[Jimmywidge]

I`ve been carpet cleaning for only about 9 months and things seem to be going rather slowly.   I`ve been running a successful window cleaning business for the past 8 years or so but now wanting to branch out and clean carpets as well.  
I run an advert on Yell.com for carpet cleaning which does bring in some work, plus work from my existing window cleaning customers.
I live in the sussex area and not sure weather I`m charging too much or that I`m simply impatiant....

[Mike Halliday]

you tend to reap what you sow.

what are you doing to make the work come in? just relying on Yell and your existing customers won't make the work roll in.

[will01]

Work won't just come to you. 

Can i ask why have you have carpet cleaning as an add on to your successful window cleaning business?

Will

[Joe H]

I am not surprised you are disappointed.
After all, window cleaning is a business with regular repeat business - monthly is it?.
Carpet cleaning is vastly different. If you get annual repeat business then you are doing very well.
You have to work hard to get the initial business, and harder to get repeat.
If you thought it was going to be easy then you were and are wrong.

What %age of houses get their windows cleaned regularly? Quiet high I suspect.
Probably because not only the householder can see the windows are dirty, but also their neighbours can.
With carpets, tucked away behind closed doors, no one but the householder is going to see them (not quite true but less people see them-and those that do, their carpets are probably just as bad).

[clinton]

Think your going to struggle with just an add on yell mate.

Ask some of the other newbies on here and they will tell you its hard going.

From web sites to leaflet drops and thats just for a start..

[richy27]

" Proffesionally trained carpet cleaning business " is simply not an add on.

[chrisjohn]

Listen to Clinton,he's right!!

Ive only been working for a few months now,and its not easy!

Getting a customer database is essential,and im spending quite a bit of money on advertising.At the moment im doing 2-3 jobs a week,but as the more experienced guys will tell you,it takes a couple of years to get to a place were you have lots of work stacked up.

Im in the yellow pages,2 glossy local mags with circ of 30000,local newspapers,500 flyers a week,wifes intranet at work,2 parish mags,ETC ETC

Get my drift,its VERY VERY HARD at the start!!!

[richy27]

Listen to Clinton,he's right!!

Ive only been working for a few months now,and its not easy!

Getting a customer database is essential,and im spending quite a bit of money on advertising.At the moment im doing 2-3 jobs a week,but as the more experienced guys will tell you,it takes a couple of years to get to a place were you have lots of work stacked up.

Im in the yellow pages,2 glossy local mags with circ of 30000,local newspapers,500 flyers a week,wifes intranet at work,2 parish mags,ETC ETC




Get my drift,its VERY VERY HARD at the start!!!

Chris you have the right idea i have just completed year 1 and although its been up and down i have made a living from it. I would stick with your marketting structure and review after say 4 months ditch something that does not work and try something else. its all about trial and error

[Darren O]

Ive been window cleaning for 20 years and have over 300 customers with most of them they get there windows cleaned every fortnight in 5 years carpet cleaning ive only cleaned about 25 of my customers carpets its a myth that if you have a large customer base  before you start carpet cleaning that this will be enough to get you started.On the commercial side of window cleaning i clean a few offices and nurserys and on most of them i clean there carpets at least once a year also i get a lot of work from my van as its always about the town when iam window cleaning even now i still spend a lot on advertising for carpet cleaning but its worth it its coming along nicely but in 20 years window cleaning never had to spend a penny on advertising.