Ask the Experts: How to Start a Cleaning / Janitorial Service Company that is Set Up for Success

Ask the Experts: How to Start a Cleaning / Janitorial Service Company that is Set Up for Success

Every person should keep his home or workplace neat and clean. But there are many people who do not like to clean their spaces themselves. It is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who have a good business idea to start a cleaning or janitorial service business!

There are two main areas or target markets in the cleaning industry. One is a consumer and the other is a commercial category. The consumer category involves the services of residential maids, home cleaners, window and door cleaners, wall cleaners, carpet cleaners and other cleaning services that are on a small scale. On the other hand, the commercial category is much bigger than the consumer category as in this category, the cleaning services are provided to the business rather than homes. No matter what the category is, the cleaning service business can generate revenue quickly. So, if you are planning to start a cleaning or janitorial service business, you must start with the right planning and strategies. Without any doubt, we can say that this field has a great scope. 

According to the research, there were over 2.3 million jobs in the cleaning sector back in the year 2016. Experts predict that the jobs in the cleaning sector are expected to grow at 10 percent until 2026!

You can start a cleaning service business according to your talent or style. It means that if you want to work yourself, you can do so by starting a business on a small scale. On the other hand, if you are planning to start a business on a large scale, then it is better to hire some cleaners to do work for you. When it comes to starting a business no matter what type of business it is, it is very important to ask the experts in the relevant field so they can share their experience and some tips that can help you in starting your business. Here, we are sharing some expert tips by which you can get a clear path on starting your own cleaning company and get the business goals. So, let’s explore these tips together!

Assess your skills

The first step to start a cleaning business is to assess your skills. It means that you need to determine whether you are suitable for this business or not. Determine your skills so you can get to know whether you will be working as an administrator or you will do the physical work. If you are ready to perform the cleaning service yourself, make sure that you have good health for this work. As you are going to start your janitorial company, it is necessary to get some training to acquire basic skills in cleaning. Whatever the kind of cleaning service you have chosen to provide, you must make sure at the start that you will be delivering high-quality services not only to ensure customer satisfaction but to make your venture successful in the long run.

Select your target market

Selecting your target market may depend on your personal abilities as well as access to transportation. Even if you are planning to start a company, you need to begin with a small cleaning business and then expand it further. As you are going to set up a janitorial company, you will target the commercial cleaning areas such as offices. Always try to research your competitors in the area where you are going to start your cleaning business as it is a crucial step in planning any business. Get to know the services that your competitors are missing so you can get a competitive advantage in the long run. Focus on the clients that your business will target and put the best efforts in whatever niche you are doing your business. 

Invest in your cleaning business

Investing in a new business is an important step and a little bit difficult. As you are planning to start a cleaning company from scratch, so you can take a small business loan or you can borrow money from friends and family. Other options may include:

• Your personal assets (e-g vehicles, savings account, real estate, credit card)
• Friends and relatives
• Your current job salary (in case you are employed but want to open your own cleaning company. You can use your current job salary to buy new equipment or to cover other related costs)
• Government and local programs

These funds can assist you to run and grow your business as you can use these funds to get the necessary cleaning equipment, business registration, insurance as well as on the promotion of the business. 

Find your specialty and estimate the cost of business

So now you have selected your target market and invested in your business, it is the time to find your specialty. You need to decide what type of cleaning service you will offer. These may include:

• Carpet cleaning
• Tile and grout cleaning
• Mopping hard surface floors
• Kitchen cleaning
• Restroom cleaning
• Dusting
• Window and door cleaning
• Vacuum cleaning of various areas

After finding your specialty, you need to estimate the cost of setting up your business. The major cost of basic cleaning services that you need to consider is transportation cost, equipment cost or hiring of cleaning agents. Other expenses may relate to purchasing supplies.

Get started by hiring personnel and acquiring cleaning equipment

This step depends on your initial capital along with your future business plans. As you are starting a janitorial business, so at first, you and some part-time workers are enough. But as the business progresses, you need to hire cleaning personnel, supervisor or an administrator according to your needs. In addition, getting a basic set of cleaning equipment is also crucial so you can advertise your cleaning service and start cleaning the first space. There are various cleaning tools that you can buy directly from the manufacturers. These include window and door cleaners, gloves, mops and brushes. Other items may include vacuum cleaner, feather duster, and disinfectant cleaner, steam cleaner, furniture polish, broom and much more!

Promote your cleaning business

Promoting your cleaning business is the last step in setting up a company to get success. You can conduct various promotional campaigns to advertise your cleaning services. These may include newspapers, TV, radio, leaflets, coupons, business cards, etc. You can also create your online presence by developing a website or promoting through social media channels. 

In addition, it is also important to attract new clients along with retaining the existing ones. Using online platforms for this purpose is not a bad option at all but you can still consider word-of-mouth as it has a big role in service industry. Provide top-quality services so that your clients can be satisfied with your service, leading to customer retention. Moreover, to build social proof, it is important to get the client testimonials. 

More than 93 percent people consider reviews to determine if a business is good or bad in its service!

Final and Last Thoughts:

The cleaning industry is very diverse. Doing business in the cleaning industry is always said to be profitable as it does not require any special skills or training. Whether the business is on the consumer level or the commercial level, it is in high demand these days so it can generate profit very fast. Another plus is that if you have administrative skills, you can easily organize the overall workflow of your business and can make it successful at a fast pace. Even if you do not have any administrative skills, you can still set up your cleaning business for success by following some major steps. 

So, if you are interested in starting your own cleaning or janitorial service business, you must go through some steps that may assist you in starting your business and setting it up to get success. First, you need to decide whether the skills you have make you suitable for the cleaning business or not. If so, then you need to choose your niche and target market. Set your business goals and make strategies to work on such goals. Get a basic set of equipment, promote your business, make your customers happy and you are good to go. In short, if you put the effort into starting your janitorial service company and provide high-quality services while having better relationships with your clients, you can get the desire results. So, why wait further? Pick each of the above steps and apply it to your business to get success!

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