What I wish I had know about starting a Janitor Service Business

Janitorial Service; Things I wish I had Known When I was Starting Up.

When it comes to janitor service start ups, everyone has a different comfort level for how much money and time they are willing to commit to get things started. Be sure you are honest with yourself, lack of start-up investment capital or lack of time to invest in a new start-up can sink even some of the best new ideas before they become profitable.

1) If you do not have the time to invest, either do the business part-time or don’t start. Chances are you will need to put in even more time then you planned on initially. Working a janitor or janitorial service part time is a great idea because you still work a regular job and in your ‘off-hours run your business. This will give you stability and you can use the money your business generates to upgrade your equipment and grow your business. It helps you learn the ropes and learn how to walk before you run. Plus you are probably going to be slower and make some mistakes when you start. Wouldn’t it be easier to make them on a smaller scale.

2) Understanding small, medium, and large business models. Which business model makes the most money? Which business model has the highest margins? Which one is the hardest to operate?

You may be surprised at the answers to these questions. For the purpose of mutual understanding lets define exactly what we think small, medium and large businesses are.

Small businesses have 1 to 4 employees at a time. Usually this means one to two crews working and the owner of the janitor service usually works in the business as a crew manager. The owner bids the jobs, talks to clients and participates in helping to do the work. Usually you do smaller jobs (with higher per hour margins) and you don’t need a lot of work to stay busy. Your overhead is small and normally you run the office out of your home and have a dedicated business line or one or two business cell phones. You have a lot of control in the quality of the work and you typically don’t get very many complaints. A lot of owner operators find they can make a decent living and are quite comfortable to remain at this stage,

Medium businesses model (employees 8 to 16; 3 to 6 crews)
Thia is called the molting phase of business development. This is because you outgrow your previous stage, but you become more vulnerable as you try to adjust to the next phase. The honest truth is that this is the worst structure for a janitor service business unless your ultimate goal is to have a large business. In hiring a lot of new people you take on the risk that some of these employees may not perform to a high standard. The owner has a lot of responsibilities including customer management, human resource training, marketing, growing the business and keeping the company making a profit. You also have to increase your overhead, getting an office and hiring office help to do the scheduling and paperwork. Your per job margins may also dip as you scramble to find enough work to keep your employees busy. Remember you are the last one to get paid so typically you have to work the hardest.

Large business model (Over 25 employees more then 10 crews)
You know you have achieved a large janitorial service business model when you can take a day off, and still make the same amount of money. In a large business model you are no longer the manager. You have a manager that handles everything and is capable of running the office. You have structured your business so that things go smoothly without your intervention. Even though margins per employee per job may not be as high, you get really big accounts and you make a lot more money on each job. Plus you have more employees and you make a little bit off of each one. At this point, your janitor service business is well established, you have loyal large clients and a reputation. You also know what methods of advertising work and how to attract new business.