[Jamie Lindsay]

Hi there,

New to this game so need a bit of advise on starting a carpet cleaning business... any advice would be good... I am currently looking at buying a machine and need advice at what machine to buy any advise on this?

Also what is the best way to market my buisness??

I have around 4000 to start it up and would be thankful of any replys you's may have

Thanks

[wynne jones]

If you want to make £20k from carpet cleaning, start off with £40k

It's a good game to be in once you're established but expect to loose a lot more than 4k in your first year.

Well you did say any advice, even if it's not what you want to hear.

[Jamie Lindsay]

dont really get the point your putting across there other than negativity?

you could say that about any business that they only make money once "established" in the market.. but to run first you have learn how to walk and ignore negative advice.... sorry just my opinion.

If anyone has advice that makes my business take a step in the right direction i.e. machines to buy and marketing etc I would be grateful

Thanks

[Neil Williams]

As this is an unregulated industry you can do what you want with what want, when you want.
The normal response when newbies ask this question is try looking through all the previous pages on here and take from it what you like, and you'll probably learn more that way.
first things first, google 'carpet cleaning courses' and get yourself on one of those. Alternatively you could find a local friendly carpet cleaner to yourself who might be willing to show you the ropes, although personally I don't see why I would want to help another newbie in my area.
So: Training, website, leaflets, insurances, vehicle, products, machine. £4k won't go very far with that shopping list if you want quality.

A decent machine no matter who advises their own favourite is going to be £3k

[Simon@arenaclean]

Sound advice from Neil, I would also look at your competition and what you can do to make yourself different. 90% of the time this job is easy and can be rewarding, you will be challenged by the last 10% and that's where training and descent tools will make the difference.

[Joe H]

I commend you Jamie for the fact you have filled in your profile when joining clean it up.
Many dont and because of that others are reluctant to fully respond.

What do you do now for a living?
Why do you want to get into carpet cleaning?
Have you had any experiance of c/cleaning?

One of the best ways of getting the feel for anything is to go out with an experianced person for a few jobs.
Do you know any cleaners?
Maybe those close to you may be reluctant to do this because you may be a competitor in the future, but someone maybe 20/30 miles away may be approachable.

You can buy a half decent machine 2nd hand for around 1k.
2 vacs and 135psi pump is probably the minimum you need.
Training can be got from a number of places, most are linked in with a machine or cleaning fluid supplier so may be strongly biased. Or try www.ncca.co.uk in Leicester.

Advertising can eat you £4k very quickly.
Websites can be done cheap but you need them high on the search engine rankings and that can cost money.
Leaflets can be expensive and you need regularity to get a decent response.
Local magazines can be rewarding and not too expensive - again regularity.
Knock on doors and sell yourself is a good way  - but you need confidence and the householde needs to see this so they can be confident.
All trial and error.

You need insurance - public liability with treatment risk preferred.

Times are hard at the moment, starting up will not be a breeze. You need to think it out, plan well and ride a rough ride till you get established which will take years.

[ryan mca]

  First you need a business plan if 4k is for every thing then ebay is the place to look
but the main thing is not to expect to make money in your first year you can boost
your budget by using 0% credit cards. Where in scotland are you based.

[Simon Moat]

Hi Jamie

Personally I can't speak highly enough of Extracta.

They're based in Gateshead and offer a full package of training course's, machines, chemicals etc, also great people to deal with.

You'd do a lot worse than check them out.

Good luck.

Simon.

[MAX Carpets]

Maybe the first comment was a little harsh.............................but true! This is a very, very, very hard business to get established in at the best of times! And this is not the best of times!


Justin
MAX carpet & upholstery care
Established since 1988

[Jamie Lindsay]

thanks for the response guys really appreciated

I have done my business plan and am currently about to get around 4k funding Ihave done alot of research in the market and feel it has great prospects for the right man.

I am looking to spend around 2k on a machine (extractor) have looked at a few prochem etc but feel goin for the second route of buying my equipment will suit me best... its around 1600 for a 150psi prochem machine but I feel the business isnt going to take off unless I have a better machine

I am 22 with a engineering background but have saw a major gap in my local area in this market

What is your knowledge on where a business makes or breaks

where can I find a good second hand machine???

what is the diff between truck mount and portable machines is there alot of diff???



 

[robert meldrum]

It's often difficult to tell if a new poster is genuine, so you will get a mixed response to your questions. I'll ask you a few to get a better feel of your motivation.

Are you currently working and able to start part time.
Have you ever tried to clean carpets / upholstery.
Do you know where to buy machines / chemical locally.
Do you have local FREE weekly newspapers in your area.
Have you any idea about average prices being charged in your area.
Why would anyone choose you to clean their carpets.
Could go on and on,
These are all relevent questions and you are likely to get more detailed answers depending on how you answer.

I'm based in the Renfrewshire area .

[fitz2kleen]

1st of all good luck........................
After 2 years of hard work - getting a logo thats is eye catching,getting a web site that passes the 10 second test [gets viewers past your home page],got  on every free index possible [you'll still miss some],sorted pay per click and adwords with google, sorted  transport, insurence,liability insurence,and of course kit,advertisments[flyers and what ever gets you noticed].
Only now are we getting booked by old clients,recomendations and welcome interest with local council [had 1st booking from them today] along with a giant order from a solicitor firm, our bookings are now into the next month,
So if your happy to work for two years with no wage from your business,nervous days/weeks of waiting for clients with accounts to pay there bill,and digging into your already depleated bank account to pay bills and buy stock till your business account can cope,having your personal relationships teatering on breaking point when times are hard then starting up any business is great,otherwise dont give up the day job.
by the way ....do you wanna buy a back pack hoover??

best of british Marc

[Jamie Lindsay]

Dont have a day job I am 22 and consider myself to have a good head on my shoulders... so feel this is the best time to give it a go... my first thought was that it would take around 2 years to get myself on the map and feeling the benefits... Fitz what sort of budget did you start with ? was your buisness in major loss the first 2 years ?

[fitz2kleen]

Dont have a day job I am 22 and consider myself to have a good head on my shoulders... so feel this is the best time to give it a go... my first thought was that it would take around 2 years to get myself on the map and feeling the benefits... Fitz what sort of budget did you start with ? was your buisness in major loss the first 2 years ?

Started off with around 6 grand,in two years weve spent £700 in advertising the rest has been free index's and Google ohhh and our own web site and of course word of mouth.
1st 6mths we broke even on the books but the business owed us 6 grand start up funds and we were paying the bills out of our own funds and no wages.
1st full year we made a a small profit £1,000 and the business took over its own bills, this tax year to now we are in profit and bookings are on the up so much we are booked a mth in advance,ohhhh and I take a modest wage per mth.
Regards Marc

pps im still selling a back pack hoover [2weeks old and used 3 times]

[Jamie Lindsay]

Thanks for the reply... no don't need hoovering equipment...

any other advice would be great ?

Price ranging?

Repeat business ?

Marketing?

[Jamie Lindsay]

Ps Wat machine did you start off with fitz2clean?

[paul wallace]

Sorry as I haven't read all posts but I'd say as most training but when your talking about machines, read all posts etc, look at them all at the locations sold and then buy a second hand one if possible at your choice.  if you make the wrong choice you can simply sell it and because you researched the prices you'll get your money back, plus if it goes wrong you replace the part.  Thats my opinion; giving my chance again.

[Matt Seymour]

Hello Jamie,

I am in a somewhat similar position to you. I started about 2 months ago with a budget of just £3000 and I am only a few hundred short of making it back already.

I had cleaned carpets before for another company, so I did have some experience. However, I intend to take a course of some kind in the near future and suggest you do the same. There are plenty of courses around and it helps if you can state that you are trained or qualified. The NCCA is undoubtedly the best, but it's also the most expensive. There are cheaper alternatives.

Machine: Ashbys Ninja 400 psi version cost me £1000 second hand complete with 50ft of hoses and wand etc, which was a bargain.

Van: bought an old banger off Ebay for under £500 that needed a lot of cosmetic work doing which I did myself. Some people go out and spend a small fortune on a van. In my opinion that is the single biggest waste of money. If it's clean and tidy and reliable what more do you need to start you off? You can upgrade when you are turning a decent profit.

Sign writing for van: designed myself and applied myself. Cost me £80.

Website: again, did myself and cost me precious little. Have a look at other carpet cleaner's websites for ideas. Once you get the hang of it building a website is quite easy and there are plenty of decent books around to help with search engine optimisation.

Leaflets: designed them myself, which is yet another way of saving money. Deliver them myself as well.

Competition: you need to know what you are up against, so do your homework.

Insurance: you'll need public liability as a minimum.

Marketing: get yourself on every single free directory going and create a Google map and keep updating it. It's the quickest way to get yourself a decent google ranking. After only two months I'm already in the top map position on page 1. Leaflets, sales letters, visit commercial premises and give them business cards etc etc. You could give adwords a try, but I found it a bit hit and miss.

When you do start you will find that you get a lot of calls from people trying to sell you advertising/marketing - particularly people claiming they can get you a page one sponsored link on Google. I wouldn't take them up on it, but make out that you are interested and the idiots will tell you what all the most commonly searched phrases are in your area and the numbers involved. Simply say "I'll get back to you" and then add all the info they've given you to your website!

Create a Facebook page and promote your services on there. I've had loads of jobs from Facebook. They've mainly been pretty cheap ones, but it gets work coming in and the referrals will soon follow.

Don't make the mistake of targetting only wealthy areas. The "less affluent" need their carpets cleaning too.

I think that's enough to be going on with. Good luck with it.

[paul wallace]

Matt, I think thats a great post.  The thing about most new starter advice is it comes from people who have been in the job a wee while and although the knowledge is fantastic, it's easy to look through established eyes and want all the best new.

[Matt Seymour]

I reckon £4000 is plenty to get Jamie going if he spends it wisely. It makes me laugh when I hear people almost bragging about the huge sums of money they spent to start up their business as if others are supposed to be impressed.

If someone tells me they spent £20,000 I say "more fool you!"

Do as much as you possibly can yourself and look for bargains every step of the way. That's what I reckon. The sooner you recover your start up costs, the sooner you turn a profit and can start putting some of that money back into your business.