[rs_cleancare]

Very wise words on here!
I started carpet cleaning around my shift work. Like yourself i had had enough of rubish hours working for somone else and spending too much time trying to sleep at silly hours.
I found it very difficult to start with and at times i thought this was only going to be a part time thing then decided to go for it with window cleaning as well. In no time at all i managed to get a few good well priced big jobs and that was it see you later shift work!
I don't do a lot of window cleaning but its definate money every month and it more than covers my running cost.

If you start off slowly build yourself a round part time and before you know it the work will roll in. I quite often get asked when im out and about for a price.
You will then find out if its for you and if you can cope with the winters (i still havnt found a way to keep my hands warm).

My finall words of wisdom is that my shift worked payed me very well but now i get plenty of sleep and have a lot more spending money. It's supprising what us window cleaners can earn!

Good luck,
Rob.

[Davew]

Thanks Rob, makes me want to go for it straight away. Carpet cleaning was also on my list  but I was unsure if there was enough work out there (too many laminate floors I thought). Hopefully a loss in wage might be made up with some tax benifits by being self employed- something I don't fully grasp yet. The leasing companies obviously want me to think so. I may need more help on these issues too. Simple things also - like who do I actually register as self employed with? Are there threads here I can look through regarding national insurance etc?


                                              Thanks Dave

[cleanwave]

Dave

I left my job of 9 years in environmental consultancy about 6 months ago to start window cleaning - bascially to get away from office working, hassle, travelling all over the country, and to work for myself.  It's a personal thing I suppose, but I really enjoy window cleaning.  Just before I packed my job in, all I could think about was 'would I make enough money' but when I left all the other benefits that you can't put a price on just became more important and now I don't care that i earn less - all i think about is that i can't believe what I put up with before.   I don't have kids etc to look after though, which might be another consideration  ....

Having said this, I agree with the other posts about starting something part-time whilst still having some regular cash; I'm doing 3 days a week for the environment agency and to be honest it's the perfect mix for me at the moment as it takes pressure off over the winter.  If I had enough work I'd like to do window cleaning full time, but the work does build up.  I've got about 40 regular customers and I haven't knocked on a single door yet.  I should do though, it's just i don't fancy the idea !

Anyway, whatever you decide, hope it works out for you. 

Cheers

Matt

[macmac]

dave
i was in the same boat as you, continental shifts,i.e weekends/nights etc. suffered two broken relationships because of this. shifts were just driving me crazy after 14 years of them.
fortunatley i moved area and bought a round, 1k of work per 4 week cycle, paid 3k for it.with a tiny bit of canvassing, the round just snowballed and doubled in about 12 months.work just kept coming in and still does, now 3 years later i only take on good paying jobs, dropped a load of smaller jobs so my work gets better paid and easier as i go on.
the tax (and national insurance) benefits of being self employed are unreal, when i look back at old wage-slips i can't beleive how much tax and ni i was paying.my accounts are all genuine too, done by accountant.

i initially invested in a small van (3k) and a diy wfp (2k ish with poles) + all the traditional gear (ladders, buckets, cloths, squeegees etc.)

i have never looked back, the best move i ever made, yes- its not always easy, weather gets you down somtimes but on the whole- BRILLIANT!.

IT IS A VERY BIG MOVE- so absorb all the great advise these guys give on here, ask anything you like and someone will answer you honestly on here

good luck

tony

[Davew]

Thanks MacMac although I've got a great job (while it lasts) and i've been in it for years and years I really don't think I can handle the nights and the boredom much longer i'm at the stage of saying stuff the money! - I need a life - people round here survive somehow on £6 an hour in crappy jobs, i've got no debt (yet) a small mortgage by todays standards, my future pension is being eaten away by the greedy b****rds who run run my company - they "retire" and come back for more! And if they can't syphon two more million from the pension into the firm it will shut anyway. Then there is the tax wich gives nothing back, then when i die Gordon would like some for himself too! So the plan is to try and earn a living doing something I might enjoy. As you can tell I'm a little miffed with it all!
ps has anyone said it's a bloody terrible job don't do it!

[Bazzy1999]

Hi Dave

You can register being self employed here   http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/  its how i done it...

Bazz....

[macmac]

dave
i'm not too sure of your circumstances (financially) but it they sound very much like mine when i was in your position. the biggest plus for you however is if you get made or take redundancy. you'll be in a superb position if you get a lump sum, i.e. you won't then have to get into any debt to start up window cleaning.
i feel it maybe better if you could buy some work initially, even a small amount, then with a wee bit of canvassing you should be able to build up a substantial round.
the more you can sort out now while your still earning the better i think.

[macmac]

p.s. dont worry about tax, you've got plenty of time to sort that out, you just need to register with inland revinue within 3 months. an accountant will cost you arround 300 quid for year and they'll sort everything for you.

[Davew]

Yep sound advice there, redundancy wouldn't be huge (government would be the ones picking up the tab)
How long could I run a business alongside my normal job, would it be indefinate as long as I informed the taxman or can it not be done? I know several people who hold down more than one job but not on a self employed basis and are possibly registered as part time in both.

[macmac]

you can have as many jobs as you like mate, part/full whatever, but it is up to you to sort any tax issues out.it is totally viable to do this and may be worth seriously considering in your circumstances dave.

just relax, absorb all the info you can get and hopefully you'll be on your way to a far better working life with the rest of us

tony

[Davew]

Thanks guys - stacks of information and advice here, the more I look the more I find brilliant place for us newbies.

[KarlJones]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread.  I am a single parent and their is not many jobs us blokes can do where an employer understands the flexibility it requires.  The job center has a lone parent advisor and that guy is a waste of time.  He seems happy for me to just stay unemployed rather than help me.

So I decided I would have to go self employed and amongst other ideas window cleaning was one of them.  I do not have lots of money, obviously, but I do have a hell of a lot of time and a drive to get a business running to set a good example to my son.

Obviously I will do traditional style window cleaning as that is the cheapest way for me to enter.  What I need is a few tips and rules about canvasing.

Do flyers work as good as door knocking on an hour to hour basis? 
In the long run, are you better off door knocking as it may take longer but will bring in tighter bunches of customers.
And something I really NEED to know. 
What should I do if someone asks me to quote but they are already having the widows cleaned by someone else?  I really do not want to steal anyone elses work and personally would prefer to walk away than quote.  Is this how everyone feels?
 
Added.
Once again thanks for this thread.
What is the success rate of doorknocking and flyers I wonder?  1 in 10?  or more like 1 in 100?

[pjulk]

Hi Karl

You are in a great position to go self employed.
If you talk to the job centre and tell them what you want to do.
They will ask you to draw up a business plan and book you in with a business advisor.
They will go through your business plan with you to see if its a viable business.
The only downside i think you need about £1000 for equipment.
But they can refer you to another company who do goverment grants for new business's and they will also want a business plan.
If all is well they will get you a grant and this grant does not need to be paid back.
It may not be the full £1000 needed but it will be pretty close.

Then you need to go back to your business advisor and they will then pay you a bit extra on top of your money for 13 weeks whilst you spend your time building up a business and whilst doing the 13 weeks you no longer sign on.
You also  need to show what you have been doing everyday.
And need to open a business bank account which all the money you earn has to be put into this account and not touched only for business expensis.
After 13 weeks you then go it alone into the world of self employment.
The money you have in your account from the 13 weeks you have been building your business and the grant has to be declared to the tax man though on your first years self Assesment so you will be taxed on this.

It may have changed a bit but this is what it was a couple of years ago

Hope this helps

Paul

[KarlJones]

Wow thanks for that.

I did not know about the grants and stuff.  Actually went to see my "lone parents advisor" today and was told I have to make an appointment asked if there was anyone at all I could speak to and they said no.  Sign on?  As a lone parent we sort of do this once a year, I tell them I am doing a college course and they tell me that I am doing exactly what they want and send me off for another 12 months. 

But reading your post has made me think I will still be better off trying to get one of them to talk to me, they took my phone number so who knows.  After a bit of pushing and shoving I did get one of them to give me a leaflet on becoming self employed (she got it out of a draw round the back where the public can not go).  I am going to keep buging the hell out of them now as I know they will just give up if I do not. 

ADDED...

Just had a call back from them.  Apparently they do not offer grants any more but they asked how much I needed.  I told them I had heard it would be about 1000 pounds and was told that sounded a bit expensive but to cost it up and they will see if they can give me some money?!?

Anyone who works in selling the stuff fancy knocking up som sort of price list?  A sort of things I need to buy list?

[Templar]

When I started up on a govt assisted scheme 17yrs ago (different business) they were quite strict about me not starting before they gave me a date, to the point of my not being eligable. However, I'd have thought that getting a feel for the job with an applicator, blade(squeegee), and oblong bucket, would cost about £25.

The stuff about business plans etc might seem like just a means to an end, but the questions you are asking about leaflets etc are the start of a marketing plan. I'm just starting too,(in window cleaning), but I have been successfull at other things. My doorstep patter will be different to yours, but I think a that single parent having a go counts as a unique selling point.

[KarlJones]

hehehe,  I do not intend on using a single parent badge as a selling point.  Speaking to a window cleaner that started up 6 yrs ago after he had done some in another area when he was younger.  Amazing if you ask me, he got 150 customers in 2 weeks.  I said he must have dropped lucky.  He said he must have, but that is the thing, if you keep working at getting customers sooner or later you hit on a big pocket of them.

[craig jwc]

Karl.

I was given full custody of my kids around 4 years ago and had to give up my fulltime engineering job.
I got myself a part-time job to suit the kids needs etc, but as you said, found the employer wasn't single parent orientated as stated when i started.

I bought myself 1 squeegie & mop, Huck towels & scrim, 1 double set of ladders and made a 5' pointer ladder from an old ladder from the tip :

Think this cost me about £120.

I went out doorknocking and in 3 months gave up my part-time job & went self-employed.
About a month later i had saved up enough money to buy a WFP Backpack etc as to me the safety of this method was better for me and the kids.

I wasn't earning alot, but been a single parent the Tax Credits helped.

I did worry about the bills and mortgage, but everthing got paid.

I now have a sign written van fitted with 400l tank. One of Andrew McCann's Freedomn Trolleys, and all the equipment i need to do my job.

Best of all i have more time to spend with my kids & still earn a good wage, even if i take time off during the week.

Today i took the day off to help take the kids at my daughters school to the Cinema to see "Happy Feet". It's not every job you can just take time off to do that.

As long as you keep that Tax office informed and keep you books to date you shouldn't have a worry.
Your Tax Credits will change according to your income. My has gone down to hardly anything compaired to what i used to get. The system is there to use, so use it.

Put some adverts in your local newsagents and shops, and print some flyers up on your PC.

If you want it too work it will. If you put the time & effort in you will get your rewards.

Craig

Just seen the posting when i went to post this - I agree, Don't use your a single parent as a selling point. Alot of my customers even now don't know i am on my own with the kids.

[Colin_Glenn]

I started out 7 years ago with no work at all. I had decided to get married to a foriegn girl and had been doing voluntary work in North London for 5 years so I had to find work to support myself.

I found a new Barrats housing estate which was half way through being built and was filling up with young business people from the City.

I put on a shirt and tie and went out canvassing at 7:30pm - 9pm every night. (in the summer while it was still light) That way I was catching those hard workers who didn't get home till late. When people wern't home I noted this and called back on other days. Within about 3 months I had £850 per month for 3 days per week.

Now I have a great round, I still do volunteer work with my wife so I just work 3 days per week but I make a very good wage. I started with ladders and points, moved onto a WFP trolley 2 1/2 years ago and have just upgraded to a van with 400liter tank in the back and 100meters of micro bore. All of my work is on one estate, I know all of my customers by name and should have a job for life.

Go for it guys, if you have the determination you will never regret the choice.

Colin

[Templar]

I have always done what I had to do. If you ar so sniffy about the single parent point why did you mention it to us in the first place?
If you are starting from absolute basics, then that is a good place to start, and it is the story you told us to begin with. Anything that is the truth also has integrity.

[Fast 1 *]

You need a thick skin.
Window cleaning isnt the sexiest job in the world,and people will often look down on your profession.But then,maybe this is a good thing,as it keeps people away from it.

I have been window cleaning for a year,having been a bricklayer.Initially,i loved it.I loved the challenge of getting new work,and slowly but surely seeing the round get bigger.But believe me,the monotony can get to you.Obviously,its not mentally stimulating,so i suggest an i pod.
After 6 months,i wasnt sure if i had made the right decision,so i was juggling the window cleaning with building work.I basically stopped canvessing for more work,as i was getting hacked off with it.For a start, COLLECTING.Oh,how you will love collecting your money in the evening,after a days graft,only to find half of them out.Then there are people that say "can you not bother this month",which after a while pi**es you off.
So i suggest organise an alternative payment method,ie online,or get them to send cheques.
As for people that say"can you leave them this time",give them one chance.If they do it twice,bin em.
But,despite all this negative talk,i have decided that im going to stick with it.It is sooo stress free,you can suit your self and if you try, you can earn a nice few quid.You have to stay positive.All the best