Be sure to read that question with a tone of surprise in your voice and with a slight look on your face of having just smelled something unpleasant.
We all know why we so this, so this post isn’t asking you the reason why you do it. Instead, wondering if you guys get asked this question all the time by customers like i do. Honestly, at least half if not proly two thirds of customers ask me how (the heck) i got into window cleaning. I don’t get why this interests people so much. Maybe i just don’t look like someone who’d be cleaning windows? (I need some tattoos and a beard )
i did pest control for 10 years. our family always lived paycheck to paycheck (family of four on $34000 a year) i started listening to dave ramsey and from time to time he would talk to a caller and tell them “you don’t have a debt problem, you have an income problem” he tells people if they need to to get a second or a third job. i started looking for what else i could do on nights and weekends, and every day i went to work i drove past this flower shop with these big plate glass windows. i thought to myself “self, you could go in and offer to clean their windows” so i stated going into stores after work and on saturdays and putting fliers out on homes. a fellow at our church had retired from window cleaning so i spent an hour picking his brain. i discovered that it’s possible to make a living cleaning windows, so i gave my notice at work and started full time in december (worst time of year to start a window cleaning business)
I went to a quick serve restaurant for dinner and noticed their tile and grout was grimy, so I asked the cashier about it, turns out it was a manager and the owner was opening up another restaurant in two days and needed the windows cleaned in all three locations, she asked if I did windows too, to which I replied Yes.
Emailed them a quote, got the contract, been doing it since and looking forward to servicing their fourth location next year.
I always get asked that question. My two answers I always give are, I got tired of working on aircraft and working with and for people. I retired from the Air Force wit my A&P licensed and continued working on planes and quickly realized I hated it. So here I am cleaning windows when I feel like working.
After working in a factory for nearly four years. I decided I value my life more than that and thought about working for myself, be my own boss. So I went for window cleaning and that’s me went full time this week.
Sitting in a barber shop for the brothas, i watched one of the barbers wash the glass while i got my cut. They all cracked on him about doing a shit job and said i bet this white boy can do a better job than you… I took that bet. Redid his work. Owned it. Got my hairscut for free, and took the 20$ they all anted up. And set me up to come back every week. I had fun and made some bread, said fuck it that was too easy, ill roll with this lol. And 15 years later…
i don’t think i’ve ever been asked how i got into it but i am frequently asked how long i’ve been doing it. maybe nest time i’ll answer “well your my first customer!”
I made friends with someone from Nantucket, they told me about how well window cleaning paid there. After I came back from living abroad for a year, I couldn’t get work anywhere here in Orlando so I reached out to my friend from Nantucket, he gave me a few numbers and I ended up working for Paul West for one season. Eventually he booted me to his carpet cleaning division. Then I met my wife and after a year being married, we moved to Florida and started our window cleaning business.
Window cleaning led me to my wife. All thanks to a man from Nantucket lol
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