I started a home cleaning business 3 years ago and it’s not profitable. It’s an easy entry business so there is too much competition and it’s difficult to differentiate in this type of business. Everyone claims they provide a quality service. The worst part is that most competitors are using low prices to compete-so a race to the bottom. Looking for advice on how to salvage this?

  • MoneyGrinch@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    There are 7 levers you can pull to make your business more profitable and increase your cash flow.

    Here they are.

    1. Increase your price. Less customers higher rates is way better then low rates lots of customers. This was the single greatest lever i pulled. Got rid of the deadwood customers and it goes straight to the bottom line.
    2. Increase your sales volume ie more jobs
    3. Decrease you cost of goods. By cheaper cleaning products.
    4. Decrease your overheads. I.e negotiate cheaper rent or if you’re paying a loan for van negotiate cheaper rates.
    5. Decrease the time it takes to collect money.
    6. Decrease the amount of inventory you have on hand. Ie less cleaning product untill you need it
    7. Increase the average time to pay supliers. Ie if you could negotiate 30 to 60 day terms where you buy your cleaning products.

    If you can move each of these up or down 1% you would not recognise your business in 1 year…

  • naripan@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    In marketing there are three categories that you need to align with the competitors and choose one to excel more than them:

    1. Product - this is about what you use to clean and whether there are advantage to this over what your competitors use
    2. Operational - this is about how you do it. It’s whether you can do it faster, you can cut the cost higher, or you have a better after sales service
    3. Relationship - this is about you and your customer, how close you are to them. The closer you are, the less likely they will choose others despite of difference in price and service
  • SashaVelikan@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I would try to work with the police to work on cleaning case sites. Constant work coming in, very well paid. You’d need to be able to stomach it though.

    My opinion only. I don’t run a cleaning business.

  • HumbleBurritoo@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    How have you been marketing yourself? Do you have a website? Social media? Handing out panflets? Start a cleaning blog to gather emails for email marketing?

    I’m a Social media manager - happy to discuss the best ways to hit your target clients!

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    1·
    10 months ago

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  • CanVan88@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Stand out. Differentiate yourself. Eco friendly cleaning for example. Stand out in terms of quality of service. Try promotional mail / offers and discounts. When free, do cold calling, emails and telecalling to get leads and business.

  • PickTheBroom@alien.topOPBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Thanks. I’ll find out where to market to upper middle class homes and focus on that. You are the third person suggesting it

  • instantnet@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Portable Washing machine with propane heater, giant mattress steamer for killing bed bugs

  • OwnTutor@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Read business podcasts and read books on how to grow your business. A lot of these guys are shysters, they are selling you a load of bullshit but you will find the ones that are good to follow after a short while. That’s what I have done and I brought in 1M in my first year of business and now I’m on target to do at minimum 2.5M this year, and we are growing like crazy so I would like to see the business bring in 10M this business year. A lot of it is from reading. I spend an hour every single day of the week reading, and I listen to business podcasts while I’m travelling in the car.

  • Yolapa@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Cleaning business here, with 35 employees
    It is indeed an extremely competitive industry, and as you describe, major players deliberately offer very low prices to outpace the competition.
    Development advices:
    1 - Target small businesses, in proportion to your size. Small enterprises (law firms, real estate agencies…) with compact spaces tye are less price-sensitive and value proximity in relationships. Being a local, human presence is often preferred, especially if you lack teams for daily cleaning of a 2000m² store, for instance.
    2 - Focus on specific professional categories (legal or medical, for example). They communicate a lot and can easily refer you if satisfied.
    3 - Clearly define what “quality service” means. Everyone claims it, but few explain it. Is your strength service continuity (replacing absent staff)? Crucial in this sector. Confidentiality/security? Important for legal professions…
    Explain what quality service means and what measures you’ve taken to ensure it.
    4 - Refine your proposals (meeting agenda, specifications, proposal documents, etc.). If you want to be more than just a price, demonstrate additional value beyond cost.

    Good luck. I remain available if you need assistance.