It’s high rises like these that remind us that building a long lasting enterprise is more than just a possibility, but rather, a reality.
Most new entrepreneurs have a good idea and plan of starting a business. A carpet cleaning business is among the best startups with low to medium initial capital investment. This type of business can work and become profitable because it provides a service people need, whether in residential or commercial environments.
There are many potential rewards of starting a carpet cleaning business but also there are some challenges you might encounter. First, you have to prepare all the permits, licenses, and other legal stuff. You also have to develop a marketing plan and create some marketing materials for promoting your local services in your area. You have to choose a proper place for your carpet cleaning business, as well. There are many procedures and processes you will need to handle. You also need to avoid some costly mistakes, for example focusing on gross sales instead of net profits.
One of the reasons why carpet cleaning service providers are successful and the industry is growing is that companies and homeowners are willing to pay good money to have their places cleaned. Homeowners prefer to hire someone to clean their carpets while they can spend more time for their families rather than doing chores over the weekend. Business owners know that is cheaper to hire an outside service provider specialized in carpet cleaning than use in-house staffing that are paid benefits on top of salaries.
By launching a carpet cleaning company, you will dispose of two major markets: commercial and residential. You may focus on both or just choose to focus on one. If you focus your services toward the residential market, you might add some related services besides carpet cleaning, such as window cleaning, maid service, gutter cleaning, post construction cleaning, garage and basement cleaning, smoke damage cleaning, and water damage cleaning. In case that you prefer to specialize only in commercial carpet cleaning you might also provide related services such as complete janitorial services.
No matter what route you choose, there are some important qualities you must possess in order to succeed. You must be honest, hardworking, have determination, dedication to seeing job done no matter what, and a willingness to please your customers. Another important thing is to get the right cleaning tools and specialized equipment as well as certain cleaning solutions and train your staff on how to use them. It will also be important to learn how to build good relationships with your suppliers and customers, as well as how to market your carpet cleaning business. You can find online many excellent books and websites on these topics.
Carpet cleaning can be performed even from your home if you don’t dispose of a large capital for your startup. Every business owner and homeowner in your area who has a carpet is a potential customer for your local service. The entry into this field can be costly, but certainly with this type of service you will achieve a good ROI and every dollar spent on carpet cleaning equipment will pay for itself promptly. To reduce startup costs, you may try to get into this business from a home office and with a portable carpet cleaning machine. If you dispose of more investment capital you may buy a truck mounted carpet cleaning machine and a van. A truck mounted carpet cleaning machine is better that a portable one because of the higher water temperature, which ensures a better carpet cleaning process. Other reason is that you can clean more carpet with a truck-mounted machine because you will not need to empty the water tanks so often. The carpet cleaning blower unit in a truck-mounted machine provide a superior suction as well, which will help not leaving the carpet wet and leaving less residue that might led to re-soiling.
Among your potential commercial clients are included condos and apartment buildings, banks, schools, offices, hotels, restaurants, bowling alleys, churches, and more. You may easily add to your carpet cleaning service upholstery cleaning and also take care of cleaning love seats, sofas, waiting room chairs, recliners and many more.
When you start your carpet cleaning business, you will need to take care of the legal stuff as well. You must get a permit or license to operate your business. Every city and state have different requirements and regulations, but here are the fees and most common licenses you may need:
· business license
· zone variance.
· fire department permit
· air and water pollution control permit
· sign permit
· state licenses
· sales tax certificate
Choosing a good location is one important factor of success in this kind of business. While you might find potential customers for your carpet cleaning services in any city and town, there are other factors to consider. Some cities make hot spots for starting a small business and are more attractive than others due to their special factors such as strong economies, easy access to talented workforce, and expanding the population. Here are five best cities to start a carpet cleaning business:
Houston, TX
Houston in the state of Texas is considered today the leader in the most attractive cities for entrepreneurs. The city shows gains in employment with a strong job expansion, in population growth, as well a small business growth, with many new startups. Another advantage is that the cost of living in Houston, TX, is below the national average. The state of Texas encourages an entrepreneurial spirit, and there is no corporate or personal income tax. Other local and state business taxes are lower in Texas than the national average. By the way, it also helps if you’re in the surrounding suburbs of Houston, Texas. Local businesses like VTMobile Carpet Cleaning have branched an operation in Humble and Kingwood, Texas which are also prime locations for business – suburbs work! Check out VT Mobile and inquire about their methods at: http://www.vtmobilecarpetcleaning.com/
Oklahoma City
The small business sector’s growth rate and the job growth are on the rise in Oklahoma City. Same as in Houston, Texas, Oklahoma City offers a high concentration of local investors and an affordable cost of living. There is 52 certified “business incubator” in the state, providing consultancy and assistance for new startups as well as administrative services and access to affordable lease space. You will also find many networking resources in Oklahoma City. The revitalized downtown and the quality of life, along with a talented workforce, will help you to maintain a low percent of employee turnover rate. The state also offers some tax breaks for qualified businesses, cash rebates for job creation and subcontractors to federal prime contractors.
Charleston
Charleston, SC, has a strong job market and startups growth and encourages entrepreneurship with access to venture capitalists and advisors and seed funding. The Metro Chamber of Commerce in Charleston features an Entrepreneur Center that provides mentoring, business development courses, access to retired or semi-retired executives, and networking events. The city also provides tax exemptions that reduce annual operating costs and startup costs, workforce recruiting and training programs, and other business incentives.
Charlotte
Charlotte shows signs of strong population growth and a healthy small business environment. The nonprofit business consulting organizations in the city strive to create an environment that encourages high-growth, high-impact entrepreneurs. Innovative startups have access to fund grants, to counseling and promotional assistance. Another advantage to start a carpet cleaning business in Charlotte is that the state of North Carolina offers funds and grants, tax credits, low mandatory expenses such as workers’ unemployment and compensation, and low business taxes.
Seattle
Seattle provides a thriving business sector, and the state of Washington has no state capital gains tax, no corporate and personal income tax. The state also offers some business tax incentives and in Seattle there is a local program offering employee training programs and tax credits.
