From Side Hustle to Full-Time Success: The First Year of GK Window Cleaning

We caught up with Gareth King, founder of GK Window Cleaning, to see how things are going one year on from launching his business — and it’s been quite a journey.

In just 12 months, Gareth has gone from testing the waters alongside a demanding day job to running his window cleaning business full time, with around 300 regular customers and big plans for the future.

Back in January 2025, Gareth launched GK Window Cleaning while still working shifts as a Sergeant in the Ministry of Defence Police. What started as a small side hustle quickly gathered momentum.

“I was fitting window cleaning around my shifts at first,” he says. “But it didn’t take long before it became clear that this was turning into something much bigger.”

Spotting a local gap in the market

The idea for the business came closer to home than Gareth expected.

“Friends and family were always saying they couldn’t find a regular, reliable window cleaner in the Hereford area,” he explains. “So I started researching the industry and how to run a window cleaning business properly.”

“When it came to setting up, I found YouTube incredibly helpful, along with several Facebook groups and forums where experienced window cleaners were more than happy to share their knowledge. I also visited Spotless Window Cleaning in Cwmbran, who were fantastic — they gave me so much advice and were incredibly knowledgeable and willing to help.”

With guidance from the team at Squeegee to set up his account, Gareth began cleaning windows for friends and family — and soon, word started to spread.

Marketing that builds momentum

“One of the very first things I did was set up my website, Google Business Profile and Facebook page — and that’s where most of my inquiries still come from.”

Using Canva, Gareth created eye-catching, branded posts and shared them in local Facebook and community groups. The result was a steady stream of enquiries that soon snowballed.

“By summer 2025, I had over 100 customers, and I was actually having to turn people away because I couldn’t fit them in on my days off.”

Going all in Later that year, after completing 20 years of service in the police, Gareth made the big decision to go all in on his business.

“I knew it was a huge career change and a leap into the unknown, but I was confident I could make it work.”

To fuel further growth, Gareth doubled down on marketing:

• Free advertising in local Facebook groups
• Thousands of leaflets hand-delivered (with help from his son!)
• A short four-week paid Facebook ad campaign, targeted locally

“That’s when I saw my biggest growth,” Gareth says. “I signed up 120 new customers in around eight weeks.”

How Squeegee keeps everything running smoothly

Squeegee has played a major role in Gareth’s success.

“I can plan and organise all my work so I’m as efficient as possible,” he explains. “I’ve set my work up into rounds across different areas on different days. If I need to reschedule, it’s incredibly easy to just pick a new date and reshuffle everything in the work planner.”

Automated payments “All my customers are signed up to GoCardless, which integrates seamlessly with Squeegee,” Gareth says.

“I like to meet new customers face to face where possible to give the quote and explain the benefits. Once they understand how GoCardless works, they’re more than happy to sign up.”

Once a customer accepts a quote, Gareth simply adds them to Squeegee and sends a welcome email with the GoCardless sign-up link.

“The onboarding process is just so easy.”

With Squeegee handling the heavy lifting, Gareth spends very little time on admin.

“I can instantly see if there are any payment issues, which are extremely rare, and I can forecast my income months in advance.”

He also relies heavily on Squeegee’s reporting tools to support growth.

“I can quickly pull data like customer sign-ups by month, churn rate, income, and expenses — everything my accountant might need. That insight is absolutely crucial when you’re growing a business.”

What’s next?

With spring on the horizon, Gareth isn’t slowing down.

“I’ll be pushing marketing again using Facebook groups and paid ads,” he says. “My goal is to add another 100 customers by summer 2026.”

And after that?

“Once I’ve hit that milestone, I’ll start seriously looking at the next step — potentially becoming a multi-van operation.”

From side hustle to full-time success in just a year, Gareth’s story is a brilliant example of what’s possible with the right systems, smart marketing, and the confidence to take the leap.