08 Sep, 2017

Starting A Cleaning Service

The cleaning industry in the country is categorized into 2 main sectors namely the consumer market group and the commercial market group. The consumer market group consists of residential maid services, window cleaners, carpet cleaners and other cleaning services that are required only once in a while. The commercial market group consists of janitorial services which offer more services than a typical maid service, carpet cleaners and window cleaners whose target market is the business class other than individual consumers. Some companies are able to successfully combine both the consumer and marketing groups although it is advisable for a start up to concentrate on one particular niche when starting a cleaning service. The cleaning business is not a high tech business and it involves a lot of hard work. Starting a cleaning service is not hard. The major advantage of starting this business is that it requires relatively little capital to start and is able to generate revenue very fast. The industry is also highly specialized and this means that a prospective business owner can build their business to suit their particular styles e. g while maid services work at fairly regular hours, clean up disaster restoration services have unpredictable working schedules. Starting a cleaning service can sometime be quite challenging and it is very important that you conduct a thorough research on the industry and its requirements. Most people manage well on their own savings but in case you feel that you need to get additional funding you can get SBA backed loans, loans from friends or bank loans. Bank loans tend to have the best terms as compared to other types of loans. You will need to find out about taxes, insurance and bonding, employees, advertising, customer service etc. Starting a cleaning service can also be tough because new clients normally ask for references when approached by someone they have never worked with before. To get some references, you can ask a few friends and family members to let you clean their homes for free. Most of them will gladly oblige. These can then be used as your references. When cleaning, pay more attention to doing a thorough job rather than doing it fast. With time you will find that your speed will improve. Business promotions are necessary to market your new outfit and you can advertise in the classifieds section of your local newspaper, by using flyers, door hangers, business cards, websites and referral programs. A referral program is an arrangement with your clients where you offer a discount, say 10 %, when they refer you to other potential clients.