I just moved down here from NY and want to start my own window cleaning business. I have worked as a WC for about a year and have learned a lot about the business from the owner.
I want to make my business legit so this is the reason I need some help.
I want to get my business license for the whole county I am in, but from reading on the internet it appears that every single town or city requires that you have a license or permit to work within that city. Some towns don’t require any license but most of them do.
The towns website also state that it is a misdemeanor to work in the town without license. The last thing I want is a Cop coming up to me asking me for papers while working.
I am based in Orange County.
Thank you all for help, this is a great forum!
Well it wasn’t really a question. I was just hopping that maybe some WC from CA could confirm that this is in fact true.
It is really a pain in the arse to have to get a license to work in each town. How do you even get accounts this way?
You go to a new town to get work, they agree and what do you do then?
You have to say to them, look I have to get a license first which could take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks?
They will lough out loud at you.
What if you get a license first and spend money on it but you never get any accounts in the town?
This really makes it hard on a window cleaner.
Are you sure you have to wait for the piece of paper? Check to see if you can start working if you have filed for the license. Then if you get a job you can file for the license and do the job. Might only be a few day waiting period.
I would say get in touch with whoever does the licensing - either on the city, county, or state level. Ask them your questions, I am sure you are not the first, and not the last. I would imagine such a high tech state like CA would have all this info online, but maybe not. Target an area you want to do business in, saturate the market. If all else fails - fake it till you make it. All licensing really does is it makes another way for the gov’t to get more money out of you. Good luck…
Thank you all for the advice so far. I guess I am just going to start local and work my way out. I will check with my town and see how to go on from there.
I have to also file a fictitious busines name with the county and pay a fee for that, then have to go to each town I want to work in and get a business license from them also.
This seems like such a hastle, but window cleaning is something I really want to do.
Hey man,
I’m in the oc too, and have met and/or talked to tens and tens of wc’s here and the general consensus is that everybody gets a license for the city that they operate out of, but nobody buys a $50 license for every town. There is a new town every 5 cross-streets or so.
If other wc’s see your truck in “their neighborhood”, they might be the only ones to report you, in which case, you will start collecting city licenses. But for goodness sakes, don’t worry about buying a license for every city. That is a joke of a law.
Avduka- You do not need to wait for the paperwork. Once you buy a license, you can start working. All you need is a janitorial license unless you are doing CCP.
When you go get your license, you get your number right there. They just need to approve it. As soon as I got mine, I left city hall and went to the bank to open up my business account in the ficticious name. I wouldnt sweat it untill it became an issue.
Thank you for this information. I was just worried about having a cop come up to me asking for license while working in their town. The town I live in states on their website that it is illegal to conduct business or any kind of trade without a license. The town code considers this a misdemeanor.
There is a few towns in Orange County that don’t require you to have a license but most towns or cities do.
I want to start my business doing store fronts only and then maybe later go into residential. This is the reason why I am worried about the licensing.
This pretty much means I will be on some of the towns major streets conducting business in public view. If I was in someone’s back yard I wouldn’t even consider licensing.
Apparently some towns also have a grace period of something around 40 days so that you can start doing business and then get a license in the meantime.
I wonder if there is any way for them to track you down if you work without a license.
Lets say you clean windows for a store.
They pay you by check. They file their taxes and use your service as a business expense.
This leaves a trail that leads to you.
Damn it’s so hard cleaning windows in California!
Are you insured?
No I din’t even start the business yet. I am having doubts with all these town regulations and rediculous fees.
Can’t you just use your real name instead of coming up with one and having to file it for a license?
In California you have to file for a fictitious business name unless you are conducting business with your first and last name.
I could deal with doing business with my first name but my last name is ridiculously long. 14 letters that is. Put that in front of Window Cleaning and you would have to use flyers as business cards.
It’s called “the cost of doing business.” Codes regarding obtaining business licenses are a revenue-building mechanism for municipalities. Live with it.
If you’re going to worry so much, perhaps being a business owner isn’t in the cards for you.
Do the research and put together a formal business plan – you owe it to yourself.
If you are going to concentrate on store front work, you will fail in this town my friend, The rate of store front in orange County is only about $20.00 to $25.00 per man hour. Why do you think all the larger window cleaning companies have those accounts< i will tell you why because they pay there guys like $9.00 per hour, which means the company is still making money.
With storefronts you will likely make less than $500 a year for each one. No one is going to put you in jail…
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with your desire to pay your dues (and I applaud you for your effort to do the right thing), but start with paying fees for one or two cities and then flyer them for residential work. This will both soothe your conscience and get some paper in your wallet. Then you can work your way out to other cities. You can scoop up 500 bucks quickly. That will pay for your license, home occupancy permit (I am assuming that your office is at home), your ficticious name, business cards, and equipment.
