Scaling a window cleaning company

[Subsonic]

It's been a while since I posted so I'll start this project here to provide value and mayhaps even some entertainment to the people here.

Currently I have a big periode of action faking (or rather action avoiding) behind me, which was preceded by a failure. This failure can be observed in an earlier thread where I got myself entangled in a wild goose chase, tryingto build a highly complex protein soda that nobody wanted and that tasted... let's call it unpalatable.

Now I have decided to refocus on learning and doing, rather than building a perfect cents business.

This came with me remembering a quote/snippet of advice for starting "Find a way to make 10€ and then keep doing that untill there is something better to do".
As seen in that (now dead) thread I accomplished this by doing a small window cleaning operation.
While the theoretical barrier to entry is low, the work is a pain to fulfill so there is really no "competition" for me in my area. "Competition" solely refers to Entrepreneurs and hustlers trying to make a quick buck.
There are obviously actual companies from professional window cleaners (yes that's a bachelor level thing in Germany with 3 years of training).
However they all have horrible pages and no real funnels for their customers.

This lead me to the conclusion that a window cleaning business is my top option for now.


This is especially true for learning to:
-hire low level workers
-build a brand image
-create repeat customers
-aquire customers
-manage orders
-registrate a official company
-pay taxes
-do the hard work, especially when I don't feel like it
-solve a million other problems that translate to other business ventures

My next update will be my first "marketing campaign" using the 1k Flyers I ordered online(30€).
The step after this is to build out the online presence, especially the landing page.

The big goal is to archive predictable profitability by the end of this year. While I don't think this will be my final business, it could be. The top window cleaning business in Germany is at 500 million a year after all.



P.s. If you read this far, thanks a lot.
Should you want to help me out just write down what comes to your mind.

 

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[Andy Black]

The top window cleaning business in Germany is at 500 million a year after all.

Whoa.

 

[Subsonic]

I was praising flyers earlier but I had forgotten the most important downside...

4.3.2023

I forgot that handing out a thousand flyers, while cheap, is a lot more labour than running online ads.
However in therms of time it is suprisingly little. I would have though a thousand will give me work for weeks but in actuality it's about 5 to 7 hours of work to hand them all out.
Still that's 7 hours of walking (and in my area a lot of steep hills).

For that reason I'll do my best to get ads up and running as quickly as possible.


But what would you guys reccomed me to do in this situation?

 

[Subsonic]

Oh F*ck this went from 0 to 100 really quick.

6.3.

Today, while in biology class, I got a call from a prospect. I thought it would be a sweet grandma with a big home or something similar but nope.
It's my towns car dealership. They need someone to pretty up their storefront and tidy up inside one or two times a month.
So now I have 3 days to get a legal corperation registered and find out how to do formal invoices.
This deal could involve several hundred bucks!


I am really overwhelmed right now.
I'd love some advice on how to deal with this.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Oh F*ck this went from 0 to 100 really quick.

6.3.

Today, while in biology class, I got a call from a prospect. I thought it would be a sweet grandma with a big home or something similar but nope.
It's my towns car dealership. They need someone to pretty up their storefront and tidy up inside one or two times a month.
So now I have 3 days to get a legal corperation registered and find out how to do formal invoices.
This deal could involve several hundred bucks!


I am really overwhelmed right now.
I'd love some advice on how to deal with this.

Invoices are simple. Just look up examples online and do one up in Google Docs. Google Docs probably has templates for this.

I can't advise about the corporation part if you're in Germany. Don't know anything about their legal business processes.

If you were in the United States, I'd say just get started even if the entity isn't formed yet. You would automatically operate as a sole proprietor anyway until you filed as an LLC or other business entity through the Secretary of State's website.

If a legal entity is absolutely necessary over there, then you might consider outsourcing the work to another contractor until you're set up legally.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Invoices are simple. Just look up examples online and do one up in Google Docs. Google Docs probably has templates for this.

I can't advise about the corporation part if you're in Germany. Don't know anything about their legal business processes.

If you were in the United States, I'd say just get started even if the entity isn't formed yet. You would automatically operate as a sole proprietor anyway until you filed as an LLC or other business entity through the Secretary of State's website.

If a legal entity is absolutely necessary over there, then you might consider outsourcing the work to another contractor until you're set up legally.

Lex, getting divorced made you more handsome, I swear

(and I know, random, but here's the first time I saw your new pp lol)

 

[heavy_industry]

@piano The competition is catching up!

 

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[piano]

@piano The competition is catching up!

Hmm...

 

[BizyDad]

Oh F*ck this went from 0 to 100 really quick.

6.3.

Today, while in biology class, I got a call from a prospect. I thought it would be a sweet grandma with a big home or something similar but nope.
It's my towns car dealership. They need someone to pretty up their storefront and tidy up inside one or two times a month.
So now I have 3 days to get a legal corperation registered and find out how to do formal invoices.
This deal could involve several hundred bucks!


I am really overwhelmed right now.
I'd love some advice on how to deal with this.

Wunderbar. (I just started learning German) Congratulations. That's proof that your idea is working.

Take a deep breath. Envision yourself going there. Make a list of questions you want to ask. That way when you go there, you know how to get them talking, and you'll come off as more professional.

Ask them what happened to their old guy who did this work. Ask how much they used to pay.

Whatever they say, tell him you'll be able to match that price. (Unless you think you can't for some reason). Once you get good at this, you'll be able to ask for more and justify it. But right now just worry about closing this deal and getting your first client under your belt.

If you have any other questions, post them and we can help out.

 

[Subsonic]

Wunderbar. (I just started learning German) Congratulations. That's proof that your idea is working.

Take a deep breath. Envision yourself going there. Make a list of questions you want to ask. That way when you go there, you know how to get them talking, and you'll come off as more professional.

Ask them what happened to their old guy who did this work. Ask how much they used to pay.

Whatever they say, tell him you'll be able to match that price. (Unless you think you can't for some reason). Once you get good at this, you'll be able to ask for more and justify it. But right now just worry about closing this deal and getting your first client under your belt.

If you have any other questions, post them and we can help out.

Alright thank you so much.
I even considered doing it for free or close to free just to get a testimony and some good photos for the website.

But asking for what they paid before is obviously a good idea I wouldn't have thought of.

 

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[piano]

Just a question, did you create a Gewerbe (=company)? And also, do you already have a website or is it still in planning?

 

[Subsonic]

Just a question, did you create a Gewerbe (=company)? And also, do you already have a website or is it still in planning?

Website is in the works right now. It's gonna be a landing page together with the about us and other basic things for now.

I don't not have a gewerbe yet because I only had nice grandmas as clients so far. I will get it over with as soon as I can to be able to do all the legal company things.

 

[BizyDad]

I even considered doing it for free or close to free just to get a testimony and some good photos for the website.

If you need to do free work to build up a portfolio, do it for the grandma.

This is a car dealership. If you offer them something for free, they might think you're not professional enough to be trusted to do the work.

Go there, be dressed professionally, and be prepared to close a deal.

If you do what I said above, then you will have already gotten an agreement from him on how much it will be.

So when it comes time to close the deal, all you have to do is say great, I can come back on Monday at 2:00 to do the work.

If they say yes, take the office managers or general managers business card (so that you have an email address to send the invoice to) and leave.

 

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[Subsonic]

It seems the sales and negotiation books payed off...

10.3.2023

Big win today. I went to the car dealership with the expectation the make around 50€ to start out.
NOPE.
I used the tip from here and asked what the guy before me charged and he got 180. I then proposed 140€ and the owner was happy with that offer. They also need someone to wipe the floor once a month and I offered them 80€ a month for the job and they agreed.

In total I closed a deal for 220€ that I'll get over this month.
Tomorrow I'll do their windows and then a bit later the floor.

Now I have so much to burn on ads haha.

 

[kody.kendall]

Hey, awesome work. Window washing is a great business to start because there is enough demand that you can almost immediately hit the ground running, just like other service-based labor businesses.

See: https://www.reddit.com/r/Business_Ideas/comments/10fa9vq/_/j50m3e6 View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Business_Ideas/comments/10fa9vq/comment/j50m3e6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3


Getting a local Google Business page and getting 5 star reviews is critical. You won't even need to pay for advertising if you can just do a really good job for your customers, charge them a price they are happy with, and get them to leave you 5 star reviews to your business page.

On top of that, you don't need anything super fancy for your website.

I work with a lot of home service businesses who are doing similar things to you, although they are slightly more established. I have an app that does invoicing, customer text messaging, customer phone calls, and scheduling. I normally charge my clients $80/month = $960/year, but I'm happy to help out a fellow fast-laner if you want to use just the invoicing/estimating portion of it for free, then you're more than welcome to.

Do you have a logo created to go on your invoices?

Edit: Here's a link to the invoicing app if you want to download it and check it out. New Home Page - Field Rocket. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the Apple and Google play store download links.

 

[constant]

It seems the sales and negotiation books payed off...

10.3.2023

Big win today. I went to the car dealership with the expectation the make around 50€ to start out.
NOPE.
I used the tip from here and asked what the guy before me charged and he got 180. I then proposed 140€ and the owner was happy with that offer. They also need someone to wipe the floor once a month and I offered them 80€ a month for the job and they agreed.

In total I closed a deal for 220€ that I'll get over this month.
Tomorrow I'll do their windows and then a bit later the floor.

Now I have so much to burn on ads haha.

Congrats for the win! What books are you referring to?

 

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[kody.kendall]

Website is in the works right now. It's gonna be a landing page together with the about us and other basic things for now.

I don't not have a gewerbe yet because I only had nice grandmas as clients so far. I will get it over with as soon as I can to be able to do all the legal company things.

I don't even think you need a website at this point if you just create a Google Business page. That can basically serve as your website for your first 10-20 customers. I would say it's more important to get reviews so that you show up on Google Maps and search results when people search for local window washers in their area.. a website can help but at this stage not really that critical.

In the future when you're trying to expand then it will be more critical, but just getting your first 10 customers and getting glowing reviews from them will probably take you a lot farther than investing any time/money into your website.

Same for running online ads -- I don't know how useful that would be at this stage.

I think networking in person and talking to potential customers in-person will get you a lot more prospects a lot faster than trying to put up Facebook and Google Ads, which are expensive and you will get a lot of window-shoppers who aren't ready to make a purchase.

Have you thought of just posting on your personal social media and letting people know that you've started your own window washing/cleaning business? Doing something like that is completely free and can help you get those first 10 customers without having to spend any money.

 

[Subsonic]

Congrats for the win! What books are you referring to?

Never split the difference and the psychology of selling.

And thanks.

 

[Subsonic]

I don't even think you need a website at this point if you just create a Google Business page. That can basically serve as your website for your first 10-20 customers. I would say it's more important to get reviews so that you show up on Google Maps and search results when people search for local window washers in their area.. a website can help but at this stage not really that critical.

In the future when you're trying to expand then it will be more critical, but just getting your first 10 customers and getting glowing reviews from them will probably take you a lot farther than investing any time/money into your website.

Same for running online ads -- I don't know how useful that would be at this stage.

I think networking in person and talking to potential customers in-person will get you a lot more prospects a lot faster than trying to put up Facebook and Google Ads, which are expensive and you will get a lot of window-shoppers who aren't ready to make a purchase.

Have you thought of just posting on your personal social media and letting people know that you've started your own window washing/cleaning business? Doing something like that is completely free and can help you get those first 10 customers without having to spend any money.

I appreciate your responses but I have a feeling that your trying to sell me something.

Also I have been doing some marketing through my network and got a lead for a tennis club and potentially a flower store. My main thing has been flyers so far and they have had a ~700% roas for me.
Google Ads would give me more data and also save me a lot of time.

I'll definitely do the Google business thing tho.

 

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[piano]

It seems the sales and negotiation books payed off...

10.3.2023

Big win today. I went to the car dealership with the expectation the make around 50€ to start out.
NOPE.
I used the tip from here and asked what the guy before me charged and he got 180. I then proposed 140€ and the owner was happy with that offer. They also need someone to wipe the floor once a month and I offered them 80€ a month for the job and they agreed.

In total I closed a deal for 220€ that I'll get over this month.
Tomorrow I'll do their windows and then a bit later the floor.

Now I have so much to burn on ads haha.

HOLY SHIT
That's frikn awesome!

 

[perchboy]

2 quick questions about the flyers:

1. Do you hand out to both commercial and residential? Do you get calls from the residential homes too?

2. How long does it take you to get a call back after you hand them out?

 

[Subsonic]

2 quick questions about the flyers:

1. Do you hand out to both commercial and residential? Do you get calls from the residential homes too?

2. How long does it take you to get a call back after you hand them out?

I hand them out to both businesses and private addresses.
It usually takes 3 to 7 days to get calls from the flyers.

 

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[BizyDad]

I appreciate your responses but I have a feeling that your trying to sell me something.

I work with a lot of home service businesses who are doing similar things to you, although they are slightly more established. I have an app that does invoicing, customer text messaging, customer phone calls, and scheduling. I normally charge my clients $80/month = $960/year, but I'm happy to help out a fellow fast-laner if you want to use just the invoicing/estimating portion of it for free, then you're more than welcome to.

Do you have a logo created to go on your invoices?

Edit: Here's a link to the invoicing app if you want to download it and check it out. New Home Page - Field Rocket. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the Apple and Google play store download links.

He probably is trying to sell you something... Eventually.

But right now he's offering you access to an invoicing platform for free.

This app is super cheap for what it does, so eventually you will probably sign up. Especially if you grow to the point where you run a couple of crews to do windows. Or expand into pressure washing or something like that.

It doesn't cost you anything to check it out...

Ask them what happened to their old guy who did this work. Ask how much they used to pay.

Whatever they say, tell him you'll be able to match that price. (Unless you think you can't for some reason). Once you get good at this, you'll be able to ask for more and justify it. But right now just worry about closing this deal and getting your first client under your belt.

If you have any other questions, post them and we can help out.

It seems the sales and negotiation books payed off...

10.3.2023

Big win today. I went to the car dealership with the expectation the make around 50€ to start out.
NOPE.
I used the tip from here and asked what the guy before me charged and he got 180. I then proposed 140€ and the owner was happy with that offer. They also need someone to wipe the floor once a month and I offered them 80€ a month for the job and they agreed.

In total I closed a deal for 220€ that I'll get over this month.
Tomorrow I'll do their windows and then a bit later the floor.

Now I have so much to burn on ads haha.

I'm so happy you applied the advice and got the win. Congrats.

Don't rest on your laurels. Keep going. This is only the beginning...

 

[kody.kendall]

I appreciate your responses but I have a feeling that your trying to sell me something.

Also I have been doing some marketing through my network and got a lead for a tennis club and potentially a flower store. My main thing has been flyers so far and they have had a ~700% roas for me.
Google Ads would give me more data and also save me a lot of time.

I'll definitely do the Google business thing tho.

All the features of the app are probably overkill for you at this point, tbh., so it wouldn't make sense even if you wanted to pay me to get access to all the features at this point.

I have companies that currently just use the estimating and invoicing and I don't charge them for it because they're not really getting the full value of the app, but they also don't need all the features, so I really don't mind. Especially as I'm trying to grow and get the name out there more.

That being said, yeah I would love if your company eventually grew to the point where you needed scheduling and customer text messaging and more of those features, then at that point it would be a no brainer to pay for the app. (Or if not my app, it'd be a no brainer to get a competitor app like Jobber or Housecall Pro, although they are pricier than mine).

Just thought I'd extend the offer for free invoicing since you mentioned you were looking for an invoicing solution.

Good luck with getting those Google reviews! I view that as the best bang for your buck at this point, as that's what I've seen with every other service company I've worked with. Hope to see you continue posting updates and growing

 

[Subsonic]

All the features of the app are probably overkill for you at this point, tbh., so it wouldn't make sense even if you wanted to pay me to get access to all the features at this point.

I have companies that currently just use the estimating and invoicing and I don't charge them for it because they're not really getting the full value of the app, but they also don't need all the features, so I really don't mind. Especially as I'm trying to grow and get the name out there more.

That being said, yeah I would love if your company eventually grew to the point where you needed scheduling and customer text messaging and more of those features, then at that point it would be a no brainer to pay for the app. (Or if not my app, it'd be a no brainer to get a competitor app like Jobber or Housecall Pro, although they are pricier than mine).

Just thought I'd extend the offer for free invoicing since you mentioned you were looking for an invoicing solution.

Good luck with getting those Google reviews! I view that as the best bang for your buck at this point, as that's what I've seen with every other service company I've worked with. Hope to see you continue posting updates and growing

Sorry if I was a bit judgemental haha.

I figured out my invoicing solution for now, which is the very very oldschool way of just printing it out and handing it over to the customer. Once im at a larger level ill defo check your software out.

 

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[piano]

@Subsonic Hey man! May I ask what website service/builder you're using?

 

[Subsonic]

@Subsonic Hey man! May I ask what website service/builder you're using?

I'm using hubspot since they have very decent landing page templates and also a lot of related resources and tools.

WordPress and wix are decent as well but I found them to be more annoying to use.

 

[BizyDad]

wix

Just say no to Wix.

Friends don't let friends use Wix.

 

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[Subsonic]

Just say no to Wix.

Friends don't let friends use Wix.

He's competition...

 

[Robdavis]

Sorry if I was a bit judgemental haha.

I figured out my invoicing solution for now, which is the very very oldschool way of just printing it out and handing it over to the customer. Once im at a larger level ill defo check your software out.

I was thinking about your problem with not having a legal entity. Can you not just delay invoicing until you are registered?

So it means that you will be working without getting paid initially, but once you are registered you just deliver the invoices for all work completed so far.

It's not uncommon in the UK for tradesmen to invoice months after they have completed the work.

I know that it sucks from a cashflow perspective, but it might be a way of buying you some time.