[Dry Clean]

Surely £60-80ph is the norm glass time anyway with wfp, cream work is £150/200ph
Thats how i find it anyway, if you cant clean 6 small terrace houses at £10 or 4 medium semis at £15 or even 3 large semis at £20 an hour then your doing something wrong?

Off course you find that way (roll eyes) lack of available property in your area means you have very wealthy people living in shoe boxes and don't mind giving somebody a tenner for a few small windows in a terrace front.
Terrace properties in other parts of the country tend to be occupied by people who don't have any money, small semis would be
similar, medium and large semis can be hit and miss as they give you both people who have a few quid and new starters who are mortgaged to the hilt.
You then have the fact that its takes your prices to live and work in your area so your not going to get guys coming in and doing
your terrace fronts for £3 or guys doing an excellent job on large detached properties for £20.
Mick if I where you I would spend more time being thankful for what you have and less time trying to second guess
what guys are able to achieve in other parts of the country.

Sorry but you view things the wrong way! are you not worth £10 to clean that front and back of a terrace house? For you to turn up on time every month keeping that customers windows clean and maintained being reliable and trustworthy throughout the year for them? Id say its more than worth a tenna
yes admittedly i do terrace fronts and purposely targeted those with no rear access to up my takings but i have been doing this for nearly 10 years and even so i think its still good value for my customers as they always have clean windows from a regular reliable service that i provide, even before doing mainly fronts i was charging £10 for a good 5/10 years doing front and backs on terrace houses.
I have also canvassed over the country for various guys too and can say that its how you sell yourself to get what you believe your worth, a positive person will get the prices he wants as wont take on any old work, can get good prices all over the country.
Yes there are house price differences north and south but we all pay the same for our food, fuel, cars, vans, holidays, clothes, etc etc so why should there be such a difference with window cleaning bills?

What I believe I'm worth has nothing to do with it, there's wanting the best (me) and being able to afford the best, its why some
will have a budget holiday in wherever and others will do a five star cruise.
You haven't discovered the secrete to successful prices you just happen to clean small properties for wealthy people and live
and work in an area where your prices are needed.
Confidence and self worth will get you the best price but that price will still be dictated by what your customers are willing and can afford to pay.

[Slacky]

You haven't discovered the secrete to successful prices you just happen to clean small properties for wealthy people and live
and work in an area where your prices are needed.
Confidence and self worth will get you the best price but that price will still be dictated by what your customers are willing and can afford to pay.

Theres more than one secret to successful prices. The bit in red is one of them.

There is no one secret which means we can charge what we want on any given property.

[Mick Kent]

There is no secret is there! We all are leaving money on the table or in our customers pockets as who really knows what a customer is willing to pay? I have been doing front onlys for 10 years without upping them, if i put them up a pound a year id be on £20 fronts now but i do believe i wouldnt have many customers if i did that.
Bigger scale example for you sean!An easy access 3 floor school with 400 windows for insides and outside yearly clean.
Most guys say "right 400 windows out £1 a window and 400 windows in £1 a window making the job £800" which is how most go for it.
Others would have a little more savvy knowing that its a yearly pig of a job where kids dirty head and fingerprints are everywhere and want to go in at £1.50 making the job £1200
Where as another guy who really wants the money as hasnt been going that long with not much work as other competition in the area  would  go in at 50p a window making the total job  £400!
It makes no difference where the school is in the country, its who is pricing it and how confident and knowledgeable we come accross, most would accept the cheapest, some will accept the middle and few will accept the highest!


I sub quite a lot of work out and always ask what will be  charged and so many guys are way out with what others charge who are all in the same area so it really is what you charge and what the competition is.

Customers are the same, we dont ever know what the perfect amount is to charge, we are just lucky that in most cases with our customers they are loyaland only have 1 guy cleaning and providing its a good regular job they stay with us.  if it was different and 100 window cleaners all lined up with there price on there bucket at every road  everyone would go straight for the cheaper option. Luckily it isnt like that.
 

[NWH]

Cleaning 35-40 jobs a day regardless of how much an hour your hitting overall cannot be compared to doing the same hourly rate for say  6-8 jobs maximum,the less rushingnaround the more freedom and energy you will have. You will end up with the same in your pocket at the end of the week but you won't be able to keep it up,tortoise and hare spring to mind.

[dazmond]

Surely £60-80ph is the norm glass time anyway with wfp, cream work is £150/200ph
Thats how i find it anyway, if you cant clean 6 small terrace houses at £10 or 4 medium semis at £15 or even 3 large semis at £20 an hour then your doing something wrong?

£60-£80 an hour is certainly not the norm for me anyway(and i doubt it is for many sole traders)and ive been window cleaning 24 years!i worked 830am-230pm today with 30 mins for lunch and earned £275 which works out at around £50 an hour.to me thats damn good money for hours worked.(11 jobs cleaned).not all days are like this though.

[Miko67]

i see working 4 or 5 days a week freedom adam esp only working around 6 hours a day!(some times less!)as i used to work 60 hour weeks years ago.

i like to work and keep busy and my take home pay is usually over 30k a year after ALL expenses,taxes and insurances have been deducted(although i think itll be a bit less this year).im happy with that.

See I don't think it is.

It's certainly more freedom than being employed but in order to keep your customers and earn your money you still have to go out and work 5-6 hours a day week in week out whether you like it or not. That's not freedom really, I think we get a false sense of it being self employed but in reality if we stop the whole thing stops.

Its not a bad life though is it.

I think I'm motivated more by freedom than I am money. Graft my arse of everyday for a million a year or have 100k a year and not have to lift a finger I'd take the 100k. Would rather have the spare time to spend with family, hobby's and holidays etc. Of course you need certain level of income to do that and a certain amount of work to keep you sanity but it's having options that is motivating to me. Self employment is good but it's still slavery.

 

So your point being, you will be a slave master? Lol get the slaving while making money off them?

[Stoots]

i see working 4 or 5 days a week freedom adam esp only working around 6 hours a day!(some times less!)as i used to work 60 hour weeks years ago.

i like to work and keep busy and my take home pay is usually over 30k a year after ALL expenses,taxes and insurances have been deducted(although i think itll be a bit less this year).im happy with that.

See I don't think it is.

It's certainly more freedom than being employed but in order to keep your customers and earn your money you still have to go out and work 5-6 hours a day week in week out whether you like it or not. That's not freedom really, I think we get a false sense of it being self employed but in reality if we stop the whole thing stops.

Its not a bad life though is it.

I think I'm motivated more by freedom than I am money. Graft my arse of everyday for a million a year or have 100k a year and not have to lift a finger I'd take the 100k. Would rather have the spare time to spend with family, hobby's and holidays etc. Of course you need certain level of income to do that and a certain amount of work to keep you sanity but it's having options that is motivating to me. Self employment is good but it's still slavery.

 

So your point being, you will be a slave master? Lol get the slaving while making money off them?

Well yes, that's the ideal scenario.

[dazmond]

even if you have employees you wont be able to sit on your backside and do nothing.running a business requires effort every day.you will also have a lot more stress/hassle in your life as inevitably workers wont do what you want them to do sometimes,theyll try and rip you off and steal your round,do a shoddy job and lose you customers and call in sick when theres nothing wrong with them.they will also bump the van,break equipment,clean work on the side for themselves etc,etc.

its certainly not a walk in the park.they will also leave you in the lurch just when you ve got everything running smoothly and go and start up themselves or start another job.

[Stoots]

even if you have employees you wont be able to sit on your backside and do nothing.running a business requires effort every day.you will also have a lot more stress/hassle in your life as inevitably workers wont do what you want them to do sometimes,theyll try and rip you off and steal your round,do a shoddy job and lose you customers and call in sick when theres nothing wrong with them.they will also bump the van,break equipment,clean work on the side for themselves etc,etc.

its certainly not a walk in the park.they will also leave you in the lurch just when you ve got everything running smoothly and go and start up themselves or start another job.

Well when you put it like that   

Of course you are right it won't be easy but then nothing ever is. It's been far from easy to build a round from scratch for myself. Been a lot of stress just getting this far.

No I don't want to do nothing I just want to do less.

[NWH]

What dazmond has said is the reality of the situation you'll find yourself in,it's happened to me almost all of the above. If you have this kind of work on paper it looks lovley but in my experience as well as others it won't happen,if you think your going to give 2 blokes 6ks worth of work a month and sit back and watch it roll in wake up and get real. Days off through still being hung over from the weekend just not bothering to turn up missing houses out and saying they couldn't gain accesss the list is endless,the truth is you need to be out there cracking the whip and doing the same work every other clean or 3rd clean making sure all is ok. The best way to get robbed or lose half your work is to let them think your a donut.

[nathankaye]

What dazmond has said is the reality of the situation you'll find yourself in,it's happened to me almost all of the above. If you have this kind of work on paper it looks lovley but in my experience as well as others it won't happen,if you think your going to give 2 blokes 6ks worth of work a month and sit back and watch it roll in wake up and get real. Days off through still being hung over from the weekend just not bothering to turn up missing houses out and saying they couldn't gain accesss the list is endless,the truth is you need to be out there cracking the whip and doing the same work every other clean or 3rd clean making sure all is ok. The best way to get robbed or lose half your work is to let them think your a donut.

These are the reasons why i dont wish to expand anymore than what i am capeable of doing myself.
I enjoy being self employed and my own boss and i have worked hard for the great reputation i have. That can all go in an instant by employing the wrong people and for me its not worth the hassle.

[NWH]

Anyone wishing to employ I say to them be very careful it the quickest way you'll ruin a profitable well built business if your not actually working with them,the customers you have if they are large domestics are wanting you and your attitude and your trust. There's hundreds of people out there thinking window cleaning is easy to pick up and couldn't give a monkeys about your business and it's reputation.

[johnwillan]

even if you have employees you wont be able to sit on your backside and do nothing.running a business requires effort every day.you will also have a lot more stress/hassle in your life as inevitably workers wont do what you want them to do sometimes,theyll try and rip you off and steal your round,do a shoddy job and lose you customers and call in sick when theres nothing wrong with them.they will also bump the van,break equipment,clean work on the side for themselves etc,etc.

its certainly not a walk in the park.they will also leave you in the lurch just when you ve got everything running smoothly and go and start up themselves or start another job.

or...

You recruit on personality look after the good ones and get rid of the bad.

I don't deny there are people out there with the personality you describe but I also believe there are plenty of good, honest, hard working individuals who appreciate working for a good, honest, trusting employer with decent pay and perks.

[dazmond]

even if you have employees you wont be able to sit on your backside and do nothing.running a business requires effort every day.you will also have a lot more stress/hassle in your life as inevitably workers wont do what you want them to do sometimes,theyll try and rip you off and steal your round,do a shoddy job and lose you customers and call in sick when theres nothing wrong with them.they will also bump the van,break equipment,clean work on the side for themselves etc,etc.

its certainly not a walk in the park.they will also leave you in the lurch just when you ve got everything running smoothly and go and start up themselves or start another job.

or...

You recruit on personality look after the good ones and get rid of the bad.

I don't deny there are people out there with the personality you describe but I also believe there are plenty of good, honest, hard working individuals who appreciate working for a good, honest, trusting employer with decent pay and perks.

im sure there are but ive never met any of them!

[NWH]

You have no idea what goes on in there heads I had a bloke for 5-6 years and then 1 day it was like it was like he was auditioning for the excorsist,you cannot tell me there will never be some sort of recentment this job and employing is a magnet for it. Number 1 rule when seeking the right person apart from the obvious ie smart half a brain physically able is bills they must have them or you'll be parked up at 7-7-30 while they are still tucked up in there beds  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

It's more about the employer than the employee. You're either capable of employing and running a business with employees or not- no amount of excuses will change that. It's a good job some can or the world would go bust!!

[johnwillan]

You have no idea what goes on in there heads I had a bloke for 5-6 years and then 1 day it was like it was like he was auditioning for the excorsist,you cannot tell me there will never be some sort of recentment this job and employing is a magnet for it. Number 1 rule when seeking the right person apart from the obvious ie smart half a brain physically able is bills they must have them or you'll be parked up at 7-7-30 while they are still tucked up in there beds  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Yes "some" people do change with time, it may be resentment or outside circumstances, these are things you encounter with employment and when you do you need to act.

[johnwillan]

It's more about the employer than the employee. You're either capable of employing and running a business with employees or not- no amount of excuses will change that. It's a good job some can or the world would go bust!!

I agree, there are several great employers and good example of which is the Timpson Group, single operator outlets handling cash on a daily basis, two simple rules "look the part" and "put the money in the till", they have a few thousand employees on retail wages plus bonus, free to use holiday homes, birthday off in addition to usual holiday entitlement etc, etc, etc. They recruit on personality, look after the good and get rid of the bad, 8% of the workforce have either served time or are on day release, yes they do encounter issues such as theft sometimes after many years of faithful service but it does not deter the management of treating people with trust and respect. 

[Stoots]

My brother works for the local council.

He has been there 10 years and has never had a sick day ever.

He earns not much over minimum wage but he loves it as they get good perks. 7 weeks paid holiday a year (rises up to a max of 8 weeks with length if service) which is way above the minimum and they get a great pension. He also is allowed to use half his holiday entitlement to take off every Friday (half day fridays) so only works 4 days a week.

In my last job before being self employed I worked for 8 quid and hour as a del driver.
I stuck that job because the amount of work they have us each day only really was enough to last us till about 1pm that meant the rest of the afternoon till 4:30 we could just toss it off and do nothing. Basically as long as you completed the job sheet  they were happy and knew that we were tossing it off a few hours each day but didn't care. Spent most of my afternoons doing a bit of shopping or having a kip. Was great.

Point is if you look after your employees they will work for peanuts.

[Shrek]

My brother works for the local council.

He has been there 10 years and has never had a sick day ever.

He earns not much over minimum wage but he loves it as they get good perks. 7 weeks paid holiday a year (rises up to a max of 8 weeks with length if service) which is way above the minimum and they get a great pension. He also is allowed to use half his holiday entitlement to take off every Friday (half day fridays) so only works 4 days a week.

In my last job before being self employed I worked for 8 quid and hour as a del driver.
I stuck that job because the amount of work they have us each day only really was enough to last us till about 1pm that meant the rest of the afternoon till 4:30 we could just toss one off and do nothing. Basically as long as you completed the job sheet  they were happy and knew that we were tossing each other off a few hours each day but didn't care. Spent most of my afternoons doing a bit of shopping or having a kip. Was great.

Point is if you look after your employees they will work for peanuts.

Sounds like a great job!  Why ever did you leave