[Shrek]

Ok so Iv got enough work, when I first started I wanted to clean the whole town. Now I want a select number of well priced jobs instead of hundreds-
Well I’ve reached that number , so any new jobs that come in are priced higher than older jobs. Then I give the older job a price increase and if I don’t lose it , then I move onto the next low priced job and so on.
It can get difficult sometimes though when you’ve made a connection/ friendship with the customer and you put their price up.
I can’t keep growing forever so Iv got to cut off at some point. I used to clean 20+ a day , with price increases- Iv got 8 jobs today 
Has anyone else reached their maximum and only taking on higher paid jobs?

[C & S]

Thats the way tò do it.

First few years you clean anything.

hen your full you cull and replace the problem customers.

Then price rise.

££££

[paul alan]

Sounds awesome that mate!

I'm going to have to do the same thing soon, but like you say its going to be hard with some customers as I actually like them.

[dazmond]

Ok so Iv got enough work, when I first started I wanted to clean the whole town. Now I want a select number of well priced jobs instead of hundreds-
Well I’ve reached that number , so any new jobs that come in are priced higher than older jobs. Then I give the older job a price increase and if I don’t lose it , then I move onto the next low priced job and so on.
It can get difficult sometimes though when you’ve made a connection/ friendship with the customer and you put their price up.
I can’t keep growing forever so Iv got to cut off at some point. I used to clean 20+ a day , with price increases- Iv got 8 jobs today 
Has anyone else reached their maximum and only taking on higher paid jobs?

ill take on any job if its right next door to other work whether its  £5 front only or a £50 job.........i do tend to price new work higher though.....

example.....if i customer moves or dies and i pick up the new tenants/owners i stick an extra quid or two on the price on my estate work if i think that job was underpriced....

one thing ive noticed over the last 5 years or so is im picking up more and more stand alone domestic jobs  in the £40-£50 bracket which is a nice change from my estate work (where i can spend up to 4 days cleaning in the same place)....

i have a review of my prices every year and usually put some prices up in april (but none this year).....

[Stoots]

I have the same plan but want to do it at the VAT threshold with an employee.

So once I get close to vat then start refining, upping the hourly rates and reducing labour costs as you describe.

It's a good place to be, I'm there now as a sole trader and could start the process on my own but I like taking on new work too much I can't turn it down so will grow a bit more first.

[NWH]

Yes I hardly ever clean anymore than 8 in a day that’s the sort of amount you need to be consistently earning good money if they are priced correctly,I did the same got to where I want to be and then sold it to existing customers that there price would have to be more per clean. I didn’t creep them up a pound I make it sound plausible when I ask for say another fiver,if you say a pound in my mind it says he just wants to make extra cash,if you say a fiver on say a 40 quid job it looks as if it’s underpriced in my mind and in there’s. It always gets to a point when they have to go up if you like them or not,you’ve done the right thing you’ve got full first therefore you’ve got nothing to lose,if they were to drop off you can reign back on the increases for a while.

[Splash & dash]

Ok so Iv got enough work, when I first started I wanted to clean the whole town. Now I want a select number of well priced jobs instead of hundreds-
Well I’ve reached that number , so any new jobs that come in are priced higher than older jobs. Then I give the older job a price increase and if I don’t lose it , then I move onto the next low priced job and so on.
It can get difficult sometimes though when you’ve made a connection/ friendship with the customer and you put their price up.
I can’t keep growing forever so Iv got to cut off at some point. I used to clean 20+ a day , with price increases- Iv got 8 jobs today 
Has anyone else reached their maximum and only taking on higher paid jobs?

Exelent post this totally agree I find it difficult to put up prices beacause customers become friends after 20 years : but recently put up some jobs quite significantly and didn’t loose a single one   , I will be doing the same with most jobs in the next couple of months hoping to loose some : any new jobs now are priced very well as we don’t need the work , I have seriously been thinking about taking down my web site as I am getting far to many enquiries  the vast majority are turning into new regular work , Ime not intrested in building an empire two vans is enough in fact I want to be doing far less work than Ime doing don’t need the hassle of sorting things keeping an eye on quality of work being done etc , there is certainly no shortage of work hear the problem is lots of cleaners doing a very poor standard of work or not being regular etc 

[Shrek]

Sounds awesome that mate!

I'm going to have to do the same thing soon, but like you say its going to be hard with some customers as I actually like them.

It is difficult putting prices up sometimes, but I get enquiries every month without fail. Iv spent a lot on advertising over the years , and now it feels like Iv got somewhere. I started off pricing everything at £6! Now those jobs are £20 etc and they stuck with me. Iv missed a lot of my kids lives with working so much but now I can chill abit . Just bought a new car , holiday booked this year and looking at New York next year 
The hard bit is finding a point we’re you say no more, Iv got enough now 

[Shrek]

Ok so Iv got enough work, when I first started I wanted to clean the whole town. Now I want a select number of well priced jobs instead of hundreds-
Well I’ve reached that number , so any new jobs that come in are priced higher than older jobs. Then I give the older job a price increase and if I don’t lose it , then I move onto the next low priced job and so on.
It can get difficult sometimes though when you’ve made a connection/ friendship with the customer and you put their price up.
I can’t keep growing forever so Iv got to cut off at some point. I used to clean 20+ a day , with price increases- Iv got 8 jobs today 
Has anyone else reached their maximum and only taking on higher paid jobs?

Exelent post this totally agree I find it difficult to put up prices beacause customers become friends after 20 years : but recently put up some jobs quite significantly and didn’t loose a single one   , I will be doing the same with most jobs in the next couple of months hoping to loose some : any new jobs now are priced very well as we don’t need the work , I have seriously been thinking about taking down my web site as I am getting far to many enquiries  the vast majority are turning into new regular work , Ime not intrested in building an empire two vans is enough in fact I want to be doing far less work than Ime doing don’t need the hassle of sorting things keeping an eye on quality of work being done etc , there is certainly no shortage of work hear the problem is lots of cleaners doing a very poor standard of work or not being regular etc

I did want to grow and grow at one point , but I’m happy where I am now . Time to start enjoying life instead of constantly being obsessed with work . In this business, if your face fits , your regular and do a good job then you’ll never be short of work.

[Oliver James]

Good post this.  Great to hear about you making a success of your business.

As a small business reaches capacity doing this is a good way (perhaps the best way) to increase profit.

Otherwise you are have all the hassle and expense of adding capacity - which may or may not pay off in the long term.

It can be very hard to let go those customers who have been with you for many years; and who have played  a key role in giving you cashflow while you've grown the business.

 Let them go as nicely as you can; either on the 'phone, or face to face. We provide them with the number of an up and coming window cleaner so they have options.

[John Mart]

Good post this.  Great to hear about you making a success of your business.

As a small business reaches capacity doing this is a good way (perhaps the best way) to increase profit.

Otherwise you are have all the hassle and expense of adding capacity - which may or may not pay off in the long term.

It can be very hard to let go those customers who have been with you for many years; and who have played  a key role in giving you cashflow while you've grown the business.

 Let them go as nicely as you can; either on the 'phone, or face to face. We provide them with the number of an up and coming window cleaner so they have options.

Weren't you recruiting a couple of weeks ago?

[KS Cleaning]

I usually sell off work here and there when I reach saturation point. All new work that comes in is priced higher than any outgoing work.

[Shrek]

I usually sell off work here and there when I reach saturation point. All new work that comes in is priced higher than any outgoing work.

Could you not increase their price instead of selling it?

[Marc Stock]

I dont really spend anything on advertising, and i havent really done any major canvassing yet, but picked up 19 customers so far this year from website & recommendations.

At my peak productivity i get around 12 properties cleaned per day. Yesterday i cleaned 11 properties started at 8:30am on the glass was finished by 3:45pm. Today again much of the same 9 properties.

Im at £49,600 p.a now, still working 4 days a week, i recon ill break through the 50k barrier by the end of this month, which if all still goes to plan is going to be over £5k for this month, which is my last financial month.

I need to get to 60k before i employ someone i hope to be there around September time for my final 80k push

[swanson]

Bragger

[Marc Stock]

Its not bragging.

[Tom-01]

I dont really spend anything on advertising, and i havent really done any major canvassing yet, but picked up 19 customers so far this year from website & recommendations.

At my peak productivity i get around 12 properties cleaned per day. Yesterday i cleaned 11 properties started at 8:30am on the glass was finished by 3:45pm. Today again much of the same 9 properties.

Im at £49,600 p.a now, still working 4 days a week, i recon ill break through the 50k barrier by the end of this month, which if all still goes to plan is going to be over £5k for this month, which is my last financial month.

I need to get to 60k before i employ someone i hope to be there around September time for my final 80k push

Mate if you get out canvassing you'll get what you need for your £60k target within two months. Good work though it sounds like you're getting there. Higher priced but less jobs is ideal. The guy who works for me text me at 2:30pm saying he's nearly finished, so I popped another two jobs on near the unit, extra £80 for me thank you, so thats freed some time up for a gutter job on a day next week, extra ££'s next week. Its tricky working out how much they can do in a day, so instead of the 'money figure' I look at what they can actually do

You'll find you'll be moving things about here and there for a while until each day is bang on. We've got loads of extras to get through, and jobs I'm overpricing we're getting. I have thought about windows only and thats it, but I like the chase and the sales side of it, plus it keeps things from getting boring. Do you do gutters or anything?

[Marc Stock]

Thanks fella! 

[Bungle]

Hi Tom 👍, if your worker had half a brain he wouldn't have phoned to say he was nearly finished.  He should have been sat at home or in a cafe. I bet he doesn't make that mistake again.

[Tom-01]

Hi Tom 👍, if your worker had half a brain he wouldn't have phoned to say he was nearly finished.  He should have been sat at home or in a cafe. I bet he doesn't make that mistake again.

Hi Bumgle, bit quicker this time! Cosy night in for one is it?

Nah he's a good lad, been with me coming up 4 years. He had a couple of earlier days this week anyway. I appreciate his honesty and worth ethic,  and he appreciates the stress free job, local to home, working in lovely places. It took a while to find a good one like him.