How to Start a Cleaning Business

Owning a cleaning business can be one of the best things for you since it’s a profitable venture. But before you start running your commercial cleaning company, you need to figure out how to manage a business of this nature, including the legal and technical practicalities. In this guide, we will inform you of everything that you need to possess to successfully run a commercial cleaning business, from the primary skills necessary for an enterprise of this nature to the proper equipment required to carry out cleaning as well as the legal documentation necessary to secure your business. 

 

Decide on a segment within the cleaning industry to focus on 

A commercial cleaning business is an enterprise that provides expert cleaning solutions for corporate organisations and residential areas. Commercial cleaning businesses are hired by offices, schools, gyms, restaurants, condominiums or apartments. 

Some commercial cleaning companies prefer to specialise in a single type of building, such as commercial property, while others focus entirely on residential cleaning services. The type of commercial cleaning you choose to make will substantially impact the specifics of how you should operate your firm. 

 

Key Industry Skills 

While there are no formal qualifications necessary for operating a commercial cleaning business, there are several skills that you need to promote in your business if you want to be successful. 

Below we’ve listed three of the, arguably, most important skills that a commercial cleaning business should choose to focus upon. 

Time Management: A commercial cleaning company will have excellent time management abilities if they expect to handle many different gigs simultaneously. In this industry, you can also expect plenty of last-minute jobs as well. 

Good health and Fitness: Since cleaning involve a lot of physical labour, it matters a lot that you and your employees are physically fit to work. 

Safety: You will handle many potentially dangerous substances, such as commercial cleaners, so you will need to be sure you understand how to manage these things carefully. 

Business Structure 

When you register your business, you can do so in 4 legal forms: Sole Trader, Partnerships or Company or acquiring a franchise under an existing company.

What type of business you should register depends entirely upon the nature of the business and whether or not you will be sharing the company with any other owners. 

If you intend to work on your own and spend the least money on registration, then you will be best served by opting to register as a Sole Trader, but you will be solely liable for any and all financial and tax liabilities. 

If you intend to share your company with another individual, or several people, you should choose to opt for a partnership. Partnerships have the advantage of the liabilities of the company being dispersed amongst all of the partners. 

 

Proper Equipment 

One of the most important aspects of running a clean company is acquiring the necessary equipment to clean. The most critical pieces of cleaning equipment that you will need include mops, facemasks, transport vehicles, sponges, rags, dust wands and floor polishing machines. Depending on the scale and sophistication of your operations, you will likely require much more equipment. You should attempt to acquire the best quality equipment that you can obtain for your company. 

 

Legal Documentation 

Like any other business, you need to get your legal documentation to include your services agreement, services agreement, termination of employment contract and Cancellation policy. All of these documents are absolutely necessary for running a functional business. Depending on where you’re conducting your business, you may even need additional legal documentation. You may even wish to acquire the services of professional legal service to assist you in drafting all of the legal documentation that you need to get your business running. 

 

Obtain Clients 

Once you have set up all of the other aspects of your business, you need to start working on obtaining clients for yourself. You can follow numerous different approaches for acquiring clients. For instance, you can advertise in newspapers or other traditional media formats or opt for using social media and the internet. 

It is also possible for you to list your services on google maps so that when people search for cleaning companies, your business is seen on their search results. This is another contemporary approach that is very likely to be successful. 

You could also attempt individual advertisement through word of mouth advertising or a referral system. 

 

Decide on Charges

Cleaning companies tend to be very price competitive, with the average rate per hour of commercial cleaning services being between $25 and $50. You need to decide beforehand which end of the pricing spectrum you intend to place your company at. 

 Additional factors that you should consider when deciding on your charges should include your employee’s salaries, the cost of your equipment, and other costs and taxes. Using all of this information together, you can arrive at a suitable set of charges for your company. 

You should also construct an entire financial plan for your company, including your revenue and profit goals for each month and quarter of operations. 

 

FAQS

 

Are Commercial Cleaning Services Profitable? 

Yes, the demand for cleaning companies is relatively stable in the year 2021 despite the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to be profitable. Of course, whether or not your business is profitable depends on how well you can run it. 

What do Commercial Cleaners Earn? 

It depends on their experience and where they are working, but the average commercial cleaner paid anywhere between $18-22 an hour for their services. Professional cleaners who work at night tend to make more at around $25 per hour.  

What Services are Included in Commercial Cleaning?

Commercial cleaning services typically include cleaning and polishing floors, dusting, wiping visible surfaces and scrubbing toilets. Some cleaning services offer additional services such as pool or gym cleaning. 

Do Business Owners Need to attend Cleaning Jobs Themselves? 

No, the owner of a cleaning company does not need to visit a cleaning site himself. You can hire a professional manager to handle oversight activities on your behalf. Initially, it would be recommended to visit cleaning sights with your employees when your business is still small. 

Who Hires Commercial Cleaning Companies? 

Commercial cleaning companies are hired by a myriad of different organisations and institutions. They could include private organisations, apartment complexes, sport’s stadiums, private gyms, pools, clubs or even schools and universities. 

 

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