Business Idea - Feedback Encouraged

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Billy_Bokkie

Hi,

Although I don't post too often, I do and have been reading the forums regularly for a number of years and have a number of IP's (Rolf can attest to that).

I am considering commencing a new business, and would greatly appreciate any feedback. The business is cleaning gutters, I know its not the next boost juice or a fortune 500 company, but the business would essentially clean gutters for people who wont, cant or don't have the inkling too.

The reason this business idea arose was that every time I visited my MIL :) , I have to clean her gutters (more than happy to). But it got me thinking what about tenants and the risks associated with them cleaning gutters and such (actually to be honest it was probably more about the neglect than the risk). Also it got me thinking who wouldn't mind paying to have the gutters clean and saving themselves from cutting hands, risking ladders and waisting hours of the weekend.

Anyway, my concept is that I would offer a gutter cleaning service, both residential and commercial to alleviate this problem. The charges would be residential ($150 - $175 - 1 or 2 story) depending on pitch and commercial would be by meter. I understand that a handful (4 -5) of people are doing this in Brisbane at the moment, but not on a roll-out scale as I am proposing. I am fully trained at height and ropes as a result of my current profession.

Enough from me, I will leave it to the balanced forum of Somersoft to decide if this idea has merit. Any and all views are welcome both positive and negative! Thank you!
 
I think I'd appreciate if you also offered to install the latest technology in keeping leaves out, which would cut your repeat business. :(

Which raises one of the most important considerations for small business, repeat sales. Finding enough new clients to clean 6 hours a day 4.5 days a week, is going to be hell of a lot tougher without repeat business.

I'd hazard a guess domestic house cleaning would be a better business
- no trouble with repeat business
- cheap advertising (word of mouth)
- concentrate clients close to home means less dead travel time
- large supply of unskilled labor for employee base.
- able to cross over to commercial contracting easily.
- cash business

Might seem not as macho as roof cleaning but if you can ramp the revenue up, you may get a 80k+ goodwill when you sell it in 2-3 years.



Another angle is if you are going to offer to clean the gutters, may as well offer to do the whole external house. Pressure blast roof, gutters, eaves, walls, decks, concrete paths. anyone who's done it knows how big a job it is, and the results are visible and satisfying.......no one will see how good a job you did cleaning the gutters....This would be one of those things a lot of property investors might say yes to. So PMs would be good to canvas. Offer the PM a couple of hundred bucks for every 5 clients they can convince to sign up.
 
WinstonWolfe said:
I think I'd appreciate if you also offered to install the latest technology in keeping leaves out, which would cut your repeat business. :(
Click to expand...

You just beat me to it Winston.

The gutter guards are quite popular where I am from. I admit that all houses don't have this, but a % obviously do. So that reduces your market. (Possibly not by much though)

I suspect in the storm seasons, you could become quite busy.

Good Luck anyway.

If you are willing and have done some research, it wouldn't hurt to give it a go. (start off small and see)

Cheers,

F
 
I have a father and son come to my place and clean my gutters, sweep my roof and clean my windows inside and out, every 3 months for $100 and its a fantastic job!!! while they are on the inside doing the windows they clean all the mirrors as well. They are really fast.

They do all my IPs, clean the roof and gutters on each for $60 per IP and they take away all the rubbish

I was paying $150 per IP to just get the gutters cleaned out but this is a much better service, as they take away all the leaves and branches

Chris
 
Thank you so much! You guys are great and I knew I would get great feedback just through a little post.

I have no idea how to quote the posts, but I would like to talk through some of the issues raised (which were great).

"I think I'd appreciate if you also offered to install the latest technology in keeping leaves out, which would cut your repeat business"


I thought about this at length and from what I have read and seen myself on a number of houses, there is no such thing as keeping leaves out. Debris unless cleaned always break downs. When it breaks down, it sits under the leaf guard (or whatever device) and can form a layer silt/mud if not regularly cleaned. Depending on rainfall, this then grows into a lovely garden bed, which takes the owner considerable time to remove the gutter guard and clean (like removing mud) however as they have fitted a gutter guard they do not regularly check, as they believe its designed for them not to have to check. The leaf/gutter guard, in my opinion (not biased I haven't created the company yet) is the 1990's version of the urban rainwater tank we had to have had in the 00's.

Personally I am not a big fan of pressure blasting roofs, leaks appear and tiles crack. I am more than happy to consider the rest of the house, but there are already a million people who do this, so I was hoping to just be really good at the one thing (not being ignorant of other opportunities though). The PM suggestion is great, although this is directed by the landlords, hence my feasibility question in somersoft, would you pay?

Thanks fudge and crispy! Crispy that is a great price and what a service, my hat is off too them. But playing devils advocate, are they insured for public liability? what happens if they fall off a ladder or fall through a roof? Are you responsible or them?

There may be no need for you or them to have this, with a simple single storey residence, however what about a high pitch double storey (aplenty in Brisbane) residence? Would they be able to do this? I certainly don't mean to be a scaremonger, but part of my research is separating the wheat from the chaff, if they work at height without the proper safety equipment and training it has all manner of consequences including workplace health and occupational safety. As an aside, I am also planning to remove all of the gutter contents myself.

Great feedback so far and I would love more comments.
 
Billy_Bokkie said:
I thought about this at length and from what I have read and seen myself on a number of houses, there is no such thing as keeping leaves out. Debris unless cleaned always break downs. When it breaks down, it sits under the leaf guard (or whatever device) and can form a layer silt/mud if not regularly cleaned. Depending on rainfall, this then grows into a lovely garden bed, which takes the owner considerable time to remove the gutter guard and clean (like removing mud) however as they have fitted a gutter guard they do not regularly check, as they believe its designed for them not to have to check. The leaf/gutter guard, in my opinion (not biased I haven't created the company yet) is the 1990's version of the urban rainwater tank we had to have had in the 00's.
Click to expand...

I have had gutter guard to my house and is 10 years old. The gutter guard is secured to the gutter and is made from metal. Very sturdy.

I don't know performance of other ones, but with respect to mine, it is fantastic. House is an a leafy area on the Sunshine Coast and get alot of leaves in the autumn. No silt / mud at all. Most of the leaves fall straight off. There are a few though, that get stuck in the openings of the gutter guard, and hence, have to pull out leaves that are caught.

F
 
It's an excellent idea - having had 2 houses have extensive water damage because we couldn't actually see that the gutters were clogged up.

Being scared witless of anything after the 3rd rung of a ladder I'd hire you.
 
Just letterbox everyone with scaremongering flyers with stories in from people who've had their houses badly waterdamaged from overflowing, clogged up gutters. You can't see up there, you know.

Don't forget to mention that the rainy season is about to start and leaf fall has been particularly bad this year :D

We had a several gutters here that were so full of mud and rather extensive vegetation for so long that they'd rusted through. Not good on a stone house, one of them also had a bad fall so water was running right onto the LIMESTONE walls of the house for yeaaaaars. Its made a really nasty eroded patch that I'm still scratching my head on how to repair. The inside walls of this patch, unsurprisingly, have salt damp. So clean your gutters!
 
Billy

The people who do mine have all the correct insurance and have been in business for 30 years. They are so quick that they work on turnaround and doing a number in a day.

The chap I previously used had all the equipment, hence his price was higher, he had a vacuum type appliance to get down into the downpipes and clean them out.

The difference in price is too much... $150 per property plus $60 to take away rubbish vs $60 all inclusive. With a number of properties it mounts up.

Good luck in your endeavours

Chris
 
Billy.
this is a good business idea, quite a few do it over here in the wild west.
Prices vary a fair bit too. For example was quoted $185 for standard single story. Our PM has a fella doing it for $130 standard single story.
I live in a strata complex, cost us over 3k last year, BUT its all 2 story and severe pitch on the roof. Took the fell 3 1/2 days. Good coin if you do it.
You will only get work for a few months of the year doing gutters and everyone will want you at once.
Promote your service to Property Managers in your area, you should pick up a few jobs.
There is also a vacuume cleaner that you do gutters with. They call themselves Gutter Gobblers here. makes the work quick and easyl think.
Good luck to you Billy

Chrispy you are geting a real good deal with your roof cleaners.
 
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply!

Its great to get a mix of realistic feedback for my business idea. Chrispy, as Yadreamin has already mentioned, I would be holding on to your gutter cleaners with both arms. After tax, PLI, Workcover, maintenance and petrol $60 per hour between two people certainly must not go far. In saying that, if I was in your position I certainly would rather be paying $60, than $150.

RumpledElf, you gave me a laugh with the idea of scaremongering future clients. In all seriousness, I think most people over time go through a couple of gutter issues with their PPOR and IP's, and know how expensive they can be. So rather than scare them I would just like to highlight a preventative measure.

Amadio and fudge, thanks for your feedback as well!

I would be using a vacuum to clean the gutter in the majority of instances, however more than happy to get my hands dirty when required to as-well.
 
Hi Billy_Bokkie,
A couple of ideas come to mind.
One of the business cards,
I was in the Brisbane city and had flyers and business cards over time however they weren't that successful.

What was successful was a windowed envelope with a magnet inside.They would open it and stick it straight on their fridge.
I still get people ringing many years later because it is still on their fridge,they see it ever day.
I paid a postwoman once to deliver 2000 for around $20 for the lot.

Another idea that crosses my mind is a year long contract to clean someones gutters,probably every three months, paid in advance.(With a good discount)Could even extend to government buildings:D
 
Just a tip from personal experience - try flyer drops in hilly regions, where up to 3 sides of a house are difficult to reach with a ladder.

Not everyone has a long enough ladder for the downhill side, nor do they have the adjustable-height feet to plant a ladder securely sideways on a slope. Solve these problems and you'll find customers.
 
Pa1nter and Rumpledelf, thanks for the suggestion on marketing. Its quite funny as my wife and I were only talking about fridge magnets the other day. With two little kids they are invaluable for holding up drawings and paintings on the fridge, but also they are a quick reference if we need to contact a business. I will definitely be doing that.

Softmonkey, great suggestion, actually the business came about partly because of my MIL but also where I live. I live in a hilly and tree filled suburb in inner Brisbane and some of the houses are very high off the ground and have limited access. Actually with some of the homes, a person without height training and the proper safety equipment would be mad to attempt to clean their gutters. Some of the drops you just wouldn't walk away from

We have devised a rough marketing plan, whereby we will complete a job at house XY and then deliver a fridge magnet attached to a DL Marketing Card to ten houses to the left, to the right and across the street. The card will highlight our services, but also mention that we have just completed cleaning the gutters at XY and they were extremely pleased with the results (with the owners permission).

Our utility will also be fully covered with our advertising from front to rear, explaining our company, what we do and our contact details. So hopefully that may create some interest with the surrounding neighbours.

As an aside, I was doing some more research with the business concept today and I spoke to my property manager for some feedback (I chose her because she couldn't run away from me). Well she thought it was a great idea and although she uses someone at the moment, their not overly reliable and when I spoke about the business idea of an ongoing gutter cleaning program, she was thrilled, as her and the Director of the agency were only speaking about employing something similar for the IP's the other day. So I drafted up a proposal and pricing structure today and sent it off, it will be great to hear some feedback from them.
 
I'd like to salute all the great contributions on this thread. Good Reading.
Billy all the best, hope it goes well for you.
As a LL I can say most of us are always looking for people to do good efficient work at a reasonable price. And it generally gets rewarded with much long term biz.
 
Having heard some of the charges that other gutter cleaners charge and wanting to be competitive, why not try to keep your business in areas to cut down costs (petrol and traveling time). Letter box drop fliers to 5 streets both sides with a blurb along the lines of -

I will be cleaning gutters in white st, black st etc next week. Keeping the work in a set area helps me keep my costs down so I can pass the savings on to you. The cost for a single level house is - $? blah blah. If you want gutter guard installed please let me know so I can bring it with me. This will be an extra charge of $? Book now by calling - 123456789. Remember I'm only in the area next week!

Hopefully the response will be a good indication for you to decide if this is a viable business idea before doing a big/costly letterbox drop/advertising.

Good luck with it all.

Olly
 
I used to do this as a kid to make extra money, would be a great money earner with the right marketing etc

The main thing to think about with cleaning gutters is, people don’t think about them often enough. Out of sight, out of mind. Show people what filthy unmaintained gutters look like. Get it in peoples faces and make people aware of the dangers of gutters that are not cleared etc.

In regards to the competition with companies installing “gutter guards” etc, there is a huge difference in the two markets.

What you should be selling is a personal and valuable service. The “gutter guards” are simply a product. I say become an expert in “Gutters” and make sure you educate your customers the reasons why clearing gutter is far more efficient and safer than the one time fit gutter guards. Creativity in this area is helpful ;)

Go for it, just give exceptional service and make the customer want to have you back in their home to keep them safe from those nasty leaves.

Cheers

Mick
 
Billy - I think it is a great idea.

I live in a 2 storey house in the Dandenong Ranges, it is way too high to attempt to clean gutters ourselves. Pity you are so far away.

Crispy - would your guys work outer eastern Melb? If so, I'd love their contact details. I need both a window cleaner and a gutter cleaner, and yours are a terrific price. Could you please PM me if you are not comfortable putting up their details on the forum. Thanks heaps.

:)
Caroline
 
Caroline

I will PM you the details, I am in the north east so I am not sure whether they do your area but you can give them a call.

Chris
 
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