Brandon Cannon asks: Any advice on making the jump into the business? I don’t want to do residential, just strictly commercial or newer modern homes. Who is a good target? I’m thinking about taking the day off from my job, going to higher-end neighborhoods, and passing out business cards. I have a child on the way, and I’d like to have more freedom and be more in charge of my time and hire people; I’m working on getting out of my comfort zone, but I’d like to have a few clients before leaving my job.
Well, Brandon, don’t quit your day job. Starting a business, especially window cleaning, isn’t something that’s going to pay off right from the start. Financial freedom is possible in this industry, but with a child on the way and no experience, in my opinion, your logic is flawed. You haven’t cleaned a single window, and you’re already looking to hire someone. Who’s going to train them?
On top of that, starting, you need to take whatever window cleaning gig you can land. Pigeonholing yourself straight out of the gate isn’t a good idea. Learn your craft and get some experience to establish a clientele list. After you’ve got the expertise you need, then move to specialize what kind of work you’re doing and give you the time to generate the revenue needed to support employees. With employees comes Workman’s compensation, insurance, work vehicles, extra equipment for said employees, and not to mention, are they going to show up? Hahaha, there’s so much more to this than just a few business cards, a bottle of soap, and a squeegee. My advice is to learn the trade build a client list and get your feet wet part-time for a little while, and see if you can make a solid go of it. Congratulations on the baby, and good luck hope that helps.
Mike Rood asks: How do you quote homes for realtors? I’ve got a realtor that would like a quote for a nice two-story home. Unsure if I should charge her a discounted price or give her a percentage on the job, thinking that the homeowner would be paying for it, of course, and not the realtor.
Hey Mike, thanks for the question. Firstly, why would you do any of the things you mentioned above? Percentages and discounts? For what? If you want to butter her bread for future jobs from her, why not just charge her a fair market price for a high-quality service? No frills, no kickbacks, just quality work? I can assure you if you do a quality prompt service at a fair price, you will get more work that way and still be making the money you should be rather than stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. Provide value with the results and timely service rather than handing your profits to someone else for them doing what most people do look for someone to do a task they don’t want to do themselves. If you want to thank her for the work, buy her a subway sandwich card or a Starbucks gift certificate. Keep your money do good work.
If you have any questions for T Squeegee, you can email them to [email protected], and maybe I will answer them here in the coolest magazine in the industry! See ya next month and enjoy that Squeegee Life!
-Peace T Squeegee