subject: Your Basic Guide to Starting Your Own Successful Commercial Cleaning Business by:Jeremy Gray [print this page] Starting up your own commercial cleaning business requires careful planning and research. But don't let that put you off of taking control of your financial status, as its not as difficult as it may seem; in fact you can start one in a couple of weeks or so with little to no setbacks, especially if you have step-by-step guide - a proven method of doing things the 'right' way.
Trust me - if I can do it and prosper - so can you. So without further delays - here is my simplified 6-step guide to starting your own successful cleaning business - this will help you stat off in the right direction, but you will definitely need to do more of your own research and thinking.
1. Do your homework THOROUGHLY.
This is the most important step of building your own successful business. Regardless of the type and scale of your undertaking - if you don't take your time to research your market, your competition, and to understand your target customer inside-out. I am speaking from experience - if you cut corners at this stage (because you maybe think it's a waste of time) you will fall short later on - and you'll fall hard - possibly having to reinvent things from the start.
TIP: Follow a proven business system and you will know what to do and how much of it to do - so you won't feel like you're wasting time.
2. Sort out your start-up capital - you don't need much.
You can start your own business without having to worry about piles of loans and debts. This is the beauty of starting a commercial cleaning business - because you virtually need just 2-3 employees (whom you'll pay only once you have clients), a few cleaning materials, business license and insurance, internet connection, and a vehicle to get you from A to B.
TIP: Some people don't even need to take out a loan - they decide to invest some of their savings, which they can recoup as soon as the business takes off.
3. Be in control of your marketing.
I can't stress how important this is! Marketing is the life-blood of your business. It spans from research, to positioning, to pricing and advertising. If I had to recommend you educate yourself in one area only of your business - this will be it. You have to know and understand how your business is perceived by clients and prospects, and you HAVE to be in charge of how you're attracting and retaining clients.
TIP: Study this - and even if you later on outsource every last bit of your business tasks, make sure to always keep both eyes on your marketing.
4. Think continuity and growth right from the start..
Getting started is just one step of running a successful business, and that's obviously and important step. But a lot of entrepreneurs overlook the importance of having a plan - a 'bigger picture'. Don't just start your business thinking about your first client (which is definitely very important) - start your business with consideration of how you will grow it, how will it keep earning you money in the long term.
When you bear that in mind from the start, you will avoid having to rebuild the entire business when it can no longer sustain the client volume. A lot of start ups fall short at exactly that stage - and a lot of them go bust because they weren't prepared to go 'BIG'.
TIP: Right from the start set out to ask clients for 6 or 12 month contracts (as opposed to a month-to-month service). Think how you position your main service, in view of what other services you can add on later - for an extra charge of course. And finally - don't be afraid to ask for referrals in exchange for a reasonable discount. This will cut advertising costs and time dramatically, it will also increase loyalty - meaning you get to make more money for longer without doing much more...
5. Setup good systems and processes.
These are the backbone of any successful long-term business. Understand that if you don't set these up and have your staff follow specific standards and processes you will not be able to deliver a consistently good service. As a result, when your business grows, your team will start 'dropping balls', which will make customers unhappy, and will consume your spare time in 'fire fighting' situations that can easily be avoided if everyone on team knew what to do and how to do it every time.
TIP: Start documenting each process in your business right from the beginning. Even if it is a rough draft - keep it alive and evolve it as you and your team do jobs. Pretty soon you'll know the best way to do a job and then it's just about handing over the process doc to anyone new to your team - you save time, but you also save your good name!
6. Manage your business, don't it it manage you.
Sure, having your own business is a liberating experience - that's why most of us go into it in the first place. But very often we get so involved in doing absolutely everything in the business (first out of necessity and then out of habit) that we let it run our lives.
Make sure you don't lose sight of why it is that you started your own commercial cleaning business in the first place - to be in charge of our finances and your quality of life - right?
TIP: By following the guide above, and not being afraid to delegate tasks to your team, you will be able to keep the 'brakes' on to being consumed by your business!
All-in-all, starting your own commercial cleaning business is a great way to earn a very good income and to secure your familys future despite the recent economic crisis. A little bit of creativity, guts, and persistence will definitely take you to the top.
Sustaining a successful commercial cleaning business can be the best thing you've ever done for yourself - especially if you follow a tried and tested method that will help you cut out a lot of the learning curve and costs usually associated with start-ups. I am a living proof that it can be done, and it can be enjoyed in the long term...
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Next Step: Read also how to Clean Up The Profits by Sam Rodman earned Jeremy Gray $12,992.96 in his first 3 months of starting a commercial cleaning business.
