Soon To Be Trad Window Cleaner-Advice Needed

Hi

I am now ready to quit my boring job and take the plunge, however a few concerns. Is it wise with winter approaching to quit my well paid job at the start of august to go ahead with this or is it best to get xmas out the way and start the new year and build it up then? I am just concerned that people say its hard to earn in winter so i need some advice.

Also- Do you really need a bucket? Can you use spray bottles?

How about window vacuums?

Any tips for a complete newbie welcome.

Thanks guys

its not as easy as some people make out it can take months even years to build up a decent round and if your quitting a paid job aswell how do you know your going to like cleaning windows? i would start off by cleaning on saturdays even as a newbie you should manage to be able to clean £100 of work in a day then just build from there. as for buckets of water id say its a yes and no you will eventually be able to do it by just using a squeezee bottle to wet the applicator but at first your going to need plenty of water and cloths doing first clean your mop will soon get mucky and will need a good rinse in a bucket of clean soapy water, window vacuums? im guessing you mean karchers window tool itl last you a couple of houses before the batteries die.

what youll need to get started:-

Ladders 3m doubles

ladder mitts

bucket

bucket on a belt

belt pouches

soap

12inch aplicator and sleeve

12inch squeegee

scrims/ microfibre cloths

scraper

bussiness cards

note book

optional extras ( make life easier)

ladder Stand off

exstension pole

different sized squeegees (6 8 10 Inch)

I think ive got most things but someone else will say if ive missed owt

then once youve got the basics go out and start knocking doors if there not in post a card threw the door make a note of the house number and try again another day

Cheers Jimbob.

I was going to go into it as if its my only job and canvas for an whole month to get around 200 pound a week revenue to start and then build that way by cleaning and canvassing. Would this work? I want to do this with 100 percent and not half heartedly. I have cleaned windows before, i used to be a rubbish removal, empty house cleaner for the council and that involved full cleans of windows for 2 and a half years. Isnt it possible, if you canvass everyday to get a half decent round in a month? Ive been in sales for the last 8 years so canvassing is my job at the moment. I know its going to be hard work, i just want to make a living for my self and not put money in organisations pockets. I have also teamed up with MACMILLAN CANCER RESEARCH whom im donating 5% of the cleans to them and they are paying for uniform , signage etc and letting me use there logo on all literature. I think this may attract vustomers as it will stand out to the rest of the competition. Let me know your thoughts.

I like the charity thing i clean for a housing association/ homless family charity and a help the aged/vulnerable organisation its looks good having signs on your van saying working in association with.................... As for getting £800 every 4 weeks within a month its possible i suppose but dont assume its going to be that easy also i dont know how your going to be running your bussiness but youve got to factor in other costs such as fuel, car insurance, public liabilty and any other running costs. but please just go and try it for a month before you quit your job try and get a feel for the area you might be flooded with window cleaners or there might only be a couple this is something you will only find out when your out doing the job, youre in a possistion where you dont have to struggle theres loads of window cleaners that have had to start without having another income coming in and gave up after 3-4 months as they just couldnt get the customers, its not always as easy as it looks and people make out, 90% of the people that say its easy and they was earning 2k a month after 2-3 month are usually full of ****

Thats fair enough. I will do some canvassing on the evening to get a feel first. I dont plan to start it for another month so i see if i can get a saturday full of cleans first. Is winter a hard struggle tho to get customers do you think.?

youll still pick up customers in winter but not as many come out to you, but if you knock youll still get a few. the hard thing about winter is getting enough time to clean to many wet and icy days

work out what ya need to earn to live ,comfortably ,canvess to aim for that amount at least, i ork all through winter usin pole you will struggle a lot more with ladders etc,i do get my whole round don year in year out month in month out no matter what the weather