Dos and Don’t of Running a Cleaning Company

The cleaning industry can be a surprisingly profitable one, if you know what you’re doing. There is always a market for professional cleaning services and you can quickly build up a reputation and a good workload to continue to grow your business.

Even better, if you’re your own boss, you can work flexible hours and fit your jobs around your schedule. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

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Do Have a Stock of Cleaning Supplies

When you start your own business, you often have to invest some money to get things off the ground. This is also true of a cleaning business, so it pays to set a budget.

In most cases, you’re expected to provide cleaning supplies along with your services. This is also better for your business, because you don’t know what supplies people might have. Create a stock of supplies that you need for each job.

This means that you can complete each job and that you aren’t trying to make do with different supplies. If possible, use supplies that are inexpensive and that can be used for multiple jobs.

Don’t Go It Alone

As you build your client list, you will find that it might get too difficult to complete every job on your own. You have two options here.

You can either limit your business and keep working on your own, or you can hire an employee or work with a partner. If you want to grow your business, the latter option is by far the best one.

With more people, you can work more jobs at a time. Also, an extra employee can cover you if you’re ill or go away, and vice versa. You will have to factor in the extra costs of another worker, however, as well as training them.

Do Find Your Niche

As mentioned above, cleaning is an industry that isn’t going away anytime soon. But it’s important to find your niche. There is a significant difference between commercial cleaning and residential cleaning.

You might also specialize in cleaning commercial kitchens or offices. Or, instead of taking on everyday, regular cleaning jobs, you might lean towards deep cleaning.

These require different skills and different equipment, so it’s worth finding a niche.

Don’t Do Every Job

On a similar note, it might be tempting to accept every job that comes your way, but this isn’t always the most profitable way to work. If there’s a long commute or the job will require a lot more work than you expected, it can cut into profits.

The best way to make sure you get the best jobs is by using job costing software from Janitorial Manager. This will help you balance the cost of the job with the expected profit, so you don’t bite off more than your company can chew.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on your prices and the average market price for cleaners, so you know you’re charging a fair amount.