[geefree]

I have a builder friend, who has always worked, flat out...... until now,

his books are empty, nothing in the pipeline at all,

he asked how i was doing , i told him so far, so good.

his reply....... "well you will be ok, people had to pay me hundreds, everyone can afford a little bit each month, and the wives will want the windows cleaned always."

Then he said something that made me post this......he said   " you started with just ladders and squeegee and a bucket didnt you?..... where can i buy them from?


So , when the recession bites, and tradesmen , bank clerks, etc etc lose their jobs,

they may head our way !.....


and i was only worried , thinking i may lose an odd punter,

now its got me thinking, how many will undercut us to get wages they will be so desperate for,?

leaving us less houses to canvas, because of an influx of competition.

your thoughts please. 

Gary.

[pjulk]

It does not bother me i worked through the recession in the late 80's as a window cleaner and did not make any differance.

A lot of people who start window cleaning don't stick with it so you will pick up the work when the clear off.

If your customers are happy with your work you are very unlikely to lose many.
When people find a good window cleaner they tend to stick with them.
The one's you do lose are not worth worrying about anyway.

[*cleanking]

Gary have you ever read the book " chicken little " ?

[geefree]

No, what is it, and whats your point?

[bwoofie]

Gazza, you aint got nothing to worry about, your mate put it into a nutshell when he said my customers had to pay me hundreds!
Well tough and although I am sorry for anyone who is a builder, tradesman etc, and finding it hard at the moment, but if they were earning serious money when times were good, they should have a fair bit put aside, but me personally,I dont earn hundreds Per job but what I do is just charge enough and plod on doing what I love doing.

[bwoofie]

Well said Paul Griffin

[geefree]

thanks for your good answers apart from the " chicken little " bit,

im not a doom and gloom merchant, nor am i inviting other people in, (non window cleaners)... by stating something which could perhaps happen, as little outlay is needed to set up, so its a worth a few thoughts.


and no i dont think the sky is falling in, and i aint dragging us all away to be eaten by a fox  

[geefree]

well said bwoofie and paul

[matt]

and no i dont think the sky is falling in,

it was part of a spaceship though 

[Londoner]

Gazza
When times get hard in the building trade they always go window cleaning. It happens every time there is a slump.
And yes, they do undercut because they want ready cash not a long term business.

The trouble with window cleaning is that it is the easiest and cheapest business to start up and thats probably how and why most of us got in it.

This week I lost three customers in the same road, Coincidence? no I don't think so.

[seandyer2003]

when they do a crap job though, or dont turn up ypu may get custies back if you let them leave politely

[Londoner]

The problem is that the customers have been spooked by all this talk of recession and are worried about their own finances.
So when someone knocks on the door and offers to do their windows for half price they take it. They are not worried about whether the WC is as good as you, they are just looking at the money.

[trevor perry]

when ladders where the general tool of window cleaners people would try the job and often find it too hard or a bit scary but now with wfp i can honestly see a lot more people sticking at it and it will certainly increase competition and so bring down the prices.

[seandyer2003]

when ladders where the general tool of window cleaners people would try the job and often find it too hard or a bit scary but now with wfp i can honestly see a lot more people sticking at it and it will certainly increase competition and so bring down the prices.

Im sure that is going to happen to some extent, however if you look at every other business, that is more the case, and yet the ones who work hard and smart, market well, and manage well, always turn a good profit! whether its mobile phones, gas and electric, etc, all have fierce competition, its how you run your own business that matters, if you adapt and work hard, you will never be out of pocket, services will always be needed, will just be harder to find who wants them, but they are always going to be out there, just got to start thinking about how you can be the no.1 choice in your area!! Get your name out there, so that people think of you when they want a wc, or gutter clean, conservatory clean etc, start doing domestic cleaning, gardening, anything else you can do - bit of plastering etc, and then recession (if it does get that bad) wont be the end of your business, you might come out of it stronger, ready to pick up the easy money again!

[simon knight]

When I first started the job it was rare to see another w/c in my area. Now every other car seems to have a set of pointers on the roof.

It could be they've always been there and I'm just more aware of them now. But a lot of the cars seem to be the family car....saw a 2006 Audi the other day complete with roof-rack and pointers!!!

Normally I nod and say hello to other w/cers who I pass in the street and always get an "alright mate" in return. But last week a couple of right hard looking geezers who I've never seen before really gave me the evils as I walked passed them.

[tomy jackson]

now thers an opertunuty laders sales man

[matt]

more window cleaners will bring down what we charge, its only natural

i guess the people who have kept prices real will be ok, its the people who charge silly money who will find people will undercut them

i did a house today, its not really in my area i work, but i drive past it, so when asked if i would give them a  price i did, i did it for 10 quid ( which is fair ) they had a qoute a fews months ago and it was 25 quid, its only a 3 bed semi with small extension ( that add's 2 windows ), 25 quid  took me under half a hour

[Oakley Windows]

I do the windows for a women who runs a company that organises industrial and commercial courses for the workplace.

Now I would have thought that her business would be one of the first to notice changes in the health of the economy, lets face it lots of people are going to see courses as surplus to requirement, an unnecessary cost and probably the first thing to go when a business is trying to cut down on costs.

So I was surprised when talking to her after doing her windows that she didnt know what recession it is theyre all talking about.

Have to say I couldnt help but agree with her.

[pingu]

In a way it is a good thing for us and especially those of us of have started in the last couple of years.

Makes us think about our business's and what we can do to protect it and what other ways to promote and market it...keeps us on our toes which can only be a good thing.

Ok so the economy is taking a hit but we can overcome alot of the pain by thinking and acting to play the game with a little more savy...

Cheers
Dave.

[geefree]

got 7 new customers today, just by being in the right street at the right time.... needless to say, i leaflet dropped the immediate area....

so a touch of good news here eh .?