Start a window cleaning business in 3 easy steps

How easy is it to start a window cleaning business? Very Easy! Easy as 1,2,3, as Michael Jackson might say.

Seriously, if you just lost your job, are fed-up of waiting for a wage rise or are thinking of starting your own business, then window cleaning could be the answer.

What are the prospects? In no time, you could be earning 8x what your boss is able to pay you. Not to mention you will be your own boss.

For more help on setting up and growing your window cleaning business, check out Window Cleaning Trade, but for now, let’s get to the 3 easy steps.

Buy necessary equipment

The beauty of starting this kind of business is the required budget, which is less than £100. That is all!

So, what exactly do we need? A bucket for water, a bottle of washing up liquid, an applicator, a squeegee, a few old cloths, one or two micro fibre cloths and a proper ladder for window cleaning.

Let’s break it down. The bucket should be elongated so as to make it easy to soak the applicator, but some window cleaners do just fine with a regular bucket. As for the applicator and squeegee, you should buy these from a window cleaning store/website.

Don’t go for the very cheap Boyes or Wilkinson version, these are not suitable. To give you an idea, good quality applicators will let you replace the fabric head, and a suitable squeegee should allow you to remove the plastic blade.

Cloths are needed to remove the extra water left behind on the sills and frames after the squeegee work. As such, any old kitchen cloth should do the trick.

As for the residue left behind at the edges of the glass, a micro fibre cloth should be used. These get soaked reasonably quick, so it’s a good idea to have a few. Check out eBay for a bundle at the right price.

It’s not absolutely necessary,  but you might want to spend a few extra quid on a belt combining an applicator/squeegee holder and pockets for your cloths.

Last but not least: ladders. If you plan to clean bungalows, only a step ladder will be required. Even if you’re a tall guy, trust me, there will come a time when you which you would have bought them.

Browns Ladders has a great selection of these to choose from. I especially like the multi purpose ladders. When a customer asks you to do extra jobs, such as guttering cleaning, or simply to reach an awkward window, these will be ideal.

If on the other hand, you plan to clean houses of all sizes, a good set of extension ladders with thick rubber feet will suffice.

Canvass or buy round

Canvassing can be daunting, but most people respond well to a smile. It might be an idea to print some business cards for those undecided householders. Generally speaking, most rejections will be something like: “Sorry mate, already have a window cleaner!”. That’s pretty much as bad as it gets.

And even if in an evening of canvassing you get only £15 worth of work, that is £195 per year assuming you will come back every four weeks. Not to mention the extra jobs a customer might ask you to do. Go out for 10 nights, and £195 gets an extra 0 at the end. It is that simple!

Unfortunately, in some areas, canvassing will simply not work. But not all is lost, you can buy a round from an established window cleaner. windowcleaningtrade.com would be the place to buy and sell rounds. It’s a free service and very easy to use.

That is a start. Your business will grow slowly even if you do nothing. How so? If you do a good job, customers will spread the word, and it is only common to hear the expression from the next door neighbour: “Hey, how much do you charge for the windows?” Voila, a new customer for no effort.

Make money

That is pretty much it. Just remember to keep a good record of all your expenditures and earnings. Also, it is very important to stick to a schedule, customers appreciate an assiduous worker.

Happy window cleaning.

Thanks for this guest post from Window Cleaning Trade.