[IanP]

Hey all,

I have been thinking of getting into the carpet cleaning industry for a while now. Currently I have my own digital media business (Mainly mobile games) That's done pretty well for the last 3/4 years. But it's a very uncertain market where all my income could be gone overnight and times are starting to feel a little uncertain.

After sitting at a desk for the last 7 years, I'm craving some physical manual work.

My main concern is how competitive the industry is, if you check the image below, that's my local city and a search of carpet cleaners:



I have read the profit margins are pretty good in carpet cleaning, around 60%. But I keep seeing facebook ads popping up, "Starting from £20" "2 rooms carpet cleaning for £35" and such.

I'm thinking of booking in for a 2 day carpet cleaning course just to make sure it is what I want to do and that I'm able to do it.

I'm certainly not afraid of long hours and hard work, I had a full time job while setting up my current business and was working 70+ hours per week. I'm now a father so probably don't have as much spare time as back then, but I'm certainly more than  willing to put as many hours in as life will allow.

I do have some cash, well an upcoming dividend from my current company. I could spend up to around the 10k mark but would prefer that to be lower for initial setup and then more expenditure once I know what I'm doing/find my place in the market.

I aim to be one of the well equipped, fully trained kinda guys, rather than slightly better than a domestic cleaner which I see popping up a lot in my local area. Ideally building on a reputation of quality from the onset.

Online promotion shouldn't be too much of an issue, I'm pretty social media savvy and could knock myself up a professional website within a day or two. However my face to face skills are pretty much none existent, never worked in a service based sales role in my life. Any tips and advice on that would be a huge bonus.

Basically I'm looking for advice on if this is the right direction for me, if I will be able to afford to get my foot in the door, if there's already too much competition in my era, if I'm going to be able to build this up part time on the side of my business and possibly turn it full time if/when required.

I'm sure you guys will have lots of good advice and scary stories about the industry and I welcome the lot.

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum section, I tried looking for a newbie and questions section but couldn't seem to find one.

Thanks!

[wayne zabel]

Its a very crowded market and I would think that there are about 3 times as many CCers in the area that aren't on the map.

I've been going 7 years and the last 3 months have been a struggle with new companies appearing on FB ect  everyday willing to clean carpets for £20 and travel 30 miles to do it.

I'm just glad I have no mortgage and the kids have flown the nest and my wife has a good job.

You say that your current business has uncertainties.It will be no different in CC'ing. Sorry to sound gloomy its just my opinion,others will come on and be more positive I'm sure.

[IanP]

Its a very crowded market and I would think that there are about 3 times as many CCers in the area that aren't on the map.

I've been going 7 years and the last 3 months have been a struggle with new companies appearing on FB ect  everyday willing to clean carpets for £20 and travel 30 miles to do it.

I'm just glad I have no mortgage and the kids have flown the nest and my wife has a good job.

You say that your current business has uncertainties.It will be no different in CC'ing. Sorry to sound gloomy its just my opinion,others will come on and be more positive I'm sure.

Yeah, no doubt there's many more in surrounding areas. Been checking out a lot of the competition today, most don't look too professional, at least their websites anyway. Fingers crossed if I do go head, that's something which will help me stand out a little.

I guess all self employed business is uncertain, however my current one. We could get 1 strike against us that would literally wipe out our entire income from that day and stop us ever earning anything from it again. So this may have uncertainties too, I hope it's not that extreme.

[Jonathan Evans]

Ian it is a slow burner, and you need to offer more than just carpet cleaning. It depends how much money you need to earn etc.
Marketing is key, I ignore the Facebook market 4 rooms for £30 types. Not my business or clients.
There are probably better businesses to start but there are worse.
Give it a go just don't expect to be rushed off your feet straight away.
Hope this helps

[IanP]

To be honest, that actually sounds ideal. If I could get 1-2 jobs per week for the first few months and build that up over the next year or two that would be ideal.

Money isn't too much of an issue, it's more a case of creating a backup business to cover worst scenario. Get the equipment and business off the ground while I still have the time, money and freedom to do so.

[Stoots]

How do plan to market and advertise ? It will take many years to build up a database of customers and repeats etc.

I don't envy you just starting out its going to be a lot of work ahead.

[Jon R Burns]

I'm a newbie and concur with some of the points mentioned about it being  a slow burner and offering more than just carpet cleaning.  If you don't need a great deal each month to pay the bills then it's worth taking the plunge. I'm fortunate that to have other revenue streams so could afford to have a several weeks with the only the odd small job coming in, but things are picking up and I'm getting recommendations and a few full days work a week that equates more financially than a stressful full time Business Manager's job in a school, and it leaves me more time to do other things.

The training is essential, I thought it was just the case of getting a machine and cracking on; I couldn't have been more wrong.  Even if I'm not hugely experienced I can now talk and act like I know what I'm doing which I've found helps to get jobs.

From what you've said it looks like you've given it serious thought, but I would definitely look at doing more than just carpets as you can add value and upsell whilst on the job.

Good luck!

Jon

[IanP]

How do plan to market and advertise ? It will take many years to build up a database of customers and repeats etc.

I don't envy you just starting out its going to be a lot of work ahead.

This will really sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but online promotion is my strong point. In my current business I have managed over 40 million game downloads without spending a penny on advertising.

I plan on a website with a lot of time spent on search engine optimization. Facebook page which I will probably do some paid advertising initial to get the likes who will share/comment on my initial posts to get them going.

Offline advertising, not my biggest strength but flyering, ads in the local paper, in local magazines, coupon books and such.

Then hopefully word of mouth once I get the first few customers.

[IanP]

I'm a newbie and concur with some of the points mentioned about it being  a slow burner and offering more than just carpet cleaning.  If you don't need a great deal each month to pay the bills then it's worth taking the plunge. I'm fortunate that to have other revenue streams so could afford to have a several weeks with the only the odd small job coming in, but things are picking up and I'm getting recommendations and a few full days work a week that equates more financially than a stressful full time Business Manager's job in a school, and it leaves me more time to do other things.

The training is essential, I thought it was just the case of getting a machine and cracking on; I couldn't have been more wrong.  Even if I'm not hugely experienced I can now talk and act like I know what I'm doing which I've found helps to get jobs.

From what you've said it looks like you've given it serious thought, but I would definitely look at doing more than just carpets as you can add value and upsell whilst on the job.

Good luck!

Jon

Thanks Jon,

I'm in exactly the same position, I also have additional revenue streams so not too much of an issue if I go without cleaning jobs for a little while.

To be honest, branching out into other cleaning is something I had thought about. However I wanted to ensure I fully developed my carpet cleaning skills before moving onto furniture, tiles and hardwood and then eventually oven cleaning and jet washing external areas.

Do you suggest going for more than one initially and if so which would you suggest?

Thanks!

[Dave_Lee]

It is all up to you, you are the one that will make a suucess or failure of it. Two different guys with identical equipment, area, training, and marketing, you can bet one will do better than the other. Personality and the ability to relate to your customers is key. Three guys in my area inc myself have been going for well over 35 years, we all have big truckmounts etc, but our business are also different in many ways, but all successful. We started at a time before PCs, the Internet and mobile phones. carpet cleaners didn't talk to each other, they were simply competitors.
Now with social media, cleaning forums etc info is there at your finger tips. There are also plenty of good suppliers and training courses.
The main things is make yourself and your business appear different to the rest and that could simply be, in being more personable, prospective customers have to like you straight away. They will pick up on this in a positive or negative way within seconds of meeting you. Being relaxed and confident when quoting goes a long way and the more you quote the better you will become. There's no need to be suited up to do your quotes, your work clothes will do providing they are in the form of a nice smart casual uniform, 'T' shirt, Sweat Top and works trousers etc. with your name on.
Do the training learn the trade, then take it steady until you gain that 'know how' then with the right attitude and expecting a bit of a long haul and not four customers  a day for a few years, and you won't even notice those competitors around you.

[elliott cleaning]

I concur with alot of what Dave Lee mentions above. Having said that operating in London - I have little knowledge of what goes on in the far North East.  Yes - the rediculously underpriced operators exist down here as well but don' t even consider pitching yourself into that market.  There is an enormous market out there that will pay sensible prices for a first class professional job.
Get yourself trained to a high standard - then realise that 90% of the business is selling 'yourself' not what you can do. You have to be a salesman first and a carpet cleaner second. Once you have shown your clients that you can clean well and deal with issues many average carpet cleaners can't solve you will find that referrals will come pouring in

[Kev Martin]

The type of business you move into doesn't really matter.  It is all about you!  You can be the best marketing man on the planet but, if you are a crap CC'er and can't deal with customers face to face and sell yourself it doesn't matter a jot you won't get anywhere.  The only advice I would offer is regardless of the route you take i.e. Carpet Cleaning, Pressure Washing, Hard Surface Cleaning or even Window Cleaning I would master one skill at a time before moving on to another.  Often people start something and think the grass is geeener so move on to something else too quickly and then wonder why they can't make any money at that either.  Then they jump to something else.  Whatever you decide to start on, when and if you make the jump,  get good quality training, then buy the best equipment you can justify or afford and stick at it until you become proficient before jumping on to something else!

[Mike Halliday]

A bit of harsh advice.......

If I went on a digital designers forum told them I was a successful carpet cleaner with no experiance of digital gaming but want to  pack in carpet cleaning and become a game designer what do you think they would say?

If you are craving a bit of manual labour join a gym

You already have a skill set, look for areas were that experience will give you a head start, why chose something completely new. You are in a business that can be done on a laptop, on a beach..... anywhere in the world and you want to swop it to cleaning up peoples dirt, wake up & smell the coffee.

And the harshest truth if you a failing at what you are doing now then you proberbly fail at whatever you  do ( or put a nicer way, if you cannot see the opportunities with what you do now then you won't See them anywhere else)

[IanP]

A bit of harsh advice.......

If I went on a digital designers forum told them I was a successful carpet cleaner with no experiance of digital gaming but want to  pack in carpet cleaning and become a game designer what do you think they would say?

If you are craving a bit of manual labour join a gym

You already have a skill set, look for areas were that experience will give you a head start, why chose something completely new. You are in a business that can be done on a laptop, on a beach..... anywhere in the world and you want to swop it to cleaning up peoples dirt, wake up & smell the coffee.

And the harshest truth if you a failing at what you are doing now then you proberbly fail at whatever you  do ( or put a nicer way, if you cannot see the opportunities with what you do now then you won't See them anywhere else)

It's simply a case of not putting all my eggs in one basket. The games industry is a very fast changing arena where entire accounts can be banned overnight without any warning, simply because one of the app stores decided to change their rules. I know of many people recently who have had their entire lively hood destroyed by 1 email, through no fault of their own. It's not a case of failing, it's simply a high risk area. I'm making a very good living from it even still now.

What's made me want to get into something else is the fact I have just bought my first house and used my entire savings for the deposit/work on it.

I don't want to give up the games industry at all, ideally I would do both businesses side by side. The going full time carpet cleaning is simply a worst case scenario kind of thing.

Why do I want to be a carpet cleaner?

I genuinely enjoy interacting with people face to face, going out meeting new people in new surroundings. I haven't always been in the games industry, although I don't have any face to face sales experience I do have a lot of people experience. Having worked as an auxiliary nurse  for 4 years in a Dementia Unity and Sunderland Royal Hospital, having worked on the production line at Nissan and as a gardener part time while as college for my mothers ex partners business.

I haven't just plucked a random business idea out of a hat but came to carpet cleaning from a lot of research into businesses which fit my needs, offer a decent wage (if it goes well), will allow me to continue the lifestyle I have. But most of all, it's something I can see myself genuinely enjoying doing.

[Kev Martin]

A bit of harsh advice.......

If I went on a digital designers forum told them I was a successful carpet cleaner with no experiance of digital gaming but want to  pack in carpet cleaning and become a game designer what do you think they would say?

If you are craving a bit of manual labour join a gym

You already have a skill set, look for areas were that experience will give you a head start, why chose something completely new. You are in a business that can be done on a laptop, on a beach..... anywhere in the world and you want to swop it to cleaning up peoples dirt, wake up & smell the coffee.

And the harshest truth if you a failing at what you are doing now then you proberbly fail at whatever you  do ( or put a nicer way, if you cannot see the opportunities with what you do now then you won't See them anywhere else)

It's simply a case of not putting all my eggs in one basket. The games industry is a very fast changing arena where entire accounts can be banned overnight without any warning, simply because one of the app stores decided to change their rules. I know of many people recently who have had their entire lively hood destroyed by 1 email, through no fault of their own. It's not a case of failing, it's simply a high risk area. I'm making a very good living from it even still now.

What's made me want to get into something else is the fact I have just bought my first house and used my entire savings for the deposit/work on it.

I don't want to give up the games industry at all, ideally I would do both businesses side by side. The going full time carpet cleaning is simply a worst case scenario kind of thing.

Why do I want to be a carpet cleaner?

I genuinely enjoy interacting with people face to face, going out meeting new people in new surroundings. I haven't always been in the games industry, although I don't have any face to face sales experience I do have a lot of people experience. Having worked as an auxiliary nurse  for 4 years in a Dementia Unity and Sunderland Royal Hospital, having worked on the production line at Nissan and as a gardener part time while as college for my mothers ex partners business.

I haven't just plucked a random business idea out of a hat but came to carpet cleaning from a lot of research into businesses which fit my needs, offer a decent wage (if it goes well), will allow me to continue the lifestyle I have. But most of all, it's something I can see myself genuinely enjoying doing.

Hard Floor Cleaning is more profitable, there is less competition and set up costs are lower.

[premier floorcare]

Hard Floor Cleaning is more profitable, there is less competition and set up costs are lower.

But takes longer to develop the skill set and is a lot more technical with bigger pitfalls.

IMHO

[Kev Martin]

Hard Floor Cleaning is more profitable, there is less competition and set up costs are lower.

But takes longer to develop the skill set and is a lot more technical with bigger pitfalls.

IMHO

True & False!  But if you start slowly and stick to the basic cleaning for a while and then slowly progress until you begin to master each stage it normally works well.  The people that fail are the ones who clean a couple of floors and then try to progress to grinding and honing marble or similar.  It is a bit like training on basic carpet cleaning then trying to clean a silk rug or passing your driving test and trying to drive a formula 1 car.  Experience is the key to being successful.

[Craigp]

Kev Martin
Hard Floor Cleaning is more profitable, there is less competition and set up costs are lower.
[/quote]

Not now you've gone around telling everyone how much money there is in it. 

[cannon]

Ian...as someone who is on this map I could easily place another 10 dots on there of "carpet cleaners" in the area...and could easily list another 10 that cover that map area   

Most areas are the same though.

Not trying to put you off, it wouldn't affect me...but just saying

Hey all,

I have been thinking of getting into the carpet cleaning industry for a while now. Currently I have my own digital media business (Mainly mobile games) That's done pretty well for the last 3/4 years. But it's a very uncertain market where all my income could be gone overnight and times are starting to feel a little uncertain.

After sitting at a desk for the last 7 years, I'm craving some physical manual work.

My main concern is how competitive the industry is, if you check the image below, that's my local city and a search of carpet cleaners:



I have read the profit margins are pretty good in carpet cleaning, around 60%. But I keep seeing facebook ads popping up, "Starting from £20" "2 rooms carpet cleaning for £35" and such.

I'm thinking of booking in for a 2 day carpet cleaning course just to make sure it is what I want to do and that I'm able to do it.

I'm certainly not afraid of long hours and hard work, I had a full time job while setting up my current business and was working 70+ hours per week. I'm now a father so probably don't have as much spare time as back then, but I'm certainly more than  willing to put as many hours in as life will allow.

I do have some cash, well an upcoming dividend from my current company. I could spend up to around the 10k mark but would prefer that to be lower for initial setup and then more expenditure once I know what I'm doing/find my place in the market.

I aim to be one of the well equipped, fully trained kinda guys, rather than slightly better than a domestic cleaner which I see popping up a lot in my local area. Ideally building on a reputation of quality from the onset.

Online promotion shouldn't be too much of an issue, I'm pretty social media savvy and could knock myself up a professional website within a day or two. However my face to face skills are pretty much none existent, never worked in a service based sales role in my life. Any tips and advice on that would be a huge bonus.

Basically I'm looking for advice on if this is the right direction for me, if I will be able to afford to get my foot in the door, if there's already too much competition in my era, if I'm going to be able to build this up part time on the side of my business and possibly turn it full time if/when required.

I'm sure you guys will have lots of good advice and scary stories about the industry and I welcome the lot.

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum section, I tried looking for a newbie and questions section but couldn't seem to find one.

Thanks!

[Steven Fletcher]

Ian,

Good on you for getting into something new.  It certainly appears to be the way of things going forward, as no career path now ensures work till retirement set up.

As you have steady income from a current job, I would suggest keeping that going and then scaling that back as the cleaning business increases.  Set yourself a target of what you want say end of week take home pay after expenses, get to the stage where you are only going to get there by ditching the current job.  Then yes flip it and do the games job as a sideline earner.

Any business is always slow to set up as nobody knows who you are, and word of mouth is essential.  However you are set up to smash the social media side which will be key to getting those initial clients.  Perhaps run some great special offers for the first 20 clients and take it from there.  Get any branding down to look 100% modern and professional, though I'm sure you will.

Do not be worried about the cheap cheap guys going about.  Someone pays £30 for a few rooms to be cleaned, they are going to be disappointed and probably are not going to be the sort of clients you want long term anyway.

Getting the right equipment will be key too.  You will need to travel to test some out.  You don't want to spend too cheap at the start as you will be upgrading before you know it.  Get a machine that will keep you steady as business increases.

I'm at the NCCA course next month, not sure if there are places left, but you should give it at go and see what the job entails.

Keep the posting going as I would like to see how you progress.