Did you know you can make some extra bucks by taking over cleaning tasks that are boring to many people? Starting a cleaning business will expose you to an untapped market with many clientele. Globally, there is an escalating demand for quality cleaning services. Starting a cleaning business allows you to work with clients of your choice, set your working hours, and set your rates. To fit perfectly in this market niche, you must thoroughly follow the steps to start a cleaning business. With the right strategy, there is an assurance of succeeding in the business and creating employment opportunities for the jobless. Here are some steps that will spearhead the growth of your cleaning business.
Conduct Market Research
Conducting thorough market research is one of the key steps to starting a cleaning business, as it will give you an overview of the cleaning business. In this stage, look around your neighborhood, state, or even county and identify whether there are other cleaning businesses. If other businesses exist, check the services offered, customer satisfaction rate, pricing, and the quality of services.
In many instances, you will notice operational hitches in the operations of the existing cleaning companies. This will give you an idea of how to attract more clients upon commencing your cleaning business. You can be lucky to find out there are no cleaning businesses around your area. This will be a great chance to start and boom in your new venture. On the flip side, you may find many cleaning companies within your location, and in such an instance, you need to be more cautious when launching your cleaning services.
Decide Your Business Type
Upon culminating your market research and ensuring that your idea is viable in your location, you need to decide whether to venture into a commercial or residential cleaning business. This is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business that will determine your financial input, the equipment you will need, and whether you will need to get into a franchise.
Residential cleaning focuses on cleaning residential premises, while commercial cleaning business focuses on cleaning businesses and commercial premises. There is less competition in residential cleaning, but you will need excellent client communication skills. Residential cleaning takes more time as you will have to pay attention to minor details as specified by your client as you will be dealing with personal tasks such as carpet cleaning.
Commercial cleaning focuses on cleaning workspaces, and you will likely face competition from established companies. Here, there is less client communication as you will be given a work description upon being subcontracted to handle the cleaning at the commercial premise. Commercial cleaning is faster as there is less detail to pay attention to due to the extensive space required to be cleaned. Commercial cleaning is handled at night to mitigate the daily operations at the premise. In commercial cleaning, you must offer rug cleaning services to maintain high hygiene standards.
Have a Business Plan
A proper business plan is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business that will determine your success. A plan will enable you to crystallize and visualize your ideas and identify possible mistakes or hindrances. With this, you can come up with clear strategies to overcome the challenges you will identify.
A well-written business plan can play a vital role in enabling you to secure starting capital from financial institutions. In your business plan, outline the goals you want to achieve and set realistic timeframes. A business plan will keep you on track whether you can achieve your objectives or not.
Determine and Register Your Business Structure
Business structures vary depending on the founders, the purpose of the business, and other factors. The business structure you choose will influence the business taxes and operational procedures. You can decide to start the cleaning business as a sole proprietorship where you will be solely responsible for all the business operations, revenues, profits, and debts.
You can opt for a partnership if you feel inadequate to run the business alone. Here, you can start the business with two or more people, and you will all share responsibilities equally or depending on your capital contribution. If you want to legally separate yourself from the business, you can register it as a corporation. Your business can get into contracts, own properties, or pay taxes without involving yourself. You can also decide to register your business as a limited liability company that will limit your liabilities to the business.
Upon settling on a business structure, you should commence and register your business. The business registration procedures may differ depending on your locality; hence you should ensure you understand all the procedures involved. Ensure you have all the operating licenses before commencing your business for a smooth operation.
Hire a Business Attorney
Understanding the business law revolving around the cleaning business law is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business. A business attorney will guide you through all the legal aspects of the cleaning business and how to avoid a legal crisis. Hiring a lawyer can sometimes be expensive and land you in a financial ditch. To mitigate this, it is wise to settle for a lawyer you can afford the legal fees without any challenge. For proper guidance, contemplate hiring an experienced lawyer in business law. In case of a crisis, you can also approach your business attorney to represent you in court.
Set a Budget
Every business requires financial funding to commence its operations. The amount of money you need is determined by your business location, the equipment you intend to use, the staff you intend to hire, and the license costs. You can contemplate starting small and growing with time if you have a tight budget. When creating a budget, have a reserve fund to keep you afloat as you gain a positive reputation in the market.
Once you have determined how much you will need to commence your business, figure out where to source the funds. You can decide to use your savings and fund your business, take a bank loan or borrow some funds from your family and friends. When taking a bank loan, have a proper strategy to repay it without any struggle. Effective and prior financial planning is one of the best steps to starting a cleaning business.
Figure Out Bookkeeping and Accounting
Financial management is crucial in determining any business’s success, and it is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business that you shouldn’t ignore. You need to keep track of your revenues and expenditures to determine your profit. Hiring a business tax accountant will save you the pressure of analyzing your financial records. The accountant will provide you with analyzed financial data that you can use to make key financial decisions. If you are on a tight budget, you can start by hiring a bookkeeper or accountant hourly and translate to permanent hiring once your business stabilizes.
Purchase Equipment
The cleaning business is one venture that requires a wide array of equipment to make your task easier. Surprisingly, acquiring equipment will take a huge portion of your startup budget. Before settling for any cleaning equipment, know its purpose. For instance, a vacuum cleaner will come in handy if you are in the carpet cleaning business. Some equipment may be compatible for residential and commercial cleaning, while others may differ.
Before making a purchase, compare the prices in different stores and the features of different models. If possible, purchase the equipment from reputable brands and enquire if there is a warranty provision after purchase. For an enhanced performance, you can consider purchasing equipment with extra features on them. You may realize that certain equipment is expensive and you will rarely use them. Avoid breaking the bank and contemplate renting the equipment in such an instance. You can rent the equipment from another cleaning company.
Brand and Advertise Your Business
Your brand will make you visible to potential clients. You can become creative and come up with a logo for your business or hire a professional graphic designer to handle the task. The logo should have your business name and perhaps the services you offer. The colors should be attractive to be noticeable from a distance. You will be printing your logo on all your giveaway merchandise to make potential clients aware of your business. You can print an attractive business banner and place it within your business premises. If you are running a commercial cleaning company, you can contemplate having a digital business sign at strategic places with high traffic.
Having a website is also one of the best steps to starting a cleaning business, especially with limited capital. You can hire a professional website designer to design a friendly website where clients will learn more about your business. You should state the kind of company you are, for instance, a residential cleaning company, a chimney cleaning company, commercial cleaning company, among others. Upon culmination of the website design phase, have a content writer develop quality content that will rank high in search engines. With high rankings, you can attract global clients.
Set Your Charges
Coming up with charges is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business that will determine the clients you will have and whether you will make a profit or loss. The charges will vary depending on the service you are offering, the equipment you are using, and the duration you will take. For residential cleaning services, you can consider hourly rates, while for commercial cleaning, you can consider weekly or monthly rates.
When setting your charges, you need to consider expenses such as taxes, rent if you are working on a hired premise, staff salaries, and miscellaneous costs. If you are working in a far place, you need to decide whether you will cater for the transport costs or if it is your client. If possible, compare the rates of other cleaning companies to give you a rough estimate of the price. To attract clients, you can consider offering discounts to first-time clients.
Payment Methods
Getting paid for the goods or services you provide is the core goal of every business. In the cleaning business, it is recommendable to provide your clients with multiple payment options. For small amounts, you can consider accepting cash. Checks are suitable when dealing with large amounts or transacting with another institution. Accepting online payments via platforms such as PayPal will give you a competitive advantage in the market. You can also consider credit cards as a form of payment.
Make a Business Account
To be successful in business, you need to separate business funds from your resources. A business account will enable you to track your business financial expenditures with ease. Before opening a business account, look for a bank with favorable terms and one that will offer you a loan in times of need. To ace your financial management, you can encourage clients to pay for your services directly to your bank instead of using cash. If you receive payment via other channels, ensure you deposit the funds to your official bank account as soon as possible to mitigate any financial confusion.
Make Appropriate Safety Considerations
Considering your safety is one of the steps to starting a cleaning business to pay attention to. You will regularly interact with toxic chemicals while cleaning, and you must protect yourself from any harmful effects. You can wear gloves while interacting with detergents and wearing face masks while cleaning an intoxicated area.
You must have gumboots to protect your feet if you are in the drain cleaning business. If you have employees, ensure you have purchased sufficient safety equipment to serve them without hindrance. Observing safety will enhance peace of mind as you are cleaning.
Maintaining quality cleaning services will enable you to attract and retain your clients. Following the above steps to starting a cleaning business will always give you a competitive advantage in the market. Don’t forget to update your marketing techniques.