New to the business and looking for advice

[Anthony E]

How’s it going everyone? I’m getting into the business and am wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction as to what equipment I should buy? I currently have a package going with rotovac for a 360i and monsoon portable along with most of the tools needed to start. But I’m wondering if it’d be better to just start strong and go with a truck mount. It’s obviously better but it’ll eat up most of our capital if I go with one and the tools I want, leaving us with little for marketing. I’m trying to weigh out the options. Start with a portable and all the tools I need? Or a truck mount and less tools. Oh and if you could recommend any of your favorite tools and why they’re your favorite that would be awesome. How long have you been using them? What are they better than and why? Etc. Etc. Thank you in advance for anything you help out with.

 

[Hack Attack]

welcome..

I'd hold off abit....

 

[BIG WOOD]

If you've already got the 360i and mansoon, just use that until you're comfortable in this business. You might not even like doing this, then you're $15-$20k deep in a truckmount.

Get to know your nearest supplier well.

 

[hogjowl]

It sounds like you’re an idiot
You’ve come to the right place for support
With our help, you’ll be a bigger idiot in no time.
By the time you make it to moron status you’ll have a TM. Just keep plugging away with what you can afford until the light turns on.
Or Boyle runs you off. Whichever comes first.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

Good advice. To many variables to answer. Residential/commercial or both is basic question.
But obviously you’ve already made some sort of decision.

 

[BIG WOOD]

I doubt you'll get very many answers on what tools you should use right now. Just jump in the wild world of carpet cleaning and keep in touch with us when you have more specific questions, when you get in the realm of each cleaning and business situation

 

[Mikey P]

Where do you live?
How do you see yourself landing clients?
Is commercial or residential your goal?
What's your marketing plan?


The C19 may be a blessing or a curse with your timing..

 

[Anthony E]

If you've already got the 360i and mansoon, just use that until you're comfortable in this business. You might not even like doing this, then you're $15-$20k deep in a truckmount.

Get to know your nearest supplier well.

Well I guess I should have been more clear. I haven’t purchased anything yet, just have it in the works over with rotovac. I’m one of those people that find cleaning carpets oddly satisfying so doubt I’d hate it, but even if I did, I like money and see large profits in this. I’m seeing that you can make 100 bucks plus an hour if you play your cards right. But yea, the price of truck mounts is my biggest concern. I don’t want to start off hating the business because I have to lug a portable unit up stairs at every job. I’ve already got my foot in the door with a supplier as well, so I’ll definitely work on building a relationship. Thank you Matt!

 

[hogjowl]

We all hated lugging portables at first
We don’t want to deny you that experience

 

[Anthony E]

It sounds like you’re an idiot
You’ve come to the right place for support
With our help, you’ll be a bigger idiot in no time.
By the time you make it to moron status you’ll have a TM. Just keep plugging away with what you can afford until the light turns on.
Or Boyle runs you off. Whichever comes first.

Hopefully in a few years, you guys will have made a complete dipshit of me

 

[Mikey P]

How big as Santa Clarita built up now?


Would you handle Palmcaster, Canyon Country and the SF valley too?

 

[Dolly Llama]

I’m one of those people that find cleaning carpets oddly satisfying so doubt I’d hate it, but even if I did, I like money and see large profits in this

what experience in carpet cleaning do you have, Tony?

what's you biz plan look like?
and do those "large profits" you see account for all costs of doing biz ?
does your wife have a stable job with bennies?
Do YOU currently have a stable job w/bennies?
plan to be full time or part time from the get go?

and Rotovac is very aggressive at sales
they will try to sell you every piece of gear they can ..whether you need it or not
so check here before you drop a bundle on stuff you don't need


..L.T.A.

 

[Anthony E]

Where do you live?
How do you see yourself landing clients?
Is commercial or residential your goal?
What's your marketing plan?


The C19 may be a blessing or a curse with your timing..

Hey Mikey thanks for your time,
I live in Santa Clarita CA, a mostly middle/upper middle class city so we were thinking of starting with residential. We (my wife & I) want to do both but our target market will most likely be residential. But we’d still tackle smaller commercial jobs. As for marketing, we’ll be starting with marketing through Facebook and relying on word of mouth in the beginning. We’re currently working on a business plan and were trying to figure out equipment so we could see which way is best to start off. Yes, C19 is definitely messing things up at the moment but we’re utilizing this time to do extensive research and make an extremely solid plan. Depending on how C19 continues, we probably won’t launch our business until it’s all over.

 

[Cleanworks]

Hey Mikey thanks for your time,
I live in Santa Clarita CA, a mostly middle/upper middle class city so we were thinking of starting with residential. We (my wife & I) want to do both but our target market will most likely be residential. But we’d still tackle smaller commercial jobs. As for marketing, we’ll be starting with marketing through Facebook and relying on word of mouth in the beginning. We’re currently working on a business plan and were trying to figure out equipment so we could see which way is best to start off. Yes, C19 is definitely messing things up at the moment but we’re utilizing this time to do extensive research and make an extremely solid plan. Depending on how C19 continues, we probably won’t launch our business until it’s all over.

Again, how much experience do you have and where did you get it?

 

[Anthony E]

How big as Santa Clarita built up now?


Would you handle Palmcaster, Canyon Country and the SF valley too?

SCV has blown up in the last few years. Most new housing projects are up in the 800 thousands and its gained a huge recognition as a filming destination for shows and movies. CC is part of the SCV and I'll definitely be avoiding Palmdale. San Fernando is a possibility but overall I’d like to remain local.

 

[Anthony E]

Again, how much experience do you have and where did you get it?

I have absolutely zero experience in cleaning carpets. But it’s a trade I’m very willing to learn. I was going to go to IICRC for training and go from there.

 

[Anthony E]

what experience in carpet cleaning do you have, Tony?

what's you biz plan look like?
and do those "large profits" you see account for all costs of doing biz ?
does your wife have a stable job with bennies?
Do YOU currently have a stable job w/bennies?
plan to be full time or part time from the get go?

and Rotovac is very aggressive at sales
they will try to sell you every piece of gear they can ..whether you need it or not
so check here before you drop a bundle on stuff you don't need


..L.T.A.

I have a degree in small business management and entrepreneurship so the planning for the business side of this is the one part I’m not struggling with as much. It’s definitely going to be the knowledge on actual carpet cleaning and gaining practical skills that is gonna take me some time. I’ve been watching videos online constantly to try and take in as much as I can for now, and I also plan to take some courses and get a few certifications from the IICRC before I dive in. I’ve definitely seen that to learn everything is not as easy as I originally thought, and it would take countless years of experience to know the half of it. But I’ve always wanted to go the service business route and this is something I really see myself enjoying getting into and growing. While doing financial plans, I don’t see it being insanely profitable for at least a couple of years, but by the third year I expect it could be much profitable than my current gig. So far it seems I could expect profit margins to be in the 50% range, hopefully this is obtainable but I know there’s no way to actually tell until I start. My wife and I are both currently self employed doing eBay, so she would continue doing that and I could also continue doing that if I’m not landing jobs in the beginning. Since we wouldn’t have to take any major risks of quitting a stable job, it’s easier for us to jump into something. Thank you for the heads up as far as equipment! That’s definitely something I hope you guys could help me with before I make any big purchases. I really appreciate everyone for even responding!

 

[Anthony E]

Good advice. To many variables to answer. Residential/commercial or both is basic question.
But obviously you’ve already made some sort of decision.

I definitely want to start by targeting residential just because the volume of that market is much larger than commercial where I am at and I also want to start without any employees in the beginning to cut expenses. Eventually I would like to be able to do smaller scale commercial work but my target at the beginning will definitely be residential. I still have a lot to learn before I could start but I don’t want to make any bad decisions in the beginning by purchasing equipment I won’t end up using. I’d like to reserve as much capital as possible for marketing so any advice on the best equipment for starting out is greatly appreciated!

 

[Anthony E]

Here’s some of the equipment I’ve been looking at if this is useful

 

[Dolly Llama]

good deal, Tony
You're in a good position

No clue how much money you have to invest or borrow ....
But if you intend to be full time res primarily, you need a TM and nice looking van
or folks ain't gonna take you seriously

Exception to that, is if your market is plumb full of hi-rise accommodations
Cause ^^that^^ and Upl are the only places a porty makes cents for a full time O/Op


..L.T.A.

 

[sassyotto]

do a ride along with someone in your area. Then check back with us

 

[Anthony E]

do a ride along with someone in your area. Then check back with us

Would the competition willingly create more competition? Or are you saying do a ride along with someone not in my immediate area?

 

[Anthony E]

good deal, Tony
You're in a good position

No clue how much money you have to invest or borrow ....
But if you intend to be full time res primarily, you need a TM and nice looking van
or folks ain't gonna take you seriously

Exception to that, is if your market is plumb full of hi-rise accommodations
Cause ^^that^^ and Upl are the only places a porty makes cents for a full time O/Op


..L.T.A.

Thank you for the advice. My area is almost entirely 1 to 2 story houses. I was already leaning toward starting with a TM and this just solidified it even more to me. We have about 25k to spend for a van, wrapping the van, TM/portable and other equipment, so idk if I should keep saving or go with lower end equipment to start sooner.

 

[scotty747]

I"m still at 50% margin. But I keep buying new nicer things. Find a decent looking used van and truckmount for 5 grand and save yourself the learning curve. My friend did exactly what you want to do because he was tired of paying me to clean all his accounts. Whole rotovac package. I told him he'll regret it in a month. A month later he told me I was right. Bought a decent white cargo van and used steamway for around 4000.00 total. Used vans don't look as nice but people may also think you've been around longer than a month. First week he called me asking why the carpets at our kingdom hall (church) looked horrible. "Used the 360 on commercial glue down didn't you?" Always a learning curve no matter how you start.

 

[hogjowl]

Would the competition willingly create more competition? Or are you saying do a ride along with someone not in my immediate area?

He’s just saying that because that’s the advise idiots were giving back in the 90’s ... when he last checked in on the boards.
Don’t pay any attention to him

 

[Anthony E]

He’s just saying that because that’s the advise idiots were giving back in the 90’s ... when he last checked in on the boards.
Don’t pay any attention to him

Hahaha good to know

 

[Anthony E]

I"m still at 50% margin. But I keep buying new nicer things. Find a decent looking used van and truckmount for 5 grand and save yourself the learning curve. My friend did exactly what you want to do because he was tired of paying me to clean all his accounts. Whole rotovac package. I told him he'll regret it in a month. A month later he told me I was right. Bought a decent white cargo van and used steamway for around 4000.00 total. Used vans don't look as nice but people may also think you've been around longer than a month. First week he called me asking why the carpets at our kingdom hall (church) looked horrible. "Used the 360 on commercial glue down didn't you?" Always a learning curve no matter how you start.

Thank you for the advice. Looks like I will definitely be going the truck mount route. I already planned to buy a used van and get it wrapped to make it look more professional. After doing lots of research I’m now realizing every situation seems to be unique and it will take years and years to really start to feel confident in knowing what to do for each situation. I’m really thankful I posted here and now know I have some means of getting insight when questions come up! So I guess my question now is would it be smarter to get a lower end truck mount that is new, or finding a more popular type that is used? I already reached out to a local guy who works on all types of truck mounts so I at least have someone in my area who can help me out in the beginning if I bought a used TM.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I already reached out to a local guy who works on all types of truck mounts

Is he the guy going to service your TM or are you mechanically inclined with a garage big enough to work in and tools?

AND what TMs does he see the most of and what's his preferred brand?

.L.T.A.

 

[Old Coastie]

Anthony, I am living proof that you can begin with a decent portable, acquire incrementally better gear and with a great work ethic, coupled with a pathological lack of ambition remain a brokedick portyhack nine years later.
But I love wearing hair shirts and sloughing off the abuse rightfully heaped on me by my betters, so it is all good.

Get the training. Then get an upholstery training class. Find a good chemical pimp. Ask Damon if you could maybe ride along a time or two and yes, get that truckmount.
Be prepared to do a lot of tinkering.

Equipment to go with the truckmount:
Sapphire upholstery tool, none better.
Devastator 12” wand. Thank me later.
Rotovac 360i with brush head and metal suction shoes. Ignore the other attachments.
A decent spotting kit. Every brand sells them.

A big box of hankies for when the world discovers you are trying to better yourself and tries to cannibalize you.

The single best asset you need is time discipline. Work your plan and adapt. Welcome aboard!

 

[hogjowl]

And in 9 years you can be a part time cleaner with piss poor jokes and an ugly van