[groundhog]

It took me about 6 months before I could live on the money - and my outgoings were very low back then.  However, it started slowly for two main reasons.  I started in October (1991) and many people were paying 15% on their mortgages back then - plus there was a lot of unemployment (the very reason that I started window cleaning).  Things accelerated after Britain pulled out of the ERM and interest rates plummeted.
I took about two years before I regarded my round as full.  However, I could have done it much more quickly than that as I didn't need a full round in order to live.
The first six months were a bit tough but I supplemented my income by going away one week per month on a self-employed driving job.  That slowed down the canvassing too.
So it's hard to give a straight answer because the economic pressures were different back then.
However, I reckon that two new customers per hour of canvassing should be comfortably attainable.  So let's say £30 per 6 weeks per hour of canvassing.  100 hours of canvassing should give £3,000 per 6 weeks.  150 hours of canvassing should give £4,500 per 6 weeks (if offering 6 weekly).  By canvassing, I mean after 5 PM when more people are in.  So, say between 5 and 7.30.  2.5 hours of canvassing per evening means that £3k a month turnover could be achieved after 60 weekdays (Mon - Fri).  Obviously weekends can be longer days.
There will be referrals and people who see you working who will ask for quotations.  There will also be expenses - generally much heavier at first.

All of the above assumes that the world grows in straight lines.  There will be customers who drop you after one or two cleans, others who drop you after 4 or 5 and others who mess you about so much that you drop them once you can afford to.

Thanks David, sorry I didn't comment earlier, this is good advice and I think that 2 or more customers per hour of canvassing is very achievable, which by my calculations would mean that it is perfectly possible to build a half decent round in a couple of months if you put your mind to it!!

You do read some nonsense on this forum at times, its possible to canvass 60 properties in two nights and get the whole 60
at £20 a go monthly.
Its also possible to get 150 new 20 pound monthly customers in one week which would give you an excellent living.
Two or more customers for every hour of canvassing is achievable if their are two or more customers who need and want a window cleaner.
Yes the more you get out there and chase the work the more you will improve you chances of succeeding, but there are no guarantees
in this or any business.
90% or more of the guys on here don't think its possible to build a round in such a short space of time, they have come to that conclusion because of their own experiences.
Does that mean its impossible ? absolutely not but it does mean the odds are against it.

Why do you say nonsense? You say at the bottom of your message that it is not impossible! I am a determined person, and if I put my mind to something then I will do everything possible to achieve it, sure 90+% of window cleaners will find it impossible to build a round in a short space of time, but I am in the 10% who will find a way to achieve it!! I've always been like that, back in my School days we took part in a sponsored event, the highest amount of money raised by another pupil was £18, I raised £186 which back in 1980 was not bad for a 11 year old!! 

[Paul Coleman]

It took me about 6 months before I could live on the money - and my outgoings were very low back then.  However, it started slowly for two main reasons.  I started in October (1991) and many people were paying 15% on their mortgages back then - plus there was a lot of unemployment (the very reason that I started window cleaning).  Things accelerated after Britain pulled out of the ERM and interest rates plummeted.
I took about two years before I regarded my round as full.  However, I could have done it much more quickly than that as I didn't need a full round in order to live.
The first six months were a bit tough but I supplemented my income by going away one week per month on a self-employed driving job.  That slowed down the canvassing too.
So it's hard to give a straight answer because the economic pressures were different back then.
However, I reckon that two new customers per hour of canvassing should be comfortably attainable.  So let's say £30 per 6 weeks per hour of canvassing.  100 hours of canvassing should give £3,000 per 6 weeks.  150 hours of canvassing should give £4,500 per 6 weeks (if offering 6 weekly).  By canvassing, I mean after 5 PM when more people are in.  So, say between 5 and 7.30.  2.5 hours of canvassing per evening means that £3k a month turnover could be achieved after 60 weekdays (Mon - Fri).  Obviously weekends can be longer days.
There will be referrals and people who see you working who will ask for quotations.  There will also be expenses - generally much heavier at first.

All of the above assumes that the world grows in straight lines.  There will be customers who drop you after one or two cleans, others who drop you after 4 or 5 and others who mess you about so much that you drop them once you can afford to.

Thanks David, sorry I didn't comment earlier, this is good advice and I think that 2 or more customers per hour of canvassing is very achievable, which by my calculations would mean that it is perfectly possible to build a half decent round in a couple of months if you put your mind to it!!

You do read some nonsense on this forum at times, its possible to canvass 60 properties in two nights and get the whole 60
at £20 a go monthly.
Its also possible to get 150 new 20 pound monthly customers in one week which would give you an excellent living.
Two or more customers for every hour of canvassing is achievable if their are two or more customers who need and want a window cleaner.
Yes the more you get out there and chase the work the more you will improve you chances of succeeding, but there are no guarantees
in this or any business.
90% or more of the guys on here don't think its possible to build a round in such a short space of time, they have come to that conclusion because of their own experiences.
Does that mean its impossible ? absolutely not but it does mean the odds are against it.

I'm not getting why you call my post nonsense.  I gave some pretty conservative example figures.  I've done two hours canvassing before and got nothing.  Another time I might get 8 or 10.  It's only possible to give example figures after all.  I admit that I've done little canvassing in recent years until the last few weeks.  But if someone picks up 5 new custies per canvassing session, 60 sessions would give them a full round or thereabouts (300 custies).  Doing those 60 sessions in just over 2 months would be gutty but I'm sure that some would do it.  Personally, I would have to be seriously desperate to try it because I like to do things other than cleaning windows and door knocking.

[no way Jose]

hey groundhog no offence!but it seems to me you live in cloud cuckoo land. sure people are so desperate for a window cleaner,I'm sure they will unroll the red carpet the moment you rattle their letterbox.

[SeanK]

It took me about 6 months before I could live on the money - and my outgoings were very low back then.  However, it started slowly for two main reasons.  I started in October (1991) and many people were paying 15% on their mortgages back then - plus there was a lot of unemployment (the very reason that I started window cleaning).  Things accelerated after Britain pulled out of the ERM and interest rates plummeted.
I took about two years before I regarded my round as full.  However, I could have done it much more quickly than that as I didn't need a full round in order to live.
The first six months were a bit tough but I supplemented my income by going away one week per month on a self-employed driving job.  That slowed down the canvassing too.
So it's hard to give a straight answer because the economic pressures were different back then.
However, I reckon that two new customers per hour of canvassing should be comfortably attainable.  So let's say £30 per 6 weeks per hour of canvassing.  100 hours of canvassing should give £3,000 per 6 weeks.  150 hours of canvassing should give £4,500 per 6 weeks (if offering 6 weekly).  By canvassing, I mean after 5 PM when more people are in.  So, say between 5 and 7.30.  2.5 hours of canvassing per evening means that £3k a month turnover could be achieved after 60 weekdays (Mon - Fri).  Obviously weekends can be longer days.
There will be referrals and people who see you working who will ask for quotations.  There will also be expenses - generally much heavier at first.

All of the above assumes that the world grows in straight lines.  There will be customers who drop you after one or two cleans, others who drop you after 4 or 5 and others who mess you about so much that you drop them once you can afford to.

Thanks David, sorry I didn't comment earlier, this is good advice and I think that 2 or more customers per hour of canvassing is very achievable, which by my calculations would mean that it is perfectly possible to build a half decent round in a couple of months if you put your mind to it!!

You do read some nonsense on this forum at times, its possible to canvass 60 properties in two nights and get the whole 60
at £20 a go monthly.
Its also possible to get 150 new 20 pound monthly customers in one week which would give you an excellent living.
Two or more customers for every hour of canvassing is achievable if their are two or more customers who need and want a window cleaner.
Yes the more you get out there and chase the work the more you will improve you chances of succeeding, but there are no guarantees
in this or any business.
90% or more of the guys on here don't think its possible to build a round in such a short space of time, they have come to that conclusion because of their own experiences.
Does that mean its impossible ? absolutely not but it does mean the odds are against it.

Why do you say nonsense? You say at the bottom of your message that it is not impossible! I am a determined person, and if I put my mind to something then I will do everything possible to achieve it, sure 90+% of window cleaners will find it impossible to build a round in a short space of time, but I am in the 10% who will find a way to achieve it!! I've always been like that, back in my School days we took part in a sponsored event, the highest amount of money raised by another pupil was £18, I raised £186 which back in 1980 was not bad for a 11 year old!!  

Maybe saying nonsense was a bit strong and I don't doubt for one moment that your not a highly motivated person.
What I'm trying to say is that you could canvass an area tomorrow where a window cleaner has quit and get all his customers.
You could canvass an area tomorrow where everybody has a window cleaner that they're happy with and get none.
For this reason I cant tell you if its possible or impossible to build a round in two months but if I had to bet on it I honestly
would bet on you failing within this time frame.
Most new businesses fail because of a shortage in cash flow, thinking they can succeed in a shorter time frame than actually needed so they end up running out of cash before making enough to keep the business afloat.
That's why I think its bad advice to say its possible to build a business/round from scratch in two months.

[SeanK]

Sorry David will change nonsense to bad advice.

[Johnny B]

It's a 'how long is a piece of string' question really. We all have our own experiences which are true accounts of how we fared at the time. I have already posted my experiences on here.

Yes, I believe it is possible to build a run in 2 months, but I would advise that it would need an awful lot of motivation and determination, together with being in the right place at the right time, so unless you hit a window cleaning goldmine straight away, then more likely than not it will take a lot longer, ie 2-3 years or more. As I said, I am 3 years in and still have some way to go.   

John

 
 

[no way Jose]

hey groundhog if you never loose more than 2 or 3 customers a year.either: you're dead cheap and not very busy or then you're the god of window cleaners and I would be happy to pay you if you could show me the ropes

[Paul Coleman]

I really do give up with this forum.
I'll probably just use it as read only for the most part.  No wonder most of the decent posters departed years ago.   Entering the odd competition sounds fine though.
If someone's experience differs from another person's, it gets labelled "nonsense" or "bad advice" - and I've seen plenty worse descriptions.
There seems to be very little acceptance that people work in different ways according to their wants or needs.
I'm going to up my income.
Up yours !

[SeanK]

I really do give up with this forum.
I'll probably just use it as read only for the most part.  No wonder most of the decent posters departed years ago.   Entering the odd competition sounds fine though.
If someone's experience differs from another person's, it gets labelled "nonsense" or "bad advice" - and I've seen plenty worse descriptions.
There seems to be very little acceptance that people work in different ways according to their wants or needs.
I'm going to up my income.
Up yours !

I believe its bad advice to tell someone its possible to build a round in two months, that's my opinion and its not a personal
attack on you or anybody else.
I also disagree that most of the decent posters have departed, the only guys who depart this forum are guys who cant
stand somebody disagreeing with their opinions and take it personal.
You also need to remember that most on here aren't wordsmiths and as a result it can be very easy to insult somebody
without intending to do so.
There is some very good advice on this forum and some very good debates on the pros and cons on certain aspects of window cleaning.
Yes some might get a bit heated but that's to be expected when you think there are many different ways to get from A to B
in window cleaning.
A forum full of Churchill dogs all saying O yes to every post wouldn't last to long.

[Mick Kent]

O yes 

[groundhog]

A forum full of Churchill dogs all saying O yes to every post wouldn't last to long.

Amen to that!! 

[groundhog]

I believe its bad advice to tell someone its possible to build a round in two months

Glad to have found someone I can disagree with without offending them Sean!! I know that building a round in 2 months is possible, I know because I have done it! That's why I have told my friend that it can be done, I have also told him how hard he is going to have to work and how many hours he is going to have to put into it, and everything else he is going to have to do to achieve this. Obviously a round built in 2 months is not going to be the finished product, I first started building my round over 12 years ago, and I'm still looking to improve it every day! But it is without doubt possible to build a half decent round bringing in reasonable money in a very short period of time, if you are prepared to make a lot of sacrifices and work work work!!! You also have to be good with people and give the right impression when talking to potential customers, otherwise you are going to struggle!! I hope that dosn't offend anyone, it is never my intention, I just say it as I see it! 

[Mick Kent]

What would you class as a reasonable amont for a newbie who hasnt done window cleaning or canvassing before to build within 2 months though?? And what percent would you expect to drop out?.

[groundhog]

What would you class as a reasonable amont for a newbie who hasnt done window cleaning or canvassing before to build within 2 months though?? And what percent would you expect to drop out?.

My aim would be 150 monthly customers averaging £20 each, which would bring in a wage of £3000 per month. A lot of hard work to get there in 2 months, but definately very achievable!

[Mick Kent]

150 £10 customers in 2 months is quite an easy target to get as have smashed that many times. 150 £20 customers maybe a little harder but im not in the know as dont target many of those houses as i find areas with all round access are saturated with cleaners nowdays.
Why not just get out there and start knocking and keep us all updated, that way it will keep you motivated and by the end of 2 months you will be 3k up from now.

[groundhog]

150 £10 customers in 2 months is quite an easy target to get as have smashed that many times. 150 £20 customers maybe a little harder but im not in the know as dont target many of those houses as i find areas with all round access are saturated with cleaners nowdays.
Why not just get out there and start knocking and keep us all updated, that way it will keep you motivated and by the end of 2 months you will be 3k up from now.

We are probably in totally different area's Mick, I never take on anything these days below £25, and looking on aworka my average customer pays £40 per clean. My friend is in Surrey, so there are lots of big properties around!

[geoffreyspecht]

u can build up a good window cleaning round in 3 months all u have to do is keep knocking on doors all day long 

[Matthew Broadhead]

It's all about attitude. I moved house in March 2012 leaving behind a good round. I picked up any work in any area and wasn't at all picky. I canvassed everyday I wasn't working, late into the evening and after 3 months I only had about £800 worth of work, but enough to live on along with my wife's work (living wage for me). Since then I've canvassed just as often and gradually sold on my starter work, invested in a reach and wash and now I'm only working 2 days a week on amazing work that pays well and are 100% reliable.To be working full time I'd have to still be cleaning the terraces and council houses I started with but as I'm on well paying work now I don't need to. 2 years is a good amount of time for someone who works hard to get some ok work. But if you only want nice houses and well paying work I don't think you can set a time limit. It will take years of your reputation building to get to the point these guys are at

[SeanK]

It's all about attitude. I moved house in March 2012 leaving behind a good round. I picked up any work in any area and wasn't at all picky. I canvassed everyday I wasn't working, late into the evening and after 3 months I only had about £800 worth of work, but enough to live on along with my wife's work (living wage for me). Since then I've canvassed just as often and gradually sold on my starter work, invested in a reach and wash and now I'm only working 2 days a week on amazing work that pays well and are 100% reliable.To be working full time I'd have to still be cleaning the terraces and council houses I started with but as I'm on well paying work now I don't need to. 2 years is a good amount of time for someone who works hard to get some ok work. But if you only want nice houses and well paying work I don't think you can set a time limit. It will take years of your reputation building to get to the point these guys are at

I had a similar start up experience to yourself, got about £800 worth of work in about 3 or 4 months and then it seemed to
dry up.
Like yourself my wife's wages plus being mortgage free helped until I could earn a bit more.
I found that a lot of people who had said no to me later took me on when they had watched me clean other properties.
Plus when my customers got to know me they recommended me to other family members and friends.
I think reputation plays a big part in trying to build a good window cleaning round and that takes a bit of time.
 

[Johnny B]

It's all about attitude. I moved house in March 2012 leaving behind a good round. I picked up any work in any area and wasn't at all picky. I canvassed everyday I wasn't working, late into the evening and after 3 months I only had about £800 worth of work, but enough to live on along with my wife's work (living wage for me). Since then I've canvassed just as often and gradually sold on my starter work, invested in a reach and wash and now I'm only working 2 days a week on amazing work that pays well and are 100% reliable.To be working full time I'd have to still be cleaning the terraces and council houses I started with but as I'm on well paying work now I don't need to. 2 years is a good amount of time for someone who works hard to get some ok work. But if you only want nice houses and well paying work I don't think you can set a time limit. It will take years of your reputation building to get to the point these guys are at

I had a similar start up experience to yourself, got about £800 worth of work in about 3 or 4 months and then it seemed to
dry up.
Like yourself my wife's wages plus being mortgage free helped until I could earn a bit more.
I found that a lot of people who had said no to me later took me on when they had watched me clean other properties.
Plus when my customers got to know me they recommended me to other family members and friends.
I think reputation plays a big part in trying to build a good window cleaning round and that takes a bit of time.
 

Good points made here. I am 3 years in and am picking up new work and dropping dross all the time. This process will continue until I have my business sorted to my satifaction, which I expect to take several more years.

John