Is it normal to have a quiet period in January?

Hi everyone, its my first year of window cleaning and have noticed the last couple of weeks have been exceptionally quiet. Not many guttering /fascia jobs either! 

Is this normal in January? If so, how long does it usually last?  (I'm assuming because everyone has over spent at Christmas) 

Yes for me anyway. I will give you an example here, so my website probs has like 15 plus pages; all pages are top 3 pack per area and I am usually inundated with all sorts. This isn't a boast, this is how it is now.

I have had maybe 3 or 4 gutter calls/emails since the turn of the year and that's it. I haven't booked them in as chasing tail with window round as it is..and this brings another point, we have from March to Nov to make plenty on add ons anyway. Sit tight , don't worry.. spring is around the corner..says me with snow all over my garden !

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Sometimes jan can be quiet but unusually this year i have already picked up 7 gutter clearing jobs 2 of which are fascias etc also and 5 new customers this week

Up and down but seems busier year on year 

Cheers guys, I suppose it was to be expected, its just after having quite a busy December I was kinda hoping January would be the same!
Does it really pick up in March then?

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people are skint this month from xmass :1f609:

Generally a bit quieter , bad weather , bills to pay ,dark evenings all put people off we find by mid February we are starting to get a larger volume of enquiries which suites us as we struggle with weather and dark evenings to do the normal amount of work , Ime sure you will find you are busy by early March at the latest , have you tried asking existing customers if they want plastics cleaning etc 

Tried a few customers but they're saying the same, haven't got any money! I'll keep trying though, managed to get 5 window cleaning jobs by canvassing for an hour in a remote village that I'm quite happy with but could do with some big jobs!

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You could do a winter offer gutter clean on Facebook. Buy and sell pages and also boost it off your fb business page. Probs the most likely add on at moment

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I'll give it a go, thanks for the tips Chris

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Before and after photos offered if requested. Rubbish taken with us. Flexible booking around your lifestyle.

Residential gutter customers, they like these kind of points I noticed.

Good luck

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January generally occupied with the first rounds of the year after christmas. Takes a while to get through them all as well with the darkness & weather. We Dont take a lot on or advertise, its a time to be keeping your regulars happy. First two weeks of february generally the worst as the rounds are done and cant find enough bigger jobs to occupy us until they are due again. So financially for us February is usually worse. March gives a hint of life sometimes but dont get over excited, you can still have big freezes and even snow in march. April it really takes off and then you’re rammed until christmas. April, May and june have been consistently the busiest for us every year. End of july August takes a minor hit as everyone with kids knows they need money for the 6 week summer holiday, and they generally go away for a fortnight, but its only a slight dip. And September october rammed again as everyone starts panicking about the gutters before the november rains.


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Cjtb said:

Tried a few customers but they're saying the same, haven't got any money! I'll keep trying though, managed to get 5 window cleaning jobs by canvassing for an hour in a remote village that I'm quite happy with but could do with some big jobs!

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It takes takes time to build a round word of mouth works well with existing customers recommending you to friends - family that’s how I started when working in an Are just canvass a few homes drop flyers buisness cards in the doors then when in the area next give them a knock , to be fair it’s not the best time of year at the moment give it a few weeks and people will be thinking about spring cleaning 

Thanks for the advice, I'll take it all on board and hopefully it will pick up!

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Chris33 said:

Before and after photos offered if requested. Rubbish taken with us. Flexible booking around your lifestyle.

Residential gutter customers, they like these kind of points I noticed.

Good luck

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We can't advertise this in our area. There are a lot of other UK windies who have also been told that if they remove waste from a customer's property they need to get a waste carrier and disposal licence. We do a couple of cleans for council departments, hence the letter addressed to us.

https://www.premierline.co.uk/knowledge-centre/do-you-need-a-waste-carriers-licence.html

I don't know if it applies to Scotland though.

We have used it to our advantage. We leave gutter waste in plastic bags next to their dustbin so they can see we did the job.

Spruce that is also true here I have a mate with a licence who dumps it for me.

Prior to this I used to have a farmer who liked it for compost

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Last week I have picked up 7 new customers all recommendations, which is great as I'm having another cull at the end of the month have at least three customers I want to replace.

Chris33 said:

Spruce that is also true here I have a mate with a licence who dumps it for me.

Prior to this I used to have a farmer who liked it for compost

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I dumps it in the garden borders mate, its their waste!


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I've had very little enquiries since the turn of the year

I very rarely get add on jobs all year round, no one seems to ask and despite ranking fairly well on Google next to nowt from their either.

Which suits me fine tbh as they just get in the way but I think it's fairly obvious they would slow down in the winter months.