Starting a window cleaning business

Thinking of starting your own business as a window cleaner?

It’s certainly a business that can be started with limited funds using a bucket, squeegee, applicator, scrims and a ladder, and with a bit of practice and experience at cleaning windows you can soon be building a round of customers and making a regular income. many window cleaners on limited funds start cleaning windows the traditional way. However, most professional window cleaners these days are now changing over to using the water fed pole system of cleaning, and this can involve a sizeable investment in tools and equipment.

If you start in the traditional way you can always move on to incorporate the ‘pure water’ method of water fed pole window cleaning when funds have been built up. This can be achieved once you have established a good window cleaning round and you are ready to change over to the new methods of cleaning.

You can also expand your business by purchasing additional rounds which may be for sale in the areas you cover. One place to find these are through the Window Cleaning Rounds for Sale website at www.windowcleaningroundforsale.co.uk

Building a round from scratch takes a bit of self belief and willpower to go out and start knocking on doors to find customers. There are other ways of course. For example you may decide to advertise in your local newspaper, or online through Yell.com and local business directories. If you intend to use this method I would also recommend having a website designed as well. People searching for a window cleaner are likely to want to find out more about your business first. A link in a directory to your website will be very useful in this case and a lot of people now use their mobile phones to find services online.

A website can also be used to take payments online, or provide information on how your customers can pay online straight to your bank account. This is another step forward in the way window cleaning businesses work and deal with payments from residential customers, as well as commercial customers.

Another option to gaining new customers is to use a canvassing service that can do the work for you. Typically they require payment of around 2 – 3 times the cost of one window clean for each customer they get for you. However, if you don’t want to knock on doors and you’re happy to do the first couple of cleans effectively without making any profit, then this could be an ideal way to build up your business quickly. Once you have a few customers, it’s always worth placing leaflets through the letterboxes of nearby houses, just in case there was nobody at home when canvassers called.

Printing hundreds of leaflets and blitzing an area without knocking on doors rarely produces good results. Much better if you ask your customers to recommend you to their neighbours if they also need a window cleaner.

Another way to get new customers is to join the Quality Window Cleaners network where we promote your services via our website. Though we do require members to meet certain requirements. For example, you must have a van which is sign written, a website, and a few other criteria which you can find on the application form.

The great thing about starting and running a window cleaning business is that you can be your own boss, and to a certain degree, work the hours you choose. And there will always be a growing demand for window cleaning services as new houses and commercial properties get built. In fact, canvassing a new housing estate is a great way to get started, but you need to be in first to have a chance to gain the extra work before any of your competitors.

One of the main requirements to be a window cleaner is that you need to be physically fit. Not necessarily superfit, but reasonably fit, as it can take a lot of energy to do more than just a few windows each day. And if you want to make a good income from window cleaning, this is something you need to consider.

Eventually, you may be able to take on extra cleaners to do some of the work for you. Or most of the work, if you prefer to be an organiser rather than a cleaner. But the work itself can be quite enjoyable and can keep you fit and healthy, providing you adhere to simple safety rules. And safety is a prime concern. Window cleaning can be a risky business if climbing ladders regularly. Using a water fed pole system has the advantage here, as it’s much safer working and cleaning windows from ground level. It has other advantages too which you can read about on our better window cleaning page.

To learn more about window cleaning and starting a window cleaning business check out the resource page below. There are also some useful Dvd’s describing window cleaning techniques on the Window Cleaning Resources website.

For further reference:

Visit the following page: Useful online resources for window cleaners