I don't think most new start-ups aim deliberately for the budget end of the market. I think they look at what their competitors are charging and believe that in order to compete with them they must match or beat their prices. In other words the belief is that carpet cleaning is about price, when in fact it is not - it is about quality.
In my early days (over thirty six years ago when extraction cleaning was nothing more than a fad) that is exactly how we all were, trying to beat each other on price and no-one was making any money and were dogged by shrinkage, dye bleed and complaints. I decided there had to be a better way, so I got the training, bought all new machines and chemicals etc and decided to forget my competitors and offer a far superior professional service based on the Prochem 12 Step process. I stopped quoting over the phone and surveyed every job and even though my prices were higher I got just about every job at MY price. So from being surrounded by competitors I went to having no competitors, from then on if anyone wanted to compete with me they would have to beat the quality I offered and that philosophy still rings true today.
The mistake is to believe that it is all about price, a low price may get you through the door but it is the quality of the job you do once you're in there that decides whether or not you'll ever see that customer again, or whether she will recommend you on to friends and family and without that how the hell can you build a successful business?
Simon