The cleaning business offers numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their own profitable businesses. But while some players can quickly scale to a sizeable income from their business, others struggle to get their business off the ground and struggle to earn a living wage. Clearly there are factors that separate the ‘six-figure’ players from the rest. Let’s look at the profit potential in the cleaning business and examine some of these success factors.
In your first year of business, assuming you’re cleaning full-time without hiring any employees, it’s reasonable to expect to make an income of between $15,000 and $35,000. For those who study the business thoroughly and work on growing a profitable system instead of treating it as nothing more than a job, then earning a ‘six figure’ income in a few years is conceivable.
What are the success factors that separate the winners from the losers in this business?
1) Research the market locally and identify the sectors that offer the best opportunities. House cleaning may seem like an obvious choice, but it’s conventional and competitive. There are many other niche cleaning markets that you can explore.
2) Build a name for yourself from scratch. Develop a brand strategy, grow a reputable brand, and deliver on the promise of your brand reputation and you won’t have to fight so hard to win new accounts.
3) Always focus on running your business as efficiently as possible. Look for cost savings whenever possible and watch your workers in action and try to find ways they can be more productive.
4) Develop your sales skills or hire good people to sell for you for a commission. Each query costs money, so you should do your best to turn each query into a new account.
5) It is much easier to sell to your existing customers than it is to find new ones. Develop additional cleaning services that you can offer clients on a regular or occasional basis.
6) For your cleaning business to grow at a decent rate, you need to be able to step back and work on building the business instead of getting stuck in the daily grind. Learning to hire and manage employees effectively is one of the secrets to success.
7) Marketing is another key to success. Watch other successful companies in action and imitate what they do while remaining as original as possible. Try a variety of promotional methods and track the results to discover the most profitable methods.
8) Customer service. Offer good value and service to customers and you will be rewarded with many referrals as word spreads.
9) Be persistent and never give up on your dreams. Growing a business is not easy and there will be obstacles along the way. Understand that if you keep perfecting your systems and learning from your mistakes, success is inevitable.
10) Never stop learning. Seek out mentors who have been successful in cleaning and other industries and learn from them. Stay up to date with developments in the cleaning industry and the business world in general.
So, what are you waiting for? Start planning to open your cleaning business today and work towards securing a ‘six figure’ income.