Start Your Own Window Cleaning Business

Introduction

So you’ve decided to start your own window cleaning business. You have your bucket, ladder, squeegee, and strip washer. Now what?

This extract from “Advanced Window Cleaning eBook” will attempt to give the budding window cleaner a brief introduction to window cleaning based on experienced professional window cleaners.

You are about to embark on running your own business and being your own boss.

You can be up and running within a week with very little capital or even experience.

Before you start, check out the My1stBusiness for great business advice, business plan documents and much much more.

When I first started I found My1stBusiness extremely useful and packed full of vital documents you’ll need in the future.

Business name:

Before you start your lucrative new business you’ve got to think of a good business name. You’ll need something you won’t hate a month later after your business cards, stationary, and advertisements are already printed! Been there got the t-shirt.

Speaking of stationary. Why not give your new business a little extra boost by grabbing some free business cards. The cards are available through VistaPrint.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll receive various emails once you’ve signed up, but it allows you to get your business kick started with a little freebee! VistaPrint are a great company and have an excellent reputation.

I use various printers, but found VistaPrint  to be the best for quality and service. It’s not often you get something for nothing!

The business name you choose must represent exactly what you do and be memorable. A lot of new business owners choose their name (i.e. John Smith Window Cleaning Services) which is absolutely fine. As long as it’s memorable and to the point.

Once you’ve chosen a name check with company house to find out if that name is still available at www.companieshouse.gov.uk. If it is available, make sure the domain name is also available too at  (I’ll explain why later). 

If you’re based in the UK you’ll want the “.co.uk” as well as the “.com”. Whichever country you live in you’ll need the domain address that corresponds with your local area, i.e. Australia would be “.au”.

Click on the link below to find out if your domain name is still available. Domains get snapped up super fast, so if it is still available I’d purchase it straight away.

Search for a domain name

Powered by 123-reg.co.uk

This site is a fantastic starting place for the beginner.

Once you’ve purchased your domain name it needs to be hosted.

What is hosting?

Once your website is completed the site must be placed on a web “Server” (a computer which is permanently connected to the Internet). This means that your site can be accessed anywhere around the world at any time.

My favourite company is , but feel free to use the company of your choice. You may even get hosting from 123 reg too!
 
1&1 Hosting - 3 Months Free
with Bloggs, SMS, Email and More.
Register Now! www.1and1.co.uk

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Feature:

Don’t fancy doing it from scratch on you own? We can help!!
We supply the equipment you need, full 2 day professional training, your own clients from day one. Which means you’ll be earning money from the day you start trading.
Click on the link below or call us free on 0800 043 6919.
The Window Genie
www.thewindowgenie.co.uk

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Registering Your Business with Mr Tax Man

Once you’ve found a name for your business and you’ve got the domain name registered it’s time to tell Mr Tax Man than you have now started a business. The reason why you do this straight away is the fact that there are a series of fines for not letting them know.

As a new business, you have the choice of being a sole trader, partnership or limited company. I’ll give you a brief example of the 3.

Sole Trader

Being a sole trader is the simplest and easiest way to get started in business. Once you have informed the government agencies of your intentions to go self-employed, you can start to trade right away (subject to any specific licenses or insurances you might require).

As a sole trader, you can quickly adapt to changes in your business with minimal bureaucratic changes required and you have complete control over your business and accounting affairs. However, a sole trader is also responsible for any liabilities should anything go wrong. This means that any debts that the business has can be seen as your own.

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Feature:

Window Cleaning Stationary Kit
This little kit is a must if you want to start your own window cleaning business.
It will kick start your new business giving you all the documents to get you started!
What do you get?

A5 leaflet template
Health & safety policy statement
Introducing clients to water fed pole
Commercial property template
Invoice template
Method statement template
New customer terms & conditions
Please send payment slip
Quotation form template
Risk assessment template
All for just £18.99

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Partnership

A partnership is very similar to being a sole trader. This is the type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which all have invested. Not only do both parties share the profits, they also share the liabilities too.

Limited Company

Aside from sole trader status, most small businesses set up as Limited Companies. The term ‘limited’ derives from the fact that the company’s finances are distinct from the personal finances of their owners (unlike the sole trader or partnership arrangement).

Shareholders in limited liability companies are not responsible for company debts, although if required, directors may be required to guarantee loans or credit granted to the company. In essence it is a separate entity.

At this point, I’d ask you to speak to an accountant (chapter 3) to see which direction is best for you. Everyone’s circumstances are different. For tax reasons I chose to be registered as “Limited Company”. This may or may not be the best course for you. I’ll let you decide!

Franchise

So what does a franchise give you? A franchise gives you an established name, cooperative marketing with other franchisees, bulk purchasing power, training and management expertise and much much more. There are some early advantages of buying a franchise rather than building your own business from scratch. They’re the types of advantages solo entrepreneurs might reap — if they’re lucky — after years of hard work in the trenches.

Naturally, franchising has its drawbacks, too. Agreements between franchisors and their franchisees can seem a little rigid, especially to eager, innovative self-starters who expect to grow their businesses as they see fit.

One of the other drawbacks is finance. Franchises can be very expensive to purchase ranging from £9,999 for a mama and papa type franchise to £250,000 (minimum) for a McDonalds fast-food type franchise. Ouch!

* There is another cheaper option.

* This option is cheaper than franchising

* Puts you in complete control

* For the fraction of the cost

* Gives you full training, marketing manual and handbook

* Use of business name, logo and literature

This option literally gives you the overall benefits of franchising without the costly start up and putting you in complete control of your business from day 1 with no interference or silly target setting by the “mother company”.

Purchasing a License through The Window Genie

Quite simply, licensing is a contractual permission to use a brand in association with a defined product, for a defined period of time, in a defined territory. Licensing is the process by which a brand / property owner extends a trademark or character out of its principal environment.

1. Period of License: The license will normally be granted for a two or three year period depending on the nature and life cycle of the product or service. It will then be renewable by mutual agreement between Copyrights and the licensee.

2. Territory: The license will permit the licensee to sell the licensed products and services in a particular territory. A territory is usually a town, city or county. At present we only offer these licenses in the UK.

3. Cheaper than franchising: Purchasing a license is a definitely a cheaper option in the short and long run. Gives you greater flexibility and overall control.

The Window Genie http://www.thewindowgenie.co.uk/ has more detailed information on this subject.

Financing Your Business

If you don’t feel that confident venturing out on your own and want to choose either the Franchise or License model, there are few bodies and organisations you can try tapping for financing your new venture.

Listed below: -

Small Firm Loan Guarantee scheme
 http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1074447105

DTI Grant for Research and Development

http://www.dti.gov.uk/bbf/BSS/page29002.html

Business Link Access to Finance service

www.businesslink.gov.uk

Enterprise Grants

http://www.startinbusiness.co.uk/flowchart/govfin3eg.htm

Prince’s Trust

 www.princes-trust.org.uk/

Services:

Next, will you be specialising in commercial cleaning, residential, or even both? If this is a new venture and you’re just starting out, I’d personally start off just doing residential houses first. Most new window cleaning business start by offering residential and store front cleaning. After a while you will find out which you prefer.

Please note: After conducting a quick survey, I found residential cleaning the most profitable and time efficient way of earning money.

Don’t get me wrong, if you get some store front work, great! In my experience, unless you’ve got several store fronts in a row and in the same street, it’s too time consuming. Most clients generally want to have a chat and gossip about various individuals in the area, to me, this is eating into valuable work time. The choice, as always, is completely yours.

Like what you’ve read so far? This extract is from the eBook “Advanced Window Cleaning” written by Joe Polanski-Smith.

Advanced Window Cleaning eBook Only £2.99

This entry was posted on 19/11/2007 at 10:34 am and is filed under Window Cleaning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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