[Tim Rose]

I've been reading a business-related book and these two paragraphs really stood out in my mind that might have an impact on how you price work.    It'd be interesting to see what ya think...

The majority of people in this country (uk) are of limited means.  Even those who would seem to have an enormous income usually have an enormous mortgage and school fees to match.  As a result their disposable income may actually be less than people at the other end of the financial scale.

You are less likely to go wrong if you target customers at the bottom end of the scale financially, because then everyone can buy from you.  If you only sell high price items and interest rates start to go up, or a recession takes a grip of the country, you will have fewer customers with money in their pockets.

(my emphasis)

So I'm thinking here about pricing for w/c and other services.  Although the above two paragraphs come from a shop-related business book, I think they really apply to us too.

Source: Start and Run Your Own Shop, Val Clark, 2005.

[Wayne Thomas]

Why not do both. Never put all your eggs in one basket so to speak. Don't do all commercial or all domestic. Don't be tied in to one company for a lot of contracts in case it all goes belly up. Spread the risks. Same applies with age of customers. Old fuddy duddies may not be the best earners but they are more reliable when credit crunch and fuel/energy prices rise. Etc, etc.

[windowwashers]

Why not do both. Never put all your eggs in one basket so to speak. Don't do all commercial or all domestic. Don't be tied in to one company for a lot of contracts in case it all goes belly up. Spread the risks. Same applies with age of customers. Old fuddy duddies may not be the best earners but they are more reliable when credit crunch and fuel/energy prices rise. Etc, etc.

egg in one basket never, to the 2 things on the post aim for the middle and you will never go far wrong if you get higher its a result lower can be a result to

[[GQC] Tim]

Over 90% of the population are always 3 months from being bankrupt.

food for thought!

Ewan

Find that very very hard to believe. If you wouldn't have an income for 3 months, naturally. Otherwise those 90% would have their finances very poorly constructed.

[windowwashers]

Over 90% of the population are always 3 months from being bankrupt.

food for thought!

Ewan

Find that very very hard to believe. If you wouldn't have an income for 3 months, naturally. Otherwise those 90% would have their finances very poorly constructed.

or if the interest rates went to what it did in the eighties alot of us would be in dire stink.

[mark dew]

The 1st one rings true. The wannabes. But the 2nd statement has only applied to me when i was starting up and needed work desperately. I can only do so much and have no interest in pitching my prices to accomodate everybody.
I would rather avoid the mass production process as a sole trader, when alternatives are still out there. If i was an employer or financial circumstances changed, well i would reassess.
Books are good to read when they ring a bell or make a light go on but all these self help or motivation books really tell you in different ways to just do it and learn from your mistakes.
In my opinion there are few people in the world who have made themselves wealthy by being intelligent alone. Whereas there are lots of people who have done it with hard work. Or both.

[Dale Smith]

Going by the second statement, I should target council estates then, as we have not targetted them at all yet 
We have some council custies already, but did not canvass them, they just came in by word of mouth.

[windowwashers]

Going by the second statement, I should target council estates then, as we have not targetted them at all yet 
We have some council custies already, but did not canvass them, they just came in by word of mouth.

I know many will knock coucil estates, but some of my best customers live there, it is some of the rich people that seem to have a problem IMO

[Dale Smith]

Thanks for that Ian, they will be targetted next week 

[windowwashers]

Thanks for that Ian, they will be targetted next week 

I know people knock them, and you do seem to get a higher number of bad payers but quite easy to judge IMO as with anyone we are all the same 

right I am off now.
Night Dale with speak to you in the week m8, new camera ok 


Ian

[Dale Smith]

Yeah hope it works..... night mate

[Londoner]

The initial posting from Rosy was from a book about starting and running your own shop. Shops are very difficult businesses to run because they have high overheads, rent, council tax, electricity etc. They also have to buy the right stock and hope somebody will come in and buy it. Its very hard to get the right shop in the right location and if you get it wrong you go bust.

The great thing about window cleaning is that we have none of the above constraints. We can go where we like, we don't have expensive stock to buy or shops to pay for. If we want more customers we just go out knocking on doors. We can mix our work how we like, its perfectly possible to do the Council estate on Monday and on Tuesday be doing the big houses off some private road. Then on Wednesday do a commercial job.
And all you need is a bucket and a ladder.
Also our prices are small to the individual customer.

According to what I have read lately in the papers a lot more people than you would think are in debt up to their necks and its not necessarily the ones you would imagine. The cars most commonly repossesed by the finance companies are the flash ones, BMWs, Mercs and the like. A lot of people live in a fantasy world.

Credit card debt is another big one. I know people personally who owe tens of thousands on credit cards and think its normal.

[[GQC] Tim]

Well, one thing is for certain, you've got to be very careful with canvassing on Council houses. If the house and or garden looks a mess. Don't knock, because generally speaking (without prejudice) you will have problems with them. That's what I found. Some are nice, nice older people for instance. But there are a lot of dodgy people out there unfortunately.

I don't actually have any problems with the people that have the money, very friendly. Not arrogant or anything. Maybe I just have nice customers.   

[frames to panes]

I've only got one council house which i deliberately overpriced because i didn't want to work on the estate and still got it. The customers daughter said her mum would have it cleaned every two weeks if she had her way! Immaculate garden with a pond full of beautiful Koi carp round the back. Chair next to the front door where the lady likes to sit in the sunshine (whats that?) is chained to the concrete mind.

[Pj]

Interesting quotes....

Is that why housing associations and care home groups make so much money?

[Londoner]

Oh yes there are some very nice people on the council estates but they tend to be the older ones who have been there for years. Very friendly easy to please and in most of the time because of their age.
On the other hand G.Q.C is dead right. The bad ones are off the scale.

I do a few flats on an estate in Pinner Green. I never canvassed the work but I advertise in the local parish magazine so I have picked these ones up over time. When you go on the estate its like going into a different world. You feel like you are the only person in the whole world who actually works for a living. Blokes wandering about aimlessly in Chav caps and trackies waiting for Social Club over the road  to open.

I was working there in December when we had all that cold weather and my hoses froze. While I was trying to unfreeze them and not in the best of moods some bloke came down demanding to know why I hadn't done his windows. He obviously thought I was from the council because I had my big yellow hi-vis jacket on.
I told him he wasn't on my list and he really went into one. "I'm going to phone the Council etc etc"
I can imagine somebody at the council getting a phone call and not knowing anything about a flipping window cleaner. They would never convince that bloke.

[matt]

Why not do both. Never put all your eggs in one basket so to speak. Don't do all commercial or all domestic. Don't be tied in to one company for a lot of contracts in case it all goes belly up. Spread the risks. Same applies with age of customers. Old fuddy duddies may not be the best earners but they are more reliable when credit crunch and fuel/energy prices rise. Etc, etc.

good call, i have a fair mix,

i dont understand the people who say " i never do small 2 bed houses "
if you have a fair few in the same street thay still work out a earner

[AuRavelling79]

With a few exceptions my best custy's are the couples with kids off their hands but who don't want/can't  to do their own windows aged mid-50's and upwards.

Mortgages lessening or gone, more disposable income.

[Village Gleam]

Both staements are mainly wrong.

The main problem with retail (shops) is the supply chain. If you buy your stock from,say, Bookers (a large independant shop wholesaler) then you very often find your four cans of Guiness or whatever can be gotten cheaper retail at Tesco's or one of the other supermarkets. This problem is repeated over and over.

As regards the statements, look at what houses have the gig tellys and satelite dishes. Look at the demagraphics of who buys the most expensive mobile phones or trainers.(this is often poorer younger people)

We are in service, not retail, and are the beneficaries of several social trends. The dual income syndrome, they don't regard themselves as well off but both bring in 30k, thats 60k per couple.As a consequence they have takeaways delivered, use an ironing service,gardening and window cleaning hopefully.

The better off people tend to be older, and do not have high school fees mortgages etc.

If you need a stategy Rosy I can help.

[Wayne Thomas]

I use to do a lot of work for one particular housing association (142 flats), good easy work, good prices, prompt payment until a new scheme manager came in and rocked the boat. In the end I decided to sell it on. That taught me never to do too much work for one company. Now I always spread my jobs out and diversify.