Posts tagged start a cleaning business

You are tired of working for someone else and barely making enough money to support your family. You want to tell your boss "you are fired" and see the look on his face.  You want to enjoy scheduling your work around your own time available and still get to enjoy the pleasures of life.  Most of all you would like to supervise others and still get to keep the profit you make.  There are a number of small businesses that offer you this opportunity and are rewarding in the end.  You can even make profit in your first year.  The business chosen to be highlighted here is a commercial cleaning company.

Cleaning Business is not rocket science.   At home, you are always cleaning your living spaces and at the office you are most often assist the cleaner by directing on how you like your space to look before they do their work.  You are therefore ready to delve into the cleaning industry.  You may need to be physically endowed as cleaning is a manual job.  You use most of the cleaning solutions and machines at home and therefore can work them in a second.  You can also stand for long hours on end.  YOU already have the skills set required for the business.  You will develop the rest of the technical know-how as you go along.  You, however, don’t have any experience to claim when marketing yourself.  Don’t worry, this can work for you.

Armed with your tools of trade and the desire to prove yourself you can gain the experience necessary whilst making your money.  All you need is a strategically placed and willing client.  For instance, you can run a cleaning business in an institution and let them sample your work first hand. When you have left an impression, you can also leave them with your contacts and get them to call you when they require your services.  Alternatively, you can visit your local place of worship and provide your janitorial services during the next potluck luncheon. Skillfully assist in various ventures that will give you mass marketing.

Where to buy your cleaning supplies is important.  Janitorial supply distributors are better than supermarket stores.  This is because the distributors have time to equip you by guiding you on the usage of their products.  You need this information because you are relatively inexperienced.  Although the distributors are deemed more expensive than purchasing from the stores, the information procured in the process is invaluable and saves you more money in the long run.  When you purchase any new gadget that you have not used before it is important to ask the sales people to come and do a small demo for your employees who will be using the equipment on a day-to-day basis.

Once you have decided on your market niche, offer your janitorial services at a discounted rate.  The price tag for your services can be quite challenging.  You can price yourself out of the market and business or you can price yourself into bankruptcy.  It is therefore important to put the price just right but still much lower than the regular cleaner and your competit ors.  This is because most people want an experienced commercial cleaning company to work for them.  When there is an offer, however, they don’t mind saving a few coins and giving a start up a chance.  This way you get to garner experience and still earn whilst creating awareness of your presence in the industry.

Like most business startups, the main factors that will largely contribute to your growth in the cleaning business are referrals.  Therefore, it is important to log all your customers’ responses and feedback.  This will ensure that when you next clean for them and they note the change as recommended they will feel valued and market you free.  This is the sort of free press you need to take you off the ground and catapult you to the next level apart from giving you presence.  Creating an incentive for the customers that you get for any repeat jobs they will offer you is equally rewarding.

A very important factor to note in your line of business is insurance and bonding.  Get yourself insured.  This immediately boosts your credibility, as most cleaners don’t insure their businesses.  This guards against any eventualities and may save you from losing your business altogether.  Apart from giving you peace of mind, it also gives your customers the assurance and informs them that you care about their business or homes and earn you a great following.  The janitorial business has a very high turnover rate for employees and this is a very high possibility that among them there could be a thief.

This is a reality that you most often want to hope against but when you are prepared, nothing can faze you.  The client is also more forgiving when there is an assurance that their stuff will be returned.  This ensures that you don’t lose them as a client altogether.   Taking the uncertainty out of the equation will help you first. 

A word of caution is in order at this point.  Different customers have their specific preferences.  Note the choice of detergents used on their upholstery will save your insurance and you some money and save face for your company.  The small details involved will take you a long way.  You need an information packet with all your details and the insurance details as well as references and procedures at hand.  Include in this packet all the information about yourself including a background check by the police from your locality. This might sound a bit extreme but it gives your procurers the much-needed confidence in leaving their homes and offices to you. How to start a cleaning business, Janitorial, Janitorial Service, start a cleaning business, start a commercial cleaning business, Start a janitorial business, starting a cleaning business