Commercial Cleaning

Are your household cleaning products working to fight coronavirus?

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By Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
Chicago Tribune
Apr 02, 2020

click to read article on Chicago Tribune website

With Americans more focused than ever on keeping their homes safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a key to success is knowing the difference between cleaning and disinfecting.

The words aren’t synonymous, rather, they’re more akin to two steps in one process, such as sweeping your floor before mopping it, explained Justin Douglas, CEO of Corvus Janitorial Systems.

“That’s how I explain it when we train new employees,” Douglas said. “Or, I use the example of picking up the clothes off the floor of your kid’s room before you can do anything else. Cleaning and disinfecting aren’t interchangeable words.”

It’s easy to think there’s no wrong way to clean. And while it doesn’t take a microbiologist to do it correctly, a basic understanding of something referred to as “dwell time,” also sometimes called “contact time” or “kill time,” is necessary, Douglas and other experts say.

Luckily, information about contact time is available on every cleaning product mass-produced in the United States. To achieve the efficacy of claims such as “kills 99.9% of germs,” just one frequently overlooked step is crucial: Read the instructions, said Todd Clements, chief operating officer for UNX Industries, a chemical manufacturer that supplies nursing homes and hotels with cleaning products.

“All of us are guilty of not reading the backs of the labels,” Clements said.

“As far as I know, there’s no EPA-registered product with specific kill claims against COVID-19 because it’s so new, but it falls under human coronaviruses, so look for the contact time listed for those,” he said.

Clements and Travis FormyDuval, also with UNX, said people may be surprised to learn just how long many top cleaning products must sit — five or 10 minutes is not uncommon. But consumers should be reassured that if they allow a chemical to sit according to instructions, the claim on the front of a product bottle should be achieved. Each product is tested by the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure it does what it says and the instructions have been vetted for accuracy.

“We can’t even change the font on the label unless the EPA approves it,” Clements said.

Joe Rubino, a microbiologist and the director of research and development for Reckitt Benckiser, the parent company of the brand that makes Lysol products, said “sanitize” is another term people also often use incorrectly.

“Cleaning is basically removing dirt and soil. You’re going to remove some of the bacteria but not all of them,” he said. “Disinfecting is a very high level of germ kill, or greater than 99.99%, and you’d really need a few more 9s. Sanitization is another level, the somewhat lower level of 99.9%.”

FormyDuval, who teaches hotel housekeepers best practices, said people can wrongly assume if they use a product for any length of time, they’re going to achieve the efficacy advertised.

When teaching, FormyDuval said he talks about the elements needed to disinfect, which include time, agitation and heat. Agitation is how hard a person must scrub to remove soap stains or grime from surfaces.

“I tell them that just by changing up the routine a little, starting by spraying your chemicals in the bathroom, you can move on to the living portion of the room while you let it sit. When you come back to the shower, it takes less elbow grease, less physical activity to remove any scum, so you’re actually saving time,” FormyDuval said.

Using the same principle at home, he suggested residents spray a chemical in the kitchen, then spray a chemical in the bathroom, select separate towels for each space and head back to the kitchen, leaving each product to sit for the appropriate time. The different rags are so you don’t introduce bathroom germs into the kitchen, or vice versa. Likewise, in the bathroom, it’s best to start at the top and work your way down to the floor.

Erica Marie Hartmann, an assistant professor at Northwestern University, said not every surface needs to be disinfected every time, but it’s a good idea for frequently touched spaces, particularly if sharing a home with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

“People who are symptomatic, if they’re touching things or coughing on things, those are the things that you want to disinfect more regularly, such as the nightstand, the door handle or whatever they’re commonly interacting with,” Hartmann said. “There are, depending on the surface, tens of billions of microbes.”

When they’re done using cleaning chemicals, people may be tempted to “wipe away” residue with a wet rag, which is unnecessary because the EPA has determined the chemical is safe to leave behind. But it also won’t prevent or undo disinfection, Rubino said.

“There are a lot of additives to cleaners that can be harmful to health, including endocrine disruptors,” said Dr. Susan Buchanan, a University of Illinois at Chicago environmental medicine specialist. “At this time when we’re trying to fight an outbreak, though, those concerns tend to take a back burner.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a list of recommended products to disinfect against COVID-19, as well as the necessary contact time for each product.

kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

How to Keep Your Home Clean During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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By now, we’re all well aware of the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines. We’re all washing our hands more frequently, avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people, and not touching our faces, especially when we’re out in public. Many of us are taking a step further by avoiding anyone other than the people we live with, having groceries delivered, and working from home. When we’re facing something this treacherous, you can’t be too careful.

But with updates and articles flying at us left and right at all hours of the day and night, information overload is nearly impossible to avoid. So, how do we know that we’re doing everything we need to, without having to scour the internet’s thousands of available resources? Let the experts at Corvus Janitorial clear things up for you right here.

Here are some important tips on how to keep your home clean during the coronavirus outbreak:

Sanitize shared surfaces each day

While the most common types of transmission are airborne (sneeze or cough) and through person-to-person contact (handshake, hug, or kiss), health experts have found evidence that the virus can also be transmitted through contact with a contaminated surface. This is where the avoid touching your face rule comes in.

On top of refraining from touching your face, you can also decrease the risk of contaminated surface transmission by sanitizing shared surfaces. Use a Clorox wipe or another disinfectant to wipe down doorknobs, sink handles and faucets, countertops, refrigerator handles, and desks. Any other shared surfaces, like toilet and shower handles and light switches, should be sanitized, too. If anyone in your home is sick, sanitizing becomes even more essential.

Clean your reusable bags and grocery boxes

Whether you’re still cautiously making grocery store runs, or you’re having food delivered, the virus may live on cardboard boxes and reusable bags for up to 24 hours, so it’s important to clean these, too. When you’re home from the grocery store, or you’ve carried in your purchases from your driveway drop-off, use a sanitizing solution or wipe to clean the inside of your grocery bag or the outside of the delivery box.

Once you’re done with the packaging, it couldn’t hurt to wipe down your purchases the same way. Many foods like cereal, granola bars, and coffee pods come in cardboard packaging that can hold on to the coronavirus germs. Depending on your preference, you can wipe the boxes down or open them up and transfer the foods to clean containers in your home and get rid of the packaging altogether. When you’re done, wash your hands and wipe down the surfaces they touched.

Analyze your cleaning style

If you can see that a surface is dirty, don’t just jump right to the disinfecting wipes or solutions. Clean these surfaces with soap and water first so your disinfecting efforts will be more effective. If you have them, wear disposable gloves while you clean and sanitize surfaces and objects that may be infected. If you don’t, continue to wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds at a time. And don’t forget about your clothes. If you’re cleaning shared surfaces, making grocery trips, caring for a sick individual, or going to work each day, it would be good to change and wash your clothes a bit more frequently than you normally would.

The best cleaning products for this particular outbreak are diluted household bleach solutions or ones that are alcohol-based and contain a minimum of 70% alcohol. If you’re wondering if your cleaning products are effective enough, the EPA has released a list of common disinfectants that meet their criteria for use against the novel coronavirus.

Your disinfectant may not be on their list yet, but the packaging may provide more information about its uses that will help you determine its effectiveness. While you’re checking labels, make sure your cleaning supplies aren’t expired so you know you’re getting the most out of your efforts.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

Cleaning for Health, Clean for Safety…Cleaning Matters

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First and foremost, these are unsettling and trying times, the likes of which no one has ever seen. At the moment, Corvus is a part of a bigger national team. Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow Americans, and yet at the same time we have every confidence in all our collective ability to pull through this. We would never seek to be presumptuous; every business has to pursue the course of action that is best for their stakeholders, but some food for thought on why continuing to clean, sanitize, and disinfect, so we can all get back to work and win, we felt appropriate to share.

In the midst of all the chaos, it’s tempting to cancel everything, lock the doors and windows, and hide away. We know that things are confusing and uncertain and that social distancing is a necessity rather than a preference. Some business activities, however, shouldn’t be canceled. Your scheduled cleaning service is one of the items at the top of that list.

Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t stop cleaning now:

Cleaning and disinfecting are best practice measures listed by the CDC

Because the virus can live on surfaces for wide range of hours to days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests regularly cleaning and disinfecting shared surfaces to prevent COVID-19 and other viral illnesses. The same way that we’re washing our hands more frequently and stocking up on hand sanitizers and soaps, the surfaces in our homes, businesses, and offices need the same level of care and attention. But a quick dusting and a wipe down are not enough.

Corvus Janitorial is geared up and ready to step up to the Coronavirus and the unique challenges it presents. We are responding with responsible practices, high-level disinfecting protocols, commercial-grade chemicals, and with our clients and their families at the forefront of our minds. We’re more than a cleaning service, we’re your friends, neighbors, and concerned community members. As this situation unfolds across the nation, our mission of making our clients’ lives better is more important than ever.

Cleaning and disinfecting can help stop the spread

We’re still in the early stages of the outbreak here in the United States, so there will be a lot to learn along the way. What we do already know is that cleaning and disinfecting can help us stop the spread. COVID-19 is highly contagious, so social distancing, avoiding contact with infected individuals, and canceling large gatherings are an excellent start, but we need to follow through, too.

Businesses still need to run smoothly, make money, and power through a confusing and difficult situation. If your office, school, medical facility, industrial space, or recreational facility is still operating in any capacity or has been over the last few weeks, it needs more than an open window. Each surface should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. We have the unique opportunity to do our part and help stop the spread; rise to the challenge.

Cleaning and disinfecting can be what keeps the people you love safe

Each risk we take and best practice we ignore presents the opportunity for disaster to strike. After exposure, it can take anywhere from 2 to 14 days for symptoms to appear. With an average incubation period of about five days, we already know that most people who contracted COVID-19 did so from someone that didn’t realize they had it yet. Now is not the time to wait and hope for the best, it’s time to take action.

According to the National Health Institute, “scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel”. A cough, a sneeze, or an infected surface may be enough to change someone’s entire life. This virus is highly contagious and spreading quickly. In these times, we are all thinking about our parents, grandparents, children, and immunocompromised employees and loved ones.

Professional cleaning and disinfecting can make all the difference. Call Corvus Janitorial today to see how we can help you. Our team is here for yours; it is our prerogative and social responsibility to continue servicing our existing customers, as well as any other business that is in need of our services. We are all in this together.

What to Look for In Your Commercial Cleaning Company

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When choosing your next commercial cleaning company, it is imperative to find the company that best suits your company’s unique needs. You may have cubicles that need dusting, classroom floors that need sterilizing, or a warehouse that needs to be deep cleaned twice a week, and finding the company equipped to satisfy those needs can take a significant burden off of your employees. This blog post aims to help find the right cleaning company for you, and provides you with some criteria you to consider while making the decision. Each cleaning company is different, and we want to help you sift through the noise and find the right partner to keep your facility clean and your mind at ease.

Consistent Communication

When partnering with an outside contractor – a commercial cleaning company – good communication is necessary for an effective partnership and sustained success. The contractor is most likely unfamiliar with your business practices and company culture, and you are most likely unfamiliar with theirs. In order for the your new cleaners to fulfill their requirements, they must first be introduced to the intricacies of your needs. As the on-boarding process begins, make sure you spend time explaining these needs to both the representatives from the company and the cleaners. Understanding the needs of your new cleaners is also an important part of a successful new partnership. If you are familiar with your contractors, and comfortable communicating with them, then you will be much better equipped to solve problems and pass along new instructions.

Therefore, taking the time to learn about the function of your new cleaning contractor’s business will improve the quality of your cleans and increase your preparedness in the event of a problem. Additionally, cultivating rapport with your cleaners creates a more positive and healthy work environment. Because achieving success in a commercial cleaning partnership is so reliant on consistent and good communication, a company’s availability and commitment to client relations should be a major factor in your cleaning decisions.

Relationships Matter

Corvus Janitorial prioritizes the customer experience in our day to day operations. We understand the necessity of a strong relationship between the client and the service provider, and we have worked tirelessly to create a culture of superb customer communication. Our sales representatives are available 24 hours a day, and you will never be referred to a representative who is outside of your direct service area. Additionally, we believe that consistent face-to-face interaction strengthens the business relationship. Our team members will be on your doorstep once a month ensuring quality cleans, remedying any complaints, and searching for ways to make your experience ever better for the entirety of your time working with Corvus. In fact, it is not uncommon for our CEO to spend the day on the phone calling customers himself. We are a cleaning company, but we are also a people company – and that comes from our commitment to communication.

Commercial Cleaning Corporate Culture

Company culture is another important factor to consider while choosing a cleaning company to partner with. Cleaning companies come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from massive, publicly traded franchising operations to small, single-owner local business. Because of this variety, it can be hard to sift through the many different options, but the diversity of choice opens the door for your company to find a partner that not only meets your business’s needs but also your ethical standards. Both business structures will provide benefits to your company, but they will be quite different. Many large franchised commercial cleaning companies will give you access to professionalized cleaning, well-trained crews, and up-to-date equipment, but it is possible that you will not receive the personal attention and face-to-face contact that you would from a small local business. Each company needs to find the right mixture of size and attention for their company. The size of the company, as well as if it issues franchises, are two major determinants for company culture. Especially with larger companies, it is important to look at their mission to ensure it aligns with your own.

Corvus is a unique franchised cleaning company because we straddle the divide between the benefits of the massive companies and the small ones. Corvus is a national, franchise issuing company serving markets across the continental United States that aims to be a platform for local entrepreneurial success. The founders of the Corvus continue to own and operate the business, and are directly involved in management. Being a franchise based company allows us to provide support and guidance for local entrepreneurs. Corvus’s franchise platform is designed to uplift local small business owners and provide them with a path to financial self-determination. Corvus has a commitment to helping local economies flourish and proudly supports American small businesses. At the same time, however, Corvus’s national profile allows us to provide customers with a brand of quality training and cleaning that a smaller company may not be able to offer.

Research Janitorial Service Providers

Another way to effectively gauge whether a cleaning company is right for you is to look at other customer’s reviews of the service. Reviews are, for the most part, trustworthy insights into a company’s customer satisfaction. Customer reviews can also give you insight into a company’s strengths and weaknesses, insights that are often not available simply by browsing their website and additional material. Reviews are helpful in highlighting possible inconsistencies between your company’s needs and a cleaner’s servicer, but they are also useful in identifying the companies that fit your specific needs. Testimonials are one metric where larger companies have a distinct advantage because their size creates a general standard of service across the board, and the wide reach of this service means reviews are plentiful.

Corvus has received wonderful reviews across the board in all of our locations. This sustained customer support can be attested to a number of factors, chiefly our high-quality, trust-worthy cleaners and commitment to customer relations. Tana Vanderhooft, a Corvus of New Orleans customer, can speak directly to those benefits. She says, “We have used Corvus for almost 2 years now and have considered their service and customer support to be exceptional! Services were always provided when expected and service was always top notch. Our account manager, Reed was always very responsive and acted immediately to any questions or requests for additional work. I would recommend Corvus to anyone looking for a reliable cleaning service. Thank you Corvus!” Testimonials like this underscore the Corvus Difference.

What Will Cleaning Services Cost You?

One final factor to consider while choosing a janitorial service: is a commercial cleaning partnership an efficient use of my company’s money? If the answer to that is yes, then it is imperative that you find a cleaning company that employs efficient cleaning systems and strategies in order to maximize your benefits per dollar spent. Once again, this is where a larger cleaning company can often outperform a smaller, single owner operation. Corvus utilizes expert designed cleans, specifically tailored for your facility, that aim to maximize efficiency while also completing a high-quality clean. Our franchising system allows all of our cleaners to access training courses and receive instruction on how to most effectively clean your facility. These scientific methods are often not prevalent in smaller cleaning operations that lack the necessary resources to create them. Corvus aims to provide our customers with a high-quality, personalized experience for a reasonable price: every single time.

Corvus Has Your Back

No doubt, choosing a new cleaning company is a daunting task, but at Corvus we are here to help. Feel free to reach out to one of our representatives because we are more than happy to talk you through the process. Whether you want to start tomorrow or just have a few introductory questions, our representatives have seen it all and look forward to passing on their experience to you. Remember, your local Corvus office is just a click away.

How to Acquire Commercial Cleaning Contracts and Customers

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In our last post, “How and Why to Start an Office Cleaning Business”, the Corvus Janitorial team outlined steps entrepreneurs should take to open a cleaning business and provided an analysis of the industry. In the second entry of our two-part series presenting the facts of operating a business in the commercial cleaning industry, we provide a how-to for acquiring office cleaning contracts along with the considerations that ought to go into the process.

Once an individual has created the foundations of their office cleaning business by organizing the entity, purchasing necessary tools and determining a marketing strategy, it is time to start selling janitorial services. Regardless of which industries a company chooses to service and the cleaning programs they offer, the basic methods and time frames around winning customer accounts is relatively similar. That being said, certain standard considerations exist that all office cleaning owners should think about.

 

Getting Cleaning Contracts: Which Facilities to Clean?

First, determining what type of facility you wish to target is critical, and when selecting facility types it’s important to think about how facilities and industries differ. For instance, light industrial or manufacturing facilities likely require a less detailed level of service than a medical office or day care facility. The facility cleaning needs change with the organization’s varying purposes. An organization tasked with the welfare of infants will have far different needs than an organization tasked with distributing cardboard boxes.

In thinking about what types of customers you want to pursue, think about your skills, strengths and weaknesses…determining what suits your skillset best will help you identify your ideal customers. Some companies may not need or want recurring janitorial services, but they may require special event cleaning after an office party. As with recurring commercial cleaning contracts, special event clean up contracts will have a wide variety of needs, and the entrepreneur must decide which of these opportunities to go after.

 

Clean Close – Travel, Expenses, Logistics

Second, travel and logistics should play a role in selecting clients to target. Travel time represents a real cost in terms of money and your time and should not be overlooked in deciding which types of contracts your office cleaning business wants to target. It is highly advisable to calculate the cost associated with traveling to client accounts. Moreover, researching areas where your target accounts can be found and selling to areas of closer proximity is very important. Clustering your cleaning accounts in geographic locations that are close to one another will reduce your commute time and the associated costs, as well as limit the chance of a missed clean due to traffic or other unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances.

 

Types of Office Cleaning Services

Third, creating a menu of the services your office cleaning company intends to provide is important in terms of selling and pricing your cleaning contracts. Variables such as how often per week or per month you intend to offer service will impact not only your time commitment but also the cost the customer will pay for your services.

Another variable to consider is the level of cleaning you intend to provide on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. For instance, you may elect to provide weekly high dusting in your cleaning contracts, or you might decide to provide high dusting every night. In the second case, your cleaning company will be spending more time in the client facility to perform high dusting, thereby driving your personal cost higher – which in turn should be passed on to the client.

 

How to Get Cleaning Contracts: Tools to Use

Traditional Sales Channels

After you have identified your ideal customer, decided which geographic area(s) to target, and defined your service offerings, it is time to begin selling contracts. Traditionally, the most effective and cost-efficient way to get commercial cleaning contracts is by picking up the phone and dialing, aka cold calling. If you already have a network with local business owners or office managers, tapping this network is a great place to start selling.

Once you establish a base of satisfied customers, you can ask them to refer you to other businesses in their building, network, or industry. Word-of-mouth referrals are a strong vote of confidence for your brand and will make selling contracts to new clients much easier. Cold calling, networking and customer referrals can help jumpstart your business, however they cannot ensure consistent, stable growth in the long run.

Marketing a Cleaning Business

Additional marketing efforts are necessary if you aim to acquire a large customer base. Fliers and pamphlets are a time-tested and relatively low-cost method to spread the word about your cleaning company. Contacting and building relationships with real estate agents and property managers is another great way to obtain customer contracts. Classified ads in newspapers are also an effective source to sell cleaning contracts, and classified ads are much cheaper than larger newspaper ads. In the age of the internet, a digital marketing strategy is critical to be a true competitor in the commercial cleaning industry.

Increasingly, businesses are turning to the web and social media to find and hire professional cleaners. An established online presence is important to winning customer contracts, and the foundation of this presence is creating a website for your cleaning company. An effective website will showcase your service offerings, provide information about your business, and tell your brand’s story. Make sure to include contact information on your website – inbound web traffic are likely high potential cleaning contract prospects.

 

How to Price Commercial Cleaning Contracts

Frequency and scope of service (or level of service) ultimately will determine how to price a cleaning contract. If you intend to service a restaurant or bar, for example, there is a big difference between cleaning the dining area and cleaning the kitchen. In the latter case, a much more intensive clean will be required, as the customer will expect an absolutely spotless kitchen. These elevated expectations should be reflected in the contract.

Ultimately, you should take a consultative approach to understanding client expectations, customizing cleaning schedules, determining the frequency and scope of work to suit the facility needs and client desires, generating a cleaning contract with terms, and outlining conditions and pricing to match the client’s desires.

 

Collecting Money from Office Cleaning Customers

Finally, creating a billing schedule and agreement represents an often-overlooked aspect of starting an office cleaning business. On the one hand, launching a cleaning company and getting clients can be fun and exhilarating, but the end goal is to create financial security and additional income. Therefore, no process is more important than building policies for billing and collecting money owed from customers.

Generally speaking, office cleaning companies offer “terms” to clients in the cleaning contract. What this means is a cleaning company may ask to be paid at a specified date following the receipt of the invoice that corresponds to delivery of service. For instance, net 30 indicates the customer must pay the office cleaning company 30 days after receipt of the invoice, net 10 indicates payment is to be expected 10 days following receipt of invoice and so on and so forth. Depending on your savings and capital reserves, you should select a payment term that ensures a steady flow of incoming funds which you’ll need to replenish supplies, continue marketing your service and, best of all, set aside to increase your savings. Cash flow is king and establishing terms to meet your company’s cash flow needs is a key to success.

 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the success of any business is determined by how much and how often they are able to sell. Above all else, consistency is crucial to building, growing, and maintaining a profitable commercial cleaning business. Therefore, having systems in place for sales, marketing, and collections is highly recommended to any business owner who aims to make a profit. Determining your service offerings and identifying your target customer and market are only the first steps to operating a successful commercial cleaning company.

The development of a marketing strategy is ultimately how you will acquire customer cleaning contracts, and you must also build out a system to price contracts, distribute bids, and collect money from clients. Getting cleaning contracts – and retaining them – is by no means an easy task, but with the right systems in place, a commercial cleaning business can provide consistent and reliable income to a hungry entrepreneur.

How and Why to Start an Office Cleaning Business

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In this post, the first of two pertaining to operating a business in the commercial cleaning industry, we provide high level steps that individuals should follow in order to open an office cleaning business, as well as certain personal considerations to reflect upon, such as the individual’s preferences and their unique personal goals. Every new business venture entails varying degrees of risk, and a potential business owner should assess their capabilities, capacity, and risk tolerance before making a decision.

In today’s economy, traditional employment options are being disrupted by a shift toward business ownership and entrepreneurial opportunities. Increasingly, people who would have remained content working jobs for large or small companies are taking matters into their own hands, and it is estimated that over 27 million Americans will be self-employed by 2020. On either a full or part time basis, businesses are being formed to provide the freedom and independence that come with business ownership, as well as the financial security afforded from owning one’s own business.

As the entrepreneurship trend continues and increases in scope, more and more people are electing to take advantage of the attractive characteristics associated with the janitorial services industry and are opening their own office cleaning businesses. Specifically, entrepreneurs are attracted to the cleaning industry’s low overhead model, recurring and reliable revenue streams, lower capital requirements in terms of launching, and the industry’s overarching stability. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the commercial cleaning services industry is expected to grow by 7% in the next 10 years, 2% above the national average, meaning the actual market size and its long term growth prospects make opening a professional cleaning business that much more interesting and exciting.

 

Why the Office Cleaning Industry?

Starting an office cleaning business has become increasingly popular due to several basic traits associated with the industry. First, owners of commercial janitorial services companies are able to customize the amount of resources, both in money and time, they wish to direct towards their business. While some office cleaning owners operate their businesses with the intent of directing 100% of their time towards running their business, others do so on a part time or even fractional basis. An office cleaning company can be a great side-hustle for a motivated individual looking to add some supplemental cash to their existing income. Whether you want to build a large, full-time business or simply make some additional money to supplement your existing income, a commercial cleaning business can be tailored to meet each person’s specific goals and lifestyle.

Many potential entrepreneurs are deterred from starting their own businesses because of barriers to entry such as high startup capital requirements, strong existing brand loyalty to established competitor companies, or vigorous legal restrictions imposed by governments (licensing fees, patents, etc.). Office cleaning alleviates these concerns. Unlike manufacturing or other capital-intensive businesses (if someone wanted to manufacture wrenches, they would need to invest in a factory, equipment and inventory before even selling a single wrench), starting a janitorial business requires relatively low startup capital and minimal ongoing overhead requirements. This reduced financial barrier to entry has made office cleaning businesses of great interest to entrepreneurs. Additionally, commercial cleaners can customize the volume of service they choose to provide, and that flexibility makes the professional cleaning business very attractive. For instance, a paralegal looking to make some extra cash to pay off student loans or credit card debt, or simply to have some additional spending money, could start their own cleaning business.

While possessing custodial or janitorial expertise and technical skills are of course important, relatively speaking, office cleaning requires less initial know-how than certain other industries such as becoming a plumber or an electrician. Recession resistance is another attractive trait of the cleaning industry – businesses will always need someone to clean. In fact, companies are more likely to reduce their in-house cleaning staff during a recession and outsource the labor to a professional cleaning company. With unrivaled flexibility and unwavering demand, commercial office cleaning is a time-tested and established profession for hard-working individuals looking to go into business on their own.

 

Opening Your Office Cleaning Business: Entity Creation

The first step to opening your commercial cleaning business relates to organizing your business. Many entrepreneurs elect to operate their businesses as individuals (sole proprietorships), while others incorporate using a number of different types of legal entities to do so. Limited Liability Companies, or LLCs, and S-Corps are examples of different types of entities a business owner might choose through which to operate their business. Each type of entity conveys varying tax advantages and disadvantages to the business owner. Because every individual’s personal financial situation is different, as are their business objectives, it is always wise to consult an accountant or tax adviser to determine what structure best suits the owner’s needs. Online resources like LegalZoom and Fundera offer some free insight into the pros and cons of different business structures.

 

Professional Cleaning Industry Startup Costs

Whatever organization structure one chooses, a certain amount of startup capital is required to launch a business in the office cleaning industry. Costs to start your personal business include initial administrative costs like paying for professional advice in terms of structure, filing fees and licenses. You will also need to purchase the proper supplies and equipment to meet your clients’ needs. Finally, your business will need funds for marketing and branding, as these are both critical aspects of running a business.

Commercial Cleaning Supplies

The owner of a cleaning business will need supplies and materials to get started. The level of investment depends on the individual business owner’s objectives and how they intend to market their janitorial business, but certain necessities exist. No matter what the business objectives are, savings need to be set aside to purchase cleaning chemicals and equipment. An office cleaning business of any size will typically require a neutral floor cleaning solution, a sanitary solution for disinfecting planes and horizontal surfaces, a chemical to clean, sanitize and disinfect commodes or restroom fixtures, as well as glass cleaner and other miscellaneous supplies. A list of well-regarded cleaning chemical lines can be found at the bottom of this piece.

Commercial Grade Equipment

On the equipment side, to provide the most basic office cleaning services, a company will need vacuums, brooms, mops, mop heads and mop bucket wringer combos, in addition to spray bottles and rags. While some equipment can be purchased once and replaced on a longer-term cadence – such as brooms, mop bucket and ringers – other equipment such as mop heads and rags must be replaced frequently so that soiled or dirty mop heads and rags aren’t used. Of course, maintaining equipment and washing dirty applicants will increase the usefulness of the equipment, and it is important to mentally prepare for the ongoing cost of purchasing additional supplies and equipment.

For more intensive commercial cleaning specifications or contracts, additional equipment may be called for which typically is far more expensive than basic materials. For instance, some cleaning contracts require ongoing upkeep of hard floors or carpets – typically referred to as a floor care program. Schools, for example, frequently use Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT) in hallways. The wear and tear from foot traffic may cause those floors to require a specialized program to maintain the look and protection of the floors. Specifically, the cleaning contract might need the cleaning service to buff, scrub and recoat and, eventually, strip and refinish the flooring. Intensive floor care programs call for equipment like high speed floor machines and slow speed scrubbers, as well as the chemicals required to perform that task. Again, whether or not a janitorial service requires these more expensive and specialized equipment and chemical stocks depends on the company’s aims and goals.
All of the supplies and equipment above can be easily purchased, though it is important that the business owner determines the amount of inventory, and therefore startup capital to allocate to supply purchases.

Marketing and Branding a Cleaning Business

The final aspect for an individual to consider when determining how much money to set aside for startup costs is branding and marketing spends. Will you create company uniforms with logos? Are you going to use a standard color to represent your company? Will you target customers the old fashion way of going door to door, or will you create and produce marketing materials such as fliers or pamphlets to get the word out about your cleaning company? Will you build a website and create customized email addresses, or forego that expenditure? All of these considerations are important to account for and have an impact on the amount of startup capital that will be required to open your cleaning business.

 

Conclusion

Individuals must consider numerous factors before opening for business, including the type of entity they want to start and the associated startup costs. Different structures will bear different costs, but all cleaning businesses must have essential supplies and equipment to begin servicing customers. Additionally, the owner of a cleaning company needs to decide who their customers will be and how they will target these customers.

Starting a business of any kind is risky and challenging, and any individual seeking to become a business owner should carefully consider the pros and cons of entrepreneurship as well as the risk associated with launching a business. However, with business ownership comes the potential for independence, financial security and a deep sense of accomplishment. Because starting a professional cleaning business requires less startup capital and ongoing overhead, is customizable based on the owner’s goals and objectives, and delivers a service that is recurring and relatively recession resistant, more and more individuals are opening office cleaning businesses.

 

Resources for Cleaning Businesses

There any many useful resources out there that the owner of a cleaning business can reference. The following are by no means an exhaustive list but are certainly a great starting point for the potential cleaning business owner. The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) is a global trade organization of cleaning professionals, from cleaning supply manufacturers to distributors to cleaners themselves. ISSA is one of the leading resources for information, networking, education, commercial opportunities, and government advocacy for companies in the cleaning industry. If it’s cleaning supplies and equipment you are looking for, some great choices are Buckeye, Betco, Spartan, Bissell, and ProTeam.