How To Start Your Own Window Washing Service

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Here's a business that, almost more than any other with equal
potential for real wealth, meets the most strongest requirements
of just about any skeptic.

In fact, there's so much in favour of the "little guy" with this
business, it's a real mystery why more people don't choose this
one as the vehicle for their ultimate independence and financial
security.

This is a business that can make you rich very quickly, it's a
kind of service business that can very profitably be operated by
one person - male or female.

The basic knowledge needed for success is simple and easy to
learn.

Very little monetary investment is needed for equipment - usually
less than œ100.

There are virtually no storage space requirements.

You can operate out of your home for virtually as long as you
like, and yet, there's a real demand for this type of business
everywhere.

The success potential for window washing services is present even
in the smallest of towns as well as the largest metropolitan
areas.

Your risks will be minimal, while your rewards can far surpass
even your wildest dreams.

Generally, a one man operation in a city of 50,000 can expect to
gross œ4,000 or more per month after just 90 days.

Operating expenses for one persons operations grossing this amount
should be less than œ500 per month.

Ideally, your plan should be to solicit new accounts, do the work
yourself and establish a regular customer route.

Once you've established such a route, and you're beginning to
realise a good profit, you should hire part time help to do the
work while you solicit new accounts and establish regular
customers.

You should concentrate on providing regular window washing
services for all the one and two storey office buildings and shop
fronts in your area.

Start with those closest to your home and expand your efforts
outwards.

Choose a busy thoroughfare leading into your city's central area.

Select the one closest to your home, and begin calling on business
owners and shop managers all along this street.

Find out who's currently doing their windows for them, if they
have any complaints, and how you can offer them a better deal.
Always leave a business card, after briefly explaining your
services.

When you've actually investigated the service they're already
contracted for, and you're certain you can offer them a better
deal, put your ideas into the form of a written proposal, and give
it to them.

Don't be afraid to submit a proposal for a better deal, but
remember when you do, your proposal should offer more than just a
cut price.

Undercutting a competitor usually means less profit for you, and
an overall deterioration of your reputation.

It may temporarily result in more work for you, but you're in
business to attain wealth - not work yourself into an early grave!

If your spouse is at home during the day, they can answer the
phone for you and generally set up appointments for you, while
you're out making sales calls. They may also be able to handle
your accounts.

Should it not be feasible, or if there is no-one at home during
the day, then look around for a good, dependable telephone
answering service.

Many of these telephone answering services also handle typing
jobs, so if you're lacking someone to handle these jobs for you,
chances are that you can find all the services you need without
too much of a search.

It's important with this type of business that you have a "live"
voice answering your calls.

Selecting the right people to handle your calls, and spending the
extra time necessary to train them according to your desires -
even paying a little more to have things done the way you want
them done - is almost always well worth the time and added
expense.

Remember, this is a service business with your growth dependent
upon the personal contact you and your representatives have with
prospective clients.

Work on it, develop it, and cultivate your personal contact
transactions.

As the size of your company increases and you hire crews of people
to handle work assignments, you can usually get your answering
service to take on the added duties of job assignment notification
or dispatcher.

All of this simply points up the possibilities of operating your
business out of your home indefinitely, should you choose to do
so.

If somewhere along the line you decide to set up an office in a
location other than your home, you might want to make an offer or
otherwise induce one or two of the people from your telephone
answering service.

Regardless of how large your work force becomes, its always best
if you supply the window washing equipment and supplies.

Employees should be allowed to take the equipment home with them,
and you can require them to use their own vehicles for
transportation to each job site.

By all means spend the extra money to supply your workers with
uniforms, matching shirts and trousers - this is not only
impressive in projecting a professional image, it's also one of
your cheapest and best advertising methods.

Once you've hired people to do the actual window washing for you,
get a couple of magnetic signs showing your company name and
telephone number.

Be sure to "wear" these signs on your car as you make your sales
calls, and spot checks on the progress of your work crews.

Later on, you can get similar signs for your crew managers.

If you should opt for company owned vehicles, you'll find vans to
be the most convenient and serve your needs the most efficiently.

Be sure to have your company name, phone number and logo painted
on each side of these vehicles and allow your crew managers to
drive them home at night - all of which benefits you with
practically free advertising.

The kind of equipment you'll need to professionally wash windows
is relatively simple.

A 12 or 18 inch brush, aluminium telescopic brush handle, 6 inch,
10 inch and 18 inch squeegees, with replacement rubber blades. A
couple of plastic or galvanised buckets, one 2 gallon, and the
other 5 gallon. And an 8-foot step ladder, plus maybe a 16 foot
straight ladder.

Your start up supplies should include 5 gallons of liquid soap, a
good supply of clean rags, towels and chamois, and a sharp razor
blade scraper.

This entire list of equipment and supplies should total no more
than œ250 in cost.

You'll need to add to your equipment only as your business grows
and you have need to hire more staff.

Some professional window washers are proclaiming an alternative or
"better method" than with the use of window brushes and squeegees.
They're advocating the use of "strip washers".

These are 3/4 inch pieces of aluminium pipe covered with a nylon
sleeve that fits the pipe.

These are similar in appearance to the handy do it yourself paint
rollers, and are used in much the same manner.

These strip washers reportedly work very well on all but the
dirtiest of windows.

Another alternative is an extension pole and brush device. Water
is pumped through the handle and out the brush in a rinse - wash
-= rinse cycle.

Most professionals claim this device is ideal for second storey
windows, but for best quality workmanship, they still prefer the
basic brush and squeeze approach.

Still another alternative is a hose water fed brush that utilizes
de-ionised water where ladders aren't feasible.

De-ionized water is a kind of water from which all minerals and
foreign elements have been removed.

Using this kind of water assures the window washer an easier and
faster job with no worries about streaking or water drops.

Your prices should range between œ20 and œ25 per hour. Pay for
hired help should start at œ5 per hour.

It's important that you do some homework on the various glass
treatments in vogue these days.

Many of these coatings or coverings require special treatment such
as the use of soft towels instead of brushes that might scratch
the surface of the window coating.

The professional technique for washing windows cleanly and in the
least amount of time is as follows:

A few drops of cleaning solution in your bucket of water.
Remember, too many soap suds are detrimental to quality work. Wet
your brush from the bucket and then scrub the window. Take your
squeegee and make one wiping pass across the top of the window.
Be sure to keep the end of the squeegee pressed firmly against the
moulding or top sill of the window frame.

Wipe the squeegee and then do the same thing down each side of the
window.

From this point on, it's just a matter of wiping the window clean
with one continuous stroke.

You do this by arching and looping your wiping strokes across the
window pane, back and forth, never stopping or lifting the
squeegee blade from the glass.

With this method, you can wipe clean even the largest window clean
in just a matter of seconds.

Practice at home on your own windows and those of your neighbours.
You'll quickly develop a knack for this method and wonder why you
never discovered it before.

When you've finished with the squeegee, take a chamois and
carefully blot-wipe any excess water that may not have been picked
up along the sides and bottom of the window frame.

In reality, that's all there is to it.

You'll find the spring and summer months to be your busiest, but
because of the increasing popularity of painting holiday scenes
and special sale announcements on business windows, be alert for
year round opportunities along these lines as well.

Keep plugging away and offering your services to businesses
throughout your area, particularly those along the throughfare
where moving traffic contributes to the build up of dirt and grime
on windows.

When you're ready to hire helpers or people to do the work for
you, a simple ad in your local newspaper's "Help Wanted" column
should bring you more applicants than you'll ever use.

After you've hired the one or the ones you want, keep a record of
the ones you liked but didn't hire, and check with them when you
want to add onto your crew of workers again.

Notice boards will also bring in a surprising number of
applicants.

About the only regular advertising you'll need to do is a medium
to large display ad in the yellow pages.

This is a must because once you're established, you'll find at
least 50% of your business comes from having seen your ad in the
yellow pages.

An insiders trick to advertising in the yellow pages. Try to name
your business with the very first letters of your business
beginning with ABC, or XYZ.

Statistics and surveys tend to prove that when people look for a
service in the yellow pages, they invariably pick from either top
to bottom or bottom to top of the classifications.

The business can be very profitable and very rewarding - we wish
you the best of luck with it.