[Glynn]

Why do you find it hard to believe £47K is unobtainable ? you should be able to more than double that.
Why not just go to companies house & buy their accounts if their ltd, that will show you.

[the red carpet]

I will be totally honest and tell you what iv achived so far
Tommorow i will have been trading exactly 9 months, in that time including tommorows wages iv taken exactly £11,065

I am now taking £2000 a month and thats increasing, and have another 3 months till iv been going a year so i expect at least another £6000 in my first year.

So thats £17,065+ in my first year

And remember to start with i had no repeats or referalls, and didnt have a clue how to market so was earning about £500 a month
I see no reason why i cant earn double £17000 next year

I dont belive im dear compared to a lot of people on here i charge £38 for a average lounge and discount when doing larger jobs

Ps, im only working about half the week to get £2000 a month, so if i can get the jobs in i can double that to £4000 a month as a one man band with a portable.

I earned £200 today and was finished by 1.30

[andy roberts]

Red Carpet,

Thanks for being so open. I hope you don't mind answering the following questions.

1. Your turnover is expected at £17k circ. What then is your projected nett profit for the same period?

2. Do you have a back up machine should your excel go down?

3. What source of advertising/marketing do you use to generate your core income?

4. And finally, has the job lived up to your expectations both financially & satisfaction wise? And would you do it again knowing what you know now?

Don't answer if you don't want to.

Regards,  Andy

[the red carpet]

1.  That i havent got a clue??? but one thing i will say if i take £17k this year and £17k next year i will have a lot more profit from next years, when you start you waste a lot of money on advertising that dosent work to well, but if your sensible you learn from that and concentrate on what does work for you. You will also find better suppliers etc. All your expenses should go down and what you are paying for should become more effective, so generate more profit.

2. No (however have found a company that hires alltec machines for £29 a day 10 minute drive from me) and when the excell go's down and it does go wrong, i live within a short drive of Alltec, Woodbridge, and Ashbys so can usually get repaired same or next day, so wouldnt expect to loose much work from machine failure

3. Leaflets, internet, repeats/referalls (in y/p but loosing money every month, wont be repeating)

4. The job has more potential than i expected, but is hard work and unfortunatly i am completly skint at the minute and really struggling, but i am covering all my bills personal and business (just) and as i say only working half the week so any extra work now is profit so i can see things looking up in the near future

[craigp]

red, i earned not much more in my 3rd year than my first. thats the point you miss.

it does not go up that much from referals/repeats. 

in fact due to less enfusaism, i earned less in second year than first  (slowed down on leaflets)

[andy roberts]

So I'm not going to make my fortune from carpet cleaning then 

[craigp]

you can make a living (depends on your local market of course, try to see how they are doing) but you will NOT get rich!

[the red carpet]

I have 4 this week on top of my usual new customers, when i started i had none

How are you keeping in touch with old customers?
could it be they want to come back to you but havent a clue were to find you?

[John Kelly]

"You will not get rich" True if you remain a one man band which is what some people are happy with. One man is limited to what he can do and earn. However the freedom of being self employed and master of your own destiny does have a lot going for it. This is the same for any tradesman who works by himself.
Also you can get rich cleaning carpets or plumbing etc. But you need to expand the business, take on staff, spend mega bucks on marketing. I know carpet cleaners with brand new Range Rovers, Porsches etc., but they all have staff carrying out the work and cover large areas.

[mark_roberts]

Honestly guys, and Im no expert just trying to help, I think you need to really re-evaluate where your going wrong and why your not making money.  Some of you would earn more in Tescos with all the benefits.  Dont forget you dont have sick pay, holiday pay or a pension being self employed so you must earn more to cover.

A general rule of thumb is that youll earn for yourself less tax about half of your turnover.  The more you make the more you spend on toys, tools etc.

Of course the key is not only marketing but selling.  You need to start by understanding marketing and why people buy.  You also need to charge enough by effective selling.  When I started i did lots of marketing but not so much now more to no time during the day.

A few tips would be to focus on commercial while the residential grows.  Only this year (4 years in business) am i able to rely on the residential sales to cover everything and cut back on commercial.

Become conversant (sp) in cleaning so you sound confident when talking to customers.  Become a great cleaner by training and practice.

Always quote in the house until you havent time.  Chances of getting the job will shoot up dramatically.

Use all the marketing methods on these forums but the key is a good mix not all the eggs in one basket.  Letters to businesses worked well for me as did yellow pages, a little flyers and letters to previous clients.

It does take time but you can become rich if you want to and you will also stay poor if you dont open your mind.

Mark

[Mark Roberts]

Totally agree with Mark.
250 to 400+ quid every day is more than achievable even with 1 van.
I would go back to my old job if we were not doing that.
Up your prices, improve your image, selling, ideas, area coverage, the list goes on.
Give yourself targets to acheive rather than saying its impossible. If you dont beleive its possible it wont be.
I can see why people need fast track now.

[craigp]

mark_roberts is your y/p advert joe polish?

[mark_roberts]

No its not the JP ad as you know it but it is direct responce if thats how you want to descibe it BUT a YP ad is not the only marketing tool you must use.  A YP ad will only achieve a 1-5 return or less from my experience.

Dont get hung up on the fast track ads rather what an ad says and the volume of the ads put out.

Mark

[Dave Parry]

Guys, listen to Mark and others like Glynn.
I'm a one man band. Only do the odd commercial job, started with a porty, saved like mad and bought a t/m.
Start at 09:30, usually finish between 3 and 4.
Started cleaning 4 years ago, make a GOOD living, wouldnt do anything else and wish I'd done it years ago.
Dont advertise in Y/P or thompsons. use leaflets (about 3000/week) and local Parish mags or similar. Also go round estate and letting agents.
Its NOT about being the best cleaner, allthough that helps. Its about being a SALESMAN. Promote yourself to customers, initially do not quote on the phone, you'll get 3 times more jobs by site visits, until you dont have the time.
Look and act professional and work will come.
£ 47 is possible doing domestics using a porty, but a lot easier with a t/m (no I'm not trying to start a t/m versus porty thing)
Craigp on your earnings how do you survive? Your in business, act like a businessman. Analyse your jobs, costs etc where you get work from, look at adding other work even if only temporary (Car valeting) but above all dont work cheap.

[craigp]

i survive plus bit on top, never said im not, im trying to get the point across, i think the pole is giving the wrong impression to newbies.

as i said before this years been good for me, (in forth year now)

but lets face it more in this game struggle THAN DO NOT.

its not helpful to encourge people to start by suggesting these earnings, many go pop!

im simpling making sure they know the other side, that they should think carfully about starting, i know people it was the worse thing they ever did.

i cant understand why im the only one attempting to give a true picture of the market to beginers.

[Mark Roberts]

The trouble is the questions does not match the poll. It asks what people turn over followed by what newbies could expect to earn in a year.
The poll should have asked what we all earned in our first year. The results would have been much different.

I agree with you, far too many people start in this business and go pop thinking its going to be easy. Normally they have never worked for themselves and don't realise the effort and commitment required.

Anyone thinking of starting a business should thoughly investigate there potential market and have plan in place before they start. The average new cc buisness lasts 1 month. There is a true picture for beginers

[andy roberts]

Mark

The question is striaght forward enough asking what cleaners turned over last year. This will give some indication on what income to expect (or at least to work to) in a few years down the line wants we gain experience.

You state that the average CC busines only lasts 1 month. Interesting, but where did you get that static from?

Andy

[rich hand]

I am new to this but am looking to turnover 25-30K in the 1st year easily so I can definately appreciate many CCs being on 46K plus. However, you have to appreciate that on this board we are probably going to get the more conscientious carpet cleaner who will be better in business.

[Mark Roberts]

The question is striaght forward enough asking what cleaners turned over last year. This will give some indication on what income to expect (or at least to work to) in a few years down the line wants we gain experience.

You state that the average CC busines only lasts 1 month. Interesting, but where did you get that static from?

I agree, I was just answering craigp. Newbies should be aware that earning will go up a lot after a few years with reapeat custys and experience etc.

That stat came from Paul Pearce. Dont ask me where he got it from, no idea.

[andy roberts]

Rich Hand

Your exactly right.

The person who is best to succeed in carpet cleaning is the person who works ON his business and not IN his business. Training, techinique, chemicals, machinery means very little if you haven't got fundamental business skills. The cleaner who is conscientious, diligent & shows some degree of business management and above all stays POSITIVE & FOCUSED will succeed.

On here I like to generate & stimulate debate and obtain other cleaners reactions and learn from the more experienced members.

Reagrds,  Andy