[Gary Barker]

Hi everyone

After a few months off I've decided to take the plunge and set up on my own.  I live in southern Scotland with good access to Edinburgh where there is plenty of disposable income.  I want to focus on gutter clearing only (I intend purchasing a Sky Vac plus a used genny) but feel I should also offer a window washing service using WFP.

If I could get away with not offering a Window washing service I would as I'd not need such a large van but I'd be interested in your advice.  Any advice on vans would be welcome - I'm watching a dozen or so right now on Ebay.

Also, another question if I may....should I set up as a Ltd Company or go as a sole trader which always gives you the option to Incorporate later.

Thanks in advance for your comments guys.


   

[Rob@Blast off]

Think you will struggle to make a living off gutters alone as there's an army of window cleaners out there doing it off ladders for £20.
I would recommend buying a van already kitted out for wfp and start a round up to keep you ticking along.

[CleanClear]

Don't forget your window cleaners licence 

[Smudger]

As rob has said, I very much doubt you will make a living from this, gutter clears are a one hit wonder, windows is every 4/6/8 weeks depending on your set up.


The father in law tried this 5 years ago, threw loads of cash into getting a vac, then loads more in flyers, advertising etc...  Couldn't scratch a living from it, at that time we had a small (around 350) customer base from window cleaning, offered this service and got a good steady flow of work, 4 years down the line with advertising and over 1000 window cleaning customers it's an excellent add on service that brings in a decent amount of cash flow.

Gutter vac'ing on your own is also quite tough, we vac as a pair, cuts the time down by over half over a single operator

Darran

[Aqua Power Solutions]

As Darren mentioned , a customer database not only gives you a regular income stream but a great platform to offer other services. However this takes time to achieve and money to invest in equipment. Good luck . Ed

[Stoots]

Not tried gutter cleaning but i have tried car valeting and pressure washing, found both hard due to the nature of them being one off services, i would think gutter to be the same, thats why ive decided to build a window cleaning round first to give me that regular income then i can branch out to the one off services, wish i had got into window cleaning in the first place rather than messing about for the past year...

[Great Outdoors]

There is a company fairly local to myself only cleans gutters, has few vans works in teams of two, quotes via Google. It can be done but you need to spend on marketing, adwords, trade sites etc plus cover large Area

[Gary Barker]

Thanks everyone for your comments - plenty of food for thought there.

[BDCS]

I make a living doing just drains, gutters and pressure washing - I only advertise on my websites