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Before you start a cleaning service business, you need to understand the industry before you decide to jump in. After all, not all cleaning businesses are the same and they do not attract the same type of workers. This is where many new business owners fail - by failing to plan, they immediately set themselves up for disaster.

With all the competition today, is it any wonder more and more businesses are failing? And they are not failing because they didn't have enough seed money; they are failing due to poor planning. Since the cleaning industry doesn't take a special education to get started, many people think all they need are a few rags and cleaning products and success will surely follow. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This is why doing your research is so important to your success. In fact, if you do the research correctly, you can virtually guarantee your success. How is this possible? It's possible when you identify your target market, your competition and what could possible go wrong and have a plan to avoid or work through the obstacles.

  Imagine starting your cleaning business and finding out later that you hate cleaning!

  Imagine getting started and you can't find workers!

  Imagine setting up your business and finding out there is no market for the way you have setup your business!

Are you taking care of the kids during the day? Then starting an office cleaning business working nights might be the best business for you to run. Are you good at managing people? Then plan on starting a cleaning business by hiring people to do the work for you. Just make sure you have a plan on how the work is to be done because retraining professional cleaners is usually required - not everyone defines "clean" the same. Would you like to work in nice homes during the day? Then starting a home cleaning business is just what you need.

Janitorial or commercial cleaning is usually done at night and on weekends. And finding qualified workers and have them show up for the jobs is not easy. Many people get tired of working nights, making this a difficult business to run. The good side of commercial cleaning is that the work is much easier because detailed cleaning is not usually required. Expect to work with large machines to clean and polish flooring.

If commercial cleaning does not sound ideal for you then a better choice would be house cleaning, window cleaning, computer cleaning, carpet cleaning and even dryer clean-outs.

Before you can start or expand, you need to know who your competition is. In your free time, go thru the Yellow Pages and local periodicals in your area and identify these companies. What can you find out about each of them? Call them and ask questions that a new customer would ask. Ask about their service and what they charge.

Keep in mind, no two cleaning companies are alike. While you're doing your research, write down your impressions of each; keep good detailed notes.

When you have completed this, do a review and write down your comments on each; what thoughts come to mind? Do you like their setup; do you get a good feeling about them; what is that feeling about? What were the negatives about them? What could any of them do better?

The next step is to identify your interests you discovered from your research and what you can you do better.

By doing your research and identifying your niche, you'll be on your way to a successful cleaning business that will stand out from your competition

Anne-Marie is The House Cleaning Pro

Anne-Marie
June 2005

You should have some idea on what type of cleaning business you want to start or expand into. Research into the different types of cleaning and determine what would be the best for you. Do you want to work days? Then janitorial and office cleaning may not be a good option as most of their customers are cleaned nights and weekends.

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