Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Carl Anderson on November 04, 2011, 11:56:31 pm
-
Hi guys.
This is my first post on this message board and I am after some advice if you could spare some time. I am in the process of starting up a carpet and upholstery cleaning service and would like to know a few things that are playing on my mind.
I have a reasonable budget of around £7k to start up including a cheap van plus enough cash to live on for a year approximately. I understand that what I am about to undertake will be hard work which I am used to and that I will have to make sacrifices in terms of pay to begin with. After doing some research on the net a machine at first seemed a minefield to get my head round but it just seems to be a matter of preference in terms of cleaning style although there are some essentails tools. I think I have got to a stage where I know what equipment I need and have appropiate transport and have done all the necessary essential things that a start up needs to do.
Anyway I have a few questions. I apologise if these have been asked thousands of times before ::)
1. What is your enquiry to actual job ratio?
2. Roughly how many enquiries per thousand leaflets?
3. As a percentage how many of your customers tip? ;D
4. Would you list prices on your literature? Why?
5. What percentage of your business payment is cash?
6. Do you try to re book customers immediately (on completion)? What is your success rate?
Thank you very much if you take the time to answer all or any of my questions. Average answers will go on my spreadsheet so I can number crunch.
-
1 depends if you quote on phone or vist . visit 90% phone 50%
2 2 to 3
3 15.5 %
4 no if you want a higher price yes if you cant be arsed going out to quote
5 85%
6 no 0
-
1 depends if you quote on phone or vist . visit 90% phone 50%
2 2 to 3
3 15.5 %
4 no if you want a higher price yes if you cant be arsed going out to quote
5 85%
6 no 0
I disagree with number 3, I would have said about 14.9%...
-
Me personally.
1 Phone quote 70% visit quote 90%
2 5 - 6
3 Think I got about 3 tips last year so per job 0.9%
4 No every job is different in size, soiling, access etc just give them
a minimum price and a rough guide per room after that don't set it
in stone.
5 90%
6 No
-
Whats important about having this information now Carl?
-
can't see why number 3 and 5 are relevant ?
-
can't see why number 3 and 5 are relevant ?
It would be highly valuable information for a Tax inspector... :-X
-
I know you want to do a business plan
If I do X it will give Y result etc
i just wish
Are you trained in marketing
Have you admin capacity to start databases do regular mailing write newsletters etc
How much Cash have you for Marketing or can you reinvest all your earnings
My advise is to learn Marketing that is Small Business marketing. You could get to end of year and run out of money or your could be very rich.
-
can't see why number 3 and 5 are relevant ?
It would be highly valuable information for a Tax inspector... :-X
My sentiments exactly, saw that imediately. Its easy to disguise information required with other questions. Or maybe Helen & me are paranoid ;D
Mark
-
Your not paranoid Mark, they are after "you" :-X
-
Best bit of money you'll spend is on Training you'll save yourself more money in the long run.
Shaun
-
Carl, do you currently work as a Data Analyst? :D
You'll find that although there are some common trends between different carpet cleaning businesses across the country, you will never get two identical sets of answers to those questions.
And I too am puzzled by questions 3 and 5, these should NOT be a concern for constructing a business plan! Lots of customers pay "with cash" but that is a lot different from a "cash price" which as we all know is very naughty and none of us ever do it :)
As Ian says above, the factor that will make or break you is two-fold:
1) how good at marketing you can become
2) how good at selling you can become, once you get an enquiry.
It's no good being brilliant at making the phone ring but not converting those calls into jobs. It's also useless being the world's best salesman if you've got nobody to sell to. The two disciplines are intrinsically linked but are completely separate skills.
machines, chemicals, vans, etc etc... all incidental, unimportant things. You just need to know a realistic budget for those. I would get a van on HP to begin with which gives you an exact monthly budgeting cost. £X.XX for signwriting
Spend about £4k in total on a decent second hand extraction machine, rotary machine (DO NOT buy these new) and all the associated tools & accessories (lots of job-lot kit for sale, you should be able to pick up most of what you need second hand)
Spend the rest on getting a logo/image/colour scheme for your company, a website and then whatever marketing to get you going. Yellow pages might be a bit hit and miss in a big city like Sheffield; there's probably umpteen other carpet cleaners in it (and Shaun has the market sewn up anyway ;) ) so maybe take a punt on that in a year or two when you can spare £500 for a small ad (and it will be very small for than money)
Leaflets will always have some degree of success but it depends on the design, the offer, the "prospect quality" of area you deliver to and the timing to some extent. Probably depends on how many other carpet cleaners do leafleting in the area too. Also it's generally considered better to leaflet to (for example) 200 houses 5 times over at intervals of about 6 weeks, than to deliver them to 1,000 houses once only. So, scaling that up, if you want to put out 10k leaflets a month, pick two areas of 10k houses roughly and alternate between them every month.
Oh and if you're planning to do a lot of leaflet delivering yourself, the Samaritans can be called 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90
They're good at talking people out of suicide
:)
-
TBH Chemdry are dropping leaflets like confetti round Sheffield I think they are suffering but it shows that it takes quite a bit of money to get work in even when you are that big.
Shaun
-
can't see why number 3 and 5 are relevant ?
5 is relevant if considering if taking card payments should be considered.
-
Jands did you really get 3 tips over the whole year?
-
davep
Yes why is that good, I don't think it is personally.
Fiver all 3 times.
John
-
Sorry that's since start of year, easy to
remember there so few.
-
Jands did you really get 3 tips over the whole year?
Thats good for where he operates,dont you know how tight they are in Yorkshire ;D
-
Thought they where tight! Must get a tip a few times a week in sunny liverpool..
Custys must think i look poor :P
-
That's rich coming from someone from West of
the Pennines Wayne.
What do you charge for a 3 piece suite.....3 ducks
and a bag of salt!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
Thank you very much for your replies guys.
My business plan is already sorted although it may need amending from time to time as i learn more and more.
I have also enrolled on a course with the NCCA and I'm sure i will be going on other various courses throughout the year.
In terms of relevance I asked question three just out of curiosity really. I know it will vary on whether the customer has perceived value in your work or not but i was just trying to get a rough idea. I asked question five plainly to see if it would be worth while adding a card payment section to my website for convenience but it seems the carpet business is mainly cash which is what i suspected.
Am quite surprised with question six. I would have thought cleaners would be wanting to rebook as soon as possible. Is it just a case of letting the customer come to you then and you just leaving them your contact details? Would the customer think i was pestering or even desperate if i tried to rebook them on completion? ???
-
can't see why number 3 and 5 are relevant ?
It would be highly valuable information for a Tax inspector... :-X
I am not a tax inspector by the way ;D
-
The best figures to load in your spreadsheet is your own. Especially leads per day, which you didn't ask about.
I'd just get going. Training is a good move though.
-
I always used to find that the cheaper I was the more tips I got, I would say i get approx 75-80% cheques, Carl you seem clued up what do you do for a job at the moment?
Shaun
-
Carl I would decide what cross-section of the market you want to aim at. If you want to do lots of low priced work for the "masses" you'll have to go about things a bit differently from if you're aiming at higher end clients. One size definitely doesn't fit all, but you can get a good balance without limiting yourself too much.
Low priced work will be mostly cash, higher end work will be bill in the post and politely wait for a cheque or bank transfer. 90% pay up almost immediately and it's worth waiting a week or two to pay in a cheque that could cover your month's mortgage :)
The thing about carpet & upholstery cleaning is that it is quite a significant outlay for a lot of people, and many don't have a set time frame in mind the same as something like window cleaning. People tend to want to call you as they think they need you, they don't want to feel pressured or obliged in to spending so much money at a pre-determined point in the future. Obviously this is where marketing to your list comes in. You catch them with a mail shot 12 months later and they'll respond (presuming you "won" them with your first clean).
Steep learning curve mate, and it starts as soon as you get to the "real world" part of the business :)
-
I always used to find that the cheaper I was the more tips I got, I would say i get approx 75-80% cheques, Carl you seem clued up what do you do for a job at the moment?
Shaun
Well ive done quite a few jobs. Most recently i was working as a supervisor in a bar but I have done sales and marketing jobs as well. Ive just recently left that job to pursue this career as i wasnt gettin paid what i was puttin in if you get my meaning. Working self employed it is up to me how much effort i put in and if i put everyting into it i believe i will get results.
I see you are from sheffield Shaun, i wish you every success. ;D (but please leave some customers for me ;))
-
There are 6 Chem Drys that serve the area as well as multiple owner operators I am only a small fish, don't get caught up in silly pricing wars just to satisfy egos cheap as chips gets them running unfortunately between the 2 cheapest prices.
Shaun