I’ve been on this forum quite a lot in the past few weeks and I really appreciate all the tips and ideas, most importantly the honest no holding back criticism.
Yesterday I went pounding the pavement and landed a whole shopping center. Was so excited to head out this morning. First corner of the building was pretty much 64 large plate windows of “construction clean” in a brand new shopping center with some tenants. The builder/owner was a really great guy about everything but I left the shopping center feeling that my best was a struggle and was not pleased with the overall work. Streaks OMG, I was using my ettore squeegee and the “easy glide” solution. I got so frustrated from the hazy windows that I ended up dumpin the bucket and used plain water. It took me forevah!!! I did finish several small storefront shops also and they were pleased but I was after perfection and didnt feel I got it with my technique. My squeegee was a pain and had to readjust the rubber several times. Water spots in the corners that I just couldnt seem to get to up high. I definitely need to get my equipment better but I’m on a tight budget.
I ve done windows before but as an addition to whole condo cleans when I lived in a tourist town for many years. I only want to focus on windows now.
I know I need more practice, am probably being too hard on myself due to lack of experience but if I charge someone I want them to get the best I can give. Even though I worked my butt off today I still feel like it wasnt the best I could have done. My first day was a disaster to me.
Any suggestions, criticism, comments gladly welcomed.
You can find some videos that can help you out here on WCR. Mr. Sanchez is a lot of help and I think its Alex that had a video that will help you a lot on the proper technique. Its all here I promise. If you have windows that you can practice on at you house then do so. Good luck and hang in there.
Ocean Angel>> Easy glide is great soap in my opinion but if you get the mixture wrong it will haze. you may have more luck getting practice with water and a bit of dawn. the mix ratio is more forgiving i find. But yes practice practice and practice. Just remember the job probably looked worst to you than to the client cuz your looking or perfection, and most clients just want a clean window.
keep trying you’ll get there!
Find a strip mall that has vacant spaces and practice on those windows. You will be able to practice in a real setting without the pressure, plus you can practice your pole work and detailing, essential for storefront route work. Finding tall windows to practice on is kinda hard sometimes so get yourself out to some vacant strip malls. Hope this helps.
Hey Western ext.
If you find your way to Phoenix give me a hollar. I’ve been doing the w/c gig for some 20 yrs now. Perhaps I can show you a tip or two. I’ve gone to strictly high end res. but used to do only storefronts, ground work stuff.
We have all been there man. And we all still have bad days. Stay focused, and more importantly, stay possitive. You recognize where you need to improve. This is the key to doing something right. You always will learn new things, and teach yourself new things. You may have tackled something alittle too large for your first time, but the advice on practice at a vacant store is great advice! Spend a couple hours there and get your solution down, and technique too.
Thanks everyone for the comments, I do appreciate it. I’ve seen many state that they did store fronts but shifted to residential, what are the pros and cons of that from some seasoned wc’s.
THIS IS GREAT ADVICE! This is how I started out. No pressure and no ones gonna complain because its free and the windows will look better regardless of how bad you are at cleaning windows.
I am not that seasoned, only in business for 3 years, but I will chime in on this one.
Storefront really sucks unless you have several of them and you can put them on a route. They are very low in price, its cut throat. BUT, if you get alot of them, it can be very profitable.
Commercial work, or industrial is awesome! You can charge ALOT of money for it and you can get done in a short amount of time with the proper tools. They will sign contracts, which should make your business valuable should you sell it (others will know more about that than me). They will keep you busy in the winter time, which is very important to me…even with pushing rain flow in the winter.
The downer part is that they take between 15 to 35 days to pay. Some have crazy insurance requirements, more than what you already have which can be a pain in the neck. Some even require membership on a insurance monitoring website which has an annual fee.
Residential is bread and butter. In residential, this is a luxury service. So you have alot of leeway for pricing. You can make a ton of money in a short time, making anywhere from 100 to 300 or more per hour. and a huge plus is
YOU GET PAID THE SAME DAY!!!
The down side of that is, it has to be PERFECT (usually). Sometimes you get customers that will follow you around the house the whole time you are there.
Durring the winter time, you get next to nothing unless you push other services like gutter cleaning and protection or pressure washing.
I hate commercial. I only do residential. Yes, you do have to be morecareful and perfection is needed, but i find once the customer knows you, they leave you alone. In my market, average rate of 65 an hr is the going rate. In a 8 hr day i can get around 350-400 depending on location of the houses. I hate commercial cuz you have to really low ball them and even then you can still lose out to another huy with a bucket looking for cash.
