Starter guide

Window Washing

Nobody puts it on the list, and everybody notices once it is done.

Around $30
Medium

Dirty windows are the household job people notice least and appreciate most once it is done.

That gap is the business. Almost nobody puts window cleaning on their weekend list, and almost everybody is quietly pleased when the light comes through properly again. It is also unusually cheap to start, because the entire kit is a squeegee, a bucket, and a cloth.

It pairs well with work a kid is already doing. If you are mowing a lawn every week, you are already standing in the yard of somebody whose windows need doing.

Start for free

Do one window at your own house and photograph it

Do your own house first, and this one is genuinely worth doing before asking anyone, because the before and after is the sales pitch.

Take a photo of one dirty window and the same window after. Then knock on five doors with your phone in your hand. You are not describing a service, you are showing one.

Windows are a strange business because people stop seeing their own dirty glass. Pointing at the difference is most of the sale, and it is why the photo works better than any sentence you could say.

The plan

Your simple plan

  1. Clean one window at home. Photograph before and after.
  2. Show the photo to five neighbors. Quote per window or a flat price for the ground floor.
  3. Scrub first, squeegee second, wipe the edges and the sill last.
  4. Do the inside too if they want it, and charge for it separately.
  5. Offer it to anyone already paying you for something else.
  6. Ask about twice a year rather than once. Spring and fall are the natural moments.

Where the ladder stops

The ladder question decides what this business is.

Ground floor windows, inside and out, reached standing on the ground or on the bottom two steps of a stepladder with someone holding it, is reasonable work for a young teenager. Second story windows are not. That is adult work with real fall risk, and the honest answer to a customer who asks is that you do ground floor only.

Saying that out loud is better business than it sounds. It tells the customer you know your limits, which is exactly what makes people comfortable hiring a fifteen year old. Quote the ground floor confidently and let the upstairs go.

The gear

What you need, and what you can skip

A squeegee and a bucket. This is one of the cheapest businesses to start.

Get these
  • A proper squeegee, around twelve inches. A paper towel will never look like a squeegee looks.
  • A scrubber to wet and loosen the dirt before the squeegee passes.
  • Microfiber cloths for the edges and the sills, which is where the job looks finished or does not.
  • A bucket. A drop of dish soap in water is genuinely all the solution you need.
Skip these for now
  • An extension pole or a tall ladder. That decision changes the risk of the whole business. Ground floor only.
  • A water fed pole system. Professional gear at a professional price, and not for a first season.
  • Special cleaning solution. A drop of dish soap in water is what most professionals actually use.
  • Screens and storm windows, at first. They take twice as long and customers rarely expect them included.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We only list gear the guide actually calls for, and the skip list is there because most of it you do not need yet.

The lesson from the book

Andre works out that the easiest customer to sell is the one already paying you.

Windows are the clearest example of that on this whole list. Finding a brand new customer takes ten conversations. Asking a lawn customer whether they want their ground floor windows done while you are already there takes one sentence, and they already know you show up and do decent work.

That is not a trick. It is how nearly every small service business grows, and most people never think to try it.

The full program

Ready to build the whole thing?

The kit covers adding a second service to an existing customer, which is the cheapest growth there is.

See what is inside the kit

Questions about this idea

What should a kid charge to walk a dog?

A kid walking dogs in their own neighborhood usually starts between $10 and $18 for a thirty minute walk. Professional walkers average about $21 for the same walk.

Read the answer

How much money does a kid need to start a business?

Less than almost anyone expects, and for a lot of these ideas the honest answer is nothing until somebody has already said yes to a price.

Read the answer

How does a kid find their first customer?

Ten people who already know them, one prepared sentence, and an easy way for each of them to say no.

Read the answer

What do I do when my kid wants to quit?

Find out whether this is not working or just not fun right now. Those look identical from outside and they need opposite responses.

Read the answer

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Young Founder

A program from Founder's Best Friend. Built for kids 8 to 18 who want something of their own.

Young Founder, 2026