Trying to make it in Colorado

Hello all,

I have been watching Luke and SteveO for the past couple of months because I find their videos fascinating. I started window cleaning back in 2017 with absolutely no experience. The only thing I brought to the table was I knew how to work hard and I wasn’t afraid of heights. My starting wage was $14/hr. About 1 and half years later I worked my way up to a team lead position and was making about $17/hr. Now some of you may look at those rates and think that is not half bad but here in Colorado if you are working full weeks at $17/hr, you are barely making ends meet as a single person. At least that was my experience. Low and behold the owners announce that they will be selling the business to a new owner and he needs a manager. They recommended me, and I got the job. Now I have been “manager” for almost a year and I have negotiated a salary. Again you may say, man that sounds like a great deal! Well my wife and I have very large ambitions to say the least and I never truly saw myself as a job person. So now the question becomes, how can we meaningfully increase our income?

I am considering the possibility of cleaning windows for myself. Obviously this is a common theme in the forum and has been spoken about at length. I have been going back and forth for the past couple of weeks on whether this would be a good idea for my family or not. I do not want to make the decision to leave a salaried job and start my own venture only to find that 2 to 6 months later I can’t keep enough work to feed my family. Colorado is fairly saturated with other window cleaners as well. I have a territory that I intend to focus on because it is close to my house and when I searched online I found at least 15 companies that serve the same territory.

All that aside my thought for starting out was to schedule new accounts on weeknights if possible and weekends. Is there anyone that has clients that schedule at those times? Ideally if I could work a 9-5 job and build my business at night and on weekends I would be more comfortable with that transition. That would allow me to reinvest in the business until it made sense to kick the job to the curb and do my own thing full time.

From what I know about the industry and how things are generally priced and knowing how much I can clean on a daily basis I believe I could make at least double my salary. That is definitely attractive but my question would be, how attainable is that? When I hear of other small owner operator type window companies making less that $100k a year that makes me nervous.

If I haven’t lost you yet, please take the time to comment below and let me know your input. I posted to the rookie forum because I would be a rookie to owning a window cleaning company. I am by no means a rookie to the industry in general. I wanted to make that clear before people start saying to go do my homework on the window cleaning industry.

Thank you everyone!!

1 Like

Hey! What a great post!

Man it’s hard to say.

Have you tried asking for a raise at your current company? Couldn’t hurt.

What kind of net income are you hoping for cleaning windows for yourself over the course of the next year?

If you decide to go out on your own, do you have a marketing strategy?

There are some people who hit hard and make a living in the first year… But what’s your plan if it takes 2 or 3 years before you make what you make now?

The potential is always there but it might take time.

Thank you for your quick reply Luke!

I have asked for a raise and basically the answer was no. Until we have a crew of 8-10 producing window cleaners and a full schedule there is no way for him to pay me more. Honestly I don’t expect him to pay more because I know what the company is producing and I’m surprised he can afford it now.

Ideally I would want to net at least $75,000 in the next year. Now keep in mind I am going to be focusing mainly on storefronts and small commercial that I can do with a pole so my goal is not to buy the more expensive gear in the first year. That number is also based on my own effort alone and not hiring any employees. When I was on the route for my current company I could average $400 per day in revenue at their prices and my best day was about $750 by myself.

What I have found with a lot of the more established window cleaning companies in my area is that they would prefer to focus on residential business as well as larger commercial mainly because they have better margins. I see an opportunity to market to the smaller storefronts and commercial buildings because my costs will be lower than the bigger companies so I can afford to do them. For example the company I work for has a $175 minimum. If other companies have similar minimums then that leaves a lot of business that is getting overlooked.

So to answer your question about marketing strategy I would say my target market is small stores and small commercial. I really like how you use the quick quote cards and walk in and introduce yourself and your company. I plan to use the same sales technique for marketing my company. Since success in sales primarily comes from sheer numbers I imagine a lot of my time initially will be devoted to walking shopping centers and small business parks handing out cards and making introductions.

To answer JaredAl’s question, if it took me 2-3 years to make what I make now that would not be an option. Even if I had to work 14 hour days to make it happen I would find a way. Again I want to stress that part of my strategy would be keeping my costs as low as possible.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my post. I really do appreciate your input and I hope my tone comes across that way.

My question would be; have you ever signed a “do not compete waiver”?

Also, in my situation, when starting, and even now (if I need it) I’ve have my father in laws biz to fall back on while building my client list. He knew my goals from the start and was able to give me flexibility to take off mostly whenever needed to take on cleaning jobs. (This has even given me a couple extra skill sets to offer).

When I first started my biz, I was working for a Service Master franchise and my boss didn’t want to get into windows, and I was the lead carpet cleaning tech, since it was no conflict of interest, I started gaining my first clients by selling to my existing carpet clients. I still work for most of them now!

My point…if you feel like starting on your own, 1-come up with a good marketing plan to grow
2- be willing to work odd hours at first if needed 3- consider having something to fall back on or carry you through the slow times at first.

Also, one more question, do you have any of your own tools, equipment yet? If not, I can share how I built my starter pack with next to nothing, otherwise, best of luck to you!

Thank you for your reply JackSmackPWC,

I have not signed any contracts with my current employer. To be honest I don’t have defined responsibilities with my current job so I end up doing a little bit of everything.

I suppose my fall back could be delivering food for door dash which I have done off and on in the past. It’s not very good money but it is something to fill in the gaps for sure.

I will not be tapping into my current companies client list because I do think that would be a major conflict of interest. He paid a lot of money for that list and I would feel dishonest starting a company that offers the same services and basically stealing his clients. That is nice that you had that option though.

I laid out my marketing plan above. I don’t have a problem working odd hours especially if that means early mornings. Door dash would be an option to carry me through slower times because it is usually conversely related to window cleaning. People don’t want to go out and get food when it’s raining or cold.

I do not have my own equipment yet because everything has been provided by my company. I built a list on ABC window cleaning and the total is about $300. I would love to get your input on what you used to start. My main thinking is that I don’t want to buy cheap stuff that I am going to have to replace in the first month or so. I’m used to using brass channels and handles so luckily those are pretty dang cheap.

Thanks!

1 Like

If you’re going after small storefront and small commercial then you can probably build a route pretty quick. Storefront is one of the easiest things to get but you’ll find out that there are a lot of single operators out there going after the same thing.

So you’ll have to set yourself up as professional if you’re going to get that business. Get a few polo shirts with your name and logo, business cards, maybe a quote sheet, brochure if you have the time, and make sure to logo your vehicle. The vehicle is probably the most powerful tool you have. And always always always treat the customer like your only customer.

For storefront you just need a mop, pole, and a few squeegees. However, when you’re bidding a storefront, or cleaning a storefront always remind the owners “Oh, by the way, we do residential as well.” Then you can probably get by with a 17’ little giant ladder.

If the storeowner likes you, ask them for referrals. Just tell them your trying to build your business for you and your family and if they know anyone who might need their windows done to send them your way.

Number 1 rule: no matter how hungry you are, don’t go below your minimum or negotiate prices. If your minimum is $20 then that’s the minimum. Just tell people sorry, the business has a $20 minimum.

Number 2 rule: do what you say and say what you do. If your schedule something for 9am you’re there at 9am.

Thanks JaredAl!

Those are my thoughts exactly. I also wanted to update the thread that I will be pursuing residential referrals like you said. My initial plan was to stay away from resi work because I don’t want to buy a WFP system and I didn’t want to be on a ladder by myself. Luckily my wife agreed that she would be my spotter on days that I do ladder work. Hooray for that!

Also these are already things I am doing for my current job. I just got the inspiration to do it for myself instead by watching the YouTube window cleaning community.

Remember that tools are an investment that pay you back, not like a dinner out or a fur coat.

To get to 100K/yr, look at 5 years.

A website and Google reviews will get the phone ringing for minimal cost, especially the reviews.

A balanced business is a healthy business - resi, storefront, commercial all have their place and purpose.

If you decide to go WFP, hit me up and we can get you setup for less than $1K.

1 Like

So, when I started out, I was flat broke. Since I had about as much experience as what you’ve explained you had, I knew what tools I needed. I made a list of all the minimum good quality tools that I would need to start,(I am still working with those tools today plus some others I’ve added on). added up the cost, booked a residential job that would cover all the expense, bought tools on credit (less than $300) then did the job, and paid off my credit then boom! I now had my tools to get running on my jobs

And good thinking, keep it all honest, get all your work by never stealing it out from under someone like that. Down the road though, you may end up with some of your current clients.

Thank you for your response Jordie,

I agree about the tools. Buying cheap things always costs you more in the long run. I think a 5 year plan is fair. That does remind me of a question I have. What is the best way to get a website up and running? I’m sure there is a thread if someone wants to direct me there. I will definitely keep you in mind if I do go the WFP route. I would be interested in Luke’s Timberwolf design for sure.

JackSmackPWC, how have things been going for you since you started? Did you decide to hire employees to grow your business?

I’m not crazy about the idea but my wife found some ladders at a pawn shop and they are having a 50% off sale this Saturday. I might stop by and see if I could pick one or two up for cheap if they look like there are in good enough shape and safe.

***Another update
I registered my business with Colorado as a sole proprietorship and obtained an EIN. Next steps will be looking into insurance. One of the guys I used to work with referred me to a company he uses but I wanted to ask if anyone recommends a solid insurance outfit? Also is $1 million in general liability excessive or is that the standard?

I also got a phone number and landline for the business. Next step on that front is business cards and possibly other marketing material. I plan to start marketing the week of August 12th.

Thank you everyone!

I only started my biz a few years ago, the first year, I wasn’t able to give it my all, the second year, I worked just for myself from mid May through mid November, this year started more in April and calls have kept steady enough that I haven’t really been running paid adds yet this year but I’ll start those soon.

I don’t have employees, I’m to the point though where it would be really nice to have an extra hand sometimes and to have someone who can do quotes while I’m working. I really don’t plan on hiring out though, we’ll see. When I’m sure that I can make enough to carry ourselves through the winter my goal is to let my wife quit her job and go part time with me.

The amount of growth since I decided to start this has really shown great potential, I’m constantly trying to learn how to be better, faster, more efficient and all that.

You’ll definitely have several hats to wear as a business owner ever if you keep it small. The only regrets I have so far though is that I didn’t start it sooner.

And one million is pretty much basic.

I started my own company June 4th of 2018. The company I had previously worked for was filing bankruptcy and I was getting laid off. There were a few things that I had to my advantage fortunately. My house had nearly $100K in equity and I knew I was going to be able to get a lot of the equipment from the bankruptcy trustee liquidating assets. Also, I had collected every one of the clients’ contact information in my personal phone since we were required to do all of our own booking and client communications (at the time it was only for identification purposes only so I knew which client was either calling or emailing me). When the company folded, I sent out an email to everyone in my contact list saying that I was going out on my own and if they were not able to get on the schedule with the previous company to give me a call. There was a client base around 750 and the owner told me he was only going to handle about 125 on his own, so there were a lot of people that were going to need service and would be looking. I did make it clear that I was not stealing anyone from the original company, and no one had any service contracts, nor did I have any non-compete clause. Out of the 750ish clients I only had contact info for 300 or so and sent them a blast email, but only about 10 clients ever contacted me from the email blast. However, these 10 clients did go on to their neighborhood facebook pages and an app called Nextdoor and wrote high praise reviews for my new company. This led to multiple new clients that were calling me without me ever spending any marketing time or money. To this day, 14 months after starting my company, I have only spent $30 on marketing for a facebook promotion for my company’s FB page, and only at my wife’s request, and it did not result in a single new client lead. I spent $75 on 1,000 business cards and just handed a few to each client as I completed their job and asked for them to had them to neighbors if they were happy with the work I had done.

I invested $60K into my business right off the bat. I had a custom trailer built and put a down-payment on a used diesel truck to tow it. I bought some new tools from WCR and paid all of my State Licensing and insurance fees. (I pay $50/mo for a $2 million policy since I do commercial work on car dealerships and 3 client’s houses that are $1.5 million+. $1 million is a good place to start for windows only services.)

One thing I did though, and I don’t know if you can do this in Colorado, was I registered the company as an LLC where I am the sole member. This provides me with the legal separation of my personal finances and my business. So if someone were to file a lawsuit, they can not go after my personal assets like my house. I think that if you are a sole proprietorship, you do not have that same protection.

I think the one strength that has kept me in business is being diversified in the skills I offer. I do commercial and residential windows along with pressure washing of both. I also do screen repair, minor irrigation repair, paver and concrete sealing/restoration, and screen enclosure re-screening. Basically everything evolved from keeping windows clean. For example, the window is getting sprayed by a sprinkler and it is causing hard water calcium build up, so I adjust/move/replace the sprinkler head or install drip irrigation to stop the cause of the problem before I fix the hard water stains. Windows with heavy mildew and mold on the glass or frames led to pressure washing the whole house before I do the windows (which doubles my income from a single client/visit). Well since I pressure wash houses, clients wanted me to pressure wash their screen patio enclosures which often led to old brittle screens tearing out and needing to be replaced, so I added that. Then I was asked to pressure wash paver driveways, the jointing sand often gets blown out so it needs to be replaced and a sealer is applied to prevent future mildew growth. All of these required minor equipment and supply investments, but those expenditures were easily recovered within the first job while also maintaining a profit margin.

By being diversified last year I grossed around $50K in 7 months. This year I have grossed over $80K in 7 months and already have $30K worth of work scheduled over the next 3 months. Here in Florida, we do have the benefit of being able to work year round and the fall is our busiest season with snowbirds coming down from northern states and wanting their houses cleaned once they get here, or everyone wants their houses and windows cleaned before decorating for the holidays.

Since you have a winter drop off, what if you were able to look into making a minor equipment investment into air duct and chimney flue cleaning? This way you can predominantly work indoors doing that in the winter months and then in the warmer temps, offer window cleanings for the same clients.

I work for myself and probably will never hire an employee until my daughter is old enough to work. (She has Autism and is very detail oriented when it comes to assigned tasks. I hope that she and I can work together and I would know she would do an excellent job.) When I worked for the previous company 17 other employees came and went in 3.5 years. Mind you there were only two work vehicles on the road for the company and one of them was mine. Most guys were fired in less than 90 days, one was less than one full shift. The biggest issue was employees not maintaining standards and causing client satisfaction to drop significantly, thereby ruining the reputation the owner had spent 10+ years establishing.

Pay for a VOIP business number rather than a landline. I use GoDaddy’s where I get a local phone number for my business, but it rings directly to my cell phone and I can call back from the business phone number from my cell phone so my clients never get my personal phone number. I also get transcripted voicemails emailed to my business account. It’s like $12/mo. It also allows me to set business hours so when the business is “closed”, it will not ring on my phone and will automatically send the call to voicemail and email me a transcript of the message. There is a similar app called Grasshopper.

I tend to write really long posts and have mental diarrhea. Hopefully some of it is useful to you.

Where are you located in Colorado?

So your goal is $75,000 in sales in year 1 doing store fronts and small shops? Have you broken down how to get to that? IE, how many $20 monthly jobs are you going to have to do? Quick math: $6,250 in sales every month for 12 months. That’s 312 monthly jobs. How many hours is it going to take to solicit enough places to secure 312 jobs? How many hours is it going to take in addition to that to complete the 312 jobs?

I also live in Colorado and I don’t go into many places that don’t have clean windows already and the places that have dirty ones have made the choice to not have them cleaned.

I’m not trying to burst your bubble but I’ve worked a number of years building my business all by myself and I’m not at $75,000 per year in sales. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it but if you’re setting your expectations so high you’re destined to fail.

Maybe there are other people here that have started from nothing and got to $75,000 in sales in the first year. Maybe you have more money to invest in a business than I do. There’s a ton of external factors that play into success or failure but simple math is always my first step.

Thank you everyone for you responses! I don’t think I can address everything but I would like to address the main points.

GSARMedic, it was really cool hearing about your business success and where things are heading. Keep up the good work!

Silda, I live in Broomfield, CO currently.

Charles, I appreciate your straight forward response. Don’t get me wrong I am not against doing residential or other projects but realistically I do not have the means to jump straight into anything other than easier pole work type jobs. When you say $20 jobs, is that how you typically price storefronts? A lot of the locations I will be marketing to are much larger than $20. I have seen quite a few places that I can tell get their windows cleaned but it is poor quality work. I can’t really say how much success I will have in my marketing/sales attempts because I haven’t had a chance to test the waters. All I can speak to is that the company I work for passes over a lot of jobs because they do not meet a minimum. To me I think there is an opportunity to serve those types of clients. Not everyone wants to bust ass cleaning storefronts/small commercial when there is so much residential work out there.

I cannot say whether it is possible or impossible to do $75,000 in the first year because I have never tried it. If I fail miserably then it will be a learning experience and I can use that to improve. You never know what you are capable of until you try.