Business ideas are like seeds; if you want to see them grow, you will need to water and fertilize it. Of course, it’s not likely that you will throw a bucket of water at your head when you are planning your company outline. But the general idea is the same; you need to think about your strategy (water) and how to apply it (fertilisation).

So, let’s review some important points that you should consider when thinking about starting a cleaning company.

General Settings

You will need to acquire some licenses and documents before starting your operations. For example, you must have a vendor’s license before landing your first contract. Additionally, you must learn how to pay and submit taxes to your local government.

Additionally, you should get an insurance plan suitable for your company. You can find information about these insurance products for cleaning service from the local insurance provider.

Identify All the Supplies You Will Need

Depending on your cleaning niche, the number of supplies could change. For example, if you are thinking about offering house cleaning services with vacuum cleaning, broom, dust mops, garbage bags, and some cleaning liquids, you have more than enough, at least for the start.

As your company grows, the number of supplies will also increase. You might even need to buy non-cleaning supplies such as accounting software to keep track of your balance.

Franchise or New Company?

You can choose to purchase a cleaning franchise instead of starting an entirely new company. It all depends on the service that you wish to provide, and in how much time you want to get your investment back. Typically, you can start working quicker with a franchise, as all major documents and paperwork has already been submitted. Besides, consolidated franchises have extensive experience. This way, you will have all the support you might need to make your first steps into the cleaning industry. The downside is, is that you will earn less money in the long run due to the royalty that you must pay for using the franchise’s name.

You will be able to find several cleaning franchise options on the internet. Both franchisedirect.com and franchisegator.com are good places to start your search. Just a heads up, try to purchase the most reputable franchise possible. Otherwise, it will be like starting a new company from scratch.

Establish a Deadline for Starting the Company

As happens with all companies, you must establish a timeframe for the beginning of operations. Typically, a house cleaning service can start as soon as you want, or as soon as you find your first client. However, due to coordination problems, bigger cleaning companies might need more time before entering the market.

It is important that the deadline gives you enough time to train all your staff (if needed), or to finish the purchase contract of the cleaning franchise. While you wait, you can use the time to find out your competitors’ prices. It will come in handy when setting how much you will charge per service.

Show Your Company to the Public

No one will hire your services if they don’t know that your company exists. Therefore, try to set up a comprehensive marketing plan. Make fliers, social media ads, email campaigns, and newspaper ads are among the techniques that you can use to promote your company.

Remember to include details about your services and your price. It could be useful to offer some discounts from time to time.

Have Enough Money to Start

The amount of money that you will need before starting your new company depends on several factors such as the size, the type of services that you are offering, the number of employees, and the equipment that you will use. For example, if you are offering house cleaning services and you will be the only employee, you won’t need a big sum of money to start working.

But if you are planning to go big, you should have enough money to cover your employees’ salaries and to buy all the supplies that your employees will use. In this case, you can save some bucks by buying supplies in bulk, either online or in a supermarket. You could also try to buy the supplies directly from the supplier. This way, you will cut the middlemen cost, lowering the product’s price.

If you are thinking about offering a highly specialised cleaning service, you might need to have a bigger start-up budget. For example, if your company only offers carpet cleaning, you will need to buy or rent expensive equipment and chemicals. Besides, you will need to train your staff properly, which means more expenses. As you can see, setting up the initial budget is not as easy as it seems. You must make sure that you have enough money to survive until you land your first contract. But bear in mind that you should always keep some cash available for contingencies once your business gets going.