Did you know that the U.S. commercial janitorial services market is worth a whopping $52 billion at the moment? It includes more than 750,000 companies with over 1 million employees—and it continues to grow every day.
If you're interested in laying claim to a piece of the massive commercial cleaning pie, consider starting a company of your own. You can create a company that specializes in cleaning retail stores, office buildings, and more and get paid handsomely for doing it.
But before you begin, it's important for you to learn how to start a commercial cleaning business from scratch. You can set your company up for success by taking the right steps when you're in the process of putting the plans for your business together.
Here is a helpful guide that will make it easy for you to start a commercial cleaning company and get it off the ground.
Validate Your Idea
As we mentioned, there is no shortage of commercial cleaning companies in the U.S. today. As a result, there is a decent chance that there are already several of these companies operating in your general area.
Prior to learning how to start a commercial cleaning business, do your market research and see whether or not your community needs another company that specializes in commercial cleaning. If the market is too saturated right now, you might find it difficult to do business in your city or town.
Come Up With a Name
If you look around and find that there is, in fact, a need for a new commercial cleaning company in your area, the next thing you'll want to do is come up with a name for yours.
Technically, you can do this at any point throughout the process of jumpstarting your commercial cleaning company. But your company isn't going to feel real to you until it has a name.
Brainstorm some ideas with your family members and friends, and try to come up with something catchy that people will remember. It'll get you excited about building your business once you have a name in place for it.
Decide on Your Services
Which services are your commercial cleaning company going to offer to those in your community? This is a very important question because it's going to help determine what sets you apart from other cleaning companies.
If possible, you should try to offer as many different commercial cleaning services as you can. From vacuuming carpets and polishing floors to washing windows and power washing exterior services, your company should try to do a little bit of everything.
The more services you can offer to businesses in your area, the more likely they're going to be to hire you.
Invest in the Right Products and Equipment
After you've nailed down which services your commercial cleaning company is going to provide, you can start stocking up on commercial cleaning products and equipment. You're going to need all kinds of things right from the start, including:
- Sponges
- Mops
- Buckets
- Antibacterial cleaners
- Floor polishers
- Vacuum cleaners
- And so much more
Obtain the Necessary Business Licenses and Insurance
Business owners are not going to allow your commercial cleaning company to come in and clean for them if you don't have the necessary business licenses and insurance.
Check with your specific city and state to see which licenses and insurance policies commercial cleaning companies need to have. It'll be essential for you to have them all in place before you start working with customers.
Hire Trustworthy Employees
When you first start your commercial cleaning company, you might be able to get away with doing just about everything yourself. But it won't be long before you'll need to assemble a team of employees to carry out your services.
When you begin bringing employees on board, make sure they're trustworthy and reliable. Make sure they have some experience in the commercial cleaning space as well and can be counted on to provide high-quality services.
Establish Your Prices
How much are you going to charge your customers for your company's commercial cleaning services?
You want to entice business owners to call on your company for help by providing them with affordable rates. But at the same time, you don't want to price your services so low that you aren't able to make a decent profit.
Consider the cost to clean offices and other commercial spaces and come up with a price list accordingly. Your prices should be competitive compared to the other commercial cleaning companies in your area.
Begin Marketing Your Commercial Cleaning Company to Local Businesses
Once you've done everything else we've mentioned here, you'll finally be ready to open for business. From the very start, you should have a plan in place for marketing your services to local businesses.
You can market your commercial cleaning company by:
- Creating a website for it
- Setting up social media pages for it
- Running advertisements for it in local newspapers and on local TV and radio stations
Learn How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business Before Doing It
There are some people who are under the impression that starting a commercial cleaning company is as simple as buying some cleaning supplies and getting to work. But this couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to starting a commercial cleaning business.
In order to run a successful company, you need to learn how to start a commercial cleaning business and follow the right steps from the beginning. Use the steps listed here to set your cleaner company up for long-term success.
Find out more about running a successful small business by reading the other articles on our blog. Visit the Startups section of the Bootstrap Business blog right now!
