Anyone out there do Christmas lights? Just thought to add it to the list for the holidays.
How much do you charge??
Starting to advertise this so I need to know 
I charge so i can make around 100 to 150 per hour.
You just kinda got to bid your jobs on how long it will take you to hang the lights.
my average job takes 2 hours or so and i make $300.00
that price includes removal too.
Jan. is slow, so it is a good time to take down the lights, it isnt like you will be working anyways.
the price i quoted is for labor only as i do not supply the lights.timers or cords.
I charge based on the footage of lights installed on the home. Its a formula that I know gets me what I need hourly for my work. I do supply lights, chords, timers, etc. My jobs usually net me a little more than window cleaning. I also increase my fees for difficulty of the job.
Have some that are as cheap as $150 (this is my minimum).
Have others that spend $3000/year.
And many in between.
Take a lesson from Kevin Dubrosky, Paneless Perfection, Inc., and advertise with the intent that you are the best therefore your prices should be representative of the quality of work you perform. High quality=high pay.
Wow!
That seems like a lot of money! I think I would be losing a lot of customers by basically charging $100 dollars an hour. I know some people would pay that much as money is no issue for some but that still seems kinda ridiculous. I’d be happy with $40-50 per hour. Thanks for the advice though
The clear choice… you should read kevins window cleaning book “the naked window cleaner” or visit his website. alot of his stuff brings you to your next point in growth! oh, this is all in regards to your “I’d be happy with $40-50 per hour” 
I know that we all like to be paid well for our services and we should ask for what we think we deserve,but at some point its too much. Ive gone the pricey route before and many customers just wouldnt have it. Now we just do a complete cleaning for a flat cost per window. This includes screen washing everything. Ive tried upselling, adding things to the estimate, little extras but thats not my thing. I want to be affordable to more people. $50.00 an hour is great, anything more than that for window cleaning or Christmas lights is just plain greedy. if I can do the job faster and make more than $50 an hour, great but $150 per hour— c’mon! Thank you for your advice and I will check out the website.
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I can see your side of things, but I agree with Josh. Get Kevin’s book. Its not all about the money that you’ll be making, but how you make it. I’m not the kind of owner that built my company on the backs of a dozen $7/hr employees, but if thats what it takes for others, then why not? I think that the $50/hr thing is fine if that is all you ever want to make, but why not try new things to make more doing the same type of work. No gimmicks, no tricks or bait and switch. There are just better ideas out there that make sense for business like ours. Kevin’s point would be (hope you don’t mind me paraphrasing you here Kevin) that why make $50/hr for more people when you can make $150/hr for less people, more often. You’ll still come out ahead. He’s right, at least in my experience.
Hey thanks for the encouragement and advice. I suppose having never done light hanging for money I’m not too sure how much you can get done in an hour. Ive got my first job lined up and I think Im just gonna size it up and charge what I think is suitable. Based on the outcome I can then decide how my pricing should work. We do offer top of the line service and results and we’re not the cheapest guys around so I totally get the whole premium service ,premium price thing. All in all we as window cleaners do have to sort through customers, I used to bargain with people on my prices, now I stick to my guns and it’s a much better way to go.
Last week , up 35ft on my ladder I was again hit with the thought:
Dangerous work deserves good pay!(also the thought: I wish these windows were suitable for WFP use)
