Getting Started
I
have found that people who are successful owners of cleaning businesses seem to
have a secret little society. Most of the rich and successful business people
in the cleaning business have been reluctant to sit down with me or others and
disclose details about the basis for their success. I believe they know that
they have a good cleaning fortune established and are reluctant to share the
secrets of their financial success. So, I had to learn the cleaning business
the hard way. Personally, I just can’t keep quiet when so many people need
help. No one helped me, so I know how hard it can be getting started without
any help. I am writing this site because I believe there is enough money in the
cleaning business to go around for all of us, so I don’t need to hide anything
I have learned. There are some simple but effective ways of starting your
contractor or cleaning business. In this chapter I will talk about handling
finances, start up money, how to begin finding jobs, and advertising.
After
you check on legal requirements for starting a business (see the next chapter),
you’ll need to find an accountant to help you manage your financial chores. Try
to check out or call all the best accountants in your area, and ask a lot of
questions for as long as they are willing to give you free answers. The
accountant you eventually hire will charge you sooner or later, so you might as
well get as much free information as you can. For instance, you know that as an
employee, your employer took taxes out of your paycheck. When you are the owner
of your own business, you are the employer and you will need to figure out how
much goes to taxes yourself. Actually, you’ll do better to hire an accountant.
Then, when tax season arrives, you’ll take all of your income statements and pay
stubs to your accountant’s office with your yearly deduction form. You won’t
have to understand all the details because you’ll pay the accountant to prepare
your tax return. You will learn more as you ask your accountant a lot of
questions about your new business. Learn everything you can about your business
finances from the accountant.
Be
creative in asking your accountant questions about how things work whenever you
have a chance. Ask questions like, “Why does my business have to report income
four times a year instead of once like I did when I was working for my old
employer?” “Why do I have to take weekly tax money from my employees, and how
does this work?” “What is my business tax identification number used for?”
“What payroll accounting service should I use for my weekly payroll?” Make a
list of questions and get whatever help you can for as little money as possible
at first. The accounting firm needs your small business and other small
businesses like yours, so it will be willing to help you in the beginning for
free just to get you to hire them. Continue to ask questions and learn as much
as you can before you start your cleaning or contract business. This will help
keep you out of financial trouble, and keep your accountant on top of the direction
you are trying to take with your new business. It’s perfectly fine if you just
want to be an employee working for someone else, but if you want to be an
employer, you can’t ignore the financial aspects of your business or let them
scare you. You don’t need to know everything about accounting laws, that is
your accountant’s responsibility, but you’d better ask questions and stay on
top of things, such as the taxes owed by your business and when are they due.
As a business owner, you’ll soon realize you can’t
do it all by yourself. Most people start to relax a little when they finally
realize that they can put some of the legal responsibility for the business
on the shoulders of their accountant. In this site, I try to strip away many of
your doubts and fears and replace them with lots of good, long -lasting,
helpful, positive bits of knowledge that will help you start your business. All
you need to know is how to do the work and run the contractor or cleaning parts
of the business so that you keep plenty of happy customers. Whatever you’re not
familiar with in the beginning, I’ll try to explain by showing you how to do
some research and find business consultants who are full of good business tips.
Sometimes, just by networking with other business professionals, you’ll come
across useful start-up and long-term business information that will be crucial
for your business success. You may have to spend a little start-up time at
night and on weekends working for little or no money just to get a better
understanding of your new contract or cleaning business. If spending some time
or money advances you toward greater gains, do it. The time and money you spend
will be worth it in the long run.
When you are starting
up a cleaning business, you do not have to spend a lot of money up front.
During the first six months or so, you’ll find that you already have the
people, equipment, and cleaning supplies you need to start. For example,
without breaking the bank, you clean your own house on a daily, weekly, or
as-needed basis. You have a broom, a vacuum cleaner, cleaning rags, window
cleaners, bathroom cleaners, trash bags, soaps, paper towels, mops, cleaning
brushes, and spot removers already in a closet in your house, or in your
family’s or friends’ houses. Some family and friends will give these items to
you and will help you with whatever you need to start your cleaning business
once you tell them a little about what you are trying to do.
Most
of your first-time cleaning contracts may start out as small buildings to clean
and can produce anywhere from $1,000 to $8,000 per month. Your jobs may just be
one- time jobs or may require you to clean one or more days a week at a small
office, store, or school. You do not need to use much of your income to begin cleaning
these small buildings. These little jobs will pay you every seven, fifteen, or
thirty days after you give them your invoice. The startup money you will need
to spend will be for accounting, legalities, business insurance, gas, business
cards, and phone/fax.
Advertising
opportunities are everywhere, and if you don’t take advantage of them, your
business will never get off the ground. On your way to work each day, you may
drive by hundreds of buildings. Each of these buildings needs to be cleaned,
maybe by your cleaning business. Yes, this type of business can be all yours to
clean. Similarly, the person you sit beside on a plane or bus or start a
conversation with in the grocery store or at a ball game could be your next
client. During this conversation, you may be asked about your line of work.
This is a good opportunity for you to show off your stuff, learned from this
site. This person may just happen to be a buyer or property manager (a person
that manages commercial office and industrial real estate buildings for the
owners who do not have time for the day-to-day operation of their properties)
with responsibility for building service contracts in his or her company. Or
this person may know the person in charge of purchasing these services. After an
exchange of business cards, the person might help you along or give you a few
good contacts within the company. Stay ready, with your business cards always
have one in pocket or hand. In other words, always look for opportunities, and
keep your business cards or flyers ready to go from your hand to theirs before
the end of any conversation. Later, I’ll shed more light on some resources you
can take advantage of in the contractor building or cleaning industry and, at
the same time, show you how to market yourself.
A
good, small, low-price business advertising campaign starts by printing
business cards and flyers. Include details about your business’ specialty. If
you do not have a specialty, your cards and flyers should say “all types of
building repairs” or “all types of cleaning services” with a few details and
all of your phone numbers and your address. (A post office box is a good idea
so you don’t have to give out your home address to strangers.) Do a good job
for your new and existing customers, and you’ll grow your business fast by
taking advantage of word-of-mouth advertising. Today’s technology also allows
you to quickly advertise your business in many ways. One
piece of technology is right at the tips of your fingers, your computer. You
can create a quantity of flyers to pass out, e-mail, or print them and mail to
potential clients. You can set up a website and put the website address on your
flyers, in the local new paper and on business cards so people can get more
information about what you are doing at any time of day or night. In this way,
you’ll be encouraging people to inquire about your business. Potential clients
will check your website or call to ask about your business. This will help get
the ball rolling and start the phones ringing a little more quickly.
In this informative how -to-guide, we’re going to
cover working and profitably managing your cleaning business in many different
ways, so that you can bring home an increased income each month. However,
before deciding to quit your full-time job, you’ll want to make sure that you
have a few things in place and ensure that this is really what you want to do. This
site will help you make this very serious decision. Health insurance and a good
income for you and your family should be one of your top priorities. In today’s
world, you have a lot of access to technology, and it is in your best interests
to utilize it for business research. Without today’s technology, it took me
months of trial and error to find the most adequate and reasonably priced
health, business, life, liability, and auto insurance. These days, you can
quickly conduct an online search to find coverage that will not hurt your
budget as you set up your business. Again, before you quit your job, make sure
you have mastered the information in this site and learned as much as possible
from other sources like the Building Service Contractors Association
International.
It is
vital that you research and review your financial situation with a good
financial planner or accountant before you think about quitting your full -time
job. One way of going out of business fast and going back to work for someone
else is to be ignorant about what it will take to support you, your family, and
your new business responsibilities. You could find yourself in a lot of
financial trouble if you assume prematurely that your new business is strong
enough to fully support you and your family. In the beginning, stay with your
full-time job and operate your new building cleaning service in a part- time
capacity (nights and weekends) until you get the hang of it. You’ll know when
it’s the right time to quit your old job. And believe me, your accountant and
banker will help you recognize the right time.
Your
new business and its cash flow can eventually bring all the money needed to
support you and your family. To do so, however, you need a business plan. It’s
not hard to do on your computer. You can contact a Small Business Development
Center (working with most colleges) in or near your town for free help
developing your business plan. They will also help you jump over a lot of other
business hurtles at little or no cost. You need a plan for the banks and
investors to read, but also to give yourself a way to stay focused on what you
want to do, how much you plan to spend, and when you want to do what. Working
within the guidelines of your small business plan is important for you and your
staff. A plan will help you get started by setting out your one- to five -year
goals for your new business. Reading your business plan each month, over and
over again, no matter how well you think you know it, will help the company and
you stay on your business track to get you where you want to go on time and
within budget. Don’t be a know-it-all; read your business plan and study it
diligently. You didn’t put a plan together just for the banks and investors to
read, but to give yourself a way to stay focused and achieve a successful
business.
I’d
like to also suggest that in the beginning you personally do door-to-door
advertising, passing out your business cards or flyers.
Try to stay close to home,
working in your state and the two states that are close to your state. A
tri-state area will be plenty, when starting out on your door to door
advertising campaign. In this business you must be willing to do a little
traveling in order to reach out for new opportunities. In time you may work in
all fifty states, as your business grow. You must market yourself and your
business without spending a lot of money. One of the best ways to do this in
the beginning again, is going door to door. Like it or not, you need to become
a door-to-door salesperson in the start-up period to advertise and get the word
out about your new business. Try to set a goal of distributing
at least fifty flyers and/or cards per day (or about three hundred per week.)
This may take you about an hour each day. Be persistent as you strive to reach
your business goals.
Go to the strip malls, large
office complexes, new construction sites, government or military base
buildings, doctors’ office, schools, city and state buildings, downtown
offices, apartment complex-office, church, movies, night clubs,
residential/homes, and cars in parking lots (if it is safe to do so), and most
of all, hand-distribute your flyers and cards to people dressed in business
attire when you see them. Please do this without breaking any laws. Be
aggressive with this start-up procedure, but be polite. For example, if you go
to a door that says, “No Soliciting,” be respectful of this request and move on
to the next door or building.
As a
door-to-door representative, you’ll experience a little rejection or a “no I do
not want your flyer” just ignore this and hang in there. In any type of
business, you have to develop a thick skin and accept a little rejection. As
you go to your bank with a larger paycheck, you will soon forget the
rejections. At times, you’ll even get the “poor building cleaner” look as you
go door to door. Just ignore the looks and remember that one day you just might
have the opportunity hire that person to work for you doing part-time cleaning
of the building they now work in full-time. In the business world, it is eat or
be eaten, destroy or be destroyed, by others who are trying to get rich just
like you. Keep trying each and every day so you end up on top.
To
get started, I’ve shown you that you need to find an accountant, come up with a
business plan, figure out what you need to spend, and start advertising to
those who may need your services. Above all, you need to be sure you are doing
what you want to be doing, and that you are making decisions that are good for
you and your family. Then all you need to do is follow your business plan, and
commit your time and energy to following the plan I am setting out in the rest
of this site.
Increasing your income is still your priority and you can do that in a short time by starting your own cleaning or other building service business. One job will lead to the next, and if you continue to recruit new clients, your business will continue to increase. Before you know it, you will be on your way to making dirty millions the clean way. But to do this, you will need to keep learning and you need to be persistent.
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