I suggest you read Profit First. Its a good strategy for managing the business’ money and especially easy for a start up to employ since your overhead is low. It will make sure your cut is put aside and still give you money to run the business with. I think it helps avoid the temptation to put everything back into the business and losing your drive for never seeing a return for your efforts.
I’m not saying everyone who plows all their money back is going to burn out, but I think I probably would.
From my own personal experiences and observations: I would say out of legit wc businesses 1/10 will last longer than 5 years.
If you take a gander through some old threads, look at the posters profile and look up his business - there is a good chance they are no longer in business.
I think most people get into the business with a vision of having multiple trucks and managing the business and their employees. They start out saying hey gotta start somewhere so il be a solo operator for the first year and learn the trade. I think people get stuck in that rut and lose track of their initial vision or it becomes unobtainable for some reason or another.
Most people can hack it out as a solo operator and become somewhat successful.
I think people these days get that entrepreneurial spark and stumble on window cleaning. Its easy to see how it appeals to someone with an entrepreneurial drive and a small bank account.
So please take some time to consider your decision! Making your own money and being your own boss and making your first sale is very thrilling and exciting but don’t be blindfolded by it. The same feelings are felt by every entrepreneur in every industry.
The one thing I will say if I could do it over again is save more money for marketing. Basics like a uniform, logo, and just showing up and being honest will put you ahead of the others. It takes time to get the ball rolling though anyway you slice it and that’s after a few months of learning technique as well. Seems like a tough squeeze transitioning you could probably get hit your yearly pay by year 2 of you hustled hard, but making 51K year one isn’t common I would say.
I may have to revisit this post next year to really have anything of real value for you. Today is my last day at my full-time gig. I just kind of pulled the plug two weeks ago out of intuition… and pure frustration of working for a bunch of…
I don’t know… The smart way is certainly to save enough capital to float your living expenses and get started. If you can do that, do that.
For me, diving in the deep end and learning to swim is just how I operate. The longer I waited to fully commit, the more doubts arose in my mind. Maybe I should of stuck it out at my FT and slowly built the business on the side so I still had steady income coming in, but then again, I probably would have just given up on the idea and kept chugging along at my job until I reached another breaking point.
I’ll let you know how I’m feeling about this towards the end of my first year.
Putting lots of chips on the table! Go all in or go home!
With that level of commitment I know that your new business will do good. Your clients will know that you are driven and that will lead to repeats and referrals.
So, you are saying you recommend the blueprint book… Got it. I’ve been looking it over, considering. You’ve been here a while, so your recommendation may have pushed me over the edge. I’m doing research into a possible side gig and love WC as one of my options.
the book applies to any business that deals with home owners but it’s particularly nice because we know how successful chris was using that system in OUR business.
I wanted to post a little update here on my situation since I started this thread a few months ago. I’m still working my full-time day job, but cleaning windows on the weekends. I’ve learned that I had/have a lot to learn about cleaning windows. I feel much more confident about the sales and business side of things, but window cleaning still isn’t easy. I’m getting better, but it seems like I’m learning more with every job and taking longer that I want to in order to make sure everything looks good.
I have built a small commercial route, but more of my work is residential. I’m working out of my Toyota Corolla, which isn’t ideal, but things have been going really well from my perspective, and I’m seeking out the shorter jobs that I like more anyway.
I spent a lot of time going door-to-door at first, and it works. It can really suck, but it works. Now, I’ve been getting steady work every weekend without knocking doors, thanks to my route, referrals and my free google listing.
I’m glad I took things slow primarily because I needed to learn the ropes. Other’s may be able to jump right in, but I needed the lighter learning curve. I’m still entertaining the idea of going full-time, but I think I would want to get an employee trained before I take the leap. After having this experience however, I’m more confident in starting a second business, which I might also do if I have the right idea.
It’s funny, because I used to go looking online for jobs when I got sick of my day job, now I can’t even consider finding another job. I’m not sure when I’ll make the jump, but self-employment is the next step – the only step.
Anyway, this site has helped me so much. I can’t express how satisfying it is to have started something from nothing. I have happy customers and a sustainable business. It’s small, but it’s mine. And it’s only growing. Thank you all for your help and advice.
That’s an awesome update. I like the fact that you are honest with yourself knowing you take longer than you should and it will get faster. Starting out not rushing things will make you a better, more detailed service provider. The detailed Services you are providing now will be the building blocks to build on to your customer base in the future.
That’s awesome! It’s a start in a new direction. For practice have you considered going to your neighbors and offering free window cleaningso you can practice? I know your not going to make anything but you get to practice without the worry of trying to hurry through a paying customers home. I did that already and ran out of neighbors dirty windows
I seem to have a steady stream of practice, but I started out cleaning local storefronts for free just for the practice. It’s a good idea. I’m realizing it does take a lot of practice to be good at. I used to watch Luke the Window Cleaner videos, and think, “yeah, I could do that” now I have a lot of respect for what it takes to have that kind of skill and speed.
It’s screens, oddly placed shrubs, small window wells, etc… there seems to be endless unique circumstances that make it a new challenge. I have been seeking out the “easy” houses when finding new clients, and it has paid off. I have a growing list of ramblers on my list.
I’ve been looking it over, considering. You’ve been here a while, so your recommendation may have pushed me over the edge. I’m doing research into a possible side gig and love WC as one of my options.
