[nathankaye]

Im gonna plug my channel on youtube haha
Nkservices (190 od subscribers at the mo n slowly climbing.......tho i dont know why. Haha)

Some may disagree with this, but im.a strong believer in personal appearance helps as in being smart. You mentioned about the tats? I dont know and it doesnt bother me, but either way a smart appearance and a friendly smile will go a long way.

You also mentioned that currently you dont work and so I can understand you wanting to keep the safety net but the old saying is true;
"It cost money to make money"
Without taking this the wrong way, i guess you have plenty of time on your hands to make this work. Practice, practice and practice. Canvass, canvass and go to town on it.

[nathankaye]

This is worth a watch and gives an interesting take on how cheap you can get going for. Esp if you can make space in the car (take seats out??) (Run into the ground)

https://youtu.be/bKb-sjFf5mc

[combat1]

Just buy a notebook, (cheap) and get out there. Dress tidy and clean. Knock every door near the Spotless depot. Keep knocking - its a numbers game.
‘Hi I’m..... do you have a window cleaner? If yes thanks for your time, if not tell them briefly what you do and offer to quote.
Once you have the work in your book you will have the confidence to invest.
I hope this helps. I worked out of an Astra Estate for years. 175 tank and backpack.
Theres a good ebook called The Window Cleaning Blueprint. A lot of useful stuff for someone starting out.

[nathankaye]

What are your thoughts on pricing james?

[AuRavelling79]

I've worked from a car.

You can put 4 barrels and a backpack in your car with no problem. Just grow as you go. (If you plonk them in footwells and on seats then 6 is possible in a small car. Just put a blanket down and screw on the lids.)

Day plan. First day. Assume 6 customers at £12.50 = £75.00

Fill your barrels the day before and load your car. Charge your backpack batteries (2) the day before. If you have room put a 1000L tank in your garden on a frame made of fence posts so you can gravity feed your barrels. No garden? Make an arrangement for obtaining water.

9am Get to your first house. Clean house. Get paid or "ticket" if cashflow a problem go and collect later. Knock on each house eitherside of the job you have done and canvass them.
10.00 am. Repeat at 2nd house.
11.00 am. Repeat at 3rd house. You will now be low on water especially if any first cleans. Go home and fill up.
12.30 pm. Repeat.
1.00 pm Repeat.
2.00 pm Repeat.
3.00 pm Canvass around last job.
4.00 pm Go home and prepare the next day.
If desperate for cash go and collect money and remember those you canvassed? If they weren't home then knock again. Or a couple nearby.

No work the next day? Canvass for an hour at 10.00 am before the old biddies go shopping. Then again at 4.00pm when the part time mums get home from the school run.

Rinse repeat until you find you need a bigger vehicle. Going from a car with barrels to a small van with a tank will "give" you an extra 2 hours a day to use.

[AuRavelling79]

The next time you clean "day one" you will be faster. Those six houses will grow to 7, 8 or more and you will end up doing 9 in the time it took you to do six. So now you are earning over £100 a day. Then more as you get faster.

Then you will want a van with a tank and push through  £150.

As you compact your round, get payment on line, get proficient, you will get to £200 a day. A day being 9 am to 3pm. Start on time, get the work done.

Modify and tweak, get a light pole and you will be amazed at what you can do in a day if you have set it up right.

[Stoots]

The next time you clean "day one" you will be faster. Those six houses will grow to 7, 8 or more and you will end up doing 9 in the time it took you to do six. So now you are earning over £100 a day. Then more as you get faster.

Then you will want a van with a tank and push through  £150.

As you compact your round, get payment on line, get proficient, you will get to £200 a day. A day being 9 am to 3pm. Start on time, get the work done.

Modify and tweak, get a light pole and you will be amazed at what you can do in a day if you have set it up right.

That's spot on and really how it goes doing this job.

I started with a trolley, working slowly and inefficiently with lower prices spread out work probably happy a  100 a day

As the years go by and the work becomes more profitable and you become more efficient you start seeing the figures go up 120,150,180,200,250 etc

And you don't seem to be working much harder for it either.

It all comes in time, but at first you just accept it's going to be hard and set yourself small goals.

I found myself aiming for customer numbers 10,20,50,100 etc. All milestones to aim for , took me 18 months to get 100 alongside working part time and only once I packed in the part time job did it really grow...BUT it didn't grow by chance I've probably spent 10k in total on canvassers, leaflet drops and online ads etc. Worth every penny but would have been cheaper and easier to canvass myself but I never had the stomach for it although whenever I did give it a go I picked up work.

[James Styles]

What are your thoughts on pricing james?

When I done pricing in the past (was over 10 years ago, the boss let me after a few months price enquires  )  I would add up by how many windows and the time it would take (like awkward windows to get to) etc, most normal sized houses would be like £8-10, houses with conservatories about £15, I’d maybe look to go slightly higher now as cost of living has gone up and I’d be using wfp & more professional, I’m looking to buy shirts/jackets with company name.

[James Styles]

Loads of brilliant advice on the replies thank you guys so much, my leaflets and business cards have shown up today 

[iain R Jones]

As was said yesterday too, I’d get a part time job, then build up the window cleaning round.

Even delivering fast food can pay your way for a little while.

I work Full time and I am changing my hours to long shifts, so I will have 3 days to go  canversing and work.
I have a Citreon c4 with my ladders and my 2 backpack= 50 litres plus 4 x 25  litres barrels plus trad gear
I am thinking of getting a trailer so as someone said keep the car  clean and tidy thus not having to empty the car after each  day

[Walter Mitty]

Yes I do know I was out of order yesterday,  I really do regret that. I am looking for honest answers I won’t take it bad or snap. Im more or less asking if anyone has worked from there car before and any tips on how to make it work using the wfp system. I will also look through the forum cheers.

I did much of my first year from an old hatchback car, but those were ladder days so not such an issue.  It can be done with backpack, pole, and containers, but it's more faffing about than with a fitted van.  If you minimise water carriage by squeegeeing the ground floor, 4 x 25 ltr containers will do for a part day.  You use more water on first cleans.  If you try keeping the flow rate down on them, you risk doing substandard work.  You may need more containers or return home to refill.  You'll need a resin vessel to filter.  Are you in a hard or soft water area - that makes a difference.

[Jay Le Huray]

just a few thoughts on what you have mentioned,

1st, being black as you say will make no difference providing you remain smartly dressed and polite when canvassing

2nd, ref tats, wear a long sleeve shirt, I have tats on both arms and it makes no difference once the customer gets to know you

3rd, 4 barrels will not be enough because generally speaking you are most likely to pick up new jobs that will not have been cleaned for years and it's possible to use over 20 ltrs  on the first clean as you will need to scrub and rinse several times

4th, if you go ahead you will need commercial insurance on your car both for window cleaning and food delievery, if you were involved in a accident and did not have the relivent insurance you could be in big trouble


finally good luck

[iain R Jones]

I have got public liability insurance A1 I think and also have business insurance on the car.

[Paul-kent]

James styles or maybe it’s MR LEE JAMES PRYOR 

[jonboywalton75]

James styles or maybe it’s MR LEE JAMES PRYOR 
[/quote

Wow you're more cynical than me😱

[robbo333]

I don't think it's Lee.
Lee could never spell 'etc', he always put 'ect'.
James spells it correctly.

It's all in the details 

[robbo333]

When I used a Pure Freedom trolley, with 8 barrels, on first cleans I would:
Turn the water on and QUICKLY scrub the whole frame and glass.
Then I would turn the water off.
I could then carry on scrubbing the frames without water flowing. You can get about 15 seconds of good agitation on the dirt before it starts to dry out. This means your still agitating the dirt but without using water. Spiders muck in corners etc, always turn the water off.
Then when you turn the water on, you're probably 80% there. Focus on the frames, not the glass (you've already given it an initial quick clean.)
When you have finished the whole upstairs, go back and clean (only the glass) again, properly.
This has given the frames a chance to finish dripping.
Downstairs:
Always turn your water off when cleaning the sill. It will be wet anyway. Use a dry brush to get the crap out the gap between the sill and the window and then always finish it by wiping with a cloth (go back when the whole house is done, not before).