[geefree]

Im not , at all.

but as i look for extra equipment on buy and sell section, i notice old established names, and businesses on here who are selling up.

Some who used to give advice, and some who said it was the be all and end all.

What are your thoughts , and who is fed up ?

[lee_dewing]

I get fed up sure, but i don't know of any business that would be as good as this; for me anyway leaving school with a not too great education as i thought the printing industry was the be all and end all, big money :

alas has gone to the dogs

window cleaning ticked the boxes for me low overheads, constant repeat business, fairly quick to learn.

I must admit though if it wasn't for wfp, i would have thrown towel in as my round was initialy alot of work others didn't want awkard houses hard to reach windows.

didn't want to get in debt by buying a round so built myself mainly leafleting took around 2 yrs to get to a halfway decent round.

I think alot of people coming into this business want to build empires and that's where i think things get stressfull taking on employees.

Not saying that's wrong i'm sure that's how you get rich.

But to me i'm glad to earn a pretty decent living, and especially now know that i can't be made redundant as this has happened to me twice and i bet my back teeth that if i was still in the printing industry now i would be doing the re-dun-dance.

sorry i've waffled on

happy to be a steady eddie.
lee

[ftp]

exactly the same for me and the same background. My old printing pals are now re-employed once more on £24k basic for treble shifts and no overtime (banked hours) they have just agreed to work compulsory fifty hours a week

So no, I won't be jacking it in unless my health fails.

[Frankybadboy]

exactly the same for me and the same background. My old printing pals are now re-employed once more on £24k basic for treble shifts and no overtime (banked hours) they have just agreed to work compulsory fifty hours a week

So no, I won't be jacking it in unless my health fails.

was that down in bulter and tanners m8

[ftp]

Yep that's the place. 

You know anyone from there?

[Londoner]

Actually my story is not that different except that I worked for Kodak and got made redundant.

For me the freedom of nobody but me in control of my life is very important but like ftp the insecuity about your health is always there.

However, thats not my main point. I was replying to the question about jacking it in.

Friday I was cleaning a regular customer in a road I have about six customers in. When she paid me she mentioned that the lady a few doors up wanted me to knock.

It turns out her window cleaner has disappeared. Now I know her window cleaner, or rather I knew him, a young bloke with a commercial WFP trailer system. He had a few customers in that street and the ones around it. His prices were high end so he was making money and his work was good, she was pleased with him.

So why on earth do these blokes just disappear like that?

[Frankybadboy]

Yep that's the place. 

You know anyone from there?

used to bring in the paper for you on the lorrys.

there was one chap called martin forgot last name a friend of a friend who lives in the great village of frome

[ftp]

Things got so bad down there a couple of years back that the drivers wouldn't offload unless they had the money in their hand. Directors resorted to paying with their own credit cards in the end 'cos the banks didn't want to know.

[Mike #1]

there is a few weeks in the year i get fed up , but having said that i love the job and there is no way i would jack in

[cozy]

So why on earth do these blokes just disappear like that?

I let alot of my domestics fall once when I got alot of com work. I thought that was the way to go. Changed my mind later and had to build up domestic stuff all over again. Iv'e had a break from WCing (driving trucks) but would never throw in the towel now.
I like being paid cash and it's nice to see that when I work an extra hour, I notice the difference in my wallet.

[lee_dewing]

also i've noticed alot of franchise's (spelling  : )

one called MY HOME do w/c, pressure washing drives,  gutter cleaning.

there prices are high and i'd imagine they have to be with all those overheads in the end your just working for the bank, and if you can't match your competition your in trouble.

I'm a one man band like many on here, and we all give it our all and provide a good service.

but a lot of these franchise's like to paint the picture that someone like myself is a bit of del boy rip off merchant

so give us a load of money you get a shiney big van kitted out with all this high tec equipment :

At the end of the day wfp is just water going through a pipe then a giant broom, squirted on the windows

I know there's more sience to it than that, but some of these companies do big it up and price it up.

I spoke to an oven clean franchisee, the first time he cleaned our oven he was full of beans and he was going to take over the world; gave me a ribbing about what a crappy job w/c must be; and how everyone thinks your a 5hitbag

he did my oven a few times, last time i see him he looked close to tears, he wanted out of oven clean, hadn't had holiday in 6-7 yrs of running the business and the fees to the franhisee were crippling him £600 a month

a lot of the big wfp commercial guys are finding it hard now,
yes commercial is a lot better money but what do you do when all your contracts suddenly go from monthly to bi-monthly or quarterly

big drop in income.

to me with big money comes big risks.

i'm happy to be small fry but try and keep picking up better price work.
i do lose custy's most of the time it is my doing as they do not want windows done in winter etc so don't go back

I went into this business by accident, but the main attraction is it is pretty recession proof.

end of waffle
Lee
Ps. nothing against people with big shiney new vans, as i want one but little steps for me.

[lee_dewing]

ftp.

re: print industry i was a four colour final film planner and then a mac operator.

but had it's day

I wonder what all the people i use to work with are doing now, black cabbies, market stall holders
or still struggling on.

It never stopped amazing me in the print how the works managers reps etc would come into the trade with absolutely no experience, and if you had to explain why a job was late you might as well have been talking in chinese

all the bullpoo about this job is megger urgent, customers trying to wriggle out or pass the buck when a job went t1ts up; even though they had signed off proof

Oh yeh and the guvner was always having an affair with  the sex-retary.
Lee

[pingu]

Now no offence to some of our younger members on this forum but could it be just a youth thing..we all know that in the main w/c is seen as a job for those who are a bit of a 'thickie' and we all have friends who work as consultant this and manager that. 

This I imagine can turn a younger persons head into thinking the grass is greener and for those of us that had had a little more experiance with those graduate managers with a degree in home economics...perhaps we are a little more jaded by the chain of command business structures.

Cheers
Dave.

[JSMC]

Now no offence to some of our younger members on this forum but could it be just a youth thing..we all know that in the main w/c is seen as a job for those who are a bit of a 'thickie' and we all have friends who work as consultant this and manager that. 

This I imagine can turn a younger persons head into thinking the grass is greener and for those of us that had had a little more experiance with those graduate managers with a degree in home economics...perhaps we are a little more jaded by the chain of command business structures.

Cheers
Dave.

yeah people do think it is for thick people andi have grea tpleasure in telling them my previous employment and qualificatioins i hold and my previous responsibilities. They look at me as if i ha dhave went mad giving up final salry pension, good salary, healthy wage rises and good job.

I tell them that work isn't all about money and it's also about how i want my lifestyle to be. I pick my hours and earnings. I am happy with what i have and have no need to be greedy. At the end of the day you could be dead tomorrow.  Ove ra few years i lost 4 of my friends all at young ages. It gives you a wake up call and realise the rat race isn't everything. Also had some serious stuff happen in my own life which made me rethink my life completely.

[Gordon Saunders]

 I have been thinking about selling up for a couple of years now. Business is still good but i just dont seem to have the motivation to push the business forward anymore.
 There is more to life than money and i have been considering returning to social care work which although less financially rewarding is more rewarding in every other respect.
 Problem is the family has got used to living to our current financial means and i guess so have i
 
 So it will probably be w/c for me
   G

[simon knight]

I used to work in a bank (for 30 odd years). Then one day they finally saw through me and I got the ol' heave-ho

Found that nobody was looking to employ a 47 year old with high blood pressure so took up shining (this 5 years ago).

I certainly don't earn what I used to but have found that my BP has gone down to the extent that I no longer have to take 2 pills a day.

I have absolutely no intention of ever jacking it in. It could be that in 10 years time I'll fancy doing only 2 or 3 houses a day (mortgage will be paid off by then) but turn it in entirely?...to do what?...take up golf or bowls?....er righto

[pingu]

Gordon I can see where you're coming from there about personal satisfaction and perhaps a little part-time could be good for you...

I have 1,5 weeks off at the end of my 8 week cycle and this is the time that I think I could use to 'better' myself and help others in some way..I have considered volunteer work of some sort but have not as yet found somthing that appeals to me...so I continue the search.

Cheers
Dave.

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

All very familier on here

I too worked in the print industry for nearly 20 years with one of the best known family companies in the south easy known as Jarrolds Printing.

Use to be a great place to work but all went downhill around 2004

Never would I go back to working in a factory

Bob

[gr cleaning solutions]

i did factory work since i left school sixteen years ago but started WC in April on a weekend three weeks later we got told the warehouse was closing down at the end off July so i went out on a weekend building up my round until i was work all day Saturday every Saturday when we finally get laid off at the end off July i was out building up more work. i have also taken on carpet cleaning to run along side the windows which is doing good , but when i told people what i was doing before we got laid off they took the p**s and were laughing but guess what who laughing now they are working shifts in factories or warehouse on the min wage do get me wrong i need some more customers to get to were i want to be but my family are proud off how i have got my business off the ground especially my dad ,i would not pack this job in it fits in with every thing to do with the family we may even get a holiday next year 

[Steve_c]

All very familier on here

I too worked in the print industry for nearly 20 years with one of the best known family companies in the south easy known as Jarrolds Printing.

Use to be a great place to work but all went downhill around 2004

Never would I go back to working in a factory

Bob

Me to Bob i Worked for St Ives. Started of in sheet fed and went in to webs back in 1996. Its all went horribly wrong about 3 years ago when we had a big change in management. They didn't have a clue and still don't. started   trad window cleaning 2 years ago Part time, 3 months got my new van and system with the redundancy. Yes mate i love it. still need more work but i really don't want to go back to shift work.