[Dry Clean]

It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.

[nathankaye]

That really is fantastic if that how it happened.

I've invested thousands to grow my round.

Walk ups a reccomemds maybe 20 a year max. Website only maybe 10 a year max.

My business never "took off" on its own it's constant investment. Even now to replace drop off and non payers etc it's constant investment.

I just put it down to area. There's no other logical explanation.

give it time adam.......if your doing a good,reliable job and have a smart clean sign written van itll become self sustaining unless of course you want to grow bigger and employ staff......

Well I've been going 4 years now daz have always had sign written vans, uniformed etc and it's not happened yet. Not that I'm bothered really it is what it is.

Whenever I see a new one and have a chat I tell them to just do a good job and your reputation will spread and you’ll be inundated within a few months. Obviously it’s bollix.

I think its down to the area and how saturated it is with window cleaners.  I feel for ones who have recently started up in last couple of years as it cant be easy for them.
When i went solo and did my ownnwork back in 2003 i went door knocking as i worked and back in those days most of the other cleaners were doing it to top up the doll money or it was for beer money. Well atleast in my areas and so they wasnt reliable nor very good. So it was easy for me to build several rounds in different areas and like daz is saying, word of mouth took over and work flooded in.
However its a different story now. Because im well established in my main areas, i have the majority of the work. So for newbies or ones wanting to expand in my areas will be picking up the odd house here and there and so they soon fade away.
Granted, if i did a rubbish job then this wouldnt be the case.
Ive branched out into new areas due to word of mouth and this year I am going to focus on expanding in these areas. However Im not expecting it to be as easy as before due to the amount of shiners in the areas and their cheap prices, but im expecting to win them over with a much higher price and 8 wkly rotation as most are trad lads and cleaning every 2 - 4 wks. So word of mouth will be important as most will/may be sceptical about wfp and so im planning on free cleans to my customers who recommend me and the recommendation ends up being a customer.

[chris turner]

It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.

Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!

[Dry Clean]

It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.

Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!

Not sure if you have taken my reply the wrong way or not, I wasn't being  sarcastic 90% of my round did come from recommendations and walk ups from people who watched me clean, I did remove my van signage  over the Christmas hols  for similar reasons to yourself.

[John Mart]

It all depends on where you work, I'm fortunate that even though the areas I clean in are fairly well saturated it tends to by the same two large employers who aren't that hard to take work from, I have a similar story to Chris Turner, canvassed a few properties to start with and then the phone and walk ups never stopped, have also removed my van signage as its no longer needed.

Area is definitely key. I live in a densely populated affluent area where only 1 person gets stabbed in roughly every million train journeys. In fact I live about a mile from where the guy got arrested this morning, don't think he was a customer though!

Not sure if you have taken my reply the wrong way or not, I wasn't being  sarcastic 90% of my round did come from recommendations and walk ups from people who watched me clean, I did remove my van signage  over the Christmas hols  for similar reasons to yourself.

I would suggest at the time you started it wasn’t so competitive as it may be now. I started 9 years ago and in my home town it was much easier to pick up work than now. I’d say I was one of the first wave of straight to WFP. Now there are loads doing the same. Almost monthly there’s a new one starting up. We’re a town of about 35,000 and I’d describe it now as saturated. I pick up much more work in nearby similar sized towns.

[dazmond]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

[John Mart]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

I agree. It just looks more professional and people know why you’re there.

[nathankaye]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

I agree. It just looks more professional and people know why you’re there.

Absolutely agree!  Its part of your business image, not just for advertising.

[Johnny B]

Back to the original topic: Recently I lost all my work schedule data (which was only held on my ipod) when I put it in the washing machine!

As the data wasn't stored anywhere else I had to recreate it from scratch. This prompted me to re-jig the whole schedule and standardise my frequency on residentials to 6 weekly (apart from a few exceptions which wouldn't conflict.

This done, all data is now stored and backed up on 2 devices, and it has given me room for growth and add-ons etc.

Before revamping, I was struggling to reschedule jobs in different areas that were due on the same day, but now I have things organized so much better and the difference it has made to my state of mind is amazing.

My goal is to keep on improving efficiency and refining so I only need to work Monday to Friday and maybe even take the occasional day off!

John

[Spotfree]

Back to the original topic: Recently I lost all my work schedule data (which was only held on my ipod) when I put it in the washing machine!

As the data wasn't stored anywhere else I had to recreate it from scratch. This prompted me to re-jig the whole schedule and standardise my frequency on residentials to 6 weekly (apart from a few exceptions which wouldn't conflict.

This done, all data is now stored and backed up on 2 devices, and it has given me room for growth and add-ons etc.

Before revamping, I was struggling to reschedule jobs in different areas that were due on the same day, but now I have things organized much, much better and the difference it has made to my state of mind is amazing.

John

Silver lining...

[Stoots]

I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.

I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.

[John Mart]

I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.

I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.

I started with 4 weekly only but I got a lot of cancels/skips. I think it has a bearing on price people are willing to pay too. So I can get for example £20 8 weekly but 4 weekly people are less willing to pay that amount.

[nathankaye]

If like me, you was trad first, it would have been pointless offering 6 wks in my opinion and thats why i never did. Saying that I never offered fortnightly either.

However wfp allows you to do so in many areas, (obviously coastal n some others this aint the case, before some nit pick) as the glass stays cleaner for longer.  I have a mixture of 8 wkly but not too many to make it not work.  However im trying to build one round up this year which is just 8 wkly whichbi can manage with ease. Apart from this im going to stick to 4 wkly as its more manageable for me.
Yet 6 wkly would be better from my customers viewpoint and the higher price they pay. It stops them from possibly saying skip this clean as they are still clean (which hasnt started yet but can see it has potential to do so.)

[Dry Clean]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,

[Johnny B]

I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.

I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.

I have quite a few 8 weeklies that I have moved to 6 weekly.  Over here I really don't think many will notice. If they do and object I'll give them the choice to go on 12 weekly so at least there will be no conflict regarding different areas, which was the reason for making the change to 6 (or multiples of) in the first place.

John

[John Mart]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,

I think that’s right. When you’re a one man band with an established round and prices are seen as reasonable, you just don’t get the number of dropouts. Probably every customer knows your van too.

[Johnny B]

i think its ridiculous to remove the sign writing off your van,its not just for new jobs(we all need new work from time to time for the drop outs,deaths,movers etc)but it also reassures the public whos working on the property next door to them etc,etc......

im also proud of my van and signage and keep it smart and clean....

Believe me even with the van signage removed I will get more than enough inquires and new custom over the year to cover drop outs and so on, plus after cleaning in the same areas for over 13 years if people don't know who I am then they don't want to know or care, I'm not against van signage (each to their own ) but for established guys who aren't looking to expand its not needed,

I think that’s right. When you’re a one man band with an established round and prices are seen as reasonable, you just don’t get the number of dropouts. Probably every customer knows your van too.

This is my experience too.

John

[Dave Willis]

I’ve still got the signage but removed the telephone numbers.

[james peters]

back to the title
so last years plan as a sole trader was to add 100 customers which would have meant that I would have struggled to be on time, each month . I would be able to charge over and beyond for gutter jobs  as wouldn't really want it.
however in march my 18 year old daughter gave up college ,and I had her help me until she decided her next career move.

fast forward on a year... she is still with me and  now full time ....she is a real asset and enjoying it.     ( god . I remember taking her to work with me , since she was 3 years old . she would sit in the van watching films lol )

well...I did hit the 100 new customers , but the extra money from that has gone to her  for her wages....
however I did benefit as  all the new customers were mainly gained at a steady rate between march to November, and I charged more for first cleans.

so on to this year....I bought a nice ford custom last week for cash .      not new but cost 7.5 plus vat. so new enough to get a good few years.
my goal for this year is to add another 100 customers ....I will start in march.....same as last year ...just 20 mins after each work day ...posting around 30 - 40 flyers a day  ( 4 days a week )  my flyers are home printed on card , very basic, and I put a price on them , and have a caption on them allowing extra if they have a conservatory...I also put a first clean price on.
I have had a good return on this  , and coupled with my website and yell, this has around 4 new customers a week over about 8 months of the year.
of course out of them, around 20 will be messers, but it doesn't matter as I will have charged a first clean price.

I have been doing this job for 27 years now, and don't really enjoy doing gutters fascias etc... I like to go to work , and come home knowing just where I am . what I am going to get... my debt list rarely goes over £30 as I never let anyone miss a payment... I am very strict, and as soon as I am messed around , I delete and move on. 

this forum has really helped me over the past year to improve my mind set towards pricing etc ...tho I rarely post much as the criticism is not helpful .
happy new year

[dazmond]

I wish I had done 6 weekly only from the start. 4 and 8s become difficult to manage when say you have a full day's work in one village on 4 weekly then the next time round you have an extra 10 that are 8 weekly but you cant fit them all in the same day so you end up having to do 2 or 3 villages in one day to make the 8 weekly up.

I really don't like it. I'm sure I could shift most of my 4s to 6 weekly without too many complaints but doubt the 8s would agree so easily.

i do 4 weekly and 8 weekly mainly but do have some 6 weekly and 12 weekly jobs (as well as the odd job thats once or twice a year)......

it doesnt matter what frequency your work is when virtually all your work is within the same  5 mile area.....its took many years to compact my work  like this though (especially with at least another 20 window cleaning companies working the same areas)