[Majestic]

Its that north south devide again, you cant charge the same in the north as you can in the south
John

[replacement]

I will not earn that just on windows. I do alot of other work.

Conservatories ( Clean 4 in one day started at 10am i was back home watching TV at 2.30pm with £385 ) Fasica , Pressure washing , Yachts. Thats why i will earn that kind of money in 2 years time. But alot will come from windows. Also helps if you have some great equipment that can adatep to changes. Thank you Ominpole

Ill be like that chap i liked the company so much i brought it :-)

Justin

[scotty]

Some of the figures I have seen about earnings on this forum are a joke.If people are earning this kind of money why are they still driving around in £600-£700 vans which they have had for a couple of weeks? Why are they carrying 6-10 plastic cans of water? £100,000 over 365 days = £274 per day=£34 per. hr. EVERY DAY.
£100,000 over a 5 day week is £377 per. day, not including wet days,bank holidays,sick days, annual holidays, lazy days. This does not include traveling time.What kind of service are you giving your customers? This is meant to be a serious forum for professionals.Get real!

[Old_Master]

Scotty
I noticed you mention lazy days,  wet days, sick days - I didnt know what those were when I was cleaning windows.  
Profesional means apart from cleaning the windows you carry out Risk assesments, Produce method statements, Pay for training courses such as IPAF and First Aid- wear the correct PPE- Know exactly how to safely takle any window cleaning task that may present itself -
Customers pay highly for Window Cleaners that are profesional!

[scotty]

Old Master. Like I said before, with all these courses & paperwork & working time, people have got to sleep & have a social life as well!

[poleman]

Well I give a Professional service and get Professional money you get loyalty and lots of recommendations


andy

dorset

fed member

[replacement]

Scotty if you read my posts correctly i have only just started some 3 months ago and yes i am earning very well at the moment. Your also see that i will earn that in 2 years time this is the goal i have set myself and i will get there via hard work and charging the correct price per job. Also the Van i have yes it cost £600 it makes me stand out even more and has been a real bouns instead of driving around in a old banger will ladders on the roof i look an professional. There is a lot of window cleaners i know on these forums that are earning over £60 - £70k per year now so why cant i earn £100k with the extra services i provide.

Yep Old Master and Poleman are right. If you carry out the job right with the correct tools and look pro and make a bloody good job then your earn alot of money.

I will earn that kind of money in 2 years time once i get a full load some of my jobs now pay over £80 per hr so £34 is going to be a brezze.

What you need to do scotty is stop charging £4 per house, stop wearing jeans and a ripped tshirt take out the earrings and have a shave. Get a Uniform look smart then start charging £12 plus per house then your realsie your earning protental. Also like i have said its not just about windows open your eyes to the bigger picture.

Good luck

Justin

Ps Oh yeah forgot to say also i have a group of lads in my area telling alot of my customers they will clean there widows 1/2 the price i do it. They have no uniform and have basic equipment. Guess what? All my customers have said no thank you, and i have not lost one of them. I even have alot from an other local window cleaner and i charge nearly double what he does but alot are willing to pay me that amount for a professional job and thats what they get.

[matt]

100 K a year

thats 2 K a week  

you havent taken into account the rainy days and the days off, holidays etc

so we are talking more likely 2 1/2 K a week

justin i wish you well, as you must be doing something right

you are in a good position now, being 1 of the few in your area (you might be the only 1, i dont know) BUT what happens when they all get the WFP setup, you will not get some much work come through

i know its good to aim high, but the higher you aim, the more likely you will be disappointed

good luck though and i mean that

[replacement]

Those whom dare wins. PMA PMA thats why alot of you will never get there.

Justin

[Old_Master]

Why should profesional window cleaners earn less than plumbers, mechanics or any other tradesmen?
It is the value you put on yourselves that determines what you earn.
When I price contracts for large organisations I go in at the same rate that a Electrician, Plumber, Air conditioning Engineer or indeed any other trade would charge. The client knows a buisness has overheads that need to be covered. If we didnt charge high rates we wouldnt get the contract as the client would think we were not capable of carrying out the work.
When I buy stationary, fuel or buisness equipment the supplier doesnt think oh they are a window cleaning company Ill charge them less than other tradesmen.
My overheads are no less than other trades.
The local garage charges us over £50.00 an hour for the services of a mechanic. Legal advice for a buisness matter  starts at about £250.00 an hour.
Lets all put a real value on window cleaning.

[matt]

Why should profesional window cleaners earn less than plumbers, mechanics or any other tradesmen?
It is the value you put on yourselves that determines what you earn.
When I price contracts for large organisations I go in at the same rate that a Electrician, Plumber, Air conditioning Engineer or indeed any other trade would charge. The client knows a buisness has overheads that need to be covered. If we didnt charge high rates we wouldnt get the contract as the client would think we were not capable of carrying out the work.
When I buy stationary, fuel or buisness equipment the supplier doesnt think oh they are a window cleaning company Ill charge them less than other tradesmen.
My overheads are no less than other trades.
The local garage charges us over £50.00 an hour for the services of a mechanic. Legal advice for a buisness matter  starts at about £250.00 an hour.
Lets all put a real value on window cleaning.

i agree

BUT

i dont know ANY trademen / woman who earn 100 K a year, im from the building game (a carpenter) and i know loads in the building trade, and not 1 of them earn 100 K (infact day rates of 120 - 150 quid are about right)

[seanc]

thatching can have a TURNOVER of 100k a year with the help of a young lad but is this what we are talking turnover not profit

[Old_Master]

Hi Matt and Sean
The figure you are quoting is for a self employed chippy working on site probably subbing the work from another subcontractor who in turn is subbing that work for a main contractor.
The difference is your not a self employed subby you are running your own  business and you choose who you work for and how much you charge them.
My window cleaning company is registered  and Authorised as a main contractor with organisations like London Underground (although we are happy to sub work from other cleaning contractors at the right price and do this regulary - last week we cleaned the Coca Cola factory for another cleaning company).
Now if I price work for an organisation like L.U. I cannot be charging out at £150 or even £250 per man per 3 hour night shift,  because I would loose money due to the amount of paperwork and the Health and Safety  training required to work for an organisation like them or indeed any other major company or organisation eg. Universities, Airports, Police Authorities the list go's on and on of companies,organisations and people that need window cleaners.
Now I admit we do not get the same hourly rate from cleaning blocks of flats which is our bread and butter work but we treat them with the same profesionalism and expect in return to be able to clean them in the rain.

[Ian_Giles]

I can imagine that with WFP it would be possible to earn a fairly large salary in the London area. I have just converted to WFP and it is starting to make a significant difference to the amount of work I can get through.
If I was pushy enough and was prepared to put in the effort, and if I was also prepared to work weekends, or Saturdays at least, I could probably earn close to 30k a year, which would be doubling my current income.
I am content to work as few hours and days as I can, I like my leisure time, if I can earn 20k I will be happy.
With the WFP I shall rarely be climbing ladders and risking me neck on a daily basis anymore, and the ability to earn my money will be easier now.
In London I would have thought it quite possible to earn double what I could potentially earn in my neck of the woods, but it would still take considerable effort to do so, or so I would imagine.

I do know of one firm local to myself that started using WFP only a year or two, they now have over 2000 domestic accounts and a great many large commercial ones, they have several large vans fully equipped with WFP, comply totally with all health and safety aspects and turn over vastly more than 60k a year.
I have to say I take my hat off to them, or would if I wore one! They are a true inspiration, if you have what it takes then you can really hit the heights, even with window cleaning.
But it is still a very physical job, a tough change of tack for someone who may have had a sedentary job for many years.

Ian

[Old_Master]

Ian
I think your comments are very valid

[seanc]

well what ever the sum everyone is saying mr fleming here has sure set off a debate  

[The_Fed_Man]

well what ever the sum everyone is saying mr fleming here has sure set off a debate

Or an investigation.  Just remember lads, it's easy for the Inland Revenue to monitor these boards, or anyone else for that matter.  It may be up to you later down the line during a tax investigation to prove you are not earning 60k per year.

[replacement]

I hate comments like that you label all honest window cleaners as tax dodgers, just cos a some people dont declare everything does not mean we all like that. I have owned two business now and find honestly is the best way, you never have to worry about an TAX inspection or nothing. Mind you if's worth taken out some insurance to cover this as it can run into Thosands of pounds in accountant fees if you have no insurance.

Justin

[Craig_Mawlam]

I started cleaning windows in 1985, my first customer was my next door neighbour, I charged just £2.50. Within 12 months by business "The Window Man" was cleaning just over 2,000 houses per month in four local towns @ an average charge of just £3.00 per house thats £6K per month!

Eventually I moved into commercial window cleaning and at the height of that business then called "Over The Top" (because we became abseiling specialists) our  annual turnover was £1million. Compared to some, that's still a small turnover but did enjoy a high profit margin not because we charged the earth, but because we charged sufficient to win the work and then worked in the most efficient way whilst maintaining the highest standards.

I started with absolutely nothing but you know, its not what you do, its how you do it! Its very easy to find excuses why you can't earn good money window cleaning, but the truth is its possible (North & South) and if you know how, its easy. Over the years I have come into contact with many high income window cleaners, some employ staff some do not. The one thing they have in common is a positive attitude and they've learned to work smarter not just harder.

All the information you need to be able to grow your business is available in a 1 day BWCA Marketing Course, that's if you can be bothered to pick the phone up and dial a freephone number!

Best regards

Craig Mawlam
Internal Verifier
BWCA C&G NVQ Centre
0800 146 133

[The_Fed_Man]

I hate comments like that you label all honest window cleaners as tax dodgers

I'm not labelling anyone Justin, just pointing out something some may overlook.

I have met many people of all trades over the years and I have often found that the people that brag about how much they are on probably aren't, or at least not every day.  I have had a tax inspection in the past, they pick names by random, and estimate your tax. Try then telling your tax inspector that you aren't eaning what you may have carelessly said in an email.

I am not tarring everyone with the same brush or pointing the finger at anyone, just a friendly caution as to 'you never know who may be listening to ya'

Have a good season,