Where Window Cleaners earn the most?

[Part Timer]

turnover

are you an alcoholic window cleaner then?lots of us are........

No, never lost a days work in my life due to drink, 39 years working. Like a pint or 10 but would never jeopardize a days graft with a heavy night before. 

 

[Tango]

I don’t think many people earn as little as £8.50 as employees , even Tesco are paying far more than that for stacking shelves ,

As somebody earning £8.30 an hour at my part time employment I'll totally disagree with you on that.

I work for a national retailer, if i was stacking shelves i'd be happy. I frequently move entire pallets of heavy goods by hand using a pump truck... with a pallet full of goods weighing 16kg per box - with 50 boxes on the pallet. Yes, 800kg and that's one of our lighter pallets. They wobble around like hell 20ft up in the air on the forklift which I also operate on the shop floor when we're closed - yes, high risk for less than you think people are earning.

The worst part is then having to unload those pallets of goods and restack them on the shop floor. I'm one of the lucky ones - there's plenty of jobs out there that pay LESS! Once you've escaped the rock bottom salary bracket you tend to stop noticing those on lower salaries (trust me i did earn more years ago) though hence I suspect this is what lead to your comment.

But I like working there despite it negatively affecting my health, i have friends and colleagues there that mean a lot to me - something working alone on the glass doesn't do for me.

 

[Simply Business]

I think some fibbing has already gone on one way or the other, on average a sole trader is doing over 100k a year any where in the UK isn't believable, unless they have franchised their business but that's not one person it's multiple people and multiple vans which have increased his/her turnover, @steve garwood I really thought you would be earning more down near London ?

A note on our data – when we ask businesses to enter their turnover they choose it in bands, for example £25,000-£49,999, £50,000-£74,999, and so on. When calculating the average turnover, we’ve used the lower figure of these bands. Each of these regions had more than 30 requests for an online quote in 2018

 

[Pjj]

As somebody earning £8.30 an hour at my part time employment I'll totally disagree with you on that.

I work for a national retailer, if i was stacking shelves i'd be happy. I frequently move entire pallets of heavy goods by hand using a pump truck... with a pallet full of goods weighing 16kg per box - with 50 boxes on the pallet. Yes, 800kg and that's one of our lighter pallets. They wobble around like hell 20ft up in the air on the forklift which I also operate on the shop floor when we're closed - yes, high risk for less than you think people are earning.

The worst part is then having to unload those pallets of goods and restack them on the shop floor. I'm one of the lucky ones - there's plenty of jobs out there that pay LESS! Once you've escaped the rock bottom salary bracket you tend to stop noticing those on lower salaries (trust me i did earn more years ago) though hence I suspect this is what lead to your comment.

But I like working there despite it negatively affecting my health, i have friends and colleagues there that mean a lot to me - something working alone on the glass doesn't do for me.

Sorry if I have upset or offended you that certainly wasn’t my intention , but I have friends that work for Tesco’s shelf stacking that are on between £12-15  per hour depending what shifts they work , it sound s to me like where you work they take advantage of there staff , I would have thought Kent would pay much better wages than that . When you are established in window cleaning and have a good round  it’s very easy to earn decent money but it does take time and effort weeding out the time wasters , but you also need to set realistic targets £30 per hour is in my experience  the minimum you can afford to work for , taking all expenses into account, this might sound a lot but really it’s  very easy to do that if your pricing is ok on jobs , working with a car and back pack I think that’s what you are doing ?? It will be a lot harder as the time taken will be more but try and get a van mount when you can afford it this will make all the ditto speed and earning potential, I started off with a Renault Clio and a ladder and bucket so I know what it’s like to struggle, wfp is so much easier , just keep plugging away and you will get there , we are all different with what we want and need to earn , ime not boasting but what I have said about the earn per hour comes from 20 years doing the job and seeing many fail beacause they were not doing enough hourly rate . I was a sprayer panel beater earning around £5 per hour at the time , when I started window cleaning I was on £14 per hour and thought it was great but I quickly realised that going from being employed to self employed it was no ware near enough to cover all the expenses, this can only be understood when you have done it . I am sure where you live it can be done good luck and don’t let the problems you are facing now put you off . 

 

[Tango]

You didn't upset me mate lol - sorry if you got that impression, i was merely pointing out that there are many employers who still pay as little as possible.

I do know someone working nights at Tescos who's quite happy with his hourly rate. I would if i could but can't - got a kid and a missus with a complicated rota hence the self employment / WC route but after the hassle spotless have caused I can't see there being much point in it.

 

[Pjj]

You didn't upset me mate lol - sorry if you got that impression, i was merely pointing out that there are many employers who still pay as little as possible.

I do know someone working nights at Tescos who's quite happy with his hourly rate. I would if i could but can't - got a kid and a missus with a complicated rota hence the self employment / WC route but after the hassle spotless have caused I can't see there being much point in it.

The situation with spotless is a nightmare I agree but hopefully it will get sorted ASAP , stick with it ime sure you can make a go of it  any new venture is going to have challenges and learning curves , I had the same situation when I started , I accept I have minimal competition but now 20 years on I have three vans and 6 guys flat out all the time again that’s not boasting but just showing what can be done , ime not interested in building an empire , and in the next year or two ime hoping to be cutting back to just one van and selling a load of work off as I want to be doing less  work . 

 

[Damo]

turnover

I take it those figures are just you own guesses? As my franchisees in the first year are grossing a minimum of 45,000k with the longest standing franchisee looking at VAT registration next year. 

 

[Chris34]

I'm well into my first year, I price my work at £35 per hour, £50 per hour for one off's.  Like somebody else said the rates are just when you're on the job, the second you're not on the job you're not earning anything.  So 3 hours of work might take 4.5 hours of the day, add to that set-up time at the end of the day, quotes, paperwork etc all waters down your true hourly rate.

I think £35 an hour is fair but I do drop to £30 if it ensures I get the job.  Over time I expect my work to be more compact, I'll be a few minutes faster here and there and be in a position to drop the rubbish time consuming jobs which will mean I can do 5 hours work in 5 hours.  

Being in business should be about earning as much money as you can.  Having ran a online retail business that never properly got established I can say that you have to make hay while the sun shines.  I wasted 7 years of my life with that business and have got nothing to show for it other than a life lesson.  If you can earn £100 per hour you should charge it, you don't know what's around the corner.  You could break your back or something like that...  It's not about what's fair and not fair, it's about setting yourself up so that you and your family never ever fall on hard times ever again and just get on with enjoying your life without the money worries. 

 

[dazmond]

I take it those figures are just you own guesses? As my franchisees in the first year are grossing a minimum of 45,000k with the longest standing franchisee looking at VAT registration next year. 

i remember a few years back you said you struggled to even get to £200 a day on your own some days.....somethings changed then!?

 

[Damo]

i remember a few years back you said you struggled to even get to £200 a day on your own some days.....somethings changed then!?

Blimey that’s a long time ago. I bought my first new van in 2014 as a present. 

 

[dazmond]

what are the franchisees left with after you ve taken your cut and they ve paid their taxes,etc?

No, never lost a days work in my life due to drink, 39 years working. Like a pint or 10 but would never jeopardize a days graft with a heavy night before. 

ah right...ok then.........a lot of us are sober alcoholics these days with half decent businesses.....?

 

[steve garwood]

what are the franchisees left with after you ve taken your cut and they ve paid their taxes,etc?

ah right...ok then.........a lot of us are sober alcoholics these days with half decent businesses.....?

It’s possible to be a p*sshead and still run a successful business. 

Err, according to one of my friends ??

 

[dazmond]

It’s possible to be a p*sshead and still run a successful business. 

Err, according to one of my friends ??

is it?ive never met a window cleaner whos a heavy drinker thats doing well financially.......their usually on the bones of their ****......?

 

[steve garwood]

is it?ive never met a window cleaner whos a heavy drinker thats doing well financially.......their usually on the bones of their ****......?

As @Part Timer says, it’s knowing when and why you do it.

I’m a bit of a p*sshead and wouldn’t want to change. But you have to be in control. 

Good example, I’m off to Folkstone for a ska festival this weekend and I know I’ll be getting a skin full on Sunday, so I’ll have Monday off. 

No big deal, I can afford it and that’s one of the perks of being your own boss 

 

[dazmond]

i was a serious drinker for around 15 years,luckily i got help and stopped......out of 16 guys i used to drink with many years ago...8 are dead(all died in their late 30s/early 40s)3 are sober like me and 5 are in a real mess/half dead now  and are in their mid forties,another couple of years and most of these will be dead i reckon.....?

alcoholism and drug addiction is rife around here.......

 

[Damo]

what are the franchisees left with after you ve taken your cut and they ve paid their taxes,etc?

ah right...ok then.........a lot of us are sober alcoholics these days with half decent businesses.....?

I would say it ranges from £500-£800 a week after everything.

One thing i will say is their expenses are massively less than a normal solo operator excluding the % obviously. 

Most of them are just not into the window cleaning lifestyle so they won't buy different hoses, brushes, poles etc as new ones come out. 

 

[Part Timer]

It’s possible to be a p*sshead and still run a successful business. 

Err, according to one of my friends ??

That wasn't me either, currently on the drink again ?

 

[Part Timer]

i was a serious drinker for around 15 years,luckily i got help and stopped......out of 16 guys i used to drink with many years ago...8 are dead(all died in their late 30s/early 40s)3 are sober like me and 5 are in a real mess/half dead now  and are in their mid forties,another couple of years and most of these will be dead i reckon.....?

alcoholism and drug addiction is rife around here.......

Joking aside, admittedly I drink slightly more than the advised amount, however I have no experience whatsoever with drugs. Fortunately my work ethos has always managed to defeat the drink demons so can control what I do. Currently working away and on the road tomorrow at 6.30, if my son wasn't driving I would be in the room now. As he is I've got time for one more. 

 

[dazmond]

I would say it ranges from £500-£800 a week after everything.

One thing i will say is their expenses are massively less than a normal solo operator excluding the % obviously. 

Most of them are just not into the window cleaning lifestyle so they won't buy different hoses, brushes, poles etc as new ones come out. 

a guy round here who is a franchisee works around 45-50 hours a week window cleaning....i really dont know how he does it!i couldnt do them hours now......im left with around £30k a year profit after expenses,tax and insurances(£43-£45k turnover)so around £576 per week 52 weeks of the year...but i only work short hours(25-30 hours a week)...i couldnt stomach anymore tbh....i can live pretty well on that up here in the north west!?

 

[Pjj]

a guy round here who is a franchisee works around 45-50 hours a week window cleaning....i really dont know how he does it!i couldnt do them hours now......im left with around £30k a year profit after expenses,tax and insurances(£43-£45k turnover)so around £576 per week 52 weeks of the year...but i only work short hours(25-30 hours a week)...i couldnt stomach anymore tbh....i can live pretty well on that up here in the north west!?

Lol you don’t work 52 weeks a year ???? you are away on holiday every few months ?????

 

[dazmond]

Lol you don’t work 52 weeks a year ???? you are away on holiday every few months ?????

£30k profit spread out over 52 weeks is £576 a week......i didnt say i worked 52 weeks of the year......more like 46 weeks a year taking off holidays,xmas,etc