How to start a cleaning business on a shoestring budget

Would you like to learn how to start a cleaning business on a shoestring budget? No matter where you live, there is always a need for cleaning services. After all, life is messy! Commercial buildings of all types and sizes need to be cleaned daily, weekly, monthly, or somewhere in between. By offering commercial cleaning services, you can fill a need in your community while building a profitable cleaning business. If you take the right steps early on, you can start your cleaning business with very low start-up costs, and unlike many small businesses, you can actually turn a profit in your first year of operation!

What are the advantages of starting a cleaning business over owning and operating another type of business?

• One person who handles everything from billing to marketing to the cleaning itself can easily start a successful cleaning business. He can start the business part-time and hold a full-time job until the business grows and he can support her lifestyle.
• You’ll be providing cleaning services at the client’s building, so clients will most likely never come to your “place of business.” Thus, you can easily run a commercial cleaning business from your home. A spare room or garage can store your supplies and equipment, and you can use a spare room or a small corner of any room to do your paperwork. Working from home saves you the cost of renting or owning a building and you can pay off part of your home mortgage and utilities as business expenses.
• You can start a cleaning business with just a small investment in supplies and equipment. As your business grows and offers more services, such as carpet cleaning or floor stripping, you can purchase or lease equipment.
• When you’re just starting out, you’ll probably do most, if not all, of the work yourself. If you need employees, you can work with a temp agency and avoid the challenging tasks of payroll and paying employment taxes, social security, unemployment, and workers’ compensation.
• A cleaning business can start as a sole proprietorship, which is the easiest and cheapest way to set up a business entity. As the business grows, you may consider changing the structure to a corporation or limited liability corporation, which may require an attorney and an investment of several hundred dollars.

What steps are needed to not only start a cleaning business, but also to make sure that it is a successful cleaning business?

• Start by writing a business plan. This does not have to be a long document, but rather a three to five page document that you prepare to help you focus and decide the basic parameters of your cleaning business. Include the following in your business plan: business name, location, geographic area you will be serving, competition, business structure, marketing plan, accounting procedures, and a cash flow spreadsheet. Remember, a business plan is to help you focus; It is not a hard and fast document that outlines the day to day operations of how you will run your cleaning business.
• After deciding on a business name and business structure, it’s important to decide on a particular “niche” for your cleaning business. Do you want to clean small office buildings, large office buildings, medical clinics, banks, new buildings or government buildings? It’s much easier to start with a particular niche and focus your marketing efforts on a select group, rather than spread out too widely.
• When you are just starting your cleaning business, you can easily operate on a small marketing budget. Avoid expensive and often ineffective radio and newspaper ads. Market your cleaning services through networking (especially through your local chamber), cold calling (in person and on the phone), speaking with property managers, and watching if new buildings are being built in your area.
• Once you decide to start a cleaning business, develop a relationship with a cleaning supply dealer. While it may seem like buying supplies through a distributor is more expensive than buying through a “big box retailer”, there are many advantages to working with a distributor. A dealer can teach you how to use supplies and equipment correctly, which will save your cleaning business time and money.
• A dealer knows about new products and can tell you when a cheaper product works just as well as a more expensive one. Through a distributor you will be able to buy concentrated and more effective cleaning chemicals. Knowing which chemicals to use and how to use them can directly affect your results. This is advice you can’t get from a big box store! And in addition to providing advice and training, a cleaning supply dealer may have leads and referrals that can lead to profitable cleaning accounts.
• Another important person to find right at the start of your cleaning business is an accountant. A good accountant does much more than calculate your taxes at the end of the year. He or she will provide you with financial advice and guidance throughout the year and help you make important financial decisions, such as when to buy or lease equipment or whether to rent office space. This will help you save money.

Hard work, dedication and attention to detail will keep your cleaning business running. Taking the time to make plans for your cleaning business will help ensure that your cleaning business is successful!