[redstarwindowcleaners]

anyone any experience of starting again in a new area after moving
how long did it take you to build up
in this current climate how did you get on was it hard getting new customers
ive leafleted in the past and used local mags together with my van advertising will probably start along these lines again as hate knocking
already have a full wfp / trad set up so no real outlay apart from my advertising costs
will be moving along the south coast sussex / hants border
not looking to buy work

cheers any advice appreciated

[d s windowcleaning]

If i was moving first thing i would look at is are there any window cleaners allready in the area you are moving to .
Decide how far you want to travel for work then pick a area in the distance you want to travel and get the flyers out , put a few in shop windows, find out if theres a parish mag that you can put a advert in , see if theres a free weekly paper you can put a advert in .
You allready say you hate knocking but it minght be the way to go to get you started .
good luck

[redstarwindowcleaners]

thanks for the reply
already found the local god worries mag 30 quid for the year not bad value if i get a few from that the parish mag 35  for 3 months
had some post cards  printed from vistaprint will start today putting them in shop windows
also had 5000 business cards done which ill put thro doors
googled window cleaners in my area and it tends to list 3 and they are quite spread out

[aztec]

then i think you have answered your own question

[redstarwindowcleaners]

i know what to do but
really looking for someone whos done the same thing recently to give me a feel of how long it took to build up
ive come back from abroad after 3 years being away and things are different here now due to the economy / people making cut backs etc on non essential services
are you still finding work easy to come by or is it hard
im looking at targeting quite a affluent area so hopefully finances wont be a issue for thoes people
ive run a external maintenance company for the past 3 years as a 1 man band window cleaning pressure washing pool cleaning gardening that sort of thing
but looking at selling up all my equipment when it arrives back in the uk and solely doing window cleaning

[AuRavelling79]

I haven't found parish mags much good to be honest. You might get the odd custy here and there or the odd conny clean ...

[Johnny B]

I had to sell up 11 months ago and move to Ireland, and started up from scratch. The move was made for family reasons.

I started canvassing a week after arriving, and cleaned any that I picked up there and then. I tried leafletting as well, but I resumed door knocking as it always worked better for me.

It has been quite tough going at times, not only because Ireland is in a mess economically, but becaue regular window cleaning is the exception rather than the rule.

Having said that, I have built up a good nucleus of regular and semi-regular customers, and am building a reputation good enough to earn me recommendations and referrals at a rate which is now making me too busy to canvass.

If I can develop my business at the same rate over the next 12 months, I will consider myself established.

John     

[redstarwindowcleaners]

johnny b
did you have to take on other work whilst building or just concentrate on building your round
as it could take you 2 years to establish yourself
thats what it took me last time to build  decent size round  and times were a lot better then

[C o z y]

If you want to stay in your comfort zone and leaflet and build it like you did last time, then you know what to expect. If you want to build fast, you'll need to either drop 30,000 leaflets and advertise in the local shops papers and mags etc.

Or, even though you hate knocking, it gets customers, fast.

What do you hate more, Knocking, or having no customers?

[Johnny B]

johnny b
did you have to take on other work whilst building or just concentrate on building your round
as it could take you 2 years to establish yourself
thats what it took me last time to build  decent size round  and times were a lot better then

I am 50 years of age, and therefore realized that getting employment was not going to happen. i concentrated on building up my run, but I also quickly realized that there is a good market for gutter cleans, which I offer as an add-on to keep the pennies rolling in.

John

[james peters]

What do you hate more, Knocking, or having no customers?

haha...great reasoning

[Richard 01903]

Hi are you selling your old round

[roundbuilder]

If you work hard at it you should be able to build up in £200 sections each week. I love starting in new areas as its a challenge. I set 6 months to build my 2nd round but did it in just over 3. It gets addictive buildi g up againand from mistakes from previos round you will make next round mustard.

Best of luck.

[redstarwindowcleaners]

Hi are you selling your old round

no sorry have paid a wage to someone to run it for me incase things dont work out

[redstarwindowcleaners]

If you work hard at it you should be able to build up in £200 sections each week. I love starting in new areas as its a challenge. I set 6 months to build my 2nd round but did it in just over 3. It gets addictive buildi g up againand from mistakes from previos round you will make next round mustard.

Best of luck.

how did you go about it knocking leaflets  etc

[roundbuilder]

If you work hard at it you should be able to build up in £200 sections each week. I love starting in new areas as its a challenge. I set 6 months to build my 2nd round but did it in just over 3. It gets addictive buildi g up againand from mistakes from previos round you will make next round mustard.

Best of luck.

how did you go about it knocking leaflets  etc

Yes all knocking. Dont have time to wait for jobs to come to me from leaflets.

[redstarwindowcleaners]

thats good going
i see your london based i reckon it maybe harder down here on the coast