So, im looking for more freedom and remove my fiancé from her boring job. Weve layed out a plan, secured funds, done months of research and are ready to start window cleaning/pressure washing this spring!
Here’s my issue: I live in a city/town with a population of approx 110,000 where the avg income according to census last year is 38k. The avg home here is 170k. 26% of the population are aged 23 to 45, and a whopping 23% are 65 plus. I knew moving here would allow me to provide a service based buisness due to population age.
Residential pricing: Many homes here are single level, with no more than 10 panes. Im trying to set a minimum price that is comensurate with the data im looking at. Bare in mind this is myself and my chick working it, no employee costs planned immediately. Does 65$ minimum sound ridiculously low? Thats 65$ exterior only, no screens or tracks, for literally in some cases 5 windows.
I’ll just start this off like this - Window cleaning is a luxury service; although businesses do need to maintain the appearance of stores, with $38k as the average income, you may not be able to expect too much business or too much per job. Cost of business expenses - vehicle gas and maintenance, insurance, upkeep and replacement of equipment, salary for two people - well, business is business. How far will you travel for work? How far is the next town or city with a higher average income? (Disposable income). Remember, some folks just won’t pay for home services like housekeepers, window washing, pool maintenance, etc.
Like @Garry said… I would be a little concerned about that 38k avg income.
I would research some neighboring towns. I live in a fairly low-income town, for example, but 30 minutes down the road is an ultra-high-income town. We worked primarily in that high-income town and rarely got work in the town we were based out of.
You’ll have to do some experimenting with your prices and see what sticks. In our area, I’ve seen standard double-hung windows vary greatly in price cleaned. Anywhere from $10 - $25 in and out.
$65 does seem a little low, but it’s hard to say without knowing your area and what you are comfortable making. In our area, our minimum was $125, but the average homes have 30 windows, not 10.
$65 does sound a little low, but like you say, small homes with only a few windows. If you string several of those together in order to make a decent wage, then it may work.
Do look beyond your near area. It may be worth driving 30-40 minutes if you can land larger homes that would be $500 - $1,000 each. Keep notes on the jobs that you do, like time spent on the job, tools used, tools needed. Google what the home last sold for, that will give you a better idea of disposable income instead of “average income”. Multiply the minutes it took to do the job - say 120 minutes (2 hours) by $1.67, that should put you at around $100 per hr. 120 x $1.67 = $198.00. If it only takes 50 minutes … 50 x $1.67 = $83.50 … You could probably 5 of those a day = $417.50. Soon you will figure out a good per window price to charge (charge for screens too) and then you can know the cost of a job by the number of windows and screens.
Congrats on your endeavor!
As others mentioned, a few of those figures are a little concerning. But it sounds like you don’t mind a challenge. I was wondering about these things:
When you do a Google search for similar services, does it look like your area is already supporting window cleaning or pressure washing businesses? Are they thriving with many reviews?
While you don’t NEED super large homes with tons of glass nearby, you should have enough people with extra money to spend. Do you have that, from what you see?
If there are few legit companies listed online, I would worry that you might be competing with bucket Bob beer money guys.
Are there any gated communities? Golf courses?
Yes, $65 for small home sounds low, even for a new guy. Remember you have taxes, insurance, gas, etc.
A neighboring town is out of the question, the next large city is hours away. With regards to sustainable companies, there is one thays been in operation since 1985, another that 4 years old. Then a few Joe Blows.
What my expectation is, first of all is not to be the 99$ guy, yet as mentioned above, i feel as though if i string together 5 or 6 a day to start, ie: 300ish dolllars. Then im content. That would eb solely for window services, not the soft wash and surface washing im interested in doing. I will not promote those services fully, until i see there is a market for it. A simple downstream setup is reasonable in price, but i dont want to bleed money right away on equipment.
My thought, is thay perhaps the long standing compamy has a monopoly, yet not a stonghold. Im not one to undercut, rather service with a smile and the possibility of additional services i know theyre not offering.
Yeah that’s a little low , I would start higher maybe around $120 and offer to do inside out screens tracks on them 5 casement windows .
It’s better to start high and maybe go lower than go low and trying to go up , you’ll get push back.
