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Well I decided 2 weeks ago to bite the bullet. I have worked as employed by a window cleaning company for 8 months, I have been thinking for a while 'I can do this on my own'o_O after researching alot into starting up as a sole trader, I worked my notice and ending my job last Friday, tempting to start on my own today, didnt go to plan so first day knocking will be tomorrow. Everything is set up in the van (water fed pole system), tank filled today, website is live, just need customers. Being scared is a understatement with a family of 5 and jumping from security to the unknown, so any help or advise would be much appreciated. As you can tell I do talk alot :whistle: so talking to potential customers isnt a issue, but what i am stumped on is which is the easiest way to keep a planner of eek to week without a software (yet). Thanks all and hopefully will learn alot from this forum. :thumbsup:

 
Hello and good luck, if I were you I would try to buy some work from other wc to start you off, knock as much as possible, post some flyers and keep fingers crossed. Buying is the quickest way to get work but obviously is the most expensive as well

 
Yea that was one of my big decision thought as this time of year everyone comes out the wood work and a little bit of sun and there's 25 new window cleaners knocking doors on one road, it's a big gamble but hey ho gotta be in it to win it..

 
Pound the streets, advertise, and do everything you can to get work, but dont go in cheap or you'll regret it. Dont worry about how to organise your work right now, its the least of your worries, pen an notebook will do the jon for a good while. Good luck to you.

 
"put out several lines in the water" [in the search for work]

keep that phrase in your mind- you wont go far wrong then

 
Welcome.Just wondering why you didnt canvass a few customers before quitting a secure job?
Because I'm not that clever, that would mean I would've had to use common sense :thumbsdown:, let's call it a learning curve. Nothing ventured nothing gained and all that.

 
The welcome is warm as always @Reach N Shine \(Kent\) and of course family comes first.

What you will learn however and come to be amazed at over time is how many people quit a job or become redundant and go get all the gear before even getting a single customer.

Then when the cold reality of knocking doors is upon them all of a sudden there is an excuse for this and an excuse for that and within the month they are looking for job security once again.

So I only ask to see if you're planning on staying. /emoticons/smile.png

And seriously, hope the kids well again.

 
The welcome is warm as always @Reach N Shine \(Kent\) and of course family comes first.
What you will learn however and come to be amazed at over time is how many people quit a job or become redundant and go get all the gear before even getting a single customer.

Then when the cold reality of knocking doors is upon them all of a sudden there is an excuse for this and an excuse for that and within the month they are looking for job security once again.

So I only ask to see if you're planning on staying. /emoticons/smile.png

And seriously, hope the kids well again.
Completely in for the long haul, I used to be a door to door sales man so I know exactly what to expect, but luckily I have the attitude of each no leads to a yes, I have a small handful of customers which I was doing privately while employed as a window cleaner.

Don't get me wrong I'm still scared to high heaven of the leap I have made, but determined to make it work.

 
I'd say you're in a good position having done the work for a while and having already gone door2door. You've two skills that most new starters won't, and so what if there's lots of others out there doing it, nows a far better time to start than the depths of winter.

One thing I've considered since I started was what would have happened if I'd got my wife onboard with finding and organising my work? Don't get me wrong, I'd probably be telling you it's the worst idea in the world if I had but I should imagine my round would be twice the size it is now!!!

 
It's been the hardest and most frustrating thing I've done starting a business. It's not over yet but I'm over the initial hump of getting enough work to pay the bills. That's the hard bit how to transition from being employed to self employed with no savings on financial backing provides a bit of a challenge.

It's chucking it down with rain here BTW and shows no sign of stopping so looks like it's home soon. Another joy of the job

 
I'm just glad they invented waterproofs and hot water for a bath When I'm home :thumbsup: first day knocking on doors and in 2 small roads 4 regular cleans and 3 cleaned today. Some may call it beginners luck but that's 4 more then what I started with :hehehe:

 
It's been the hardest and most frustrating thing I've done starting a business. It's not over yet but I'm over the initial hump of getting enough work to pay the bills. That's the hard bit how to transition from being employed to self employed with no savings on financial backing provides a bit of a challenge.
It's chucking it down with rain here BTW and shows no sign of stopping so looks like it's home soon. Another joy of the job
It's weird because I've found it the complete opposite. I've found it pretty easy and not at all frustrating. I was in secure (**** paying) employment when I started out and spent six months part time on the windows. I've been on my own for just over a year now and often think how stress free and easy my life is since making the switch. Out of interest, which parts have you found hard and frustrating?

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