7 Knock Out Ways On How to Grow a Cleaning Business

How to Grow Your Cleaning Business

A cleaning business is one of the simplest ventures to operate but it can also be very profitable. There’ll always be people who’ll need to have their homes, offices, or any other property cleaned, well maintained, and taken care of.

If you’re just starting out in your cleaning venture, you may already have a few recurring customers and some once-in-a-blue-moon requests for services. Both regulars and walk-in clients should be gradually increased to help boost and stabilize your income that’ll eventually grow your business and make it more sustainable. 

If you can establish a plan to do it, then your probability of long-term success will be very high.

Here are some ways on how to grow your cleaning business:

1. Word-of-mouth recommendations

This is probably the best way to expand your business. You may ask your existing customers to recommend you to people who they think would also need and benefit from your services. Just make sure that before you’d do this, your services are really worth bragging about. 

If you’re only providing average, or even worse, substandard work then it may backfire at you and the business will only get unwanted notoriety and potential clients will stay away just by hearing your company’s name. 

Ensure the complete satisfaction of your customers in every interaction with them and you may never need to ask any more for any recommendations or favors.

2. Business connections and partnerships

Another important strategy to grow a business is to build relationships with entrepreneurs that you can partner with in particular projects. For instance, a home moving company might need someone to clean the house of their client afterwards. 

You can step in and take the cleaning and organizing jobs if you’ve established a connection with such a company. Think of other creative ways where you can integrate your services to other businesses and reach out to them.

3. Promotions and bonuses

Create promotional schemes to draw in new customers. Some of the ways to do this are to offer discounts to first time clients or a free carpet cleaning for every five complete services. 

You can even give customers a lifetime discount if they can refer a new client to sign a long-term agreement with you. There are more approaches to do this and it is up to you to think out of the box.

4. Give away flyers

This may be an old-fashioned way of advertising, but it still works. Give the flyers away in malls, parks, or any other location where there are plenty of people. 

You can also ask consent to stay in places where there are long queues, such as in a grocery store, and give your tracts to people while waiting in line.

5. Attend social gatherings and give away business cards

Attending business assemblies is like hitting two birds with a single stone. Not only you can get to know colleagues and connect with people in the same and of other industries, you’ll also get the chance to introduce yourself and your business to them. 

Make sure that you have a lot of business cards on hand when attending such events.

6. Attend conferences and set up a booth

If you have the budget, you can also attend conferences that offer companies to set up their own booths. This marketing method may be a little expensive but the potential to reach new customers is quite high.

Create a well-designed stall that accurately and visibly describe your business. Have a few giveaways that have your brand in it like pens, note pads, coffee mugs, and shirts. You can also give away flyers and calling cards to your stall visitors or even setup a Facebook page and let your guests like your page from a computer.

7. Set up a website or blog

Speaking of Facebook, one of the best tools to grow your cleaning business is to tap on the power of the internet. Build a website or blog where you can showcase and promote your company. 

There are plenty of free blogging and website-building platforms that you can utilize which are user-friendly and easy to apply.  

Focus on giving quality content to increase your website’s traffic, and from there you can build an email list to reach out to your potential customers and know more about their needs. These days, a website is actually a sign of a company’s authority in its industry.

How to Deal with Drawbacks When You Start a Cleaning Business

Just as in any business, there are setbacks that you might experience when you start a cleaning business.  When you are aware of these setbacks, you can have a plan that you can simply kick into action at the right time.  This will prevent you from closing shop even before you finish the rinse cycle on your first customer. 

Here are a couple of the setbacks that you are likely to experience:

1.   Slow Start – You can have a lot of your customers during your opening week and then have a dwindling number afterwards.  Worse, you can also have a dearth of customers from day 1.  This is largely a result of poor marketing planning.  Before you even get started with your business, you need to do your market intelligence homework.  Know your market, find out who your competitors are, and craft powerful marketing messages to convince your market to hire your services.  Don’t take this step for granted.  This could make or break your cleaningbusiness.  

If you have already started your business without a marketing plan, it’s not too late to salvage things.  Find out what market you want to serve given your current setup.  Get more ads running in areas concentrated with people from your target market.  Don’t rely on mass marketing especially if your services are localized.  You’ll end up with wasted resources when you send marketing materials to people who will not have use for your services.  You can make use of the internet for a cost-effective way of marketing your services.  Use geo tagging services to reach potential customers in your service area.  

2.   On-the-Job Injuries – In a businesses that requires manual labor, it is not unlikely that you will have instances when you or one of your employees might get injured.  Occupational back injuries may result from regular strain on the body while doing their job.  Or, there could be other accidents while on-the-job that would cause various injuries.  Needless to say, these injuries cause a lot of missed work days and health expenses.  

There are ways to prevent accidents, although there is no absolute guarantee that they can be prevented from happening.  Hiring people who are highly trained in performing their job with the proper body mechanics is one way to reduce the risks of accidents.  You also have to ensure that they are using only the best and most durable equipment for the job.  This includes sturdy harnesses for jobs that involve going up to high places.  

Another way to reduce the risks of accidents and injuries is to ensure that the cleaning personnel are physically cared for.  This means giving them ample time to take short breaks so they can rest and recharge.  For “big” cleaning contracts, it is advisable to have the right number of cleaning personnel working on the project.  If necessary, setting up a shifting work schedule is recommended.  

Setbacks are part of any business.  These instances, however, do not have to be the end of your businesses.  Deal with these setbacks properly and you will find your business growing at a steady pace.

Five Steps to Start a Carpet Cleaning Business

Knowing how to start a carpet cleaning business could give you an option for another income stream that you can rely on for your future financial needs.  Not a few people have considered setting up their own businesses for more income.  A carpet cleaning business is a lucrative option. The following are easy-to-follow steps to help anyone who is interested in starting his own carpet cleaning business. Read more info on cleaning business ideas and basics by clicking here.

1.   Research on the carpet cleaning industry.  It would be helpful to understand how the industry operates, what practices are acceptable, what quality standards should be followed, and what regulatory rules need to be complied with. 

It is also important to understand what kind of challenges the business might entail.  If you are still interested in the prospect of putting up your own carpet cleaning business after your thorough research, you can already take the next steps in setting up shop.

2.   Decide whether to franchise or to manage your own business.  You can take the easier route of getting a franchise and getting access to established operational procedures.  Some would even include trainings on the proper cleaning techniques.  Sourcing supplies can also be done by placing your order with the mother company.  Your profits, however, will have to be shared with the franchisor. 

In a self-managed business, you alone are responsible for all your operational needs.  But, you also get to have your profits all to yourself. 

3.   Make your business plan.  Nothing ever succeeds without a plan.  As a business owner, you have to decide on details such as what market you want to serve, how big you intend your business operations to be, and how much you are willing to invest in the business. 

You should also be able to make projections as to your target revenues.  These projections will have to be supported by concrete action plans that would drive the business.  If you are securing a loan to finance your carpet cleaning business, this is an important document that will have to be examined by your lender.

4.   Find your target market and locate your business close to where your prospective customers are.  You have to know who you want to serve first.  And then, you have to choose a location where you can easily reach these potential customers. 

Unlike retailing or selling goods, you cannot ship your services to anyone anywhere in the country, or even across the globe.  You need to be able to send a cleaning crew to your customers’ house within a short period of time.  Or, they have to be able to conveniently visit your shop to drop off smaller carpets for cleaning.  

5.   Secure your resources.  Aside from your financial resources, you need to make sure that you have the right people, supplies, and tools for your business.  You have to purchase the necessary cleaning tools, supplies, and equipment. 

 
Sort through the official cleaning business guide for cleaning business owners and entrepreneurs only at HowtoStartCleaningBusiness.net go here cleaning business guides. 

 
You also need to hire enough personnel to match the number of customers you expect to have.  This is why it is important to have an accurate estimate or forecast of the service calls you expect to have at least for the first three to six months.  You can hire more people and purchase more supplies as the demand for your services increases.

 

When everything is in place, you can already hang that “Open for Business” sign and advertise your services.  If you have done everything right, you should expect your first customers to be ringing your bell soon after you open.