How to Start and Grow Your Own Cleaning Business
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CD 1: GETTING STARTED RIGHT
(Run Time: 90 Minutes)

CHOOSING A BUSINESS ENTITY

Your “Business Entity” is the structure under which you will conduct your company.  There are advantages and drawbacks to each of the alternatives from which you can choose to operate your business.  Even if you’re already in business, depending on your situation, you many want to consider changing the form of business entity under which your business is being conducted.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to obtain a “DBA” (which stands for “Doing Business As”, which will be your company’s name).
• What’s involved in forming a “sole proprietorship”.
• Advantages and disadvantages of a sole proprietorship.
• The difference between a sole proprietorship and a “partnership”.
• What you need to consider before choosing to form a partnership.
• The pros and cons of a partnership business.
• The difference between a “C Corporation” and a “Subchapter–S Corporation”.
• Why forming a Sub-Chapter-S Corporation may be a good choice.
• How a Limited Liability Company (LLC) differentiates from a Corporation.
• How forming a Corporation or LLC can protect your personal assets.
• How you can save several hundred dollars on the cost of incorporating or forming an LLC.
• Hyperlinks to online incorporation and LLC resources

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PRE-OPENING CHECKLIST

Before opening for business there are several activities you need to take care of.  This session will help you identify, organize and prioritize these activities.

In this section you will learn:

• What an EIN is and how to obtain one.
• What you’ll need to open a business bank account.
• What type of licenses and permits you’re going to need, and how and where to obtain them
• An inexpensive alternative to renting physical office if you plan to start the business from your home in a community that will not grant a business license at residential addresses.
• What you need to consider if and when you’re ready to lease commercial office space from which you will operate your business, including tips on negotiating the lease.
• The type and amount of insurance coverage you’ll require.
• How and why you need to obtain information on other cleaning companies in your market.
• The furniture, office equipment, communication, software, printing, and cleaning supplies and equipment you’re going to need for your business.
• Hyperlink to State Departments of Insurance

PLUS:  This Session contains printable PDF documents as follows:

• 46-Point Pre-Launch Checklist and Action Plan
• Competitive Survey Report Form
• Media Rate/Circulation Data Form
• Client Control Form
• Team Work  Schedule Form
• Sample Client Invoice
• Employee Confidentiality Agreement (an important document that would cost you $300 to $500 to have an attorney draft on your behalf)
• Illustrated Cleaning Equipment & Supplies Checklist (with a hyperlink to a one-stop source for just about everything you’ll need).
• Furniture & Equipment Checklist

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YOUR CHART OF ACCOUNTS

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, accounting is probably your least favorite subject: “Let somebody else do the numbers crunching; let me run the business.”  However, not paying attention to the numbers is often the reason many small businesses run into trouble. 

Whether you use accounting software, the old-fashioned manual method, or a bookkeeping service, we provide you with a standard Chart of Accounts for various assets and liabilities on your Balance Sheet and income and expense items on your Profit & Loss Statement. 

In this section you will learn:

• What “Capital Expense” items are and on what basis they may be expensed (amortized) in accordance with IRS guidelines for income tax purposes.
• What items will appear on your Balance Sheet as “Current Assets.”
• What items will appear on your Balance Sheet as “Fixed Assets.”
• What items will appear on your Balance Sheet as “Current Liabilities.”
• What items will appear on your Balance Sheet as “Long Term Liabilities.”
• How to determine your company’s current Net Worth, or “Equity.”
• How to set up your Chart of Accounts for your Profit & Loss Statement (P&L).
• Why it’s important to identify sources of income on your P&L.
• Hyperlink to recommended accounting software and tour/demonstration

PLUS this session includes the following printable PDF documents:.

• Sample Chart of Accounts
• Sample Balance Sheet.
• Sample Profit & Loss Statement

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YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

This session is MUST reviewing even if you’re already operating a cleaning business.  While most people think that a formal business plan is only used for obtaining borrowed money or investment dollars, that thinking is incorrect.  Taking the time and effort to create a formal, written business plan is the only way to solidify in your mind where you want the business to be.  The process forces you to think through your goals and strategies for achieving those objectives.  It’s the roadmap for your journey to success. 

In this section you will learn:

• Why you really need a business plan, even if you don’t intend to use it to borrow money or raise investment capital.

The various elements that need to be included in your business plan, including:

• The Executive Summary: a brief overview of the entire business plan;
• The Market: who your market is and what the potential is from that market;
• What your Competitive Advantages are;
• What Marketing Strategies you will employ to generate prospects;
• What Sales Strategies you intend to use to convert prospects into clients;
• Your Sales Forecast for the first three years, and the assumptions behind the forecast;
• Your Personnel Plan:  when and how many people you will need as your business grows;
• Milestones that will serve as “way points”  or stepping stones on the progress of your plan;
• Your detailed Financial Plan; your Pro Forma Profit & Loss Statement projected out over the first three years;
• Your Specific Objectives:  goals that can be measured in quantifiable terms;
• The Keys to Success:  what specifically will be required to meet your objectives.

PLUS

• Hyperlink to recommended Business Plan software (take the guided tour)
• Hyperlink to recommended Mailing List site to obtain FREE demographic information on YOUR specific market.
• A printable sample Business Plan you can use as a model for creating your own personal document.

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Click here to see CD 2 Table of Contents

Click here to see CD 3 Table of Contents

Click here to see CD 4 Table of Contens

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