Although a business cleaning service might have fewer startup costs and be one of the easier service businesses to start, it still requires careful thought, planning and a great deal of hard work. Understanding the steps involved in starting your own business cleaning service will help ensure that you have the information necessary to progress toward owning your own business. To start your own business cleaning service, you should look into any licenses or certifications you might need, evaluate what equipment you have and what you might need to purchase, determine a marketing strategy and develop quality control measures. As you begin, you will need to implement your marketing strategy and maintain your customer base with great customer service.
Before starting any business, you should contact local authorities to learn about any licenses or certifications you might need. For a business cleaning service, this might be as simple as obtaining a tax identification number and a business license, but each area is different. After you become properly licensed, you should consider obtaining business insurance. This will help protect you in case any issues arise while you are on the job.
Although you might already have cleaning equipment, you might choose to evaluate this equipment to make sure that it is in good working order and suitable for commercial cleaning. It might not be necessary to purchase expensive new equipment, but it might be a good idea to see whether there are other alternatives that might be better suited for your business cleaning service. You might even decide to build your inventory a little at a time.
After you have established a foundation for your business, you can begin thinking about marketing. This is an area that can cost you as little or as much as you want, but with most new businesses, it is best to start small. Successful marketing does not have to cost a great deal of money, so try to look for creative ways to market your business cleaning service.
You might also choose to develop a system to maintain the quality of work that you do. Some people might use a notebook, index cards or customized checklists to assist them in remembering what needs to be done for each location. Remember to include any specific information for each business in an easy-to-find place.
Business cleaning services usually work in locations at times when most employees have already gone for the day, so a business owner will want to know he or she can trust you and any employees that you have. The fastest and most effective way to build this trust is to make personal visits or phone calls to potential customers. By demonstrating that you have thought out the process of creating this business and care enough to come to them personally, you have a much better chance of gaining their trust and their business.
You likely will be very excited when you have gained a loyal following. To maintain this customer base, you should work hard to give great customer service. When you make your customers happy, they are more likely to recommend your service to other people.