4 Essentials of Starting a Service Based Business

You can start a service type business based on what you know and are good at. It just happens that I’m good at window cleaning. I started cleaning windows professionally back in 2004. I’ve worked for multiple companies and many other window cleaners in my area. I’ve learned a lot from the experience of working with others in my profession.

This is a secret to starting your own business. You can hire on with a window cleaning company in the beginning to get a regular paycheque while you learn and improve your skill level. Then when you are more confident in your skill and ability and have developed a more professional pleasant personality, you can begin to get your own clients.

1. Start Where You’re At + Stay Out of Debt

It’s good to never complicate things by going out and getting into debt purchasing all kinds of equipment when you decide to get your own business going. Always start with where you’re at and within your budget. You can start with purchasing the basic tools for window cleaning such as:
– a scrubber
– a squeegee
– a bucket
– a pole
– some cloths

As you begin to get more business and more cash flow, you can gradually re-invest some of your income into more equipment. This is the secret to scaling up your business gradually. You want to be able to manage your business in the beginning, middle and end. Work with what you know today and keep adding to your skills and knowledge by learning new things.

2. Always Be Learning

In order to keep progressing and growing your business you have to stay teachable and keep learning as you go. I would suggest you watch a variety of videos of other window cleaners demonstrating how to do different types of jobs.

Get to know entrepreneurs in your area who have successful businesses and learn from their valuable experience of growing a business from scratch. Maybe even find a meet-up group on a topic related to your business if you want to meet others in your industry.

The secret to growing your business is to always be teachable, to teach yourself the skills necessary to grow your business. As your business grows and income grows, you may wish to hire or sub out certain aspects of the business, such as the accounting and office type work to someone you trust. (unless you are good at it, enjoy it and have the time for it.)

3. Focus

Focus is essential when starting any new business. In the beginning you may have to focus on learning how to get clients, since no clients equals zero income. In time, you will find what works for you and become more skilled at finding clients to the point of near effortlessness.

You can always be focussed on doing great work, since this will help grow your business by referral. Never settle for a poor job. People talk and this can negatively affect your reputation. Always be polite, respectful, kind and truly listen to your clients wants and needs. This will go a long way in building a good reputation in your area.

When you’re at home you can make time to focus on learning more about your business. You can do research, watch training videos, learn how to build or improve your own website, do up quotes and email them to potential clients, do some advertising to get new calls, make phone calls to companies willing to hire sub contractors, etc.

4. Keep Moving Forward

When you focus on the task at hand and do your absolute best, you will see results when you stick with it. This reminds me of the analogy of a rocket. In the beginning of the launch process, it takes a lot of fuel (energy) to lift off the launch pad. It lifts off slowly and as it starts moving, it moves faster and builds momentum until it’s doing thousands of miles an hour. It then successfully escapes earths gravity and is in orbit.

You will see the results of a successful business only if you stick with it and keep going. Don’t give up. You may need to put things on hold for a while and get a job or have a part time job in order to pay bills while you grow your business. When you keep doing what is working and have a good attitude, you can and will be successful in starting, growing and maintaining your own window cleaning business. (Or any other type of business you start)

If you enjoyed this article, please hit one of the share buttons below and/or leave me a comment.  Thanks for reading.  Now go take some action toward your dreams!

William R King

William King

William currently lives in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada with his wife Natasha and cat Noah. He has been cleaning windows professionally since 2004. William has worked for multiple window cleaning companies as both an employee and a subcontractor until he committed to building his own business in 2012. His business has grown since to provide a very nice income for the family. Natasha manages the office and accounting of the business as it continues to grow. With 28+ years of experience in the cleaning industry, William's intention with this website is to share his experience and knowledge with people who would like to learn how to create their own window / gutter cleaning service business.

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6 Responses

  1. sophiebowns says:

    Thanks for the helpful tips!

  2. yourcso says:

    Focus is the key. I love the Steve Jobs quote “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to all the other good ideas that there are.”

  3. Angelica says:

    Thank you for this! I love number 2, so true!

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