I am new to the business and have gotten insurance, business license, basic equipement to get started. I have a full time job already so to get started I will have to be doing my window cleaning on the weekend. What kinda of jobs do I need to be bidding? I went around for about 3 hours trying to speak to managers yesterday at fast food joints and similiar commercial places and they all had someone already doing there windows. Can someone give me tips or direction to be able to find some work? Thanks for your help.
Just keep pounding the pavement bro, you’ll get there. Always leave a card with your price just in case. Sometimes it takes months or even a year before they decide they need a window cleaner. Start small and work your way up. You’ll be surprised how a $20 job can boost your confidence. Sounds like you’re doing good, keep it up!
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Do you think hitting strip malls would be good even if I make minimal profit? Just to get some experience?
Look for dirty windows. Calling on someone else’s customers can be very discouraging. I run my hand across the glass. If it’s dirty I go in.
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Gaining storefront clients is a number game. The more places you visit the more yes you get, until you build a tight route then you can focus on the clients you want.
Don’t forget to follow up with clients that show interest.
Check out this category, it a wealth of knowledge…
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Anything to get started, I would look at ma and pop shops because the owner is usually always there to speak with. You’re gonna get turned away alot, but don’t let that deter you. In this industry the only the strong survive, the weak don’t make it for too long untill someone else comes along and weeds them out. Since you’re just starting out as a part time, take what you can get and grow on it. You’ve got the ground ready to set the foundation. So start pouring the concrete for your foundation, then build on it.
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IF I were in your shoes, I would keep pounding the pavement for storefont through the week. Do any of your storefront on the week days.
Start pounding the pavement for resi work too. Do any of that on the weekends.
IMO, it’s harder to get routes going on storefront, especially where there is much competition. You need cash flow to pay what bills you have, buy stuff you need, and generally just feel good about starting your business. Get a resi job that pays you a few hundred, and it will boost your confidence.
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when i started 3 years ago i talked to almost every business in town. i got maybe 30 storefronts in 6-8 months. i wasn’t only doing storefront most of my time was spent pursuing residential. we got another 10-12 when we bought out another local solo guy and since then the storefronts come to us. those ones have by far been the best, since we don’t need the work we’re not afraid to price them well and when we get them they are much better to do than most of the first 30 i got through solicitation.
point is, talk to everyone, you’ll get work from it and someday they will seek you out
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Think about doing residential instead.
Residential seems to me to be more suited to weekend work than store front. But what do I know, I don’t even do store front.
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Congratulations on taking the leap!
Concur with soliciting residential, always nice to get a couple hundred $ from one job. Continue to tell EVERYBODY you know that you are a window cleaner and are looking for clients.
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Best advice I ever received in the beginning was to think small. By that, I mean small business! Family owned storefronts in main plazas or like historic Main Street if you have one of those is the easiest to break into in the beginning and they seem to be more adaptive to your learning for a good price. Big confidence booster also once you’ve built a relationship with the storefront owners and know they are very happy with the work. You learn, earn money and get word of mouth advertising that way which leads to a lot more. Corporate owned businesses are not great to start in. The managers aren’t the owners so they could care less about windows a lot of the time and they know it’s more trouble than it’s worth to go up the chain of command to get it approved. You will eventually get them but small business is where it’s at bro. I learned that pavement pounding is key in this business. I still do it from time to time and I’ve been doing this for almost 4 years. Hope that helped
Im in the start of phase myself, i started with residential. I was doing a pet sitting job at a clients home and Noticed he had beautiful windows but dirty as hell.after doing some research i invested in equipment and some awesome moo buisness cards, i have a friend that has a pet store with filthy panes. I offered him a free clean, he loved the results!he couldnt believe he went that long without a cleaning, i did in/out and he ended up giving me $120.took me about an hour. People will noticed you and often ask if you do homes also. Just be approachable and friendly and should have no problem.get your snowball rolling because once it gains momentum…its gonna be payday!!
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If youve got the $ do some advertising. Either eddm or Google or facebook advertising is your best bet.
This is a good idea. Thanks. Since my time avaliable to clean windows is weekends this may be a better option until I can make enough to go part time at day job.
