New Business Advice Needed

Goatboy69

ADVICE FROM MFP FRIENDS REQUIRED. Yes folks I am using this media to try and get some friendly advice and tips. As you may now know, I am out of work still, just no luck in the job field, so to try and get a bit of extra cash in, am thinking of starting my own business up. In order to do so I want some comments on my idea. I am looking to start up a House Cleaning / Gardening business. Basically hoovering, dusting, cleaning inside and mowing, hedge trimming, tidying outside. I feel there is a need for it round here, as it is a heavy retirement area, or people working long hours. Do you think it could be a viable business, and how much / what unit (ie per hour or per room) would you charge on it. This is not a joke, need a lot of help on this. Also would you go for this sort of service if offered? In additon to this, it would be a great was to exercise and earn at the same time!!! iAny comments gratefully received. Thanks all.

SurfinBird1981

Hi,

Try Google to see how much your competitors charge, I know your industry is pretty competitive (I used to work for Google UK) so once you have decided on price, your best bet with advertising would be a simple website with a Google AdWords campaign along side it. AdWords is a way of driving pre quaified customers to your website (the only customer who would see your ad would be the ones typing in "cleaner wanted in..." etc)
You can get a free site with Google along with other companies.

If you need any help from an advertising point of view once you are set up then let me know, I have contacts at Google who can sort you out with a free Google AdWords voucher.

Good luck

Alexis

SurfinBird1981

Also, a leaflet drop to the homes of the retired potential customers might help as they might not use the internet to search for services.

myf1101

OK for what its worth here are my comments:-

1. Find out if there is a market - do some research in the area to see how many people may be interested. Ask a few people you know and pehaps get them to ask their friends - this will give you an idea if it is viable.
2. Work out your costs - include all your costs including travelling etc before you set your price to make sure you cover your costs
3. If you decide to go ahead and plan to operate in your local area then a leaflet drop might be the best first option in terms of marketing.
4. Also put cards in local shops and supermarkets.
5. Get yourself known in the area - word-of-mouth is the best marketing tool so if your work is good then your name will be passed around and the work will come in with little follow up advertising.

Good luck with the venture. A friend of mine does cleaning for 3 elderly ladies once a week, and took on the work because her neighbour had started a business and it had expanded so rapidly she had more clients than she could cope with. So there is a market here and my guess is there is a market in many other places. Just to put my comments into perspective I have set up my own business in the past and am currently working as a business lecturer and do advise on business plans - so I do have a little experience

melaniecheeks

I pay for both a cleaner ( 2 hours, once a fortnight, £20), and a gardener (£16 for a cut once a month).

There's definitely an opportunity for people providing those sorts of service.

My biggest concern is reliability - will you come when you say you will, how good are you at the service you're offering etc. The gardener, for instance, makes sure that he clears up all the cuttings etc afterwards.

WaterBunnie

Also consider the holiday let market if you live near any holiday homes. They will generally want someone every Friday or Saturday to clear up after one set of holiday makers in readiness for the next.

I'm not sure of pay scales in your part of the country but here it's generally £8-10 per hour for a cleaner and around £10-12 per hour for gardening. You may find that local businesses will want an office cleaner if evening or weekend hours are an option.

Make sure you have the relevant public liability insurance in place though before you start in case of any breakages. You don't want to risk knocking over a vase that turns out to be worth £50k without this cover safely in place. Could also be worth having CRB certification too so that you can use it in your advertising to make people less wary of having a stranger in their homes. You will also need to look into self employment law and your tax situation.

glengiles

1. Don't go into debt to do this. Period. If you can't start it with money you have now, move on to another venture.
2. Make sure you check with local governing agencies for whatever licenses or requirements you might need to do this.
3. Get liability insurance.