This is the most often asked question I hear today.  I think its interesting that most of those asking the question aren’t concerned with the unemployment or the economy.  Their main concern is seeing the competition from those large chains and those who advertise constantly on TV.  After all that little “Yellow Truck” can be intimidating unless you know the truth about the business.

I always tell people what I’ve learned over the years about competition.  Those who advertise the most, especially with the lowest prices are never anything to worry about.  Actually they help the small guy by keeping the subject of carpet cleaning in the news.

The key is to specialize in something the large companies can’t offer.  That is service and quality work.  I can honestly say I’ve lived off the lousy craftsmanship which is the norm for the large contractors.  So the answer to the question is “Yes and NO”.

The answer is NO if you are content to work like the common contractors.  But the answer is definitely a YES if you follow a good business plan and open your mind to a new approach to the business.

HTML clipboard

After receiving many basic questions on the subject of following a specific carpet cleaning business plan, it seems that I should take just a few sentences to explain what a business plan really is and isn’t.

First off, a business plan could also be referred to as a business guide.  When a person decides to start his own business, it is always good to take the time to write down certain details pertaining to the goals and planned activity of the business.  On the subject of carpet cleaning, an individual might already have chosen a specific type of cleaning he will perform, who his perspective customer is and what his primary equipment needs are.  Obviously the information in this type of business plan is going to be limited to the experience and general knowledge of the new business owner.  Now in most cases, his knowledge will be limited to whatever type of cleaning offered and tools used by his former employer.

The point to emphasize is the fact that this new business owner is going to be limited to his or her basic knowledge as one who is very limited in experience and influenced heavily by whoever taught him the trade of carpet cleaning.  In addition, his knowledge of the actual running of a business will be very limited because it is truly a rare thing if a small business owner shares his secrets with someone who might become his competition some day.  It just doesn’t happen that way in the real world.

Wouldn’t it be better if this new owner had the benefit of someone who was thoroughly familiar with the trade, the latest technology and trends of the industry, customer relationships, business building, dealing with competition and so on?  Better yet if this source’s knowledge were based on experience and not just on theory or other published information.

So while it is always a good practice to take note of one’s own thoughts of building his business, it is even a better practice to seek out advice of someone you can trust for additional help in areas where you would naturally lack experience.

We should also mention what a business plan “is not.”  A good business plan should present the author’s way of doing things, his sources of products and supplies, his advertising secrets and should explain why the author makes certain suggestions and so on.  But a good plan is not going to simply tell the reader to ‘do this.’  In other words it will provide direction and reasoning behind the decisions that were made by the author but provide various options to the reader.  There are hundreds of questions that arise when someone starts a business, this experienced source is going to help the reader make those decisions based upon his years of experience in the real world.  In essence a good business plan will serve as a step by step guide.

So the new business owner should seek a source that has decades of experience in the field of carpet cleaning.  It would be good to avoid anyone with just a couple years experience since it would be obvious that this source would not have much more experience then the new person starting out.  It naturally takes time to learn to deal with customers, trends in the economy, changes in advertising, changes in cleaning technology and so on.  It would also be good to find someone who is still active in the industry and is publishing information to deal with problems in 2010 and not those of a decade ago.  Look for specific information concerning various problems faced when trying to satisfy customers and make profits during a bad economy.

The idea is that learning from someone else’s experience can save one from making the same mistakes everyone makes.  A smart person can benefit from the errors made by others.  A good carpet cleaning business plan will save the new person from wasting thousands of dollars on equipment he’ll never use as well as wasting hundreds of hours doing office work if he can use someone else’s business forms, etc.

Lesson 1…Find a Good Carpet Cleaning Business Plan and you’ll save time and money!

HTML clipboard

In today’s economy there are many people considering starting their own business.  It makes good sense since there is no longer any such thing as job security.  So after operating several small businesses through the years, I can say that carpet cleaning is probably one of the best home based businesses you could select.  One of the major benefits is the fact that anyone can start this business with a relatively small amount of capitol.  The best way to keep those expenses low is by controlling equipment and advertising costs from day one.

It is unfortunate that many who start a new business become wrapped up in creating cash flow and keeping busy when it is more important to control costs and create profit.  Now before you react negatively to that remark, this is achieved by limiting your startup costs and advertising expenses while you focus on more important aspects of setting up a small business.  But without guidance, the new business owner can easily go astray.

The most difficult part about this is when seeking advice on equipment and supply purchases, it is common for many to go to the manufacturer’s sales representatives for advice.  In a similar fashion, when considering advertising, most people normally seek out advertising reps.  This is not the best tactic when you consider these people earn a living from commissions on sales of these products.  Do you really thing they are out for your interests?

Under most circumstances, these characters will sell you the biggest and most expensive tools, supplies and advertising that they have to offer.  So within a brief period of time, the new business owner will have his garage full of equipment and supplies that will never be used.  In addition, he’ll be working to pay off monthly advertising costs instead of focusing on profit.  I’ve seen this happen many times over the years I’ve been in business.

From personal experience in the carpet cleaning business for decades, it would be a better tact to seek a good carpet cleaning business plan from someone trusted and active in the business.  While there is a wealth of info published on the web, it is a good idea to pay particular attention to background of the author of the information.  The bulk of the information pertaining to small business operation that is published online is the product of professional writers and not actual business owners.  Consequently, the bulk of free information will be out dated reprints of ideas that simply do not work.