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How to Grow a Sustainable Carpet Cleaning Business

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So how do you grow a sustainable carpet cleaning business? The key word is SUSTAINABLE. One that will continue and GROW year after year.

There are three mistakes that most cleaners make.

  1. Most carpet cleaners are not businessmen and so start off on the wrong foot. What do I mean by that? Quite simply they don't realise the costs of running a business and therefore price their carpet cleaning too cheap. (Usually by asking other cleaners what they charge)

In fact, most carpet cleaners are slowly going broke... they just don't realise it yet!

So how can you work out the cost of running your business?

You need to work out your annual costs and then divide them by the number of hours that the floor wand is moving over the carpet which is typically going to be just a handful each day (maybe four or five at most).

The figure that you'll be left with can be surprising. When I did this many years ago I found that it was costing me £26 per hour to run my business. And that's when the wand is moving! Now what sense would it make to clean carpets less than this?

  1. They try to compete on price alone.

Competing solely on price is a race to the bottom... and bankruptcy!

There will always be someone cheaper cleaning carpets. In most cases they are slowly going broke but don't know it. And it doesn't matter how cheaply you price, there will ALWAYS be someone cheaper.

And whenever there is an economic downturn, customers at the bottom end of the market will either not have their carpets cleaned because they can't afford it or will look for someone cheaper. You can be sure that the one thing missing for you will be PROFIT.

  1. Failing to see that the money is in the relationship.

To build a long-lasting business you must have regular customers. One of the most expensive costs in a carpet cleaning business is the cost of getting customers. Yet a repeat customer can cost virtually nothing to acquire.

The best way to build a relationship with your customers is to keep in contact with a regular customer newsletter that they will want to read... one that educates, informs AND positions you as the expert. These can be supplemented with regular reminder cards.