[KLEENAWAY]

Hi Gents, need abit of advice please. Iv got quite a decent window cleaning round (a large customer base) and am thinking of adding on a side business of carpet cleaning. What equipment would you advise and how much would it cost for a very basic setup? Any advice, thanks in advance!

Danny

[KLEENAWAY]

C'mon guys, i wont take any custies off you i promise 

[Simon Gerrard]

Get some training first, mate, then think about machines.
Simon

[KLEENAWAY]

Hmmm good idea  ! Any places you recommend and how much it costs? Thanks for the reply as well mate, appreciate it

Danny

[derek west]

Hi Gents, need abit of advice please. Iv got quite a decent window cleaning round (a large customer base) and am thinking of adding on a side business of carpet cleaning. What equipment would you advise and how much would it cost for a very basic setup? Any advice, thanks in advance!

Danny

how will you have the time to clean carpets if you have a large WC round? are you going to employ someone to do your round?

[peter maybury]

There is not many people replying because you will part with £300-£400 on training to find out that your start up cost may be in the region of about £5,000 for a fairly basic set of equipment.
I know there are probably a lot of people on the forum with a lot less than that but the more established will have many times that amount invested. A good place to start with training would be the N.C.C.A.
If you know nothing about carpet cleaning it will teach you that there is quite a lot that you can learn about the trade. If you plan to sell to your existing customers you need to do a good enough job so as not to lose window cleaning customers.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com

[KLEENAWAY]

Hi Gents, need abit of advice please. Iv got quite a decent window cleaning round (a large customer base) and am thinking of adding on a side business of carpet cleaning. What equipment would you advise and how much would it cost for a very basic setup? Any advice, thanks in advance!

Danny

how will you have the time to clean carpets if you have a large WC round? are you going to employ someone to do your round?

I already do employ mate but im a penny pincher 

Danny

[KLEENAWAY]

There is not many people replying because you will part with £300-£400 on training to find out that your start up cost may be in the region of about £5,000 for a fairly basic set of equipment.
I know there are probably a lot of people on the forum with a lot less than that but the more established will have many times that amount invested. A good place to start with training would be the N.C.C.A.
If you know nothing about carpet cleaning it will teach you that there is quite a lot that you can learn about the trade. If you plan to sell to your existing customers you need to do a good enough job so as not to lose window cleaning customers.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com

Really that much...i thought about that much for the training but didnt think the tools would cost that much (i dont know why because im clueless with the price of cc products). Thanks for the reply buddy

Danny

[Joe H]

You could buy a decent 2nd hand twin vac machine (minimum in my opinion) for about £1000
You may (or may not) get other stuff bundled in like sprayers, brushes, fluids, hand tools.

I would say you could get going for £2000
Training is ongoing so budget more for that
Need to notify insurers of additional business activity
Advertising costs if not wholly relying on existing window cleaning custys (and they dont have carpets cleaned every month-some will do every year, many wont)

[Simon Gerrard]

Danny,

One more thing to think about. If you're planning to offer carpet cleaning to your existing window cleaning customers you had better be as good at carpet cleaning as you are at window cleaning, because if you're not and you leave people disappointed then you could find your window cleaning round shrinking rather rapidly.
If you're serious about this then do it properly, get some training (Prochem) and buy some proper equipment and chemicals and get some practise before going out to live customers.

Simon

[peter maybury]

The guys in my area that have set themselves up for £2000  are in an absolute rat race and have so many people competing with them. If somebody has a successful business in one thing why would they want to enter into another industry at the bottom end of the market where they are  going to be competing at price. My star up costs 20 years ago were far more than £2000 and thank fully I reinvested to replace the crap machinery, that I started with. If I had of had another form of income I do not think that I would have been able to give the commitment and make the sacrifices that I did make in the beginning. You need to learn that there is a massive difference between the investment needed to clean windows and carpets. You need to start by training. Make up your mind once you have a little knowledge as to what the field involves.

Peter Maybury

[creighton foyle]

i dont think £2000 is any where near enough, you will try and start with that but almost immediately you will realise how inadequate it is.
i thought i could start with £5000 but soon realised it would'nt be enough and only yesterday i got a call from the book-keeper i have just started to use telling me that my company owes me just over £10000 in loans that i have made to it to aid start up in my first year, and i am still only doing a couple of days a week and nowhere near fully booked. when i do get work now i am getting well paid for it and i know it will get better but trying to start up in this game on the cheap is a no no imo but good luck to you if you can.
 

[Steve Chapman]

I started with just £100 and part time window cleaning
So I believe anything is possible if you want it enough
You just have to have enough drive to go out there & get the work.

If you're throwing thousands at the business and not working full time then something is badly wrong 

Regards
Steve

[creighton foyle]

steve you could probably start window cleaning for £100 but carpet cleaning ? i dont think so.

do you really think £10000 is a lot to start a carpet cleaning business because i dont, in fact i have probably spent a little more than that and i still have'nt finished. i started last september and i am very happy with where i am at the moment.

now you can say " if your throwing thousands at a business and not working full time then theres something wrong" then yes if you phrase it that way it sounds like the person your talking about is a fool. but if on the other hand the person has a sound business plan then your statement is ridiculous.

 the fool is the person who starts a business underfunded.

[Chris Hawkes]

Crei

I agree with you wholheartedly about starting a business on the cheap.

What you are doing by funding it properly/well is giving it a better chance of survival in the longer term.

You could set up with  1 spayer, the solution of your choice, a pile brush and an old second hand machine and with a bit of practice become reasonable proficient.  Yes, you will be able to clean carpets but unfortunately this business is as much about marketing as it is about cleaning.  If there is nothing in the pot to allow you to tell people you are in business then you might be the best cleaner in the world and it would count for nothing.

The best route in most situations would be get some training, buy the best machines you can, learn how to clean, tell everybody you are a great cleaner, get some business generated, get some more training, etc, etc. Before you've got some business generated you have had to shell out on the previous four steps without making any money and I've left out getting a suitable vehicle and insurance.

Yes, it is posible to get started on not very much money but the likelihood of failure in the longer term is far higher if you do in my opinion.

Chris

[Mike Halliday]

I think the biggest problem with the cross over from being a window cleaner to being a person who they will trust with their expensive carpets & soft furnishings is credibility, at the moment you are the bloke who they give £15 a fortnight to clean the windows..... now you want £200 to clean the suite & living room.

walking in with cheap second hand kit will not sell the sizzle, you need to invest in yourself to be able to look & talk  like a person who is capable of doing a professional job

[Joe H]

Hi Gents, need abit of advice please. Iv got quite a decent window cleaning round (a large customer base) and am thinking of adding on a side business of carpet cleaning. What equipment would you advise and how much would it cost for a very basic setup? Any advice, thanks in advance!
Danny

Lets look back at what Danny asked

"a side business" - I view that as not to be his main business, something to fill the gaps in his window cleaning business (at least initially)

"cost for a very basic setup" - that could be a rug doctor/puzzi type of gear

All the answers given are relevant, only Danny really knows what he meant when he posted.

I would certainly advise keeping away from the RD/Puzzi type of business, like wise IF all he looking to do is a day or two a week, is there any need to spend £10k or more AT THIS POINT IN TIME

[KLEENAWAY]

Hi Gents, need abit of advice please. Iv got quite a decent window cleaning round (a large customer base) and am thinking of adding on a side business of carpet cleaning. What equipment would you advise and how much would it cost for a very basic setup? Any advice, thanks in advance!
Danny

Lets look back at what Danny asked

"a side business" - I view that as not to be his main business, something to fill the gaps in his window cleaning business (at least initially)

"cost for a very basic setup" - that could be a rug doctor/puzzi type of gear

All the answers given are relevant, only Danny really knows what he meant when he posted.

I would certainly advise keeping away from the RD/Puzzi type of business, like wise IF all he looking to do is a day or two a week, is there any need to spend £10k or more AT THIS POINT IN TIME

Thanks for advice chaps (too many people to mention) but reading through some of the posts i was wondering where it was going but joe hit the nail on the head so thanks mate. All im asking for is advice for a very basic setup? I wouldnt dream of spending 10k on equipment when i have never done any CC before, like i said SIDE BUSINESS only at the moment! If i like it and can get work doing it then god knows....i might spend 20k  . Mike just because im a window cleaner doesnt mean that im not trusted mate, i clean a few penthouse apartments over in manchester (worth a million +) and im sure if i or one of my employees scratched/broke any glass in that place it would be worth a few peoples carpets  ! Anyway...thanks again and look foward to any abuse/advice 

Danny

[Steve Chapman]

Danny,

If i was doing it all again from scratch, knowing what i know now i would do it this way,:-

Have a part time job to keep cash flowing for a while
Get some proper training from the word go
Get some hands on experience from a willing cc for a day or two
Get insurance
Buy a second hand rotary cleaner of ebay & a stack of pads
Some standard cleaners i.e prespray, rinse and some spotters etc
Some cheap leaflets from dp print etc
Market as a 'Dry' carpet cleaner
Spend any spare minute canvassing, i.e. actually knocking doors and speaking to people and businesses.
Strictly keep a database and market to it
I think the only other tool for marketing i would get is a website.


Ive probably missed a few things but you get the general idea,  only after a while would i spend any more money, once ive decided it was for me and its actually making a profit.

Come to think of it I may sell all my gear and give it a go 


Regards
Steve

[clinton]

Dont think you have missed much from the list steve