- Choose a suitable type of cleaning business
- Register your business
- Get start-up capital
- Think about an office for your house cleaning business
- Build relationships with customers
- Hire business cleaning services staff
- Purchase equipment
- Development your cleaning business
- Set the right prices
- Promote your house cleaning business
If you are interested in learning how to start a cleaning business from scratch or how to get a cleaning job, you will be glad to know that the cleaning templates industry has tremendous potential. Moreover, a cleaning business pays off in about nine months.
Also, the initial investment for a cleaning business is minimal. But on the other hand, you will need specialized equipment, equipped premises and a staff of well-trained cleaners.
Before you start, read this post if you want to understand the process of creating a successful cleaning company and how to avoid failures and financial losses. Also, read some essential tips and find out how much you can earn!
1. Choose a suitable type of your cleaning business
So, how to start a commercial cleaning business? Well, there are two options:
1. Services for a major customer
(for example, a shopping center, an object of more than 1 thousand square meters) with further expansion of activities on the external market.
The option provides your company with daily employment, but it is also priced at its lowest cost. This is an excellent way to start, because competition in the cleaning market is high, and it is rather hard to count on the flow of one-time orders at the start.
2. Select a specific niche.
Think about which type of service you are interested in to start with: will it be starting a carpet cleaning business, hard floor care, will you offer window cleaning or general cleaning of premises, maid service in private houses, or environmental cleanup?
One-time services bring more income thanks to the higher cost, but they are irregular.
Remember: the wider the range of your services, the faster the investment will be paid!
3. The purchase of a franchise.
This is an ideal option for those who love stability, as you will work under the trade name of a well-known brand that has already succeeded.
2. Register your cleaning business
The process consists of several main activities:
- Select the company name and make sure it is not registered yet.
- Select the domain name for the site (we recommend godaddy.com ), corresponding to the name of your company, and check if it is available.
- Design a logo design (you can pay someone on fiverr.com to make it for you for $ 5).
- Register your business in the tax inspection.
- Get a license/permission to provide cleaning services at the local tax office.
- Sign a business insurance contract - your business will be insured in case you accidentally damage the serviced premises.
3. Get a start-up capital
Accumulate funds or, if you are interested in how to start a cleaning business with no money - think up about a successful borrowing scheme:
- Partnership.
- Government programs & subsidies.
4. Think about an office
At first, you can do without the office. You will need only:
- a warehouse for storage of equipment, inventory, and detergents, washing machine for wiping materials and uniform (15-20 sq.m.);
- a person, who will take orders and send staff to an object.
However, those who plan to develop their business will need an office. Ideally, an office should have:
- a head office
- an area for managers
- a negotiation room
- a warehouse
- a reception room (with microwave oven, refrigerator, cooler)
Both options have their pros and cons:
- at home, you do not pay rent and save for equipment purchases
- renting an office will allow you to establish contacts with customers in a professional atmosphere. The presence of a display will help you promote your business
The feasibility study for the cleaning business:
5. Build relationships with customers
Here's a tip on how to start a commercial cleaning business and do not go bankrupt right away: first, find a potential customer, and then pick up staff and purchase equipment for a specific object.
Almost all companies get their first orders through personal communications, so firstly you do not have to spend much on advertising - this is how to start a house cleaning business aimed at success!
The contract with the customer is usually signed for the period until the end of the calendar year. The parties determine:
- what is included in the service
- the multiplicity of sweepings and wet cleaning, the time the cleaners spend at the facility, etc.
- total cost (employee salaries, costs of detergents, depreciation, etc.)
6. Hire business cleaning services staff
How to start your own cleaning business without reliable people by your side?
You will need:
- HR (at first his duties can be performed by a director - he recruits people, conducts questionnaires, interviews, and conducts a document turnover)
- manager (control over the quality of work, the cost of detergents, etc. The number of managers depends on the size of an area)
- cleaners (the number of cleaners depends on the size of an object, one person cleans 800 sq.m. for 8 hours. Employ employees or use a subcontract if necessary)
- accountant (can be taken part-time)
- driver
Also, you will need a car (truck or wagon) for the transportation of workers and equipment. Probably, the workers will be able to use their own transport for the first time.
7. Purchase equipment
The minimum set of cleaning equipment includes:
- flat mop
- the modern analog of mop and broom
- trolley with spin equipped with a grid for containers with solutions and a bag for garbage to collect dirt
- wipes for cleaning dust
- detergents for floors, carpets, textiles, glasses, and plumbing
- spray cleaners
- protective coatings
Each cleaner should be provided with such a kit.
You also need to buy:
- A vacuum cleaner and window cleaning kit.
- For daily cleaning of large premises (shopping centers, for example), entrepreneurs recommend buying a car wash machine (it will replace the work of several cleaners, speeding up the process and improving the quality of work).
Also, the staff must be trained. The centers at large cleaning companies offer various training courses.
And now one useful tip on how to start a painting business with no money:
Equipment for painting business can be rather expensive: only one paint sprayer will cost you about a thousand dollars. So, our tip for you: don`t buy any equipment. There is a little trick: the thing is that some sub-contractors with their own equipment are willing to paint your house for 50-60% of what you’re planning to charge the customer.
So, you can spend about 15% on materials and paint, and you’ll get about 30% profit. Are you wondering where to get 15% for materials? Here is another thing: some of your customers will be ready to pay a deposit when they order painting services from you. This way you can get, for example, 25% from one customer. This sum will be enough to buy paint and materials you’ll need.
For the cleaning of cottages or apartments, one-time cleaning services (after repairs, large-scale celebrations) and periodicals (2-3 times a year up to several times a week) may be required.
8. Development of cleaning business
Ways:
- selling household or professional chemistry - cleaning firms buy it in large volumes and almost always have serious discount offers from manufacturers and suppliers, thus reducing the cost of funds for themselves. This allows you to add margin and resell means for cleaning;
- selling specialized cleaning equipment - the situation here is similar to the situation with detergents;
- training staff for agencies planning to engage in this business - both inferior and supervisory staff;
- adding related services - caring for the garden, swimming pools, cars and so on.
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9. Set the right prices
How to start a commercial cleaning business without having a correct pricing policy? To arrive at a stable pricing structure for your operation, you should consider the following factors:
The specifics of a particular object forms the prices for a company’s cleaning services. It is impossible to set the uniform cost per square meter of office cleaning and a large industrial enterprise. Therefore, cooperation always begins with the assessment of complexity, the types of necessary work and, of course, the cost of cleaning.
Typically, managers go to the facility for free to evaluate and approve of the list of necessary work, as well as the specifics of cleaning.
The area of the facility depends on the number of people that you need to hire and train, and the types of the specialized equipment they will need to use. Remember: the more square meters will be served, the lower will be the cost per square meter of cleaning.
Tips for business cleaning services
- First, be sure to set the prices correctly.
- Improve your management and marketing skills – these are important for your success.
- Don`t agree to sign the contract, if you are not fully satisfied with the numbers. Constantly low paying job won`t lead you to success.
- Keep the records and identify the accounting package. Thorough control over your finances is crucial.
- Create business cleaning services that stand out. Your employees should be proud of what they are doing and of the fact that they work in such a company.
- Let your business be your priority. Even if you don`t think it`s perfect, make your best, and you will succeed!
- Respect everyone in your company. The success of your team is in a straight line related to each of its members.
- Be “everyone” in your company. Knowing the details make you the best in your field.
- Look at your business with your customer`s eyes. This will help you make some important improvements.
- Be prepared! You can`t plan for everything. In an unexpected situation, your reaction becomes more important than the plan.
- Your cleaning equipment and products should be of the best quality. This will make the job easier (which is crucial, because cleaning is physical work), and you can be sure of a great result as well.
- When you are just starting your business, there will be a temptation to set your prices lower than your competition's prices. But we recommend you choose a strategy of conquering your customer by quality work that no one else can do.
- Don’t take any order. If the job can`t fully satisfy you, don`t take it. Make the best thing you can do the center of your attention.
- Investing in customer service is the right thing to do. The quality of your house cleaning business is essential, but it's not everything. Even if the work looks good to you, that doesn`t mean it looks good to your customers as well. Make everything to know what are your customer’s needs and wants.
- Honest reviews about the company's work are critical - some of them you will hear from customers personally or in writing form, but mostly the customers will leave them on your new site. And do not be afraid of negative reviews - diligently correct your mistakes and show the results of your work (and a subsequent positive review from satisfied customers on the site is the best advertisement that shows the quality of your services and your attitude to work!).
10. Promote your house cleaning business
Someone looks for how to start a cleaning business in California due to the specifics of the city services, other guys may be interested in how to start a cleaning business in Texas, but the first thing you have to do – is promoting your business.
- Print house cleaning business cards (we recommend vistaprint.com or moo.com).
- Advertising in the media. Advertisements can take place in your promotion, but you must consider the specifics – the calls will be made within 2-3 weeks after the publication of the advertisement.
- Advertising in specialized editions. Post the material about the company in the subject editions, including consumer-oriented cleaning services. By buying a place on a printed page and providing a high-quality service article, you can count on the interest of the owners of office and shopping centers, who are interested in a long-term cooperation.
- Visual advertising. The visual advertising will be as effective as possible if its appearance attracts a customer due to the unusual and original color solution.
- Participation in industry exhibitions. This is a great way to declare yourself within the industry community. Such events are well covered in specialized publications.
- Search engine optimization of a website. For high-quality SEO-optimization, identify topical key queries that are needed to promote cleaning services. Create unique content: articles, illustrations, videos, and more.
- Contextual advertising. Contextual advertising is an expensive but effective method of promotion and a chance to increase the number of customers, because the advertising acts in a targeted way, appearing on the pages of users who were interested in similar sites.
- Direct Mail. Direct contact with potential customers using e-mail databases is an excellent way to offer services. Bases can be rented from intermediaries for single or multiple uses.
- Promotion of the company in social networks. Publish simple and motivational posts with pictures, carry out promotions like “make a report and win a free cleaning", "bring a friend and get a 50% discount", etc.
- Make flyers. You can make them at home, or address to professionals. You can hang them everywhere: in hair salons, cafes, laundries, stores, bakeries, etc.
- Create a modern website. Make sure that the domain name matches the company's name, the field of activity, that it is instantly loaded, that it is convenient to use, that you can easily find the right information, that it contains the entire list of services provided and contact information.
You can try to create a site yourself or you can use template solutions from free AI website builders (Wix, Weebly or Jimdo).
Or, finally, you can create an optimal site for your business quickly and with a superb rating by turning to Weblium.
Like many other website builders, Weblium offers ready-made web-based solutions, but at an entirely new level: without being distracted from your business, you get a ready, instantly downloadable (above 90/100 in PageSpeed Insights) website that fits your expectations; a niche; a domain name; and a SSL certificate for one year and with the highest rating (domain rating - 54!) (there are even more benefits).
Next, you can easily customize it with the help of an intuitive administrative panel, and you will always have a reliable support service!
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