Start a Carpet Cleaning Business

The carpet cleaning business today has become a billion dollar business thanks to extensive use of carpets at homes, offices and commercial establishments. Almost every American city has several carpet cleaning firms, and their number is constantly going up because people want professionals to handle their expensive carpets.

Skills: You don't require any special education or certification to start a carpet cleaning business, but you should know how to clean carpets. This includes knowledge of chemicals used to clean carpets and the equipment that is used for deep cleaning. You can always acquire this knowledge by working with a carpet cleaning firm for a short while. You also have the option to employ people who have a background in carpet cleaning.

Since this business requires you to visit the homes or offices of your customers, you should dress neatly and conduct yourself well. Don't forget to leave your business card with the customer. If your customers are satisfied with your services, your business can really flourish.

You also need to update your knowledge about the tools of your trade. Today there are newer and more powerful machines in the market. You must check them out, and buy those that will add value to your work. Similarly, you may search the web for information regarding supplies.

Investment: The carpet cleaning business is manpower intensive. You need someone to answer the phone and take appointments while you are busy making home calls. You also need a crew of two or three helpers who can lift furniture and other household items placed on the carpets, and put them back once the cleaning is over. Besides this, you need to have a vacuum cleaner, a steam cleaner and a full set of carpet cleaning supplies. Maybe, in the initial months you may avoid investing in heavy equipment. A better policy would be to rent steam cleaners for $25 a day. However, once your carpet cleaning business is well established you need to buy your own equipment. Ideally, you should have a van or an open truck which can be used to transport equipment and your cleaning crew.

Earnings: The average charges to clean a 12 by 18 foot wall-to-wall carpet with a shampoo are $50. Since most customers want all carpets to be cleaned together, you can expect to make $200 per home per day. Even if you do one home or one office a day you can easily make $5000 per month across 25 days. Of course, this will be your gross revenue. You will have to cover expenses made on your cleaning crew and cleaning supplies. According to industry estimates, the owner of a carpet cleaning business can hope to make $50,000 a year.

Registration: You can register your carpet cleaning business or company name with your county clerk at a nominal fee. You should also get a complete business insurance against damage to any of your customers' carpets. This will enhance your image. Also ensure whether your state and local governments require you to have any permits or licences. Meet all the legal requirements before starting the business.

Publicity: The best way to promote your carpet cleaning business is to print fliers and distribute them in your neighbourhood. You can also consider placing classified advertisements in the local newspapers. The ads can be printed on weekends so that more people get to know of your carpet cleaning business. Besides this, you must list your firm in yellow pages.

You must try to build a large clientele because people do not usually get their carpets cleaned more than twice a year. An ideal situation would be to service both residential and commercial establishments.