[stuart webster]

For most of us repeat work is our bread and butter. We have X weeks work and when we finish it we start again.

There is a Cleaner near me who only does repeat work and never takes on new contracts, loyalty to customer.

My view is that you should always have the capacity to take on new work, even if it means loosing some of the bottom end jobs.

That way you can continue to raise prices, your new work becomes the benchmark, and you drop lower priced work, or increace in line with the new. You will loose some jobs, but this should be viewed as progress.

I would say, to the cleaner mentioned above, (if you are full up) aim to loose 20% per year, and aim to gain 20% better paid work.

Keep turning over work, and aim to increase your benchmark.

[pjulk]

I couldn't agree more that is exactly what i do.
I don't need any more work but i still advertise and take on new work but im a bit picky now and i try to take on work that is above £15.
I have a lot less than this which are gradually going up or i tend to do late just because they pay less and if i lose them for being late great saves me packing them in further down the line.

Paul

[dai]

Don't drop them out of hand, give them a choice to go bi-monthly for a 50%increase in price. I have done that on three estates now. It's an easy thing to sell, they pay less in a year to have their windows cleaned and you get a good price when you do them. It's working for me.Dai

[Londoner]

I have found a lot of the old girls are more than happy to go bi-monthly. In fact with WFP they only need cleaning that often.

Bi-monthly can work to your advantange too. It gives you a base of customers that you can miss out when the weather is rotten in mid winter and you are getting all behind.
It also gives you some extra customers to hit all togeather in say June/July when you are looking for a bit of extra holiday cash.

[mlscontractcleaner]

 ???Why don't you just price your jobs at a decent rate in the first place???

It's not very professional to treat customers as second class just 'cause you've picked up some more expensive work is it?

I've not done that ever, and I've still got customers I picked up at the start, in 1991!!

Prices go up, they know that, and after that length of time I'm not going to loose a customer by putting the price up 50p.

[stuart webster]

The thread really is about a business growing, this can only really be done by getting fresh work.