Are you looking to start a cleaning business? Whether you want to offer janitorial services, maid services or carpet and upholstery cleaning, Ninja Gig can give you 10 tips for starting your professional cleaning company.
- Resources – Tap into all your resources. Many associations work with professional cleaning companies. Additionally, there are also state and government agencies that offer support for small businesses.
- Never Stop Learning – Stay up-to-date with the latest advances in cleaning equipment, chemical safety issues and more. Ask your suppliers to keep you up to speed on new cleaning products. Consider participating in local trade organizations, attend conventions and read industry publications.
- Develop Systems – Create detailed systems to help boost and maintain efficiency. This includes systems for cleaning, supervision, customer service, laundry, reporting, management and accounting. Whether you are there to supervise or not, put in place systems that will ensure employees’ success.
- Clean Thoroughly – Regardless of what your employees are cleaning, explain to them that they need to treat customers the way they would want to be treated. This includes cleaning as if they are cleaning their office or home and being careful around valuable items. While some items are easy to repair or replace, it is better to avoid harming customer relations and just work more carefully.
- Take Care of Employees – If you have your own business or want to start a cleaning service, you need to value and take care of your employees. Train employees and treat them with respect while giving them space and not micromanaging. Give incentives and bonuses to employees that are top performers and give them perks, such as using company equipment in their own homes.
- Don’t Undersell Yourself – If you only try to undercut the competition’s prices, you won’t survive. Instead, focus on providing quality work.
- Cleaning Niche – Find a unique cleaning niche that appeals to a substantial market. For example, if you have a niche cleaning smaller office buildings, avoid offering home cleaning services. When you spread yourself out, you will not be successful overall.
- Track Labor Costs – The biggest costs associated with cleaning companies is labor. Create a daily labor costs sheet and address trends before they become issues. For example, if an employee’s time increases for a certain job, are there extra services you should be charging?
- Computer Skills – While the cleaning business is not high tech, you need to stay on top of billing, estimates, inventory control and other record-keeping.
- Customer Service – Investing in customer service can take a company far. Build strong relationships with clients by consistently following up to ensure they are satisfied with your services.
To help you hire qualified cleaning applicants to start a cleaning service, use Ninja Gig’s online job applications. You can customize these applications online to target qualified cleaning staff that will contribute to making your company successful. Sign up now for your free trial and quickly simplify the hiring process.