A lot of people who want to start off their own businesses look at cleaning services and starting their own contracting service. After all, everywhere gets dirty and needs a clean!There have been a number of stories about people who started off small but who ended up with big companies that take care of some of the big commercial cleaning jobs around the city.
But too many people don’t make the transition up from regular house cleaning services to bigger commercial services. There’s one reason for this: capital. You see, if you want to tender for a bigger commercial job, even if your first big job is as a school janitor or cleaning your local sports club, you probably need some better equipment than what you’ve already got. Sure you can start off with just a few brooms, mops, dusters and vacuum cleaners and they’ll get you enough to feed your family and pay the bills if you put in the work. But the time may come when you’d like to go up a notch or two and go for the bigger jobs. For this, you’ll need some heavy-duty equipment and if you don’t have the money in the bank account, this means that you’ll need to apply for an equipment loan.
So what are your options when you want to add some industrial cleaning equipment to your toolbox? Sure, if you have the option of getting an equipment loan for your small cleaning business, it might be tempting to try for a loan that’s big enough to get the lot. However, it’s always to grow slowly and not to over-commit yourself with the repayments. Sure, you’ll get more business with the new machine, but you don’t want to be stuck with massive weekly repayments that mean you’re in a tight spot if something goes wrong one week there’s always that client who’s a bit slow to pay and you’re still going to get sick and want a holiday now and again. Just start with one or two items of heavy-duty equipment and pay them off before you get a third.
We’re loan brokers, which means that the ultimate decision about what new industrial cleaning equipment you should get is really up to you. You’re the professional and you know what sort of thing is most in demand. But if you’re still just at the stage of thinking about it, here are a few suggestions to get you thinking:
- Water blasters: Best used outside and are great for cleaning off moss and mould on house exteriors as well as on driveways and patio areas.
- Carpet cleaning machines: Deep cleaning carpets is one of those things that every household and every office should do annually, but carpet cleaning machines aren’t your average piece of household equipment. This service is bound to be in demand. Look out for units that have spot cleaning and upholstery cleaning attachments to really broaden the spectrum of services you offer. These range from small pull-along machines (cheap) to large truck-mounted units (expensive).
- Polisher/scrubbers: A must-have for anyone tendering for office or school cleaning contracts, as these places tend to have acres of hard flooring which needs to be scrubbed and polished on a regular basis.
- Vacuum cleaners: We’re talking industrial strength vacuum cleaners here, not little dinky domestic ones that have to be emptied every ten minutes. One thing you might want to keep an eye out for is a wet/dry model, meaning that you can do wet areas as well as carpeted areas, or backpack models that make it easy for you to do stairs safely without lugging a heavy thing on wheels up behind you.
- Chimney cleaning rods, etc.: People still have wood fires so chimney sweeps are still in demand, especially in the cooler parts of the country.
Whatever you decide on getting so your fledgling business, don’t forget to talk to us before signing the dotted line for any loan. Ask us questions, even if they seem dumb. Do your homework. And we wish you all the best for your future success.