Carpet Cleaning Business

diesel01

Good morning,

I would like some advice regarding setting up a carpet cleaning business.

My budget for this would be around the 10k mark. I want to have a truck mounted system, or should I just use a portable ?

I want to offer quality to my feature costumers, not a In & Out job, that's why I'm thinking at getting the truck mount.

With around 3-4k I can buy a second hand one, 2-3 k for a swb van to start with.

Any advice on how to get this all started up? I have never started a business in the uk so I don't have a clue on where to go.

motorguy

Firstly, you dont need a van.

If the gear wont fit in a car / estate car, then get a box trailer and a tow bar.

Vans are expensive to run and insure, and add a significant overhead to a fledgling business starting up.

Secondly, i wouldnt rush out and buy thousands of pounds of equipment. Get a good standalone cleaner and test the market without big expense.

Thirdly, how big is the market these days? Do people not just hire the units themselves?

Finally, whos your competition? How much do they charge and given they are experienced and established, how are you going to compete?

Hermia

The last time I had my carpet cleaned the guy was saying he gets a lot of business from tenants in flats needing to clean their carpets when their rental ends. Would the truck mounted system you mention be suitable for a flat that isn't on the ground floor? Also beware of any business idea that uses a large vehicle as so many UK roads are small and many people don't have large driveways.

paddyrg

It's funny, the original vacuum carpet cleaners were huge great vehicle mounted machines, you'd pass the hose through the window.




... But that was pre-electricity. Nowadays, take advantage of being mobile ;+)

Mr_Poves

I tried this a while back as a sideline to my carpet supply business , I bought a machine , advertised my services and had a few calls but always the same old story , joe bloggs will do it for £10 per room , I just sold the machine in the end .
Not trying to put you off , but there's alot of carpet cleaners out there already .

diesel01

Thank you all for your kind replies.

I have now decided not to go for a truck mount system to start of, I want to see how it goes with the portable and then if things go really good I can upgrade to a truck mount.

You see, here is the problem with people who want carpet cleaning, everyone wants CHEAP , that's not possible unless you don't use the right chemicals and the right equipment.

@ Hermia- can you please let me know if the guy you used to clean carpets did the following things:

1) Inspect the carpet with you

2)Move furniture if needed (there are some special things that go under the bed and you can roll it really quick without leaving marks on carpet)

3) Vacuum the carpet

4)pre-spray with solution to remove grease, oils & dirt

5) Agitate the solution with a special machine (just by doing this carpet looks 50% cleanner

6) extract with hot/cold water

7) treat bad areas where the above method did not work.

8) stain protection (optional)

9) put furniture back

10) post cleaning inspection to see if you are satisfied

What most cowboy carpet cleaners do is advertise £20 any room, any size, they do a IN & OUT JOB, they do 10 jobs per day with rubbish quality, I want to do less jobs per day but offer quality.

I will be going to the course in May and then I will start slowly to buy the equipment.

I have been looking at getting a website done by a company, price is around 400 for 1 year, is that too low for a good website? can you recommend a good company?

Advertising my business will be key, I want to invest in good marketing, can you recommend anyone? I hear that google ad words brings lots of costumers.

Regarding the van, yes, you guys are right, insurance for me is around the 250 per month, but I want to look professional, I don't want to go there with a ford mondeo estate car.

Also car valeting will be part of my business also.

Any further advice will be greatly appreciated.

Savvy_Sue

diesel01 wrote: »

Any further advice will be greatly appreciated.

Check that there is a market for the quality service you wish to offer. If all people want is a quick in and out at the end of a tenancy they're not going to want to pay a lot for it. They will balance what you're charging against what they might lose from their deposit if everything's not pristine, and decide the quick in and out is enough.

diesel01

Hi Sue,

I'm looking to target homes in North London, I think with good recommendation from clients I should be ok. I will be investing a fair amount of money into marketing, can anyone recommend me a good website builder company and SEO ?

Also can you please recommend me a company how I can take card payments when I'm out.

motorguy

diesel01 wrote: »

@ Hermia- can you please let me know if the guy you used to clean carpets did the following things:

1) Inspect the carpet with you

2)Move furniture if needed (there are some special things that go under the bed and you can roll it really quick without leaving marks on carpet)

3) Vacuum the carpet

4)pre-spray with solution to remove grease, oils & dirt

5) Agitate the solution with a special machine (just by doing this carpet looks 50% cleanner

6) extract with hot/cold water

7) treat bad areas where the above method did not work.

8) stain protection (optional)

9) put furniture back

10) post cleaning inspection to see if you are satisfied

Half of those things people neither want nor care for, but add TIME to the job for you and thus COST for them.

You quote based on the room being cleared and pre-hoovered by them. If they want you to do that, then add it as an optional extra.

If its exceptionally stained, then quote for a "deep clean" as an optional extra.

diesel01 wrote: »

What most cowboy carpet cleaners do is advertise £20 any room, any size, they do a IN & OUT JOB, they do 10 jobs per day with rubbish quality, I want to do less jobs per day but offer quality.

So what are you going to quote? £40 for the same job but have them stand through an inspection before and after?

Its a price driven market. If you cant compete on price you're not going to get the business.

diesel01 wrote: »

I will be going to the course in May and then I will start slowly to buy the equipment.

I have been looking at getting a website done by a company, price is around 400 for 1 year, is that too low for a good website? can you recommend a good company?

I'm not convinced you need a website. Certainly not one that requires £400 a year maintenance anyway. You want at most a standalone one pager with some professional pictures and your phone number.

diesel01 wrote: »

Advertising my business will be key, I want to invest in good marketing, can you recommend anyone? I hear that google ad words brings lots of costumers.

Regarding the van, yes, you guys are right, insurance for me is around the 250 per month, but I want to look professional, I don't want to go there with a ford mondeo estate car.

£250 a month insurance :eek:

Then twice as much in a van in fuel than a car.

Then maybe £100 a month depreciation?? :eek:

These are all OVERHEADS. You are saddling your business with big overheads to start with which will make you uncompetitive.

diesel01 wrote: »

Also car valeting will be part of my business also.

Any further advice will be greatly appreciated.

Do one or the other - car valeting isnt just about the inside its about the outside too.

Concentrate on doing carpets first and see how that goes

diesel01

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your advice :

Regarding the website, they promised they will build a 8 page website, give me a business email address & give me a landline number that will be directed to a mobile, is there a different way of doing it? I could do it myself, however I want to be found on google, I don't want to be on the 58th page on google.

As I will not be getting the truck mount system anymore I'm looking at a Peugeot partner, insurance is in the £1000 mark per year.

Further advice is much appreciated.

Paul, I have done outside valeting for cars, believe me, it can take up to 10 hours for a professional job or you can do the cowboy style for £50 in 2 hours. Even car valeting will take more than a double room.

fishybusiness

What most cowboy carpet cleaners do is advertise £20 any room, any size, they do a IN & OUT JOB, they do 10 jobs per day with rubbish quality, I want to do less jobs per day but offer quality.

and if they are getting the business, that is where the market sits.

I'm wondering what market research you have suggesting higher price/ better quality cleaning will sell.

Is Google the best place to focus advertising, or are there more effective local alternatives? Thinking local magazines, quality flyers etc.