[ftp]

What credit crunch is that then? I've had so much work coming in the last couple of months that i'm struggling to keep up at the moment. So many gutter cleans, conservatory cleans etc that i'm looking forward to the winter for a rest.

[leapstallbuildings]

......as a career/job??

In my case, it sort of chose me.  I was a youngster in the late 60's and had a succession of jobs in offices, doing buying, production control, stock control etc etc and getting bored/sacked/re-employed in a soul destroying cycle.  A friend was a window cleaner in London, doing schools for one of the many firms operating at that time - just turn up, do the job, get the docket signed and get paid.  I was in one of my "just been sacked and not found anything else yet" periods and he took me with him for a day to see what it was like.  I liked it   For the first few months the sheer delight of no boss and the physical exertion coupled with the exhibitionism (no ladders - we climbed out of the windows and stood on the sills ) outweighed the drop in income.

After a year of so the penny dropped that I didn't have to give part of my hard earned to some desk jockey just for pointing me at the work, so I started my first round. 

That would have been about 1969 I think.

I've tried several other things in the meantime, but always come back to window cleaning.

I retire in December so I reckon I've done my share!!

I think it chose me too Ian.
In 1991 I was unemployed (3rd redundancy in 2 years) without the sniff of a job.  I had an old banger hatchback car and about £200 left in the bank.  I sought a bit of advice from an experienced window cleaner friend, borrowed a ladder from an out of trade plumber, and boughht a few scrims etc from the janitorial shop.  Then I went door knocking.  My outgoings were very low then and I just took the view that it would keep me going till I could get a job.  It was very hard going at first.  Interest rates were very high so most of my initial work came from older people who were well into their mortgages (or paid off) or council/housing association tenants who had no mortgage.  The the UK pulled out of the ERM, interest rates plumetted overnight, and work started trickling in and that accelerated.
I still couldn't get a job though.  I did have self-employed driving work where I went away one week per month.  This paid well and helped to keep me going while I built up the window cleaning.  By the time they stopped that job, I had what I then regarded as half a window cleaning round.  So I stopped applying for jobs and worked at it more.  After a while I was offered a job that I had applied for months before.  I TURNED IT DOWN  .  I think that was the day when I really became a window cleaner and actually chose it.  That was about 7 or 8 months in.

[Blue Frog Systems]

3 and a half years ago I met my now lovely wife. She was what she called unemployable and did work self employed here and there. I worked in a secure psychiatric hospital at the time... So might know a few of you

Anyway I had enough of the days, noons, nights, weekend and bank holidays I had to work (including christmas day. I quit with no job to go to and eventually ended up in a factory - long hours, low pay.

My wife was pregnant at the time and had a rough time going in and out of hospital, up and down the country. My son was born premature in march 2008 and died shortly after being born. I took a month off work to be with my wife and step kids. I wasn't ready to go back to work, but I did because money was so tight.

For the next few weeks I had days off here and there because my wife needed me or I couldn't face the world. I turned in one day and got told to go home, they don't need me any more. So I rang round and found a job fitting office furniture (something I had done in the past ) on a self employed basis. The work lasted a year with about a 6 week break about two thirds of the way through which I filled. The ressecion kicked in for new office furniture and they had to let me go.

I applyed for jobs and even got turned down for a job at mcdonalds. Things were looking bad and we had to borrow money off family to pay the bills and the bare nessecitys.

My wife said one day why don't you start your own business. So I started an office furniture company - didn't work. Started gardening business - couldn't canvass for work. Then window cleaning came up. I was happy to knock on a door and just say 'do you need a window cleaner'. I researched on this forum. Found out what I needed and watched YouTube videos on how to do the job. I borrowed £900 off my mum, bought a basic WFP kit and got some leaflets and started knocking.

3 months later I have 135 regular customers so far and growing daily. I wouldn't swop this job for the world and I wouldn't go back to being employed.

Business has picked up again for the office furniture company and they have asked me back - what did I tell them.....NOT A CHANCE !!!

[pingu]

Great storey JP....nice to hear of other peoples success.

Dave.

[sparklebright]

When I was a school kid I used to do gardening/car cleaning etc for pocket money. Used to do well, £15-£20 a week and this was back in the mid 80s. After I left school I did lots of different jobs from warehouse work to working at a solicitors with a caseload of about 600 litigation cases. Ended up in Sales

When I thought of leaving my last employer I look at other sales jobs and they all wanted BLOOD.
But I always liked the idea of working for myself. Always remembered that feeling from when I was a kid of doing something for myself.
When the co I worked for messed me about, I messed them about and started WCing at weekends and on company time. I used to squeeze 20 customer calls into two days then window clean or canvas the other two. The company car had roof-bars. Then they gave me the heave ho after about 3 months with a generous pay-off, they were completely unaware. 

It was a little scary at first (I had 2 kids then got 3 now) but I made it work.
And I have never looked back since. I would never wish to work for anyone else ever again. And will discourage my children from doing so too.