[CleanToGo1]

Just a general question to all you carpet cleaners and Oven Cleaners
We are pretty new to this and this is our 1st year of trading, we are finding the work generally erratic, one minute we are busy next we are quiet? we advertise in local magazines ect, and when not working are out flyering.
Is this what we are to expect or is it due to the current work climate ?

Cheers
Gary & Jason

[Karl Wildey]

erratic whether there a credit crunch on, or not

[COLIN BRIGHT]

very busy

[Fraser Thom]

For every reply you get telling you how quiet they are, someone else will tell you they are booked up until 2012.  If this is your first year of trading, everything is stacked against you. 

The first two years are the toughest for any startup business (so they keep tellng me) and we are in the middle of the worst recession since records began.  Apart from that, you can't go wrong!

They way I look at it is this.  If you can make your new business survive for two years and we get through the recession, you will be in the perfect position to make a good living.  The important thing is to keep up with the leaflets and advertising, even when you think you don't need to when you are really busy.  This will pay dividends for when the quieter times come along (which they will) 

Good luck

Fraser

[Steve Chapman]

we've been going for about 15 years and still find it eratic, when we have a quiet period we generally find it lasts for about two weeks and then all hell breaks loose again !

Theres no real rhyme or reason to it, although it always seems to go really quiet for us around school holidays, which is understandable i suppose, apart from that, you need to just do the work when its there and budget for the quiet times.

I normally just get stuck into the paper work  :'(and marketing side when not actually cleaning carpets .

steve

[M.Acorn]

Half term this week,so as usual quiet for me,but that`s just as well as my pump has died 

[CleanToGo1]

Thanks for your advice !

[Joe H]

and as been said, there is not pattern really.

I was busy, busy through August and first 2 weeks of Sept during school holidays and then when kids went back to school when it should pick up it went flat for a fortnight before it picked up again.

[chrisjohn]

Stacked out with work this week,but next week all ive got is a couple of quotes to do.Will catch up with paperwork or post some flyers.Could be the pre Xmas lull !!

[clinton]

Aint booked up till 2012

Think its gone quiet this week mind you after a v busy october and got some good work from web sites..

Got some large commercial work next week and then its going to be the countdown for the mad busy xmas period..

[Amethyst]

From talking to other trades people its not just us ccers which seem to have peaks and troughs. Just try not to worry too much about it in the short term. I have been very busy with carpet work but not so just now - but I've got lots of window cleaning to catch up!!

[Matt Lindus]

I've got £750 booked in this week for my cleaner guy, so that should give me about £400 cash spending money for this week. Next week I have nothing for him as yet in. Last week was £75 turnover!!!!!! Yes you read that correctly!

My Ariel business is nonstop, the two phones in our office start ringing around 8.15am and ring nonstop up until 9-10pm. Today on the digital side of things we have booked in 27 digital aerial installations and 5 CCTV surveys. That’s one day. If the price shoppers were to book these figures would be much more.
This week will be around 23K turnover, and 92K for this month (Oct 09).

Matt

[fenman]

£23,000 in a week.
I would not get out of bed for that pathetic amount.

[richy27]

coming towards the end of my first year and like many work comes in waves but have found that when i am busy i get busier due to getting a few instant referals. but all in all evens itself out PS fully booked now till 2224
lol

[derek west]

i'm fully booked up  till 2 o'clock tomorrow.
off thurday, vans in for a service and the back door won't open from the outside, ya wanna try climbing over a hot truckmount and a hose reel to open it from inside, talk about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, oooooooooooo its hot. but strangely enjoyable at the same time.

back in friday and, suite and a town house stairs, 9.30 til 1. £180, happy with that.

quick job saturday morning then i'm off til monday, woohoooooooo. must admit, i look forward to working but at the same time i look forward to my day off.

derek

[Neil Williams]

In my own world mind I'm booked up until I retire, in reality the world seems to have ground to a halt.
Got a few jobs booked up but nothing worse getting excited about.
No doubt some will be on here later with the preverbial fully booked up until March 2010

[Barry Livingstone]

I've got £750 booked in this week for my cleaner guy, so that should give me about £400 cash spending money for this week. Next week I have nothing for him as yet in. Last week was £75 turnover!!!!!! Yes you read that correctly!

My Ariel business is nonstop, the two phones in our office start ringing around 8.15am and ring nonstop up until 9-10pm. Today on the digital side of things we have booked in 27 digital aerial installations and 5 CCTV surveys. That’s one day. If the price shoppers were to book these figures would be much more.
This week will be around 23K turnover, and 92K for this month (Oct 09).

Matt your either talking pish or mad !! why you ping about with carpet cleaning if your other work is pulling in that kind of money ? that money could never be done with cc work.....23k!!!

[richy27]

I've got £750 booked in this week for my cleaner guy, so that should give me about £400 cash spending money for this week. Next week I have nothing for him as yet in. Last week was £75 turnover!!!!!! Yes you read that correctly!

My Ariel business is nonstop, the two phones in our office start ringing around 8.15am and ring nonstop up until 9-10pm. Today on the digital side of things we have booked in 27 digital aerial installations and 5 CCTV surveys. That’s one day. If the price shoppers were to book these figures would be much more.
This week will be around 23K turnover, and 92K for this month (Oct 09).

Matt


didnt realise you were the opposition to daz    Ariel    Aerial  just jessin

[markpowell]

I think the reason that a lot of guys have these peaks and troughs is because they only market when they are quiet. If you do leaflet drops daily, after the working day 200 a night, send reminder letters out monthly on a 9- 12 monthly basis then you will see a difference. Market all the time busy or quiet then you wont have as many quiet times.
The school Hols will always drop quiet for obvious reasons, but i do not agree that the recession has slowed us down, if anything more people are having cleaning done as they are not buying new.
Mark