Turning panes into gains: Window cleaning can shine as first job or small business
Customers of Kevin Hammond's window-cleaning business may barely see him coming, but they always see him go.
In fact, after he and his crew have squeegeed the grime off their windows and left each pane sparkling — a process that attracts many an audience — they're often sorry when he's gone.
"People just love to get their windows cleaned," Hammond, 51, said. "When you walk away, there's just a lot of satisfaction because people see the value in it."
Despite an ever-growing number of businesses in the window-cleaning field, workers in the expanding industry find there's no shortage of glass to clean.
"They continue to build buildings and continue to make glass, so the opportunities are endless, said Jack Pitzer, executive director of the International Window Cleaners Association (IWCA) in Alexandria, Va. "There's always a market for good workers."
And there's always a job. On a given day, Hammond will be out doing a variety of tasks while on duty for Top Notch Window and Gutter Cleaning, his Edmonds-based business.
Sometimes it's an all-day job at a many-windowed home overlooking Puget Sound. Or it might be three or four smaller jobs at a mix of residential and commercial buildings.
About a third of the time he's doing "route work," where he and his crew clean the windows of several businesses as one job. That might mean six Blockbusters in a city or three McDonald's franchises owned by the same person.
Some businesses, such as Top Notch, focus on smaller buildings while others specialize in structures higher than four stories.
Still others deal exclusively with high-rises and skyscrapers — practically a different job, what with the additional equipment and safety risks it brings.
Hammond loves the diversity of work within his trade and not knowing what the next job will bring. He washed windows part-time as a young man but moved on to sell auto parts for 14 years before returning to his first line of work.
"There was just that freedom, that variety," he said of window cleaning. "The different people you meet is just fascinating."
So he bought a one-man business five years ago and has been steadily building it up from a $40,000-a-year to a $200,000-a-year outfit. He's added a tight-knit crew of five young guys and two part-time receptionists.
Starting your own business after putting in a few years on the job is common in the window-washing world, especially because doing so tends to be low-cost and relatively uncomplicated.
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Otherwise, many workers in this field aren't in it for the long haul, taking up window cleaning as they work their way through school, as a summer job or because they're between jobs. It tends to be a starting-out job rather than a long career, according to Hammond.
In running his business, he borrows from his experience in sales, putting a heavy emphasis on customer service in a field that relies on word-of-mouth advertising.
Customers want to feel good about the person working inside their house or on a ladder outside their office window, he said. Professionalism is an important part of being competitive.
"You don't know who you'll be cleaning for," he said. "You don't know what connections they have."
Many businesses also offer gutter cleaning, pressure washing or window restoration services. While up on a ladder, it's easy enough to shift gears and tackle a leaf-laden gutter, especially in the winter when the window-cleaning business is slower.
Despite the nature of the work, on-the-job injuries happen less frequently than in comparable jobs, such as roofing and painting, Hammond said.
That could be because cleaners seldom have to reach obscure crannies and upside-down surfaces, he added. Plus, he takes great pains to conduct monthly safety meetings.
Washington state, with guidance by the IWCA, recently strengthened the safety requirements for cleaners.
Said Hammond: "Our goal is to not fall off anything."
After returning to the occupation he loves, can a guy on a ladder shoot any higher?
"I've always wanted to clean the Space Needle," Hammond said.
Lisa Heyamoto: 206-464-2149 or lheyamoto@seattletimes.com
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