Starting a company like a carpet cleaning business means a tremendous personal investment of time with few promises of ultimate success. Despite these well-known hurdles, more than 60% of Americans see entrepreneurship as a desirable personal goal.
For some, being a successful entrepreneur means a lifestyle of freelancing and remote work. Some aspiring entrepreneurs dream of Silicon Valley startups and large acquisition exit strategies or a unicorn IPO. For others, the pie in the sky is a local business that serves local needs, such as a carpet cleaning business.
If you are thinking that a carpet cleaning business is the right fit for you, keep reading. We will offer a bit of entrepreneur advice about the essentials of starting your own carpet cleaning business.
5 Tips For Starting A Carpet Cleaning Company
1. Skills
Before you build a company cleaning rugs, you need some essential skills. At a minimum, you need some training on the carpet cleaning equipment and cleaning supplies. After all, different kinds of carpets will need different approaches.
You will likely also want some training on basic financial management to go along with rug cleaner skills. For example, you should know about creating and tracking a budget, estimating expenses, managing payroll, and withholdings taxes.
2. Equipment And Supplies
Let’s say that you go in for a bare-bones operation with just yourself as an employee. You work out of your garage to keep overhead costs down. You will still need some essential equipment, such as two pro-grade or commercial-grade carpet cleaners.
Why do business owners need two two carpet cleaner options? A lot of business cleaning happens at night. That means you probably can’t run out for a replacement at the drop of a hat if a machine breaks down. It could literally destroy your business if you don’t have backups. Three carpet cleaners might even be worthwhile if you have the money or have a second employee.
You will also need a reliable supplier for cleaning chemicals. You can buy from a local hardware or home improvement store at first. In the long run, though, you will save money on cleaners and equipment buying in bulk from a vendor.
3. Marketing
You will also want a marketing plan in place. Study how other local carpet cleaning companies get the word out to potential customers. You will want a website optimized for local SEO with an appointment-setting feature.
You will also want a strategy in place for approaching local businesses offices that need cleaning or residential customers with dirty houses, such as newspaper or radio ads and direct mail.
4. Cost Considerations
Like any smart entrepreneur with an eye toward starting your own company, you will want an answer to at least one question:
“How much does it cost to start a carpet cleaning business?”
There isn’t one precise answer to that question. A franchise carpet cleaning business can run you $100,000 or more in startup costs. You will probably need a business loan if you take this route as a carpet cleaner.
If you decide to launch a new brand from home, you can conceivably get started for a few thousand dollars in equipment, supplies, and marketing costs.
5. Leveraging Entrepreneur Advice
The entrepreneur advice above covers some of the absolute essentials for launching your own carpet cleaning business. Cleaning company owners need a handle on the critical skills involved, the costs, equipment, and marketing.
You should also consider looking for reliable sources of advice or mentorship. You can approach local businesspeople through your chamber of commerce. There are also websites and online communities devoted to the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
Cleaner Company Conclusion
Now you can start cleaning up and creating some cash flow. Are you in need of some more entrepreneur tips? Head over to our business section for more entrepreneurship articles.
