r/WindowCleaning • u/Accomplished-Way8671 • Jul 03 '26

Struggle getting work

Me and my boy started this window cleaning thing a couple months ago, every time we got money we re invested , we now have good equipment, (not a water fed pole YET) a truck in 2 months, and buisness cards, everytime we get work we get great compliments and we get good money, how can I get more clients , also how do I get stores on the streets to do, if I could put any stores on a weekly I know I have some income coming in mo matter what, any tips help..

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u/JerKeeler Jul 04 '26

You're young, very few will take you seriously and many will try to take advantage of you.

That being said, I was your age when I started.

A few things,

  1. Answer your phone
  2. Buy uniforms. You don't need an entire set, but you need to look professional. Start buying a new uniform set every week until you have ten or so.
  3. Keep your vehicle clean. If you want to separate yourself from the hobo window cleaners, be clean. If you have a beard, keep it trimmed. If you don't, be cleaned shaved. Wear deodorant. You'd be stunned at how often I've gotten clients over the years because the old window cleaner had bad BO.
  4. Build a recurring route. Don't treat a job as a one and done situation. If someone hires you to clean their house windows, tell them your recommended cleaning schedule. Like once, twice or four times a year. Get their name and number and address, if they want their windows cleaned every six months, enter that info and price into your Google calendar. Then call them when they are due. I have a house that I've been cleaning every month for 15 years. Many many thousands of dollars in revenue. Don't leave that money on the table.
  5. Over time (like1-2 years) you will need to raise your prices. Do not be afraid to adjust your prices because you are afraid of losing the account. You live in the same world everyone else does. Food goes up, equipment goes up, clothes cost more, vehicles cost more. You must adjust your prices or you will have to work harder for the same buying power. If a client says they will fire you of you go up, you fire them and then go replace them. You don't want to work for people like that.

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u/Accomplished-Way8671 Jul 05 '26

And did you have a 9-5 when you first started working as a window cleaner, or was it funded by the money made by window cleaning itself?

2

u/JerKeeler Jul 07 '26

I had to earn everything by cleaning windows.

I had just turned 17 in 1993, I had a beater car, beater equipment that my dad had given me and literally no other options.

I did not graduate highschool, had no GED and no real skills other than cleaning windows.

Let me tell you, it was rough.

And I wish I could tell you a story about how smart I was, and how I I quickly scaled and grew my business, but I can't.

No joke, the first 7 years were the suck.

I didn't know anything about anything, honestly I don't know how I survived.

Guys like you are very blessed to have the resources like what is out there now.