How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business
Starting your own commercial cleaning business gives you the freedom to be your own boss, work on your own schedule and do the type of cleaning that you love to do.
However, starting any business is a challenge, and there are many factors you’ll need to consider before you start.
In this guide, we explore how to start a cleaning business, including planning your finances, conducting market research and acquiring the right equipment.
Make a plan
Every great business starts with a plan. This plan will consist of many elements, all coming together to produce a complete blueprint for your business. Some of the most important elements of a plan include finances, market research, qualifications and equipment.
Sort out your finances
It’s important to estimate how much money you will need to invest to get your business off the ground. This figure can be difficult to calculate so you may need to give it your best guess.
You’ll need to keep in mind equipment costs, employee salaries if you intend on hiring other cleaners, storage costs, training costs, uniform costs and more.
Equally as important is roughly calculating your revenue and profits. The money you make from your customers should exceed the money you are putting into the business. How much you charge may depend on the location of your business and the type of cleaning your business offers.
This brings us to the next important element of your plan: market research.
Conduct market research
Conducting market research is the best way to find out about your potential clients and your competitors. It will give you an insight into the other options that are out there and whether there is a gap in the market for a particular type or style of cleaning.
Market research will also allow you to identify the average price for professional cleaning in your area. Market research may be as passive as browsing the web or it could entail being more active in the community by carrying out surveys.
Brush up on your qualifications
Though domestic cleaners don’t generally require any qualifications, you may need to acquire some if your business intends to offer more specialised cleaning services. Check online whether any of the services you provide require qualifications.
Even if they’re not required, cleaning qualifications can demonstrate the quality of your services and help your business to stand out from its competitors.
Get the right equipment
A key part of your plan will be deciding which equipment you’ll need. This will generally depend on the areas you are cleaning and the specialist cleaning services you offer. However, there are a few types of equipment that every cleaning business would expect to own. These include;
- Cleaning buckets
- Disinfectant
- Scrub pads
- Microfiber cloths
- Mops
- Glass cleaner
- Grout brushes
The equipment you use must be factors into your finances. In addition to the above standard equipment, you’ll also need to consider more powerful cleaning equipment and their corresponding prices. This includes:
- Floor Scrubber Dryers (can be £2,000+ new)
- Floor Sweepers (can be £2,000+ new)
- Steam Cleaners (can be £800+ new)
- Carpet Cleaners (can be £1,000+ new)
- Hot Pressure Washers (can be £1,500+ new)
- Vacuum Cleaners (can be £1,500+ new)
The cost of these machines can be a little daunting, but there are ways around them. Instead of purchasing a machine outright, why not hire your machines on a flexible contract?
See all our commercial equipment for hire, or use the links above to go directly to each category.
For example, the Tennant CS16 Micro Walk Behind Floor Scrubber Dryer is ideal for small indoor areas.
Flexible hire contracts with Alpha Power Cleaners
Flexible hire contracts allow you to use the machines whenever you need them but at a fraction of the cost.
At Alpha Power Cleaners, we offer hire contracts as short as one day or as long as five years. Plus, we provide maintenance and repair services on all our machines to ensure downtime is kept to a minimum. For a competitive price, you can acquire all the equipment you need for your commercial cleaning business.
Check out our vast range of products — we’re a Tenant-authorised partner and Karcher premier-servicing dealer, so we have access to all the latest cleaning equipment. Take advantage of all our products to get ahead of your competitors.
We provide cleaning equipment throughout the West Midlands and East Midlands, including Loughborough, Derby, Nottingham and beyond. Hire your cleaning equipment today by contacting our team.
Give us a call on 0808 164 9676 for a free quote!
