Janitorial Cleaning Service Getting Started

A janitorial cleaning service is one of the best businesses for a hardworking, blue collar person to start from scratch. Every business and every building needs to be cleaned once in a while - in some cases, many times each day. With the overhead involved with hiring employees to provide janitorial services, it is convenient for a company to outsource to a commercial janitorial service provider.

This is where you step in!

If you are reading this article, you are probably looking for advice on how to start a janitorial service. Hopefully the following information and advice will get you moving in the right direction.

Start Up Costs and Financing Sources:

$500 and up

It is possible to get started with almost no investment, but you will be in a much better position if you have a few hundred dollars of basic equipment available. Equipment for a full-scale commercial janitorial service may run many thousands of dollars.

Writing a sound business plan describing how to start a janitorial service in your area - including detailed market research and plans for future growth - may help you to secure some of your initial funding from venture capitalists or angel investors.

Pricing Guidelines for Service:

Base your time at $20 to $50 per hour (before taxes and expenses) and price your services according to the time you expect to spend on each task.

Itemize the exact services you intend to provide. Charging by the hour tends to make clients comfortable asking you to do more and more work for the same money. Be clear that you provide certain services for a certain price. By charging a flat fee, you will continually earn a better hourly rate as you improve and become more efficient.

Advertising and Marketing:

Get listed in the yellow pages under all of the main services you provide. This is more expensive than one general listing, but you can't expect all of your potential clients to look under "Janitorial Services" when they are really looking for "Window Cleaners".

Face-to-face selling can go either way. Some managers and store owners like the fortitude of this very direct way of marketing, but others find it very annoying - especially if they get a lot of people coming in and asking to wash the windows. Always obey "No Soliciting" signs.

Walk around town and identify businesses which look like they really need your help. Send a professional-looking brochure to the general manager.

Essential Equipment:

A janitorial cleaning service can start very small and build up as it grows more popular. It is sometimes possible to start out by using the equipment of the client companies, buying your own equipment with that revenue.

Get a unique uniform - and unique does not mean outrageous! A uniform looks much more professional than jeans, and it can provide a marketing service for you, as well. When people recognize your janitorial cleaning service working at the company down the street, it lends credibility to you when you approach them for a contract.

Much of the following equipment will become useful as your business expands:

Safety Equipment:

dust mask

safety goggles

heat resistant gloves

heat resistant apron

slip resistant, steel toe shoes

hard hat

General Supplies:

dust mop, brooms, and dust pans

vacuum cleaner

window squeegee and buckets

wet mop and bucket

scrub brushes

towels, lots of towels

window cleaning solution

degreaser solution

carpet cleaning solution

plunger

drain "snake"

basic tool set: hammer, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.

tape measure

utility knife and plenty of blades

tool belt

ladder

50-foot water hose

pressure washer

chainsaw

weed whip

a cargo van to carry it all

Income Potential:

$15,000 to $60,000 per year, going solo.

There is a limit to the amount you can earn working alone. As you become more successful at negotiating with clients, you can eventually start hiring other people to do the work. The ultimate earning potential is unlimited.

Target Market:

One of the nicest parts about janitorial services is that you don't have to look for new customers week after week. After you secure a few accounts, you will have a fairly steady source of income that only changes infrequently.

Convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, strip malls, and office complexes are all great places to start looking.

Tips for Success:

Always be professional and courteous. Everyone encounters stressful and undesirable working conditions once in a while. It will carry you a long way if you can remain respectful and calm when dealing with these situations. Don't let your clients walk all over you, but don't let them walk out on you!

Janitorial services are very repetitive from day to day. Keep a mindset toward using your time more and more efficiently.

Go the extra mile. Do what you can to go above and beyond your clients' expectations. This translates to job security and a better reputation in the industry.

You should get your janitorial cleaning service bonded and insured. If you are not bonded and insured, your prospects for business are very limited.

Training, Skills or Experience Needed:

The best training is to have worked as a janitor for some time so you know what you're getting into. It is not easy work. Read a few books on how to start a janitorial service. No matter how much you already know, you are sure to find new information that will help you to be more successful.

Schooling is not usually necessary, but you can earn better money and find more contracts if you learn to maintain HVAC or other common equipment. There are independent classes available for this type of training.

ฉ Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy Wilson has dozens of home based business articles such as Ebay Money Making Tips, Nutrition Home Business and Small Business Web Design.

Spring Cleaning for the Mind

During the spring, many of us feel the need to clean our homes with annual spring cleaning. While clearing clutter is important, it is also important to do some "spring cleaning" in our mind and personal life. Here are some ideas for clearing internal clutter:

Use the external as a clue to where clearing is needed

Did you know that the clutter in our homes often correlates to internal areas that need uncluttering? For example, if we are uncomfortable with our appearance or worried about health, often clutter will appear in the kitchen or closet. If finances or debt is an area that needs attention, clutter will likely appear on our desks. Look around your house and office. Where is the most clutter? Ask yourself what might be going on internally that needs attention.

Shedding emotional weight

While people might start thinking about shedding physical pounds for summer, take a moment to shed any emotional weight, too. Do you have a group of good and positive people around you? Do you have any friends that are extremely negative? Reduce the time you are spending with negative people and increase your time with those who are positive and supportive. Take a moment this week to schedule lunch or coffee with someone who inspires you.

Check your energy level

How has your energy been the past 30 days? Do you have enough energy to match the tasks on your to-do list? If you are getting 7 hours of sleep and still lacking energy, there is likely an emotional culprit. Take a moment to list out your stressors and what is weighing you down. Make a proactive plan to deal with these issues. Energy is most often drained when we don't have options, hope, or know what to do next because we feel overwhelmed. Using Time Management skills or breaking down goals into small steps can help.

How is your balance?

Jot down your top 3 life priorities. Next, take a look at how you plan to spend this week. Have you scheduled time for your priorities? When what we do is different than what we value, we are more likely to feel fatigued or depressed. If your plan for the week is missing time for your life priorities, take action today by scheduling in time for your priorities.

What have you done for you lately?

When meeting the daily demands of others we often let our needs go unmet. Over the past month have you been taking regular time to rejuvenate your self? Even 5-10 minutes a day can do wonders. Remember that self-time isn't selfish, it is necessary in order to meet the demands of others at our 100% best.

Your Turn:

This week think through each of the 5 areas listed above. Spend at least one hour on "spring cleaning for the mind." You'll be amazed at how much better you will feel a week from today!

Brook Noel is the creator of the best-selling 70 Day Life Makeover Program for Women .. The Change Your Life Challenge. http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com
This program has helped thousands of women take control of their home, finances, relationships, clutter, time-managmenet and more.

She is the author of 19 books and maintains three free newsletters. The Daily Rush is devoted to quick and easy recipes; Good Morning! is a daily newsletter to get your day off to a great start and The Challenge Weekly offers a personal challenge for self-improvement each week. To sign up for these free newsletters please visit http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com/news.htm

Some Tips For Gutter and Downspout Cleaning

Downspout Cleaning:

Here Is How To Go About Downspout Cleaning

A downspout is that vertical pipe which carries water down from a roof gutter. Water trapped in gutters can cause serious damage to roofs and walls. Thus maintaining clean gutters and downspouts is very necessary and helps to keep one’s home in good shape.

Some Steps in cleaning of downspouts –

1. Firstly gain access to the roof with the help of a ladder. See to it that you don't lean the ladder against the downspout or the gutter. It can easily bend or break them.

2. Then remove leaves and twigs from gutters and with a large spoon, a gutter scoop or a small garden trowel.

3. Also, wet down the caked-on dirt, which is sometimes difficult to remove without causing damage to the gutter or downspout. Remove it with a gutter scoop or trowel.

4. Regularly check whether the downspouts are clogged or not. You can use water to unclog your downspouts by placing the garden hose in the opening. But be very gentle, as downspouts are not designed for withstanding the same pressure as that of a house drain. If a plugged downspout cannot be cleared with a hose then make use of a small plumber's snake or even an unbent clothes hanger. Again, remember to be gentle.

6. Alternatively, use a leaf blower to clean the gutters; however, remember that you'll be high up, often in awkward postures, and carrying a good-sized machine that not only is awkward to use but also can blind you with dust.

7. Further, you can use the hose for flushing the gutters with water after cleaning. (At this time, you can also find out if there are any leaks in the gutter or in the downspout.)

Some Tips For Downspout Cleaning –

Firstly, one can use the hose of the pipe and spray it forcefully at an angle less than 40* in the gutter for forcefully pushing the twigs and leaves towards any corner where one can use a trowel or hands to take it out with. That is much more convenient! But before doing this, make sure that the gutter spouts are not clogged, as water needs to go down there otherwise it will fill up the gutter. Secondly, remember to be especially careful when using a hose or a plumber's snake for unclogging the down spouts. It is likely that the clog has caused the gutter to rust, making it more likely that you will punch a hole in the gutter.

Cleaning your gutters regularly can save you a ton of work and headaches later. For more tips visit:
http://www.easyguttercleaning.com