Ok guys. I’ve been digging around this site, watching youtube videos, bought a damn book- you name it. I freaking see windows in my dreams. I try to fly price window washing while driving through town, and for the love of god I cannot unsee a damn dirty window. Lol. I’m going window crazy and I need to finally put feet to ground. I need to get washing. So here’s a list of some of my final questions before I officially start:
Store Front windows with those decals/signage… special treatment? Just wash and squeegee per usual?
-Whats your list of absolute NEED to have for starting out?
-Anyone working out of a sedan? I plan to upgrade to a truck as soon as humanely possible but for now- i have what I have. How can I accommodate?
-Do you or should you bring water for washing to your worksite? I know this sounds silly because most homes have an outside hookup. But what if they don’t have it on? Especially because its winter? Do you tell clients you have to use their water (Water costs money and maybe they dont realize I’m going to use theirs?)
-Hard water? How to test? Does it matter? (Lots of well water up here)
-Necessary to have a legit business before beginning? Aka, LLC and insurance?
-Wintertime. Do you shovel a path around the home to get to the windows and up the price or insist on the client having snow cleared if your doing winter window washing? (I know business dwindles in the winter a bit…)
-Best business advice you can give to a newb?
I think those are the big ones. I mean, ideally I’m a watch and learn in person and ask a million questions kind of learner- so bare with me. I apologize for all the questions (and the million more I’m sure will come) but I appreciate you, your time and your knowledge! Thank you.
The best advice I can give you is to not worry about 90% of the questions you have. I’d say all you need is a mop, squeegee some abrasive pads, a razor and micro fiber towels. Start asking for referrals to get you started, and practice a lot on your own windows. Start with residential work by knocking and leaving door hangers. The most important thing you can do to find clients is flap your gums, so hit the streets!
Call jordie (862) 312-2633
He’ll get you what you need to start out and wont push you to buy somthing you don’t need.
Yes mop and squeegee window decals
You just have to remember that decal is sticking out off the glass just a little bit so after you squeegee the entire outside edge of the decal will be holding just a little bit of water
So you have to take your towel and detail all of the edges of the decal
Bring your water dont bring your water.
Shovel snow don’t shovel snow.
Those are just personal choices for your business
Unless your using a WFP I wouldn’t worry about hard water
As far as newbie advise. Your wanting to start a buisness for some reason and its to improve your life in some way! When things get tuff and you fail at somthing, or somthing just dosnt go your way. Remember why you started in the first place! It’ll help you get through! Good Luck
I’ll tell you things I did after my first job to make it easier on myself.
Got insurance immediately. (You can chance it but it’s just not worth it to me. I haven’t had to use it since I’ve got it and that was 5 years ago but I would be terrified not to have it. Plus a few of my businesses require that I have it)
Bought a 6 inch scraper (learn about different windows and how they react to being scraped, especially exposed low-e and tempered glass)
Get a t-bar/mop/scrubber whatever they are called that swivel. The same with a squeegee. That may be the biggest time saver I invested in. Trying straight pulls with fixed tbar and squeegee was a nightmare on stuff that wasn’t straight in front of me or if it had obstructions.
I have pump sprayers from Lowe’s that I fill with water and put dawn in and I carry an old antifreeze jug full of water just incase I run out or don’t have access to a spigot.
I worked out of my Camry for 5 years before getting a truck just a few months ago. It can be done and not be too restrictive.
Those are just a few things that I can suggest besides actually working on your technique. That comes in time.
There are starter kits on here you can buy that are awesome. One of the better purchases I ever made was the Unger indoor kit with the green pads that helped me out with streaks I would leave sometimes. Just spray a little invisible glass on the pads and wipe off the streaks. You can maintain indoor windows with it if they don’t get too bad and it can save some time in the future.
If you want a cheap TDS meter…there is a product sold called Zero Water-- it is a water filter pitcher. Included is a TDS meter (the zero pure brings the tap water to 0ppm for pure water drinking)-- I think I paid 14 dollars for the Zero Water and TDS meter. Lol it’s a win win for me, I drink a gallon a day and needed it to test my TDS from my tank from time to time.
As for insurance, you might as well. Now I know and have worked for guys in the past who didn’t get insurance for years. While they didn’t have any accidents, I think peace of mind is worth it-- for you and your potential clients. Even a 250k policy is better than none (although I recommend 2mil , it’s a nice number many contractors may want-- but 250k can land you big jobs as well)-- and I did a quote, it was not expensive at all over 6 months.
Good luck, and remember-- It’s just window cleaning. Nothing more than that. Keep it simple
Do not get caught up in “I need this brand new huge truck”. Trust me. You can clean windows out of a old 90’s Jetta and fit 3-4 pieces of 6 foot ladder in it. I worked with my friend’s dad that is how he did it for years. Worked for him. Another buddy of mine started his business out of a 2003 Toyota Camry for 6 years, then got a Highlander, etc… I did work (and almost any 1st story windows) out of my 1996 caprice before I bought my Nissan Frontier. Hell, I see window cleaners doing stores on BICYCLES.
People can say “well that isn’t professional” and scoff, but hey, we don’t know their story-- and sometimes that’s all you have. As long as you aren’t pulling up in a rusted pile of junk that backfired when you turn off the ignition (Think of the movie “Uncle Buck” with John Candy lol) – you’re fine. Clean cut in appearance and being friendly and confident in your ability to clean their windows is what matters in my opinion. You can have a 30k truck and not know what the hell you are doing and the guy with the old 90’s pickup is working on millionaires homes-- they don’t care what he/she drives, they want to know they are RELIABLE and DEPENDABLE. Treat every house like your grandmother’s. Customers WILL notice, and like that quality. And they will tell their friends and family. You would want it to be a REFERRAL and not a COMPLAINT.
You can work out of the sedan no problem. Do your seats in the back fold down? You can put up to a 7 foot ladder in the “middle” of the vehicle-- granted the tip will be close to your shifter if you have an automatic/manual with a console shifter. But totally doable. Depends on how large your sedan is… One of my best friends built up a 700+ residential window cleaning business out of a Camry. If there is a will, there is a way
One of my main issues with the sedan is the ladder issue. I have two kiddos so they need to fit in the car with any equipment I have (so I dont have to either take out their carseats or take out the gear if I ever need to get them early for any reason or anything like that). I personally would like to steer clear from using a ladder if at all possible (mostly have two story and some three story residential and commercial properties in my area) but dont know if that’s realistic.
