How to Start a Green Cleaning Business

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

How to Start a Green Cleaning Business

As businesses become more environmentally friendly, the demand for green cleaning services has also increased. Business owners looking to start a green cleaning business can simply add these services to a current business model, or start a new green cleaning business. Like other cleaning services, this type of business can be started easily with a small investment.

Step 1

Purchase janitorial bonding and insurance. Bonding and insurance protects your business and its employees against accusations of theft, property damage and damage to your equipment. Bonding and insurance can be purchased for different amounts of coverage and can be changed if a client requests more coverage.

Step 2

Contact vendors and suppliers to purchase green cleaning supplies. Most janitorial supply distributors have a line of green cleaning products and supplies. They're also willing to recommend and train you on the use of their recommended products. Find a line of products that work well and fits your budget.

Step 3

Develop a contractual agreement and pricing for your business. Your contractual agreement should include information regarding your guarantee to use green products and supplies. You may also offer clients the ability use your services to order green paper supplies, such as hand towels, toilet paper, hand soap and other items. Most cleaning services are priced based on the square footage of the property or building to be cleaned, but keep in mind green products may increase your costs for supplies. Price your services accordingly.

Step 4

Promote your business. Find green-friendly companies in your area who will have interest in using a green cleaning service provider. Contact potential clients and offer your services. Create fliers and marketing letters promoting your green-friendly business. Promoting your business should be ongoing to continue to grow your business.

Things Needed

Tips

Visit reliable government, business and green industry association websites for business ideas.
Join local, regional and national business and environmental organizations to keep up with trends, training and networking opportunities.
Some low-cost at-home green business ideas include energy or efficiency consulting, running green product parties, farmer's market promotion, Internet or mail order product sales.

Warnings

Check with your local government about the legalities of running any type of business from your home. Failure to get the proper authorization may result in fines, penalties and business closure.
Check with your local and state government for legal specifics of running a green business from your home, particularly if you will be involved in recycling, converting, or manufacturing in your home. Fines, penalties and business closure may result if regulated environmental laws are violated or not followed properly.

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Wednesday, May 1, 2013