Have an opportunity, but I need some help getting started!

Newbie Corner
1

Hello everyone,

So I am a 25 year old guy and usually a full time employee, 7am-5pm, but I have been part-time the last month due some weird circumstances at my work. I don’t mind it because I needed a break from the place, it’s just sitting in an office all day, really mentally draining and I don’t love the cubicle life. And now my employer if offering me to come back on full-time or continue part-time, including an earlier start and exit, so only like 6am-10am M-F. Well in the last month I have kinda been on this hunt for something better than this life. I have always liked to work, but sitting around is as soul sucking as it gets. I miss working seasonal jobs when I was in college where I would actually be on my feet and doing things all day, leading to time flying and feeling healthy. And I was not making hardly any money for the labor I was doing. Okay, trying not to ramble too much here. So I came across this forum from searching around for how to make money working for yourself or something similar. I didn’t make an account initially which I am regretting because there are so many things I could have been bookmarking and keeping track of. Anyway, I want to stay working for my company, but I do not mind the minimized role. It is less money, but the benefits are still in full. What I am excited to do is cut my teeth and get a solo business off the ground.

So here is where I need your help. I have been using the search function to find some older posts about what I need for bare essentials to get up and going. Some of the most well received posts I was able to find have links that are now dead so I can’t find the products properly online. I was considering just going to one of the starter kits and just picking and choosing which products from the kit I need most and buying individually locally.

I am not wanting to spend much more than $200 to get up and going as my savings at the moment are not fantastic. I am not strapped for cash, but I am not wanting to sink $1k+ and struggle to make any money whatsoever. I am wanting to start with a small setup and reinvest the money I make from my initial jobs into a higher quality setup. I rather get by to start with the bare bones and make a few hundred bucks, then promptly reinvest that cash into a more complete setup than throw a ton of money at it without having ever cleaned a window.

I know this might be frowned upon here, but I would really like to make my initial purchases locally rather than online. I am in a fairly large suburb in the midwest, so there are big stores with related products around, aka Home Depot and Lowe’s.

So right now I am wanting to do residential and storefronts, but I want a simple setup that can work on both categories. These are the items I have concluded I definitely need:

Bucket w/ lid
Squeegee handle (I have a hard time finding this in stores)
6" channel
12" channel
18" channel
Couple 12 packs of rubber for the channels
Mop and T-Bar, (I do not know what sizes of those I need)
Bucket on a belt
Belt
Towels (surgical)
Dawn dish soap
2" chip brush
Maybe a ladder? (I drive a sedan so I would need one that can fit in the car)

Other than that list, I need to make a sole proprietorship and get some insurance, correct? I have seen some people say they started without any insurance, but I am not sure that’s such a good idea. I figure I need some general liability.

That about covers it I think. I look forward to hearing from the community, and thank you all very much in advance for reading and replying!

2

If you can spend $270, then I’d get this starter kit. Even though you could buy HD material, this will last a lot longer and produce better results.

2 Likes
3

Thank you sir, that actually seemed like a pretty reasonable price! Should I just focus on one story homes and first floor business or should I also invest in a ladder?

And I’ve seen a few, but are there any instructional videos you’d recommend I watch before heading out and marketing my area?

Also, I’m just gonna go ahead and purchase that $270 kit, any idea how long delivery takes? Do local places sell those surgical towels or do I need to buy them on here?

4

Buy the Recycled towels here. The folks in our Warehouse manually sift through the towels and remove any with holes or defects, so you’ll be getting the best of the best.

Shipping depends on your location. 3-5 business days generally.

If you’re doing residential, you’ll need a ladder. With a sedan, that might be an issue.

There are lots of instructional videos on YT.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU4ebqkNHj7c6iJcu5GhP1Q?view_as=subscriber

1 Like
5
1 Like
6

Wow that’s a really quick turnaround, I’m going to go ahead and do that! Maybe I can stick to going to door to door at one story homes and single story storefronts and figure out if I can fit a ladder!

Do you have a preferred marketing method to start getting customers? I’m going to be a one man show in a fairly large suburb in the Midwest, and it’s a wealthy county, tons of neighborhoods with homes $250,000-$500,000+

7

Many of my friends have established very good businesses using door hangers.

You can order them here and after checkout, upload your artwork, or have Jill and Steve edit them for you at an extra cost.

@stevefischgrund
@Jillian
@At_Cost_Printing

2 Likes
8

Thanks, Jordie!

It is true, I have heard very good things about using the 5-around technique. Do one house, 5 of their neighbors get a door hanger with an estimate on the back. Please let us know if you have any questions, we are here for all your printing needs =)

1 Like
9

We are also offering free edit services for new customers! Please email me at [email protected] for more info!

1 Like
10

Doorhangers are the best way to market your residential window cleaning business. They’re relatively cheap, pound the pavement putting them out.

No work booked? Put out doorhangers until you can’t walk.

Working in a great neighborhood that looks like your target market? 5-Around, and then walk around putting more doorhangers out.

Keep the kit simple as far as squeegees are concerned, get a 4’ step ladder and a 22’ multi ladder, 8’ pole for any out of the way residential work and you’ll also be able to do most storefront work with an 8’ pole as well.

And get everything but your ladders through WCR, prices are great, shipping is fast, most important: the products are all quality and will last you much longer than any hardware store gear.

11

Yeah I’ve definitely decided to buy from here, they really do have everything. Do you think the $270 Pulex starter kit recommended above is a solid kit? That’s the one I’m leaning towards as well as some of the surgical towels and then buying a ladder I can fit in my sedan.

12

Anything any of the “salesman” that work with WCR is going to be top quality and help you out.

First and foremost they were or still are window cleaners, they know what is best in the field and they won’t just sell you what you don’t need.

I think we all started on a shoestring budget, so we know that every dollar spent needs to be spent wisely.

1 Like