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Any Advice Would Be Appreciated

J

jH-B

i have recently set my heart on making money from cleaning windows as i cant stand working in a supermarket for much longer earning peanuts while being a treated like poo! i have a pretty good idea how i would get a client ba se so im fine with that all i need advise on is how much would it cost to start up? on bare basics i thought it would be £200? also is quoting £10-£15 for a average normal house? last thing is it really a good job because im thinking of making this my life long occupation to make it as big as possible! ? any response will be welcomed! nice one, jb

 
thankyou for that one mate! how long would you say it will take to get around 50 customers on a weekly basis? and when you start something like this isit really rough going for a few months? jb

 
how long is a piece of string jH-B?

For one person on here that might get every customer they knock on you can bet your last quid that 50 people will do 3 or 4 streets drawing a total blank. If your a nice guy and a good window cleaner word of mouth will help you out as well as a whole lot of determination and hard work

 
Trad window cleaning can take years to perfect and not all are suitted to the job especially ladder work.

My advice would be best get your trad kit together as soon as you can without jacking your job first. Then practise as much as you can and when you think your are ready build up a small local round whilst still working full time. Then once you have done the job for a few months you will have a better understanding so to make up your own mind which way you want to go. Simples

 
im physically well built as i play football so i say i would be fine with ladder work and im fine with heights to so thats cool! the thing is mate my jobs horrific haha which i would get pretty much the same money on the dole so thats no problem either! i think im just going to go out knocking on doors day in day out untill i have x amount of customers to bring me a good profit on my expenses, dont know untill you have tried

jb

 
[noswear]

Let ya off though for 1st offence lol, ya get out what ya put in mate like anything else but yes anythings possible.

Get the gear though and practise practise practise, it's harder than you think.

 
There's a lot of us trad on here. It took me 3 years to get the customer base I wanted & it still ain't perfect. Hours upon hours of door knocking & leafleting. Can get very cold in the winter. Customers muck you around & can take ages to pay. They can cancel you at the drop of a hat. Water freezing on windows snow & ice on ground so can't put ladder up.the weather in this country is a nightmare & your constantly behind on work.

Sorry to be negative but yeah it's a great job & can be rewarding but it's bloody hard work getting there & you will get frustrated & feel like packing in on occasions but good if you can stick to it.

When you sat 50 customers weekly you mean 4 weekly. People don't have windows cleaned once a week unless a shop window.

As said just keep practising but build it up while you still got a job. It's not as easy as people think.

Good luck.

 
nice one for the adice like, ill start getting out knocking on doors and spreading the word and ill see how things go

jb

 
Cleaning windows is easy.. Building a successful profitable business is the tricky part. There's a lot more to it than just cleaning glass..

I would recommend a book called " winning at window cleaning " it will help you to plan what you want money wise from your business and how to go about it, and teaches you how and why you should price. Some say it's commen sense, that's non sense!! And there's info in there that you will not find on the Internet.

 
maybe one of the trad men on here would take you out with them for a few days and show you the ropes , this would fasttrack your experience and see if window cleaning is for you , id offer but im based in southern ireland

 
There's a lot of us trad on here. It took me 3 years to get the customer base I wanted & it still ain't perfect. Hours upon hours of door knocking & leafleting. Can get very cold in the winter. Customers muck you around & can take ages to pay. They can cancel you at the drop of a hat. Water freezing on windows snow & ice on ground so can't put ladder up.the weather in this country is a nightmare & your constantly behind on work.

Sorry to be negative but yeah it's a great job & can be rewarding but it's bloody hard work getting there & you will get frustrated & feel like packing in on occasions but good if you can stick to it.

When you sat 50 customers weekly you mean 4 weekly. People don't have windows cleaned once a week unless a shop window.

As said just keep practising but build it up while you still got a job. It's not as easy as people think.

Good luck.
well said posh,,,,,,,,

think you read my mind

 
the guys are right do your day job at moment build your round up best you can

If you can get out with another window cleaner bonus you will learn so much quicker

this is good time to start summer nights for working and canvassing

if your hard worker you will get there, loads of info on here the guys will help you out

gd luck

 
Where are you?

If you are close to someone who will let you shadow them then that might help you to pick up tips etc.

I am in Cardiff if that helps.

Some good advice given by others but basically the harder you work the more you get out of it1.

Good luck

 
I am not boasting but I started in march 2007 in much the same situation as you. Now I have 3 full time employees and 1 part time. We turn over in excess of £120,000 per annum (I wont give the exact figure) all trad. I have never canvassed, but that is my choice. It CAN be done with hard work and most importantly good organisation. Never give up, learn from each set back, get a good accountant and make your own luck.

 
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