[Adam]

If you want to pour money into kit, van, training chemicals and OK with being a few grand down this time next year I say go for it. 

Useful advice

[Hilton]

I think the point he is making is you have to get the marketing right first , as already said you can do both.
Get on a few courses while learning how to market the business, before the large expense kicks in..

After all, after doing the courses etc you might decide it's not for you, you don't want a load of expensive new kit you now have to sell at a loss..

[james roffey]

I think the carpet cleaning knowledge is played down too much in favour of marketing knowledge, as though the hard thing is getting the work not cleaning the carpets

but really they go hand in hand, if all you are going to say on the phone is....... "that will be £20".... then OK but if you are going to charge a premium price you need to talk the talk. having the carpet cleaning knowledge makes it a lot easier to put your self across as a competent carpet cleaner capable of quality work who is worthy of a good price.

so learn about marketing but read everything possible about carpet cleaning.

Mike i don't think the carpet cleaning is played down but i do i think the marketing is often overlooked as being as important, my Airflex and most of my equipment came from a guy who managed to put just seven hours on the clock when he sold it to me, i asked him why he was selling and incredibly he said "he didn't realise how difficult it would be to get customers a got a great deal on all his gear, his loss was my gain but he was foolish not to realise.

[Simon Gerrard]

I think one major problem that confronts many newbies is that they aren't just new to carpet cleaning, but new to running a business. This makes the learning curve even greater, because if you do not understand even the most rudimentary aspects of running a business then it will be difficult to start your business on a sound financial / business footing, knowing from day one what your cost base is, where your breakeven point is and how much you need to charge per hour in order to cover your costs and make a profit and all this long before you start grappling with things like marketing and from there to understanding how the quality of what you do as a professional carpet cleaner is in itself the most powerful form of marketing and if all things are in sync then one job should lead to others, but yet you know next to nothing about carpet cleaning.
Quite a conundrum, but one that must be resolved before even contemplating spending money on equipment, which is often the first, but should be the final act of setting up a new cc business.

Simon

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

everything Simon says is correct this will be my 3rd year i started by buying a setup off a friend thinking it will be easy had no funds for advertising etc. I am still in the same position now only i own a van and have more experience but i'm still in the same boat regards to money. I just plod on and hope it will pick up but if i was to start again i would consider something like window cleaning not alot to lay out and build up a customer base then once money was available take the next step and sell to your existing customers who already trust you through being there windy.

[wynne jones]

everything Simon says is correct this will be my 3rd year i started by buying a setup off a friend thinking it will be easy had no funds for advertising etc. I am still in the same position now only i own a van and have more experience but i'm still in the same boat regards to money. I just plod on and hope it will pick up but if i was to start again i would consider something like window cleaning not alot to lay out and build up a customer base then once money was available take the next step and sell to your existing customers who already trust you through being there windy.

But you are making progress and you are building a solid business.

Part of the problem is suppliers 'selling the dream' and people like us talking £50-£100 an hour cleaning carpets. What I think is important for anyone starting out is to understand pretty much everyone who starts with little cash behind them will struggle for at least 12 months and most people reinvest in their business meaning 3-4 years before you are on an even keel.

The only exception is the guy with a buffer and a hatchback who works on a strictly cash basis for their beer and tabs. But thats not building a business.

[*Hector*]

Oy.............

believe it or  not... there is a lot of skill in achieving the desired job for the customer, using a buffer...


the hatchback is optional 

[Billy Russell]

Oy.............

believe it or  not... there is a lot of skill in achieving the desired job for the customer, using a buffer...


the hatchback is optional 

 

[wynne jones]

Oy.............

believe it or  not... there is a lot of skill in achieving the desired job for the customer, using a buffer...


the hatchback is optional 

Exceptional skill I would say.

[*Hector*]

Thank you ... 

To be fair though... I am winding down my carpet cleaning business... 

[james roffey]

I am in my fourth year now and agree it is still tough going at times, i did have a considerable motivation to ensure that it worked though, i left school and went straight into the family business so left school with no formal qualifications, i grew to hate that job so looked around for other ways to earn a living and in so doing stumbled on this forum which was a life saver.
I ended up being sacked when i lost it one day, prior to this i had been doing the NCCA thing, practical experience with a couple of carpet cleaners and research for running a business and read a lot of books on marketing, the driving force to make it work was fear, on the day i got sacked i took out a loan over the internet for £15,000 risky i know, i just didn't pay it though, the mortgage was my priority so the loan could wait, i have this year paid that loan off in one lump sum, so quite happy with that.
I spent about eighteen months doing research before i took the plunge, helped tremendously by the people on this forum, i honestly could not have done it without their help and guidance so you have already done the right thing to get your own business up and running

PS Simon's advice is spot on