Want To Build Your Cleaning Business? Follow These Detailed Steps
By TOI Staff July 18, 2023 Update on : July 18, 2023
The cleaning business is one of the most sought-after areas because it deals with everyday necessities. It has grown every year at a CAGR of 6.6% since 2011! If you wish to build one of your own, here are some useful steps!
1. Choose the business structure
Building a business from scratch isn’t easy because it requires a lot of planning. First, you must figure out what kind of business model you’d like to have. You must also choose a company name and logo and file for paperwork.
Depending on where your business will be established, you must devote enough time to the entire registration process.
Some regions can register a company within a few hours, while others might take multiple weeks.
Most cleaning businesses have started as the LLC or Corporation model. If you’re unsure which model to choose, search for resources online.
2. Use proper licensing
After choosing your business name, you must register it so that another cleaning company cannot copy your brand’s name or logo.
Here too, the requirement for filing trademark papers and certificates will vary from area to area, so make sure you follow all the guidelines set by your local authorities.
In an LLC, for example, you’ll have to put the company’s assets on the line. This reduces your liability.
On the other hand, a sole proprietorship business license is easier to establish and allows you complete control over the business.
If you’re filing for the brand name, you might also have to file a DBA or Doing-Business-As license.
3. Understand the market
You must understand the market no matter what business you’re building. And this means having a thorough idea of your competitor brands.
Most entrepreneurs focus only on their companies instead of researching their competitors, which can lead to long-term damage.
If there are other cleaning shops or businesses in the area, see what products and services they offer.
For example, if a competitor brand sells its services at a high cost, your target should be to figure out a way to offer lower prices to your customers without compromising on the quality of work.
Remember, know your competitor’s strategies but don’t copy them.
4. Choose your area of focus
Next up, you need to decide your area of focus. Fortunately, the cleaning supplies business has much to offer budding entrepreneurs. But here, too, you’ll have to know a bit about the market and customers’ demands.
There are two kinds of cleaning services, commercial and consumer-based. Let’s look at what they are:
a. Commercial cleaning services
As the name suggests, commercial cleaning services provide cleaners and janitors to commercial spaces like shopping malls, businesses, hospitals, schools, and other institutions.
Since any commercial area has high traffic throughout the day, it becomes important to keep the space clean.
If you plan on having a business like this, you must hire a strong workforce and specialized equipment. You might even have to take overnight shifts to ensure your team works well.
b. Consumer cleaning services
On the other hand, consumer cleaning services are focused more on people’s homes and other small spaces.
You’ll have to work closely with your clients because they will set the guidelines and show you how to clean certain areas.
For a business owner, your team needs to be very polite and respectful to customers since customer interaction will be a huge part of consumer cleaning services. You’ll also have to be more detail-oriented and keep track of the progress made.
5. Do the initial cleaning yourself
This might sound very unpleasant, but an essential component of starting a successful business is doing fieldwork.
Unless you go to places and see hygiene problems people face, you won’t be able to address their concerns. The more you interact with people, the more your knowledge will be. Moreover, you can even build your company’s credibility this way.
Even if you feel tempted with staffing initially, don’t hire more than two or three people to help you.
If you cannot find any clients, ask your friends and relatives if you can help them. This way, your brand will be promoted through word-of-mouth marketing.
6. Decide what equipment to buy
Running a successful cleaning business means having a strong inventory. For this, you need to stock up on different cleaning materials.
Initially, you might have a limited budget that will allow you to buy only cleaning bottles, sprays, sponges, and scrubbers.
However, if you can expand your budget, you can buy more specialized things. Invest in good quality Commercial Cleaning Supplies to provide the best for your clients and make them want to seek your services again.
For instance, besides cleaning sprays and detergents, you should also have a good supply of gloves, cleaning uniforms, masks, disposable towels, and brooms.
Understand what products you must buy, especially if you want to introduce environmentally-friendly products in your company.
7. Set your rates
In a cleaning company, you can set your prices in three different ways: hourly ones, flat rates, and rates calculated by square footage. However, hourly and flat rates are mostly used for consumer spaces.
For residential areas, you can start with hourly prices and then move on to prices based on square footage.
Calculating the square footage in commercial areas can be a big advantage because you’ll have to clean the same space almost daily.
This will make you familiar with the layout of the building, and you won’t have to keep calculating the rates. This way, you can determine how much labor to devote to one commercial area.
8. Create a company website
No matter how small your company is, having a website’s always a good idea. Since today’s world is becoming increasingly digital, you must make your online presence count.
Even if you have business accounts on Instagram and Facebook, having your website will give you an edge over other cleaning companies that don’t have one yet.
The website itself needs to be simple, user-friendly, and informative. Fill it with creative pictures and slogans, and ensure that whoever visits your site has a wonderful experience.
If you want to try something even more innovative, install a chatbot to handle customer queries and complaints.
9. Calculate operation costs
Budgeting requires you to plan and estimate the rough costs of all processes in the company.
For example, you might not require technological cleaning equipment right in the beginning, but if you see that manual labor is taking a lot of time and effort, you’ll have to set aside some budget to introduce technology later.
Special things like floor waxers or automatic cleaners will cost quite a lot, so consider these expenses.
In addition to cleaning equipment, you must set employee transportation costs, salaries, and insurance expenditures. Separate each kind of expense differently and then calculate your rough projections.
10. Start promoting your brand
After your company has been set up, it’s time to understand the marketing strategies. The best part about a cleaning company is that it can be marketed through something as simple as word-of-mouth.
Ask your close ones to spread the word if you’re low on budget and ideas. But if you have some funds for marketing and promotion, you can start with small steps by making your presence known on social media.
Otherwise, you can even use traditional methods like fliers and newspaper ads. However, Investing in digital marketing can prove very effective today.
11. Pay attention to customers
Pay attention to customers to make your business successful in the long run. No matter what kind of cleaning services you offer, you have to ensure that every client is happy with your service.
It can be tempting for amateur entrepreneurs to focus only on positive reviews and ignore the negative ones, but that’s a huge mistake.
If you focus well on the negative reviews, you’ll be able to understand the areas where you need to improve.
Even a single negative rating on Google or your website can significantly impact your sales, so be very careful about customer satisfaction and rewards.
Conclusion
Though starting a cleaning business isn’t easy, you’ll also be able to build something huge with time and patience! So don’t wait anymore, and start working toward your dreams today!
Read more: Want To Build Your Cleaning Business? Follow These Detailed Steps