Table of Contents
Have you always wanted to be a business owner? Would you call yourself a people person? Do you take pride in a job well done?
If you answered yes to those three questions, you could have a promising future in providing janitorial services.
There are a lot of businesses and institutions that can benefit from cleaning help. With the right background and knowledge, you can make a lot of money by keeping other places clean.
If you want to know how to start a janitorial service, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn what you need to do to start a thriving janitorial business.
How to Start a Janitorial Service: 4 Tips
Starting a janitorial service is a bit more complicated than finding a few cleaners and buying supplies. A lot needs to come together to successfully launch your business and provide outstanding service.
When you’re planning your business, make sure you keep these tips in mind.
Develop a Business Plan
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you’re starting a janitorial business is to dive in without a business plan.
A business plan at the minimum should outline your company’s objectives, projected costs, and expected profits. Once you have that figured out, you can dive into other important aspects of the running the business.
Have you thought about what your employee’s job titles will be? Do you know what will happen if you have a personal emergency and need someone else to run the business? Do you know how you’re going to buy supplies?
A well thought out business plan can answer all of these important questions.
Get Your Budget in Order
Costs and cash flow are one of the main reasons why businesses end up failing. If you don’t have a solid grasp of your finances, your business won’t last.
Your budget is going to cover more than cleaning supplies and employee pay. Running a business can cost a lot of money.
You’ll need to set aside money for licenses and permits. The cost of these legal documents will vary depending on if you plan on registering as a sole proprietor or a limited liability company.
Insurance for your employees and the companies you clean for should be taken into consideration. You’ll also need money to devote to marketing.
If you’re having trouble getting your budget in order, consider using software for janitorial providers to help manage budget expectations.
Decide Your Tiers of Service
When you want to start a janitorial service, don’t get into the mindset of taking a one-size fit all approach to your service offerings.
You can’t do everything for each client. Certain tasks may work for a particular client, and not work for a different one.
Some beginners find that it’s easier to create tiers of service for their customers. Consider the minimum amount of work you’d do for a client, then add on to it.
You may decide that every client at minimum gets vacuuming and trash duty, but they may need to pay extra to have plants watered or floors buffed.
Start Small
This may sound strange when you’re starting a new business, but it is possible to have too much work and too many clients.
Janitorial services require a lot of effort in terms of human labor and travel time. If you overextend your staff when you’re starting out, you’ll have overworked employees and unhappy customers.
Consider working for small offices or businesses first. Let yourself gain a little experience before you move on to bigger clients and commitments.
Explore the World of Entrepreneurship
If you find yourself Googling how to start a janitorial service in your spare time, now you know that launching your own business can be easy.
If you take a few simple steps at the beginning of your business journey, it can help set your janitorial business up for success in the future.Are you interested in other ways to make money? Check out our post on niche e-commerce ideas you can use!