Window Cleaning Business
The shortcut: Skip residential. Build a route of 10-15 storefronts and restaurants on the same strip — weekly or monthly visits at $50-$150 each. That's where the steady money lives.
Industry: Cleaning & Maintenance
Investment level: Low — $500-$2,000
Time to launch: 1-3 weeks
Best for: People who want to start a real business this weekend with almost no money. You're a fit if you're comfortable on a 24-foot ladder, can drive between jobs, and would rather work a half-day route of small storefronts than chase one-off houses. What you'll likely make: ~$2.5-$3.5K/month after expenses by month 3, and $4-$5K by month 6 if you cluster a commercial route in one or two neighborhoods. Full math is in Section 3.
Market Opportunity
There are 62,099 cleaning companies in the US, and most are one or two people. Window cleaning is the corner of that world with the lowest cost to start — a bucket, a squeegee, a ladder, and some Dawn dish soap will get you on a paying job by next Saturday. The catch is everybody figures that out, so the people making money aren't competing on price for a $200 house. They're cleaning 12 storefronts on Main Street every Tuesday morning and going home by lunch.
Target customer: Small storefronts and sit-down restaurants in walkable retail strips first. Two-story homes in $400K+ suburbs second. Skip apartment complexes (insurance gets weird at 4+ stories) and national chains (they buy through corporate facilities contracts).
Why this is a good time to start: Restaurants and small retail spent two years cutting back on every recurring cost. Now they're hiring and a dirty front window costs them sales. Most owners haven't had a window guy in 18 months. Your pitch isn't "should you clean your windows" — it's "I'm here Tuesday at 8am, $60 a visit, no contract."
Start with this idea — free signup, no card required.
