Start A Cleaning Business: Creating a Cleaning Business Plan

Not sure where to start with setting up your cleaning business? Start with a plan... a cleaning business plan.

If you've done any research on business plan writing you'll find 2 camps of thought: 1) Yes, a written business plan is a good tool to help visual where you want to go with your business, 2) Don't bother, nobody is ever going to read it, much less follow it, after you create it.

Ultimately, it's up to you to take the time and put some thought into writing a plan. But, like any other tool in business, it's usefulness depends on your level of professionalism, organization, and love of record keeping. If nothing else writing something down on paper about your intended business will help you get a better mental picture of how things will pan out in the months and years to come.

Essentials of a Good Business Plan

These are some basic parts of a business plan:

Overall Summary - this is a snapshot of your business and goals
Market Analysis - who are your competitors, who are your customers?
Company Description - what differentiates you?
Management Structure - will you have employees, and how will they be managed?
Marketing - avenues of marketing you intend to pursue
Services and/or Products - define exactly what you'll sell
Funding Request - this section is for your potential lender
Financial Projections - what are your revenue and profit goals in the next 3-5 years?
Documents & Permits - what do you need for a cleaning business in your area?

Write Your Plan for a Niche

It's generally not a good idea to set up your cleaning business with the intent to clean all kinds of houses and businesses in your town. Being able to narrow down your customer base to specific neighborhoods or clientele will increase your chances of landing jobs.

Start by reflecting on what kind of people you're comfortable talking with. Is it realistic to have a goal of cleaning the 20,000 square-foot mansions on the beach if you're too nervous to talk with their owners? Then again, maybe that's your forte!

After some reflection define a niche within the cleaning industry you feel best qualified for... and what makes you unique to serve that niche. Talk about some of the things you'll do to make your business stand apart and better qualified to serve that niche.

Marketing Considerations

Take a look at the places your competition is advertising - and not. Popular places to advertise cleaning services are bargain newspapers, Craigslist, posting business cards on bulletin boards, and handing out flyers door-to-door.

If you see people advertising cleaning services month after month in a certain location you can bet that it's paying dividends for the person advertising. Take out a small ad in the local bargain newspaper right next to your competition and watch what happens.

But, you may want to consider other advertising venues your competition hasn't touched. Some places to consider are putting advertising on your vehicle (do this only if you have a spotless, rust-free car!); printing up a handful of bumper stickers and asking family and friends to put them on their cars; creating a lawn sign to put in the front yard of the house you're currently cleaning (ask the owner if you could leave it for a day or 3); start a blog or website.

Include a couple tried and true advertising venues that you will use in your plan as well as ideas for other minor areas you'd like to try. Include an advertising budget as to what you're planning to spend on getting the word out.

Financing Considerations

If you're starting small you probably won't be seeking a loan to start your business out. If you're just cleaning houses by yourself and starting off with cleaning products you already have your start up costs will be very low.

If you're plan is to hire extra help in cleaning the many houses on your cleaning docket you'll probably need to factor in expenses for everything from more cleaning supplies to extra liability insurance. Detail your projected expenses (and profits) to justify why you're asking for a loan.

Including a Mission Statement

Including a mission statement in your cleaning business plan is optional. However, it will give your lender a better idea of why you're going into business. Having a reason for going into the cleaning business may lead to more passion for your work, and therefore a greater chance of success.

Having a clear mission statement will also help you in seeing why you're going into this business. If the only reason is to make money you probably won't be at it very long. Adding in some honest statements about serving your clients so that they will have beautiful, clean homes to enjoy (if that's what you truly feel) can go a long way to improving your client relations. Good client relationships can lead to more and better paying jobs.

The 3 to 5 Year Horizon

Ideally you should write your business plan with a view of what you'd like to happen over the next 3 to 5 years. That's pretty standard. If, however, that's a tough concept to grasp then work on a one-year business plan.

Thinking about the life of your business over the next 3 to 5 years will give you ample time to see what works and what doesn't. Maybe after a few months you'll discover that the niche you wanted to get into isn't right for you (eg. cleaning high-end mansion homes), but there's something else you'd like to migrate toward (eg. cleaning and helping with household chores with the elderly).

And sticking at your cleaning business (even though it may start out slowly) for a couple years will help to show potential clients that you've been cleaning homes for awhile and are more reliable. Just because you don't have a dozen homes to clean every day in the first month doesn't mean you won't be a long-term success. Stick with it for awhile and you may see serious dividends down the road.

Do You Really Need a Business Plan?

As I said at the beginning of this article there are 2 thoughts on writing business plans: a big YES or a big NO.

If you're asking for financing you obviously will have to produce a very thorough business plan for your cleaning business. Any lender will need ample justification as to why they should lend to you. Ultimately, you need to sell yourself and your idea and that it will be a profitable success.

But, even if you're not seeking financing it's still valuable to write down some ideas of what you want to do, where you want to go, what people you want to sell to, what products/services you want to offer, and ideas of where to advertise. It'll give you a clearer idea to help make your new business venture, no matter how small, a success.