I sold my run in England, relocated to Ireland 14 months ago and started up again from scratch.
It has been quite a challenge, as a few well meaning friends here reckoned I wouldn't be able to build a domestic window cleaning big enough to survive on, especially as the economic pickle this country is in means that many people (14% are unemployed here) are struggling to survive themselves.
I currently have 313 customers, and am picking up new customers at the rate of 3 or 4 a week. I am looking to build a customer base of 500, by which time I will feel that I have 'made it'.
John
hey jonny,
ive actually been thinking about you and your relocating to ireland threads alot recently. people love to tell other people they cant do things dont they lol. wow 313 custys!!! last time a read one of your threads you only had 100 custys!
well done mate you are my biggest inspiration on this forum at the minute! do you do commercial/industrial too mate?
thanks for the reply
george
Hi George, thanks for your kind words. I am 99% domestic. The only commercial jobs I have are a small chemist's shop in the town centre and a general store just outside the town. The shops are pretty well sewn up here, but when I relocated I had been told that few windy's do domestic as there was allegedly insufficient demand. I thought I would/should have little competition in this area then, and as I did mainly domestic in England I would do the same here.
It has been tough at times, mainly with being messed around with 'not todays', which is a daily thing and goes with the territory here. I have learned to be more patient and adapted by being more flexible to the needs of the customer. This has helped me to retain almost everyone I picked up, because I tailor their needs and frequencies to suit them as far as I reasonably can.
Relocating can appear daunting at first, but if you think about it, it is similar to when you start up for the first time. The difference is that you have the experience of having already done it once, so you know you can make it work, and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes made first time round.
If you decide to go ahead, I'd be very interested to know how you get on.
All the best,
John