Hey guys I want to hear if any of you have ever set your company up with a large cleaning agent that gets corporate accounts then subs work out. I was contacted by a NY based company to do some work here in NC. They have some really large chain clients and said that they need some window cleaners in my area. It sounds like a good deal, they will call my company to come clean these corporate accounts at the rate per hour and travel fee that I stipulate. I just want to know if anyone has done this before and how it went. I am pretty interested but if there is some hidden trap that you guys know about I would love to hear about it.
See what the rates they bid at. To do this you may need to take a few addresses and check them out. Dont discount your rates
Would need to try it to see, keep in mind sometimes its tough to get paid from some organizations setup like this.
I have a cleaning company who I do something similar with and have worked with them for 15 years. They do all advertising, bidding and soliciting to all commercial cleaning, carpets, janitorial and window cleaning. They sub all awarded work out and personlly do none themselves. They make money on marking up prices.
Annually I do about $40,000. In work with them. They pay me within 30 days, I get paid my rates. They bid most everything except for the larger size jobs.
Anything can work, its how you set it up initially with terms/contracts.
Remember you still are your own entity, you call the shots on your terms too.
Any of them that have called me, only want to pay peanuts. They require I carry a 1 mil policy, add them to the policy, and I wait 30-90 days for their paltry payment.
IF you can find a company that lets YOU name your price AND will pay you in about 30 days, you have found a diamond in the rough.
Yeah they require a 2M policy for insurance, which we carry due to some of our other clients. I am curious about the payments too. They told me that I will tell them my hourly rate and travel fee, and if the numbers fall within the budget of the company that needs a window cleaner, then they will call me. So I am curious if i will really get that much work. I don’t plan on changing any of my prices. If anything I plan to make them a little higher than normal due to working with corporate clients.
Have you googled the company? If you haven’t yet, I recommend it so you can see if other subcontractors have had bad experiences. I would also find out all possible details about payment terms. Like will they only pay you once they receive payment from the client? It may sound good at the beginning that you’ll get your check in 30 days, but then 45 days later they say “oh we’re waiting on payment”. Depending on the size of your business things like that could create problems for you.
I’ve been contacted multiple times by these guys. It’s always a pittance what they offer. Even had one guy offering $30 an on-site hour to change lightbulbs out at macy’s across the valley. “Because electricians are just so expensive” Guess what bud.
I do work for metro- they contacted me a couple years ago. I named my price ($65 for about 20 minutes of work already on my commercial route). although I have to wait 45-60 days for payment, I have no issues with them.
