Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: richiecook74 on May 07, 2009, 07:54:18 am
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Hello everyone
Can anyone advice the best place to buy some used equipment for a start-up. I am looking to set up in the CC industry due to pending redundency. I need everything from a cleaning machine to a van but have moderate funds to get going (anyone advise typical start up costs?). Also, if anyone can help a newby with a few hours weekend work experience in the north east area (free labour of course) this be a huge benefit.
Thanks
Richard
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where abouts are you based ?
fill in your profile, i,m sure plenty will be willing to show you the ropes, many on here have tagged along with experienced c/c including myself when I first started.
set up costs, well a little more to it than that .
I was fortunate enough to get a helping hand regarding equipment and advise from an experienced c/c m halliday, who works an area similar to mine,, " hows that for been helpful" enough work for good c/c was is take.
costs well, including training , marketing , equipment depending on your starting machine anywhere from £5,000 to £25,000 I reckon then another vast amount set aside for the weeks you dont work , yes its hard starting !!! especialy the first couple of years.
good luck Geoff
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minimum 5000 for equipment
minimum 5000 for advertising
minimum 15000 to live off for the first 2 years till you see a good profit
then theres ya van
training
accountants
stationary
insurance
blah blah blah
its not as easy as it sounds.
"ooooooo lets start up a carpet cleaning company, what can be hard about that"?
ha ha ha ha ha you don't know the half of it mate.
anyway, fill in your profile and good luck, don't let me put you off. ;D
derek
ps... wish someone had told me a year ago just how bloody hard it was going to be.
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Agree with Derek. You can save some money by buying used equipment, there's plenty on ebay. Most suppliers can set you up with starter kit/pack. I would spend most money on quality gear, training, and advertising. You won't need to spend a fortune on a vehicle as there are a lot of cheap good vans around at the moment. What's your budget?
Simon
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also agree with derek you can just buy a machine and away you go. advertising is key and a long term plan is vital
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Hi Guys
Thanks for your replies. I have updated my profile as suggested. I am based in Sunderland. My current start-up fund is appx 5k but i am looking to beg, borrow etc the same amount again. Is this a feasible start up amount?
Thanks
Richard
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with a lot of leg work you might stand a chance, be prepared to leaflet 7 days a week and get no responce, it'll come eventually.
live eat and breath it, bore all your friends and family with it, every time you go into any building mention it. if you get run over by a car and live, be sure to ask the driver if he wants his carpets cleaned. same if your wife runs off with another man, make sure he knows what you do, ya never know, you get the picture.
derek
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5 k would be ok for a start point for working capital although i would be aware that although interest rates are low new bus loans are hard to get and have an enormous int rate due to the risk for the bank. leasing new equipment is abetter way to go in this climate. its really simple to sit there and think ah a porty is 2000 k lets clean carpets it dont quite work like that. first training ncca example. and you need to advertise but take your time as there are many pit falls cause you fresh meat to the advertisers. take your time here dont put all your eggs in one basket set a budget per month and get as much coverage for that money. eg i spend say 500 month on advertising and have 11 dif forms ranging from the web to ads in pap and mags to leaflets see what works in your area then increase and decrease as appropriate. but it is important to give adverts time eg set a plan and say stick to it for 4 months then review things. and always keep track of where your leads come from. and the best form of advertising do a good job and dont be in a hurry and look presentable
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Derek ;D
Not sure about running away with the wife ;D
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Richie
Maybe try and find where your nearest c cleaning chemical and machine suplier is.
Tell you why is they might have an ex demo or a recon for sale and also you would get a min of 3 month ticket on it for a breakdown and least they would know a bit of its history.
Some good posts above from derek and richard as they are newbies and they tell you the hard work you have to put into it.
good luck
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Our local supplier was really good when we bought our first cc.machine they matched the best price I found on the web, they give me 10% discount on all chemical orders.
We started up on around 5k, hubby got made redundant & spent most of it on equipment. It was a worrying time - spent money on a van, machine, equipment, training, insurance etc a mortgage to pay and 2 little ones and not one customer. It is hard work and I do as derek says tell everyone what you do. I've got 2 enquiries for work from telling parents at a kids party I took my daughter to.
Spend what money you have wisely to start off with til you start getting money in, then you can start spending on other things. If your determined you'll get there but it's defo. not the easy option that's what I've realised.
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Bleeping heck dont frighten the guy off. Right heres the real world start up costs.
1. Accounts cost nothing. Being a new business I'm sure self assessment will cover your earnings and takes 5mins to do.
2. Insurance eg public liability etc about £13 a month. Wow big deal.
3. Training? Its carpet cleaning not rocket science. I did 1days training 10yrs ago which worked for me. Just use your common sense and turn the job down if you're not sure about it.
4. And £5000 for advertising? Thats even frightening me lol. You can get leaflets done for less than £200 for 10,000. Yellow pages/thomson/internet/newspapers can all be payed monthly.
5. £150000 if you dont get work??? Blow me lol Start part time see if the work comes. I did and drove taxis when I wasnt working and theres Working Tax Credit too to claim if yr not getting the work.
6. The equipment costs i agree with :-)
Chris
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Bleeping heck dont frighten the guy off. Right heres the real world start up costs.
1. Accounts cost nothing. Being a new business I'm sure self assessment will cover your earnings and takes 5mins to do.
2. Insurance eg public liability etc about £13 a month. Wow big deal.
3. Training? Its carpet cleaning not rocket science. I did 1days training 10yrs ago which worked for me. Just use your common sense and turn the job down if you're not sure about it.
4. And £5000 for advertising? Thats even frightening me lol. You can get leaflets done for less than £200 for 10,000. Yellow pages/thomson/internet/newspapers can all be payed monthly.
5. £150000 if you dont get work??? Blow me lol Start part time see if the work comes. I did and drove taxis when I wasnt working and theres Working Tax Credit too to claim if yr not getting the work.
6. The equipment costs i agree with :-)
Chris
yellow pages thomson newspapers and internet plus leaflets think you would prob find this would come to 5 k a year.
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But you havent got to find 5k upfront which is what it sounds like !!
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yes i see your point.
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But you havent got to find 5k upfront which is what it sounds like !!
up front or over a year, still costs the same,
if you don't pay it up front it comes out ya profits.
derek
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Trouble is then with y pages it mounts up if you get a few months behind if you dont get the work in..
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Lets put some statistics into the mix.
Over 50% of businesses fail within 3 years of starting up and probably the most common reason is that they are under-capitalised.
As I understand Derek has done the wise thing and fully funded himself on a worse-case scenario. But at least he shouldn't run out of money. If there's too much money in the business he can always take it out again later.
Yes a lot of things can be phased over 12 months but the liability is still there mounting up even when you haven't got the money to meet it.
And that certainly happens with possible income tax liability. I've lost count of the number of businesses I've known where no provision has been made during year 1 to pay year the bill in year 2. Then further loans are taken to pay the tax bill putting further pressure on cash flow/capitalisation and then the whole thing spirals out of control with possible CCJs/bankruptcy a possibility.
And then what about the unexpected? Bad debts/ late-payers, unexpected repairs etc etc. You get the drift.
No I don't want to frighten him off but a hard dose of reality now could save an awful lot of repercussions down the line.
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Roger
What is the percentage of one man bands that go to the wall then in its first few years ???
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Lets put some statistics into the mix.
Over 50% of businesses fail within 3 years of starting up and probably the most common reason is that they are under-capitalised.
I wouldn't agree, I think its more the case that the person was'nt 'self-employed' material or the business wasn't viably sound
a lot of business do fail through lack of working capital but not service industries like carpet cleaning who work from home.
but I might be wrong, it would be worth doing a little research to find out decisively
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I agree with cleanabilty, 5-10 k upfront is plenty, i got a start up kit ( machines hose/wand sprayer chems, spotting kit etc) from prochem, via a supplier near me, for about 2 k plus vat, a grand on designing and printing leaterheads and cards, logo's etc (includes 12000 flyers).
The van is the expensive bit of the equations as second hand cars/vans are in demand, well round here anyway, as not many can get credit for new cars so everyones is fighting for the secondhand cars/vans.
Training is a must, but is not very expensive.
I think were better off than resterauntoors, they go out of business after just 18 months on average...
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Cost me £6000 18 years ago, god knows what that computes too now. I just added equipment as I could finance it, it takes time but I realised very early on it was not a living to start with and even had a part time job to keep us going. Leasing will help cash flow but be aware of your monthly budget, don't over commit yourself. Yell.com has been rubbish but bloody Yellow Pages which I almost cancelled has done rather well so far ???
simon
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Think it cost me around 6 or 7k years back too.
Guess you need a bit more nowadays there gain the machines seem to have more power and the chemicals a larger choice..
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£40,000 ;D
derek
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In spite of what some are suggesting you can start up in c/c with very little capital and start earning right away
You can buy a decent second hand machine plus chemicals and pay for a month's advertising for under £1000
O K you won't be joining the " rainbow chasers "but if you're prepared to work hard and pitch for lower priced work you should recover you outlay and be in profit in a couple of months.
Some say you can't raise prices if you start low.
That is b******s...................you're not dealing with the same people each week probably won't see them again for a year if you're lucky.
Again you will be told " you can't build a real business charging low prices " Don't believe it ! There are many people in service businesses who've built substantial businesses and lifestyles.
If have limited recources but are prepared to work damned hard for a year or so and always look to raising prices and standards you can be more successfull than others who will always struggle to find enough customers.
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Good post Robert.
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i totally disagree.
theres not enough clients wanting there carpets to be cleaned to pitch cheap. if i charged £1 a carpet" i still don't think my phone would ring off the hook.
companies like tesco's pitch cheap cos everyone has to eat. but theres not many budget wedding dress shops.
just my thoughts robert, not saying your wrong, i just disagree thats all.
derek
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Richard I left a message on your phone to ring me and I can give you some advice. I'll try again on Monday.
Re Roberts post, there is lower priced work and rediculously priced work. You have to differentiate between the two. In my view it is pointless turning up at a job and doing the work which gives you no profit. You have to be sensible and pitch your prices to enable you to stand on your feet and enable you to weather the quiet periods which we all know come along pretty regularly. I see all spectrums of this business in the customers I deal with. I have local guys charging 15 quid a carpet and another who's minimum charge is £69. The average is probably about £45.
£45 to clean, say a lounge carpet is probably the minimum amount you need to make that job even slightly profitable.
Anyone starting off must understand that it takes years not months to become established in this industry. In the meantime you should be looking at doing anything at the start to earn a crust.
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Hi Guys
Thanks for all your valuable advice. I certainly have a better understanding of what is required.
Hope you dont mind, but, i will definatley be bothering you for in the future!!
Cheers
Richie