Hello all! I am sure this will be a long boring post, and i apologize, but here goes. I am 40 years old, have a daughter who is a sophomore in college and a son who is a Jr in H.S. i am happily married to their mother for 19+years and she has a good career at a large insurance company. I am a parrs manager at a Ford dealership and have worked in a dealership since i was 20 years old, mainly in the parts dept. I grew up on a farm so have worked hard all my life. The car business has been pretty good to me, although the business gets tougher and tougher eveey year and is a very stressful environment, especially trying to find good help. I have always wanted to find a way to work for myself, and over the years i have casually looked into variois things such as lawncare, and numerous other homebased businesses but haven’t felt confident that it would be worth the risk versus the hoirs/risk involved, as well as meeting heavy resistance from my better half. Things have been extremely stressful as of late, and the other day as i was leaning on my front counter trying to calm down before firing all my guys, lol, i noticed the husband/wife team cleaning our dealershio windows. They have done it for years and i really never thought much about it, i just give them a purchase order when they are done and go on about my day. So then i started thinking “hey, that looks like it might be fun” . So i went to the accounting office and pulled their folder from payables out of curiosity to see what we were paying them. It appears they come abouy every 3 weeks roughly and most times they charge about $189 with eveey 3rd or so visit nearly $400. They dont really write much of a description so not sure why the difference. Id guess they soend between 2.5 and 4 hours near as i can tell. So anyway i decided to do some research which led me here. Now, i make about 72-75k a year, but i work 6:30 am til at least 5:30 pm and sometimes i don’t leave until 6 or later, 5 days a week. Now it is 99% in a climate controlled environment and little to no hard physical labor aside from the occasional manhandling a large hood or bumper around, but very stressful and mentally draining. I am on my wifes insurance, but i do have short and long term disability theough my job. I do have some minor back issues that really only bother me after long periods of no activity, or in other words when ive been kazy and not staying in shape which is a lot since this career seems to be sucking the life out of me. I guess what im looking for is real life straight up advice on wether or not this is a viable option for me to replace the income im used to. I would likely pressure wash decks, siding, driveways etc, as well as clean gutters and possibly snow removal during winters. I am in central Iowa and unless i am searching wrong, i dont see a whole lot of competition advertised in the Des Moines area. I know my work ethic is uo to par, and i am pretty good with talking to people, have a good professional appearance etc i just dont know hiw long it would take as a one man show to get to the level i would need to be comfortable. My thought was to buy some basic tools and practice on family and friends, then maybe just try to get a handful of accoints that i could do an evening here and there or a saturday here or there and feel it out. Just want to know if im on the right track and if so what would be a good “starter set” of gear to get going. I have a very strong competitive spirit as i played sports all my life at a high level and i honestly feel like i can be successful at anything i want to, so long as i have a good variety day to day to keep me interested. I dont think id ever want to build a huge business where i have crews working for me,( although that could change the more successful i become) but mainly i want to work for myself, on my terms, and maybe even create something i could bring my son on board if he wants to and that we could both make a good living doing. Thanks in advance for any advice and sorry for the typos. I had a rough Monday and am exhausted so typing on my phone is a challenge lol!
Do this, then you’ll know if you like it and how much you can make.
get a couple different sizes of squeegees (6",12",18") and a 14 inch t bar and mop from any of the major brands and a bucket and some dish soap and some old cotten towels and you’re off to the races.
If you intend to get into softwash or power washing, it’s not going to be stuff you buy from HomeDepot. There are more risks too, when you add bleach to the equation.
You will need a squeegee or two, different channel sizes, like suggested, A mop, and a small slew of stuff to make life easier.
You will also need some type ladder, and a pole for out of reach windows.
Just really depends on who you plan to service.
Don’t forget liability insurance, a license, and business checking, with a decent accounting program.
I too would suggest easing into something like this. You likely will not “make” 75k your first year, without a TON of working your azz off to get business.
Some guys make good money doing this, other guys just flounder around making less then they could at a job, but don’t care as money isn’t as important to them as working for themselves.
dont start slowly or you wont be really hungry to get the work and because youre not hungry likely wont get it. reading btween the lines this is your mid life crisis point, youre at the blow point.so blow hard at your new career . you need to quit that safe job now
Seems like too big of a change from the norm for a guy mid way through his decently earning career. Just to start at the bottom of a new one with kids, bills, wife, and no guarantees. just because it looks fun. Idk it is more challenging than it looks but you do have business experience. Imo not a great idea. But let’s face it, you’re capt of your own ship. Good luck.
I agree with @jonnyald . If your going to just dabble with a job “here and there” you won’t get off the ground. Do it or don’t, you’ve got responsibilities, better check with the other half and see if she’s committed to being supportive. Your gonna need it for a few years.
Hello and welcome to the forum!
I agree with the “go all in” comments above but you would be wise to do some apprentice work first to see if this is what you really want to do. Unless people really like this type of work and the peaks and valleys lifestyle of a startup they don’t stick with it.
If you decide to make the plunge the fastest way to grow your business is to buy a preexisting business and/or routes. Probably best for financing purposes to do this while you still have the stable job.
$189 for 2.5 to 4 hours for two people doesn’t sound very good. They underbid or they work slow.
If you don’t have your better half on board then you’ve failed before you even started. IMO, It would be difficult to do this with a stressful 5 day per week job and have enough time to be successful at it. Especially if you are going at it alone.
Something you may consider is getting your son fired up to make some money doing it. Learn how to clean windows and train him. If he has an interest in it then he can help with some of the back end business stuff.
I’m in year one and I’m part time. One thing I can say that is surprising is all of the costs associated with running the business legitimately. When i was alone and doing a small storefront route things were super easy and low stress. I hired a friend and the cost of employing him is high with workman’s comp, payroll taxes, payroll fees, and on and on. I’ve laid awake at night a few times wondering if its worth it, but then the next day a big paying job drops into my lap and it suddenly becomes worth it. With that being said, if I lost my day job tomorrow my strategy would have to change drastically to make ends meet with my side business. Not that it isn’t doable, but it would be a very stressful transition.
Good luck!
I would take a vacation, get some mental and physical rest, then revisit this.
You make 75K a year, which is good esp in a two income family. That will be hard to replace quickly doing this. And the hours will likely be longer than what you are doing now.
Secondly, you’re market is Iowa. Your income will become seasonal, which brings about another stress. Working for Ford parts? Not as seasonal (insert cheesy Ford joke here).
You sound burned out and stressed. Take a break and rethink. Perhaps doing something like this on the side would help you to scratch the itch without throwing your financial stability away.
Hey man! Great post.
I have to agree with @IronLionZion. And like @Gotlift said. Both are right on point. It’s a huge change. It is fun and I love my job. I only clean part time as well. I have a couple restaurants weekly and I have filled my weekends up comfortable as well and I’ll tell ya, it’s amazing and there is a great sense of pride but it is tiring. Physically and mentally. Again, like Tommy said, if your doing this alone, your toast to make the income you want with out the hours put in. After a days of physical work, your coming home to all the office work and laundry/shop work.
It is a lot of work.
A good way to get a feel of what it would be like to work as a full time owner(I’m guessing) is to do what I and others are doing. Work full time with kids, pull early 4am start times, work 7 days a week and long days. Quoting jobs, trips to stores, paperwork, laundry. Sound stressful? What I am saying is I feel like this compares to what most of these guys on the forum, who are sole operators are doing in 5 days(and more) running the business 40+ hours… Non stop resposibilties. Stay at Ford or find an easy, relaxing job full time and try cleaning part time. If your willing to put yourself through shit in the beginning, eventually it will pay off. But then you are back to what @IronLionZion said about change.
You will want to blow your head off.
Or you may enjoy it. I know I do.
Thanks everyone for the responses. I may not have stated my case as clearly as i had planned to. I definitely would just try to get a couple jobs working 2 or 3 saturdays a month to get a feel for it. I have many many contacts, both business-wise as well as residential whom i am confident would hire me and be good supporters in getting my name out should i decide to go for it. I understand this is still no guarantee and am fully aware of the leg work it will take on a daily basis to keep after the marketing and accounting side of things. Yes, a vacation would definitely help. I have tried some different aspects of the parts biz ober the last 4 or so years, including collision parts at a huge dealership, as well as an outside sales route covering 2/3 of the state,onlyto come back to my long time place of employment as parts manager under new ownership. I am very good at what i do, and am oretty sure i can land a other gigin the parts world should things not work out, and have been searching for a way to work for myself for many many years. I honestly just think i am to the point where i will not be happy unless i try something different. I just need to find that something. I am a ways away from even attempting this even as a side job in any scale. I am one of those people who study and analyze every aspect of everything i do. Hell i research for hours on end before even a family vacation to the point that when we get to our destination and go on an excursion i can almost guide the tour better than the people giving it lol! I really do appreciate the feedback and i have already ordered the window cleaners book, and plan to also order the profit first book, as well as study youtube and this forum extensively before i decide if i will gibe it a shot or not. Hell even if i can spend a couple bills on some tools and just get a couple accoints a month to just make some fun money mayne thats all i will want. We shall see. Thanks again!
@FordGuy There are guys that work by themselves part time and make this business work. It can be done.
As mentioned above, clean a couple of friends houses and see how you like it. Then you can decide if you want to make this your career change. The good news…You already have a good paying job. You are not losing anything by trying window cleaning out.
Keep us posted on your success!
2 great books!
one idea might be to show this thread to your boss… how will he react ?? id find it funny if instead of him saying thats a good idea buddy he said "you miserable bastard after all weve done for you, get out of here right now "
it could be the catalyst . i sense you need to get out of your comfort zone
Lol well that’s part of the issue. He is a yoing guy and this is his first GM gig in a dealership. All he knows is the sales side and all the service guys whine and bitch and he is the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” type. So today i brought that up and followed it by saying a squeaky wheel is better than having your whole engine quit on you. It drew crickets lol. I have always busted my ass and never ever whined or bitched- just went on and made things right. As good as I am at my job, i may not be the best boss because i expect everyone to jave my same pride and relentless work ethic and am not good at voicing it ober and over again. I just get pissed and do everything myself so I know it gets done properly. Makes for a lot of stress and a lot of empty Busch Light cans lmao!
Maybe you can call into the Dave Ramsey Show and ask him. It would be tough to replace that kind of salary + health insurance and retirement cleaning windows. I would need to clear $125K to replace my full-time job with window cleaning.
I got so much to say but don’t know how to say it. lol. I guess goodluck man, if anything you’ll have two awesome books to read. lol
