Chocolate, Squeegees & Sales

Stuart Webster of "Sunshine Cleaning" in Derbyshire, UK pleas to other window cleaners nearby - don't buy Kevins book or sign up for the dossier! He's having such huge success with Kevins tips & methods that he would rather he kept the secrets to himself. You may remember Stuarts previous success with his marketing effort here. He has since been tweaking the marketing advice provided by Kevin, the "window cleaning business coach" by adapting his marketing flyer to include chocolate. Just click on the picture to view. Here's Stuart to give you a follow-up video..

Another installment from Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us a few more unbiased reviews of products in the window cleaners workplace. This time his opinion on the Steccone featherweight squeegee, in this weeks edition of "Tool Talk."

Michael Polsky of "M&M Professional Window Cleaners Limited," another Canadian in Toronto writes an extremely good blog about running a successful small business called "The Window Cleaner." He recently posted this on his blog: -

"A shout out to Sean! Sean is the Salesman for Window Cleaning Resource - of which my blog is posted on the forum. Thanks Chris and Alex. Sean is a very successful businessman, and has helped WCR to acquire much of their commercial work. I watched Sean's video today about his new approach to pricing. I must say I'm impressed. He's not going to lowball his prices anymore to win accounts - and he will charge what is good for him - working on commision, and high enough for the guys who work at WCR and Chris and Alex. I too don't believe in charging lower than I want for an account simply to match local competition or get a client. My belief in pricing is too charge at a rate/hour that you want, and a rate that you know the majority of your desired clients will accept. I would rather charge too high and not get a business, than charge too low, and kick myself later, and find myself over time with a lot of underpriced work"....more.

Here's Sean in action - with the video in question..

Barack Obama's Day Ruined by Window Cleaner

Oprah, Denzel, Yo-Yo and a window-wash: Classical musicians Itzhak Perlman, left, and Yo-Yo Ma performed during the inauguration of President Barack Obama at the Capitol, missing the window-washer behind them.
Sometimes, so much attention is paid to the show, that the sideshow is overlooked. There was a high quotient of spit and polish at the inauguration, of President Barack Obama, but someone on the Capitol staff may have taken it a little far during ceremonies this morning. Just prior to Obama's fumbled oath-taking, thanks to the miscue of Chief Justice John Roberts, as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman and two other classical musicians played the somber and contemplative "Air and Simple Gifts,'' somebody inside the Capitol began wiping the window to the right of the west balcony entrance, immediately behind the dignitaries. Clearly visible to pretty much everyone in the audience was a light colored cloth moving from one pane of glass to another. "Look at that guy polishing the window. Find another time to do that," said a miffed Jerry Flavin, 61, an Obama volunteer from Fredericksburg, Texas, who was seated in the last row perhaps 100 yards from balcony. "That's ridiculous."

Window Cleaners "Virgin Mary" Rock

Man hopes to raise funds with Virgin Mary rock: BILLINGS - Jeff Wahl is hoping that a rock he found along the banks of the Yellowstone River can help pay for treatment to save his friend's life. Wahl, 45, who runs an East Helena window-cleaning business, found an agate in eastern Montana with an unusual design within its amber-colored core. “I could see in this agate what looked like a person kneeling,” he said. When he got home, he cut the agate on his rock saw and revealed what he says is a resemblance of the Virgin Mary kneeling while cradling her baby Jesus. An aura seems to enshroud Mary's head. He calls it the Prayer Agate.
But Wahl is willing to part with the stone so that he can help his friend, Manx Skillicorn, pay expenses as he awaits liver transplant surgery. Skillicorn, of Seeley Lake, has been staying in Oklahoma City with his wife, Jeanne, since October as he awaits a donor. “With everything they're going through, having to stay in an apartment away from home, I just want to do something for them,” Wahl said.
Skillicorn, 63, is battling a tumor on his liver along with chronic cirrhosis caused by a blood disorder that produces too much iron, destroying his liver. He's on the national transplant list, but because the tumor kept growing, he was bumped down. Although Skillicorn has insurance to defray the costs, he said the $1,300 apartment rent he's had to pay in Oklahoma City along with the mortgage and expenses on his Montana home have his family strapped for cash.
Skillicorn appreciates his friend's help. “He needs the money as bad as I do,” Skillicorn said. “I appreciate him anyway.”

"This is no ordinary stone as you can see from the photos. You do not have to guess by tilting your head, or squinting your eyes to figure out what this stone looks like. I found this stone myself off an island in the Central Pacific.The rock was trapped between several large boulders in the surf at the base of a cliff. At low tide it was partially exposed and it caught my eye because it looked like a kneeling woman. When the waves came in and crashed over the boulders the water would swirl all around her moving through the head opening and then back out. I beleive this is also how the cavity was formed that the small stone was in. After getting her to shore I could see half of the small stone and all around it was shell and sand. I rinsed the cavity to find it much deeper and was able to lift the small stone out. I layed it in the cavity and thats when it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was looking at Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus. This is what I see and every person I have shared this with sees her too. There is no telling how many years it took mother nature to form this stunning depiction of the Virgin Mary. This phenomenon stands approx 12" tall and other than rinsing her of salt water and sand it is just the same as the day I rescued it from the ocean and has NOT been altered. The white you see on her in the pictures is coverings from the ocean and adds even more to her beauty. This statue is a miracle in itself just by the way it was formed. A portion of the proceeds from this sale will help a dear friend and her 3 sons one of which has severe dissabilities. I invite the buyer to come and pick her up in person. This is how confident I am about how beautiful she is."

Another Virgin Mary here.

Window Cleaning Below 0

Mr Squeegee (aka Tony Evans) of New View Window Cleaning in Wellman, Iowa gives us a taste of the weather at the moment. Hints & Tips from Tony in episode 7 of "weather or not" including hand warmers, pocket warmers, toe warmers, pole wrapping, the benefits of quick release bucket-on-a-belt & the dangers of drinking Coco!



On the Window Cleaning Resource Forum there have been reports of temperatures as low as -39, working in this sort of weather shows real commitment! Remember stay safe & watch for slips & trips. Here is a picture of Mike Draper of "Clearly Windows" in Illinois ermmm... not working! Second up is Matt of Clearview Window Cleaning showing us his water fed pole backpack. And finally Josh of Jet City Window Cleaning in Seattle, Washington.

Window Cleaning Add-On - CCTV Inspection

Plants twining themselves into window frames & guttering is a home owners nightmare. This news report from "Property News" tells of how problems & inspections are important: ...

"A quick check around your property now could save a lot of time, hassle and money later, warns house doctor Peter Fall. The weather of late has not been the most conducive to getting things done outside the house, but there have been some dry and relatively mild days. When you do venture into the garden, the ground is too wet to walk on and the footpaths slippery with moss and algae growth. So you need to take care. Despite this, we should take advantage of the normal winter die-back of the plants to inspect our buildings and boundary walls and fences and, if necessary do some simple maintenance. I’m thinking about the plants we encourage to grow up our walls and fences. Many of these are deciduous and shed their leaves. Now is a good time to look through their bare branches at the walls behind and, if need be, cut them back away from windows, gutters and roofs.

The final winter point is a plea to check the gutters again. This is particularly after the heavy winds we’ve had lately. Many houses we are currently inspecting seem to have never had their gutters cleared but some owners claim to have cleared them last year and they have filled back up again. If you have a window cleaner get them to check and they are probably the best to do the job. If not it’s a task for an able DIYer with a long ladder or your local jobbing builder."

Which takes us to the Water Fed Pole Training Academy. One of the topics in the "gutter cleaning section" shows you how to make your own inspection equipment & where to buy the tools at very little cost. How it works: For a call-out, a fee is charged for the client to view there gutters or problem areas from the ground via cctv/water fed pole. If the client decides to use your services the fee is redeemed on actually having your gutter clean performed by the window cleaner there & then. Here are a few pictures to show you the equipment. Just click to enlarge or join up to the water fed pole training academy & see where to get the equipment for yourself.

Window of Opportunity came with a Squeegee

Thursday broke hazy and gray, the mercury lodged at the freezing mark with no sign of the sun. The idea of standing outside with a bucket of water in a brisk wind could not have been less inviting. But there was Art Biggs, giving the soap-and-squeegee treatment to every shop window in the sprawling Westgate Centre in Lakewood. "Days like this are pretty brutal," he said. "But you know? I love this job." Like long-distance trucking or driving a combine, washing windows offers a certain isolation that invites introspection. "I have lots of time to spend inside my own head," Biggs said. "There's always time to be daydreaming or mulling over current events." Sometimes he listens to audio books, but generally it's just him and the Zen of soaping windows and fanning a squeegee across them.
At 39, Biggs, who grew up in Littleton, has been in the trade for 15 years. After graduating from Metropolitan State College of Denver with a history degree, he found himself working a dead-end retail job. Then one day, a revelation. "A window washer walked in and went to work," Biggs said. "He was just ecstatically happy, almost like he was on some religious high. And he made more money in 20 minutes than I did in three hours. "I thought, 'Hey, he may be on to something.' " Soon enough, Biggs walked into a Home Depot and bought a window-washing kit: squeegees, mops, detergent (he prefers Dawn) and a bucket. The tools of the trade don't get much simpler unless you shovel snow for a living. "I went out and got my first customer that week," he said. "It was a Mail Boxes Etc. store."
Today, Biggs, married with one daughter, has 65 commercial clients and serves 100 homes. He's insured to work up to 30 feet off the ground, "so basically a Denver square is my limit." He charges $45 an hour, working 50 hours a week in warm weather and 30 hours from January to March. "Basically I have a nice middle-class income," he said. So far, it's been recession- proof.
The job has its hazards. Biggs has never fallen off a ladder, but he has had them shift on him. "It's like being on an amusement park ride and have something go wrong." Then there are the wasps. "You'll be reaching into a window well and get nailed four or five times," he said. "That's when I lose my live-and-let-live perspective." Then winter arrives and you arrive at work on a frigid day only to find you have left your waterproof gloves at home.
But there are perks: working outside, a flexible schedule that gives him time to spend with his daughter, who is autistic. Sometimes he even has an audience. "Kids are hilarious," he said. "They're just fascinated. Sometimes I hand them the squeegee and let them go to work. "A few of the parents are a little reserved — it's not the career path they want the kids to take — but other parents get into it: 'That's great, honey; now you can come home and do our windows.' " I asked Biggs what the job has given him. "I think my profession enables me to see the world from both sides of the fishbowl," he said. "I have come to love this city and its people. I feel like I am in some great theatrical work every day. "Kind of like 'Our Town.' " With squeegees.

Window Cleaning Videos to Help & Inspire

Mr, Sanchez (aka Matt) shows us how to tackle those screens for those that live in a country that has them. He even tackles the screens without removing them whilst using a water fed pole (2nd video.) Check out the new facial addition that was hiding under the moustache!

Another installment from Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us a few more unbiased reviews of products in the window cleaners workplace. This time his opinion on the Unger UniTec pole, in this weeks edition of "Tool Talk."

Don Marsh, the window cleaner from Gainesville, Florida talks about the most fundamental reasons why you should or should not start a business. Don's having trouble with his power washing add-on & puts it down to experience.

Sean Dolan of Window Cleaning Resources & sales director of "All County Window Cleaning" gives us a few hints & tips in the latest editions of "the saleman."

Season 3 Episode 1 WCR Nation is now ready to watch here.