Yup. Super hippie place that only uses vinegar to clean anything. I just stopped doing it since november. It was 2 hours of work for $30. They’re also never open during open hours, so it got frustrating buying ecover for one storefront once a month. They read the label and said there were petroleum products in it, so they don’t want me using it… The owner drives a Sequoia… I just taught the owner how to do their counter glass for a chunk of change. I’ll still do the exteriors on occasion.
Just starting out is key here. Perhaps agree to his terms under the condition that after four cleans to see the quality of your service he agrees to your terms from that point forward. (He will then be removed from his present service and getting accustomed to yours.) Negotiating skills come in handy for folks like this. Plus, you won’t land every job you bid, but I know what it’s like to not have anything else lined up. But, five minutes from now hasn’t happened yet.
And quite honestly more than likely the guy they have now has a drug problem. Who else has the balls to ask for an advance on $10 job. So he is feeding his hadit.
So me personally would have no shame in my game telling him straight up the deal if the guy is trying to hold me to thats guys pay scale .
The truth hurts but hey these storefront people sometimes try to hold you to other people’s standards
the guy up the block will do it for half … Oh really cool well if your into supporting someone’s drug habit them go ahead use him. If you want me a prifessuonal who runs a legate business pays taxes has insurance has references them the price will be more
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I got a call like this once . Went like : out last window cleaner did it for 15 but he went out of business . You think you can do it for the same price ? Yeah really NO.
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No, don’t want to follow in his foot steps.
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Exactly !
Who knows…The other guy might have drove an hour to that $10 job. Don’t feel bad. Tell them how much you charge with confidence. You got this!
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when you first start out it IS important to get work to boost your confidence. but if you go in low priced you feel like youre a loser right from the start. and its clutching at straws to take someones elses sh/tty job . Dont become"the desperado" else youll be quitting by end of year 1
better to do a thoroughly good and proper hunt for work with a real big and ruthless flyer dole out / doorknock over many weeks - where you are dead on your feet by the end of it. this will launch you properly
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Great post Jonny!
Thanks for the advice everyone, I guess it’s hard to price storefronts that only have 4 or 5 windows. How do you tell a business owner that you want $20-30 to do a 15 minute job. I guess I’ll have to establish some minimum charges.
“It looks like it’ll be $15. That’s our minimum.”
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think about what they charge for their service or product and what others charge for theirs.
how much to get an electrician or repair man to your house. here it will run around $100 for a 10 service call.
get your head out of the wage earner mindset.
i know i spend lots of time working that’s not cleaning glass or “billable”.
all that time, prospecting, travel, book keeping, EVERYTHING needs to be included.
so let’s say as an example you had an emplyee to do the work at 10 bucks an hour and a sales person to sell at 10 bucks an hour.
lets say they go out for a day and get 10 jobs in a day at 20 each. you get 200 and pay out 200 and still have all your other fixed expenses to cover and no profit.
a mechanic might make $20 per hour but the shop charges 125 an hour for labour
plumber $20 per hour but the company he works for charges $80 per hour.
lawyers charge alot BUT they don’t get to bill every hour of every day.
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That is the hardest part for most people starting out.
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This is so true. What “sounds like” a great wage to charge, like $75 per hour, doesn’t look so great once all of the deductions to get there are met. Have to figure all costs.
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Right!
Plus profit!
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ok here is an idea for solo guys that might help with pricing,
PRETEND your are an employee who to make $10 bucks an hour (example only)
your boss has sent you to price and do these windows.
it’s on your route so let’s say travel time, set up, break down is only 10 minutes
plus 15 minutes to do the job.
so he owes you 4.17
he has vehicle depreciation repairs and insurance.
he has your compensation insurance
he can’t easily bil the customer for your travel.
has has to pay a bookeeperr, accountant, software and internet expense, advertising.
he has to pay you travel to first job back to shop from last.
he has to pay you a 30 minute lunch break.
in an eight hour day you do apporoximatley 16 of those jobs.
cost to boss for you is $80
plus all that other expense.
he can only bill for aproximately half your day (nose to glass time)
so YOU cost him $20 per hour for nose to glass time plus he has to pay for all that other stuff AND earn a profit.
when i deall with customer that are corncerned with price and they’re already near my minimum i tell them flat out most of the money is just for me to get here! doing 10 windows vs 8 is nothing.
NOW pretend your the boss.
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That’s really the biggest factor.
OP: It’s OK to do a single window shop for 5 bucks, as long as that window is right next to another shop you are cleaning for 50.
You don’t have to have a minimum charge for any given job, but you should build your small jobs around “anchors” - larger, better paying jobs that justify the trip. Keep the small jobs on the same schedule as your large one and it’s a great way to boost your daily wages.
As an example: I clean a Chiropractic office once a month for 65 dollars in and out. I also clean three small 3-window shops in the same strip for ten dollars each. The Chiropractic office came first cause I’d never drive out there for ten bucks, but an extra 30 bucks for the fifteen minutes it takes to clean those three small shops is great.
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Samuel thats good advice that gets overlook many times.
That is the way i run it get the “anchors” in place then build off of that.
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I completely understand that when you are starting out you need to fill your books fast & get a bit of cashflow going, so its only natural to take on some jobs as a newbie that you know are a little low priced - - but you should ALWAYS make a profit on EVERY job, even if it is small. Going to work should never cost you money. You should invest the time you would have wasted on that $10 job and put it into pounding the streets, talking to ppl, handing out flyers and getting decent work.
I learned that doing a job just to get my foot in the door, or on the promise that it would lead to more work rarely pays off, especially when its ppl who are tight on the price telling you that “If you’re good there’s loads more stores” - - if price is their focus now, its probably always going to be the deciding factor for them & you’re better off without that type of customer.
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Is this store in a geography that you would like to penetrate? I wouldn’t go out of my way for $10, but if the store is in a good location, and I planned on canvassing that area anyway, I would consider it. Only because I would have gone to that plaza for free anyway, and 4 straightforward panes should be quick to knock out (famous last words).
Just a thought…
