Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: andyneored5 on June 20, 2006, 10:57:36 pm
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Hi
I have a business meeting tomorrow with a local company who help set up small business's, I have the idea that i am going to start off with domestic carpet and upholstery cleaning but have not the knowledge of what soloution cleans what. Is there a site where i can find out this information. I have done some research on carpet cleaners and have come up with the hydromist compact, as anyone got one of these and is it good enough to do the jobs i want it for....
any views or guides would be great... sorry to be slightly vague
andy
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slighty vague ! i meet a old friend school mate today who's thinking of buying a old oil tanker for £29,000 125 yard long very wide too ! oh & he's want's the money loaned to him, yet we live up the grand union canal ! advice please also
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This site has a wealth of information regarding chemical usage, if you use the search facility you will probably find the answers to most if not all of your questions, thats the easy bit, the best way to approach the job is to get some training and then try to get some experience to see if you like the work (maybe ask a localish cc to tag along with them on some jobs), the hard bit is marketing and finding the work for a start, then maintaining a flow of work after that,
Andy
slighty vague ! i meet a old friend school mate today who's thinking of buying a old oil tanker for £29,000 125 yard long very wide too ! oh & he's want's the money loaned to him, yet we live up the grand union canal ! advice please also
Tell your friend that it needs a little bit of cut and shutting, if he can get it on a car trailer to mine I will give him a quote for the work if I can get it in the drive ;D
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oh tomh
If you want to be sarcastic with me for being vague thats ok, but please use correct grammar when you do so... its not i meet an old friend its met an old friend....thanks for your advice, i only hope everyone is not like you....
Thx andy
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rightyho andy ! i've told him that i am only intrested in cleaning the carpets, but if we can't fit it in your drive maybe dave will let us use his or lex might through a rope ;D
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andy ! there are people that come on here for a bit of a laugh with friend's too ! you have to have a sence of humour to get on on here ! there is such a lot of info available on here you only have to use the search button on top or ask ! i am new to this game too & although i have been looking out about carpet cleaning for over 10 months & having equiptment for 6 in my garage my 1st adverts are out in july this year ! chill out take info in
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Hi andyneored5,
Fill in your profile, you'll get more replies if you do!
Being bolshy won't get you anywhere. People are on here from beginners to experts in their field and when approached correctly will give advice. Take a deep breath and start again!
As 'Andy A' says get some training, read the boards and take it from there.
We're not all sarcastic, just sometimes posts arrive that deserve nothing better.
Good luck with your meeting and new venture.
Kind regards,
Jason.
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andy you email does not work
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hi guys
thx for info
sorry tomh.......
andy
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no worries ! best of luck
as a tip i would look out for decent 2nd hand gear, you save £££ there is a section on here for that & ebay is good, this game is not for everyone & only find that out when you start so there is lots of almost new gear available cheaply
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lots of new 2 hand gear for sale from all the ones start up then go pop.
not being negitive just letting you know the truth.
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LOL u tell em craig ;D dont beat around the bush lol
gary
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;)
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Without sounding all doom and gloom
I woul def say more fail than succeed, so a good second hand kit may be a good option
i think the reason so many fail is most customers are yearly at best thats if you retain them at all, so you dont get alot of repeat customers for a while so the first year is hard you have to be really determined and just keep going (most cant handle this period) you have to constantly find new customers.
Were you to do another cleaning service say windows or car valeting.
you just find customers once and then thats it a guarenteed income each week or month.
with carpets you dont have this option for the first couple years you have to constantly find new customers.
I may soon be selling a extracta excell and scrubba deluxe pakage see www.extracta.co.uk for details for around a third of retail value if your interested.
Most internall parts have been replaced over the last few months as well so as reliable as a new machine in theory
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i think the reason so many fail is most customers are yearly at best thats if you retain them at all, so you dont get alot of repeat customers for a while so the first year is hard you have to be really determined and just keep going (most cant handle this period) you have to constantly find new customers.
Very true. Better still kick the wife out to work to earn a guaranteed income whilst you build up your business ;D
Regards, Andy
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first year is hard you have to be really determined and just keep going (most cant handle this period)
i would say if you started up now without a 2nd income you would almost certianly fall flat on your face very quickly ! people are just not spending any money ! this is the slowest summer i've had in business since start up removals & light haulage 4 years ago & a friend of mine a gardener no work at all for a fortnight even this time of year ! i think it's everywhere
there seem's to be something very wrong ! i don't think money has ever been loaned so cheaply as now, perhaps many are loaned up to there max, i don't know
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It would be very interesting to know how many other CC's are struggling out there this year. Many paint a rosy picture on here, but in reality probably things are alot different.
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Still convinced most go out of business because they don't charge enough. Also lack of basic business skillis. Doesn't matter what you do, plumbing, plastering, cleaning etc you still need the basic skills to market and run your business.
There is plenty of help out there and on these forums.
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John
Agree with you 100%. You have to have some sort of management skills to be able to build up a successful business. Having product knowledge & good machinery wont help you much if you have no idea how to market your business and produce sales.
Years ago I took the BTEC First certicate in business studies course and the BTEC certificate in business management which has helped me tremendously over the years.
Even alot of 'one man bands' dont realise that not only do they have to work IN their business but spend just as much time working ON their business.
Having funadamental business skills, having the passion, drive & energy to succeed & remaining positive are the key elements to success as well as obviously doing a good job!
Regards Andy.
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I think that a lot of the British public have been living in financial fairy land for the last few years, they borrowed up to the hilt and then just remortgaged to pay for it, the property market in my area is slowing down and has been for several months, many people are just starting to wake up from their financial fairy tail dreams and are seeing a grim reality, they cant dump much if any more on their mortgage, the credit cards are maxxed and the loans need paying, when it gets to this stage people have a choice, either tighten their belts or disappear into an ever expanding cloud of debt, given the options most will start sorting the essentials from the luxuries.
Burst pipe?
They need a plumber,fact.
Carpets dirty?
Well, it needs doing so I'll call someone when I get paid, payday comes and so do the bills, maybe next month then.
Talking to several trades that I know and having a lot of retailers in my family all I hear is how tight things are, as a relative newcomer I'm at a disadvantage to cc's that have been established for years,or am I?
They've got a customer base to work on (if they can be bothered to stay in touch, some dont), but the chances are many of them have bigger overheads than me, some may have brought equipment on lease when the going was easier, they may have commited to big annual advertising costs or have wages to find for employee's, some may have got complacent about their position in the marketplace and could get their rs bitten, so swings and roundabouts it is, may the best man win! ;D, Andy
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interesting post
i think its true a lot of people do post that things are all good in the cc's world when in fact it is hard to build a client base and reach the point where you can support yourself and your loved ones . some are lucky and everything clicks . but i bet the truth be known there are days for most when they question what they are doing. i have two businesses as people who know me know. i am one of the lucky ones as i already have a client base from the second business and i get enquiries from the web . i forecast in time the cc business will take all of my time as the client base is beginning to build. but i am not letting the old business go until i am certain of the fact. out of interest speaking to various people i get feed back that there is an underlying recession happening which could point to why some people are struggling. but that's another debate that deserves its own posting
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andy i think want you say about loans is true, i mean look at how all the loan companies are targeting people in fiancial trouble on the TV advertisments, consolidate your loans etc. thses adverts must surly be a sign of how much 'business' there is out there for em!!
i spose its good for them they must be doing very well, lol.
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The latest advertisements that are starting to creep up are the "sell us your house for 80% of its value and rent it from us" jobs, just the icing on the cake for the money lenders,they now offer a complete service, they lend you more than you can afford (if you are gullible enough), then they consilidate your loans to give you more cash to waste, then they give you multiple peices of plastic, then when you realise your in the poop they buy your house at a knock down so you can pay it all off and let you pay you rent on it!
Bonus
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very grim out there :( ! the guy i got all my gear from wanted shot of it almost new & had been going for some time had re-newed his gear packed it in,was a member here ( Ian richards ) offen taking that 1k a week people talk a lot of on here !
now he is making fantastic money advising people how best to go bankrupt, in fact telling me the day the next day he is going to see a guy who's £250k in dept. his cut for advising him was £3k very simply advice more common sence than anything !
although would cost him his marrage be able to set up again with his ( wife's ) girlfriend in her name & start over
recon's ave dept he deal's with is bettween £40- £60k