Starting a cleaning business in Florida step by step
Do you want to know the process of starting a cleaning business in Florida? if the answer is yes! then you are in the right place, buckle up and let's dive into some key points of starting a business in your state.
I will talk a little bit about my experience, how do I start and the mistake that I made in the process, and also how to avoid making the same mistake.
Table of content
- Create a business plan
- Decide on the structure of your business
- Register your business
- Get business permits, licenses, and insurance
- Purchase equipment and supplies
- Start marketing your business
The same way they said life would have not made any sense without death, the same way success would have not made any sense without failure.
Success comes by learning how to overcome challenges, overcome obstacles, and also in the loss of many of your friends and families, and loss of most of your fun time.
Business owner sleeps less than anyone on Earth, But the sacrifice is completely worth it. That is why in this blog I will talk about how to mostly succeed in your startup.
6 steps for Starting a cleaning business in Florida
There are more steps when it comes to starting a cleaning business in Florida, but if you get to these 6 steps that means there are a lot of challenges you already overcome them. Here are the 6 steps below follow along with me
1. Create A Business Plan
Having a Business plan is the first step to successfully build a strong business brand. A business plan is your GPS or a guide that gives you direction. Failing to create a business plan can result in failure or spending money without control.
Planning is everything, and in whatever you do in life if there's no plan basically there's no result. Because most of the time lucks don't come your way.
Choose your niche and the service you will provide, also what kind of customers you will want to work with.
Your business plan should include:
Revenue Goals
It took me a long time to understand that, but don't judge if I tell you that because I have to tell you the truth. I have a problem with setting effective goals.
Everyone knows what they want, but the problem is to write them down and execute them. I watched a lot of video and read a lot about goal setting and everyone say the same thing.
A goal not written down is a wish, yes you have to write in detail what you want to achieve. Sorry, I'm guilty of that. Because until now I'm trying my best.
If you felt like you suck at writing down your goal and plan to achieve them, don't discourage because you're not the only one, and most business owner takes years to really get that down.
But, yes your goal should be set for a list period of 5 years, write down in 5 years what you want to achieve. and your goal should adjust accordingly every year.
Capacity
If you provide cleaning services it will be kind of hard, but, how many jobs you will be able to knock down every day, week, month, and year?
How many people can book your service at a time? Have it figured out, write them down, and adjusted anytime you achieve on task.
Critical resources
Now problem in the beginning it's only you running the business, in 5 years years how many people you will have in your team, and what kind of team will you build?
How many full-time and part-time employees will you have
Business development, marketing, customer support, proposal writing, small business certification in case you want to provide cleaning service to a government agency.
Legal team support like a lawyer, financial staff, accounting, etc. Write down every piece of resource you will need to succeed in your business
Core competencies and SWOT Analysis that I'm not got to talk about in this blog
2. Decide On The Structure Of Your Business
Decide on the structure of your business, Only if you want to operate as a sole proprietorship you might need to skip this part, that is something that I'm not recommended.
But some people are not afraid of problems, Operating as a sole proprietorship can get you into some hot water, and just make sure you know I'm not qualified to give anyone legal advice.
Some of these structure are:
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- LLC
- S-Corporation
- C-corporation
3. Register Your Business
Now this where the fun part start, after you have done your research and are ready to start, now it's time to register your business.
A little piece of advice for any new business owner, starting a business doesn't mean you automatically going to succeed, you might be starting a cleaning business in Florida and end up anywhere else doing something else.
It doesn't matter how well you prepare yourself, keep in mind sometimes you might need to pivot, that's why you should choose your business name wisely. THIS MEANS CHOOSE YOUR BUSINESS NAME WISELY
Register your cleaning business in Florida, LLC, Partnership, and corporation must be registered with the state and pay the required fee.
If you plan to run your business in a other name than yours, you will need to submit a fictitious name registration with the division of corporation.
You will need to file with the IRS for an Employer Identification Number(EIN) if you plan to hire workers or have an LLC
4. Get Business Permits, Licenses, And Insurance
Get your business permits, licenses, and insurance but if you have a house cleaning business in the state of Florida, you don require to have a license, but always check with your local government, they might have a different set of rules.
Bond and insurance are necessary, not all your clients will require you to have proof of insurance, but remember, you can start and work on a couple of projects to see if that's the route you going to take, if you like the results and start getting consistent clients, you will need to protect yourself and your workers.
5. Purchase Equipment And Supplies
Stage gathering equipment and supplies to start providing your service, this is the most fun part. Getting your mindset ready is important, but starting to get your supplies and equipment is another level of motivation.
The best advice I can give you from my experience is don't go and spend a bunch of money on supplies and equipment when Starting a cleaning business in Florida.
The reason is you don't know yet, what kind of job you will have and what you will really need. When I started my cleaning business, I spend only $250 on a house cleaning kit that has :
- 1-gallon Envirox H2orange2 concentrate for Cleaning
- 1 microfiber mop
- 1 bag of microfiber rags
- the kit includes 6 squeeze bottles and a carrying tray
- 1 stainless still product
Until now we still using the same products and almost the same set. Now if the job requires a different set of equipment, then go and buy them.
If you are in this step considered that you are already on your way to achieving your dream, Congratulations!
6. Start Marketing Your Business
Start marketing your business wisely and be consistent in your marketing, it is very important to understand how to spend your marketing budget.
I answered this question a couple of weeks ago in this blog should you have a marketing plan for your cleaning business? There you can learn more about marketing and how to allocate your budget.
There are several apps that small business owners use to grow their businesses like Thumbtack, angi list, or you can read this blog about apps you can use to grow your business.
Remember business owners spend more money on marketing than anything else, but don't make the same mistake I made in 2020, know why you market your business and learn how to sell.
Doing business without any sales technic or skill can result in a big failure. selling is everything, in life, everyone at some point sells something, either an idea, product, or service, and everybody sells.
Conclusion
Most people when thinking about starting a business, start by jumping from channel to channel from reading blog to blog, book to book, and start asking friends that never start or even thinking about starting a business.
If this looks like you, stop, and I'm serious stop. You learn more by doing because, if you start your business and come to an obstacle, you can go learn how to overcome that specific obstacle or challenge.
I'm not saying anything to scare no one, but spending 5 3 2, or 1 year studying how to start your cleaning business will result in the same challenges.
Why you will always make mistakes because that is inevitable, change your mindset, don't listen to friends or employees or even your parents because your parents want you to be safe but not free.
The business world is not a safe world but after overcoming all obstacles and challenges, you can live the life you want and have the freedom that you want.
This blog was about Starting a cleaning business in Florida, but the advice I give can be used anywhere in the world, hope you find some value in this blog