Start a Cleaning Services Business: A Worthwhile Investment - Paper Example

Introduction

Most people in developed and first world countries and to the least numbered undeveloped countries require professional cleaning services regularly: either basic or thorough in residential estates, homes, and even in industrial setups. Based on this demographic-based need, a Cleaning services business is a niche worth investing, especially in the United States region, where most people hire professional cleaning service providers or janitorial services (Byrne & De Roos, 2018). A good instance is the cleaning required after festivals, parties, conferences, and work or industrial place cleaning i.e., airports. If moving into a new house or after a house renovation, the need for a professional cleaning service that utilizes vast specialized equipment and machinery to clean walls, carpets, ceilings, bathtubs, and toilets rises.

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In the past decade, there has been a boom in residential construction: office buildings across the United States, a business gap for this venture (Kane & Velury, 2004). Objectives of this business run through the provision of laundry & garments alteration services to our clients in the U.S., especially in populated areas of Los Angeles and Chicago (Kramer, 2013). Our business aims to offer cleaning, alteration services with delivery and pickup services, and laundry. Customers have an optional choice on the mode of payments ranging from payment during delivery, monthly use of credit card billing. The company will be responsible for sending statements to each contract bidder, with full itemized service fees for their credit card payments. Operations provided divide into four categories i.e., installation of machines with cleaning activities, sorting – storage of dirty garments received, garments alteration workroom, and storing cleaned garments before delivery (Byrne & De Roos, 2018). It is a core marketing strategy in place by strategizing directly dealing with customers at their premises for ample return and receiving of services required. Products advantage to customers by free home pick-up and delivery services, frequent visits to premises area three times a day, and at least twelve times a week (Morrison, 2006).

Contrary to all successes involved in this cleaning venture, it’s still hard than it looks to take a business niche and invest in it. The threshold of starting a cleaning service business may lead to an early halt and closure before attaining investors' objectives if not well planned and analyzed before actuation. Pricing services offered much lower than market rates because of failure to research on prevailing rates would eventually lead to business running at a gross loss, finding it surprisingly easy to sign up a large number of clients in the threshold period might be an indicator of pricing below active market rates leaving money on the table. With rates way too far below, the prevailing rates might adamantly affect the client’s confidence in the business services with the notion that the services provided are substandard. Raising pricing rates prone the business to suspension, especially in the U.S., where federal authorities press focus on policies of keeping consumer price inflation in check to avoid consumer exploitation. Failure to incorporate performance indicators (KPIs) that motor sustainable long-term growth in a home cleaning business (Soderbery, 2013). Put inconsideration need for a complex relationship between business performance parameters i.e., ration of one time to recurring clients, the ability to retain recurrent customers, and rates at which new business grows from client referral against marketing expenditure.

Laundry and cleaning services business rated in the top ten of best enterprises with the lowest failure independent probability. Complete detailed identity of market segments and trends in this business platform is a hallmark to successful long-term objectives achievement (Wigodsky, 2004). Consequently, there is no capital stagnancy, a capital requirement to purchase laundry equipment, and low-cost supplements. The service only requires a few staff necessitates the need for a scheme on market segmentation.

As the U.S. economy broadens, quality life increases proportionally; people will tend to spend more of their time in luxurious activities than in their house chores. They’ll prefer that somebody else takes charge of their cleaning work. Chicago’s over 100,000 population is served by six cleaning service providers (Soderbery, 2013). The existing shops offer not pick-up services for garments and wait for clients to drop off and pick up their garments during evening hours. Their working schedule time is limited from mid-morning 10 am to early evening at 6 pm with no night shifts and close on Sundays. These are almost the same working hours for most residents of the town. Hence most of them are limited to getting their services. Pickup and delivery services incorporated to eliminate queuing, parking slot problems, ease of forgetting to collect clothes and other garments, and time-saving process for customer need satisfaction (Soderbery, 2013).

Establishing a landline number easily reachable to any customer for calls on for service delivery and raising any important info, suggestions, and complaints, if any. Online booking of services at the comfort of residents' homeplace is well catered for in the business scheme. With the cited existence of a business niche on the provision of cleaning services, it is fundamental to come up with a business plan drawn from well-acquitted market research. Essential information needed to pursue this would be:

Market Size Structure

Market size research is a core pillar in initial stages, establishing a business. The number of customers to serve over a period i.e., a day, their availability based on what time your customers turn out is optimal. If you target the inaccessible market, thus the wrong market segment, the business sales will be dismal with higher marketing costs (Wigodsky, 2004). A good approach to this is a demographic analysis of target population distribution from census data. It collects information on the level of consumption of laundry supplements within the target area to analyze their prior needs, i.e., detergents and cleaning services. Engaging residents on a face to face forum to collect their opinions and suggestions on basic cleaning services needed. This also helps gauge the investment capital needed to serve the available target market without over expenditure. This will reveal the market's current size, its growth potential, market share one expects to take, buying habits of the target audience, and kinds of margins to expect from the market (Wigodsky, 2004).

Sales Forecast

Does this generally revolve around how much output the business is required to provide? Do the existent businesses of the same kind provide enough services prime to client’s satisfaction? Are enterprises involved in sales and acquisition of supplements involved in laundry and cleaning services having a smooth transition in the market with accrued rise in sales? This vital information can be gathered from journals, and print media on companies' online platforms involves processing and sales of these supplements. The monthly release of a small-scale enterprise (SMEs) reports by the state’s federation is also essential to research material for sales forecasts (Wigodsky, 2004).

Startup Costs

The initial cost to pay, and what kind of capital is needed to start your business. Considering borrowing in capital if the required isn’t enough would ideally go for long term funds if you have to purchase fixed assets (Morrison, 2006). For instances of working capital requirements, short-term capital would do.

Competitive Environment

The healthy business attracts competition; this keeps investors going on on the verge to put more capital into realization to outdo other investors sharing a market positively (Byrne & De Roos, 2018). Adequate competition analysis can be obtained by sampling collection of customers' tastes on services offered by other enterprises as well as their own business. This creates a consumer-friendly environment creating a rapport bridging the business to its direct market. Pricing fluctuation analysis from posted financial statements from other cleaning businesses is vital in gauging a level head price. Adherence to quality delivery is the key factor of outdoing other entities that lay interest in this cleaning service delivery.

References

Byrne, D. P., & De Roos, N. (2018). Startup search costs. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3100395

Kane, G. D., & Velury, U. (2004). The role of institutional ownership in the market for auditing services: An empirical investigation. Journal of Business Research, 57(9), 976-983. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0148-2963(02)00499-x

Kramer, U. (2013). Gewichteter forecast als Lösung. Sales Excellence, 22(1-2), 50-51. https://doi.org/10.1365/s35141-013-0545-1

Morrison, J. (2006). World trade and the international competitive environment. The International Business Environment, 313-348. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-20957-2_10

Soderbery, A. (2013). Market size, structure, and access: Trade with capacity constraints. SSRN Electronic Journal.

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2187568Wigodsky, A. S. (2004). Architecture: Foundation services. RAPID Value Management for the Business Cost of Ownership, 89-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-155558289-0/50007-0