So Your Good Friend Calls....

[thecleaningdude]

....and tells you he wants to get into the carpet cleaning business. He doesn't live near you, so direct competition is not an issue.

He has a limited budget, for discussion sake, we'll say $10K.

Commercial or resi?

VLM or HWE or Both?

What equipment?

Marketing?

Or tell him to do something else?

What would your honest to goodness advice be?

[Shortydownunder]

Has he done any carpet or upholstery cleaning?

If so, what systems has he used?

Is his body up to it?

If he takes on commercial work, is he and his family prepared for the after hours work and being away from his family that this work entails??

Has he asked his immediate family what they would like to see him do??

Does he have the temperament for it.?

What about basic book-keeping skills to remain compliant with the IRS

Is he a salesperson?

What is his knowledge of marketing.

Who will show him the ropes, (ie; teach him right from wrong)?

How long is a piece of rope?

[Andy Mc]

buy a petro Viking , or techno Viking from terry, and get a 175 and full set of pads, (less the 10 K,) then go market like a son of a gun

[Con Schultz]

everything IMO depends on his personality & dreams... not the cart before the horse.

with desire, he can do whatever he wants, with perseverance - he will get there.

If he doesnt like people, he will struggle with res. If he loves people he will do better. If he is a more natural salesman, he will do better. If he cringes at the thought, he will fail.

Con

[Lefty724]

My honest answer here would be to buy a nice, brand new 175 with all the brushes, pads, and bonnets. The 175 will last him the rest of his biz life. Combine that with Vacaway chems and he'll be good to go. Once he gets a good client base and the phone ringing, he can think about making the jump to a ETM/TM.

This way if he doesn't make it in this trade, he's not out too much $$.

As for marketing, I suggest pounding the pavement. 2 weeks, and he'll hit pay dirt. Worked for me, and it was free marketing.

[Andy Mc]

good advise Lefty, I would just add if the guy can afford to drop 10K from the start , then get the TM along with the 175 to start with, If he fails he should be able to recover his money with the work he did plus sale of used equipment.

Lefty will you give me lessons on how to pound the pavement for two weeks? Sounds like something I need to do right now. Perhaps our next phone conversation.

[Lefty724]

Very true Andy. I forgot about the $10k thing? Since I started with about $2-$3k, I always think of other people starting like me lol.

Ya give me a call anytime.

[Mardie VanBree]

If i were to start from scratch or what i would recommend to a newbie is based on ease of operation and making top buck and being able to do a first class job with the smallest investment.

Commercial work with a Trinity CM

This is just my opinion .

[cleantech]

10k which has to include a work vehicle? Cause that changes everything then

Im torn what to suggest....

Etm and a good rotary is up there for sure

maybe even Rick G's low boy with the wheel upgrade kit...

a crb and a etm would easily clean about anything....upper budget

foot work for commercial and have Phil make up some flyers or post card or something for direct mail outs to start is what I would do, but I personally like the 50/50 resi/comm mix

[Andy Mc]

Phillip? Is he still around? I used to have his contact information, can you pm me a link to his website, I may have him do some design work for me if he still does that.

[cleantech]

yes he sure is. Pretty sure the design stuff is his main thing now?

http://www.signamigo.com/

[thecleaningdude]

He's around still cleaning here and there and doing lots of design work.

In fact he did a new logo and brochure for me a couple months back.

Very good guy.

Phillip? Is he still around? I used to have his contact information, can you pm me a link to his website, I may have him do some design work for me if he still does that.

[thecleaningdude]

Ok, let's clarify this a little more.

Your friend does not have a work vehicle. So he would work wheels and everything else.

ETM idea is cool, but if it's a ground up build you'll most likely surpass the $10K. For example, one added cost to the TV is an LG.

[Mardie VanBree]

OK then how about a Profit and pump sprayer for commercial and for a vehicle he can buy a beater minivan cheap but may have to park it around the corner from where he is working.

[CleaningGreen]

I literally just walked my friend through this scenario about a month ago. He's looking to get into the biz as well. My advice for equipment was to go VLM and to buy all used equipment. My advice went something like this:
Buy a used Orbot: under $2k
Midrange commercial vac: $100-$150
Oreck Orbiter or stepson for stairs: $120ish
Couple of pump up sprayers: less than $100
Buy Vacaway chems: get free sampler and a few ECG's to start
Stack of pads: $200
Tried to get him to buy my Honda Element (didn't work), but suggested a Dodge Caravan: $6k ish
Insurance and legal stuff: depends on your area: few hundred bucks
Basic website: $500 or so
Biz cards: $50
Pound the pavement: Blood, sweat, and tears...

[Lefty724]

I literally just walked my friend through this scenario about a month ago. He's looking to get into the biz as well. My advice for equipment was to go VLM and to buy all used equipment. My advice went something like this:
Buy a used Orbot: under $2k
Midrange commercial vac: $100-$150
Oreck Orbiter or stepson for stairs: $120ish
Couple of pump up sprayers: less than $100
Buy Vacaway chems: get free sampler and a few ECG's to start
Stack of pads: $200
Tried to get him to buy my Honda Element (didn't work), but suggested a Dodge Caravan: $6k ish
Insurance and legal stuff: depends on your area: few hundred bucks
Basic website: $500 or so
Biz cards: $50
Pound the pavement: Blood, sweat, and tears...

Pretty much sums it up IMO. If you wanna save about $1k+, just go with a 175 and some pads.

[thecleaningdude]

Ok, now my advice would be this:

Commercial only, diversify and offer window and jani in addition to carpet and general floor care....

-Cimex $2,000.00 (used)
-175 $300.00 (used)
-Orbiter $200.00 (used)
-HWE spotter $300.00 (used)
-Good vac $150.00

$2950.00

-Misc. window cleaning tools and cleaning product $150.00

$250.00

-Misc. jani tools and cleaning product $400.00

$400.00

-Best pads $200.00
-Best chems $200.00

$400.00

-Website $400.00
-Brochure $300.00
-Business cards $30.00
-Business formation $300.00

$1030.00

sub total: $5030.00

-Best van for the least money that will yield the best possible mpg

[dude]

if he has real money send him to me

I can sell him what he needs and not rip your friend off

muchas gracias

Terry

[Andy Mc]

Or he could by the El sonicare circular dry foam start up package. ?$5999 gets you all equipment and 2 days of ride along training.

[Derek]

good stuff Damon. i couldn't agree more.