The Cleaning Industry - Commercial Versus Consumer

When getting ready to start your own cleaning business, you will encounter two primary sectors that you can choose to focus your service on. The first is the commercial and the second is the consumer arena.

The commercial cleaning services include in its repertoire the carpet cleaners, window cleaners, and janitorial services that include all aspects of cleaning that happens inside the office. If you get into the commercial cleaning service industry, the advantage is that if the clients like you, you get very regular gigs with them. The pay is also higher than what you would charge in the consumer cleaning services market. However, you will definitely need more people because you will be required to be fast and efficient in cleaning. Most offices will not shut down operations for a day just to have the cleaners come in, except in extraordinary circumstances. Also, once you get a steady clientele, more businesses will be calling on you and inevitably the weekends will be filled with schedules. You will need to be effective in organizing cleaning programs and managing time.

The commercial cleaning services area also has a bigger responsibility attached to it. You will need to have insurance coverage and a bond system. It is difficult to keep track of all your cleaners all the time that they are milling about the office picking up stray documents or getting into cleaning accidents. You need to protect three groups here, your company, your employees, and your client.

In terms of expenses and profits, the commercial cleaning industry will require you to come up with a higher start up capital and working capital. However, you stand to make huge profits as long as you manage your business proficiently.

The consumer cleaning services industry is a little less intense that the commercial services. The tasks may also include specialized cleaning like for carpets and windows but on a smaller, less bone breaking scale and on a less frequent basis. If you are a start up entrepreneur, the consumer cleaning service will initiate you into the cleaning industry in a ore subtle manner.

You can even start this business by yourself, and you would probably not need an office just yet. The capital that you put out for this would be more for the equipment that you need to make cleaning houses easier and faster. The only time that you will need to infuse a bigger capital is when you are confident enough to launch your consumer cleaning service to a larger clientele.

When that time comes, you will probably need to hire more people, on a part-time or full-time basis depending on the demand and cleaning schedules. You will also need to upgrade or buy more equipment. This also means that you might need a van to conveniently transport your team of cleaners and the equipment they need to use.

Profit-wise, the consumer cleaning business is still a pretty practical choice considering the little capital you would need to have. Also there are no insurances to worry about, but you will need to give your clients guarantees on anything that might be lost or damaged in the process of cleaning.

See: Start A Cleaning Service