[Danielson B]

There are canvasing services out there which will build a round for you if worry about canvassing. Having said that from my experience of eastern Europeans in general they seem a lot harder working than many English so I personally wouldn't view it as an obstacle.

Well, yes. A window cleaner needn't necessarily be a family friend or confidant. But on the other hand, people normally don't get their windows cleaned by anyone who they don't particularly like either. They might give a priority to an East-European in recruitment for a menial factory or warehouse job, but they'll be much (or slightly) less keen to give them a job around their own households. Of course, unless the East-European is an attractive girl (or even an attractive young lad) or they live for instance in a restricted parking area, and no-one has given them any window cleaning offer for years...

In any case, personal likeability is a huge asset in canvassing of any kind. And my suspicion is that the less instant personal charisma and or sex appeal  you have, the more other skills you need to make up for it.

[David Deer]

I was interested in your story as that is how the guy I work with started. He did anything and everything (obviously a few years ago). Gardening, painting, cleaning, carpets, inside windows, ovens. You name it he did it. Being Polish didn't affect his ability to generate business as face to face contact reassured clients about his determination and professionalism.  He started with a bissel home carpet cleaner, a polti steamer and a couple of henry vacuum cleaners. Then he bought a rug doctor and got loads of work from landlords. But as time progressed and he grew the cost of doing business increased.  As he expanded his equipment range and invested in proper courses and machines the margins on tenancy cleans became unworkable. The market became flooded with 'man with a van' businesses using hired rug doctors and cheap unskilled labour. 5 bedroom Victorian houses which we could quote £3-400 for a deep clean are now being done for £150 all in.
Landlords don't want to pay and want everything done for as little as possible, They are not bothered about the quality of the clean and will then make you wait 2-3 months for payment. We only got the sh***y jobs the fly by nights couldn't handle and we soon stopped doing those. We do end of tenancies for tenants but not landlords.
Those halcyon days are over. Now the competition at the lowest end of the market is fierce and price is king, stuff the quality. Training, accreditations, memberships, insurance mean nothing. You have to be the cheapest; end of.
If I were starting and was young, chuffing fit and hard working then I would suggest builders cleans. Yes they are bl***y hard work, yes you have to do everything, yes they won't have finished in time, you will have to clean round several tradesman and you will be put under severe pressure. They take ages to pay but it is work!
Perhaps being eastern European is a plus as many migrant and seasonal workers are employed on housing construction and building sites. Word of mouth is king in this game. Speaking their language you can generate leads, gain contacts and more importantly get work (you might even offer them some). The cleans will employ all your skills from window cleaning to touching up, paint removal to steam cleaning.
 I and many others on here have worked really hard and moved on to high end cleaning because we have invested thousands in the latest equipment and comprehensive training. We do get upset with those quoting ridiculously low rates for jobs which serves to devalue what we do. But for yourself I don't doubt that you could just about get by with a basic set of tools to get you started.
A  second hand 4 bar steamer (like a polti) for around £100
A second hand carpet extractor (an old prochem or rug doctor) for around £250
Cloths and chemicals
Scrapers and brushes
A couple of decent tub vacuum cleaners (henry or similar)
Cheap van
Loads of advice
Yes these are bottom end, yes they are not the most professional items. However you are working in the lowest paid area of the market and so investment in better equipment is not viable.
We have to face the reality that prices and quality have shifted downwards. We simply avoid those jobs and stick to what we know and charge accordingly.

[Danielson B]

I was interested in your story as that is how the guy I work with started. He did anything and everything (obviously a few years ago). Gardening, painting, cleaning, carpets, inside windows, ovens. You name it he did it. Being Polish didn't affect his ability to generate business as face to face contact reassured clients about his determination and professionalism.  He started with a bissel home carpet cleaner, a polti steamer and a couple of henry vacuum cleaners. Then he bought a rug doctor and got loads of work from landlords. But as time progressed and he grew the cost of doing business increased.  As he expanded his equipment range and invested in proper courses and machines the margins on tenancy cleans became unworkable. The market became flooded with 'man with a van' businesses using hired rug doctors and cheap unskilled labour. 5 bedroom Victorian houses which we could quote £3-400 for a deep clean are now being done for £150 all in.
Landlords don't want to pay and want everything done for as little as possible, They are not bothered about the quality of the clean and will then make you wait 2-3 months for payment. We only got the sh***y jobs the fly by nights couldn't handle and we soon stopped doing those. We do end of tenancies for tenants but not landlords.
Those halcyon days are over. Now the competition at the lowest end of the market is fierce and price is king, stuff the quality. Training, accreditations, memberships, insurance mean nothing. You have to be the cheapest; end of.
If I were starting and was young, chuffing fit and hard working then I would suggest builders cleans. Yes they are bl***y hard work, yes you have to do everything, yes they won't have finished in time, you will have to clean round several tradesman and you will be put under severe pressure. They take ages to pay but it is work!
Perhaps being eastern European is a plus as many migrant and seasonal workers are employed on housing construction and building sites. Word of mouth is king in this game. Speaking their language you can generate leads, gain contacts and more importantly get work (you might even offer them some). The cleans will employ all your skills from window cleaning to touching up, paint removal to steam cleaning.
 I and many others on here have worked really hard and moved on to high end cleaning because we have invested thousands in the latest equipment and comprehensive training. We do get upset with those quoting ridiculously low rates for jobs which serves to devalue what we do. But for yourself I don't doubt that you could just about get by with a basic set of tools to get you started.
A  second hand 4 bar steamer (like a polti) for around £100
A second hand carpet extractor (an old prochem or rug doctor) for around £250
Cloths and chemicals
Scrapers and brushes
A couple of decent tub vacuum cleaners (henry or similar)
Cheap van
Loads of advice
Yes these are bottom end, yes they are not the most professional items. However you are working in the lowest paid area of the market and so investment in better equipment is not viable.
We have to face the reality that prices and quality have shifted downwards. We simply avoid those jobs and stick to what we know and charge accordingly.

God bless you for your sincere words, my friend. I hope I don't contaminate your market with my dirt cheap, inferior offer too long 

[Radek Jablonski]

There are canvasing services out there which will build a round for you if worry about canvassing. Having said that from my experience of eastern Europeans in general they seem a lot harder working than many English so I personally wouldn't view it as an obstacle.

Well, yes. A window cleaner needn't necessarily be a family friend or confidant. But on the other hand, people normally don't get their windows cleaned by anyone who they don't particularly like either. They might give a priority to an East-European in recruitment for a menial factory or warehouse job, but they'll be much (or slightly) less keen to give them a job around their own households. Of course, unless the East-European is an attractive girl (or even an attractive young lad) or they live for instance in a restricted parking area, and no-one has given them any window cleaning offer for years...

In any case, personal likeability is a huge asset in canvassing of any kind. And my suspicion is that the less instant personal charisma and or sex appeal  you have, the more other skills you need to make up for it.

Can not agree.
If easter european can speak english good enough and customer can have easy conversation, then being polish for example can give you more good then bad.
Polish myself and heard more comments like "you polish are much better and I always looking for one" then conversations stoped becouse sombody recognized my accent.
Dont know how is in UK but in Ireland EE people are respected as a tradesmans. Some are cheap some more expensive, just the same as Irish. I am more expensive then most of irish self employed people in my city and won many jobs charging more then Irish.

When we talk about canvasing then people just dont trust anyone at the door.

[Robin Ray]

 I hope I don't contaminate your market with my dirt cheap, inferior offer too long 
[/quote]

That's what many don't realize.... being dirt cheap doesn't hurt any one else apart from the person slogging doing the work for peanuts.

people que to buy the next iPhone, the latest BMW, new houses, food prepared by celebrity chefs etc..etc..  Customers worth having are concerned less about price but more about perceived value.

[Radek Jablonski]

So true Robin.

Family with posh house, 2 bmw on the drive might be the low end customer
Living on loans to show up to their friends and family but having no money for proper maintenance. You will find these houses dirty and messy.
Old custy is a best customer.
Most of my customers are living in the houses 250k-500k and more, with one good car and second one much older.
Tidy houses with people loving their live not money for show.

[Danielson B]

So true Robin.

Family with posh house, 2 bmw on the drive might be the low end customer
Living on loans to show up to their friends and family but having no money for proper maintenance. You will find these houses dirty and messy.
Old custy is a best customer.
Most of my customers are living in the houses 250k-500k and more, with one good car and second one much older.
Tidy houses with people loving their live not money for show.

Yes, there are many Scrooges among them who suck a lot. They will haggle about each penny, and at the end of the day they will tell you they don't need you at all.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Why not get a company to canvas for you? There used to be a company that advertised on here that canvassed on behalf of window cleaners to get customers and were successful, if you think your accent is off putting to potential customers these people will get customers for you, if (perhaps I'm not being politically correct) customers are aware of Eastern Europe gypsys which is very off putting to some then put on a uniform and be clean shaven sell yourself go a little extra to gain trust then you'll get more cups of tea than your bladder can handle.....and no peeing behind the bushes.

Shaun

[Danielson B]

Why not get a company to canvas for you? There used to be a company that advertised on here that canvassed on behalf of window cleaners to get customers and were successful, if you think your accent is off putting to potential customers these people will get customers for you, if (perhaps I'm not being politically correct) customers are aware of Eastern Europe gypsys which is very off putting to some then put on a uniform and be clean shaven sell yourself go a little extra to gain trust then you'll get more cups of tea than your bladder can handle.....and no peeing behind the bushes.

Shaun

Good point Shaun. I am a non-Gypsy Czech in a small city with many Czech and Slovak Gypsies.

Regarding the canvassers for hire, I have obviously thought about them, too. But they have also their limitations, like anyone or anything else. They cost a lot, and at the end of the day, they get you only leads at best, however solid the leads sometimes may be. So I consider their hiring a bit risky investment, too. I may be more keen to hire them when I have more money to spend. But I don't see them a promising way to spend myself out of my current lack of cash and growing debt.

[Danielson B]

Good morning folks

I've just reviewed the yesterday post on this thread and found out, that experienced carpet cleaners repeatedly recommend (at least) TWO vacuum cleaners into the carpet cleaning starting kit. To someone who knows the trade it may be obvious why, but not so to a layman. Please could anyone explain, why (at least) two vacuum cleaners, i.e. two machines of the same kind and purpose, are useful, or even necessary to any entrant into the carpet cleaning trade?

Any clarification will be most appreciated.

[Danielson B]

Are the vacuum cleaners needed two because each of them needs to be used at different stages or on different surfaces?

Or is each of them, given the way it's used in professional carpet cleaning, likely to break down at any moment?

Or is there any other reason why one vacuum cleaner is not enough?

Sorry, I haven't found the right answer anywhere else on the internet or in the literature I have...

[Robin Ray]

What is ment by two vacuum cleaners is a carpet cleaning machine with at least two vacuum motors in it. This is because machines with a single vacuum motor lacks in enough vacuum power to truly get a carpet clean and dry enough. It will also need a solution pump with at least 150 psi.

The fact remains though if you are struggling to get work window cleaning you will struggle even more to get it with any other service. Buying a machine of any kind will be a massive drain on your ailing finances.

What you need to do now is canvass.. canvass and then canvass some more...... then get some machinery.

[Robin Ray]

Just another thought..

I don't mean this in a racist or derogatory way at all as i have a friends from all over the world who speak with loads of different accents. However If you feel your accent is the biggest thing which is holding you back that may need to be the first thing you need to work on. Maybe you could go on a course to help you with it or maybe there are some books that could help. I also noticed this video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL_OcLayJPg.

[cannon]

I haven't read all the replies so maybe someone has already suggested it but have you thought about oven cleaning? The returns are not as good as other services but the start up and ongoing costs are a lot lower and there is a massive demand for it.

[Danielson B]

@Robin Ray

Thank you for your clarification regarding the 2 vac issue.  As regards the accent, yes, training is possible. But its similar like window cleaning in builder's cleans - there is a law of diminishing results involved in it. It's easy to weaken your accent to certain level which is easy to understand by the standard British population, but from that point it's much more difficult to develop the West England's farmer speech. Not mentioning it also costs time and money 

[Danielson B]

Karl, thanks for your point. I've been offering the oven cleaning, along with window cleaning, on my snippet that I throw into the letter boxes for a month. Up to now, to no avail. And if I visit letting agencies, they tell me that the people working for them do everything - windows, carpets and ovens, and that even if I was able to do everything as well, I would only be at the end of a long queue anyway.

[Danielson B]

... and there is a massive demand for it.

But you might know some inconspicuous market segments for oven cleaning or some not so obvious, but highly effective, ways of advertising or promoting this service...

[cleantech]

There are canvasing services out there which will build a round for you if worry about canvassing. Having said that from my experience of eastern Europeans in general they seem a lot harder working than many English so I personally wouldn't view it as an obstacle.

Well, yes. A window cleaner needn't necessarily be a family friend or confidant. But on the other hand, people normally don't get their windows cleaned by anyone who they don't particularly like either. They might give a priority to an East-European in recruitment for a menial factory or warehouse job, but they'll be much (or slightly) less keen to give them a job around their own households. Of course, unless the East-European is an attractive girl (or even an attractive young lad) or they live for instance in a restricted parking area, and no-one has given them any window cleaning offer for years...

In any case, personal likeability is a huge asset in canvassing of any kind. And my suspicion is that the less instant personal charisma and or sex appeal  you have, the more other skills you need to make up for it.

Can not agree.
If easter european can speak english good enough and customer can have easy conversation, then being polish for example can give you more good then bad.
Polish myself and heard more comments like "you polish are much better and I always looking for one" then conversations stoped becouse sombody recognized my accent.
Dont know how is in UK but in Ireland EE people are respected as a tradesmans. Some are cheap some more expensive, just the same as Irish. I am more expensive then most of irish self employed people in my city and won many jobs charging more then Irish.

When we talk about canvasing then people just dont trust anyone at the door.

Funny stuff

[Danielson B]

I would definitely love to know my real cost per a customer acquired by even a legit (not scammy or dodgy)  outsourced canvassing business. But it's a question for a different section of this forum.

[Radek Jablonski]

There are canvasing services out there which will build a round for you if worry about canvassing. Having said that from my experience of eastern Europeans in general they seem a lot harder working than many English so I personally wouldn't view it as an obstacle.

Well, yes. A window cleaner needn't necessarily be a family friend or confidant. But on the other hand, people normally don't get their windows cleaned by anyone who they don't particularly like either. They might give a priority to an East-European in recruitment for a menial factory or warehouse job, but they'll be much (or slightly) less keen to give them a job around their own households. Of course, unless the East-European is an attractive girl (or even an attractive young lad) or they live for instance in a restricted parking area, and no-one has given them any window cleaning offer for years...

In any case, personal likeability is a huge asset in canvassing of any kind. And my suspicion is that the less instant personal charisma and or sex appeal  you have, the more other skills you need to make up for it.

Can not agree.
If easter european can speak english good enough and customer can have easy conversation, then being polish for example can give you more good then bad.
Polish myself and heard more comments like "you polish are much better and I always looking for one" then conversations stoped becouse sombody recognized my accent.
Dont know how is in UK but in Ireland EE people are respected as a tradesmans. Some are cheap some more expensive, just the same as Irish. I am more expensive then most of irish self employed people in my city and won many jobs charging more then Irish.

When we talk about canvasing then people just dont trust anyone at the door.

Funny stuff

Having no clue what you want to say