I hope this helps some new people / struggling established operators.
1) You need customers to actually clean first - practically no carpet cleaning knowledge is needed to obtain these.
2) you need good quality reliable equipment and chemicals and a decent reliable vehicle - again , not a lot of carpet cleaning knowledge is required.
3) You need to have funds available to weather the hard times- again no carpet cleaning knowledge required.
4) In the past 20 years , I have used my carpet cleaning and very low cost extra equipment to make more revenue from add on services than I have from carpet cleaning , these include ,,,, Fire and flood restoration , pressure washing , grafitti removal, laundry, window cleaning , biohazard cleaning , upholstery cleaning , builders cleans.
5) The very best/ most profitable work comes from untraditonal sources , and talking /opening your mouth at the right time, that housewife you are dealing with has a husband who owns a restaurant that needs all the chairs cleaning.
6) Giving something away free is the best investment , spotters, a rug clean , a bathroom carpet clean, advice, a fridge magnet,it does not matter I always give something away , I remember hearing Robert Harris the Chem-dry founder saying this during a conference once , and thinking he was mad , 3 months later he sold his company for over $100 million.
7) Telling the customer that if there are any problems to call you back , they very rarely do , but telling them they can breeds confidence and trust.
Clean carpets honestly and as thoroughly as you can - unfortunately you ned training and common sense to do this , and most do.