[marshy69]

Sounds brilliant doesnt it! But the trouble is Im still working full time, have scheduled them all in for feb in the hope of chucking in my job to do w/c full time!
Ive still to buy all the equipment, and have found this forum absolutely brilliant reading all the tips from you professionals!
Not window cleaned before, apart from our house! But there is such a demand its taken me by surprise! I live in Somerset, so maybe the thread previous is true there is a shortage?!!
Anyhow still trying to sift through all the advice, so Im able to leave the rat race and FINALLY work for myself (a dream that Ive always wanted!) Feeling a little bombarded and confused regarding equipment to buy, so any comments would be great, as I bow down to you all for the advice Ive learned from here so far!
Regards
Marshy

[seanmcshane]

good depends upon what price you have got them at. If they are all at £3-£4 pound a house, that is bad. Work on 3 semi detached an hour at £7-£10 each.
Stick to this pricing like GLUE. Do not compromise on price or when you have a full round of underpriced houses and you are having to work many hours to earn a good wage, then you may wish you were back in the rat race.

keep knocking. Good luck.

[S_RICHARDSON]

Why not try this for equipment or are you going wfp?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=130063843180&rd=1&rd=1
Someone on heres selling it!

[brett walker]

22 is not a bad start it will soon lead to more have you thought about buying an established round just to get you started off while you are canvassing.  You will be slow at first cleaning windows your speed will come do not rush ensure your customers that you are not a fly by night and you are serious and conciencious and they will stick with you.  At the end of the day all the customer wants is someone thats honest and does a goos job and you will never have a problem word of mouth is best.

Best of luck

Brett

[Trevor Knight]

Congratulations on your canvassing, thats a good days canvassing if priced correctly.

My only advice is to keep in touch with your new customers as Feb is still a while away and people may dwindle off the idea. Give them a ring and let them know when you will be around, keep their interest.

Good luck,

Trev

[marshy69]

Hi, thanks for the replies

I have given prices of between £7 and £10 for a 3 bed semi so that should hopefully be okay. Am alittle nervous about doing it though as there seemed a lot of fussy buggers around. How long would it take roughly to do a 3 bed semi once i have been up and running for a while?

[Paul Coleman]

Hi, thanks for the replies

I have given prices of between £7 and £10 for a 3 bed semi so that should hopefully be okay. Am alittle nervous about doing it though as there seemed a lot of fussy buggers around. How long would it take roughly to do a 3 bed semi once i have been up and running for a while?

It depends what method you use but 20 minutes should be easily achievable.  Not for dirty first cleans though.

[tatman]

keep the prices as high as you can that way you dont need to rush for example 3 bed semi £8-£9. 2 an hour taking your time. Theres no need to rush round and kill yourself. £20 an hour is a fair target at a steady pace if you get your prices right. After a few months youll probably hit more. I take your trad cleaning? I guess wfp you could double that earning?

[tatman]

as for 22 customers thats a great start if there close together. GOOD LUCK

[marshy69]

Hi
Yeah my 22 cutomers were all down 2 streets on a housing estate!
Im a bit confused on the water fed pole issue. Have looked at back pack versions, would you guys have any thoughts on this? Or should I stick to traditional methods for now, and refuse cutomers with bloody awkward hard to reach windows over porches etc!
Oh by the way how do these wfp actually work? Do you put diff attachments on for example?

[tatman]

its really up to you with regards to wfp. That is the way forward in the window cleaning world. Im still trad cleaning at the moment it wouldnt hurt you to get a bit of trad exp under your belt. There are very low overheads with trad cleaning and yes dont take any risks with hard to reach windows if you do use ladders. Get a decent set of ladders titan 3.5m is what i use dont touch the cheap home use ladders. If you can keep all your houses in one area your on to a winner

[marshy69]

Thanks mate
Was considering just going to B&Q and get some ladders to get me started, but after reading advice on here, Im going to have to find the cash for some decent ones.
Really didnt want to fork out a lot of money though, have tried desperately to get 2nd hans ones but with no joy!

[S_RICHARDSON]

Oh yes! Definateley go for the trade ladders and not D.I.Y Ladders they will end up causing you injury the Trade ladders are a lot safer and more hard wearing,

Try these: http://www.midlandladders.net/10060/info.php?p=1&pno=0

[tatman]

check out midland ladders trade titan 3.5m ladders at a great price with free delivery. Think i paid about £100 for mine. Cheap b&Q ladders will cost you around £70 and there crap  in the wind i tell you!!!

[holland1945]

I got my ladders from Midland ladders - the product and service is second to none.

I got the biggest ladder available with safety feet fitted and occasionally use the micro-lite brace at the top of my ladder as it gives you a more comfortable angle to clean from.

Take your time with first cleans. I was despondent on some of my work first time round, but on my second visit the time it took to clean them literally halved.