Thanks for the feedback lads.
To be honest I am at a bit of a cross roads on the issue. I realise that to build something, whether its a taxi option or the windows takes effort and committment. The concerns I have with the windows are weather problems, payment problems,pricing problems, the usual stuff.
The taxi appeals because I can work in bad weather and at night, the downside is it is a big outlay, there will be some grief doing it I am sure re. drunk customers, runners, car maintenance, the fear of robbery/attack and so on, unsociable hours as well.
To build the round up now is do-able, especially if I go for WFP and i put me balls to the wall and just go for it, but I am still going to have the access issues, attracting custom, losing custom, I can work at the payment thing but I cannot improve the weather and the next winter is already worrying me. I fell off me ladder in March :-[and that has bothered me, I was lucky and walked away from it but there are a handful of my jobs that I just dont fancy anymore done trad. At the minute I am doing this at the same time as doing a full time degree. Between June and end of september I have nothing to worry about apart from windows, but between last October to February, when I was back attending university, I just could not juggle both as me schedule and workload at university kneecapped my window cleaning and my round/earnings suffered, therefore my business has not expanded the way it should have, another similair schedule next October will give me massive problems and we could go under next winter if it went the same as this.We managed to scrape by and I need to really make the most of the summer.
My efforts at pricing are pathetic, I am too timid. I can fix that though.
Trying to juggle these things and a young family, and a wife doing a full time course herself leaves me feeling I am doing nothing properly.
I think I trad clean windows ok, only had one complaint and that was because I was back to university and was late for a clean, never had a complaint about the quality of me work but I think folk are desperate!!!I have had compliments which is nice and I actually feel guilty about even thinking of jacking it in cos some of the older ladies are so pleased to see me.
Some of this is thinking aloud but I think to keep at this I need a wfp option to avoid the dodgy ladder work and give me an edge into those properties that can only get done safely, or can only be accessed by wfp. Its an outlay but cheaper than the taxi plus I am not throwing away what I have and learnt now. But my worry is how will I manage over the winter. I dont mind the weather conditions, it is really down to me schedule and the way the university works I wont know that till late September.
So I am trying to fathom out the best way to go.