Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

Beginner business, how to get customers.

Panorama window cleaning

Active member
Messages
170
Location
Surbiton
Hi all.

I was wondering if anyone had some pearls of wisdom to share...

I am slowly starting a window cleaning business while still employed and would like to get to a point initially where i can fill saturdays up before putting more focus on marketing and trying to fill up evenings and then possibly the whole week.

I went out yesterday for my first time to my high street and after asking 15 shops i did not get a single yes...all no's. To be fair i shouldve gone to see way more shops but This kind of knocked my enthusiasm a bit and i started to ask myself if i am absolutely crazy to think i can pull this off. To be fair my area is not the best (streatham) so i do hope i can do better elsewhere.

In my mind my dream would be to invest in a 2nd hand van and a good water fed system and then leave my current job to go take on commercial work but i am just too worried i dont get anything and that i cantbreplace my vurrent income (i do have 3 months survival capital saved though)

Do any of you have any advice for someone who is just beginning and what you find the easiest work to land is?

Cheers

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
My advice is to maybe start with domestic work.

The high street and shops in general are sewn up by national companys or long serving window cleaners it can be hard to get in to.

You will probably find domestic work much easier to pick up this will

Help bring money in and get you started.

Commercial can be very competitive every body seems to be going for it at the minute.

 
In my mind my dream would be to invest in a 2nd hand van and a good water fed system
It doesn't have to be a dream, if I can do it anyone can. To cut a long story short, I was working a crappy job that I hated and paid peanuts. I bought a second hand van and some basic trad gear and started advertising on my local Facebook buy and sell groups. My hours for my full time job was 5am-2pm so I was doing that and then going window cleaning. I had to work a Saturday in my main job but that gave me a day off in the week so I'd clean windows then too. As I got busier with the windows I started dropping days at my main job. Thankfully they were ok with that and after a few months I was part time window cleaning and part time at my other job. A few months later I was busy enough to jack in my job and do the window cleaning full time. I tradded for a year before I bought a backpack and pole etc and switched to wfp. Six months after that I bought a newer second hand van and a van mounted system. My advice would be leave the shops and commercial stuff for now and focus on getting as much domestic work as you can. Facebook can be good for gaining new customers but also leafleting and canvassing work in varying degrees.

 
Adams 0211...thank you mate, i appreciate you taking some time to give me some quality hints..i was actually thinking to canvas for domestic work but as a lot of the houses in my area are double/ tripple story i thought it might be best to go for shops so worst case it'll be standing work with some low level pole work. Also i dont currently have a van or ladder...do you reckon those two things are a must for domestic? Also, in terms of pricing, i see all these forums where people say they are charged 10 quid a small house...surely you cant run a business on a tenner per house? Id say around 1-2 quid a pane outside only would be what businesses charge? Cheers again

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
My advice is to maybe start with domestic work.The high street and shops in general are sewn up by national companys or long serving window cleaners it can be hard to get in to.

You will probably find domestic work much easier to pick up this will

Help bring money in and get you started.

Commercial can be very competitive every body seems to be going for it at the minute.
Thanks mate... appreciate your help

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
I started about 4 months ago. I have nearly 80 houses now. Been hard work getting new customers through the winter. I have 10 houses on one small estate and I charge £10 each house. I can clean all 10 in around 3 hours. So £100 for 3 hours work is very good. But it swings and roundabouts some days you have to travel a lot more so it may take 8 hours to earn £100. Just stick with it your round will improve over time.

 
Adams 0211...thank you mate, i appreciate you taking some time to give me some quality hints..i was actually thinking to canvas for domestic work but as a lot of the houses in my area are double/ tripple story i thought it might be best to go for shops so worst case it'll be standing work with some low level pole work. Also i dont currently have a van or ladder...do you reckon those two things are a must for domestic? Also, in terms of pricing, i see all these forums where people say they are charged 10 quid a small house...surely you cant run a business on a tenner per house? Id say around 1-2 quid a pane outside only would be what businesses charge? Cheers again
Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
A van isn't a must-have immediately but I'd aim to get one as soon as possible. As you get going you'll end up with more and more stuff and you'll have difficulty fitting it in a car. Some people would say that a smart, sign written van looks more professional. Ladders are obviously a must if you're starting off trad although you're still going to want them if you're wfp. I only get my ladders off a few times a week to get over flat roofs to the back of a house or the odd gutter job.

As for pricing, try and get a feel of what prices are being charged in your area and go from there. £10 a house doesn't sound like much but when you've got a compact round and you're doing four or five houses (or more) an hour it soon adds up.

 
Adams 0211...thank you mate, i appreciate you taking some time to give me some quality hints..i was actually thinking to canvas for domestic work but as a lot of the houses in my area are double/ tripple story i thought it might be best to go for shops so worst case it'll be standing work with some low level pole work. Also i dont currently have a van or ladder...do you reckon those two things are a must for domestic? Also, in terms of pricing, i see all these forums where people say they are charged 10 quid a small house...surely you cant run a business on a tenner per house? Id say around 1-2 quid a pane outside only would be what businesses charge? Cheers again
Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
You will need a ladder, van not so much, you can get away with a car. As for prices, you can do 3-4 £10 houses an hour once your up to speed quite easily, when I started I underpriced a lot of work, best bet £1 a window or door plus £2, is a good starting point

 
I started about 4 months ago. I have nearly 80 houses now. Been hard work getting new customers through the winter. I have 10 houses on one small estate and I charge £10 each house. I can clean all 10 in around 3 hours. So £100 for 3 hours work is very good. But it swings and roundabouts some days you have to travel a lot more so it may take 8 hours to earn £100. Just stick with it your round will improve over time.
Matt123 is that outside only?

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
Yes outside only. Don't touch insides. I go round in the evening and collect from the houses that were not it. I plan to introduce paypal or go cordless if I get big enough

 
Do you guys just ask the home owners to leave you cash or do you try clean while they are at home? Guess it must be quite tricky to get the payment thing locked down? Ideally id want them to pay into my account
Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
Get them to pay online from the beginning if possible! Will save a lot of hassle in the long run. I've to collect tonight and really can't be arsed going :gush:

 
Get them to pay online from the beginning if possible! Will save a lot of hassle in the long run. I've to collect tonight and really can't be arsed going :gush:
I second this. I push all of mine towards paying online. I do the odd bit of collecting but try and keep it to a minimum.

 
Hmmm yeah i reckon a househould should ideally pay for a service upfront for the month really (like they do for sky and British gas etc) that way your cash flow is always positive and if they dont pay, then you dont work. Sounds easier than it is im sure hahaha but id be keen to go that way too...the cash thing must be such a ballache but im sure in some cases it'll just have to be that way.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
Stop overthinking things

Get out and knock some doors

Get ladders from wickes or somewhere

Clean any new customers asap and knock some more doors

Give customers your paypal or bank details and tell them that is how they pay when you clean and stick an invoice through the door

Job done and enjoy your new lucrative career (as long as you put the effort in you will be laughing)

 
Davey is right. Don't over think. One thing I will say though that the others haven't picked up on is that Streatham has mainly Victorian style town houses with huge lips and sliding sash windows - a real pain in the **** especially for those just starting out. You will need to invest in a water fed pole and filtration system faster than most mainly cos of the area you live.

I used to live only a couple miles from Streatham and I know what the houses are like. You might get lucky in finding some who have opted for modern plastic windows (their the best to clean) but most have stuck with the quirky sliding sash and most are solid brick - built on the 30s before the war.

Try other areas away from the High Street strip

Good luck

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
Stop overthinking thingsGet out and knock some doors

Get ladders from wickes or somewhere

Clean any new customers asap and knock some more doors

Give customers your paypal or bank details and tell them that is how they pay when you clean and stick an invoice through the door

Job done and enjoy your new lucrative career (as long as you put the effort in you will be laughing)
@daveyboy got in there before me and took the words right out of my mouth.

Seriously, don't overthink it. In an ideal world, they'd pay up front. They won't. It doesn't work like that and you'll end up putting people off. I know some window cleaners do service agreements and things like that but ultimately, it's not worth the paper it's printed on. If, three months down the line, a customer breaks the service agreement, what are you going to do about it? Nothing at all. I would go for a more relaxed approach and drop things into conversation while you're speaking to them. It's a year round service, I clean in the rain, I don't skip cleans, etc.

 
Yeah i know, im def overthinking things...ive done so much research and no actual paid windowcleaning lol. Very true abiut streatham houses though...they are old and **** to work on (been using mine as practice). I think I'm going to start canvassing in clapham anyway as i reckon id have more luck down that way anyway and its inly down the road. Seriously though...Cheers for all your input, much appreciated.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 

Latest Posts

Back
Top