I’m new WC as well as this forum. I’ve been all over this site for a few days now, and I must say that you all provide a wealth of information. For about a year now, I’ve been thinking of entering this industry. However, when I was hired by my job last summer after I finished college, my need for a stable income, health benefits, etc. overshadowed by desire to start a WC business at that moment in time. These past few months, now that I am comfortable and settled into my new career, I have reinvested a lot of time and interest into the prospect. My main question is; Is it reasonable for me to operate this business on a part-time basis, if I’m realistic with my goals, earning potential, etc.? My career is with a local government (NYC) with outstanding benefits, pension, job stability and decent salary with scheduled increases each year. My work stays at work, leaving my off-time at home to be all mine. I have 2-3 days off each week, and I work evenings/nights leaving the day time open for me. I would like to operate my business mainly for fun, diversity and some extra income (not meant to replace my salary). I would like to do the work myself with the aid of a close friend. I would be able to reinvest most if not all of the income from WC back into the business. I am currently working on a business plan, and practicing the actual cleaning aspect of the trade on a variety of different homes belonging to my friends/family. At 23, I find myself disgusted with the idea of spending my free time unproductively. I like to think of myself as organized and hard-working, but do not want to get myself into a business that I will not be able to operate efficiently and effectively under my situation, no matter how appealing. I’m ready to plan, prepare and work. Is this part-time operation feasible, or am I setting myself up for disappointment? Any of your personal experiences/feedback will be tremendously appreciated. Thank you all.
Welcome Morgan! If you want to do wcing part time then go for it. You seem to have a well thought out plan of action. One thing that can greatly aid a part time business to get more done in a shorter time is waterfed pole and pure water. Do as much research on it as you can on that and invest as much of your funds as you can in top notch equipment. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Morgan, are you a Fireman? Your situation sounds very familiar to me. That is exactly how I started. I wanted to make like $100/day two or three days per week. It has turned into so much more than that. But it is totally feasible for one to do part time. I have a few part-timers that work for me, as well as most of my competition (friendly) is part-time. Good Luck. Welcome to the best place to shoot the &*$@# about window cleaning.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes and words of encouragement. I’ll definitely be spending quite a bit of time sifting through this forum and its posts in the days to come.
IDOWINDOWS, I’m not a fireman, I come from the other side of the aisle…PD. However, I should add we just beat FD in the annual football game
I’ll be sure to update as I attempt to make this business a reality for me!
Sorry fellas, but I have to disagree. Maybe I just didnt have the correct way of organizing things but when I tried to do this part time, I really did not make too much money at all. I think that owning a business, at least in my experiance, demands all of your attention…marketing, customer attention, scheduling to benifit them etc…
Many of you have done it, so it must be possible…but really difficult.
I am NYPD but no, can’t account for either of those photos. However, on a side note, the time-stamp on them happens to be my 22nd birthday, hah.
thorSG1, I appreciate your honest response. I do see the difficulty and hard(er) work that is required in doing this part-time. I feel after I complete my business plan laying everything out, I’ll be able to decide if its feasible for me to take on the task.
I new I smelled a public servant. I have a knack for telling that about people. Anyways, glad to have you here on WCR. Thank you for your service, too. I wish you nothing but the best luck with window cleaning. BTW, you Irish or Italian, or something totally different? Just curious!
[B]I’ll have to tell you Tory, it wasn’t easy. I was only able to do it 2-3 days per week at first. I am fortunate because I can literally run my business from the fire station, when we aren’t busy. Unfortunately, we usually are busy. But some days I get in a good 5-6 hours of office time. Others----NONE, Zero, ZIP, nothing but calls all day. It’s a crap shoot. I was lucky enough, as well as persistent enough, to find enough work for my employees to do when I am at the station. We run full-time hours now. I have been up and down with the staffing levels in the last three years, but as the market goes, so does my employee status.
You hit the nail on the head when you said it takes a lot of time and devotion to run a business. It really does. One could get in-over-head quickly in this business. But ask a lot of the guys here. They started part-time and got so busy that it was only natural to make the next step into full-time work.[/B]
IDOWINDOWS,
thanks for that and the nice welcome. No, I break the typical NYPD mold! I’m actually French (the first generation of my family here).
I’m on the start-up cost analysis phase of my planning, and I’ve come up with a little problem on a number for trade supplies/equipment. I have no issue with buying the best equipment, if its within or close to my budget…if only I knew that that equipment was. I know what I need, but clueless on what manufacturers/companies to get it from. I’ve seen several lists, including the one from the [I]johnnycleanwindows [/I]manual I got from this forum. For anyone familiar, would that be an accurate list? I’ve seen the starter kits on this forum, can anyone recommend any of them? I’m aiming for about a $350 budget as a total for starting equipment/supplies, but that number is flexible. I’d like to apologize if a similar question has already been answered, the more I search through the forum, the more answers I find…I suppose I just haven’t found this one yet. However, I bet that soon after I click Submit, I will find it Thanks in advance.
I think your best bet is to talk to Chris and Alex and tell them the kind of work you’re thinking about and they can steer you in the right direction! They know how to run a lean, mean operation!
Hey Morgan, I just read your post and would like to say thank you for thinking out loud and sharing your questions. I joined the forum today and posted here today for the first time. I am asking many of the same questions you are. I am just begining to research this business and I was very happy to here your positive report on this forum. It appears to be very helpful. Anyway, best wishes to you. You sound like a very bright and driven young person. I am sure you will succeed no matter what direction you choose. God Bless.
I think if you put the same effort that you put into your public service and window cleaning posts, then you will find yourself success in your part-time business venture. There will soon be a day very soon were you are debating whether or not to make your venture a full-time one. There is a lot of dirty glass in the America that are left-uncleaned and you will find clever ways to offer complimentary services that will help your business grow very fast.
I started my company over three years ago as a part-time venture while I was finishing college, and it turned out to be such a blessing that I started it and don’t regret it one bit.
I’m said go for it. Just don’t plan on having a social life for a while as it will be quite a work load.
Good luck
Oh yeah, are you going to be in the city or suburban areas. What will your target market be? residential? store-front?
Thanks in advance.
