Are you thinking of starting a house cleaning business, but worry about the investment to get started?
This is one business that doesn’t need a pile of cash because there are so many ways to get started. You don’t need a bank loan, you don’t need to mortgage your house, you don’t need a loan from a well off uncle, and you don’t need a group of investors that will want to have a say in every decision you make. You just need enough money to find your first client and get to the job! This is what is commonly referred to as bootstrapping a business. In the old days it meant pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
You don’t have to be poor to be a bootstrap marketer. In fact, many business people with very healthy bottom lines still see bootstrap marketing as a wise and frugal business decision when they’re looking to start up a new business venture.
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Why is This?
The thinking behind it is: “Why risk cash unnecessarily on a new startup?” Instead of investing your already-hard-earned cash, you can bootstrap market your way to startup success!
When you consider that the odds are already stacked against you when you decide to start a business, it simply makes sense to take all the precautions you can while doing so. One of those precautions is not sinking money into a non-sure thing. And with bootstrap marketing, that can happen – maybe not easily, but with ingenuity and a bit of creativity, it can happen.
One of the major advantages of bootstrap marketing is the freedom it allows. Feel like starting a business while on vacation? Get a great business idea in the middle of your workout? With bootstrap marketing, you can “try out” any business, anywhere you’d like, on your own schedule and by your own rules, without risking your own personal assets.
Without having to consult with a business administration, draw up a formal business plan, or attract potential investors, you can have your business idea hashed out and up and running in a matter of a few days or weeks instead of months. Because you are in control – another great advantage of bootstrapping.
And you can dream as big as your imagination will allow – there’s no one to answer to but yourself, when it comes to bootstrap a business. Maybe this business idea doesn’t work out – at least now you know yet another way it won’t work. But because you haven’t invested tens of thousands of dollars, and years of your life, you can simply move on to another brilliant idea or tweak your concept.
And in gaining that type of experience over and over again, you’ll see that bootstrap marketing allows you to throw a ball in any direction, just to see how it rolls.
Some ideas will be winners, others will be lessons, and bootstrap marketing will allow you to explore your business ideas with little risk, and little cash investment.
How this Works to Start a House Cleaning Business
Let’s say you don’t have enough money to launch a full-fledged house cleaning business with a location, a fleet of cars, and a staff. You can start small with you doing the work. There are pros and cons to this, but trust me – the pros far outweigh the cons. That’s because hands-on work gives you the knowledge you need before you ramp up the business. You’ll know all the ins and outs of the cleaning process and your client homes before you hire workers.
Knowing what it takes to clean houses in your city is your key to success. You’ll know how long each home takes to clean so you can set time limits for your workers. You’ll also know client preferences to guide and warn your workers before they make a mistake in your homes.
Another good thing about bootstrapping your cleaning business is that it allows you to decide if cleaning is even for you. If you enjoy cleaning, you may want to continue as an independent cleaner and keep it small. If not, you could transition to workers and just run the business, leaving the cleaning to your workers. If you don’t like the business at all, what have you lost? Hopefully you made some money along the way; at least you haven’t lost your home or your savings and can move on.
Bootstrapping your business means you don’t even need to start with your own products and equipment. You could start by using your client’s supplies and charge less than your competition. If you like working this way it could be your advantage moving forward. If you find it inconvenient relying on your clients, you can save a portion of your profits to invest in your own supplies down the road.
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If you have a small amount of money to invest in your business, you may want to select your cleaning products or make your own green products, and buy the best equipment you can afford. The advantage of this is that you become the expert in knowing how your products clean and how your equipment works – and you don’t have the problem of arriving to the job and the client not having the right supplies on-hand. This is also a benefit when transitioning to workers because you can train them on your supplies so they can duplicate your work.
Becoming the expert places you in the position of being the business owner – not the employee. When using your client’s supplies, they are in charge and want to tell you how to do your work. If you’re not looking for a new boss, then becoming the expert in all aspects of your cleaning business is what you need to aim for.
What Bootstrapping Does
Bootstrapping your residential cleaning business gives you options so you don’t have to have a large amount of cash up-front. It gives you the opportunity to build the business at your pace and create a plan around your budget, rather than what you think you need.
Bartering is another advantage when dealing with other business who can provide what you need. For instance, you may need to funnel what cash you have into your business rather than paying your gardener or doing the work yourself (because you don’t have time). I found a landscaper to do the weekly maintenance for my home and he needed someone to clean his home. This was win/win for both of us!
As you can see, there are many advantages to bootstrapping your business. Use it as an incentive to do things more creatively and efficiently until you have the profits to invest back into the business. Don’t get bamboozled into taking on more debt than you need when starting your house cleaning business.
Getting Started Guide
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