As things return to normal, entrepreneurship is at the forefront of many individuals’ minds. Now more than ever, the ability to support oneself or one’s family without a typical nine-to-five job has become nearly necessary. As a result, people all over the nation have begun seeking innovative methods to form their own businesses and start making a profit. Beginning a new window cleaning business is just one of many options available to those seeking to start their own business venture and earn a profit.

Starting a window cleaning business may appear to be a challenging pursuit. Still, it takes minimal investment to begin this type of business. The costs to start a window washing business vary but can be estimated easily no matter where you’re located across the United States. Because limited costs are involved in starting a new window cleaning business, it can be a lucrative option, especially for a new entrepreneur.

However, even as a profitable investment venture, it is still imperative to develop a big-picture plan to understand the actual cost of starting a new window cleaning business. Beginning with a well-developed strategy can help keep costs low and increase a new window cleaning company’s profit margin.

Mapping Out the Basics of a New Window Cleaning Business

To understand the cost of starting a new window cleaning business, it is essential to first have a foundational plan mapped out for the business. For example, a window cleaning business that services two monthly clients will have different start-up costs from a window washing company that services dozens of clients monthly. As a result, determining what kind of window cleaning business to operate is the first step to calculating the start-up costs.

There are two main niches within the window cleaning industry — residential window cleaning and commercial window cleaning. Residential window cleaning, as the name suggests, provides services for residential areas. Residential means homes, sports utility vehicles, van fleets, and the like. On the other hand, commercial window washing entails cleaning commercial buildings such as the windows to a local retail store or a multi-level office building.

Individuals should look at various factors when determining which niche to start a window washing business within. The first and most critical element is how much liquid cash the individual has on hand. For example, creating a small residential window cleaning business requires much less start-up cost than beginning a commercial window cleaning business catering to an extensive client base.

Start-Up Costs for a Commercial Window Cleaning Business

When beginning a commercial window cleaning business, there are many costs that an entrepreneur can anticipate. Understanding these foundational costs will benefit anyone looking to break into the commercial window cleaning business. First, commercial window cleaning requires large-scale supplies for the initial start-up. For example, suppose a company has already contracted with four commercial businesses to provide window cleaning services. In that case, it’s easy to determine the initial start-up costs.

First, the number of clients needs to be identified. If, for example, the business plans to begin servicing four commercial clients, you would calculate 10 hours each week for each client for a total of 40 hours per week. A few simple formulas can help determine the initial start-up cost for a commercial window washing business.

The business will want to purchase materials and supplies in bulk to save money and time. Buying wholesale will be better than attempting to proportion a certain number of products per hour worked on calculating the business start-up costs.

To keep things simple, one gallon of concentrated window cleaner equals 40 one-hour window washing sessions. If one gallon of highly concentrated window cleaner costs $29.64, using a formula can easily help to determine the costs. For example, imagine that the business charges $48 per hour. Here is the formula to determine the needed start-up costs:

1. (One-gallon glass cleaner – $29.64) / (40 – sessions) = ($0.741 per session)

So, given the price of one gallon of highly concentrated cleaner divided by the 40 sessions that can be accomplished using one gallon, the price per session is $0.741, just for the highly concentrated window cleaner. If the business is planning to complete 400 sessions in a month, the following formula can be used:

2. ($0.741 per session) x (400 – sessions) = ($296.40 – start-up cost for highly concentrated window cleaner)

The $296 that results is the start-up cost for the business that will be needed to supply its highly concentrated window cleaner. This formula can be manipulated and used with various supplies to help a budding commercial window washing business establish its start-up costs.

Start-Up Costs for a Residential Window Cleaning Business

Although very similar, using all the same variables, there are slight differences when calculating the start-up costs for a residential window cleaning business. For example, let’s say a company could get residential window cleaning fluid slightly cheaper than required for a commercial window cleaning business. Suppose the company can obtain one gallon of highly concentrated residential glass cleaner for $21.94. In that case, the monthly start-up cost for glass cleaner will differ slightly, as shown below:

1. (One Gallon Glass Cleaner – $21.94) / (40 – sessions) = ($0.5485 per session)

In this scenario, the cost per session has decreased to $0.5485. Now, take that and multiply it by the projected 400 sessions in a month using the following formula:

2. ($0.5485 per session) x (400 – sessions) = ($219.40 – start-up cost for highly concentrated window cleaner)

The slightly different start-up costs for highly concentrated window cleaners has decreased from $296 to $219.40. Remember that these estimates are just the start-up costs for the highly concentrated window cleaner. Many other supplies will be needed, but the start-up costs can be calculated similarly.

Additional Examples of Calculating Start-Up Costs

As a final example of calculating start-up costs, remember that some charges will only be incurred once or as often as an item needs to be replaced. For example, a new commercial window cleaning business may desire to invest in a specific pressure washer or motorized window washer. These can range in price from $1,500 to $3,000. As a result, such fixed costs can simply be added to the list of start-up costs.

For instance, we may establish a business using the previously mentioned variables for a business catering to 400 sessions of residential window washing sessions and 400 sessions of commercial window washing sessions. We could combine this with the fixed costs, including a custom window washer purchased for $2,190.89 and two traditional window cleaning kits for $285 each.

The total amount of the businesses’ start-up costs based on the given variables would be based on the following formula:

3. ($296.40 – start-up cost for highly concentrated commercial window cleaner) + ($219.40 – start-up cost for highly concentrated residential window cleaner) + ($2,190.89 – custom window washer) + ($285 – traditional window cleaning kit) + ($285 – traditional window cleaning kit) = ($3276.69 total start-up costs)

It is easy to see how calculating a business’ start-up costs can be accomplished by using a few straightforward formulas and variables and employing the provided samples.