Hi guys I do window cleaning part time and I must say that the first few houses I did was a big learning experience.
I think my first house took me 4 hours and it wasnt that big, now I think I could do that same house in 2 hours. I have developed a system and methods that Im sure we all have done, I have learned alot from the internet but at the same time I kind of engineered my own techniques to fit my work environment.
I have really come to love window cleaning but I honestly dont see the potential of breaking away from my day job to do window cleaning full time. I explain my reasons in the cons section of my post.
[B]Pros:[/B]
I do not need a machine (pressure washer, lawn mower, leaf blower etc…), machines will break and come with additional costs, over head, noise etc…
noisy machines could limit your start and end times, neighbors dont want to hear a leaf blower at 7am in the morning so window cleaning is pretty much a job you can do anytime of day or night.
With no machines my vehicle is light weight and gets good gas mileage
going to different towns and locations is always a breath of fresh air, especially when you get to see how other people (rich or poor) live.
window cleaning is almost like any other type of contracting and the pay can be just as good but not quite as profitable as say an electrician or carpenter.
[B]Cons:[/B]
Because there is no contractors license required for window cleaners there could be alot more competition, I have been out bid many times when I thought my price was reasonable. there are definite low ballers out there.
Correct me if Im wrong but for the most part I think that window cleaning is a job in which you trade your time for the money. There is no secret tool or method that will cut a 4 hour job into 30mins. You still have to manually clean a window.
chasing an hourly wage is not my idea of becoming rich or at least well off. I am impressed with some of you guys on here that can claim to a six figure yearly income which I consider “well off” but how much of that goes into employees and over head? are you left with maybe 50k after taxes and payroll to pocket for your self?
any more input about pros/cons or even feedback about my comments would be appreciated.
True you are trading time for money, but being your own boss you can multiply that by as many crews doing the work as you want. You don’t just have to trade your time for the money, you can trade 5 crews time for more money. Maybe you won’t get rich, but not too many businesses can make you rich without a large investment. Rich is a state of mine. I don’t work for anyone but myself and I can take any day off I want and I make a good living. To me that’s rich.
What other business did you have in mind that could make you rich and not have the overhead or employees and taxes. I would also say that because of the economy and many folks out of work, more people are trying something like window cleaning to make a few $$ until “job” comes along. In the long haul, there may not be as much competition as you think. I know there alot more “handyman services” in the paper and Craig’s list than there ever was in past years. Many of these folks will be gone when the economy gets better, but I will still be trading time (mine and my crews) for money.
Without putting too much thought into my response - I’m just going to say I don’t miss working for someone else. Matter of fact it won’t happen again in my lifetime.
Also 100K is pretty easy to do as just a one man show. My guess there are dozens and dozens of company’s on this forum that do 200K +.
I agree that it feels so good to be your own boss, I love that aspect of it.
In order to make 100k in a year you need to make $416.00 a day, from Mon-Fri the entire year, you cannot miss a day or take a one week vacation. That is about one job a day or maybe two jobs in a day. with a lot of hustle that is very attainable.
I didnt say it was a hobby, I said you could classify it as a hobby (according to the small business bureau in my state) because of the low amount of working hours I accumulate.
I treat it as a part time job, yes a business and I do take it seriously, I got a working truck, uniforms, letter head, business cards, professional tools from WCR and J**********.
so after nearly 6 months of reading I finally decided to join this website, and after 10 months with only 23 posts I think I did enough reading.
I even invented my own cleaning tool which cut my working time by about 10%…
