I've now been in this trade for over 30 years and am still thoroughly enjoying every day.
My body doesn't like it as much these days, so my days are shorter. But hey! Life is great, so much to do & enjoy!
I would not change a thing....
So, what do I do next? Should I just carry on as usual and wind it down? Or training someone up to eventually take over?
I prefer that option; my customers will be looked after.
Over the years I have (and still am) used Contractors. It works, to a degree. I have been fortunate to find good people, but in the long run, it does not work.
Looking for a motivated person, willing to learn to produce consistent high quality results. Honesty, calm manners and enjoying a new place to work every day will pay off. 
Interested?
You need to live in Hamilton, or the Waikato. The position is perfect as an add-on job initially and will be full-time and at that stage you will shape your future in this Lifestyle business!

It is interesting to see the public perception of our trade. Some people have been aware of it since year dot, others are only just now becoming aware of the benefits our window films can give them. Looking at the costs of incorporating all the benefits into glass, window film is far more economical than anything else.
We install our products on old houses with old glass as well as on brand new double glazed homes or businesses. There is no wrong time or age to have this done.
In new homes, with clear double glazing, the need for tinting becomes evident the moment the sun is heating up the rooms. Although the glass industry still gives us a hard time, by suggesting that any film applied will invalidate their warranties, we have never had a claim in all the time we have been in business. Reality is, a well constructed system in conjunction with the right film will not fail. Care has to be taken in the choice of film, and a good knowledge of glass types is required to get it right. 
So, is tinting glass still popular? You bet! More than ever!

We come across a product called UV-XXXX. It is a coating that blocks UV, nothing else. It is sold to reduce fading. Does it work? Well, anything is better than nothing. But since fading is a combination of UV, heat, light and some other factors to a lesser degree, this kind of product is very limited in effectiveness.
Over time, this coating becomes almost opaque and real ugly to look through.
The owner of this unit has tried to remove it, as seen in the bottom left corner. It was taking forever!
We got called and in less than one hour, 3 large windows were back to normal glass to look through!

    This is a picture of window film with "banding".
The film is becoming streaky and is visible more at certain time of the year, usually in winter. This particular window film was installed around 16 years ago, so is well past its expected life time.

We removed all the film and adhesive and tinted it again with new film, without damaging the glass.

There is a phenomenon called "Refraction". It becomes evident when the sun is at a low angle and there is a dark background, when looking out. The moment the sun is higher in the sky, or no sun, the glass is clear to see through.I have seen it on clear glass and tinted glass. 

I did a job yesterday, brand new home, with double glazed windows. The owners had a quote from another tinting company that usually specialises in car tinting. The tint they recommended was a car film to give the owner protection from the sun and privacy. Car film has to be non-reflective and naturally has a high heat absorption.  And this is where the problems start.....
Let me fill you in:
Double glazing is made up of two layers of glass, with an air gap between the layers. It is this gap that provides the insulation properties of double glazing. The glass can be any combination of clear or tinted, annealed (normal), laminated or toughened glass. Sometimes the air inside is replaced with Argon gas to enhance the insulating performance. One layer of the glass can also have a Low-E coating to either keep more heat in, or to keep it out. All around the perimeter, between the glass panes, is a "tape", usually with little holes.  Behind the holes is a desiccant to absorb moisture.

If a film is applied to the room-side of the double glazing, this pane will warm up in the sun. How warm it gets, depends on the film type used. Non-reflective film, such as car tints, have a high absorption rate of up to 70%. As the glass heats up, it expands. It also pressurises the air between the two panes. The risk here is two-fold. Firstly, certain glass types can crack. (Thermal stress) Secondly, there is a risk of air getting into the gap. This may only happen very slowly, but over time, it will show up as condensation between the glass, as the desiccant can only absorb so much moisture. This can happen without film being applied, but "stressing the glass" will accelerate this process. (Seal failure)
We have to use a film that has a low heat absorption to minimise the risk of thermal stress and seal failure. Generally, SV25, SV50 or the new Daydream range are the best film types for this.
So, if we suggest certain window films, it is not because we like them, but because they tend to be the safest options.
Please feel free to ask questions about this, or any other aspect of window tinting.

If you are in need of privacy, but don't want to lose too much light, Sky is the film to consider seriously. Even in corner situations, where windows are on two sides, you get very good privacy.
Although somewhat reflective, it is not a mirror and blends in nicely in most places.  Just today I returned to a place where we applied some Sky. The lady did not tell her husband and it took him a few months, until he realised it was there. Typical male, we're all the same!

Window film is a complex product that has evolved over the last 40 years or so.
Think back to the early days (if you're old enough). All you got was a silver film. Adhesive had to be sprayed on, luckily before my time too.
Then there was the dyed polyester. Great to look at, but turning purple within a short time.... and still sold today at places like Repco and Supercheap as well as Trade Me and of course the cheap car tinting places.
Fortunately, some of us have moved on from this and offer genuine performance films.
Today's window film uses the latest technology and consequently is more costly to produce.
So why on earth are some people still going with the cheapest price??????
As the saying goes: "You get what you pay for"
Granted, just because one price is higher than another, does not guarantee a superior product. Therefore, ask questions.