[rl]

So as many of the more senior members may (or may not) remember I've been wanting to start window cleaning for well over a year now, but despite really wanting to do it and various offers of help and lots of encouragement from guys on here I haven't yet made a move to start up.

I am lucky and have a relatively secure job, but have very little time in which to start up a round, even less than at my last post. But I still dream of getting out of my job and sterting my own business.

So my questions to you guys are;

1. Would you recommend that someone who has a secure full time job pack it all in and start up a round?

2. Is there less/more/the same amount of work available since the start of the 'recession'?

3. Have a lot more people started up window cleaning in the past year or so?

4. Have prices been affected at all?

Any other help you can offer is appreciated, I know a lot of you will say 'go for it' or get something going on your days off, but I worry so much about risking my families fairly secure and quite good life for my dream. I now work 45 hours every week and when I get a day off I try to spend it with my wife and daughter.

Sorry for keeping on at you guys.

[Wc Solutions]

hard to give advice on this i feel.

without knowing your background... can you clean windows? funds for this? ....

ill keep it short - only you can answer all those questions that are flying about in your head and only you know if you could make a good go of it or not.

i wouldnt take every bit of advice as gospel from here - alot of bad/incorrect advice around ....

you may see guys say yeah im doing really well .... but are they really?? how do you work out what doing well is? again only you know what sort of money you wanna earn for you and your family.

good luck whatever you do - and for god sake dont just jack in your job and go and blow a few grand on a van and kit without having the work first!!!

[Jackal]

it will be hard for you to start up from scratch and work full time almost impossible,even if you build some work now and do it at weekends you could only have maybe a weeks worth of work a month before you wouldnt have time to do anymore,so how can you build anymore work to make a decent round to pay the bills? you need to decide to take the plunge or not but either way you would need to buy some work and build on it in my opinion

[Spruce]

Hi
Most successful people in business are risk takers. If they fail they get up and start again. While you have a job you are in a comfort zone and the chances are you will always regret leaving your job to become a window cleaner, especially when the weather in miserable during winter. You will always be looking behind at the past, not forward to the future.
You would have a different attitude if you didn't have a job and needed to get going. The difference is that you have no choice but to make it work. I know, Ive been there.

Most people on this site have made window cleaning a successful business that provides them a living, at whatever level - so its not the job, not the work, but the attitude of the window cleaner that's the issue here.
I am sure you are a very nice guy, so please don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you are too cautious, too much of a perfectionist, need to get all your ducks in a row, so maybe starting a window cleaning round is not for you.

Spruce

[Paul-pp]

Hi - I started mid Sept after taking redundancy from a 17yr secure? job.
I took all the Business link free self employment courses going & trained with the BWCA in swindon - i am picking up work fairly quickly, but i estimate i wont have a full round for 3-6 months. To set up isnt as easy as you would imagine & you will need several thousand to get a van & effective kit (has cost me 3.5k), as well as marketing. If you do start, the easiest mistake to make is to price yourself too lowly. Decide on your worth & stick to it - aim for £20 per hour. There is a demand for w/c - i have recently been doing homes in good areas without a w/c for months. but if you dont like the cold, wet, dirty conditions etc stay where you are - being your own boss is good though.

[NJWindowCleaning]

Well if your in a secure job and earning a very good wage then I would say to keep it.

To start from scratch is going to be hard at first and if you havent clean windows before you wont be earning a mass amount at first.

Most of us window cleaners on here have been in this business for many years. And it has taken a lot of time for some to break even.

I would say go and canvass and see how many customers you get.

By canvassing for customers it will give you an idea if you can make enough money for you live on etc.

As for working for yourself you got put aside for tax and national insurance, public liability insurance, fuel, supplies, road tax and vehicle insurance and this is some, before you make a wage for you.

I can go on and on but its up to you to decide where you go in life.

[Ian101]

Rl do you have an email address ?

[rl]

hi, thanks for the replies.

Ian my email address is mini2007@operamail.com

Whilst my job is 'secure' it doesn't pay a 'very good' wage, for 45 hours I just about make £20k before tax a year. Don't get me wrong my job isn't terrible but I spend almost all day everyday dreaming of doing something I want to get up in a morning and do.

I realise some of what I read on here may be exaggerated and not knowing what to believe is part of the problem.

When I first came on this site,before the recession, most guys said go for it you wont look back, you can't fail, etc. Now though (not sure if it's due the the recession etc) everyone is more cautious and seem to say stick at your job.

I realise I am lucky to have a secure job at the moment but can't help wanting what most of you guys have.

Thanks again guys.

[Paul Coleman]

So as many of the more senior members may (or may not) remember I've been wanting to start window cleaning for well over a year now, but despite really wanting to do it and various offers of help and lots of encouragement from guys on here I haven't yet made a move to start up.

I am lucky and have a relatively secure job, but have very little time in which to start up a round, even less than at my last post. But I still dream of getting out of my job and sterting my own business.

So my questions to you guys are;

1. Would you recommend that someone who has a secure full time job pack it all in and start up a round?

2. Is there less/more/the same amount of work available since the start of the 'recession'?

3. Have a lot more people started up window cleaning in the past year or so?

4. Have prices been affected at all?

Any other help you can offer is appreciated, I know a lot of you will say 'go for it' or get something going on your days off, but I worry so much about risking my families fairly secure and quite good life for my dream. I now work 45 hours every week and when I get a day off I try to spend it with my wife and daughter.

Sorry for keeping on at you guys.

I may well be wrong but if you are having to ask those questions on here, also ask yourself if window cleaning (or indeed, self-employment) is for you.

[rl]

thanks for the reply paul, I know what your saying, it is the thought of leaving my job that worries me. I've always wanted to work for myself, but risking my family's future is worrying. It is a big leap to take and you guys on here have always made me think about things long and hard, as one member once said to me, maybe I spend to much time thinking! If it was just me I would be doing it now and if I didn't have a reliable job I'd be off cleaning now, but a family to support and having a reliable job make me think think think and think some more. And then spend all day dreaming of what could be, thanks again.

[rg1]

There's nothing wrong with being cautious when you have others to consider. In fact, it shows maturity on your part.

Have you discussed it with your family? Support from them is a huge confidence booster and can be the deciding factor on what you choose to do.

Best of luck!