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 go wrong and than 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!
- Imagine getting started and not having enough money to market 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. Finding qualified workers and having 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 on some contracts 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, organizing, 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. In addition, do local Internet searches on type of business to see who the players are. What can you find out about each of them? Call them and ask questions that a new customer would ask. Inquire about their service and what they charge.
While you’re doing your research, write down your impressions of each; keep good detailed notes. Identify how these businesses are marketing their company and how much money is needed to advertise. It’s not enough to start your business – you need to spend money on advertising to reach as many people in your area as possible to start acquiring customers.
By doing your research, identifying your niche, and planning the business you want to build, you’ll be on your way to a successful cleaning service business that will stand out from your competition. Click Here for reasons to start a small business.
[rectanglebox id=1]
