[andrew chrysler]

Here we go........

I have sold off my Oven Cleaning gear, and sold one of my valeting vans.

Parked outside I now have 1 escort van, 2 berlingo vans and a multispace. 2 Prochem steempro's, 1 powerpak, 2 Windsor Passports and a rug doctor. Hoses, wands, etc... etc.....

I've followed advice on this forum to buy second hand, and toget training (althoughI will be employing staff to do the actual cleaning, I guess I need to know enough to prevent anyone "pulling the wool over my eyes".

I'm going on the IICRC course in Nottingham and the Express/Prochem course in Manchester, both this April.

What I now need is staff. 3 cleaning technicians, and one sales rep. I am aiming for the commercial market; in my area (North West) there are thousands of hotels, restaurants, nursing homes and caravan parks, so there should be plenty of business about.

Can anyone advise me on the kind of wages I can expect to pay, and has anyone any suggestions about recruitment methods..... I usually use the JobCentre, because it's free, but you get all sorts of applicants to weed out.

Has anyone used a recruitment agency? Are they any good? The only time I used an agency was many years ago, and the member of staff was not exactly a "superstar" if you know what I mean.

I have been thinking of names.... first idea was "Red Carpet", but there's already one of that name on this forum, second thought was "Magic Carpet" but I thought it a bit twee, finally I've settled on "Spruce"

Those who have read some of my other postings will know that I have a caravan park, called "Woodlands", and my wife has a day nursery, called "Tree Tops", so I am continuing with the same theme. I bet www.spruce.com has already been taken, though!

I don't want to get business by undercutting other CC's, that just starts a price war that nobody wins; I just want to charge roughly the same as everyone else, do roughly the same job, and rely on a good rep to generate enough work to keep 3 cleaners busy.

I would appreciate it if other forum members would give me an indication of average prices, and an idea of how many square metres a decent cleaner could expect to do in an hour.

[tomh]

hi Andrew
a good friend of mine work's for chem-dry around north london he is on 17k ayear work's a 5-6 day week depending though staurday's are paid as over time ! wouldn't know the rate of pay in the north but would have thought simlar also he has use of the van which i think you'll give
though i read in a previous post of your's about equipment having to be taken out at night so your applicants must have storage or i take it, drop it off in a container on your caravan park which will meen more time & fuel cost's

[mark_roberts]

I think you think its too easy. :

Mark

[Mike Halliday]

why are you going on the IICRC course would'nt it be better to send your staff.


Mike
Ps; I'm on that course, fancy a curry on the night?

[andrew chrysler]

why are you going on the IICRC course would'nt it be better to send your staff.


Mike
Ps; I'm on that course, fancy a curry on the night?

I will send staff, as they are recruited, assuming that they are not already qualified. However, I think that attending the course myself will better equip myself to choose staff and supervise them.

Curry, now you are talking. mmmmmmmmmmmmm bhuna 

[andrew chrysler]

I think you think its too easy. :

Mark

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. I realise that I am setting up a new business from scratch and I have a lot to learn, but I do not need to take any income from the new business for the first year or two, and I have the financial backing of my Bank to support the company through the first few months.

I was planning to invest up to £500,000 in caravan park expansion, but have met a brick wall with planning permission. So I am looking for a new challenge, and after a couple of "false starts" with oven cleaning (H+S issues with caustic chemicals) and car valeting (successful but a bit too weather-dependent for my taste, although the sales rep will also be selling fleet valeting)

The two hardest things I can see are recruitment and financial management: with commercial customers I can see that credit control will be an issue that needs attention, luckily in my other business I have a part time accounts clerk who can happilly work more hours.

I need good cleaning technicians, (although if only one of the three can do spotting that's fine, the other 2 can prespray and hwe), because the intention is that on anything other than the smallest jobs we will turn up "mob-handed" and "blitz the job". After all, anyone seeing 3 sign-written vans outside one job will sure as heck notice them!

I hope it's not too easy, but not TOO hard. However, we all start somewhere, and where exactly did Richard Branson learn to run an airline?

[John Rimmer Marshall & Rimmer Ltd]

What planet are you on Andrew, i only live a few miles up the road from you and have been doing this for about 12 yrs and am still lerning. Without meaning to brag i recon i can clean a carpet or 3 pc to the highest of standards. How much
would you want to pay me Andrew £500, £600, £700, plus per wk. Becouse
thats the sort of money you would have to pay in order to get the job done properly. So we then multiply these figures by 3 and then add a rep not sead yet
how you are going to pay him or her. Then we come to all the other costs  ie
Nat ins, paye  All the time remember that if these people are any good sooner or later they will come to realise that they might not need you, and its bey bey
Andrew. Always remember this if someone goes and does a job in your name
and makes a mess of it its not the person that did the job that the customer
is going to come after its YOU. Remember the coment you made on the post regardind Disclaimers i think it went something like if you shrink a carpet tell
the customer you will get it put right but they may have to pay a bit extra.
I would sugest that to progress in this business you need to think a bit more
about the remarks you make.

                                                    Take Care John

[andrew chrysler]

What planet are you on Andrew, i only live a few miles up the road from you

we must be on the same planet, then

£500, £600, £700, plus per wk.

I'm looking for £200 a day from each of 3 cleaners, so the rep has to find £3000 work a week.

Remember the coment you made on the post regarding Disclaimers i think it went something like if you shrink a carpet tell
the customer you will get it put right but they may have to pay a bit extra.

If the carpet shrinks by my fault, then obviously no charge...... but what if the carpet was not fitted properly in the first place?

I would sugest that to progress in this business you need to think a bit more about the remarks you make.

You refer to a post in which I was making suggestions of how to deal with an Insurance Company asking for a disclaimer, not a post about wrecking someone's carpets.

Another topic in which I posted is

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=18267.0

and I think that post gives a truer picture of my attitude to customer care and quality.

How much would you want to pay me

the other costs  ie Nat ins, paye

I would pay any member of staff less than I would charge a customer for their work; as I have to cover the overheads you describe.

if these people are any good sooner or later they will come to realise that they might not need you

and if they can afford to buy a van, kit and find customers then they are welcome to "go it alone" and try to make a go of it..... but if it is that easy for them to go it alone, why is it going to be so difficult for me, with plenty of business experience, admittedly in a different field? I'll even happily sell them the van and kit, and pass then sub-contract work.

These are all things that I have considered, and only time will tell if this business is a success, but as you are in my area, why not look at Woodlands Caravan Park, Tree Tops Day Nursery, L&M training, GLO55Y car valeting; they are all my & my wife's businesses, and doing quite nicely.

doing this for about 12 yrs and am still lerning

The caravan park celebrates 40 years this August, and the day nursery has been open for 15 years, moving to purpose built premises in 1997,
we are still learning too, but having great fun learning and enjoying the fruits of success, too.

I have also in the past started (and then sold as going concerns) a fleet of trailer based "butty vans" and a children's portrait business "babyfoto" that became a national operation before I sold the individual areas to the staff on a franchise deal.

John, the point of my post was to ask for an idea of the general prices in this area..... I don't want to undercut you, I don't want to steal your customers, so I don't want to go round advertising low prices..... although you could still get the jobs on the grounds of your admittedly much greater experience.

Anyway, if the carpet cleaning business is good for £700 a week, then at least I am getting into a business with decent margins, much better than opening a supermarket next door to Asda!

[AJCleaningServices]

...where exactly did Richard Branson learn to run an airline?

 

[andrew chrysler]

Same place as I learnt to run a Caravan Park...... the University of life, in the School of Hard Knocks faculty.

[Steve Chapman]

go for it andrew, think BIG,you're obviously not afraid of hard work, and that's mostly what it takes!
 
regards
steve

[AJCleaningServices]

Andrew,

Out of courtesy I have just checked the Jobcentre Plus website for carpet cleaning vacancies.  Wages start from £5-50 per hour and go up to £20000 per year.  The results are bellow:

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=1&ref=NEH/28648

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=10&ref=ATS/11871

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=16&ref=HWY/6393

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/Internet/viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=20&ref=MAH/25540

Regards,

Arthur

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think a short term view would be to test the water and do some repping yourself, then you can then get a technician and train him up (as well as yourself) and take it from there.

Even Hitler started from the bottom with his plan for world domination!

At £200 per day per employee well I recommend that you do your maths again there is not enough room for quieter periods or time off or an advertising budget or paying a rep.

If you pay a tech £60 a day and the van and machinery (which is an on going cost even if you buy it cash) you'll get rid of another say £40 and then the rep will want % then there is your cut and then the office worker.

Go for £300 to begin with and try for £400 per day then if it gets regular you can keep good employees and pay them an increase because every emplyee thinks they are worth more and it is cheaper to keep 1 employee than to have to keep rehiring and retraining!

I would sit down and look at your costs again, it takes time to build up a cc business.

Shaun

[craigp]

*If the carpet shrinks by my fault, then obviously no charge...... but what if the carpet was not fitted properly in the first place?*

Do you not think its your job to check its correctly fitted and secured before proceeding to clean?

If a carpet shrinks when YOU clean it, its YOUR fault.

[sandrew]

hi andrew i run a carpet cleaning buissness an i think u are in cloud cuckoo land its taken me alot of time foot slogging delivering leaflets advertising .ect.tu get this up to were iwant it . if u like hard work have a go mate but it will not be easy .p.s ill work for u for £600 a week .

[AJCleaningServices]

Even Hitler started from the bottom with his plan for world domination!

 :

[craigp]

yeah me to £600 a week!

cleaning carpets is the easy part.

[tomh]

i think i've read the previous post correctly
"if the carpet shrinks by my fault, then no charge" however if it's not fitted properly & pointed out to the custard who after explaining about pos shrinkage drying then relaxing of the p**y carpet still would like it cleaned
1) how many of you would show them how to use your equiptment so they can do it themselfs ?
2) how many would just go ahead & clean it ?
3) how many after cleaning has shrunk, the custard is unhappy even though full explaination was given & made something of it ?

[HolmansUKLTD]

If youve got that sort of wedge  then your going about it in the wrong way my friend. Then again you might be full of c rap

Nick

[david_m]

 hi there andrew

 a nother way to pay your employees  is to pay them
commision on what they do + a basic wage
if they are getting your vans for them selves over the weekend
they will probly end up doing homers for them selve as well so i would
ask them to pay towards insurance and running costs.
it would also be an idear to pay them extra on jobs that they find themselves
say 50% of total job price at least you get something out of it.

on the sales man thing it would be pretty hard at the start to find 3 grand worth of work at the start
i would be thinking a long the lines of leaflets as well  40.000 - 60.000
a month to start with that sounds like a lot of leaflets but better budget for to many than to little.


               davy

i started out in this business working for some one else had to buy all my own kit and supplie transport. at the start i only got paid 25% of total takeings for the week it was crap but a good learning ground and i got a pay rise to 33% when i went to leave.

 hope this helps and good luck