How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business in Western NY
The commercial cleaning industry remains one of the fastest-growing sectors today. Owning a cleaning company is a significant opportunity to offer an in-demand service to hundreds of businesses in your target locale and earn a steady income.
If you want to know how to start a commercial cleaning business in Western NY and break into this thriving industry, look no further. This article will teach you how to start a commercial cleaning business and how to take the next step toward financial freedom.
How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business in Three Phases
Phase 1: Planning Your Commercial Cleaning Business
Establishing a commercial cleaning business requires proper planning as it helps you map out the specifics of your business and align your strategies later on. This is a crucial step that you should never skip.
The following are steps you need to keep in mind during this phase:
Create a Business Plan
A business plan is a key requirement if you want to secure a loan for your business. However, even if you don’t plan to acquire a business loan, having a business plan can help gather your thoughts and give you a clear idea of what you’re planning to build. This way, you have something tangible to look back to in case you feel lost along the way.
Your business plan should include the following:
- Cover Page
- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Business Overview
- List of Services
- Pricing of Services
- Market Analysis
- Competitive Analysis
- Marketing Plan
- Employee Planning
- Financial Projections
Pick a Business Name
A business name is one of the most critical aspects of building a cleaning business. It should be professional, unique, and brandable. Essentially, it must be easy to say and remember to make it more memorable for your customers.
After picking a name, you will also need to establish your brand. This means creating a logo, choosing brand colors, and other necessary elements to complete your brand.
Choose Services to Offer
As a cleaning company, it’s helpful to determine what services you’re planning to offer your customers. This will be based on your current skills and capacity. Here are some ideas of commercial cleaning services you may look into offering:
- General cleaning and maintenance
- Janitorial services
- Commercial deep cleaning
- Carpet cleaning
- Window cleaning
- Sanitation and disinfection
- Power washing
Consider what your competitors are offering to get an idea of what you can offer and determine what works best for you.
Determine Pricing
Once you’ve determined what services you want to offer, you will also need to decide how you want to get paid for these services. The actual cost of your services will depend on what payment scheme you want to follow, whether it’s on an hourly, weekly, or monthly basis. Alternatively, you can charge a flat fee for the project or the square footage covered.
Phase 2: Setting Up Your Commercial Cleaning Business
Once you’ve planned your business operations and growth trajectory, it’s time to execute these plans and turn them into reality. Phase two of starting a cleaning service business will entail the steps you need to take to set up the business.
Establish a Legal Entity
Before you can begin operating your business, it’s always a good idea to determine what business structure to follow:
- Sole proprietorship if you want complete control over the business.
- Partnership if you’re in business with two or more people.
- Limited liability company (LLC) means to operate as a separate legal entity and limit your personal liability.
You can then register your business to make everything official and ensure you’re tax-compliant. To begin the registration process, check with your local registry to know what requirements you need to accomplish.
Rent Office Space
Renting an office space to serve as your company location lets you establish your business in your local community as a legitimate cleaning company.
However, you can also choose to forego renting a space to operate from home. This lowers your overhead and operating costs considerably.
Phase 3: Operating Your Commercial Cleaning Business
Finally, after careful planning and setting up your business, you can begin operating the business. However, there are still plenty of things you need to take care of before you can begin. Consider the following:
Purchase Cleaning Supplies and Equipment
To be considered a legitimate cleaning company, you will need access to your own cleaning supplies and equipment. The type of equipment you need will depend on the services you plan to offer.
Some basic supplies and equipment you will need include:
- Vacuum cleaners
- Squeegee
- Cleaning products
- Mop and bucket
- Uniforms
- Disinfectant
- Spray bottles
- Company vehicle for transport
Hire Staff
Unless you plan on carrying out all the services yourself, which can be an excellent (and cost-effective) way to start building your business, you will need to hire a few employees to get started. Additionally, you will also need help handling administrative tasks.
Consider seeking help for the following roles:
- Cleaning personnel
- Supervisors
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Sales and marketing
- Client services
- Legal
Identify Your Ideal Customer and Develop a Marketing Strategy
Finally, you cannot operate your business without clients whose cleaning needs you will be serving. Start by identifying your target clients based on the services you plan to offer and determining what industry you want to target.
Once you’ve narrowed down whose cleaning needs you plan on serving, it’s time to start marketing your services. Develop a marketing strategy that will help you target your ideal clients. An excellent way to start marketing your business is to regularly visit places they spend most of their time on, whether in-person or online.
For instance, if you’re offering commercial cleaning services and want to sign larger contracts from property owners, you can look into who owns or manages a particular property and reach out to them to pitch your services.
You can also look into various digital marketing channels to maximize your exposure online. Some digital marketing strategies you can use include the following:
- Building a strong website to establish your online presence.
- Optimizing your website to improve visibility and searchability on search engines.
- Sharing blog content to position yourself as an industry expert.
- Improving your social media following to reach potential clients on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
- If you have the budget, you can launch targeted advertising campaigns on search engines and social media platforms.
- Register your business on review websites for social proof.
How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business in A Single Step
Starting a cleaning service business from scratch can be a lengthy process. Alternatively, you can avoid all the hassle involved in this process by owning and operating your own commercial cleaning franchise.
Owning a commercial cleaning franchise gives you the opportunity to operate an established business with everything already set up. This includes all the resources you need to provide superior service, such as cleaning equipment, supplies, and branding materials, among many others.
Above all, as a commercial cleaning franchise owner, you gain ongoing support from the entire franchise network to acquire help with marketing, business operations, and more.
Own and operate a nationally-recognized commercial cleaning franchise today by becoming a JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting certified franchisee. Become a part of this successful franchise network and offer superior cleaning services to your clients. Get in touch with JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting experts today to begin your journey toward financial independence.