How to Write a Carpet Cleaning Business Plan?

The carpet cleaning business is booming in 2022. But, entering into the $4 billion market along with 31,000 companies already operating in the US is not a child’s play. So, you need a solid carpet cleaning business plan template to help you outperform your competitors.

You must analyze your potential client’s needs and provide a quick solution. So, curating a carpet cleaning business plan eases this process. 

You will find a sample carpet cleaning business plan in this article that can give you an idea of what to do and don’t in the business plan. Let’s get started and find out how to create a successful carpet cleaning business with a top-notch business plan. 

10 Steps to Write Effective Carpet Cleaning Business Plan 

1. Preparing an abstract

The abstract or executive summary here refers to your carpet cleaning business description. 

It gives a clear idea of what your business is about or what problem your business solves. You must quickly engage the reader and explain what kind of carpet cleaning business you plan to run.

In your case, your goal must be to “convert dirty carpets into clean and sanitized ones for safe flooring.”

It is essential to provide an overview of each of the sections of your carpet cleaning business plan. 

So you must,

• Give a small brief of the carpet cleaning industry
• Explain the carpet cleaning business type you are planning to operate
• Produce a detailed analysis of your competitors
• An overview of your target customers
• An overview of your financial plan
• Brief out your marketing strategy
• Identify the key members of your team

It is recommended to write the executive summary after writing the entire carpet cleaning business plan. So that all important areas of the carpet business get covered.  

2. Initial Expenses

To start any business, you need the funds. So, discussing the initial expenses in a carpet cleaning business plan is crucial.

How are you planning to start? As an independent or buy a franchise. Though both business models have their pros and cons, you must research well before leaping onto one.

Independent contractor expenses:

From opening a carpet business, buying cleaning equipment, training your employees, and getting clients, you must handle it all solo in this business model. 

In terms of startup expenses:

• Equipment and supplies: You get a carpet cleaning machine, a professional spotting kit, an industrial vacuum, a steam carpet cleaner, or dry carpet cleaners with attachments, detergents, and other carpet cleaning tools in a basic cleaning kit. The price starts at $3000, and the price can soar if you prefer branded equipment. 
• Tip: Look for second-hand equipment or rent one if you find the basic kit pricey.
• A truck or A van costs around $18,500. Fuel and maintenance costs add extra.
• State or local licensing and permits cost between $100 and $500.
• Business insurance costs at least $30/month.
• Employee salaries: The average base salary for a cleaner in the US is $15.20 per hour. 

Other expenses include office space, a separate bank account, accountant services, utilities, training, and more.

Buying a franchise

When compared to startup costs, buying a franchise is cheaper. 

The best part is they have a done-for-you business model, and certain things are already taken care of. Also, reputed brands offer multiple packages for new entrepreneurs, and the prices vary between $4000 to over $1,00,000, depending on the business model. This is way cheaper than starting as an independent business person. 

3. Be clear with the services you offer

What kind of carpet cleaning business do you want to operate? In simple words, what are the services you have planned to deliver? Residential or commercial cleaning services?

There are different types of carpet cleaning businesses, they are:

• Residential services
• Commercial services
• Carpet restoration
• Steam cleaning
• Anti-allergy cleaning
• Floor waxing

There are still more services that can be included in the list. You must gather them while researching your competitors, brainstorm, and add what you intend to deliver.

4. Industry analysis

You may think analyzing your competitors is important, but performing industrial research is equally important, and it must be done first. 

Researching the carpet cleaning industry gives you a vivid picture of how the business works. Based on the analysis, you can improve your marketing strategy using the market trends you find.

Additionally, market research can position you as an expert. 

To do this analysis, make sure you answer these questions:

• How big is the carpet cleaning industry valued in dollars?
• Is the target market graph inclining or declining?
• Who are the main suppliers in the market?
• What trends affect the industry growth?
• What is the industry’s growth estimation for the next 5 to 10 years?

5. Customer analysis

Business plans are incomplete without customer analysis. Only when you know your customer’s problems can you deliver the optimal solution and serve them better.  

So, in your carpet cleaning business plan, you can segregate your target customers into two broad categories based on their demographics and psychographic profiles.

Demographics profiles 

Demographics include the discussion of the ages, genders, location, and even income of potential customers. Demographic analysis can help businesses narrow down their efforts in attracting the right market based on particular segments of their customer base.

Psychographic profiles

This highlights the wants and needs of your carpet cleaning service customers. The more you understand the needs, the better you will attract and retain your customers. 

6. Competitive analysis

After industry and customer analysis, focus on your competitors. This type of analysis helps in identifying your direct and indirect competitors.

Direct competitors are your carpet cleaning businesses who compete straight for your services. You can decode their business model and figure out things to compete.

But often, you become careless about the indirect competitors. But they are important. Are you wondering why?

Indirect competitors are other cleaning service providers and do-it-yourself carpet cleaning product retailers. They can also affect your business to some extent.

So, come up with an overview of their business after analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.

Though you won’t get the in and out of their business unless you have worked under them, you can discover the key things of most businesses with the following questions.

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of carpet cleaning services do they provide?
• What is their pricing?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

After these questions, you will get an outline of their business. And now you must find in what ways you can solve the problems better.

Some ways to attract customers after this analysis include:

• Better customer service
• Make it easy for your competitors to get your services
• Better pricing
• Offer products or services that competitors don’t list

Your goal in competitors’ analysis must be to find a way to outperform them. Do it in the right way.

7. Financial plan

As a business owner, curating the financial plan holds huge importance in a carpet cleaning business plan. Most carpet cleaning companies go with prices per room or square feet. But what you must focus on is, setting a fair price for your cleaning services after considering all the costs involved and your financial goals.  

This plan must include the breakdown of the 5-year financial statement into monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. So, your carpet business financial statements will have income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.

The income statement also called as profit and loss statement shows your revenue and minuses your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities and simplify everything to better understand you. 

Cash Flow Statement: This helps determine how much money you need to start or grow your carpet cleaning business and ensures you never run out of money.

When creating your income statement and balance sheets, you must include key costs needed to start or grow your carpet cleaning business, such as:

• Cost of carpet cleaning equipment and supplies
• Taxes
• Business insurance
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Other start-up expenses like legal expenses, computer software, permits, and equipment.

8. Marketing your carpet cleaning business

You must first set your business goals to market your carpet cleaning business correctly and get potential leads. So, while writing the carpet cleaning business plan, decide how much sales you want to make(an estimation), and based on this number, you can plan your marketing goal.

For example: If you target to get five carpet cleaning services orders in a month, then you must market your business to at least 25 to 30 potential clients. To make 30 people talk to you, you must have contacted at least 250 to 300. 

Now that you have a clear plan on the business goals and marketing goals, how will you spread the word about your business?

Here you need the help of various marketing channels. 

Some promotional methods you may consider are

• Advertise in local papers, magazines, or radio stations.
• Distribute flyers
• Email marketing  
• Reach out to websites
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Optimize your business website for search engine optimization

You must implement all your marketing ideas via these channels by keeping your ideal clients in mind.

9. Operations plan

Till now, we have discussed various parts of a carpet cleaning business plan that were goal-oriented. But how will you handle the business after execution?

This is where the operations plan comes in.

The operational plan outlines your carpet cleaning company’s key activities and targets that must occur within a year. There are two different sections in the operation plans, such as 

Short-term process:

The short-term process involves the day-to-day processes in your carpet cleaning business. This includes answering calls, scheduling cleaning appointments, billing customers, and other daily activities. 

Long-term process:

The long-term process refers to the milestones you aspire to achieve. It includes the dates or months you expect to get a particular target. For example, the 100th customer or when you aspire to hit a particular target in revenue. Or even expand your business to a new city. All these aspirations are branches of the same tree, an operational plan. 

10. Team management 

Managing teams: Even if you are a solo person starting your own carpet cleaning company, you need to scale up with time and business growth. To support growth, you must hire a focused and goal-oriented team. A strong management team is vital for any business. 

But mind you, managing a team demands more responsibilities. So, while leveling up, take online business classes that bear fruits in managing your team effectively. 

Training: Just like how essential it is to upgrade your knowledge, and business skills, training your employees on the same is equally important. If your team lacks some skills, give your best to train and provide strategic guidance.

Conclusion

Now your commercial carpet cleaning business plan is ready to serve. Start working on the business immediately; the sooner you start, the quicker you can sign your first clients and earn money. 

Initially, getting started with your carpet cleaning business can be challenging. You must organize multiple things, from hiring, tracking the workflow, and collecting payments, to managing the overall team. 

Sounds hectic? 

Well, you can simply the business operations and level it up using FieldCamp, a robust carpet cleaning business software. So now, you can smoothen your business process by automating multiple tasks easily.