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Majestic

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2003, 11:25:12 pm »
Paul
Did you tell the tax man that ;D ;) 8)

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #21 on: November 20, 2003, 12:25:41 am »
Hi Paul, I spoke to you in the summer over the phone regarding starting up etc. Finally everything is in place (business cards, uniform, signed van etc.) Currently working at the weekend and picking up customers every week, can't believe how many people ask me to do their windows whilst cleaning their neighbours its like they haven't seen a window cleaner in years. I'm building up the business so that I have enough to leave my current job and go full time in the New Year (can't wait).
Hope your business is doing well.

Regards.

Stewart.

P.S. Won anymore awards?

simonb

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #22 on: November 21, 2003, 10:33:11 pm »
No one can work 5 days every week. What about ice, heavy rain, being sick etc?
Then there's collecting the money and the assumption that all the houses are in a row.
You can earn that sort of money but not every day week in week out

bluesteve

  • Posts: 153
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #23 on: November 22, 2003, 12:38:34 am »
what on earth does &#8217:s mean. ???
"Soldier an' Sailor too" !

matt

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #24 on: November 22, 2003, 01:28:17 am »
shouldnt this earning thread be shut down, afterall its a joke

geefree

  • Posts: 6180
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #25 on: June 29, 2006, 11:16:38 pm »
all those days window cleaning eh, painful. ! not to mention canvassing himself on his day off!!!.... and while i doing  all that i will just write a manual in between each house !!!

Hmm.

geefree

  • Posts: 6180
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #26 on: June 29, 2006, 11:18:24 pm »
oh and collect my money in my sleep.!

Sir Squeaky

  • Posts: 8341
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #27 on: June 29, 2006, 11:34:52 pm »
shouldnt this earning thread be shut down, afterall its a joke
Absolutely right Matt.
It's a load of crap.

6 houses an hour all week long.....
£1000+ a week...::)

A thread full of people trying to impress. ;)


Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #28 on: June 29, 2006, 11:42:01 pm »
It seems to me those who shout loudest about earnings are the ones who have a vested interest, some wfp manufacturers state potential big earnings, also those trying to sell books etc, the truth of the metter is they dont live in the real world.

Earnings should be kept close and personal, if people keep shouting these figures where will we be in a few years time.

Have you tried to get on a plumbing course lately, apparently they are fully booked for 2 years , why ?   

Because of all the tales of £50k a year.

Do yourselves a favour and keep your earnings to yourself , you dont get many trades shouting how much they earn

Dave

paul mather

  • Posts: 528
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #29 on: June 29, 2006, 11:51:17 pm »
Agree with you Dave.
Lets be honest if we all wanted to be millionaires we wouldn't be cleaning windows would we, so lets not try to con others into thinking we're something that we are not.
The truth is we all make as much out of window cleaning as we want to. Some go in for it in a big way employing people but I prefer to keep my life simple and what I earn is only three peoples business. Mine, my wifes and the taxman
Use the wand of power !!


Warrington, Cheshire

jinky230

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #30 on: June 29, 2006, 11:55:42 pm »
Some people work in factories for 30 years or more and look down at somebody that has only been there a year or so, thinking they have twenty nine years more experience, I would say they are both equally

warren you say you have eight years marketing skills dont yo mean one

 lol
jinky

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #31 on: June 29, 2006, 11:56:49 pm »
I dont think he is here the post was mede 18 months ago , i dont know who dragged it back up

jinky230

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #32 on: June 29, 2006, 11:58:12 pm »
never looked dave guess who has egg on face lol

holland1945

  • Posts: 58
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #33 on: June 30, 2006, 10:04:08 am »
Well said Dave, I've read quite a few threads with people bemoaning the amount of competition they face from new window cleaners joining the fray.

Now, I'm all for competition, but if you go around boasting 'I make more in one day than you do in a week' you're bound to invite excessive competition. And without blethering on like an economics student that leads to oversupply and a weakening of prices.

So take pride in your work, satisfaction from your increased earnings and stress-free existencce, but don't shout about it!

newpy

  • Posts: 153
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #34 on: June 30, 2006, 05:49:04 pm »
My work starts at 8:30 and I work until 3pm cleaning windows, sometimes a bit later depending on the time it takes to travel between jobs, I take half hour for lunch and I clean 4-6 houses an hour average price £8 per house, thats £32 - £48 an hour, thats £192 - £288 a day x 5 days that&s £960 - £1440 per week x 50 weeks per year thats £48,000 - £72000 a year Gross, but obviously you must generate the work to keep you going, I canvass for myself and am currently getting £50 - £75 worth of new residential business an hour.

I reckon the work could be done, you'd be knackered, and don't forget to knock off your overheads !!! unless you know where to get free fuel etc!!!
Apart from that, just pray your never ill etc!!!
Go for it!!!

macc

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #35 on: June 30, 2006, 06:10:56 pm »
shouldnt this earning thread be shut down, afterall its a joke
Absolutely right Matt.
It's a load of crap.

6 houses an hour all week long.....
£1000+ a week...::)

A thread full of people trying to impress. ;)



If Squeaky says its crap, its crap.  ;D. Cause in the trad world hes the speed king.  ;)

Macc

sair

  • Posts: 682
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #36 on: June 30, 2006, 07:27:46 pm »
 yes you can earn that kind of money, whether i can or do is my buisiness  but its only the odd few percent who can! and not from doing £8 .00 houses i used to do that price house 15-18 years ago would do 20-30 a day ,wasnt fit for anything the next day proberly worked like that twice a week.

and lets face it you get older, slow down, see the bigger picture:families come along  yes we all want quality of life but we also sometimes cant be bothered to be that regimental with our work ethics. Window cleaning not for evry one some come with lures of large earnings , but they soon go as they cant take what the weather throws at you and surprise surprise cant earn that type of money
the only thing thats made life easier is WFP
Essentially Pure Ltd

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #37 on: June 30, 2006, 07:34:24 pm »
Sair

good post

Dav e

Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #38 on: June 30, 2006, 08:05:48 pm »
Two years ago I sold some work onto a ex-member of this forum; it was only around 20 houses and he had a good deal from me.

But he'd been reading posts on this forum, gave up his job as head gardener of the Celtic Manor hotel, took out a loan and bought an extremely large round from some guy in Barry.

He confidently stated to me that he wanted to be earning 100K within three years.  He was young, fit; used to working outdoors and I thought he actually would do well.

He also had two young children and a mortgage.

Anyway; he employed a friend of his to help him out. 

Three months into window cleaning he phoned me for some advice.  It was going 'pear shaped' with his friend and they were both struggling to make £50 per day; each.

I spent an afternoon with them; for free, and they were doing all the mistakes a new window cleaner does.  For example, instead of wetting a 'maintenance clean' window with an applicator, they were really scrubbing it.

Both their eyes were glazed with fatigue.

Two months later they sacked it and I ended up with phone calls from my ex-customers asking for me back.

I later found out that this window cleaner had managed to get his old job back as the Celtic Manor head gardener!

Window cleaning is not an easy option and reading some of the posts about how much you can earn, although maybe true; still isn't easy.


Ian_Giles

  • Posts: 2994
Re: Potential earnings from window cleaning
« Reply #39 on: July 01, 2006, 09:27:07 am »
couldn't agree more, What we do is manual work, it's outside and done in all kinds of weather conditions.
Cleaning a window might not be rocket science, but to be good at it and to be fast at it takes dedication and hard work, and some people are simply not cut out for hard manual work.

Earnings?

The average window cleaner who has been going a few years can be earning (by that I mean turnover and not income) somewhere around the 17k mark

4 to 6 houses an hour, day in, day out? Do me a favour ::)

Your average semi has 10-12 windows and as I have said many times on the forum, the average window cleaner will take 90 seconds to clean the average window.
Allowing for small windows and so on Mr Average will still take between 15 and 20 minutes to clean your average house.
And Mr Average will average 3 houses an hour, and over the day, which on average will be 5 working hours he will do something like 15 houses in his average day....providing he is cleaning the average semi all day long! ;D

Prices will vary across the country of course, but for that average semi it will usually be somewhere between £6 and £10
Which would appear to make well over a £100 a day well within reach wouldn't it?
Over time though it just doesn't work out like that, and even to get up to Mr Average's time of 20 minutes a house will take most people many months of hard graft before you begin to achieve those times.

The sky is the limit though...but it all depends on the individual, your first years income will be low, it will take several months to build up a full round, unless you buy one of course, but even then it will take you several months before you are even close to getting around in the correct timescale.

With effort, and after a couple of years, most could hope to turnover somewhere in the region of 15-17k
But don't be deceived into thinking that equates to an income of 15-17k...it doesn't!!
You have all your overheads to consider, for most, the biggest will be tramsport...don't fall into the trap of think that, Ahh, but I would have a car to run even if I wasn't a window cleaner...the fact is that without said vehicle you COULDN'T be a window cleaner!!
For those that have waded through my terminally long post...if you want the true indicator of your income, look at your tax bill...if you are only submitting say...£15,000, once allowences and business costs have been allowed for your tax bill will be in the hundreds, not in the thousands.

If you are going into business then you have to look at the bottom line.
I personally know of one window cleaner who works mostly by himself and he turns over almost 50k, and he cleans mostly domestic houses, but he is an exception and it has taken him a great many years to get there too.

So a big income is possible, but it won't happen in the first year!!
And most will never attain an income of that size from window cleaning, because most of us are average...

Ian
Ian. ISM CLEANING SERVICES