Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jlo on June 10, 2009, 10:57:58 pm
-
Hi,
My wife started her own cleaning business 4 yrs ago & now our son is due to start school, so we are thinking of me getting involved & expanding but with ME learning carpet cleaning.
In my present job I work a 4 day wk & hopefully plan to work at carpet cleaning on my days off initially.
I have enroled on a 2 days carpet/upholstery course with the NCCA,but am wondering what order to try to establish the business?
Below is the order I think, please feel free to correct or add to it,
Many Thanks in Advance
1, Attend 2 day NCCA course
2, decide whether to have a seperate business name from my wifes cleaning business or trade under the same name (2 lots of insurance, running costs etc, etc!!)
3, Decide on what cleaning machine (hopefully the above course will help me decide)
4, Buy a small van, any favourites for a tight budget of £1000???
5, get van sign written
6, advertise ,yellow pages, thomson local,papers etc....
:-\
-
Forget Yellow pages, Thomsons and all that.... Leaflets are a hell of a lot more cost effective!
-
Would be nice if you filled in more detail in your profile - most of us on here do.
Like where you from?
You got some training sorted - although that is a continuing process.
I would stick to one business for the time being so long as your wifes turnover is not anywhere near the £68k when you HAVE to register for VAT.
Get looking at machines now to follow the specifications, ask questions on the forum if you dont understand the difference, say, between 2 - 2 stage vacs and 2 - 3 stage vacs etc. (that implies you will be looking at hot water extraction as main machine).
Yes you will need a van and preferably signed - you can get magnetic signs very cheap but simple sign age should not be too expensive. CItroen Belingo / Peugeot Partner or Citroen Dispatch / Peugoet Expert seem reasonable buys.
I agree with Colin, as you will have time on your hands get leaflets done and distribute yourself. Hit the same areas on a regular basis - keep reminding them.
Include special offers but dont special offer discount a cheap price - start at a reasonable level.
-
I agree with the comments above and would also add that getting aquainted with the guys on here is a must if you want to gain excellent advice etc willingly from seasoned professionals.The best way to start i believe is to fill your profile in and say exactly who you are and where you will be doing business.Regards Alan(swindon)
-
I've said this before and I'll say it again, my biggest mistake when starting up was "Not" finding this forum until I was 6 months into the business! If you're upfront about where you live etc, people on here will bend over backwards will help you out. If you have any questions always try using "Search" first to avoid the less "Happy" members of the forum :( You will usually pick up a lot more valuable advice than you were initially looking for....
There's no such thing as a stupid question on here either.... The same cannot be said about some of the answers though ;D
-
Hi Everyone,
Thankyou all for yours kind words of wisdom.
I have also updated my profile, showing my Location etc.
Hopefully I am not treading on anyones toes!!! (fingers crossed)
Jason
-
Well at least it's not Stockport :)
-
Us folk in Norfolk are safe too ;D
Good luck mate ;)
-
I have family and friends in your area.... When you're ready, I'll give them your details!
-
Whats kingdom hall???? Joe???
Ryan
-
Whats kingdom hall???? Joe???
Ryan
Its the building where Jehovahs Witnesses meet twice a week, a place of learning. Church, mosque, synagogue to other religions.
Back to topic.
-
Not enough carpet cleaners in stockport ;D
-
Got my house up for sale - moving to Stockport ;D
-
Joe
How much do we have to pay you NOT to move to Stockport?
-
Hi Jason,
Some fantastic advice above.
I'd like to stress that learning is your most powerful tool (unless you have one of those thingies that the Romulans use to blow up planets). Learning comes from courses, practical experience, and to some extent reading what boring people type on message boards :P (although you have to be aware that many a pile of bulls***t is spouted on here and other places ;) )
You could get a lot worse than the NCCA courses, which are reputed to be impartial. Some suppliers/manufacturers do courses too, but beware of the education/sales pitch balance (not all are blatantly out only to sell stuff but some are).
Colin's leaflet suggestion is a good one, get yourself out there. I totally disagree on the Yellow pages & Thomson thing though, but he knows that already :D you don't have anything to lose by trying a small, simple monochrome advert for a few hundred quid. You should see at least a 300% return on an ad like that. Pay out a fortune for a posh one and you'll lose out if you haven't got it spot on. Leave that till you have more experience and a marketing budget to lose.
You wife's business will probably be you biggest source of revenue initially. What a start to have in this game! Prepare a good mailshot to her existing customer base, you have an untapped goldmine there ripe for plundering! Keep mailing non-responders every few months but know when to stop wasting paper.
What's the wife's biz called? If it's suitable for carpet cleaning too there's everything to be gained from keeping it.
If you both go self employed you'll have to have your own insurance etc as said above. You'd have to speak to an accountant about the best way to get round this but you might be best setting up a ltd company and then having the two as subsidiaries. you may be able to get one insurance policy to cover the both. Just a thought, might be way out but never found out before so i don't know :)
To be honest, for a few hundred quid a year it may be better being separate, there may be other implications such as VAT which Joe mentions above. With a heavy marketing push you could turn over 20k in your first year, so where would that put the overall combined turnover with the wife's side? anywhere near 68k and you'll have to consider if VAT is the right thing for you or not.
Buy cheap, work cheap, earn cheap. Don't even bother if you want a karcher puzzi and are going to charge peanuts. Aim a bit bigger, it makes so much more sense.
Finally, I'm along the road in Kettering if you fancy a day out on the job. Not too far but far enough not to be competition :) My email is on my profile.
-
good post jim
-
Joe
Your selling the ranch ;D
Roger how much should we pay him ;D
-
Jim
I have e-mailed you to take you up on your offer of a day in the life of.....
Would be very much appreciated, enjoyed the NCCA course very much, but now hav
e so many things running though my mind!
Thanks in Advance
Jason
-
now have so many things running though my mind!
That only lasts for the first 20 years or so. ;D
-
my sugestion is get a bigger van(i wish i had).
try if possible to get a truckmount.
get a rotary buffer machine.
don't get a RDM.
put a glide on your wand.
mono ad in y/p.
door knock.
get a drimaster upholstery tool.
use 2'' vac hoses.
ask ask ask questions no matter how stupid you think they are.
thats it for now.
-
Hi Jason
You will be a direct competitor for me (Bagworth) but I tend to do commercial work and hardly any residential and there is plenty of work out there. We have tried the YP with full page, half page and quarter columns, waste of money. All you get is leicester city centre people price shopping. Go for the leaflets (but not in Bagworth!!)
Regards
Tim
-
Aah Leicester city, my home town. :)