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full time or part time ?

Keir999

Active member
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169
I work a full time job 4 days a week and shine usually 2 days a week.I have built up a good round after 11 years on the glass. Its been on my mind for a while that I could quit my full time job and window clean full time instead. I just get sick of all the politics and being told what to do. I love working for myself and would much rather put all my time and energy into my own business. I would have to dramatically increase my round, like double it, to make up the shortfall, but I'm pretty confident I could achieve this. Maybe even buying a round to add onto mine. I have dreamt of doing this for a long time, but its actually having the guts to go out and do it for real. Even if I were to take slightly less money per month, isn't it worth it to have the freedom and pride ? Tough decisions ... any comments and your experiences would be welcome

Cheers

 
Go for it mate, save up and get some buffer money, then get a website and some good business cards etc and hit the streets canvassing, before you know it, you'll be reeling in the work (excuse the pun)

When I went on my own after working with a family friend for a couple of years, I started out canvassing 3 times a week and it grew from there, but the real explosion came when I got a decent website and started marketing properly, so I'd say save up, get a good brand, hit the canvassing, and you'll be on your way! I hope you do, you won't regret it provided you put the effort in, which I'm sure you would!

 
Go for it fella

You will only regret it if you don't

There is a bodybuilder on utube called c t fletcher who is a very inspirational guy (except the fact he is from compton and says mofo all the time)

He hit the nail on the head when he said the key to success in anything is obsession

If you live breathe and dream it it will happen

Get obsessed

Get out there

Don't stop and you will have the round you want quite soon

Then relax and enjoy the freedom mate

 
11 years! Long time to be juggling the two. Ive been juggling both for 6 months and its driving me insane when I see all the opportunity with having ur own business then having to go back to an employee the next day. Whats even worse is when you go home having had a good day with a load of money in your pocket and realising the next 3 days at work would be the same amount lol. Its hard when you havent got enough work to pay the bills but havent enough free time to take on anymore work. Im getting my hours reduced at work to 16 a week although I have been waiting weeks and im getting to the point now where im seriously considering quitting and going for it. My window round this last month has gone backwards and Im so frustrated and ****** off right now so I can relate to uou situation. I have a plan in place to be full time by the end of summer so im trying to tough it out and save a little bit of money these next few months. but if I didnt I would just quit and do it as I have enough experience in the past to know the power of nessecity. Its scary starting a business and feeling these fears and doubts but its exciting and you feel alive at the same time. I couldnt imagine going back to not having these struggles and the monotiny of clocking in and out and going home with no worries but also nothing to strive for. All my life ive felt like I didnt know what I wanted to do with it but now having found entrepreneurship I wouldnt give it up for the world and nothing will stop me succeeding no matter how long it takes.

 
11 years! Long time to be juggling the two. Ive been juggling both for 6 months and its driving me insane when I see all the opportunity with having ur own business then having to go back to an employee the next day. Whats even worse is when you go home having had a good day with a load of money in your pocket and realising the next 3 days at work would be the same amount lol. Its hard when you havent got enough work to pay the bills but havent enough free time to take on anymore work. Im getting my hours reduced at work to 16 a week although I have been waiting weeks and im getting to the point now where im seriously considering quitting and going for it. My window round this last month has gone backwards and Im so frustrated and ****** off right now so I can relate to uou situation. I have a plan in place to be full time by the end of summer so im trying to tough it out and save a little bit of money these next few months. but if I didnt I would just quit and do it as I have enough experience in the past to know the power of nessecity. Its scary starting a business and feeling these fears and doubts but its exciting and you feel alive at the same time. I couldnt imagine going back to not having these struggles and the monotiny of clocking in and out and going home with no worries but also nothing to strive for. All my life ive felt like I didnt know what I wanted to do with it but now having found entrepreneurship I wouldnt give it up for the world and nothing will stop me succeeding no matter how long it takes.
I think its a very difficult position for you to be in. The other problem for you is that your company may not end up cutting your hours. Perhaps, like my wife, the company she works for cut her hours in the financial downturn but now wants her back working full time.

But working for yourself is not for everybody. It requires discipline that not all people have. (It doesn't make them bad people BTW.)

I have seen 3 sole traders through in the towel in as many months as the stress of being solely responsible for their own financial outcome has got to them. (One a window cleaner, one a plumber and one an electrician.) I've seen a fourth, a window cleaner recently take on part time work driving a delivery van as additional income.)

The growth of the economy has meant that jobs are becoming more plentiful and these ones have chosen a more 'secure' form of employment.

The issue for you is having fixed hours on a day that you have to work. Someone's law always says that the days you have to work are the best window cleaning days. The days you aren't working will be the days when the weather forces you to stay inside and you can't window clean.

I would consider saving up some holidays and then making a determined canvassing drive to get more work in before terminating your employment. You need to be making to best of the summer daylight hours, not trying to have this all in place by the end of summer. Winter is a more difficult time to push start a window cleaning business.

 
Yeh the main problem is like you say when im at work suns shining then when I want to clean windows I cant. In theory I could take on more work but the reality is due to the weather I cant. My only full day off is fridays and when it rains badly on a friday im screwed. Anyway been promised my hours are going down by the end of the month so will see what happens

 
Yeh the main problem is like you say when im at work suns shining then when I want to clean windows I cant. In theory I could take on more work but the reality is due to the weather I cant. My only full day off is fridays and when it rains badly on a friday im screwed. Anyway been promised my hours are going down by the end of the month so will see what happens
That's the problem. A part time job like this is not conducive to running a second income stream which is weather and daylight hours dependent.

When I first started cleaning wfp 10 years ago, I also didn't have enough work to keep me going through the month.

I was offered a part time job for 3 or 4 days a week, but the hours were from 10 till 2 or later depending on the work load. Even with half a brain it didn't take me long to work out that I would be worse off with this job than working full time on the glass. So my focus was to get in more work.

I also quickly found that having a full round in winter wasn't good enough for the other 8 or 9 months of the year so I carried on looking for more.

Unlike you I lost my job and jobs are harder to come by as you get older as age is a limiting factor. So I had no option but to take on this initial round from my son and expand it. I was helping him doing the round trad anyway on a Saturday when I was working as he wasn't motivated to do it on his own.

Although my son is now a full time window cleaner he still hasn't the mental aptitude to work as a self employed sole trader. It's easier for him to skive off for the day with a minor excuse and play on his computer. For him I would say he would be better in the regimented work regime of employment and working for a boss. As far as my son is concerned, he was always moaning about how long he worked and how little he got at the end of the week in financial reward. But earning the same amount in 2 days with a bit of graft wasn't and still isn't enough to spur him on to keep going.

So having experience with both sides, the other option is to look for a full time job that pays a decent wage and give up window cleaning altogether. I understand that money is an issue in starting window cleaning full time, but I can't help but feel that there is a little more to this. Even although you have window cleaning experience you appear to be cautious about holding onto the security of having a permanent job. There is nothing wrong with this - we are all different.

To go back to the OP.

@Keir999 noted; "I love working for myself and would much rather put all my time and energy into my own business."

I see this as a bit of a smoke screen to what I believe you actually feel.

Like @adamangler I'm going to say that if this were actual rather than more emotional then I believe you would have already done it before now. Please understand that this is not meant to be taken negatively. I'm not having a go at you. I put more weight on the next comment you made later in your post as this is the most telling. "But its actually having the guts to go out and do it for real."

Yes it takes guts to go out and actually do it. But if you have doubts then maybe you aren't that way inclined. This don't make you any less of a person, you are on the same level, just on the opposite side of the coin. So I again suggest that maybe the same could apply to you. Is there an option of finding suitable full time employment elsewhere?

With self employment you lose out on other benefits; limited security, sick pay, paid holidays, and you get the stress from all sides of running a business no matter what life and the elements throw at you.

I wish you both the best with making the right choices for you and your families.

 
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u really hav to think bout it mate as if it was easy decision ued quit 11 years ago and depends if u can build p more busines

Its stepping into the unknown voluntarily that's the difficult thing, even when you know what its about.

I guess I can also relate to it as the fear of failure. This is my demon if I'm honest,

The other demon is that I'm not money driven, but rather quality driven. Whilst this is good from a customer point of view, I know I waste precious time and energy trying to achieve a 100% clean rather than a 95% clean that is totally acceptable. This over-cleaning reduces my earning ability.

I have always worked for a boss until the last 11 years where I was forced into self employment. TBH I would much rather have a 9 to 5 office job and be paid a wage for doing it. Having a long term illness when doing a self employed manual job is really difficult, especially during the cold, wet winter months.

But I love this job when the sun is out and its warm. This time of year of Spring is the best.

 
I really appreciate all the comments and opinions above. Thanks to Jake, Daveyboy1, PeterRogers, adamangler and Spruce ! I love this Forum and its quite heartwarming to know that we can all express out concerns and ideas here without fear of ridicule and can get some well needed feedback from fellow brothers who understand the life of a shiner and all it entails. Im still at a bit of a crossroads and dont wanna make a rash decision and regret it. Im definitely going to look into cutting my days from 4 to 3 days or even consider a sebatical and take a year off to see if I can go full time on the glass and cope financially. At least this has got me thinking and im not stagnating, which is a trap a lot of people fall into. Good luck lads. I wish you all well :)

 
Is there anyway you could get an evening job instead of a daytime job and be on the glass in the day?

I'm a chef by trade but been helping a friend on a round for while now, told my boss I can't do day shifts any more so I just do evenings so it's best of both.

Just spent an arm and a leg on a van and van mount and going solo myself. I' quite a confident person and feel I'm more than capable of building a round this summer. Used to work door to door for British gas so canvassing is a dodle. Just a case of selling your self to the customer then the product comes after a round will soon build.

Confidence is key. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Good luck with whatever you decide :)

 
If you are working evenings and getting window work during the day that is ideal

Imagine getting 4-5 new jobs per week at as little as 8- 10 quid each

That would be an extra 200 quid over a 4 week cycle

Don't take long to get a grand a month at that rate

Now imagine if you hammered the canvassing at every available opportunity

You wouldn't need your evening job for long

 
Exactly the plan ;-)

Not just doing it for the money either (tho of course that helps!) Mainly the lifestyle of spending time with my kids and occasionally the missis. Sick and tired of working evenings and weekends. I wanna wake up on bank holidays thinking 'yes ! I got an extra day off if I want it' not - I'm gonna get a slamming all weekend

 
That's why i do it

I do what i want when i want

Nice to have family time when i want it

A friend who is a plumber just been given the use of a massive villa in alicante for free by a customer as he has done about 50k of work for the guy

He said to me were going in july just need to pay for flights are you coming

None of this asking permission and seeing if there is a space free for me to take holiday

I will just work a bit harder the week before and week after and go

Definitely the way to be for me

Oh and the very good wage is a welcome bonus lol

 
In this game many work part time hours and can still earn a good full time wage at it.

Others like to go flat out 5 days a week but as long as you can get by on part time hours gives you more time to spend with your loved ones.

 
Some excellent posts here. Spruce some very good points and there is no doubt fear and uncertainty in my mind and the OP. However for myself getting another job no matter how much it paid is not an option for me. I wouldn't take a full time job if I was offered 60k a year. For me this isnt just about money its about the challenge and the growth, an adventure and doing what im afraid to do. I cant quit on this because for me building a full round and being a full time window is merely the beginning of opening my eyes to whats possible. I dont want to settle for anything less than what im capable of and I dont intend to just be a window cleaner I want to have the power to be able to do anything I want to do in life beyond this point and I wont get that power giving in and working full time. Daft as it may sound this means more to me than money its about conquering some personal issues I have carried with me all my life including anxiety, depressio, low self esteem etc.

 
somebody wrote erlier on in the thread that you must get obsessed if its going to work. i agree with that, get obsessed with marketing your business and the rest will follow on. im not obsessed about the money but i am obsessed with finding new work and employing . this business has allowed me to employ 3 lads fulltime and a side effect is iv no money worries at all .

go fot it,you wont regret it and it gives a real focus to your days does this job

 
somebody wrote erlier on in the thread that you must get obsessed if its going to work. i agree with that, get obsessed with marketing your business and the rest will follow on. im not obsessed about the money but i am obsessed with finding new work and employing . this business has allowed me to employ 3 lads fulltime and a side effect is iv no money worries at all .go fot it,you wont regret it and it gives a real focus to your days does this job
Boar - this is where my insecurities rise to the surface. I run a reasonably successful business which supports my son and son in law. But I haven't the confidence to go to the next level, grow further and employ or really stick my neck out and Franchise.

So we all have levels that we are comfortable with.

 
depends what is confortable

i hae the choice of going out at 7 and starting or going out later and startin wen u go to the next level i think it be hard to go back and if franchise out is it really going to bring in that much more cash i think it bring in more stress

 
Boar - this is where my insecurities rise to the surface. I run a reasonably successful business which supports my son and son in law. But I haven't the confidence to go to the next level, grow further and employ or really stick my neck out and Franchise.
So we all have levels that we are comfortable with.
i had a chat with the wife of a window cleaner who works alone. she herself runs a house cleaning business with several employees but her husband has tried and failed with employing and she wanted to know whats wrong . now im hardly a guru but i do know what makes young lads tick when it comes to employing. you basically have to pay bang on time,give them praise when its due [plus tips] but dont take any sh/t . Usually iv a few true tales of past failed employees that make them laugh but also make good points to tell a new employee - such as the lad who came to work dressed as if heading to the opera-in high summer-later found rolling drunk on a housing estate .

employees have also got to know from the off they cannot be your mate

 
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