How To Start a Carpet Cleaning Business

When starting your own carpet cleaning business one of the first things you should do is create a business plan. Having a solid business plan is critical to your success. It will help you identify your goals, make you aware of potential problems and is required by banks and other lending institutions.

A business plan needs to prove that your business will make enough profit to cover any expenses and provide a return to investors.

What's in a Business Plan?

A business plan should contain the following information: An executive summary, company summary, product information, market analysis, strategy and implementation, management summary, and a financial plan.

1. Executive Summary--features the highlights of your plan and sells your idea in two pages or less.

2. Company Summary--a factual description of your company, ownership, and history.

3. Products (or Services or both)--describes your products and/or services and how they stand out from competitive products and services.

4. Market Analysis-provides a summary of your typical customers, competitive landscape, market size, and expected market growth.

5. Strategy and Implementation-describes how you will sell your product, how you will put your plan into action, and establishes milestones.

6. Management Summary-provides background on the management team, their experiences, and key accomplishments.

7. Financial Plan-contains key financials including sales, cash flow, and profits.

For more detailed information on how to create a solid business plan be sure to visit www.CarpetCleaningManual.com

Owning a carpet cleaning service is an excellent business opportunity and is no doubt a proven money-maker.

When compared to other flooring such as tile, wood and vinyl, carpet is still the single most popular choice when it comes to covering America's floors. By 1990 Americans consumed over 12 square yards per family per year, up from 1.97 in the early 1950s.

No doubt the demand for carpet cleaning services increases each year as carpet sales have been increasing each year.

Let's take a look at the benefits associated with the carpet cleaning business field:

1. Low startup costs and overhead - Compared to other brick and mortar type business's, starting a carpet cleaning business has a low cost of entry. Equipment maintenance and business insurance fees are the main monthly costs which are typically inexpensive.

2. Low training costs - No special education is required to operate a carpet cleaning machine. If you make the decision to scale your business later on and hire employees the required training time and costs will be low. You should be able to train a new employee how to clean carpets within two weeks, leaving you time to focus on the more important aspects of your business such as marketing.

3. An all year long business- Since you will be working indoors your business will not be put on hold during the winter months. This is a considerable advantage compared to other business services such as the lawn care business or pressure washing business.

4. Sense of fulfillment - Since your offering a service, there is a greater sense of fulfillment because you're helping people. The ability to gain new customers by word of mouth advertising will become a reality depending on how professional a job you do.

5. Fast income potential - Since you're marketing a service in high demand gaining new clients can be achieved quickly in this business. Compared to many other business's you will have significant advantages when it comes to earning huge profits within the first year of opening your business.

6. Repeat customers - Carpets will always need to be re-cleaned, which means you have the advantage of building a list of repeat customers and saving on marketing costs.

When doing carpet cleaning for a customer in a residential home, the basic carpet cleaning process can be described in 6 steps.

Pre-Inspection - A technician walks through the home and visually inspects the carpet. He will identify potential stains and give an evaluation of the expected results.

Pre-Vacuum - Dry soil is removed by a thorough vacuuming. Removing dry soil is one of the most important steps in cleaning and is often overlooked.

Light Furniture Moving - Regular pricing should include moving light furniture such as sofas, chairs, coffee-tables and smaller items. Beds, dressers, and heavier pieces are left in place under a regular pricing structure. Ask if the customer needs larger items moved ahead of time so you can prepare & price accordingly.

Pre-Spray - Application of an alkaline pre-spray that will suspend the soils from the carpet fibers. You pre-treat the carpet to loosen dirt and oils that vacuum cleaners cannot remove and then let it set for 10-15 minutes. Dependant on the type of carpeting you may want to use a teflon-rake to agitate the pre-spray into the carpet fibers. See the section on Carpet Cleaning Chemicals for more information about what chemicals to use and how to apply them.

Steam Extraction- Steam cleaning or hot water extraction utilizes a detergent solution which is forced into the carpet at high pressures by a pump and then sucked out with a powerful vacuum. Truck mounted or portable equipment systems use this deep cleaning method.

All loose soils and detergent residues are removed by the powerful steam extraction process. The carpets should be cleaned down to the backing which will remove deep down bacteria, pollens, and chemicals. How water extraction is the most thorough carpet cleaning method available.

Leftover carpet cleaning solutions can act as a magnet for dirt, therefore a pH-balancing fiber rinse/detergent should be applied because it removes carpet cleaning solution residue right along with deep-down dirt. All that's left behind should be a cleaner, softer, more beautiful carpet.

Post-Cleaning Inspection - Return furniture to original location, placing protective pads underneath. The technician should walk through the home and point out the cleaning results to the customer to make sure they are completely satisfied with the job. Most carpets should be dry to the touch in about 2-4 hours. Drying times depend on the degree of soiling, the type of carpet, and the quality of the equipment used.

The carpet cleaning business is a great business to get into either part or full time. Here you can learn the basics of how to start and market your carpet cleaning business. For more detailed information be sure to visit

For more detailed information be sure to visit www.CarpetCleaningManual.com