WindowCleaningForums.co.uk: 2012

Thursday 20 December 2012

Site performance

You may have noticed over the last few weeks we have had issues with the site performance or issues with other areas of the site. These were all due to the update we made, their were several problems as a result of this update.

We have worked endlessly to fix these and on the most part we have, their are still a few niggles that we are trying to iron out, so please be patient with us.

If you come across any problems please let us know via the forum. http://www.windowcleaningforums.co.uk/forum/48-suggestions-feedback/

Sunday 9 December 2012

Starting a window cleaning business

Due to the current hard times of the economy, everyone is looking at ways to keep a float! Many are setting up their own business's, one business is growing in popularity!

Window cleaning, yes i said window cleaning. You may not think it but you can earn a very healthy living with this business as long as you are willing to put in the work like any business model you need to put in to get out!

Below are just a few tips and go to's for setting up a window cleaning business. (we are assuming you are viewing this post as you have search about starting a window cleaning business, so lets jump in)

Starting a window cleaning business

If you decide after reading this and any other info you find that you want to start, you will need to register yourself as self employed this is the UK form you need

https://online.hmrc....fo...mrc.gov.uk

i am not sure about other countries.

This is another site that will give you some great info on the business side of things. Accounting, forming a business name, tax questions etc etc

http://www.businessl...ct...1073858805

Cost of starting

For a very small out lay of a couple of hundred quid you can enter the world of window cleaning

If your going down the Traditional route you will need:

Ladder (3.5m)
Midland Ladders
Bucket from B&Q or similar
Applicator and squeegee (10 inch is good)
Scrim or mircofibre clothes
Bottle of fairy
Pouch to put your cloths and other bits in to keep your hands free
Bucket belt is really handy
lastly
just add water and customers

I wouldn't recommend the use of ladders as there are other safer ways of cleaning windows but for starting out on a tight budget it may be the only option for you.

Benefits of starting

Starting your own business is exiting and frees you from the constraints of your normal job and nagging boss. Your the boss now!

You can start and finish work when you want, work as much or as little as you want and you are in control of how much you earn. You can earn a healthy living with a window cleaning business. At times it is hard work but can keep you healthy for years, all that fresh air and physical exercise.

Once you have built up a decent sized round you are pretty much guarantied a stable and reliable income, yes you will no doubt loose a few customer here and there but you will also gain new ones.

Disadvantages of starting

Although this is a great business to run and own there are things you will find hard.

Freezing winters! the weather is a big factor in this business especialy in winter. At times you will find your equipment frozen if wfp or watr freezing on glass. Working with water in such cold conditions can be hard and at times frustrating.

Annoying customers are another problem you might face, we have all had them at one time or another. Most are fine and pay on time but you will face some that are slow to pay, wont, pay or conveniently are not in all the time. you will have to learn how to deal with these customers but luckily they are few and far between.

Getting customers is another hard and frustrating thing to do when first starting out. It can take some time and can feel like you are getting nowhere but keep at it with flyers, canvasing etc. Once you have a decent amount you will find word of mouth will also kick in and when you are out more cleaning more people will see you.

Equipment needed

Depending on which route you choose to go you will need different equipment.

If you are going down the traditional route (Cheapest) then this is what you will need

Ladder (3.5m)
Bucket from B&Q or similar
Applicator and squeegee (10 inch is good)
Scrim or mircofibre clothes
Bottle of fairy
Pouch to put your cloths and other bits in to keep your hands free
Bucket belt is really handy

If you are going down the Water Fed Pole (wfp) route then you will need:

A baffled water tank.
TDS Meter
A pole and brush.
Pump.
Pump Controller
Filter system, DI and Ro
Leisure battery to power pump
Metal hose reel
100m x 8mm Yellow 'Microbore' Hose
Heavy Duty 'Garden' Hose to connect the tank to pump and pump to hose reel
Connectors clips etc

Again most of this equipment you can find from the suppliers on this page

http://www.windowcle...ms.co.uk/links/

Getting customers

Canvassing/Knocking peoples doors and asking them if they want to use your service

Leaflets/Push a leaflet through someone letterbox,follow up with a knock a few days later gets the best results

Ask your neighbours,friends and family if they dont they may know someone else who does

Put an advert in a shop window

Use the Free listings on the internet like Yell.com, Touchlocal, windowcleaner directory,mylocal and many others out there you can put a listing on for nothing

Sign written van/car even if it has Window cleaner Phone 07xxxxxxxx people who need a window cleaner may see it in supermarket car park or when your round back

These are all good methods of getting noticed and to turn them into customers you need to sell yourself,looking smart and tidy,being polite,closing their gate (not letting it slam) writing down the quote for them with your contact details.

Doing the best job you can will get you recommended to others and recommendation is the best way to get Customers

Pricing

Pricing is always a hard one and can only really be learned as you gain experience, you will no doubt under price and overprice a few jobs, i have!. The main thing to do is work out what you want to earn an hour. many claim they can earn £30-£40 an hour but i would say as a guide £20-£30 is closer to it. This of course all depends on the area etc.

A rough guide to pricing a job is to price standard sized windows at £1 each, bay windows and patio doors at £2 and at the same time look at the job and decide how long it may take keeping in mind you hourly rate. Then with all that you can put a price together.

Record keeping

In the keeping records section

Small note pad to write customers address/name/price and frequency of clean (4-8weeks) keep this in your back pocket with a pen

A Diary,you can buy a A5 one with a day on each page or a week on 2 pages

these are great for starting out as they are easy to carry and cheap to buy as you get more customers you can invest in a computer program like George or window cleaning pro

As well as keeping track of you customers you will also need to keep good clear accounts on expenses and profits etc

Here is some info and templates on basic business record keeping, this should a lot when first starting a window cleaning business.

http://www.businessl...ct...1073860617

Need more advice? the window cleaning forum is a fantastic place to talk to other window cleaners and business owners. Share tips, advice and more!

http://www.windowcleaningforums.co.uk

Tapatalk updated on the forums

We have just installed the update released by Tapatalk which fixes some issues with compatability of the forum software update.

The things fixed in this update are:

fix cannot view past first page
fix edit post turns to HTML Code issue
fix display "quote" thread abnormal
fix quote conversation issue on

I hope this update has fixed some issues users were having.

Forum software update

Hey, so this is our fist post in a while! We are going to try to post more on our blog from now on. Mainly updates about the forum and things we are working on, thinking about, updates etc... We may also look into getting some guest bloggers to post on the blog about window cleaning, the industry and running your own business, fancy it?

Anyway sorry for the sort downtime, the site is now back up and updated, so once again let the posting commence at the window cleaning forum

Monday 18 June 2012

Member of the month!

Yes we are going to have a member of the month! We thought this would b a great addition to the site as we have so many fantastic members and need to be rewarded. The hardest bit is how we are going to decide? Any suggestions?

Saturday 16 June 2012

Our next addition to the site

We are working on a classifieds section for the site to enable user to sell and buy items, rounds, equipment etc.

This system will come with a small charge for listing a for sale add.

We are trying to implement it so that VIP members get to use it for free! and wanted ads will also be free if we can work it.

This is a fantastic tool and i hope will be popular with all our members.
Below are a couple of screen shots so you can see what it will be like.

This system will work similar to ebay very loosely, you will create your listing and pay for it via our system and paypal. then your listing will be live. no additional charges are in place. A listing will last for 30 days with an option to renew it for a reduced fee.

You can then manage all your invoices orders etc via your client panel.

The system will be here but at the moment you may not have permission to view it until we go live with it. http://www.windowcleaningforums.co.uk/classifieds/

Our new links directory

So we have installed a new links directory on the site, this is to better organize the good resources and links to suppliers etc.

This system works well as you can view links via category, comment on the links/suppliers and rate them by stars. In addition to this you will see a side box on the main site page showing the most popular links, rated by hits.

On most links it will also pull a screen shot of the site which is a nice touch.

Check it out here http://www.windowcleaningforums.co.uk/links/