Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: phil doyle on December 14, 2011, 08:47:40 pm
-
Hi im new to this but im starting up in January as carpet and upholstery cleaner. Im going on a 2 day training course in Jan and just wondred if anyone has any advice for a new start up. Any DO,s and Dont,s would be much appreciated.
Cheers
-
Where do you start? ;D
Welcome to CIU. I would say, get some hands on experience with a carpet cleaner just outside your area if you can.
Use CIU and (the other channels) with any questions you may have and use the search facility as much as you can.
Sounds like you'll be fine though, seeing as your stepping off on the right foot by doing a course.
What I did before I started up was hire the services of a carpet cleaner. Do this yourself and get as many quotes as possible. Be a sneaky bugger and see where you think they are lacking and use that to your strength... ;)
Good luck and I wish you every success.... Col...
-
Hi Phil, first off, genuine good luck!
Make sure you've plenty in the bank to fall back on, Jan/Feb are quiet for most people.
Look into adverting in local mags, and make sure you get best price, printed media is struggling so stand firm, in my opinion don't bother with newspaper ads, never worked for me but sure others have had great success.
Make sure you enjoy your training and take all the info in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions on here!
Once again, good luck.
-
Hi what makes you think carpet cleaning is a good industry to get into ?
Most cleaners that have been sometime are probably ok but a start up in Jan ?
Sorry to be bringing bad news but I would think very hard before spending too much money. Regards Hotsteam
-
Sorry Hot Steam. But it's probably a good time to start... By the time he's up and going, he'll be hitting the ground running...
Get a website.
Leaflet like a nut case.
Don't be too down-trodden when the phone isn't ringing, we all have quiet spells...
Start oven cleaning as well, I find that I am at least busy all year round with either oven, or carpet cleaning... there, I've said it....
-
I have quite a large job on the 2,3 and maybe the 5 Jan at Kinver.
You are welcome to come and give me a hand and see what it is all about.
0800 1957 062 around 4-5pm Thur or Fri if you are interested.
-
Don't give up your day job. Do the training, go out with a pro, practise on friends and relatives and look to get started in the spring when there is more work about.
Which training course are you doing?
Simon
-
Oh, and you can offer discounts on oven cleaning if they have their carpets cleaned by you.... ;)
-
Oh, and you will clean peoples/animals poo and vomit.............. why do we do this job?
I've witnessed child birth three times so I suppose no biggy!!
-
DON'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!
Only joking, it can be hard work but very rewarding, the advice i give you is always believe in yourself, even when the outlook looks bleak because you never know whats round the corner.
Never buy advertising that a rep rings you up to sell to you, it will cost you money for very little return.
That said, the right marketing ( and a little bit of luck) is the key to success and thats where you need to concentrate your efforts.
Also there are a lot of knowledgable people on here (I discount my self) but also a lot of bullpoopers, once you work out which is which this place is a gold mine of information worth 100 times any training course.
Good luck
Tony
-
Cheers guys,
Im doing the training at cleansmart Nottingham (closest i could find). I understand its going to be tough to start with but am prepared to work at it as i think long term its a good business. I want to introduce add ons as soon as ive got the experience doing the basic stuff. About to order 5000 leaflets and will deliver myself as dont trust anyone else. Kinver i will give you a call tomorrow and thaks for the offer.
Cheers
-
By the way i owned a kids play centre for 6 years so seen enough poo p*ss and vomit in my time and always cleaned it myself cause the staff hated it.
-
Phil
They have their detractors but you might want to consider the NCCA and their training as well as the training at _________, I meant Cleansmart. Sorry wrong forum. There is more than one forum dedicated to carpet cleaning - take a look at cleantalk.co.uk and you will understand my very bad joke above as well as geting some fantastic advice and support from some decent and very experienced people. Its like this place but a little less combative.
Keep asking questions because the learning curve is steep and long.
I wish you good luck in your venture - it wasn't so long since I was in your shoes - so you will need a bit of good fortune as well as hard work to get somewhere.
From the advice offered so far I would suggest getting some leaflets done. If you've got nothing booked in and the phone isn't ringing you can get off your butt and get out and about pushing leaflets through letter boxes. The rate of calls, initially, may well be very low but you will at least be doing SOMETHING. You will still be getting calls months later when the people you leafleted decide they need a carpet cleaner. If you can afford or buld a website yourself, do it. Get a FB page, get on Twitter, communicate.
I could go on but no doubt someone else will have a copletely different point of view!
Good luck
Chris
-
Sign written vechicle, absolute must.
-
Don't bother building your own website, I did it and it was a load of pants... You can get one done for £300ish with the SEO...
I have no problems with my website at all now, there are better ones out there, but I know mine works....
-
Don't bother building your own website, I did it and it was a load of pants... You can get one done for £300ish with the SEO...
I have no problems with my website at all now, there are better ones out there, but I know mine works....
I'll second this one, as well as the comment about sign written van - it's advertising for you 24/7.
-
Thanks guys. I really appreciate all of your help and wise words. Hopefully I'll be around here for a long time. (fingers crossed) cheers again
-
Find out some local booklets that are delivered monthly.
I have 1/2 page adverts in loads. Yes it costs money, but get loads and loads back. Give it 3 months, dont just do one month. I would get leaflets done first, and post in January, and then start in the local booklets in Feb. Just hope that the weather MIGHT be a bit Springlike.
Choose the areas to leaflet in Jan that will see the booklet from Feb onwards. Your name and logo will start to sink in. But continue to leaflet. Pop your ipod on, and think that each one you post might be the one that will call! ;)
-
Once again, I really appreciate all the advice and am taking it all on board. I ve contacted Trevor from Kinver cleaning and am going out with him on a job in Jan and want to thank him for his offer. I have run businesses before and when ive spoke to someone in the same field its all doom and gloom, But here ive had nothing but sound advice and positive encouragement so thanks to all who have posted. Cheers Phil.
-
Phil,
You're right there, I've only been trading 6 months myself - and everyone I've spoken to have been nothing but helpful. I've chatted to people from the other side of the country, and people in the same town as me - and they've all offered advice and support, no bitchiness like a lot of industries.
There's a lot of genuinely good guys out there (and on here).
-
Like the above saying: get a website and SEO for it...nowdays papers and yellow pages advertising seems to go down...lots of people use internet if not the most. Belive me, all yellow pages stay outside unopened...internet marketing is so high now. Talk with as many guys as you can at training courses for ideas, tips and advice...pay attention to course as wll...but mistakes will be done and you'll learn your lesson for sure. Good luck
-
if you train at cleansmart you will get exactly the same training course as with the ncca only a lot cheaper, derek bolton who does the training for them contributed heavily to the ncca course and was once a director i think.
I have done both courses and in my opinion they are almost identical.
-
Phil- what are the last 3 digits of your mobile no? I forgot to make a note.
-
Oh, and one tip I wish I'd have given more consideration from when I started:
Keep your database of customers from day 1!
I'm in the process of trying to do mine now, and it's a long boring slog - if I'd have kept on it from the start it'd be a piece of cake.
-
Oh, and one tip I wish I'd have given more consideration from when I started:
Keep your database of customers from day 1!
I'm in the process of trying to do mine now, and it's a long boring slog - if I'd have kept on it from the start it'd be a piece of cake.
Couldn't agree more. Get hard copies too, I've lost 2 data bases thanks to my computers crashing.... >:(
-
Hi Phil,
Good luck to you! I've been in the trade for three and a half years. On every job or on site quotation, I always take the time to do a proper survey no matter how big or small the job is, and I fill out my survey sheets religiously. As well as giving my customers the right first impression, the survey helps to hopefullly elliminate any complacency.
When I started up, I went to the biggest church in town and offered to carry out a clean at a heavily discounted rate. I done some work, then asked the minister for a testimonial. He gave me a glowing report, and I have used his testimonial on my leaflets, letters and website etc. As a leading figure in the local community, his testimonial has worked wonders!
-
Phil- what are the last 3 digits of your mobile no? I forgot to make a note.
Hi mate 07852142883 cheers
-
Keep your database of customers from day 1!
I'm in the process of trying to do mine now, and it's a long boring slog - if I'd have kept on it from the start it'd be a piece of cake.
Brilliant advice. Your list is your most valuable asset. I cannot believe I used to throw names and addresses away when I first started!
Couldn't agree more. Get hard copies too, I've lost 2 data bases thanks to my computers crashing....
I use a system called Carbonite ( www.carbonite.com ). it costs £ 40.00 a year. It backs up the whole of your hard drive to secure storage online. It keeps uploading stuff as you use it on a minute by minute basis. Like Colin, I had a hard drive fail recently and all I ahd to do was restore the contents from the online database.
-
Constant Contact is good as well. Easy to create a good email newsletter.
Its online and you can save your database to an excel file at any time you want.
Just got to make sure you keep on top of it.
I use Invoice2go to email a PDF receipt using a mobile app. I CC it to myself then I can transfer the info into Constant Contact very quickly on the move or whenever I get the time.
Two birds, one stone, well almost.
-
Cheers everyone, cant believe the amount of feedback im getting, which drives me to think its a good business. You have all gave me ideas that i wouldnt of thought of, Not knowing the businesss first hand. If there is anything i can help anyone out with just ask. I appreciate all your advice and cant wait to get stuck in and will keep you updated and will keep picking your brains. Cheers.
-
respects
-
And make a note on the job sheet where the job came from to monitor your advertising.
-
I have quite a large job on the 2,3 and maybe the 5 Jan at Kinver.
You are welcome to come and give me a hand and see what it is all about.
0800 1957 062 around 4-5pm Thur or Fri if you are interested.
Hi mate are you still looking for a hand on 2nd Jan. Im still keen to meet with you if thats ok. Phil 07852142883
Cheers
-
I'm just doing the feasibility study at the moment. I've found that Youtube is an amazing resource.
There are loads of videos on carpet cleaning. Some show it done really well and others show people making a real pig's ear of it. There are a couple of videos that show the 4, 5, 6 or 7 stages of carpet cleaning (and I seem to recall one showing 9 stages!). Watching these before or after the course will be excellent prevision or revision.
Here are a few examples:
Cleaning of heavily soiled office carpet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5j_7Ssee2M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5j_7Ssee2M)
Principle 1 Dry Soil Removal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3QBd-uD74w (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3QBd-uD74w)
Plus the other Principles
And my own personal favourite:
Happy Carpet Cleaners - Like you'll rarely see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cX12YXs7rk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cX12YXs7rk)
And I think that this one shows how NOT to do it:
Commercial Carpet Cleaning | Steam Carpet Cleaning Service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIrODpdIwrA& (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIrODpdIwrA&)
-
Cheers Seymour will check out those links. Appreciate that. Phil.
-
Hi Phil,
I have not long started and recently found these sites :
http://sfs.jondon.com/ and www.mickeysboard.com
Lots of really good articles!
Good luck!
-
Oh, and one tip I wish I'd have given more consideration from when I started:
Keep your database of customers from day 1!
I'm in the process of trying to do mine now, and it's a long boring slog - if I'd have kept on it from the start it'd be a piece of cake.
And keep it backed up on cd,lost all my work stuff recently when my pc died,still waiting for a sata enclosure so I can,fingers crossed recover all my stuff from the h,disk,if not,it's a case of loading up the last one I backed up,about 3 years ago,and sitting with 3 years worth of diary's,and starting again !!!! ::)