[JRDEasiReach]

Guys i am putting this here as im in need of some genuine support from fellow w/c's.  I am feeling so demotivated at the moment its unreal and i dont know why im feeling like this, maybe its the past week or so not being able to get out due to the frost and ice and now when thats cleared i have the rain and the wind at the same time and its still no warmer when out working, i have already this week had 3 customers put me off to next month and if i even venture out in the wind and rain im scared i may lose more permanently, what do i do lads??  Im still a way way off where i want to be and i cant find it in me to go out and do the stuff i have currently, im not a quitter and wont be but i do need some words of wisdom from you lot to assist me on the climb out of this feeling.   

[Wickerman]

Alright Matey,

You are right, this is a particularly bad time. But it could be worse!! I have just had a vat bill in, am awaiting payments from some of my big customers which are a month late and have been told that I won't be paid this month either.

Every day is one day closer to the summer.
You might win the Lottery.
It won't be as bad as this next year.
My mates mrs has just been diagnosed as having M.S. She is only 38.

Point is there is always someone worse off than yourself.
 

[Steve Lowe]

Like this poor bloke

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=88190.0

Like all of us i have been getting fed up with this weather but after reading this it puts it all in perspective.

[AuRavelling79]

I'm feeling the same way - but this is how I cope with it.

I go out and work when I can - which for me was 6 hours on the first Monday in January, a half day on the Tuesday and two hours last Friday. Yesterday I did a half day. That's it - a princely sum of £332 when by now I should be well over a grand in "normal January weather".

When I do go out, like yesterday in "lying snow" but at 1 degree above freezing, I tell the custies that I will do their doors first by blading them, missing any window above a door and wfp'ing the rest. I also tell them I have "antifreeze" - actually a tiny amount of screenwash - about 1 litre in 400. I also grit any path that gets splashed on by me. It means I am painfully slow - I only did £75 in four hours yesterday.

But it is something. And yes I have had two "wait 'til it thaws" custies - one I talked round and the other I went along with as it is the only time they have ever asked me not to clean in 5 years.

Chin up!

(BTW - I have emergency savings and so I do not have that pressure - and if I did have that pressure I would probably either get depressed or go out and prang my van in the snow.)

[ccmids]

Guys i am putting this here as im in need of some genuine support from fellow w/c's.  I am feeling so demotivated at the moment its unreal and i dont know why im feeling like this, maybe its the past week or so not being able to get out due to the frost and ice and now when thats cleared i have the rain and the wind at the same time and its still no warmer when out working, i have already this week had 3 customers put me off to next month and if i even venture out in the wind and rain im scared i may lose more permanently, what do i do lads??  Im still a way way off where i want to be and i cant find it in me to go out and do the stuff i have currently, im not a quitter and wont be but i do need some words of wisdom from you lot to assist me on the climb out of this feeling.   

get a grip man

[dazmond]

we all get de motivated but esp now with this extreme weather.ive not worked since 23rd dec bar half hour last week when water froze on windows even with screenwash!ive also had a really bad chest infection and heavy cold.ive never had 3 weeks off in 16 years! ::)luckily ive got an emergency fund but its getting low now.hopefully ill be out tommorrow.

i bet its hard for u esp with u just starting out with v.few custys and income and shelling out on all that wfp equipment.itll pass though and gold is right just try and get a few hours in even if its just 2 hours.

just think this time next year ur business will be a lot bigger,hopefully youll have saved an emergency fund up and be proficient doing trad work when system frozen!

best wishes
dazmond

[Wickerman]

UISGE BEATHA!!

[ftp]

I feel much the same. I got out again yesterday and have so much work stacked up I could pick and choose any area i wanted. However, with temperatures around +1 and a biting wind the motivation just isn't there. My earnings are shocking and at this moment in time this job really sucks!
Just think about the lads who still haven't got out to work yet.
Just look forward to the first rays of spring when this crap job suddenly becomes the best job in the world again!

[Tosh]

we all get de motivated but esp now with this extreme weather.

Exactly!

JRDE is the real problem not the weather, but the lack of funds?  

Its tough I know (we know) when you're new to window cleaning, its tough work, you're skint, worried about losing customers, and you can't get out to work because of the weather.  It can be demoralising, but that does really sort the wheat from the chaff.

And don't worry about losing customers.  If they're due, clean them; end of story; just do it as long as its not 'mental' weather conditions.  If you lose the odd one (which is unlikely), you will replace them.  As the years tick past, you'll end up with a real hardcore of dependable customers.

And make sure you have an emergency fund to cover at least one months worth of lost income; or at the very least access to credit to cover for a months living expenses.  And this is the very least.  Don't even think about taking a sneaky day off when you've got work due cleaning if you haven't got an emergency fund behind you.

And when I'm really de-motivated, I just go out with an attitude that I'll spend the day 'mincing about'; you know I'll plod on, listen to my MP3, drink coffee, chat to customers; hell I may even clean the odd window, and once I get going I'm fine.  I think the thought of working is far worse than the actual working if you know what I mean.  Have a read of the book in my sig (The Power of Now), it's very good and will explain to you why you're feeling a bit on the demoralised side.  You're no doubt living in the future and thinking of all sorts of bad possibilities; stuff that will just not happen 99.9% of the time.

Oh, and set everything up the night before - that's important - so you have very little to do in the morning; giving you less time to procrastinate; and it gets your backside out the door early.

Personally, I think we've all learnt something from this years Winter.

[martinsadie]

hes the last man standing from last years summer brigade

[d.ward]

i remember that summer. 3 weeks of sun ...................

Well i was told. I was on bloody holiday at the time

[Niall McAllister]

Guys i am putting this here as im in need of some genuine support from fellow w/c's.  I am feeling so demotivated at the moment its unreal and i dont know why im feeling like this, maybe its the past week or so not being able to get out due to the frost and ice and now when thats cleared i have the rain and the wind at the same time and its still no warmer when out working, i have already this week had 3 customers put me off to next month and if i even venture out in the wind and rain im scared i may lose more permanently, what do i do lads??  Im still a way way off where i want to be and i cant find it in me to go out and do the stuff i have currently, im not a quitter and wont be but i do need some words of wisdom from you lot to assist me on the climb out of this feeling.   

set your self a small target each day, even if it's just 5/6 houses, start early and just go for it, if you get them done, you've reached your target, well done you go home at lunch time and get some more and do them in the afternoon.
Do the same tomorrow, but add an extra house, and just keep going.

Remember this is just a job, and a means to an end, not an end in it's self. look at why you wanted to be a window cleaner in the first place, and think about what you enjoy about it. just do the best you can

[Murdie window cleaning]

Jrd, I've not been out for a few weeks either, I'm nearly spent up from the little savings I had, but I know that this has been an extreme winter and chances are we won't get it as severe for a while.
I'm going back out next week, I've spoken with a couple of local cleaners and they are only going out to certain jobs and only working with someone footing there ladder. So chin up, remember what it was that made you want to do this job and get out there as soon as it's possible.

[jonnyald]

my way of dealing with feeling grim about this job  is to pretend for at least the first hour each day that im thick as sh/t and act like an automoton .  automotons just go and work on autopilot once they are switched on .iv found  this attitude works especially well if you are doing low paid jobs like shops . keep a fixed silly smile on your face too

[JRDEasiReach]

we all get de motivated but esp now with this extreme weather.

Exactly!

JRDE is the real problem not the weather, but the lack of funds?  

Its tough I know (we know) when you're new to window cleaning, its tough work, you're skint, worried about losing customers, and you can't get out to work because of the weather.  It can be demoralising, but that does really sort the wheat from the chaff.

And don't worry about losing customers.  If they're due, clean them; end of story; just do it as long as its not 'mental' weather conditions.  If you lose the odd one (which is unlikely), you will replace them.  As the years tick past, you'll end up with a real hardcore of dependable customers.

And make sure you have an emergency fund to cover at least one months worth of lost income; or at the very least access to credit to cover for a months living expenses.  And this is the very least.  Don't even think about taking a sneaky day off when you've got work due cleaning if you haven't got an emergency fund behind you.

And when I'm really de-motivated, I just go out with an attitude that I'll spend the day 'mincing about'; you know I'll plod on, listen to my MP3, drink coffee, chat to customers; hell I may even clean the odd window, and once I get going I'm fine.  I think the thought of working is far worse than the actual working if you know what I mean.  Have a read of the book in my sig (The Power of Now), it's very good and will explain to you why you're feeling a bit on the demoralised side.  You're no doubt living in the future and thinking of all sorts of bad possibilities; stuff that will just not happen 99.9% of the time.

Oh, and set everything up the night before - that's important - so you have very little to do in the morning; giving you less time to procrastinate; and it gets your backside out the door early.

Personally, I think we've all learnt something from this years Winter.

Its not the fact of the money m8 at least not yet its just the fear of losing customers especially the newer ones plus i have so called friends who have got me to clean and then wont divulge if they want a repeat clean, i dont like to keep on to them but its annoying too, im going through a rough patch too with other things that dont help much either, add to that this 1c temp with wind that feels like -10 and rain on top and its rotten, even worse than working that day last week in the -2 alot worse.  I'll get myself into gear tomorrow again, i have to, although i think part of the problem deep down is the fact i have got nothing new recently and the fear of NOT getting is making me down too.  Thanks for your replies lads, its helped me no end so far, thanks.

[tacky]

like the guys said .do whay u can no matter how little .most of us in same boat .we just have to grim n bare it .but when the weather breaks .i can see quite a few sat n sundays being worked to catch up .

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

It's a catch 22 the more you don't work the harder it get to get back into it. Listening to loads of wc's on this forum say they're staying home as it's bot worth the risk doesn't motivate anyone to get out either.

I've not let the weather dictate to me, I'm not in macmacs situation with 4 ft of snow but we still have snow here in Essex, today it snowed all day, I was only put off off doing the backs on one place as they have decking and was told it would be too slippery.  However if I did get put off fair enough, I'll do the rest of the road and fit them in next time.  If someone cancled for good then would you really want the custom in the future. People want a reliable wc no one scared off by the weather.  Once you've done a couple of days you'll feel better.

Simon.  

[Milltown Cleaning]

[

As i was saying to you earlier Roger, this is the toughest time of the year in this occupation - bad weather, short days, people not looking for cleaning at this time. Even people who have been established for years are struggling, its not going to be any easier for the youger businesses.

My mentality at this moment is tough it out to March and from there i hope, pray and know that things will pick up - longer days, better weather* (not garunteed!!) and that "spring clean" notion that people get.

As regards losing customers - i dont think any customer would be too bothered at you being 1, 2 or even 3 weeks late at the minute. They might be more annoyed of you turned up with it blowing a gale or a blizzard.

So stick it out, know that better times are coming, work hard when you can and enjoy your time off as in the future you will have none because your books will be so full of customers (a little bit of optimism to sign off on)!!!

I guess i am sort of writing this to myslef as much as you or anyone else as we are all in the same boat!!

the end

[lee09]

Hi,
A bit of tough love is needed. Did you think it would be easy?
When you start out you can pick up customers that are messers, they don't need much of an excuse to fob us off. This is just how it is. It's only time that will develop your business into having customers that will support you all year round, they might not like the fact you call in the rain but they want you to continue in the business so you come back next month.
The weather after a few days off over xmas gets us all down but try to use this time to target customers that want you.
You will pass this phase.
Good luck (I did not mean to kick you in the gonads)
Lee

[scud]

  Put a few layers on, get a decent hat and some gloves.

  Have a weekly target to earn, if you get it done early you can knock off early, if you dont get it done you will have to work Saturday to get it done, which personally I haste doing so I make sure it is done.

  As for the customers, just turn up and do them, they will let you get on with it like it is the most normal thing in the world.

  I have only had one ask me to leave it since Xmas, and that was because I gave her the option as I know she is going to Oz for 6 weeks in a fortnights time.