How To Start A Window Cleaning Business

Window Cleaning Business - Background Info:

Starting a window cleaning business can be profitable and very low cost start up business that's easy to start.

It's the type of business that offers great financial rewards for people who want to work alone but still generate a decent income, whether living in a small town cleaning windows for homeowners or working in a busy area cleaning windows for businesses.

The window cleaning business is one that will also bring you immediate profits within days of starting and running a few ads or sending out some direct mail letters.

Glass is constantly getting dirty, and there are most likely dozens of small stores per block in the commercial districts of your city. The way most of these places stay looking nice is thanks to window cleaning businesses.

If you choose to upgrade your window cleaning business, you'll need to look into some more equipment, and you may need to hire on some employees. This is especially true if you manage to get work from the owner of an office building.

Something to consider for your window cleaning business is that you may want to use something a little more industrial than the same blue cleaning fluid you're using on your countertops at home.

Do a little bit of research on the fluids and soaps available, experiment a little, and decide on which fluids work best, and don't be afraid to try a new product now and then.

While shopping for cleaning chemicals for your window cleaning business, do some research on the chemicals themselves and how to properly and safely handle them.

One of the benefits of hiring a window cleaning business is that they have industrial strength chemicals that most people don't have laying around under the sink.

Most businesses you hire your window cleaning business out to will be willing to let you get some water from their bathroom or an outdoor spigot.

The window cleaning business is one of the only business investments so accessible that you even see homeless people doing it.

Window Cleaning Business - Tasks And Skills Needed

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a window cleaning business:

Bookkeeping

Scheduling

General office

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a window cleaning business:

Know how to use scaffolds

Understand the various uses and safety precautions of cleaning agents

Ability to drag heavy water hoses and buckets

Know how to clean windows so they are streak-free

Order supplies as needed

Window Cleaning Business - Approximate Daily Hours Needed:

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - Commercial and residential window washers work general business hours during the weekdays and occasionally on the weekends.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - Assemble and load cleaning supplies, inventory control, call back and follow up on client calls, prospect for new business, keep accurate accounting and scheduling records.

Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:

Minimum Number of Employees -During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance

Record/Bookkeeping

General office

Customer Service

Additional window washers

Cleanup crew

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Patience

Attention to and knowledge of safety measures

Knowledge of cleaning supplies and liquids for best performance

Licenses:

You may need to obtain a license to handle potential dangerous chemicals, and for good reason. Again, do the research! Some chemical mixtures can create toxic fumes. Look into the regulations in your area and see if you need any special qualifications to handle the materials you're going to be using.

It is not required by law, but certification through the International Window Cleaning Association is recommended. IWCCI was created to help window cleaning companies and their employees maintain their safety training and they do offer certification.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - The average startup cost is $100-5,000. Start up costs are less than $150. The materials can be bought at your local hardware store and include a window brush, a squeegee, a telescopic brush handle, some pails, a ladder, rags, soap and chamois.

Minimal exposure - There are several ways to advertise for free including online and offline classifieds, flyer distribution, and cold-calling on shops in a business area.

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Computer

Printer

Cell phone

Website

squeegees

washcloths

buckets

soap

cleaning fluid

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Scaffoldings

More general equipment (more squeegees, sponges, washcloths, towels, etc)

More heavy duty chemicals (you're going to be covering a larger area, and you don't want to rely on elbow grease alone for a twelve story building)

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Wages
Phone/cell phone
Internet access
Permits
Advertising/Marketing
Electricity
Water

Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:

Find out all you can about the trends in the industry. Know your competition, in particular, their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify your competitive advantage. In other words, this will help you figure out what you can give your customers that they're not getting from the other businesses. And keep from emulating the competition's strategy. Instead, make the most of your own advantage points.
If you're looking to upgrade to scaffoldings and high rises with your window cleaning business, make absolutely sure you're acknowledging all of the requisite safety concerns.
It looks like fun, but working on scaffoldings is dangerous. Invest in harnesses and other safety equipment. Don't rely on your catlike sense of balance! You may need to obtain additional licenses for yourself and your employees to work on a scaffolding, as well.
Before you leap into the cleaning business, it's important to look at it with 20/20 vision. Though technology has certainly had an impact on cleaning services, this is not a high-tech business. Nor is there any glitz to it. And there will be times when you'll have as much trouble as Rodney Dangerfield getting respect.
For people who want to own their own business but would rather choose an opportunity that has proven successful for many others rather than gambling on developing their own system, a franchise is the way to go. Also, most franchises provide a degree of marketing support--particularly in the area of national advertising and name recognition--that's extremely difficult for individuals to match.
In the long run, you'll likely invest far less money operating as an independent service than as part of a franchise. Also, as an independent, you're not tied to any pre-established formulas for concept, name, services offered, etc.
The advantage is that you can do things your way. The drawback is that you have no guidelines to follow. Everything you do, from defining your market to cleaning a bathtub, is a result of trial and error. As an independent owner, you must research every aspect of the business, both before and during your business's lifetime, so you'll start right and adapt to market changes.

Pros And Cons of Opening A Window Cleaning Business:

The Pros of Running a Window Cleaning Business:

You can build an extremely profitable business that will generate revenue very quickly.

Most cleaning service businesses can be operated on either a part-time or full-time basis, either from home or from a commercial location. That flexibility gives this industry a strong appeal to a wide range of people with a variety of goals.

You can build a company that suits your individual style and talents. If you like doing the work yourself, you can stay small and do so. If your skills are more administrative in nature, you can build and manage teams to do the work.

For people who like working outside, the opportunities in service areas such as window cleaning and pressure washing are abundant.

The Cons of Running a Window Cleaning Business:

It can be extremely dangerous work. See this article and HSE.

Depending on your area, window washing can be highly competitive

Can be seasonal and work not available during times of inclement weather

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

To start with, it's completely acceptable and commonplace for the owner of a window cleaning business to just walk right into local stores and ask if they could use some window cleaning. Many shops already employ a window cleaning business, but there's room in every town for a few window cleaning businesses.

If this method winds up working for your window cleaning business, the shop may let you put a small flyer up on the window for free advertisement for your window cleaning business (and an example of your handiwork).

You can build a base of continuous window cleaning customers where you create a list of accounts that you keep under contract. This way, their windows are cleaned on a regular basis, giving you an automatic income you can depend on. This is not always the case with a lot of other businesses.

Window Cleaning Business Revenue:

It is possible to generate $4,000 per month as a window washer, especially in the commercial industry. Once you grow and hire part time help, your income can grow into the six-figure range.

Charge $25 to $30 an hour depending on what your area can bear, and hire window washing help at a quarter of that when you have grown large enough to do so.

Window Cleaning Business Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

Starting a Window Cleaning Business: 7 Tips for Excellence

Free Window Cleaning Tips

Equipment and Supplies:

Window Cleaning Resource

Window Cleaning Supplies

JRC

CWC Supply

ABC Window Cleaning Supply

Windows 101 - Supply

Forums:

Window Tools

Franchises:

Window Cleaning Franchise Directory

Squeegee Squad

Associations:

IWCA - International Window Cleaning Association

Global Cleaning Association

Books:

How To Start Your Window Cleaning Business The Right Way!

Window Cleaning Profits

Other:

How to Start a Cleaning Service

Start a post-construction cleaning business

How To Start a Window Cleaning Business - Streak Free Profits

How To Start A Pressure Washing Business

How to Start a Window Cleaning Business

Businesses To Related to a Window Cleaning Business:

Commercial business cleaning
Residential house cleaning
Power-washing
Construction cleanup
Residential building
Janitorial services