Hi Steve:

I’m writing to let you know that I have finally gotten round to starting the business. In fact, I did my first residential job today. It went OK, except for the fact that I underquoted quite a bit, but I’m sure I’ll get better at the process.
 
I do have one big question to ask you. I have heard you give reference several times to the effect of winter and cold weather on window cleaning businesses. You have indicated that it causes business to drop. I’m curious – how strong is the effect? Is it stronger on the residential market than on the commercial market? I’ve very curious. You see, I live in Canberra, Australia. We experience a very long and cold winter here.
 
At present, since I have only just started the business, I still have my full-time job. I am hoping that I can generate enough business so that I can convert my job to part-time and eventually even leave it. But I don’t want to make any false moves, and the effect of winter on the business could prove critical.
 
I look forward to your response.
 
For your interest, I have attached some of my marketing material. You might find my business name and adaptations interesting.
 
Lou

My Response:

Hi Lou,

Good morning and it’s good to hear from you. Congratulations on doing your first job.

Right…there will be the slowness factor that you’ll experience with your first few jobs.  That’s only natural.  So I wouldn’t focus on the fact that you may have underbid.  As a matter of fact, since you’ll pick up speed over time, that same job which you currently think you may have underbid may actually have been bid perfectly once you’re at full speed.  So again the first few jobs will be a bit slow and you’ll make less per hour window cleaning pay vs the national average for window cleaners.  But that’s ok…you’ll reach that average soon for sure.  )

The cold weather does affect the residential market more so than the commercial market.  There is no doubt about it.  Commercial customers will always need your services whether it’s raining, snowing, or whatever because they constantly have customers coming in to their stores.  Residential customers on the other hand may hold off a couple of months until the weather turns a bit nicer.  They are not in as desperate of a need. 

But there are always other services you can provide through really cold months that’ll carry you through.  And this is especially true once you build a decent sized customer base.  You’ll find that customers will turn to you for other services once they begin to trust you.  So although window cleaning may not be at the top of their "to-do" list in the winter, they’ll have other services that are.

I can understand the point about not converting your current job to part time.  Absolutely.  I think you would benefit by reading other posts on my blog about this issue and lots of other issues. I talk about the winter time (and other services to provide), working the biz part time, etc. etc.

I love the marketing materials.  They sure do look familiar.  )  Thanks for sending ‘em.  Take care for now and if you need any other assistance, please let me know.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

Hi Steve,

Got to tell you a story and I’ll keep it as short as I can. I had a good friend come in the store yesterday. We both had limo companies and were doing good when things were good. Then he sold his business and got into concrete pumping. Now as there is zero construction in this area he’s hurting. Anyway he came by the store and we shot the s… for a while putting the world to rights.

He’s obviously concerned like me that at his age, 51, who would employ him. He was late on his mortgage and he was very
scared. Here’s a guy who is a great role model for any kid, extremely professional, has a great family, is a really nice guy and terrified about what is going to happen next. I had to tell him my tale and my plan to start a window cleaning business. I showed him your course, that I have in a very nice binder, and he was impressed. Like me I think he thought window
cleaning meant throwing some water on the window and squeegeeing it off. I now know it is quite a science.

Stewart

Hey All,

Received an email below from a window cleaner who faces a time crunch like most window cleaners do when they first get started in the window cleaning business. I thought other window cleaners may benefit from it. Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your email. I did receive all your information and have been reading through it very diligently. I have some business cards on order from PS print and hope to get those in the next few days.

I am really excited about starting my window cleaning business but right now have a bit of a dillema. The company I am working for just switched my schedule from not working weekends to working every other saturday in addition to working monday through friday. With my wife also working on saturday it only leaves me 1 free saturday to pursue my window cleaning business. I was hoping you could provide me with some strategies for this type of situation as tough as it seems.

As much as I would love to walk away from my current job and focus my 100% attention on building my window cleaning business, I do depend on the income to pay my bills at the moment. I would appreciate any ideas you might have or any words of encouragment you have to offer.

Thanks again for putting together such an awesome business package, you truly are a pioneer for this industry and I am sure many others have you to thank for changing their lives for the better through your knowledge and your willingness to help. Hope to hear from you soon and if you dont mind I would love to give you a call in the next couple of days to talk to you for a bit.

Thanks,
Christiaan Marais

My Response:

Hi Christiaan,

Good morning and it’s good to hear from you.  Um…that is a tough schedule to try and also build a window cleaning business.  It can be done, but since there are only 24 hours in a day, it may take some sacrificing on your part to see it all come together.  So at some point, you do plan on taking window cleaning full time, right?

If I understand correctly, you have 2 free saturdays each month?  Do you have any time after work at your full time job?  Or is that an all day thing?  I’m trying to figure out if you have any small chunks of time that would allow you to actively market your business (flyers/postcards/door hangers), and then that would free you up to do window cleaning jobs only (no marketing) on saturday.

If not, and you only have saturday to market and perform your window cleaning service, I would consider hiring a part time person who wants to make a few bucks on the weekend.  Your focus should always be on the marketing side of things.  Without that, you’ll never get any calls.  So I would focus your 2 free saturdays on flyer distribution.  It’s inexpensive and generates almost immediate responses/calls. 

The reason for a part time helper is because some jobs are lengthy.  If you market from let’s say 9am to 12pm on saturday, and then do a job after that, you might run out of daylight.  Plus when you really get going, after 2 or 3 saturdays of continued marketing, you may start filling up your schedule nicely.  But since you only have the two saturdays per month to do jobs, you might find yourself needing to knock out 2 jobs after your marketing time (9am to 12pm). 

So a parttime helper will really be a must almost from the beginning of your business.  Just be willing to not as make as much per hour for each job you do.  The goal during this time is to not necessarily to make a financial killing, but to build a customer base that’ll cushion your business when you walk away from your full time job.   

These are just some thoughts above.  And when you feel like you have some consistent calls coming in and the jobs are starting to stack up, at that point, it might be good to walk away from your full time job.  I really am not in a position to say when you should do it though because I don’t know your current finances and debt load, but I do know that if you market your window cleaning business actively (9am to 12pm every other saturday), you’ll eventually have a really nice customer base that’ll continue to grow due to your continued marketing and the referrals coming in from satisfied customers. 

I hope the above helps.  Thanks a bunch for your comments also.  And feel free to call anytime at 256-546-2446.  Take care for now and I’ll talk to you soon.

Regards,

Steve

Hi All,

Happy New Year to all of you in window cleaning land! Let’s make 2009 a year to remember. Even though the so called experts are giving the economy low marks, window cleaners overall are cleaning up literally. Although clean glass might not be as high of a priority to homeowners as some other home type services, if we go after the right prospects, you will get business…and plenty of it. So try and avoid the constant blah blah that you hear all around you every day. I know it can be hard, but there is no question that the business, jobs, and profits are there. We just need to go after it.

Speaking of "going after it", what many business owners will do during tough times is scale back their promotional efforts and dilute their marketing strategies. I can’t speak for other businesses, but in window cleaning, this is what you don’t want to do. The last thing you want to cut back on is your investment in your marketing. This is actually the time to pour it on. The reason? Because most window cleaners have cut back. They’ve followed the crowd and they believe the sky is falling. So this opens up tremendous opportunities for the window cleaners who are aggressive in their efforts. By the time the economy straightens up and they get back on their horse, it’ll be too late because you’ll have all their customers.   Just kidding of course since there’s plenty of customers for us all.  But you will have put a serious dent into their potential prospect base because you’ve already "been there, done that". 

It’s simply necessary to think out of the box in a major way and do the exact opposite of what most window cleaners are doing currently. I love what warren buffett said recently. I’m not sure I remember the exact phrase, but it went something like this:  "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful." So as most investors are sitting on the sideline afraid to invest, he’s going on a stock buying rampage and buying, buying, buying.  He’s a smart cookie because he knows that most people are herd followers and just do what everyone else is doing.

Anyway…I wish you all the very best in 2009. If you have any questions or need assistance, please let  me know. My number is 256-546-2446.

Sincerely,

St eve