality or if they have one. I make most of my money from add-ons so it makes perfect sense for me to chat away to my customers. Take yesterday for instant. My two customers arrived home at the same time as I was cleaning their windows. We all got talking and it appears one of my customer is selling up. So I gave her a price to clean the gutters and stain the soffit and fascia. Could be around £500 and only £100 for material. 

 

[Chris34]

I like to chat, always have done, work is work but chatting is actually living so I place a greater importance compared to work.  

I've cleaned all my life in employed work. Last year I was chatting to a Slovakian woman on one of my office cleaning jobs, basically over a year I had part learned Slovakian just because it kept my brain working, some say 'what's the point?' I say 'why not?'  Anyway because I showed an interest I got to know her quite well and we used to have a bit of a laugh.  So last year she tells me about some woman who offers subcontracted house cleaning work and gave me a name and number.  

Now I'd never done house cleaning thinking it would be too personal working inside peoples houses and it also sounded hard work but the office cleaning has been going downhill for years with all the competition, so I thought 'well, nothing ventured nothing gained' and rang the number.  Long story short I started house cleaning and it is the hardest type of cleaning work you can do, it got me extra money but it is bloody hard work.  

It was while I was cleaning one of these houses that I was talking to the client and she starts telling me that she had just got rid of her window cleaner as he had upped his price, I laughed and said 'why how much was he charging you?' and she said 'well he was charging me £75', I thought I had misheard and questioned what she had just told me... yes it was obviously true and this led to a few more conversations with other people who then told me 'yeah they don't use ladders anymore...'  so bit of research, sound advice on here and 1 year later I've just done £1k in a month window cleaning on the 4th month from start. 

So my point is, if I hadn't taken the time to chat to that Slovakian woman and just done my work as quick as I could and gone home, well who knows what I'd be doing now, probably trying to do 5 or 6 office cleaning jobs but I would never have done the house cleaning.  If I didn't do the house cleaning I wouldn't have had a conversation with the client and I wouldn't have found out about the window cleaning.

So for me talking is important, you learn more if you talk.