Starting a Cleaning Business
Owning a successful cleaning company can be very lucrative and a great long term investment. Companies who provide great service and a professional experience for their customers can create a continuous repeating revenue stream. The residential cleaning industry has exploded in growth with more dual income families and the janitorial business has also seen healthy increases. Individuals who run cleaning companies as a business verse a job can experience great financial rewards.
Making you business legal and official are one of the first few important steps to be taken. Customers want to be assured when allowing someone in their home or business that they are properly insured. Most homeowners will demand insurance as will larger corporate accounts. The process for doing this is not difficult and will definitely assist a new cleaning business in distinguishing themselves from a non-professional independent company. Establishing your type of business formation can be done typically with your accountant who can also apply for a federal tax id number for the business. Determine with your accountant if you’re going to be a sole proprietor, limited liability partnership or a corporation. Once your business formation is complete you’ll need to register your business with your municipality or county. Businesses will also want to register a fictitious business name the company can run under which is unique to your business only. Once this is all completed you can now open a business bank account so customers can make checks payable to your business name.
To finalize the official part of your cleaning company you’ll want to make sure to obtain insurance for your business. You will be required to have general liability, workers compensation and insurance possibly for your vehicle. General liability insurance will help protect you personally from losses should your business be found personally liable for damages. Bonding your employees for dishonesty will also assure customers you’re committed to protecting them and also that you have run background checks on your employees as the insurance company will require this. Workers compensation is the final requirement that will protect your business if an employee is injured on the job. Typically these insurance premiums are determined based on a percentage of your payroll exposure. The longer you are in business and the more experience you get the lower your percentage amount will become.
Once your business is legally formed and official you’ll want to establish a marketing agenda. A company logo, stationary, email address, business phone line, website if possible, estimate sheets, business cards and signs will all be needed. Vista Print is a low cost effective business to get all these tools for a low cost. Establish your target market and location to begin your marketing. Door hangers, flyers for car windshields and brochures with mailing list are very effective forms of advertising targeted homes. This form of advertising allows you to advertise your business to the area’s you want to be in. College students can be hired cheaply for this and paid a bonus based on returned phone calls from the marketing. For house cleaning businesses large mansions might seem appealing, though they take longer to clean and you won’t get the same return as you would in a nice average household neighborhood. For commercial cleaning business join a local chamber and networking chapter to get your business out in front of others. Typically direct mail or the internet will produce greater returns than a newspaper ad or telephone book.
Now that your marketing has begun you’ll want to establish a pricing model that is competitive with the local market. Consider calling around to your local competition to see their pricing f or you to build your own pricing model. Have a few competitors visit some family houses for an estimate to compare how you can price. Listen to their presentation and try to ask a lot of questions to learn as much as possible. Establish how you’ll price your homes based on the amount of pay you’ll be offering employees, supplies needed to clean the home and taxes that need to be paid. This sum of all those cost should all come in under 60% of the cost to clean the home. The remainder should go towards running the business and profit for the owner. The cost for running a cleaning company will decrease dramatically as your customer base increases over time making it much more profitable.
Calls should start to rapidly come in for estimates. Make sure to purchase ahead of time all necessary cleaning supplies for the particular cleaning business you’re looking to start. Typically a good upright vacuum, canister vacuum, mop, rags, sponges, brushes and some good chemicals can get you started all for under $500. Once your first few appointments are set you’ll want to make sure to have ads ready to advertise for employees to be hired. Consult an attorney about proper employee paper work and local requirements. Make sure that you have designed a program for your cleaners to follow when cleaning homes. Train them in your home or a friend’s house. Develop a system for them to follow that you can advertise to your customers of how you’ll clean their home. Train your employees to clean this way and consistently remind them of what you’re advertising to meet your customer’s expectations. It is highly important in the cleaning business to consistently inspect your employees work to be assured that your quality is what your customers expect.
This was just a quick summary of the basics of starting a successful cleaning business. Cleaning companies are relatively simple businesses to run provided you always advertise for new customers, manage employees well and inspect your customer’s homes to make sure they’re receiving the best possible performance. Cleaning businesses have great add-on capabilities by offering carpet cleaning, tile & grout cleaning, window cleaning, laundry services and many other opportunities. Start off by mastering one trait first to build your brand as you will have your hands full in the beginning until you hire a manager to assist.
Customer relationships and service are highly important to establish a great image in your community from the start. The cleaning industry has great opportunities in both the residential or commercial side. Franchises and business opportunities are available for those looking for greater assistance, though many structured independents have extremely successful practices. In conclusion starting a cleaning business can be extremely rewarding and simple with a well structured plan.
