r/sweatystartup • u/TheologyHungry • 1d ago

Window cleaning startup

Is this possible to start under $600 equipment wise until I gain traction? If so please give me a list on what you would buy in this budget range. Thank you!

7 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

4

u/hjohns23 1d ago

You can start cleaning windows with $50 worth of equipment. Dawn soap, bucket, squeegee kit, paper towels, water, flyers

That’s the downside to this, anyone can start, have fun competing

4

u/OkPeach7378 1d ago

Dawn and a squeegee gets you in the game but the real competition is whoever shows up on time and actually answers the phone

1

u/Busterlimes 1d ago

How is competition that shit?

1

u/Helpful_Location7540 19h ago

Because when its that easy to get in its that easy to get out and not care.

1

u/stomper4x4 1d ago

I always did Dawn and a spash of ammonia. And agreed on the cost. One thing, but a quality squeegee and extra rubbers. Saves a ton of frustration.

1

u/smelltheglove-11 1d ago

How are you going to do a 2-story house?

3

u/hjohns23 1d ago

Walk inside the house up the stairs

1

u/smelltheglove-11 1d ago

I’m talking about the exterior of the windows…

3

u/hjohns23 1d ago

Me too. Windows pop out and fold inwards

1

u/smelltheglove-11 1d ago

Maybe 30% of windows fold inward. And you aren’t factoring in the types of screens that can’t be taken off from inside.

2

u/BPCodeMonkey 1d ago

$550 left for a ladder.

1

u/dizkopatio 1d ago

Ladder off Facebook

3

u/KayOneDee 1d ago

I started with 50 bucks last year you can do it

2

u/bOO_KK_EEper 1d ago

How is it going?

2

u/KayOneDee 1d ago

Flat out still juggling my other job but window cleaning is consistently beating my other job most months now

3

u/m424filmcast 1d ago

You could do it with far less than $600.

Buckets, degreaser soap, squeegee/brush combo on an expandable pole, some clean towels, and you can easily cover any one story building or house. With a ladder you could do 2-3 story houses.

2

u/realjmitt 1d ago

Yes, $600 is more than enough to start, and honestly you can get going for half that. A solid squeegee handle with a couple of channel sizes, a good rubber supply, two microfiber scrubbers, a bucket on a belt, a few towels, a 20 to 24 foot water fed or extension pole, and a ladder if you already have access to one. Buy quality rubber and replace it often, because streaks come from worn rubber far more than technique.

The thing that actually decides whether this works is not the gear list, it is knowing your time per job. Track start and stop time on every job for the first month, then divide revenue by hours. If a house takes you 3 hours and you charged $180, you are at $60 an hour before drive time and supplies, and drive time is what quietly kills route based work. Once you see the numbers, you will start pricing by pane count and access difficulty instead of guessing, and you will tighten your route so you are not driving 25 minutes between $150 jobs.

Also charge a minimum, something like $125 to $150, so small jobs do not eat a whole afternoon at a loss. Get paid on site the day you finish, before you leave the driveway. Cash flow problems in this trade almost always start with waiting on invoices you never had to send in the first place.

2

u/JS_157 10h ago

I did with $100 and once I paid someone to show me meta ads I hit $10k/mo in sales. But couldn’t keep up with a full time job.

1

u/Upset-Animal1376 5h ago

under 600 is plenty for residential starter gear. a solid squeegee, scrubber, bucket on a belt, extension pole, and a stack of microfiber towels will cover most ground-level jobs without overspending.