Hi All,

A little about myself:

I work full time during the days and have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and lately I've been thinking about starting a small to medium sized office cleaning service because I love to clean and it's relatively cheap to start on a small scale. I've done it before, but it never grew to the size that I wanted it to and I have no sales experience. Now years later I want to try again. Most of my experience is in the legal and fitness industries, so running my own company and growing it is going to be trial and error for me. Ultimately I would like to get the cleaning business going, expand it, start an online personal training/nutrition website and become more involved in fitness and bodybuilding, quit my day job and live a life of leisure (just kidding). Anyway my questions are:

Other than cold calling what other ways should I advertise the biz? Before I used to get a local paper and cold call or walk around with flyers and meet face to face. I'll still do that, but is there any other methods?

Is there a way of getting a list of businesses other than the local paper?

Would magnets for the car work? I have two cars and the beat up bucket is going to be used for the cleaning.

Am I being unrealistic about starting it on the side while working full time? Before it seemed easier for some reason.

I'll have other questions I'm sure. Stringer come out wherever you are...

Thanks in advance.

fitnessguy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fitnessguy

Hi All,

A little about myself:

I work full time during the days and have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and lately I've been thinking about starting a small to medium sized office cleaning service because I love to clean and it's relatively cheap to start on a small scale. I've done it before, but it never grew to the size that I wanted it to and I have no sales experience. Now years later I want to try again. Most of my experience is in the legal and fitness industries, so running my own company and growing it is going to be trial and error for me. Ultimately I would like to get the cleaning business going, expand it, start an online personal training/nutrition website and become more involved in fitness and bodybuilding, quit my day job and live a life of leisure (just kidding). Anyway my questions are:

Other than cold calling what other ways should I advertise the biz? Before I used to get a local paper and cold call or walk around with flyers and meet face to face. I'll still do that, but is there any other methods?

Is there a way of getting a list of businesses other than the local paper?

Would magnets for the car work? I have two cars and the beat up bucket is going to be used for the cleaning.

Am I being unrealistic about starting it on the side while working full time? Before it seemed easier for some reason.

I'll have other questions I'm sure. Stringer come out wherever you are....

Thanks in advance.

fitnessguy

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You are aware the Cleaning business is run on razor thin margins... and even then most employees are people that are illegals... (the less scrupulous places) to legals that can barely speak the language and can't work anyplace else so get minimum wage... and there is usually a LOT of competition in any market you plan to enter.

Definitely start it on the side because its going to take time to make enoug to pay yourself after paying your people.

Thanks Smoothy. Yeah I was planning on starting it on the side as extra income. I want to start very small so that I can learn all that I can on my own. Hiring others is a HUGE step to take and wouldn't want to jump right into that.

Around here... you have to be fluent in Spanish just to do it since most of the people are Latino immigrants, I know quite a few of them... what I know about it is what I've learned from them... and from people that cleaned out office as it was a very small crew that did it for years. Good luck... wish I was able to give better specifics.. but soemone else is still likely to see this and answer that can.