[giftedk]

hi all,
          I ve got a round in essex and lots of work but im sure its all under priced. my small houses are £6 (2 beds, my big are £8 (4beds), and big with conservatorys £12. can someone please put me right with my prices, as im earning no where near the £20 and £25 an hour that i hear yous lot are earning.

[The Bear]

simple if you currently earn £10 per hour then double your prices

[steve k]

surely you must be cleaning 3-4 of your smaller 2 bed houses an hour which is £18-£24 an hour.
If not, you must have your round too spread out so work at condensing your custom. 10 minutes on a small house should be your aim...15 at most. If you are longer than this, refine your technique and trust it...don`t waste time looking into your corners for missed bits...mop, squeegee,detail and onto next window.

[Chris Cottrell]

10 mins for a small house, 15 mins for a large house?  Mop, squeegee, detail onto next window, how do you do it so quickly without leaving marks, I have already had one customer complain about water mark, had to give her a reduction next time round.

[Sir Squeaky]

Those prices are about the same rate as mine, and I usually do £20 an hour.

But.... I've been doing it for 8 years and only fairly recently got to that pace.

Some people are quick from the start, others just refine their skills.
You end up doing everything in the same order and technique every month, and you naturally get quicker.

I think hearing everybody else's earnings gave me a hefty kick mind!

Roger.

[rosskesava]

Hi chrisc

I've heard so many claims about speed and £200 odd pound a day but so far only one has turned out to be true and he's a super fit super human odd ball.

I think just try and do your best and let experience teach you. Also keep looking on this forum for those little ideas that make a difference and bit by bit, things will get faster.

There 3 of us who work together and last Saturday we earnt £360 but today, it was £115. Some days are better than others.

Tomorrow will be an arkward day as we're obliged to do the windows of 2 commercial customer who are 15 miles apart and both before about 11 am. That has shot a hole through a nice earner of 14 houses all in the same area which now have to be put back to Saturday.

It's easy I think to say get more work all close together but reality doesn't always work like that. I think it's also easy to say a 3 bedroom semi takes X amount of time but each house is diifferent even when they are next door to each other and of the same design.

Stick with it and always try to improve is I think the best advise.

Cheers

Ross

[Paul Coleman]

Hi chrisc

I've heard so many claims about speed and £200 odd pound a day but so far only one has turned out to be true and he's a super fit super human odd ball.

I think just try and do your best and let experience teach you. Also keep looking on this forum for those little ideas that make a difference and bit by bit, things will get faster.

There 3 of us who work together and last Saturday we earnt £360 but today, it was £115. Some days are better than others.

Tomorrow will be an arkward day as we're obliged to do the windows of 2 commercial customer who are 15 miles apart and both before about 11 am. That has shot a hole through a nice earner of 14 houses all in the same area which now have to be put back to Saturday.

It's easy I think to say get more work all close together but reality doesn't always work like that. I think it's also easy to say a 3 bedroom semi takes X amount of time but each house is diifferent even when they are next door to each other and of the same design.

Stick with it and always try to improve is I think the best advise.

Cheers

Ross

I've managed £200 in a day several times myself - though not in recent years.  They were well priced jobs (so well priced I lost some eventually      )  .
I should manage it again one day if I keep pricing new work as well as I havew been lately.
I've set myself a target.  By this time next year, I have made it my target to do my first ever 3 grand month.  I don't have nearly enough work to achieve that at the moment but I intend to.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i am luck enough to have a large estate with around 400 houses on it i do around 100 of them the rest are there for the taking there are a few other cleaners but they do the odd house here and there the prob is hardly any have rear access .. so its mainly fronts i charge £5 -£6 for fronts i had originally had alot more customers but when i took the round over the prices were low so i put houses up by £2 and fronts by £1 .. but i do less for more now ..on a good day by myself with good accounts i can do 160 - 180 but thats happens say twice a month at the most normally 60 70 80 not much higher than that .

earn what is enuf for you and your family thats what i think at least

shawn

[henrya]

inwill be happy if you can put me through on what and how you use to get this kind of your contract.thanks

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i got luck bought some ladders off a window cleaner and he gave me a round ... it was worth 1100 but now 600 of good customer .. loads dont pay and all that but i have the good ones and canvass most weeks on the round find yourself a big old estate and go for it

shawn

[rosskesava]

Hi The Shiner

I was refering to UBA1 who I think you went out with for a day or for a few days after I asked UBA1 to proove what he was saying which he did.

£200 a day on odd days for one person is I think really possible and I should have added that I meant £200 or more everyday day in day out.

I think UBA1 is the exception. He's not human. He's the otherside of being fit. Also, his way of working whilst ok for him wouldn't work for me. I think it's a question of different natures. I can't just go from one job to the next, and the next, and next, till the end of the day. I like the breaks, the chats, and the odd day of taking life easy.

3 grand a month - I think that can be done but I'd be concerned about burning out and over strectching the bodies limits. Personally, at the age of 47 I prefer a slower approach and be happy with lot less. If I earn £1500 a month then I'm happy and I'm not over doing it.

My plans for earning more is not to work harder but to work smarter with better paying jobs, better organisation, and to reach a point where we are contracting work out while still working ourselves.

Cheers

Ross

[Paul Coleman]

Hi The Shiner

I was refering to UBA1 who I think you went out with for a day or for a few days after I asked UBA1 to proove what he was saying which he did.

£200 a day on odd days for one person is I think really possible and I should have added that I meant £200 or more everyday day in day out.

I think UBA1 is the exception. He's not human. He's the otherside of being fit. Also, his way of working whilst ok for him wouldn't work for me. I think it's a question of different natures. I can't just go from one job to the next, and the next, and next, till the end of the day. I like the breaks, the chats, and the odd day of taking life easy.

3 grand a month - I think that can be done but I'd be concerned about burning out and over strectching the bodies limits. Personally, at the age of 47 I prefer a slower approach and be happy with lot less. If I earn £1500 a month then I'm happy and I'm not over doing it.

My plans for earning more is not to work harder but to work smarter with better paying jobs, better organisation, and to reach a point where we are contracting work out while still working ourselves.

Cheers

Ross

Hi Ross.  Yes, I knew who you meant regarding UBA1 (Steve).  I only did about half a day with him but I could see he was up for it even though I slowed him down.
£200 a day - day in day out - would be a bit too much for me as well at current prices.
Although it may not sound like it, my attitude towards earning money has always been fairly laid back and I regard it as a means of living rather than an end in its own right.  Unfortunately, I made a wrong decision over a relationship some time back (now history) and after that was done, I needed a lot of time off work due to health issues (temporary thankfully).  Those two items have left me struggling financially and I've had to adopt a much more hard-nosed attitude in my business dealings.  I prefer not to do things this way but needs must as they say.
Maybe we will meet one day.  I'm not so far from you.

[giftedk]

I earn £100 a day everyday,  but do a five day week. I ve just gone over to the wfp and hear everyone say it trebles your work rate, does this mean i can now earn £300 aday ?. Surely not !

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i think it could with all new custom but not with your previous round .. i dont think wfp is much quicker (my opinion) shawn


shawn

[rosskesava]

Hi The Shiner

I lost a very well paid job on the railways for similar reasons and rotted for quite a long time.

Then from a perculiar set of circustmaces, I ended up window cleaning because it was all I could think to do. Then it became more than just pin money whilst signing on. Then I came clean and paid back the DHSS.

It's amazing what focuses your mind that business is business and by having that veiw, that there is money to be made..

To meet one day would be good but with no pm's and having being inudated with spam from Africa about promises of millions going into my bank account, my e mail address is now hidden.

My name is the same on other forums. (Sorry to write that Mr Moderator)

Cheers

Ross

[Paul Coleman]

Hi The Shiner

I lost a very well paid job on the railways for similar reasons and rotted for quite a long time.

Then from a perculiar set of circustmaces, I ended up window cleaning because it was all I could think to do. Then it became more than just pin money whilst signing on. Then I came clean and paid back the DHSS.

It's amazing what focuses your mind that business is business and by having that veiw, that there is money to be made..

To meet one day would be good but with no pm's and having being inudated with spam from Africa about promises of millions going into my bank account, my e mail address is now hidden.

My name is the same on other forums. (Sorry to write that Mr Moderator)

Cheers

Ross

Adversity started me off with window cleaning too Ross.  I was made redundant three times in the recession of the early 90s and could not get a job.  I borrowed a spare ladder off a plumber and went door knocking.  I was fortunate in that I managed to get a week or so work each month going away on a driving job (also self-employed).  I started filling the window cleaning round in around that.  By the time the driving job went a few months later I had half a window cleaning round so I just carried on.  I did claim unemployment for parts of the week when I wasn't working.  I was entitled to it though as if the earnings were below a certain amount and I crammed my work into one dayt, I was only deducted one sixth of the benefit.  During that time I was also taking bits and pieces from job agencies so, some weeks, I didn't qualify for benefit.  It didn't take long before I became self sufficient - though the income was very low for a while.  In those days I was debt free and only had a modest rent to pay so I could manage on £100 a week.
Those were the days.  I had less of everything - including stress.

[Ian_Giles]

By and large you should manage to get 3 houses an hour cleaned, I am not talking about a dozen accounts all in the one street, I'm allowing for a bit of traveling involved too.
Am also refering to the standard 3 bed semi, UPVC frames and no conservatory.

So 15 minutes to clean one of them, and a couple of minutes traveling to the next one, and so on.

My own minimum for cleaning such a house would be £8.00, so that would give me the £24 per hour being mentioned.
But as Ross has said, life doesn't work like that In an 8 hour day you would think 'Great!' close to £200 a day!!
Too many variable factors come into play, and you will probably only work, and I mean ACTUALLY work, about 6 of those 8 hours, traveling, setting up, talking to customers, invoicing, dinner breaks and so on will take up time.
And don't forget down time due to the weather, or the time taken to go and get a new tyre fitted! Or going off to use the loo, or the days when you are just not firing on all cylinders.

Potentially £24 per hour is more than feasible, but you have to get your prices right, and that can depend on your location. If you are working low income estates, getting good prices won't be easy. But if you are in the Essex area, then you are certainly in a more affluent part of the country.
Pick area's that reflect that fact and your base price should be closer to £10 or £12 per standard house.

Regards,

Ian

[steve k]

totally agree Ian.
Chris, 2 bedroom houses as described and in my experience are small and no more than 10 minute. As you mentioned, your round is compact as well.
It comes down to practicing the shortcuts mentioned on here regarding technique and trusting it.
Eg: dogearing your channels will definately cut down on detailing.
Mopping with left hand, with squeegee following straight after in your right hand...not in my case with both hands on glass but one after the other.
Using a damp microfibre/scrim to clean the small openers on windows...not mop/squeegee.
Perfecting your squeegee technique so you remove all water with one pass.
Wearing a pouch to hold your detailing cloths and a bucket for mop and squeegee.
Above all, trusting your method and not staring at the glass for a couple of minutes searching for mistakes.

All this will speed you up...if your 2 beds are close together houses, you will soon be doing, I would expect, 5 an hour. Can you go straight along all the fronts and then devise a quickest route along the backs, taking advantage of flat roofs, gaps in fences etc.
Don`t accept all the hot drinks, ask for water, down it in one, say thanks and move on.
Hope it helps
Steve

[windows_chepstow]

Yesturday I was asked to quote for 4 fairly large houses, one that had Gorgian windows and another with a conservatory.  As I say fairly large.

I normally clean every month, but the conservatory owner said she wanted them done every other month like her last window cleaner did (who no-one's saw since before Christmas).  I had a feeling that I wouldn't really like this customer, so I thought I'd 'charge well' .

Okay then £25 I said for every other month.  She then told me 'How Much?', her last window cleaner charged her £12 for the same job.  I explained that Matt is still window cleaning and he's just dumped his lower priced jobs because they were just too cheap.  I also said we do a top job, are fully covered by public liability insurance, blah blah.

She took us on at more than double her last window cleaner.

I may like her after all!