Are you planning to start a cleaning business?
Did you know that there are 30,463 commercial cleaning businesses in Australia today? The number of residential cleaning service providers is much higher. Despite the high competition, cleaning services account for one of the most profitable business models in the island nation. In fact, there are quite a few six and seven-figure cleaning companies in Australia today.
The trick to generating high earnings from a cleaning business, is to have minimum start-up costs. Here, we’ll explore the ways you can start your new cleaning service at a very low cost:
- Don’t purchase a franchise, start your own
There are many perks of getting a franchised business. It’s already established, you don’t have to invest too much in marketing, you get a ready-made customer base and so on. In Australia, franchised cleaning businesses start at $5,000 for small-time residential cleaners and can go up to $42,000 for specialist cleaning services!
While you will certainly have to spend on registering your new business, it’s still just a fraction of the cost of a franchise.
- Get business insurance
Business insurance is essential in limiting the financial losses you might face because of business-related legal claims. For example, an employee at the office you’re cleaning may slip and injure themselves because the floor was wet. The company may sue you on grounds of negligent service. These types of legal battles can be lengthy and can cost you a lot.
One way to protect yourself from these financial losses, is to get Public Liability Insurance. This insurance offers coverage in the event a customer or a third-party gets injured or the client’s property is damaged, during the course of the job.
- Find the right customers
When you find the right, paying customers, you don’t waste valuable time and money on serving the wrong people. One way to find the right customers to create content that attracts them.
Create a website and use the right keywords to ensure that your site is visible on the search results. You can find out what keywords your prospective customers are using by logging onto free keyword search tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner.
If you’ve set-up a social media page you can see what type of audiences have engaged with your posts on the analytics tab. You can identify what types of content they like to consume and create those content to ensure these prospects visit your site and contact you.
- Don’t spend too much on marketing
Marketing can be expensive if you’re not careful. The good thing is, there are many cost-effective ways of promoting your new cleaning service. Here are some things you can do:
- Use social media actively to engage prospects.
- Update your business details on the Google My Business listing – it’s free.
- Put-up business flyers and posters in the neighbourhood (10,000 flyers at $108; 100 B&W posters at $220).
- Become a personal salesman and introduce yourself to your clients face-to-face or even through phone if it’s a corporate client.
- Share your business card with all the people you meet (in some places, business cards cost as less as $10 for 250 cards).
- Collect email IDs online and send across your newsletters with welcome promotions (tools like Mailchimp and Omnisend offer free email services).
- Ask existing clients to refer your service.
- Don’t hire employees unless absolutely necessary
Employees bring with them a lot of labour costs and Worker’s Compensation insurance, which can be really expensive. You can prevent these expenses by doing the cleaning yourself. You can even make this a family business and invite your family to join you on the cleaning projects.
- Purchase cleaning equipment second hand
Brand-new cleaning equipment can be really expensive. Avoid these costs by purchasing used equipment. Often, used equipment are rebuilt and repaired before being put on sale. So, they’ll still have a lot of life in them. You can use the money you’ve saved on future maintenance and reduce the overall cost of your business.
- Buy cleaning supplies in bulk
Purchasing in bulk will allow you to benefit from lower prices. Many suppliers and wholesalers give excellent rates for bulk cleaning supplies and you won’t end up paying the expensive market price.
Given that these supplies don’t expire and are essential to the business, it’s not a wasted investment to purchase in bulk.
- Don’t buy a uniform, make one
While a uniform makes your cleaning business look very professional, it can be expensive to have one made. Instead, you can make a uniform yourself. Set an old (preferably solid coloured) t-shirt aside. Get a scrap piece of cloth and stitch or paste your logo. You can print your logo on a laminated sheet so the colour doesn’t run.
By implementing the above steps, you’ll reduce your overheads and you’ll be able to start a well-functioning cleaning business on a budget.
